Ellie's Belated 4th Birthday Party

With Serafina's arrival taking place the weekend of Ellie's birthday, we put off celebrations until everyone was home together. Ellie was a trooper and didn't complain even once. She is such a wonderful little girl who has a very big heart, especially when it comes to her sisters. It was a joy to celebrate her birth this past weekend and to watch her face light up with all the attention put on her.

Here are some of the highlights from her family party:

Even opening the cards was a thrill for Ellie

The "strawberry shortcake" (or a white cake with strawberry filling :-)

The excitement of the gifts was almost too much

Gotta love the face of a happy birthday girl!

Home at Last

It seems forever ago we were impatiently waiting for our littlest girl to arrive. She is now 8 days old and doing wonderfully, despite the crazy labor that brought about her arrival and the strange disease (Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia, or NAIT) she was born with, not to mention the way that disease was discovered.

Warning: Detailed Labor Story that may be boring to some and too much information for others.



Labor:
I was induced Saturday December 4th at about 9am. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but being 2 weeks late, I felt I had pushed things as long as I would be permitted to wait. The Pitocin took immediate effect even at the lowest levels, but our little girl wasn't liking it, so the nurse had to continually shut off the Pitocin drip and see if the contractions would continue. After a number of hours back and forth with Pitocin, the midwife suggested we break my water and see what happens. This seemed to be the trick, but at 7cm things stopped progressing.

The next several hours are fuzzy to me, mostly because the pain was intense and I was exhausted. I cannot begin to count the number of times that I mentally gave up. Despite my own weakness, God pushed me further and used those around me to give me the strength I lacked. Allen was an amazing comfort during what would be my most difficult labor of the 4. And Judy Bufford was a lifesaver, as Allen needed to be with me more and more, she was able to support him and to be extra support for me during the truly trying moments (including a pillow when I couldn't sit up anymore, and my cold cloth provider when things got really rough :-) ). By this point it was the first hours of the next day and everyone was tired. I was 9cm and still only 85-90% effaced (which for those that don't know is the key to being able to get that baby out).

Realizing that I may not at this point have the energy to push, I decided that at the slightest twinge of a "need" to push, I was going to try now and not wait for 10cm and 100% effacement. After some of the most insane pushing I have done, and for way longer than I have been used to in the past (I have been blessed before to not have very long in the pushing phase) we were able to welcome Serafina Faith into this world. Despite her low heart rates throughout labor and very low heart rates during the last hour, she was strong, healthy and alert when she finally joined us.




Labor story over.




Once she was here we moved to the Postpartum room and tried to get some much needed sleep between feedings. We did the normal after-baby-arrived-family-visits and the typical nurse checking-in visits. During the first few baby checks Serafina was consistently cool, despite the efforts we were making to bring her up to 98.6. They checked her blood sugar, and found she was at normal, but her heart rate was also low at times (as it had been during labor).

Suspecting these were signs of an infection they took some small blood samples. The first would be cultured for 48 hours to see if anything turned up in the infectious category. The second sample was to check her white blood cell counts to see if they were up in an effort to fight off something in her system. Shortly after the second sample was processed they found something very unexpected, perfectly normal red and white blood cell counts, but off the charts low platelet counts. Her cultures were still processing, but this new news was concerning.

We would now journey with her to the NICU, where she would ultimately stay for the next 5 1/2 days. Once there, the nurses set to work placing two IVs and a few sensors to monitor heart rate, oxygen levels, and other needed facts. During that night they would begin two antibiotics and a platelet transfusion. Then, in the next days they would monitor her platelet counts, ultimately diagnosing her with Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia or NAIT. The platelets given to her Sunday evening (the 5th, her birthday) would be enough to combat the bad antigens and allow her own immune system to take over in destroying these unwanted antigens that were eating up her platelets.

She came home Friday late morning, 6 days after being born, and is doing wonderfully. She is eating well, sleeping well (for a newborn :-) ) and per her doctor visit this morning, is gaining weight well. The doctors have informed us that she should never have this problem again, now that we have overcome it. Since the ultrasound done on her head showed no signs of brain bleed (the leading concern with NAIT), she should be a normal kiddo from here on out.

Lesson Learned:

What does all this mean? For me it has been an incredible reminder that God is in control and He is the provider of ALL things, including strength and health. This past week was filled with weakness, and lack of health, but now we sit at home, physically well and spiritually stronger. God got us through this tough week and now we can look back and see His hand in each moment. God is good all the time, even in moments where we find ourselves asking, "When?" or "How?" or "Why?" He is good!

Still...

...waiting. Maybe she will come today...

Now we Need a Date

So we think we finally have the name for this little girl. We are waiting for her to come before we announce it (mostly because we have changed our minds SO MANY times on her name, that we don't want to commit prematurely :-).

So now all we need is to figure out her birth-date. Any one want to suggest a day? My preference would be today, mostly because it isn't tomorrow :-)

She is due the 20th, but who knows!

Lizzie Loves to Organize

Lizzie has always loved to organize. At 1 she would spend what seemed like hours straightening my kitchen towels. Now she does things like making her sister's bed because she just can't handle the way Ellie does it (we are working on this, since she needs to be ok with her sister's ways of doing certain things, but funny none the less). Over the summer we spent our Saturday mornings at the local Saturday market where my sister (Melissa) and her roomie (Bethany) sold folding memory books. After watching these lovely ladies set up and reset up their display each week, she began to duplicate it in her playing:


Of course she used Gracie's toys, since we wouldn't want to have our own toys for sale :-)

Note: If you are interested Melissa and Bethany have been hard at work for the holiday season and are not only preparing their books, but some wonderful baskets filled with a variety of things based on theme (Christmas, Dora, baby boy or girl, gingerbread fun, etc). They will be at a number of bazaars and even the Thornton's Treeland in the next month or 2.

A Little Behind

Yeah, I know, it has been far too long since I last posted here. Soon enough we will be posting pictures of our latest pink wearing kiddo, so I thought I better get caught up a bit before she comes and I get behind again :-)

The following are some pictures of Lizzie and Ellie's bunk-bed (thanks Brewsters). I girlified it with some paint, fabric and fake flowers. It was a fun project, and although it doesn't look nearly this nice regularly, it was still worth the work.

We need a Name Still

So I realized that I haven't given enough info to help with getting some good baby girl names. We want a name that will flow well with the 3 older girls names. Here are their names:

Elizabeth Blair (means: consecrated to God)
Eliana Joy (means: God has answered with Joy)
Malina Grace (means: Tower of Grace or Raspberry Grace if you go with the Russian :-)

Since they all are 3 syllables, that would be the easiest way to make them all 4 flow well. And since the older 2 both have "E-l-i" at the start of their names, we thought it might be fun to have the younger 2 have "M"s. Though, we are flexible, so any baby girl names, that seem to fit well along side her big sisters' names, would be great. What are your favorites??? Oh, and meaning is still a must.

Names

So we are still struggling to come up with a name for this little girl. We are thinking an "M" name, with hopefully 3 syllables. That goes well with a single syllable middle name. Originally we were thinking a Hebrew name, but can't seem to find one, so as long as it has a great meaning. Any ideas? :-)

Pain Worse than Death

I have felt a lot of pain over the last several years. The pain of giving birth, of gallstones, and of kidney stones (yeah, I know, there must be a joke there somewhere, but I can't seem to find it). I have also suffered pain that cuts deeper than any surgeons tool can reach...the pain brought on by losing a loved one. In each moment of pain, I can remember thinking things like, "Nothing could hurt worse than this" or "I just can't get through... it hurts too much". And inevitably God would get me through it and eventually show me that there are worse types of pain.

It has now been just over 9 months since I lost my mom to cancer, and that pain is still present, still aching and tugging at me. Just after she went to be with the LORD, I thought, "Surely there is nothing more painful than losing someone close to you to such an awful disease." Well, I was wrong. There is a pain that exists in this world that has the ability to go far deeper than that of loss through death. It is the pain of sin. Sin can damage the very depths of your soul, whether it is your own sin or that of someone you love. It can paralyze you, unable to move forward or backward. If it is your own sin it can poison every part of your person, creating other sins along the way, like a disease of the soul. If it is the sin of another it can bring about a grief that cannot be matched or "out done" except by One.

As I have begun to feel this strange and yet familiar pain, I have seen the destruction and agony in the lives of others as well. I have seen what it is to look on a person who is suffering the pain of another's choices. It is an ugly pain. A heavy pain. The pain of an ungodly act causing a godly pain. I cannot begin to describe this awful suffering, and yet I know that it is minuscule compared to that which Our Savior suffered for us. If one sin can hurt so deeply, how much more so the sins of the world. The pain He endured for us is unfathomable. It is more than any of us would be able to handle, and that is why it had to be Him. It could only be Christ who bore that unspeakably heavy burden. I am so grateful He did, and so humbled that He loved me enough to endure such pain for each one of my agony inducing sins.

''Father,

Thank You. I am so overwhelmed at what You have done for me. To send Your Son, knowing what He would experience and how deeply He would suffer. All so that people like me, who can and do cause such great suffering, might have life. If it were me I would have said forget it and let those pain-inflictors suffer their own fates. Yet, another reason I am so thankful that You are in control and not me. Thank You for loving me so deeply that You would give so much for me. I am humbled, and honored to be Yours."

Always quotable Ellie

After already going to bed (knowing that Steph had made cookie dough), Ellie comes out and says:

"Mommy, would you be willing to make cookie dough for us for dessert after breakfast in the morning?"

To Buy or Not to Buy

So we have been considering buying a home lately. Mainly we have been "discussing the idea", but now we are starting to consider it more seriously. The catch is we have ZERO money for a down payment, or any other fees, etc. and we know next to nothing about buying a home.

Any advice???

Lyrics to Ponder

"A shapeless piece of steel, that's all I claim to be
This hammer pounds to give me form, this flame, it melts my dreams
I glow with fire and fury, as I'm twisted like a vine
My final shape, my final form I'm sure I'm bound to find

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for thee, the hammer holds

And the water, it cools me gray, and the hurt's subdued somehow
I have my shape, this sharpened point, what is my purpose now?
And the question still remains, what am I to be?
Perhaps some perfect piece of art displayed for all to see

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames
And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for thee, the hammer holds

The hammer pounds again, but flames I do not feel
This force that drives me, helplessly, through flesh, and wood reveals
A burn that burns much deeper, it's more than I can stand
The reason for my life was to take the life of a guiltless man

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain
And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the pain
And hurt a little, hurt for me, my future is so bold
But my dreams are not the issue here, for thee, the hammer holds

This task before me may seem unclear
But it, my maker holds"

From: http://www.musicbabylon.com


Thank you Father for artists like Bebo Norman, and the way their lyrics/music draw me closer to you and your truth.

The Journey home...the final journeying

We left my Uncle and Aunt in the morning before church, and met with one last friend before our final drive home. It was a short visit in Vallejo (the town I was born in and lived in until I was 14), but we got the chance to see Carmen for coffee and talk for a short bit before she needed to go to church and we needed to hit the road.

Then we drove North for a long while. We of course stop at In-N-Out for lunch in Redding, CA (the farthest North that you can find the wonderful CA chain). Then we continued on the road until we came to Grants Pass. We staying in WeaskuInn (a wonderful, and quiet Inn that my Uncle and Aunt treated us to in memory of my mom who had intended to someday go with my Dad and meet my Uncle and Aunt there for a relaxing visit). It was amazingly relaxing to have such a nice place to stop before we reached home.

The next day we left as late as the Inn would allow and finished the journey just after dinner time. It was done, and yet there was so much to be done, that it wouldn't be for another week or more before we truly felt like the journey was over and we were officially home.

The Journey home...the Workman edition

On our final full day in the Bay Area, we spent the entire day in El Cerrito at my Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy (or Auntie Coffee's) home. There children and grandchildren came over for a BBQ and some socializing :-)

Lizzie and Ellie waiting for Auntie Coffee to come home.

A family photo

The BBQ crew (My Uncle and Aunt, their daughters, and their daughters children, minus the working hubbies, plus us of course)

The girls got to make beaded butterfly necklaces during our stay there.
They were so excited.

Aunt Kathy, me and the girls showing off our new handmade necklaces.

Journey home...the Vacaville day edition

After our Rocklin visit we headed back down to my Uncle and Aunt's for the night. The next day was a full one, since we were heading to Vacaville where so much of our family members have moved to over the last 10-20 years.

We began our time in Vacaville by meeting my Aunt Connie and cousin Jaime for a late breakfast. It was so good to see them and laugh (you can't hang out with my Aunt Connie without laughing, she just has the best sense of humor). Again I forgot the camera, but since my cousin Sal (Aunt Connie's son) is getting married in a couple of weeks, I will try to remember to take pictures then. :-)

After breakfast we headed over to Allen's brother's home where we got to visit with Bubba (Allen's brother Brian), Karen (his wife), Danielle (their daughter), Sean (their youngest son, at 19), and of course Luke (the dog). It was a nice visit and the last time they saw Lizzie and Ellie was during the same visit when we had seen my Grandma 3 years earlier. We enjoyed catching up and hearing about Nathan's (their oldest son's) recent wedding to his beautiful bride Bridgett, complete with wonderful pictures.

Brothers being forced to pose for a pic

Karen, Brian and the girls

The Rexford clan minus Nathan and Bridgett
(Sean, Danielle, Karen and Brian)

Karen and Sean with the girls
(doesn't Sean look thrilled :-) )

Once leaving Brian and Karen's home, we headed over to Fenton's ice cream shop to meet my mom's cousin, Donna Lee, for some dessert. It was so nice to see her, since the last time I saw her was at my mom's service and before that she was there helping us care for mom at the end. This was the first time I had really gotten to just enjoy hanging out with her, and the first time the two older girls were able to meet her. Again no pictures, but after typing "no pictures" as many times as I have in the last weeks, I think I will be a much more determined picture taker.


Aside: The general consensus for the day is that Lizzie is very much like I was as a little girl (looks and actions), Ellie is just like my sister was in the way she acts and apparently very much like my mom was as a kid too, though takes more after Allen's side of the family in appearances (similarities to Allen and Allen's mom). Gracie is too little to tell still, but does favor my sister in appearances. It was funny to hear about how our girls are taking after different family members.

Journey home...the Great Grandma Sewell edition

After a very short visit in Bakersfield, CA we headed 6 hrs north to El Cerrito, CA, where we would be staying with my Uncle and Aunt for the next few days while we attempted to visit as many family and friends in the Bay Area as we could.

Our first visit in the area took place the following morning, when we headed up to visit my Grandma at her home in Rocklin. We also got to see two of my cousins (Kim and Ashley), as well as Ashley's little guy, Caiden, whom we hadn't met yet. It was a great time visiting and watching the kids play together while we stayed dry inside (it poured that day). Being that it was Grandma's, we had lots of food and TONS of dessert (my favorite was of course the homemade strawberry pie, because what is better than a made-by-Grandma strawberry pie).

Grandma with my Cousin Kim, me and the girls
(Note: Ellie seems to have acquired the Hutchison curse of closing her eyes in pictures)

Ashley with Caiden, Grandma, me and the girls (again the curse continues)

Grandma, me and the girls (yes! finally Ellie has her eyes open, though she isn't looking at the camera :-)

It was so wet that occasionally the kids would stand at the window looking longingly into the backyard

It was a wonderful visit, and so nice to spend time with Grandma and some of the cousins. It had been 3 years, and Ellie was only 5 months old when we last saw them all, so this was a refreshing treat to be able to see them again.

Journey Home...the Great-Grandma Smith edition

After leaving NM we finished our westward drive landing in Bakersfield, CA, where we spent the late morning hours visiting Allen's Grandma Smith and Uncle Jesse. It was a short visit, but so nice to see them both again and to finally see their lovely home that we have been hearing about for years.

Here are some family photos:

Yes, Allen is closing his eyes, but his family will understand, since it is a family trait

Thanks Grandma and Jesse for a great visit. We all enjoyed it, and the cookies were an added bonus. :-)

#4 is a....

GIRL! Still due around November 20th and seems healthy from the ultrasound, though we will be having a precautionary Fetal Echo-cardiogram to be sure that this little girl doesn't have to go through what Lizzie did.

Thanks for the guesses from those that participated. It was fun to see how many people were sure we were having a boy. It was even more fun when the ultrasound tech confirmed that there was no doubt that this was indeed a little girl.

Now, to come up with another girl name that is just as impacting and significant to us as this baby girls older sisters' names have been. Any ideas?

Journey Home...the Donis edition

From AR we continued west to Albuquerque, NM, where we got the chance to spend a day seeing some of the areas of Albuquerque with our good friends, the Donis family. Again no pictures, but trust me when I tell you that the area is beautiful and the Donis' aren't bad either. :-)
We got to do some shopping, eat some wonderful Mexican food and later some amazing pizza, and of course get caught up a bit on the Donis' last year, post Scott Donis graduating from GCTS. It was a wonderful time and a perfect day out in the sunshine. The girls loved to "get caught up" with their friends, by running around endlessly, and we loved sitting at chatting like old times.
Thanks Donis' for showing us your home town and spending the day making us feel so welcome.

Journey home...the Brock edition

From GA we began a two day drive to Siloam Springs, AR. It took some planning and forethought, since we had to get through quite a bit of INTENSE rain. In fact in Mississippi we had to stop at an Olive Garden for a lengthy dinner, because the roads had flooded so bad that we could not keep driving. God was gracious and kept us safe, and Allen alert as he drove.

Once in Siloam Springs we were able to spend the day with the Brock family. Far too short a visit, but as they were preparing to move back to the Northwest shortly after we left them, we knew that there would be many more times for us to get together again. It was great to catch up a bit, meet the two Brock kiddos (that have been born since we last saw our dear Northwest friends), and have a true John Brown University dorm experience. In fact I even took a shower in the guys dorms , which I am told is an extremely rare privilege (don't worry, the guys were all gone for the summer by this time).
Of course, no pics of my own once again, so I was only able to "steal" pics of my kids from Carolyn Brock's Facebook account. But here are the girls playing at their home.

Thanks guys for the hospitality and the visit amidst your preparing to move.

Journey Home...the Thompson Edition

So back to our regularly scheduled updating (following a brief break due to HOT weather that kept me from the computer).

Once we left NC, we continued southward to Brunswick, GA where we got to spend a couple of days with Drew and Mandy Thompson. It was such a pleasure to see their home, their church (where they both minister), and to enjoy meals with them (especially the delicious BBQ). We were also able to go to a local beach on our own (while Drew and Mandy were hard at work at their church).

It was so encouraging to see our GCTS friends ministering with the gifts that they have been given by God and the skills they acquired while at seminary.

Drew and Mandy you are such a blessing.
Thanks for letting us taking over your home for a couple days!

Journey Home...fiction made into non-fiction

Those that have viewed my collection of movie favs know that I really enjoy the film, "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton". In the movie 3 of the main characters work at a grocery store known as "The Piggly Wiggly". I had heard that they existed, but honestly, I just could not picture it. Well:

Journey interrupted

So, I wanted to take break from sharing our journey home with you, in order to let you all know that hopefully, in a couple of weeks, we will find out whether this new little one is a boy or girl. So, anyone care to guess??? You have until the morning of July 14th to get your guesses in.

The Journey home...the Parham edition

After leaving the Hansen's in VA we headed even further south stopping in NC for lunch, where I was able to reunite with my beautiful cousin, Amber, after roughly 20 years of having no contact (due to family issues beyond us, that I need not get into here). We met at her church, Manna Church in Fayetteville, NC. It was only about an hour or so, but it felt strangely as though we had never been apart. She told me in brief what life had looked like for her the past 20 years and I marveled at what God brought her through to bring her to today. Now she is a born-again Christian, on fire for the LORD despite her past. And though she still faces obstacles, she relies on God in a way that is humbling and pushes me to seek God more. Of course, once again, I didn't get my camera out, so you will just have to be pictureless for this post.

The Journey home...the Hansen edition

Our first day of our over 2 week road trip was a long day. It began with the final cleaning of the apartment, packing the car up, taking multiple boxes to a neighbor to mail for us (since we physically could not get them into the car), stopping by the UPS store to mail 2 more very large boxes that would not fit in the very full car, and then beginning our trek southward almost 4 hours later than we had planned. Needless to say, when we did eventually make it to VA it was very late and we were VERY exhausted.

The next day we spent visiting the Hansen's, an amazing couple we were blessed to form a great friendship with while at GCTS. They now reside in Charlottesville, VA where they are extremely involved in the church plant that they are members of, while Missy attends school and Evan works as a College Outreach guy to those attending colleges in the area (namely the University of Virginia).

As you can see we had a great time and the girls are still talking about the bunny rabbits they got to see at Evan and Missy's. And we were also able to attend church with them, which was very exciting, since it gave us a glimpse into their lives and gave us the opportunity to meet some of our brothers and sisters on the other side of the country.




Thanks Evan and Missy for an amazing visit (that was just too short) and for taking pictures so that we had something to remember our visit by.

Catching up...Saying Goodbye

Well in 3 years time we made a ton of great friends both at GCTS and at our church (First Congregational Church of Hamilton). Needless to say there were MANY goodbyes to be had, but being the forgetful photo taker that I am, I only have a handful of pictures to share with you.

My church Bible study group and Lizzie and Ellie's teacher, "Teacher Jeanie"

Me and my sweet friend Jessica, who I miss so much already

My Bible study ladies with the girls

I cannot begin to explain just how much we have been impacted, changed, encouraged and loved on by our dear friends at GCTS and FCCH. We will miss you all more than you may ever know.