Summer... where did you go? (And update on life)

Literally, the title says it all. Life seems to be FLYING by right now. I can't believe that summer is over and that my firstborn started kindergarten this past week. Not to mention that in about 10 weeks, we will be adding another child to our family. Life is moving fast!

We had a great summer, though in went by fast. In June we took a trip to Minnesota to visit my sister and her family, as well as friends. We had a few days up in northern Minnesota visiting some of our favorite Minnesota spots (and restaurants!). We came back to Colorado on fire- literally. The fire in Colorado Springs was insane. I have never in my life seen anything like it; it was hellish. We were put on pre-evacuation status, and thankfully did not have to actually evacuate.

Hiking Gooseberry Falls in Minnesota. Levi was on my back.

World's Best Donuts- Grand Marais, MN 

Levi playing at the lake in Minnesota.

Cousins! Teddy Bear Park.

Though we did lots of fun things this summer there are so many things we never got the chance to do - because it seems that summer just flew by in a blur of appointments and naps and playdates. Next summer I am going to make a list of the things we want to do so that we can be a little more intentional about doing some of the fun things that are close that we so often forget to do.

Silas had a little surgery at the beginning of July. He was born tongue tied and it was never corrected as a baby because it didn't cause any problems. This spring we came to realize that being tongue tied was effecting his speech and decided to have the surgery done to correct it. It was a simple procedure- and the recovery happened amazingly fast. Literally, he didn't miss a beat. We walked out of the hospital- less then an hour after surgery- and he wanted to know where we were going to eat breakfast. We are so thankful it went well! Silas started kindergarten last Wednesday and LOVES it. He loves bringing a snack each day. He loves all of the "specialist" classes- he was very excited for today (computer day!). His teacher seems very sweet and the class size is great- not too big, not too small (I think 18 kids). He is only attending half day kindergarten- so he is done by noon each day- which I think is making it an easier transition for me. :)

Silas- all prepped and ready for surgery.

First Day of Kindergarten

Eliana is FULLY POTTY TRAINED. It happened in June- and we are so proud of her! She really needed to learn on her time table it seems. But now that she has it, she has it. Some days, a little too well. Last week I told her she needed to go to bathroom before she went to swimming lessons (so it was about 4:30PM). Her response? "Mom! I already went today!" Yep, she had been to the bathroom one time all day- and thought it was ridiculous that I would ask her to go again. :) She can hardly contain her excitement for her baby sister to be born. And asks just about every day when she will be coming. :)

Eliana at swimming lessons

Levi just turned 18 months old and has just started making some improvements in walking last week. Up until this point, he has showed really no interest in walking. He was just last week evaluated to see if he needed physical therapy (which they said he did). And now he is starting to get brave and take 3 or 4 steps here and there. And Saturday? He fell out of an arm chair in our living room. After much crying, I took him to urgent care. They did x-rays and found that his bone had a buckle fracture. In babies, it's very uncommon for bones to actually break because they are still softer. So his little arm is now splinted- and will be put into a cast on Wednesday. In the meantime, crawling is basically impossible because he can't put any weight on his wrist without crying. So he has started to walk even more. The only problem is that the walking is so new that sometimes it leads to falling- and falling on his hurt little wrist. :( On the plus side, he now has a good little weapon to defend himself against Eliana and Silas, who are less then thrilled when he hits them with his splinted arm. :)

Levi with his little splinted arm after leaving Urgent Care.

I am almost 30 weeks pregnant now- and feeling pretty good. A Walmart employee told me I looked "HUGE!!!" Yes, as you can imagine I was slightly less then thrilled, especially because I am not huge! :) I am actually measuring a little small right now, possibly because the baby is still breech. We have another ultrasound in 2 weeks and are hoping the baby will NOT be breech so that we can confirm it is a GIRL! Right now the baby is very active- which I am thankful for this pregnancy more then ever.

And possibly the MOST EXCITING news in our life right now is that Luke has a new job. Seriously. So exciting- so thankful. Luke started his new job this past week at Woodmen Valley Chapel as the Tech Director. Woodmen is the church I have been attending for Bible Study for the past 2 years, so I am already somewhat connected there and some of our best friends attend there too. It's a church we are excited about attending as a family. They have a children's ministry that we feel good about putting our kids in; we trust that they will be cared for, loved, safe, and taught about Jesus. It's closer to our house (thus cutting our gas bill in half each month- which will be a great savings!). It will better provide for our family financially and the benefits are great. We finally have health benefits for our whole family! We are so thankful to see how God provided this opportunity in His time; it was definitely a God thing and not something we can claim any part of orchestrating. My parents were over for dinner a few nights ago and my dad commented to Luke about how he just looked happy. Happier and more relaxed then he has looked in a long time. And that is how he feels. We feel like God has brought us to a great place and we are so excited to see what He has planned.

A week of milestones

This week started with me spending part of Sunday night in the ER. Probably not my favorite way to start a week. As you may remember, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in the fall. Up until this point, I haven't been on any medicine for it. My hope has been that it is just a postpartum issue, and will eventually go away. I don't have great insurance so I didn't want to spend money on something that could resolve itself eventually. And, for the most part, I have felt like I could live with it. And honestly? My favorite "symptom"? The weight loss! I have been able to eat like mad and still lose weight. It's been great! The best post-pregnancy weight loss program ever is definitely hyperthyroidism. Some of the other side effects haven't been fun though. So this weekend, I had some symptoms that led me to feel awful, so I googled "Can you die from hyperthryroidism?" Yep, I really did. And you know what? It turns out YOU CAN! I had some symptoms of a thryoid storm, which left untreated, kills you. I tried to weigh out if I should go to the ER, because I knew it would end up costing us a bundle of money. And since I wasn't sure what the problem was, I wasn't sure it was worth it. But I ultimately decided to go. It wasn't worth the risk. So arrived at the ER a little after 2:00AM. And of course, it was a busy night there. The guy being wheeled in behind me was cursing and moaning. And his leg? Dangling! Very broken!

I had a great nurse who had to do an IV on me. And I hate IV's. For some reason, it's hard to get IV's going on me- normally I end up have multiple veins blown during the process. I waited a couple of hours before the doctor checked in on me. During that time I attempted to sleep on the gurney in the cold, brightly lit hospital room. After doing blood work, it was deteremined that I was not having a thryoid storm but did need to get on thyroid medication soon. I will be seeing an endrocronolight next week.

So the first step to finding out of the hyperthyroidism is a postpartum issue is I need to stop nursing so that my hormones can start to get back to normal. With Silas and Eliana, I was done nursing by the time they were 6 months old. We started supplementing with bottles early on since I was going back to work full time. And as many of you may know, once you start supplementing with formula, it's a slippery slope. With Levi, he had a few bottles early on, but after the first month he was exclusively nursing. Fast forward 8 months, he absolutrly refused to take a bottle. We tried every night for a few weeks and he screamed his little heart out and eventaully I gave in. So this week, I decided we needed to try bottles in earnest. And on Tuesday? Levi bit me twice while nursing. Thankfully he only has one tooth, but when it comes to biting, that is one tooth too many. So Tuesday night, his only option before bed was a bottle. He drank 1 ounce. 3:00AM rolls around and the crying begins. I told Luke that it was really all him that night- because I knew Levi wouldn't take a bottle from me. So Luke tried. A half an hour later, there was no luck. Just one very unhappy baby. Luke put Levi back to bed and Luke fell promptly to sleep (he's not use to these middle of the night feedings). Well Levi IS use to these middle of the night snacks. So he proceeded to cry for what seemed like forever. Twenty minutes later, I got him up. And he drank the entire bottle. We had won! I was elated- but then realized that just because he did it once, that didn't mean the next time would be a piece of cake. But you know? It was! He has taken a bottle easily since then- both pumped milk and formula. It's a milestone for sure!

Silas had speech therapy today and I had to work. So Luke took all three kids to the appointment by himself- seriously, Dad of the Year. At the end of his appointment, his wonderful therapist told Luke that she would test Silas next week because she thinks he is where he needs to be for speech. So it's looking like next Thursday will be his last day of speech therapy. Another milestone!

So the next milestone still needs to happen. I want to potty train Eliana in the 6 days. I am sure some of you think I am crazy, and I am. I am just ready for her to not wear diapers though. And she is ready to on some level. She talks about it all the time- she just needs to actually do it.  This precious girl has a mind of her own, so this is not something I can force her to do. I have to convince her that it's her idea. We will see how it goes!

Three Things on Thursday

1. Busy. I feel like that describes my life right now. I need a day to slow down, rest, and get things done around our house. Maybe this weekend!

2. Conflict. I am not a fan of it. I would rather deal with a problem then pretend it doesn't exist. But when dealing with it, I still always get that sick feeling in my stomach. Because I don't want to hurt somebody's feelings and I don't want to get hurt either. How do you deal with conflict?

3. Luke took some pictures of this kids a week ago. And I am loving them! Here are a few:

Three Things on Thursday- Kids Edition

1. Silas... I cannot believe this boy will be 5 in January! He says funny things every day that crack us up. Lately, when we tell him something, he will say, "You've got to be kidding me!" Always makes us smile. He is loving preschool- and the new friends he is making there. Today at school they had a Pumpkin Party. He dressed up as a firefighter. They paraded through the offices and had special activities. After school today, he told me, "Mom, this is a really fun day!"

2. Eliana... She is 2.5 going on 16. Seriously, this girl was born with a little attitude. But she completely melts us too. She is very sweet and lately has been completely enamored with Levi. When he wakes up from a nap, she runs to him and says, "Hey little guy! How are you doing?" She loves her dolls and continues to be a pack rat with about everything. I am hoping to start potty training soon. She has zero interest at this point, but I would love to be buying diapers for only one child. Silas was very motivated by candy and a reward chart when potty training. Eliana could care less. See? Kids from the same parents can be completely different!

3. Levi... This little guy is growing bigger by the day! He is 7 months old now, which is hard to believe. He is the first child I have exclusively nursed, and this week we have tried giving him bottles. It. Has. Not. Worked. Our other babies have always taken bottles, so this is new for us. We will continue trying and hopefully he will take a bottle some day soon! Levi is sitting up on his own. He isn't super excited about baby food. He has no teeth yet. And he is the happiest baby ever. His smiles light up a room!

Cousins

Luke snapped some pictures of the kids the day we left. The sun was high in the sky and it was stinking hot out! Trying to get 5 kids to look at the camera and smile is nearly impossible. Our kids sure love their cousins- we wish we could see them more often!

Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Take One

One of our favorite things to do in the summer during our last year in California was go to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Every Monday and Tuesday night during the summer, all rides are $1. Sodas, hot dogs, and cotton candy are $1 too. Warning: the hot dog tastes like $1- not good. On the other hand, cotton candy?!? Delicious. I always get a bag (or two).

Our Santa Cruz Boardwalk pals are some of our best friends, Brian and Marny, and their two girls, Madison and Reagan (also known as Lala). (Side story: Silas and Reagan are the same age- and best friends. When Reagan was little, she couldn't say "Silas"- so she called him "Lala." Silas evidentally thought, that was what they called each other- so they both call each other "Lala"- and I think it's adorable.) Brian and Marny were high school friends of Luke's- and friends of mine since Luke and I started dating. They are like family- and their girls are like nieces to us.

We had one day in San Jose before we went to Redding to see Luke's family. So we went to Santa Cruz! We met Marny and the girls downtown, and when they kids saw each other, they ran to each other. They hadn't seen each other in over 8 months- and yet it was like no time had passed. They reconnected immediately. We met Brian and grabbed dinner before heading to the Boardwalk.

Our evening at the Boardwalk was great. The kids had a blast going on ride after ride. And the adults had a great time talking and catching up.

Maddy and Levi at dinner

Brian and Marny 

Silas on the Whale ride...

Maddy and Eliana on the Dragons... Maddy
was Eliana's ride buddy for the night.

Reagan and Silas on the Helicopters

SoCal- Part 3

We left Carlsbad late Sunday morning. We decided to stop in Beverly Hills for lunch and cupcakes. And it's always my hope when we go to Beverly Hills that I will see someone famous. (Stupid, I know).

We parked our car and as we were walking down the stairs to the street, we passed a couple. I knew immediately she was someone I had seen. We passed them and I turned around and mouthed to Luke, "She's famous!!" I knew I had seen her in something and I was thinking her name was Amy. Thanks to the data package on Luke's phone, I was able to do a quick search on the internet. And it turned out to be Amy Smart- who I recognized from "Scrubs" and "Rat Race." She was with a man who had a hat on and sunglasses- so we didn't recognize him... As it turns out though, it was her fiancee, Carter Oosterhouse. Enough for celebrity talk...

So most restaurants in Beverly Hills are a little over our price range- and not appropriate for 3 small children. So we grabbed a few slices of pizza at a little pizza place and headed to the real reason we stopped in Beverly Hills. Sprinkles.

Our Beverly Hills destination: Sprinkles!

So many choices!

Top Row: Marshmallow Chocolate and Milk Chocolate
Bottom Row: Two Dark Chocolates

Silas devouring his cupcake...

Enjoying my dark chocolate cupcake...
Poor Levi, someday he will eat yummy food!

Miss Messy Face

And, she's done! 

After our cupcakes, we got back on the road (after a quick trip to Starbuck's for Luke). Our trip from Carlsbad to San Jose should have taken about 8 hours (without any stops). It took us 12.5 hours. We hit some traffic. Besides stopping for lunch and dinner, we stopped two times at Starbuck's, once to feed Levi, once for gas, and once for a bathroom break. That's a total of 7 stops. Yep, it was one long day!

Late night thoughts

We are back home in Colorado. We had a great trip in California. We traveled from San Diego to Redding to San Jose. Lots of fun times, great food, and good memories made. I will post pictures from our trip soon. Right now I am trying to get the bags unpacked and mounds of laundry done.

Here are some of my random thoughts to share:
~California has a law that requires restaurants to list the calories for food. Talk about depressing. Honestly, I don't want to know that I am blowing half of my calories for the day on one meal. I am happy that Colorado doesn't have this law.
~I am losing hair by the handful. I know that after being pregnant it's common to lose hair. I don't ever remember losing this much though. I hope I don't go bald.
~Levi had his 4 month checkup today. He is 26 inches long and 2 ounces shy of 16 pounds. He had shots today unfortunately, which made for a tough day for him.
~Silas starts preschool in 3 weeks! Cannot believe how big he is getting.
~Tried potty training with Eliana again yesterday. She is so not ready. I am hoping at some point she will care enough to try. She knows what she is doing, just doesn't have any desire to do it.
~I stubbed my toe on a chair tonight. The pain took my breath away. My little toe is now bruised, swollen, and slightly separated from my other toes. It hurts to walk which is a bummer because I was really looking forward to getting back to working out after our trip (and the many calories I consumed). Hoping it heals quickly, but also remembering there are many dealing with much bigger issues.
~Sometimes there is so much sadness in life. Broken marriages. The death of loved ones. Cancer. Unknown future due to health issues. Hard stuff. Those things remind me though how much I have to be thankful for, as well as to not take things for granted. It also makes me thankful that my trust and faith is grounded in Jesus Christ. We live in such a broken world. I am thankful for hope in Him.

Things I love...

Fruit

Summer comes and I fall in love with fruit. Seriously. If you looked in our fridge right now you would find: apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, cherries, and grapes. I love eating fruit in the summer- and drinking lemonade!

Burt's Beeswax

I love this chapstick. Colorado is extremely dry and chapstick is more important then ever. Burt's Beeswax is by far my favorite chapstick. If you have never tried Burt's Beeswax, try it. You will love it.

Working out at the Y

I started working out at the Y about two months ago. The first time I went, I tried the eliptical machine for the first time. I hated it. I felt like I was going to die- and that was after only using it for 1 minute and 11 seconds. I am not joking. Now I have grown to REALLY like it- and can do it for much longer then 1 minute and 11 seconds! The kids have fun in the childcare- and I enjoy having some time to myself to get healthy. And I love being able to take a shower and get ready for the day without constant interruptions too! :)

Chick-fil-a

One of the big "positives" about moving to Colorado was Chick-fil-a. Our family loves Chick-fil-a! We love the food, it feels like a "healthier" fast food option. And all Chick-fil-a's have a play land, which makes it a great play date place. The customer service is ridiculously good and it's a business I like to support. I miss In-N-Out, but I think I have grown to like Chick-fil-a even more. (California friends, don't hate).

Nap time!

Need I say more? I have three beautiful kids 4 years old and younger- and though I love them to pieces, this mama loves nap time! All three kids basically nap at the same time every afternoon- for about 2 hours. Right now, that means most days I nap for about 2 hours too. :) I always have things that need to get done during naptime, but after reading to Eliana and reading to Silas, I am half asleep. I always think that I will nap for just a half an hour. But the reality is that normally Silas wakes me when he wakes up. The bonus of summer is that we love eating salads for dinner- and salads are the perfect fast dinner after a long nap.

Sarah Young's Book "Jesus Calling"

My mom bought this book for me last spring and it is amazing. It is a year of short devotionals. The author writes as if Jesus were talking to you- all based on verses from the Bible. I can't tell you how many times I have read a page and whatever the topic is, it directly relates to a situation in my life. This book has been a huge encouragement for me- and I can pretty much guarantee if you pick it up, you will benefit from it.

On a side note: It was about one year ago that I found I was pregnant with Levi. When I look at his sweet face, I can't even fathom that a year ago he wasn't a thought in my mind. Levi is proof that sometimes the unplanned/unexpected things in life turn out to be a great gift.

Taken yesterday at Chick-fil-a... :)

Our Little Levi

Can't believe this little man is 3.5 months old already!

Though having Levi wasn't our plan, I am so thankful it was part of God's plan. I can't imagine our family without this little guy- he bring so much joy to our lives!

Evening at the park

One of the things we love doing in the summer is going to the park and having picnics. I really love doing this in the evening when it's not super hot out! One of our favorite parks is Fox Run Regional Park. So last night we packed a picnic and headed out to enjoy a beautiful evening. We had dinner, played at the park, and fed the fish. All in all, a fun way to wrap up the weekend!

He is definitely following the instructions on his shirt!

All 3 kiddos! Eliana-2, Levi- 2 months, and Silas- 4

Feeding the fish- and man, those fish were hungry!

My view of Levi- he was sleeping in the sling during the fish feeding.

A perfect way to the end the weekend....

Sausage and Vegetable Stir Fry

Another quick and easy dinner idea for you. This is a meal idea that my mom came up with- and one that I really like. One reason I like it is because it allows you to use any vegetables you have on hand. So I often make it when I have a bunch of vegetables that I need to use. So for those of you who have a vegetable garden, this might be a great idea for you! There isn't a real "recipe," just a list of ingredients to add to your liking.

The ingredients in it are smoked sausage; I used Hormel Beef Smoked Sausage. When making this dish for me and Luke, I use about half the sausage. Add a bunch of cut up vegetables, cooked pasta, Italian dressing, and Italian seasoning.

The first step is to slice the sausage and cook it. I cook the sausage on both sides until it starts to brown. Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside. I wipe out the grease from the pan before using it saute the vegetables.

Next, start boiling some water to make pasta. I make about 3 servings of pasta when making this for us. Then cut up a bunch of fresh vegetables- how ever much you want to eat. Use whatever vegetables you like and have on hand. This time I used little tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, and red onions. In the past I have also used zucchini, cauliflower, red peppers, and white onions.

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil and add the vegetables. Saute until tender. Add Italian seasoning and Italian dressing. (I used low fat dressing.) Add as little or as much as you want. Add the cooked pasta and sausage to the vegetables. Cook a few more minutes until everything is heated through. We always have leftovers when I make this. Somehow the dish always ends up larger then I expect. Luke often ends up bringing the leftovers to work for lunch.

I served this dish with a simple salad. Romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, sliced strawberries, and sugared pecans. Luke used a balsamic vinaigrette for dressing. I don't use salad dressing. (I know, weird. But typically, I don't even eat salad.)

And I will leave you with a picture of my cooking assistant that evening- sitting in a Bumbo for the first time! Isn't he just the cutest?!?

Happy Kids!

Here are a few short videos of the kids... Hope they put a smile on your face. 

Levi turned 2 months old this week- hard to believe! He's a great baby- sleeps well, eats great, and smiles all the time. I am so in love with him- this is evident in my "baby voice." My whole tone of voice changes when I talk to Levi, which I didn't even realize until I heard myself on video. :)

Every evening when Luke is on his way home from work, he calls me when he is a few minutes away from home. I let the kids know that daddy is almost home. They throw on their shoes and run to wait on the front porch. Once his car starts to pull in, they jump and squeal. I always say they are a great welcoming committee. I tried to catch a little of the anticipation and excitement on video. I love the joy that Silas and Eliana have each day when Luke comes home. I am so thankful that Silas, Eliana, and Levi have such an amazing daddy!

Brothers...

Can you tell this boy loves being a big brother? And he is an AMAZING big brother at that!

Update on the Little Ones... (and life in general)

It's been 5 weeks since Levi has joined our family and let me tell you, it's been awesome! The adjustment to being a family of 5 has gone great. We had been warned by some of our friends that child #3 can push you over the edge because suddenly you are outnumbered. Obviously, we are only 5 weeks into life as a family of 5. But I can say for now, so far so good! I have braved the grocery store, library, church, and Target by myself with all 3 kids and we have all survived.

Levi is doing great! He had a doctors appointment today because the poor little guy has developed a case of thrush (read: also, poor mom!). He weighed in at 9lbs 11oz. He seems to get a little chubbier and cuter each day! I remain completely smitten with him.

Eliana turned 2 on April 17th- which is hard to believe. I had intended to post her birth story on her birthday, but that is still on the "to do" list... Being that she is the second child, it amazes me how much she picks up from Silas. She knows most of her alphabet and can sing "Jesus Loves Me." Her favorite thing to say is, "I do it!"- she is very independent. 

Last week we visited the preschool that Silas will be attending in the fall. It's hard to believe he will be starting preschool! Silas loves to read stories out of his Bible each night. We read the Easter story a few times. This was the first time he seemed to understand the meaning of Easter- on the level a 4 year old can at least... He would tell me that Jesus was nailed to a cross and died- and a few days later the women went to the place where Jesus' body was- but He was gone because He was alive! 

A few other random updates/funny things:

-Last Wednesday morning we were woken up at 6:20AM by our doorbell ringing. I thought I was dreaming, but Luke went to the door anyways. To our shock, a police officer was at our door. He informed us that a train was leaking hydrochloric acid a few blocks from our house and our neighborhood was under a mandatory evacuation. Luke asked how long we had to get out and the officer said we needed to get out as quickly as possible. (Obviously, easier said then done when you are talking about packing up 3 kids). And we were told to be prepared for the evacuation to last for 24-48 hours. Awesome. This is so not the way I like to start days. So we packed up as quickly as possible (read: about a half an hour)- and evacuated to my parents house... The spill was cleaned up by late on Wednesday night and we were able to return home on Thursday.

-Last week when shopping at Costco, we were making a light lunch of all the samples. One of the samples was peanut butter filled pretzels. I got each of us a sample. Silas loved them; Eliana did not. She ate one of them and handed me her little cup. I started eating the rest of Eliana's pretzels (why? I have no idea because I didn't really like them either...). After I ate one of Eliana's remaining pretzels, Silas looked at me and said, "I'll have the rest of those!" After he finished all of them he looked at Eliana and said, "Eliana, why didn't you eat you them? You like pretzels. You like peanut butter. They're peanut butter pretzels!!" It was so clear cut for him, it just cracked me up.

-Luke's parents came out for a visit this week and we are having a great time! The kids are loving having grandpa and grandma here- there has been lots of showing off, games, book reading, and playing. We are so happy they could come out and see our life here in Colorado.

I will leave you with a a few pictures of the kids...

Levi ~ 4 weeks old

Silas and Eliana on Easter morning

Levi's Birth Story- Part Two

Well after our son arrived, the next big hurdle was naming him. We had a short list of names we liked: Mathias, Josiah, and Levi. I remember when he was a few minutes old looking at him as they cleaned him up, and I thought to myself, "He's a Josiah!" So Luke walked over to me and I asked him, what do you think about a name? And then the fun began... :) I didn't want to tell him I was thinking Josiah, because I wanted his honest opinion. I wanted us both to be sure about the name we would be giving to our little boy. So a few hours later, we were in our post-delivery room and the conversation came up again. Luke told me he was thinking Mathias. My response was, "Really?" So we continued to talk name choices for the next day... My top name choice was Josiah. My bottom name choice was Mathias. Luke's top name choice was Mathias. His bottom name choice was Josiah. So for both of us, the middle name choice was Levi- which happens to mean "unity." Levi also happens to also be a family name on Luke's side of the family. Levi is also a common Amish name (and I happen to be slightly obsessed with Amish people). :) So we decided on Levi- and I am sure it was the right name for him. I love the name and it just fits him perfectly.


About three hours after Levi was born, his first visitors arrived. His big brother and sister came for a visit, along with my parents. They, of course, were completely smitten with him. :) We were a little worried with how Eliana would do not being the baby anymore. She is quite possessive, especially of Luke. When Luke hugs Silas after work, Eliana has been known to come running with tears in her eyes, yelling "No Daddy!" Yes, she is our strong willed child. Anyways, all of our worries were for nothing. From the moment Eliana laid eyes on Levi, she was in love. She wanted to hold him- and when she was finally given the opportunity, she didn't want to give him back.

Eliana holding Levi

We had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours after birth. Initially, I was not thrilled about that. After my other babies were born, I stayed a little over 24 hours (and only one night). But honestly, this hospital was really nice- and I am glad that we stayed longer! :) The food was good- I had a room service type menu that I could order off of. I had cable (and watched a lot of episodes of "Cake Boss"). And it was quiet! I loved having time to bond with Levi. Luke came by himself for a couple of hours each day and brought the kids over each day also.

Luke with his newest man-child. :)

My parents with their 9th grandchild!

I was discharged on Saturday mid-afternoon- and we headed home with our new baby boy. And life hasn't been the same since- in a very good way. Welcome to the world Levi! You are a blessing from God and we are so happy that you are a part of our family.