I am so thankful for these lovely little girls!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Welcoming Norah Grace Hall to the World!
On June 28th, 2009, at 8:54 a.m., our family welcomed baby girl, Norah Grace, into the world. She is beautiful and healthy at 8 lbs. 10 oz., 20.4 inches. She is perfect in every way and we feel so blessed and are filled with much joy at the addition to our family. God is good - incredibly good!
The labor went incredibly well. I started having stronger contractions around midnight on Sunday morning. I labored through the contractions at home until about 4 a.m. when they were much stronger and 2 minutes apart. By the time we got to St. Lukes, I was dilated to 6 cm and was begging for an epidural. :) I was able to get the epidural around 6:30 a.m. and it was setting in by 7 - ahhhh, relief! :) Amazing how much better I felt after that. By 8:30 a.m., I was at 10 cm - they broke my water and I started pushing. I only pushed for 20 minutes and we had our baby girl by 8:54! It went so fast! Praise God for that!!
Madeline has been a great big sister so far. I am proud of her - and after holding a little baby, she has seemed so grown up to me. She is a good helper. We do have our moments, but I can't complain at how well things have been going. We were blessed to be able to have Brandon at home with us all last week and today we are starting out all by ourselves - just Maddie, Norah, and I. So far so good! But I am finding it is difficult to give my all to both children when I am running on little sleep and still feeling pretty sore. God is getting me through though, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I have lots of offers to help and people are bringing lots of meals - I have been blown away by the generosity! Thanks to everyone - and thanks for your prayers. Norah Grace is a lovely little baby. :)
The labor went incredibly well. I started having stronger contractions around midnight on Sunday morning. I labored through the contractions at home until about 4 a.m. when they were much stronger and 2 minutes apart. By the time we got to St. Lukes, I was dilated to 6 cm and was begging for an epidural. :) I was able to get the epidural around 6:30 a.m. and it was setting in by 7 - ahhhh, relief! :) Amazing how much better I felt after that. By 8:30 a.m., I was at 10 cm - they broke my water and I started pushing. I only pushed for 20 minutes and we had our baby girl by 8:54! It went so fast! Praise God for that!!
Madeline has been a great big sister so far. I am proud of her - and after holding a little baby, she has seemed so grown up to me. She is a good helper. We do have our moments, but I can't complain at how well things have been going. We were blessed to be able to have Brandon at home with us all last week and today we are starting out all by ourselves - just Maddie, Norah, and I. So far so good! But I am finding it is difficult to give my all to both children when I am running on little sleep and still feeling pretty sore. God is getting me through though, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I have lots of offers to help and people are bringing lots of meals - I have been blown away by the generosity! Thanks to everyone - and thanks for your prayers. Norah Grace is a lovely little baby. :)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Family Vacation
Brandon and I thought it would be fun to have a little get-away before the baby comes along in 5 weeks. On Thursday, we took Maddie to the Minneapolis area for a mini-family vacation. It was wonderful! We stayed at a hotel, took Maddie in the pool, took in a Twins game, enjoyed the Como Zoo, and the Underwater Adventures in the Mall of America. We all had a really great time - Maddie really enjoyed all of the animals at the zoo and the fish at the mall. It was so fun to experience everything through Maddie - it was like a new experience for me all over again! It's awesome to see her curiosity. She was a great traveler. It was wonderful to get away, but also nice to come home. We will be traveling quite a bit over the next month - mostly back and forth to the Cities on weekends. Hopefully the baby will wait until we return from our trips, or else come early! I am now 35 weeks along, and feeling like he/she can come anytime now!
Enjoy these pictures from our time in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I love our time spent together as a family. Maddie especially enjoys having Daddy around so much during the day. It will be hard to send him off to work on Monday! We are thankful for what time we do get to have! We'll keep you updated on any baby news!
Enjoy these pictures from our time in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I love our time spent together as a family. Maddie especially enjoys having Daddy around so much during the day. It will be hard to send him off to work on Monday! We are thankful for what time we do get to have! We'll keep you updated on any baby news!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
An update - way overdue!
Wow, life has been crazy busy! We are finishing up the Nav school year here; the students are deep in finals. I am happy that I don't have to do those anymore! Last weekend we had our end of the year final picnic. We had a great turnout of 30 students and staff. It is hard to say goodbye to the seniors that are leaving! It is the last group of students that we knew as students at UMD. We had a nice dinner out with them last night, wishing them well and congratulations on all they have accomplished. I am attaching a picture of my freshmen women's Bible study group. A week ago, we went out for ice cream in canal park. They have been a fun group of women to get to know!
In family news...I am now 32 and a 1/2 weeks along! Our baby is growing a lot now! I feel her (or it could be a him!) moving around a lot. Keeps me up at night - but I really enjoy feeling those movements. Here is a photo of me at 32 weeks.
I had a very special mother's day weekend. Brandon and Maddie really made me feel special with breakfast in bed, flowers, cards, and a new camera! I enjoyed lots of time with family - I do so love an appreciate my mom, mother-in-law, and grandmas! I am so blessed to have all of my grandmothers and all of Brandon's grandmothers living still! I am happy that Maddie is getting to know them as well. Another treat was having Kelly home for the weekend.
We are looking forward to a pretty low-key summer. We won't be involved with many Nav things, as there are not any students around for the summer! We are in need of some good, quality family time - and an adjustment period, once the baby arrives! We hope you all are doing well and had enjoyable mother's days as well. God bless!
In family news...I am now 32 and a 1/2 weeks along! Our baby is growing a lot now! I feel her (or it could be a him!) moving around a lot. Keeps me up at night - but I really enjoy feeling those movements. Here is a photo of me at 32 weeks.
I had a very special mother's day weekend. Brandon and Maddie really made me feel special with breakfast in bed, flowers, cards, and a new camera! I enjoyed lots of time with family - I do so love an appreciate my mom, mother-in-law, and grandmas! I am so blessed to have all of my grandmothers and all of Brandon's grandmothers living still! I am happy that Maddie is getting to know them as well. Another treat was having Kelly home for the weekend.
We are looking forward to a pretty low-key summer. We won't be involved with many Nav things, as there are not any students around for the summer! We are in need of some good, quality family time - and an adjustment period, once the baby arrives! We hope you all are doing well and had enjoyable mother's days as well. God bless!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Happy Easter!
Our family wants to wish all of you a blessed Easter this weekend. We have been doing some reflecting on the sacrifice God did for us on the cross, by sending His Son to die. We are eternally grateful. We are saved because He died. Praying that you know that truth today! Have a blessed holiday. Enjoy the beautiful weather!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Pool Party
Well, we are still having winter here - snowstorm today. Not so much fun - but Maddie and I got to have a taste of summer with a pool party at ECFE yesterday. We would love to share these photos with you. She wasn't too sure of the water and didn't last long in the pool - but it was fun to see all of the kiddos in their swimsuits/swim diapers. :) Enjoy the photos and may they help you think of spring!
We are praying desperately for our friends in the Fargo/Moorhead area that are dealing with the floods. We pray that everyone is safe and that not too much harm is done to homes. Also - we are praying for a miracle for our Pastor's son - Josh Sorvik, who was in a skiing accident this past weekend. He has a severed spinal cord and it looks like the is going to be paralyzed from the waist down. Please pray that God will heal his spine - and that he will walk again! He is only a senior in high school - it is a scary and sad situation. We believe God can do anything!
We are praying desperately for our friends in the Fargo/Moorhead area that are dealing with the floods. We pray that everyone is safe and that not too much harm is done to homes. Also - we are praying for a miracle for our Pastor's son - Josh Sorvik, who was in a skiing accident this past weekend. He has a severed spinal cord and it looks like the is going to be paralyzed from the waist down. Please pray that God will heal his spine - and that he will walk again! He is only a senior in high school - it is a scary and sad situation. We believe God can do anything!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Music Class
Maddie and I have been attending a music class once a week - which has been held at an assisted living place, on London Road. It has been so much fun for both of us - and the residents really enjoy watching the toddlers sing and dance to the music. I am putting some pictures up of our time at music. We do have a fun time! Also, you can see how much I am showing now....at 24 weeks. The baby is really moving a lot now - it is such a good feeling, even though it can drive me crazy at times.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)