Week of Firsts...

This week Elisabeth turned 3 weeks old on Monday. She also had several firsts this week.

Sunday was Father's day and I took these two pictures of Scott holding her.



Tuesday, I went potty seat shopping with Elijah while Scott stayed home with the kids. That was the longest Elisabeth has gone without me around. I knew she was in good hands. She slept the whole time we were gone and woke up right as we pulled into the driveway.


Today she had her first real bath. I bathed her in the kitchen and we took some pictures. She seemed to enjoy her bath. She didn't cry at all and even smiled a time or two.


I laid a blanket on the kitchen table where I dried her off and put lotion on her. Then I dressed her, fed her, and then she was ready for her first outing with Daddy.


Scott took her to his work and showed her off to some of the secretaries and faculty that were there. She was all smiles for the camera. :-) And I got a bit of a break for a nice long shower.

Although, I did have to clean up a very dirty 2 year old when I got done. Potty training is a definite patience builder. Elijah's a very intelligent boy and very articulate so I hope he catches on quickly.

Tomorrow, we will get to visit with my brother and his family who are visiting from France. We will be having a birthday party for Joshua. So I'll be posting pictures of the rest of the kids in a few days.

Keep checking back. These next 2 months are full of activities.

First Two Weeks with "Lusbif"

Elisabeth is now 2 weeks old. I thought I would share some pictures of her first two weeks. They've been a busy two weeks. Time sure goes by fast when you're having fun.

This picture is of Elisabeth in her first Sunday dress.

We arrived home on Wednesday evening of the week she was born. Saturday we took her to a family reunion and also stopped by to visit my grandmother.

Mema and Elisabeth

We took her to church that Sunday. I even had her in my Sunday School class. Elisabeth and I underwent some testing that first Sunday by Elijah. It was quite a change for him going from being the baby to being a big boy. He tested to see if I would still hold him in my lap while holding Elisabeth. He even tried to play "Ride 'em Horsies" during the preaching which I had to quiet him down from. I think we managed to pass the "does Mommy still love me and will she still make behave?" test. He behaved so much better for me the second Sunday.

Elisabeth's first Sunday School class

Scott had to take a recertification class for driving the school bus during the week. Tuesday, I dressed Elisabeth up in her pink gi (karate uniform) and took the kids to karate class. I was told during my discharge from the hospital that I was not to diet nor exercise for a few weeks. I miss participating in karate class though. I'm looking forward to getting back at it.

Elisabeth in her karate uniform.

At Elisabeth's one week doctor's appointment, she had gained back some of her birth weight. She now weighs 9 lbs. After the doctor's appointment I got the kids burgers, picked up Scott's boots from being repaired, and took the kids to Elisabeth's first trip to Wal-mart. After all that I was worn out! So Thursday we stayed home.

Friday, Scott had the day off. I always enjoy spending a day with my sweet husband home. Elisabeth likes hearing him play different instruments for her. He used to play for her before she was born by putting the end of his viola or guitar against my belly so she could hear and feel the vibrations. She loves listening to him play now as well.

Our karate class giving a demonstration at HEB.

Last Saturday, after our normal class we took our children to HEB to help with a demonstration for a health fair the store was having. Scott and I decided to let the older 3 children participate while we watched along with the younger 3 children.

After the demonstration we ate at our favorite Chinese restaurant which is run by a Christian family from Burma. We love the atmosphere at their restaurant and how they play Christian hymns and have the 10 commandments displayed where most Chinese restaurants would have a Buddha.
Joshua and Ruth performing a Kata for the karate demonstration.

Hannah performing her Kata at HEB


After we ate, we went to a mall. Scott got an upgrade on his cell phone. It took a while for the cell phone associates to get what he needed so I attempted to walk around the mall and find something fun for the kids to do. We walked the entire mall looking for a directory that actually had a map. There were only 2 maps we found in the whole mall. There were no toy stores to look at. There was one ride for $3.50 per person but I didn't want to pay that for 5 kids. We did find a man that made balloon shapes for tips. I bought each of the kids balloons. Once we found our way back to the cell phone store, we found that they weren't quite done yet. So we found a large unoccupied corner of the mall for the kids to play. I did decide that day that I had to find some better way to keep up with our 2 year old and 4 year old. Elijah's little legs would get tired and whoever held his hand would wind up carrying him to keep up. And Jonathan would get loose from the hand holding his and he'd get distracted and not watch when we were ready to move on. We didn't lose him too badly but I decided we needed a wagon or stroller for him and Elijah. We found and ordered one. I'll post pictures of it in use when it arrives.

We arrived home to find our Sun Oven on the front porch. We were able to get it at a group price. It is a solar powered oven. We cooked hot dogs and baked potatoes in it on Sunday afternoon and it worked great. We decided that a solar powered oven might come in handy should we be faced with no electricity.

Our new Sun Oven

And I have to include Elisabeth's second Sunday outfit. She was making faces and yawning while her picture was being taken. Baby yawns are contagious too.

Elisabeth's Second Sunday

Now everyone probably has been curious about the title. Elijah calls Elisabeth "lusbif". He was saying, "Here, Lusbif!" Over and over while handing me toys and papers that he intended to be given to her.

They all love to hold her and Elijah has learned to be careful with her. He is so sweet and proud sitting on the couch with his baby sister on his lap.
Well, that basically sums up these past couple of weeks. The summer will be busy and I'll have a lot to post. Keep watching for more pictures.

Elisabeth Rose...The Story of Her Birth

Monday, May 28, at 11:28 a.m. our 6th blessing, Elisabeth Rose arrived weighing 9 lb. 6 oz. and measuring 21 in. long.



Sunday morning at around 4 a.m., I started having mild but calculable contractions. I waited 30 minutes timing them before I woke Scott. We waited a little longer and decided to wake the kids at 5 a.m. to head to the hospital. I had started shivering from nerves. We live an hour away from the hospital and even though we might get sent home we wanted to make sure whether or not I was in labor. They kept me for one hour. It turned out that I was not in active labor at that point. I was 4 cm. dialated and my cervix had not effaced much. They sent me home. The kids were disappointed that we left without the baby being born.


Our being sent home turned out to be a blessing. We made it back to the church in time for Sunday School. I wasn't feeling very good but I was able to eat Fried Chicken for lunch. I was also able to take a 3 hour nap.

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We had our evening services and went home and got the kids to bed. I had a little trouble sleeping since I had slept 3 hours that afternoon. I took a shower since I feared that I wouldn't get one the next morning.

Monday morning active labor woke me up around 7 a.m. Since I was asleep, it really snuck up on me. I was glad that Scott was off for Memorial Day, otherwise he would have been on a school bus when the hard contractions hit. I laid there to make sure it was really contractions.
Then I told Scott about it. I was glad that the kids had awakened on their own. They didn't like being awakened at 5 a.m. on Sunday.
I called my parents to tell them this was it.


The kids ran to the car. I had to stop twice because of contractions as I left the house to get in the car. I was having to do controlled breathing as the contractions got stronger in the car. I wasn't wanting to worry the kids. During that one hour drive I was serenaded by our 4 year old Jonathan singing "Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?" at the top of his lungs. I thought it was cute. That was the first time I've ever been sung for on my way to the hospital.

I told Scott that this time he needed to drop me off at the door instead of parking first. When I got to the labor and delivery room, I told the nurse that these were the real contractions. She skipped the normal monitoring room and put me in a regular delivery room. Scott came in having situated the kids in the waiting room.


They measured me and told me that I was 8 cm. dialated and 100% effaced. The nurse told Scott that I was having "monster" contractions. They asked me what my pain level was on a scale of 1 to 10. I told them I may have been mistaken about the number I gave on Sunday. I told them 7 then. I told them I'd give it a 9 reserving 10 for the moment they tell me not to push because the doctor hadn't come. I didn't have to worry though. The doctor on duty came immediately. She broke my water. I didn't even realize she had. The doctor and nurse stepped out of the room and came right back. I told them I felt the baby low and they said I could push whenever I felt like it. When Scott said he could see hair I almost thought there was a mistake because our boys had hair and our girls were bald. But 3 hard pushes later, Elisabeth Rose was born. The last push is always the one I think I can't do.


I had prayed that the Lord would allow me to have a quick delivery without intervention. My mom arrived at the delivery room just after the baby had come. She told me that she prayed that God would allow me to have as easy of a delivery as she had had with my sister. I thought it was interesting that Elisabeth even weighed the same as my sister did at birth. I had friends on Facebook praying for me. I even had one dear friend checking up with me through text messages. I told her that my greatest desire was to have the baby before Wednesday, when I was scheduled to be induced. She told me that she would pray for me in that. All the prayers were really appreciated. Elisabeth was born at the perfect timing.


Psalm 7:17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.