Quick Update

Just a quick update on life around here.
Today my dad went in for the results of his latest PETscan. The three spots that showed up on his last PETscan 3 months ago have continued to get larger. This is definitely not what we were hoping and praying for, but are tying to trust God's direction. From here, my dad will have a biopsy performed on one of the spots and his oncologist hopes to put him on a promising drug along with chemo. Please continue to pray! Pray for God's peace for my dad and my family, pray for continued healing, and please pray for wisdom for the Dr. as they decide what course of treatment would be best.
This week Erik returned to work. It has been a hard week for him at work and a stressful one for me at home. Lena is not handling her cast very well. She has been a wreck almost everyday- and when she gets frustrated the whole world comes to an end. She has yet to put weight on or try to walk with her cast on. We are hoping she will try to start to walk soon.
I am very thankful for our neighbors! Yesterday they took Grace to the park. She definitely needed some time away from the chaos. It was great that she was able to spend time playing with her friend Alli.
Today Grammie and Papa took the girls to a movie. I definitely enjoyed the time with Micah and the girls had a great time enjoying some special attention! Its amazing how quiet the house is with only 1 child home!
This afternoon I took Micah for his 2 week checkup. Our little man has grown quite a bit! He is now 10lb 14 oz and 23 1/4 in long! WOW! It has been such a joy to get to know him! We are all absoutely in love with this newest member of our family!
That's all for now- hopefully I will start updating more regularly now that we are settling into live as 5!

Adjusting, Crazy Trips, and Broken Bones!

We have made it through almost 2 weeks as a family of 5! It has been an exciting, busy, and crazy 2 weeks- but it feels great to be able to start adjusting to our new life with Micah.

He is definitely a sweet baby. He is a pleasant baby and doesn't cry much unless he is hungry. We are emjoying watching the girls interract with him, and shower him with "love" (or slobbery kisses)!

Last week friday we packed in the car and headed to MI to visit family. I do have to say there are not many mothers out there that would pack three kids in the car- one 4 days old- and take a long trip. It wasn't that long ago that mother and baby would still be relaxing in the hospital, being waited on! We had a great time visiting with family while we were there. I will have to post more pictures when I have time but some of the highlights of our trip were spending time with the Genthers, enjoyed 2 trips to Lake Michigan in one day, driving around Grand Rapids reminiscing about old times, seeing Grandparents, spending an afternoon with Uncle Brett and Cole, and my husband was especially thrilled with Michigan Warmups for the girls from Grandpa and Grandma Buskard ( I think the girls will be wearing these out!!). We did what we could to make it everywhere- but I think we did a pretty good job! Next time we visit we hope to make it more places when Micah is older and I haven't just had a baby! :)

Our trip did end on a low note. While playing, Lena slid on a toy and fell. Right away I could tell that she truly did hurt something. We waited a couple hours and then decided that we needed to take her to an urgent care to get checked out. We saw a very nice older doctor who did x-rays and even sent them home with us. We drove into the early hours of the morning to get home and then took Lena to our pediatrician on Tuesday. They sent us to do more x-rays, but didn't see anything. After 4 days of not being able to put weight on her leg we were able to see a pediatric orthopedic who confirmed that she has a fracture in her lower leg. So, our poor girl has a very fashionable hot pink cast for three weeks. She hasn't quite figured out how to walk with it on, and is getting very frustrated with us that we can't take it off for her. I am so thankful Erik was still off from work this week! Please pray for complete recovery and also for Lena to not be so frustrated! It is definitely going to make for an interesting 3 weeks- a newborn, a preschooler, and a toddler who isn't able to walk!

Here's a couple pictures I took the other day. I know I am partial, but I think I have the cutest kids!

Welcome Micah!

Well, Micah definitely made his debut yesterday, but he decided to do it in his own fashion!

I woke up Sunday morning at 12:30 am. I went to the bathroom, tried to lay back down, but wasn't feeling good. I was having some pretty intense contractions, but wasn't confident that they were the real thing. At 1:00 I woke Erik up and told him it was "time to go!" We called the Dr., my dad came to stay with the girls and we were at the hospital by 1:30.

I have to admit I was not that "thrilled" with the staff at the hospital when I first arrived. They were definitely "taking their time" until I had to stress to them that my contractions were now 2 minutes apart and I was having some extreme pressure. The nurses started to take me a little more seriously at this point and I was in a birthing room within minutes. While the nurse was "trying" to put an IV in my arm in order for my to get an epidural things were progressing quickly. Once she called for a more experienced WONDERFUL nurse to take care of my IV they checked me only to discover that I was already 9 cm dilated. In other words there would be no form of pain meds for me. I was about to cry!

I had always wanted to have a completely natural childbirth, but never thought that I would be able to do it. I guess I had to be forced into the situation! Let me tell you- God was definitely in complete control! He not only gave me the physical and mental strength to get through it, but my husband was right there with me, I had an amazing nurse encouraging me, and my dr. was there in time! God is good!

At 2:54am Micah was born. Of course of my 3 children he was the biggest, coming in at 9lb 6oz, 22 inches long! It is a good thing that it didn't take any longer, because I don't think my husband could have taken seeing me in that much pain for much longer!

Our precious baby boy is amazing! We are so blessed that he is so healthy, and are thankful to already be home. The girls are absolutely thrilled with their baby brother. Grace has let us know that Micah is her baby, and is so sweet with him. Lena is already bringing him his blankies and kisses on him.

We are looking forward to spending time together adjusting to being a family of 5!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

That's right, tomorrow morning at 7:45 we will be heading to the hospital to have Micah! We are SO excited that we will finally be able to meet our little boy! The last 2 weeks have been extremely hard on me both physically and emotionally, which led to the decision to be induced.

This weekend we enjoyed being a family of 4 for the last time. Yesterday we made a trip to Young's Dairy where we enjoyed amazing ice cream! I have to admit it was different tucking the girls into bed tonight knowing that the next time I get to tuck them in there will be 3 kids to get to bed.

Please pray for a quick and safe delivery! Also please be praying for my girls. I am confident Grace will adjust well, as she understands that tomorrow Micah is finally coming. However I am more concerned with how Lena will adjust. She has such a tender spirit and it is my prayer that Erik and I will be even more conscious of her at this crazy time!

Well, I had better finish getting things settled here and hopefully get a good nights sleep. I will leave you with a cute picture of Lena taken at the park the other day, and a picture of Grace wearing her Minnie Mouse Ears. Be looking for pictures and updates tomorrow!!

We DO still EXIST!

Well as you can probably tell from the absence of all blogging over the last month, things have been crazy around here.
June was a fun but busy month for us. Grace was able to experience VBS for the first time. It was so much fun listening to her sing the songs she learned and tell me everything they did. This was the first time that I had ever dropped Grace of for anything before!
Grace also was able to participate in a preschool day camp for two weeks. She has a blast!
Lena is getting bigger everyday. She has been adding new words constantly, and of course is a very independent little lady!
Erik is still plugging away at his job. He has been so faithful in his work, even though this is a less than desirable time to work for his company.
Two weeks ago we moved to a cute rental home. We have so enjoyed our new place! We are only 5 blocks from my parents, which has already been such a blessing. The girls love the yard to play in. Grace has already made a good friend, who turns out is only one day younger than her!
Yesterday my sweet Grace turned 4! For whatever reason this was a harder birthday to come to terms with! She is growing up so fast and is becoming such a neat little lady. We celebrated the day with yummy Krispy Kreme's in the morning! Then we met my mom, dad, and grandma for a picnic lunch at a local park. Then, last night my fam came over for dinner and Grace opened her presents. My Grandma gave Grace a Disney Princess Bike, which she is absolutely thrilled with!
This weekend we are having a cookout with family and friends to further celebrate. It should be fun! Hopefully we will get our computer figured out so I can post some pictures!
In baby news, I have just over 2 weeks to go! Between the stress of moving, Grace's birthday, and still working, I am utterly exhausted and thoroughly reading to meet my little boy! At my checkup this week my Dr. said any day now. So, we wait, and wait, and wait! Hopefully I will have Micah in my arms soon.
I know there is so much more that has happened over the last month, but alas it is all turning into a burr! Just wanted to update while I had access to a computer, and so you all don't think we have fallen off the face of the earth! :) Hopefully I will have some pictures soon- and I will make sure Micah news will be a top priority to update you on!

Happy June!

Yay! It is finally June and that means I can say we are going to have a baby next month (as long as Micah is not crazy overdue!)!!! It is going to be a very busy month for us so it should make time go by fast!
On the baby front we were able to have a 4D ultrasound done for FREE!!! It was so much fun! Grace especially enjoyed it! She is going to be such a great big sister to this little guy. Lena was also fascinated. Erik and I were thrilled that I won such a neat prize as it would have cost us $170 to do. We were given a DVD of the ultrasound and when we later viewed it, we could definitely tell that micah is going to have the same chin and nose as the girls! SO neat! Here's a picture of our precious little man!

Over Memorial Day weekend we enjoyed a cookout with my family on Saturday and then my parents took us all to see The Night at the Museum 2. Everyone thought it was hilarious- Lena and I saw the first 15 min and then walked around the mall the rest of the time! Oh well- someday I will be able to sit through a movie at the theatre! :)

Erik's mom and dad also came for a visit. We made sure we took a dip in the freezing pool on Memorial Day morning! Though the girls' teeth were chattering they loved being able to get in the pool again!

Since we are not going to be able to take any type of vacation this year (well, we haven't had one since our honeymoom, but who's counting) we decided to have a campout at my parents house on Friday night. We did everything you would do if you went camping! Erik pitched the tent. Set up the kiddie pool and played in the water. We Grilled out dinner. Made smores and hobo pies. And thoroughly enjoyed our time together as a family!

It was so much fun! It truly doesn't matter where you go or how much money spend as long as you are having fun together as a family!!

God continues to send little blessings our way! I am able to participate in another diaper survey starting this Friday! Though it is a bit of work I think it is well worth it. I will get three weeks worth of diapers and $55 to Meijer's for participating. The giftcard will definitely come in handy as I am saving all giftcards until after Micah arrives since I will not be working for awhile. YAY for free diapers and groceries!!!

Speaking of free groceries.... Saturday Erik, the kids and I ran into Meijer and Kroger. We bought..... 4 boxes of waffles, 5 boxes of frozen pretzels, 2 jars salsa, 4 cannisters Contry Time lemonade, 10 packs Kool-aid, and 3 gallons of milk....... and we only spent $7!!! All right! I'm so blessed to have a hubby to humor me with this quick money saving trip!

Also, another little blessing- since we are moving in less than 4 weeks (AAAHHH!!! we haven't found a place yet but are getting close!) we are going to be needing boxes to pack things in. Well someone in our complex just moved and put their Professional Moving Boxes out for anyone to take!! So, we have 10 boxes that we didn't have to buy or go look for!!

God truly cares about even the little things! Hope you have a good week, and I will try to keep you better updated on all that is happening here!

A week of ups and downs

Well there have been some fun things going on this week and some not so fun things.
I guess I'll start on an upbeat note! Monday the kids and I went to the kids concert at the mall. Lena is really starting to get into it!
Monday I was also treat to lunch by my friend Tara. I have so enjoyed our friendship! She also blessed me with a very generous gift card to Wal-Mart! I'm definitely going to save this one for when I am taking some time off of work once Micah arrives!
Thursday we took our friends, Amy and Carson to the zoo with us. It was pretty hot but we had a really good time. Let me tell you, pushing a stroller with a toddler and two 3 year olds up hills is a little harder when you are 7 months pregnant! :) We were all exhausted by the time we left. I don't know what I was thinking, but I even worked Thursday night- as you can guess I was worn out by the time I got home from work!
It has been another great deal week for me! I purchased over $100 worth of groceries for only $30! Yay for great deals!
Today should be a fun day! About a month ago I received in the mail a letter congratulating me on winning a 4d ultrasound!! So we are going today, and I am so excited as this is the first 4d ultrasound I have done and we would never have paid the $100 to get one done! Its amazing how God blesses us with extravagances!
Then this afternoon we are having a BBQ at my parents. And tonight my mom and dad are taking us all to see Night at the Museum 2!!! Grace is thrilled! Every time she sees a preview on TV she goes nuts!
OK, so there's my upbeat portion of my post. On Wednesday my Dad went to the oncologist to find the results of his latest PETscan. His PETscan in January was completely clean, but when he went in this time, they found three new spots. They are not completely convinced that they are cancer, but the odds are not in his favor. Also, the spots are outside of his lungs, so they are not able to do a biopsy to determine if they are cancer. SO, we has to wait 3 months and have another PETscan before they decide what kind of treatment to do. All that to say, it is like another blow to the stomach! I know God is in control, but sometime it is so hard to see His direction.
Please Pray! 1. That these spots would somehow not be cancer or "disappear" (aka God's miraculous healing touch) 2. That my Dad would be able to once again take this in stride and stay encouraged 3. For my mom- she is under an incredible amount of stress as the sole provider of income. Not only does she have to worry about the everyday stress of bills, but somehow also worry about my dad 4. My dad is still looking for a job. Pray that God will open doors and provide direction.
In other words, we have been incredibly blessed this week, but at the same time are humbly sitting at the feet of Jesus asking for peace and guidance!