Josiah is 7!

Seven years ago today, our family was heading into one of the scariest events we've had to deal with, but in the end, we got our sweet Josiah out of it, and I'm so very grateful! This little guy is my special bud. And while he's definitely growing up and doesn't seem to need me quite as much as he used to, he still had to sneak in some snuggles the day I came back from being out of town last week, and it thrilled my soul, haha.

Josiah's biggest accomplishment lately has been learning to read so well that he got his own bible for his birthday this year, a special request he made :). He's a knowledgeable little man, loves taking things apart just to look at them, especially if they have batteries and buttons. He's has a good birthday, I think. He and the other little guys were happy to get to go to the store today, a special treat during this pandemic crazy world, and pick out some fun things, I know they enjoyed it!

Happy birthday, Siah!

 

Noah is 5!

Five years ago this little imp joined our family! 

His birthday celebration is not going to be quite the same as we've done many years. Daddy's job is running him through the wringer, and covid regulations are still pretty intense where we are, so there won't be a trip to the zoo or anything, but he enjoyed playing with the new sandbox, and we made this little paper rocket craft. It's so cute! I did it with the kids at school, and now with our little guys, and it was a hit with everyone! https://inspirationlaboratories.com/make-straw-rockets/ And of course we'll be doing his cake and presents in just a bit :).

Noah is my self-proclaimed "snuggle buddy". Don't let him fool you, I think he just likes that I always have a blanket with me, but I enjoy it regardless ;). He's a mischievous hilarious little guy, right in the middle of all the little boys, and a wonderful blessing to our family!

Happy birthday, Noah!

Happy Reformation Day and Goodbye Write31!

Happy Reformation day, y'all!

October 31st...
...the end of a busy month.
...Reformation day.
...our "Christmas kick-off" evening.
...the end of the Write31 challenge.

Where has the month gone? 3 weeks ago, I was asking, "why can't it be Christmas right NOW?!" and "how am I going to keep up these posts this month?!" Today I woke up and thought, "How is it already the end of October?! It doesn't feel like it's time yet, the year just started and it was so far away!"

We had a fun, busy day today. After working a short morning shift, I came home, showered, and crashed on the couch for an unplanned short nap while my younger siblings watched a Martin Luther animated documentory... opps, haha. But then I was ready to go for all the other festivities ;)! We made little crafts to go with a bible study, treats, and read through some history books and Luther's 95 theses. And colored some beautifully detailed, reformation themed coloring pages, which always reminds me that I love to color and I never do it, haha.

After our reformation "party"... we celebrated our Christmas kick off with chili and a popcorn night with our first Christmas movie of the year :). (Except, technically not our first this year, because I didn't get to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" last year, so I made everyone watch it with me in early January this year, haha... so, first of the season?) Yes, I was counting down the hours until I would be making hot chocolate and could play some Christmas music. I am telling y'all, I am intent on living this upcoming Christmas season to the utmost. Don't ask me why it feels like such a big deal this year compared to others, but I am so happy it's close, haha :).

And now, as I am looking at wrapping this month up, the only thing left to do is post on my blog one last time! I made it the whole month. It wasn't easy, and there was really no theme or even as much prepration as I had wanted in my posts, but I persevered anyway, and I think that I am happy to have done this challenge one last time, before it closed :). The funny thing is, I still have 3-5 posts lined up in my head right now, even after writing for 32 days straight (I posted September 30th, too!). So, despite being busy, I hope to work on those here and there throughout the week and be able to share regularly here still, though not daily. I really do enjoy blogging, though I prefer to do so without pressure to achieve a goal, haha. I have enjoyed the friendships I have found through it, and I am thankful for each of you taking the time to read my posts on my simple little blog. Thank you for joining me this month!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and give you peace!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

A Penny Parcel ✽ Miracle of Adoption Christmas Campaign

A friend wrote me a few months ago and told me about a book she had just read that she thought I would love, which I put on my "to get sometime list"... and then received for my birthday, after Mama begged this list off of me, haha ;).

I hadn't picked it up yet, just because I don't start a book without the perfect atmosphere (#perfectinistprocrastinatorproblems), but last Monday I woke up a little earlier, and I knew that the rest of my week was going to be rather busy, so after catching up in my bible reading I decided to read the first chapter... and ended up reading a few ;). 

I'm not even half way through the book yet, but I am already admiring the unusually open style of this book in dealing with hard things. While a book about a little girl finding a family, it is NOT all sunshine and roses - especially when she finds her family. I'm eager to see where this book goes as I continue reading (and hopeful that one of my favorite characters so far might show up again, ha...). 

While I have been reading through this book, in little snatches of time (after I start the book, I don't have to wait for the perfect time, as long as the chapters are short ;) ), I have been finding myself thinking of the Miracle Of Adoption Christmas Campaign, held annually by Reece's Rainbow.

The truth is, a lot of the components of this story remind me of the blog posts that I read every year by families who have adopted through Reece's Rainbow's agency. Fear. Trauma. The inability to emotionally except love after how these children have felt hurt for so long. How hard it is for the parents to know what is right in their plans to enable their children to move on from the past's hurts of all kinds. Not all of the families have found it as difficult as others. Some families find the physical disabilities of their children more daunting than the emotional. Sometimes they bring their children home and are amazed by how much less they are dealing with then they were told they would be required to when committing to their child.

Yes, in many ways, these adoptions are different than the one described in "A Penny Parcel". Many times, it's nothing like what Ashley and her adopted family go through. But in other cases, in other ways, it's very similar. Emotional and hard.

But you know something else? Every year, as I read these blogs, I notice something else. All these blogging families who take part in the MACC after their own adoptions all agree on two things.

Yes, it's hard.

But it's worth it.

THEY are worth it. 

And no matter how hard it is, they encourage all those they can to get involved in helping these little ones to find their forever family, and to help grow their adoption funds, as fast as they can. So that no more pain and hurt and neglect/inability to get proper care causes them to suffer any more. 

The MACC runs from November through December every year, and there are several ways we can help, no matter how "little" we feel we have to gives. Prayers, time, advocacy, and yes, money if possible. As we are about to head into November, can I ask that you would pray about whether you should help this ministry in some way this Christmas season? If you could help even one child this year? Could possibly help one precious little one like Scott this Christmas?

We never know how our little may be used by God to change the course of one of these lives <3!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Marshmallow Roast ✽ Sunday Evening

Daddy comes in from chopping wood with some nuts he found in the back, and starts cracking them.
Bethi and me: "What kind are they?"
Daddy: "I don't know." *nut isn't cracking*
Me: "Whatever kind it is, it's not worth it if they are that hard to open." (Can you imagine the time it would take to shell enough for all of us?!)
*the nut cracks*
And then this little red-faced grub just pokes up his head to look at Daddy, like, "Excuse me, there had better be a good reason that you took the roof off?"
Apparently there were two others inside as well, but I ran, so I'm just taking Daddy's word for it, haha...

-----

His marshmallow nose, haha <3.

Daddy set up a marshmallow roast this evening, and we had a delightful time <3. We meant to do it all summer, haha, but it never happened. But today was so nice out! And there were far less bugs! So I think it worked out for the best ;). Mama got Daddy a metal fire pit a couple years ago for Christmas, and it's been so nice to have for things like this! And Andrew has been getting quite capable of use it (and the grill!) himself. Tori asked tonight when Peter would start grilling hamburgers, and Mama asked what Andrew would do when Peter started grilling. Andrew replied that he'd just do the gross parts Peter wouldn't like, and Josiah pipes up, "And *I'll* eat the hamburgers!" Haha!

It's always interesting to see the variety of marshmallows called "toasted". Peter literally wanted his warmed, NOT browned (which is hilarious, given the fact that he's actually eating a burnt one in the picture, haha - it was an extra ;)...). Josiah, when asked how done he wanted his done, answered, "For one minute." Tori said she was trying to toast her's done until it had "warts"... lol! Isaac just slept through the whole thing ;).

It was a nice way to end up our Sunday! Now another week is ahead of us to make use of and to live to the fullest... what are your plans for the week :)?!

Rejoicing in the Hope of Salvation,
Bri <3

Grateful Hearts ✽ Joyful Laughter

Issac Charles Lee

August 10th, 2018

9 lbs. 6 oz.

22.75 inches long

Precious gift from God <3

Our little Issac arrived mid-morning last Friday <3. Mama and Baby are doing well, and we are all so thrilled for this new little brother! He is such a content little guy... and he snuggles so well! Mama says he has a very definite pattern; over the past couple months, she has noticed that he is always most active in the morning and in the first little bit after we children go to bed; and that hasn't changed a bit since he's been born!

 He is such an alert little guy. Look at those eyes <3. I love him so much. He just looks all around with those big eyes whenever he is awake - he is sleeping or observing, there seems to be no in between. If ever a baby were intentionally taking the world in, it's this little (big) guy!

And yes, Baby Bear stuck <3. Noah was so confused the first time Baby was called Issac... then he must have just assumed that Issac was a totally different baby, because then the next time we called him Baby Bear, THAT confused Noah... oops, haha. Noah has been so gentle and protective and accepting of him, it has been adorable!

We think Issac looks the most like Josiah, but he has such dark, dark blue eyes that look like Peter's when he was a baby, that we won't be surprised if his eyes end up brown. Mama also says she's seen Andrew in him at times, but for the most part, he looks like Siah... in fact, Mama called Josiah Winnie-the-Pooh SO often when he was a baby, because she felt like he looked like him... she had forgotten about this when I heard her tell Issac last night, "You look like Winnie-the-Pooh right now." Too funny.

We are so grateful for the Lord's protection over Mama and Issac, for the prayers of all our dear friends, and for the joy little Issac has given us. Issac has already met most of our extended family, and had two photo shoots, so lots more pictures will be shared in the future ;). But for now, I just wanted to share our little gift with all of you, and our family rejoices in the kindness of the Lord <3.

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

P.S.... go check out this post :D!

Looking Back at July ✽ Little Moments

Happy August, everyone! I hope your July was wonderful and that this new month will hold lots of blessings for each of you! Life was busy and full in July, and now we are all just wondering when Baby Bear will choose to grace us with his presence ;). Here's a little look at our month...

One night while Mama and Daddy went on a date, I had the little ones make personalized pizzas for supper. It made quite the impression on them. Abbi especially talks about it constantly, and I would say it was definitely a memory maker for them, haha!

Abbi made her pizza shaped like a stocking on accident, lol!

I wuv him <3. He woke up early and came to snuggle me in bed while I did my bible reading, but by the time I was ready to get up he was fast asleep again :).

We were gifted these chairs by a kind couple at church who are moving, so sweet!

Peter drew the kissy-face emoji from memory after seeing it once as I scrolled through instagram. Too cute!

Mama and I have been crafting half the month; she took up fabric stamping (so awesome!), and I have been working on a baby blanket for 3 weeks... hopefully just two more days worth of work to do there! I kind of had a goal to finish in less than 40 days, which is, I think, my current record for how diligent I was on getting one from start to finish. I'm not a very competitive person except against myself, then I am ruthless, haha! But I'm not going to share any pictures, we'll get some with baby eventually ;).

Our garden... haha. Well, the bell peppers and tomato plants started flowering. But it's so late now, I doubt that it really does much good. But, as Bethi says, we did better than last year! We've got three cucumbers that are quite big, and we harvested a whole basil plant (which is currently drying in the dehydrator, and it smells delicious, but it's taking so loooonnnnnng, haha!). Last year we got three basil leaves. And Bethi lost them. This year is, sadly, an improvement. We had such a great garden before we moved to VA, it's sad!

-----

Josiah: "I am hiding the dice from Noah. He can't see it way up there!"
Yeah, well neither can you, buddy... haha!

Noah, sitting in the van, about to go into church...
"Get pizza!"
After church:
"Get pizza now!"
*babbles about pizza*
Mama: "What if we don't get pizza?"
Noah, little lips quivering: "Because [translated "but"]. It be tasty."
*pizza for lunch*

Noah, with a caution cone on his head: "I'm a birthday!"
*Mama gives him a real birthday hat for fun*
Noah: "Where's a mirror? I sooooooo cute!"

Abbi: "Noah! It's raining!!!"
Noah: "More whipped cream!"
He typically loves rain, but apparently :whipped cream > rain:.

Also, obviously Noah is the family comedian of the year. You can't beat two year olds. (Sorry, Tori.)

Can we all just agree that if you clean the play kitchen set at church and there AREN'T toy cars in the oven, the question begs to be asked, did they even use the nursery last week?

Tori: "Noah calls cardinal birds, caramel birds."
Peter: "...Cardinal birds?...
"...I think I know why...
"...I call them caramel birds, too."

*Me, talking to myself, obviously*
Andrew: "WOULD YOU JUST BE QUIET."
I thought that that habit had died down for some reason, but nope, it's totally still buried in there, and it's resurfacing full force. Honestly it annoys me too when I notice, but it's just so involuntary, lol.

Also, does anyone else find themselves making a conscientious decision to Stop. Singing. In. Their. Head. and breath a sigh of relief when everything is quiet for two minutes before you start again...accidentally? Or no? Is that just me?

Noah, pointing to a cucumber; "Cucomoe!"

Abbi: "We've loved each other all our lives."
"Except you were MISSING for eleven years of my life, and it was sad."
Abbi: "But we have always loved each other in our hearts, even when we didn't know it..."

Abbi and Emmi, pretending to be indian princesses, walk past our organization station:
Emmi: "Ooo! You have a morning schedule! Not many tribes have those."

Josiah, when Tori asked if he liked salsa chicken: "No, but I just keep on eatin' it. And when it spices me, I have to take a big drink."

Andrew: "I didn't want to take my belt to bed with me! I might swallow it while I slept." (???)
Tori: "And then every time you would open your mouth to sing, you would start... BELTING."

Josiah explaining "Duck, duck goose": "You sit, and we'll goose you."

Bethi: "You don't get points for doing nothing."
I mean, she was being sarcastic, but that's a great life lesson right there. Thanks, Bethi.

While mourning the fact that the first baby cucumber I found was eaten by bugs, two much bigger cucumbers were growing and I never even knew it, I was so surprised when I found them, haha.

Noah is only too young for coffee when he wears this shirt....

...If he is wearing literally any other shirt, he says he is big enough. It's hilarious. I will tell him, "You're too young for coffee!!!" and he looks down at his shirt to see whether he is too young today, or not.

I'm turning on the dehydrator for basil...
?!?!?!?!?!
"It won't turn on."
*checks plug*
"Ohhhhhh, good."
*plugs it in* *turns it on*
"It still won't start. Where is the manual? Maybe I forgot something.... nope. Oh dear. Wait a minute... I bet..."
...
"Yep. Y'all, I plugged in the coffee pot."

I take a video of Noah telling me what his "Dino-mite Dude" shirt says, because it's cute, and he asks to see it.
After it's over, he tells me, giggling, "That was Noah. Noah talking like a baby." Like he doesn't talk all day long like a baby for obvious reasons... like, um, being a baby ;).

Abbi and Emmi celebrated Christmas in July... with an umbrella tree, a precious moments figurine, and air cocoa with candy canes in a Christmas cup, hahaha!

Tori, while I edit this post... ""Are you laughing at your own blog?"
Me: "Cardinal Birds?... I think I know why..."

-----

These knitted washcloths are available in Under the Tapestry :)! I was asked to sell these by a knit-washcloth-fan, and I have several sets available! And Under the Tapestry celebrates it's 3 year opening anniversary on August 10th! How would y'all like to see that celebrated :)? I have some ideas, but I am still finalizing things, so I am open to suggestions!

I also impulse free-handed this little mouse for Noah one night. He had been carrying around a baby's first laptop just to play with the little "computer mouse" on it. So I thought, I bet he'd like one without the laptop attached, and that evening I crocheted it up on the fly in a little over an hour. I finished it after he went to sleep, which made me sad, because I had told him I was making something for him... but then he woke up being carried to bed, and I was like, "Hey Noah..."... and when he saw it, he gasped and grinned from ear to ear, and it was just precious! I told Bethi, "That was worth it!!!", to which Noah replied, "Yeah, Merphett," and shoved the mouse in her face, so now this little guy is called Merphett the Mouse, and the pattern for him is going to be up on Under The Tapestry Handcrafts soon!

And here are the posts I shared on Forget Not His Benefits this month, in case you missed them :).

Life Lately

Undivided: A Study in 1st Samuel 

Whereas it was in Your Heart

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How was your month :)?! Any ideas for Under The Tapestry's 3rd "birthday"? What are you looking forward to in August :)? Many blessings to each of you in our precious Lord and Savior!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri :)

3 Months Old...

 Talking to Mama :).

He desperately wanted Tori's brownie on Bethi's

birthday, haha :). It was cute!

 

 Okay, y'all. I don't know what it is about this

outfit. But it is probably the cutest thing on

him I've ever seen. His little hands coming out of the sleeves.

And his dark hair. Those cheeks. Yep, he's a keeper!

 Look at his fluffy hair that won't stay in the wrap, haha!

Baby Cakes is getting so big!!! He hit ten pounds last week, and he definitely tried to laugh, though he can't repeat it yet. The little munchkin also tried to roll over last week (the very first time he was set on the floor!). I wasn't there, but I hear that if he had a little more perseverance he would have made it, because he certainly got close.

Noah hates heat, and loves for his hair to be blown. I came inside a couple weeks ago from working in the yard, and Tori told me, "Noah LOVES when you blow on his hair." I was like "...yeah. I know." She looked at me and asked, "How did we both just randomly find that out?". Lol! It's amazing the silly little things we'll do trying to get a grin or some sort of reaction out of this precious tiny people, haha :). He grins if you purr at him (as I was saying...), and loooooves singing, especially Mama's (unless he's already stressed, I've found. Then he's more likely to give me an answer that I think might be translated as please. shut. up. ;).). He loves Bethi; she can get him to calm down when most of the rest of us have run out of tactics. He looks AWESOME in green and brown... much like Peter :). He still holds his little thumb, signing a "T", just like Bethi did when she was little, it's too cute... and he pulls his own hair all the time like Peter did. Haha :). The poor baby has too much of it to know what to do with it all!

I think it's adorable how much Noah looks like Peter, especially since Josiah looks nothing like them. Tori has dubbed the three little boys our oreo cookie; two chocolate babies, with our lighter-haired, sturdy Siah sandwiched in the middle :). It's hard to believe that this tiny little guy has been with us for three months now. He just fits right in, getting loved to pieces :).

Baby Noah



 Baby brother is a week old today! It's hard to believe that it's been that long, but at the same time, he fits in like he's always been here :). He's so precious!
Mama mentioned he looked like Emmi when he was born, but later on (especially when he would open his eyes, it becomes very striking!) we thought he looked like Peter. Mama pulled up pictures on FB to decide which he looked more like, and I walked in...
"Awwww, is that Emmi?!"
Mama: "No, actually, that's Peter."
Oh. I guess they both look like Emmi, haha! We did think Peter was a perfect mix of everyone when he was born, so I guess that works :).

He has sooooo much hair. We thought Peter had a lot when he was born, but it was nothing compared to this little guys! Daddy gave Noah a bath this morning, and he actually had to brush his hair afterwards! And he has this little wave in it. His cheeks are so chubby, and his left ear is a little "pinched", it's cute :). He holds his hands like Bethi did as a baby. I had forgotten it til I saw Noah doing it, but it was sweet. Bethi used to hold her thumb down under her first finger when she would make a fist, and he does it too :).

Josiah with Noah

 



 Peter and Noah

 

 Emmi and Noah

 

 Abbi and Noah

 

 Andrew and Noah

 

Bethi and Noah

 



 Tori, Noah and I

 

Baby toes!!!!

 





Happy Birthday....

To 'Siah :)!!!!

This li'l guy is one year old now! With his several adorable tufts of hair that are about twice as long as all the rest, and his love for multiple people singing together, he loves chocolate (his first voluntary steps were to take some of Tori's ;) ), he is soooo very smart (while opening his gifts this evening he was extremely excited when he noticed that one of his toys and the character on his new cup were one and the same, so sweet!), and I don't think that there is anything much sweeter than when he walks up and reaches out his chunky arms to be picked up! He is affectionately known as Winnie-the-Pooh around here, due to his round tummy, big smile, and general Winne-the Pooh-ness, haha :). Josiah is so precious... he is such a gift to our family, and we are so thankful that he is here with us today!

Happy birthday, Josiah :)! I love you, baby boy!

Not Quite a Normal Thankful Thursday...

 

Josiah, two and a half weeks old...

Isn't he precious?!

I can either post a Thankful Thursday, or write a post about what happened earlier this month. I can't do both in a timely fashion, haha ;). So, I'm going to change things up a little bit this week, and highlight the things that I'm thankful for this week, while I write you out a news report. Sound fair? Good. 'Cause that's all you're getting ;). Heehee! I'm actually thinking of doing it this way from now on- tell me what you think, but I'm not sure why I haven't done it before, haha :).

 

Most people tell us he looks like Peter, but we have 

the idea he looks like Abbi- though he looked like Andrew

at first. Let's just say, that we all look unique, but it's sometimes

hidden by shared characteristics ;). Love that baby yawn :)...

Josiah arrived on March 31st (giving my Gramma the last birthstone she needed in her mother/grandmother's bracelet to have all twelve months, just as she wished!), after an emergency c-section. Josiah and Mommy were in very critical conditions for a while, but praise the Lord, he had everything in control, and he allowed them to stay here! It was really hard to not have them home while they were at the hospital, the last three little ones have been born at home, and we love that family time with a new little one! But we are so thankful that they were able to go to the hospital since it was needed, even if it wouldn't be our ideal. They were gone for three very long days, but thankfully Josiah was discharged from the NICU (where he had been being giving IV's), and we got to go and see them, April 1st :). 

Little Seaweed, on this side of the womb :). One week old :)!

(You want some fun trivia ;)? Josiah was born in March, giving him an aquamarine birthstone. He was also born in "national week of the ocean" week, while above his bed in the NICU were starfish and seahorse tiles. Abbi told us "Ew! His umbilical cord looks like a little black fish!"... hmm, a fish coming out of seaweed. In honor of the fact that Josiah seems to have a thing for the ocean already, we watched "Finding Nemo" for our first family movie night as a family of ten ;)... and one of Mommy's friend's sent *the cutest* hat a couple days ago, I can't wait to share pictures of him in it!). Abbi also asked Daddy to take a flower to Mommy for her, and Daddy took a daffodil- which he found out later was the flower for March :). As if that wasn't enough, Mommy looked up the meaning of his name again (she was going to use the meaning she originally found, "fire of the Lord", but just wanted to know what it was in Hebrew), and found that it was "Jehovah has healed". How appropriate and precious! So there is all of Josiah's trivia from his two and a half week old life!

People offered up so many prayers for us that week, and offered so much help! Our neighbor headed over as soon as she saw the ambulances at our house that night he arrived, and stayed with us children, praying with us, and reading to the little girls while Tori and I made phone calls and wrote facebook messages to people asking for prayer, until we heard that everything appeared to be okay.  She then went home, but continued to check on us each day until Mommy, Daddy, and Josiah got home, to see how we were doing (and drop off a chocolate cake- a cake several ounces larger than the baby. It was the best cake I think I have ever tasted. And lasted for several days. Ha!). Since then she has been over a couple times to see the baby... and invited us children over to her house a couple times. Abbi especially loves her, and could go over there everyday. She is such a social butterfly ;). Peter is adorable with her cats, I love how he loves animals! Gramma and Aunt Donna also called that night, just to talk to us (and make sure the doors were locked... mother hens across the states ;). Love you both!)... and to tell us that if they had been here, they would be sending us "pictures via phone- oops, waiting up with" us. (Yes, I caught that Gramma. And a look at his birth time, and the fact that my phone received your call 13 minutes later, confirms that you knew before us. Heeheehee ;). I don't mind ;).)

 This may very well be my favorite "portrait" picture

of him, taken the Sunday after he arrived :)... Although he 

has grown almost a pound since it was taken!

Daddy called us at about eleven to know that our little brother had arrived :)!!! We were all so excited that it was a boy :)... Andrew was excited to get to call Grandpa and Grandma to tell them, I felt kind of bad for Grandpa, because he wanted to know the name before he went to bed, and we didn't know at that point, heehee ;).

When the ambulance had arrived at our house, Daddy had taken it to the hospital to be with Mommy. One of Tori and mine first thoughts after we heard that Mommy and baby were doing alright (and got my phone to turn on- because I wasn't about to even think about the car before I got the phone turned on after it have been out of charge for several hours unknown to me... learned my lesson!), was that Daddy didn't have a car. I let Tori know, on no uncertain terms, that this was the one and only time I had ever had a desire to drive, and I meant it, haha! I truly had no clue what we were going to do... truthfully, the hospital isn't *that* far, Daddy has walked to a doctor's office from our house before so that he could be with Mommy and Andrew when Andrew needed stitches, I have no doubt that he would have walked home to get the van and check up on us if need be, but I wasn't thinking clearly that night ;). But one of Daddy's Lifeway employees came to pick up our van for us at eleven thirty that night so Daddy could get back and forth between the hospital and home :). That was such a blessing! Daddy actually got home in the really, really early hours of the morning (read: too early for my Grandparents to be up quite yet, but to late to be called late at night.), and gave us a bit of an update (and lots of hugs!), checked up on things, and grabbed some stuff that they needed and didn't have since they hadn't planned on going to the hospital.

Everyone pitched in to keep up the house. I was so thankful for the way everybody just jumped right in! And Mommy had kept the house so thoroughly cleaned for the three weeks leading up to this month, that it was fairly easy to keep it presentable... Unless we happened to be eating melted cheese sandwiches on buns that I had (randomly!) made to store in the freezer a couple weeks before. Which we happened to be doing when Miss Mary dropped off the cake the second day. But she didn't seem to mind, haha ;). My Grandma had sent us a delicious, easy recipe a couple weeks before, and I decided to attempt that (it came out really good, though I'm not sure I cook the rice right, haha! I was doing it by memory, I couldn't find our recipe for that), and we did mac'n'cheese in the crock pot the next day, I was very glad for the crock pot ;).

We decided that day, April first, to just keep everything cleaned up, and then read most of the morning, after our cinnamon rolls- with blue icing ;)!... Peter was adorable listening to "Horton Hatches the Egg" :). After lunch, I turned off the computer, which I had kept open all day in case Daddy or Gramma sent us an update, and we all went upstairs and settled down to watch a movie (me with my second cup of coffee... ahem. What? It was decaf!). About halfway through it, Miss Mary dropped by, and after she left, I checked the computer "just for"... and found a picture and video of Josiah that had been posted *right after* I left... my friend and I actually saw it at the exact same time, heehee :). They had taken them when Mommy finally got to meet Josiah after they had been separated all night... We just oohed and awwwed at the picture, and then I found the video and we watched it twice right away :). Then the little ones went upstairs and finished their movie, but I just sat and watched the video a couple more times, and completely lost it, haha. The thought that it could be days before we saw Josiah and heard Mommy in person was hard, but I was so utterly thankful that we could do both anyway through fb and email.  After I thought I had calmed down, I called my friend Kaitlyn, and lost it again, heeheehee. I was a mess at this point, heehee, but Kaitlyn was very understanding and encouraging... I told her I had a new glimmer at what it was like when her Mom was at the hospital for several weeks before and after her brother was born, haha ;)! I talked to her, and Miss Mary, and our Grandparents, on the phone several times over those days... I think that God was thinking about this when he prompted Mommy to tell me I should call some of my friends to talk, last September. I had a phobia of the phone then, but it's pretty much gone at this point after talking on the phone pretty much weekly since then, thank goodness, haha!

Josiah finally made it down to Mommy's room that afternoon :)! A little while later, Daddy called us and informed us that he was coming to pick us up to meet Josiah and see Mommy :)!!! He arrived home carrying in mail... with a letter for Abbi from our Grandparents, which thrilled her :), a magazine for Mommy, and the book "One Thing I Desire", by Sarah Bryant that I won in a giveaway a couple months ago (which is, by the way, a wonderful book, at least the fifty something pages I've found time to read :).) mixed in :). It had been a while since we got that many goodies at once in the mailbox, heehee ;). We headed out the door with the flowers that Aunt Donna had sent Mommy March 31st... before she knew that Josiah was on the way! In fact, she had tried to get them delivered two days before, but hadn't been able to!

 Beautiful :)...

 Actually holding him (I helped Peter first ;).) for the first time...

He is just the most precious little boy, and he was so tiny that first week!

 ♥

On the way to the hospital Daddy called Granny to give her an update. We got to the hospital and got to get our first in person look at the precious little one in our family, hug Mommy, and tell Mommy and Daddy all about what was going on at home. He was (is!) so precious! He had long, tiny little fingers, and he has a precious little nose :)... and a high pitched cry, just like Andrew and Peter. That is kind of funny :). Peter was scared of the hospital, I felt so bad for him, he didn't enjoy that visit at all... he got next to no time with Mommy, because he was *terrified* of her bed! But I think he finally made the connection between "Seaweed" and "Mommy's baby" ("Josiah" came after they got home ;).), because he did next to nothing that evening and the next morning but eat and watch Josiah's video... :).

 "Seaweed! Baby!"

 "Mommy! Mommy! There!" he would say, every. single. time. 

that it hit this spot. I don't know why, but he did!

 "Baby, on! On!"

And this would be Peter silently telling

 us that we don't move fast enough ;)...

He was very disturbed, about halfway out to the van, when he realized we had left Mommy. We tried to explain that they weren't coming, and he must have gotten it, because he waved goodbye. But he was so very clingy that night!

 Love this one, heehee :)...

Josiah developed a small case of jaundice the next day, but thankfully it never got bad enough for him to need to be back in the NICU, or even need the lights when he came home! That day, Daddy dropped in, but we stayed here. We could be very thankful that day, that the dryer wasn't permanently ruined by the plastic tablecloth we melted in it :P, that we had peppermint oil, and that we knew to use it, when ants invaded our fireplace, that the light bulb just burnt out when Bethi hit it, not broke... and that the computer router didn't end up in the puddle of water any earlier in the adventure. It was a bit of a day of misadventures. We had chocolate cake to recover ;)... But we were all looking forward to Daddy, Mommy and Josiah arriving home the next day :)...

 This is BEFORE the cake...

They got home! at about 1 p.m. the next day. Oh, the squeals and shouts were enough to deafen anybody ;). I had kept it a surprise from the little girls that it was a sure thing that they were getting home that day, but the rest of us were just biting the bit, haha :). Tori had made up a cute little sign, and we had blown up a few "It's a Boy!" balloons, that we had saved from when Andrew was a baby. Andrew, as well, made a sign before they got home... came and asked me if he could put it on Mommy's bed. "Yes, she'll love it, it's really nice!" I said aloud, silently wondering why he would ask me if he could put it on Mommy's bed. Well, we found it later, taped to her headboard. That would explain why he asked. But, I did give him permission, I can't deny it...

Daddy helped Mommy and Josiah into the house, and then ran to pick some stuff up for Mommy, while we all got a chance to hold little Josiah. He is precious in every way! He didn't eat well for the first few days, probably due to the fact that the nurses kept taking him to check this or that during feedings, when he already wasn't learning quickly anyway, but he quickly learned once Mommy and Daddy could work with him without interruptions. Now he has no problem, and eats often ;). He gained about twice as much as the doctors expected him to, in about four days less time! Haha :). Daddy was able to take off from work for a week, which was a huge blessing! His store is understaffed at the moment, but they made sure he got to stay home for as long as they could!

Things are going really well right now. We have had several people bring over meals- most of those meals lasting for two to three meals (Peter's favorite happens to be the two meals with cookies... cookie monster that he is ;)!), offering help and encouragement, and prayers, and just rejoicing with us... and we are so thankful to all of you for that! Josiah is doing great now, and Mommy is feeling much better, and we are so thankful for God's hand through this!

I'll try to come back with a post with more than one recent picture, and some "new" news, later. But for right now, I've got to go make a shopping list for Peter-bug's birthday on Tuesday :)!

It's loud here... what can we say? Haha :).