RSV

A big THANK YOU to everyone that called and e-mailed during Hannah's bought with RSV. It came on very quickly last Tuesday and resulted in a five day stay at CT Children's Medical Center (CCMC). It was difficult to watch our little girl go through such a nasty illness but we were able to see her strong will come through and she was such a fighter. We are so grateful for Alexander who was very brave while Mommy and Daddy were gone long nights at the hospital, friends and family who spent that extra time with Alexander, a church family that supported us through visits and prayer and the wonderful CCMC staff that took great care of Hannah and us as well. It is place I hope to not have to go back to any time soon, but am comforted in knowing that they are there if we need them.

Eric "suited up" as Hannah came off the CPAC (forced oxygen) treatment after 3 days

All unhooked and ready to breath on her own and feeling like a new girl!

Christmas Highlights

She's Here!

I was once again having on and off again contractions on Tuesday. At about 4:00 I called my doctor and they said come on in to the hospital and let's get this show on the road. It was 8:00 p.m. by the time I was admitted, hooked up and the pitocin was flowing. That was all it took because 2 hours and 45 minutes later we welcomed our beautiful girl Hannah Marie, 9 lbs. 3 oz and 21 inches long. We are so thankful that she is here and Alexander is thrilled to be a big brother.

New Tradition

As I was loading and sorting my pictures in Picassa the other day I realized that without even meaning to we have developed a Thanksgiving tradition. Here is a picture of Alexander from last Thanksgiving eating pancakes in his travel booster seat in the living room.

This year we had our first dusting of snow the day after Thanksgiving so we decided to make pancakes for supper and eat them picnic style in front of the fireplace. No baby yet but a tradition is born...

Transitions

I had been working to "back blog" some of the events from our Spring/Summer to show everyone what we had been up to. Then in a casual conversation with a regular blog reader, who shall remain nameless even though their last name used to be the same as mine, it was mentioned that they don't really care what we already did, they want to know what we are doing now. So I took some time today to tell you what I am doing now, I am waiting.

Those of you that know me well know that I am a planner. I am constantly making lists, written and mental - grocery lists, gift lists, to-do lists, books I want to read lists, etc. In many ways I feel that all this planning and list making helps to make me more prepared for the unexpected. Well, here we are at the due date and I have done everything on my list and no baby. Alexander was 3 days early and I thought for sure this baby was going to come early as well. I had been feeling so tired and ready by the end of last week that I stopped work a few days before planned just so I could rest. I had mild contractions last night so I thought we were on to something, then I went to bed and it all stopped.

Don't get me wrong, I am taking full advantage of this time to rest because I know what the next few weeks will be like. It is just strange when I find myself watching TV and they run a trailer for what is happening on Monday's show and I think, what will life be like for me on Monday?

It has not gone unnoticed by me that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I have so much in my daily life to be thankful for, but right now I can not help but give thanks for the gift of time. It has been a blessing to be carrying this child for the last 40 weeks. It is such a short amount of time in the life of my child. We are so curious about who he/she is and the person they will become. These are the thoughts that I now fill my days with, reflections on myself, my family and the family that we are about to become. Thank you to all of you that have been thinking about us and wishing us well. We can't wait to update you with news of our newest arrival, whenever he/she decides to come!

Fast Monkey

This past weekend Steve and Heather came to visit us and then we all went up to Boston to cheer for Heather while she ran the marathon! She has run other ones before but this was going to be a personal challenge for her. She was sponsored by the Hopkinton Covenant Church which invited us to Sunday morning worship, hosted Steve and Heather, their IL friends Ginny and Mike and NPU professor Boaz Johnson the night before the race and prayed for the three runners all day Monday. She ran to raise money for World Vision and we were so pleased to support her and her cause. We went to the 1 mile marker where we saw the front racers and then waited for Heathers group to come by. Steve and Mike tracked the runners on-line by their bib numbers and Eric navigated through the side roads of MA so we could see Heather and Ginny at a couple of different places in the race. They did an awesome job and we were so proud to be able to share this experience with them. We love you Heather!

Hippity Hoppity

We hosted Easter at our house this year and although it was a chilly day it was still great to be with friends and family. We had Alexander and Daniel have their egg hunt on the front green this year where we met up with our new neighbor Cayleigh. The kids were very focused on finding their eggs and the parents were very focused on making sure everyone was warm enough. It was a quick trip outside but well worth the chill.