Saturday, November 20, 2010

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Happy birthday sweet boy! We LOVE you SO much! :)
We all (Dad, Mom, Grandma, Nana and the twins) made a trip to Caleb's school to celebrate his birthday November 2nd.
... brought cupcakes... I've been on the teacher-side of birthdays for so many years, it was so fun being the "mom bringing in treats" for the first time:)
Singing happy birthday with all of his buddies:)
What a happy day:)


Caleb and his teacher, Miss Jenny:)

Proud big brother showing off his new brother and sister
It was pretty cute watching Caleb pass out birthday play dough to all of his school buddies:)
Even cuter yet, he was so proud (just birthday-boy proud) he gave all of his school friends hugs on the way out. This is BB, his favorite school friend:)
Earlier in October we celebrated Caleb's birthday with family and friends at Pump It Up... a jump place:)
We all had lots of fun playing
Crazy-fun Nana!!! :)
Caleb and Sierra watching the intro video together before playing. So cute:)
Buddies
Best buddies:)
Sliding with Sierra
Dadda playin'...:)
Sorry Kel, good race... photo finish goes to Bro :)

Not quite able to pull off jumping or racing this time around, my sweet friend Tiff took breaks with me:)

LOVE you Alyssa!
3 generations of LOTS of love:)

My boy:) I love you SO much Caleb James

Beautiful girl!

Nothin tastes better than pizza and juice afte playing hard
... except cake:)
Opening presents with Dad
We were so thankful some of Caleb's grandparents could make it out for the party!

Buddies! :)
...hummm
Thank you, Lord, for another amazing year with Caleb. Continue to grow him and guide us as parents according to your perfect plan for our lives. We love you, trust you and need you Jesus:).

Caleb James,
"I pray that out of his glorious riches God may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory for ever and ever!"

-Ephesians 3:16 - 21

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Blessings! :)

Welcome Moriah Marie and Ethan Roger!

The day we'd been looking forward to for so long arrived last Thursday:). We had our 37 week appointment with Dr. Priebe the morning of the 27th... He confirmed it was go-time! With a few hours to spare before heading to the hospital that afternoon, we picked up Caleb from a friend's house and took him home for one last lunch and naptime story as an only child:).
Here we are on the way upstairs for naptime before going to the hospital.

Labor and delivery floor at MCR...SO excited:)



Labor with an epidural was much more fun than I remember labor being last time around without one (needed an epidural with twins in case of emergency c-section... if I chose to not have one and ended up needing a c-section, they'd have to put me under - I decided I wanted to be awake for the births).
We were SO blessed to have so many friends and family join us late into the night at MCR during "labor"... with an epidural, not as much labor as just plain old fun:).
Thanks for praying with us sweet friends! We are SO grateful for you in our lives!

Doc checked me out around 1:30 and said it was time to head to the OR to "work". D and Ma put on their scrubs and away we went.




Our sweet Moriah Marie (6lbs9oz, 19")was first to arrive at 2:37 a.m. after just a couple minutes of pushing.

My D and baby girl... not sure life gets any better than this
Moriah and Nana:)

You're a lucky girl, baby-doll... he's the BEST!
Then came the waiting game and LOTS of praying...

To simplify a confusing situation, Ethan was positioned so high in my uterus, behind the placenta both babies were attached to that although he was head down (exactly what we had all been praying for. God, you are SO good - thank you), Dr. Priebe was not able to reach him to pull him out. They used pitocin and trying to nurse Moriah to get contrations strong enough to push him down, but after 90 minutes of waiting with no progress, they prepped me for c-seciton (I do have to add though, Dr. Priebe was SO sweet... I laugh now at this because if it would have helped, I imagine he would have suggested it on his own:), but in the moment it made all kinds of sense to me: asked if gravity would help - if I could sit up and then try pushing. He said, "yes, absolutely"... ofcourse both didn't work, but I sure did try... probably a bit like trying to push your teeth out, too high is just too high, but I was thankful for the opportunity).

Here's where I had to dig real deep. After 9 months of nausea and a crazy need for nutrition for these two, I was going on 14 hours without food and really fighting intense nausea and crazy hormonal shakes... AND I was REAL nervous about getting cut open. I remembered watching a c-section video in our baby class before Caleb was born, and I knew that they'd cut through layers, take out my insides, including a baby and my uterus... I didn't imagine this part would be fun.
Dr. Priebe went to work. I closed my eyes and prayed... "Be still Heather, and know that I AM God and in control... rest in Me now, " I heard over and over... it was my peace and strength.
They cut through placenta while entering my uterus which put them on the clock (I didn't know this at the time). I heard tones change and felt the pace of work pick up and the intensity in which they were jaring my insides pick up...
"But I trust in you, O Lord. Our times are in your hands. Let your face shine on us and hold me in your unfailing love." - Psalm 31:14 - 16
...fighting fear, My Peace (and my D's eyes) held me strong.
Ahh... Ethan Roger (7lbs3oz, 20") born at 4:17... here, healthy, safe
Overwhelmed with relief and thankfulness... two healthy babies.
"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." - Psalm 9:2
My sweet baby boy, here safe... Jesus, Dr. Priebe, nurses... thank you SO much
While I was getting stitched up, D introduced Moriah and Ethan to the family waiting outside the OR.
I'll be honest, that was pretty tough...we made it
Here I am with my little girl:)
They wheeled me back to the room around 6 a.m. We got a few hours of sleep and couldn't wait to see family. Here's Dad and Big Brother:)

The 5 of us walking down for Lunch...
The fam. We love you all SO VERY much!!! Thanks for sharing this amazing time of life with us!
"You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful!" - Psalm 139:13
"I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. Ii will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself." - Psalm 89:1-2 (written by Ethan the Ezrahite) :)

"Now it is God who makes both us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." - 2 Cor. 1:21
Moriah and the boys:)

Snuggling my little baby boy:)
3 generations...
"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." - Psalm 100:5
My sweet boy brought me flowers... buckled me to tears (that, and everything else right now:))... I love him so much
The Cherry family... we LOVE you guys!
Love you Miss Lisa!
The Cunningham family... LOVE you guys!

Proud, sweet big brother:)
Mr. Chris and Miss Sharla... the BEST neighbors EVER! :)

Aunt Kelly, Sierra and Uncle Jeff... LOTS of fun times to come! Thanks for spending the long night with us in FC guys! :) LOVE YOU!
The Bensons... LOVE you guys - so excited for you to experience this joy in a few months! :)
ahhh... life is SO good!
Grandma and Papa... these two are SO lucky to have you two. We love you guys with all our heart - and more! :)
Ethan and Papa Gee:)... LOVE you!
Miss Moriah Marie
love those baby feet and tiny legs...
It has been amazing learning their personalities over the last week. They are both so comforted when near each other... especially Ethan. He is so much more at peace when his sister is near. What a blessing.

What lucky babies you are to have your Nana! We ADORE you Nana!
Moriah snuggling Dadda:)
Lots of snuggles
Our view at MCR... what a beautiful fall day - LOVED the mountain view:)
... more snuggles:)

LOVE the follow-through baby boy!
Caleb suprised all of us Sunday morning and showed up in his Halloween costume to pass out candy
MAN I love these boys!!!
Time to head home:)



What an AMAZING few days... our hearts are overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness... thank you Jesus!! :)

Grandma Gee made it out to visit on Halloween. Thanks for making the trip out! We love you!!
I'm not sure if Caleb's "proud-big-brotherness" could have been captured in any better way:)

Home from the hospital out trick-or-treating with the now, not-so-little guy... SO fun that he's old enough now to get it!


Moriah Marie Camping
I've attached a word doc we've written and have hanging in their room about each of their names. It's long when pasted on the blog... read if you'd like:)

Moriah Marie

“On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

– Genesis 22:14

The very essence of God’s being is to love, to give, to be more than self-contained. As the self-existent One, He desires to meet the needs of those He created in his own image. Thus, He becomes Jehovah our provider, Jehovah our shepherd…

Jehovah-jireh: the Lord will provide.

The first time we see God as our Jehovah-jireh we see a father offering his son, his only son, whom he loved, on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:1 – 19). Here love, worship, and obedience become three in one.

And what was so significant about Mount Moriah besides being the place where Abraham offered Issac? 2 Chronicles 3:1 tells us, “Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David.”

From then on down through the ages, at Mount Moriah every temple sacrifice for sin would echo Abraham’s words, “The Lord will provide… In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:14) Every lamb, every goat, every sacrifice would point to the one ultimate sacrifice. For since it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, God prepared a body for His Son (Hebrews 10:4,5). Then, at the appointed time, on the day of the Passover, Jehovah took that Son, His only Son whom He loved, and led Him to Mount Calvary. There He laid Him on the wood. This time there was no voice from heaven to stop the hand of death, for this Lamb was the only provision of Jehovah-jireh for the sins of the world. What man could not provide, Jehovah-jireh did.

Not only has Jehovah foreseen our need for salvation and made provision through the death and resurrection of His Son, but He also sees our day-by-day needs, and therefore knows them. Yet he instructs us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

Our Jehovah-jireh is bidding us to come to the One who is for us. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) At Calvary, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, “my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19)

He is a God who is for us, not against us. Therefore in any test we can lay our Isaac on the alter. We can worship Jehovah-jireh in obedience and know that whatever we need, in the mount of the Lord it will be provided.

- Kay Arthur

Ethan Roger Camping




Ethan Roger

Psalm 89 Written by Ethan the Ezrahite

“I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;

with my mouth I will make your faithfulness

known through all generations.

I will declare that your love stands firm forever,

That you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’

The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?

In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.

O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.

Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exalt in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength.”

- Psalm 89: 1 - 17


SO many more pictures, fall memories and Caleb's birthday party pictures to share... in the next week! :)

Thanks again for all of your love and prayers!

- Dustin, Heather, Caleb, Moriah and Ethan :)