Waiting

I have never had to wait so long for one of my newborns and I can't say that I am doing it patiently. Since we are moved into the house and there is no organizing to be done or deep cleaning I have found myself with the need to nest but with no "housework" stuff to do. Instead I have found numerous projects to do and I am having such a great time with it. Here are some things I have made over the past few weeks and I have many more on my wish list of things to make.


A handmade BBO (Ball Baby Overall Carrier). Don't mind the Saturday clothes;)



Hand knit washcloths. So simple and easy and such pretty colors:)



This was going to be baby boys coming home hat but I don't like the way it turned out. The directions said to make it on 3 needles but it should have been 4 as it isn't symetrical. The yarn was expensive and so I hesitate to make another one. We'll see if I have time(and extra money) to have a go at it again. I just may as I really love the feel of it.



A nursing cover so little 4,5, and 7 year old boys' eyes will be spared booby shots;)


I also have been researching more babywearing options and am having a lot of fun with it! I started wearing my babies when Kai was 18 months old but Judah really sealed the deal when he came home. I fell in love with it and realized how important it was to wear my kids, especially because they didn't have 9 months to grow in my belly and most of them were not with me until much longer than that! Until now I have been content with my Ergo, Babyhawk, Moby Wrap and Peanut Shell, all which are fairly common and mainstream baby carriers and have done well for me so far. What I didn't know is the vast array of beautiful carriers that you can't find in a baby store, even specialty ones! This week I had a friend introduce me to wrapping and I have fallen in love. I wore Justus in the Moby wrap as a newborn and it was by far the best, but because of the stretchiness of the fabric I couldn't wear him much longer than 4 months without killing my back.

These woven wraps are amazingly gorgeous, versatile and sturdy and I am looking to find just the right one as they are also very expensive. Look at these beauties:
Didymos, Neobulle, Aqua waves, Simon and my favorite. There are many, many more I could have linked that I really love but I'm sure you get my drift. ;) Hey, feel free to buy me one if you've got some extra cash laying around. I want a size 5 or 4.2M to 4.7M ;) I think too, that my mind keeps reminding me that this just may be(hopefully not) the last newborn I will have and I want to cherish each and every moment while I can.

"We" have 9 weeks left before we meet baby boy! He still does not have a name but have at least narrowed the list down a little bit. I am looking forward to meeting this precious one so very much and getting to know him!

A diagnoses

On Tuesday Justus was suffering for a horrible cough brought on by allergies he had been struggling with the previous 3 days. Around 10 a.m. I started noticing him having some trouble breathing and sat and watched him while he slept. I called Jonah and asked him what to do, as I had no experience with this before. Around 5 p.m. things started getting a bit worse and, thankfully, my mother-in-law showed up right then to give the older kids piano lessons. She is an OB nurse and so I asked her what she thought and she confirmed my suspicions. I called his doctor who told me to take him the ER right away. By the time we got there his wheezing was very loud, his lips were blue and his skin was very pale. The admitting took one look at him and rushed him back to put him on oxygen right away.

He was then given an hour long treatment of albuterol. Being 2 years old I was curious to see how he would do for an hour with a mask on his face but I was amazed! At first he was so lethargic that he just laid there. After about 10 minutes of the treatment he was looking better, breathing a little better and starting to talk a bit. Within about 30 minutes he was literally bouncing around the bed, holding the mask himself and keeping all the nursing and doctor staff in stitches. I guess one of the side effects of albuterol is a fast pulse and hyperactivity. I had never seen Justus like this and it was really hilarious.

They took an x-ray, which came back fine and then sent us home after his oxygen levels were good and he was breathing well. On Wednesday we went to his pediatrician, who informed me that because he now had a asthma attack he is diagnosing him with "Atopic Syndrome" or "Atopy". After looking it up he has every single symptom of it. There is nothing that we can really do but at least we have something to go off of, right?

He is doing fine now on the medication he has to take and I am thankful we have what we need to treat him if this ever happens again. Having sick children is NO fun though!

Ask and you shall recieve

At the embassy in Monrovia.



Me, meeting Judah(14 mo.) for the first time.




I know these are small but they were taken when Judah was just 10 months old and Jonah went to work in a clinic. Just for comparison sake he was wearing 3 month size clothes here and 3-6 and 6 month clothes when he came home.


Isaiah eating his first french fries right after setting foot in the US for the first time. That sweatshirt he is wearing is fitting Justus right now, it's a 2T. He wore a 2T for quite a while after he came home even though he was FOUR. It was a bit nice though as he and Malakai just shared clothes!



Just today we watched the video of Liberia and me meeting the boys for the first time. It was heart wrenching to watch Isaiah but he didn't seem to think so. See how uneven his skin tone was? And how light too? He now has the most beautiful milk chocolate color skin that is even and smooth.

So there you go. The picture in the previous post about their birthdays is one I took this morning so it is current. We are on the go, getting ready for Judah's birthday dinner but if I can take some this week to post I will.

Birthdays and birthdays

Since I just got back on the internet(and my computer) I missed telling you that Isaiah turned SEVEN last weekend and today Judah is FOUR! How is that even possible? When we brought them home from Liberia, Isaiah was 4 and Judah was 14 months old. This past year we have seen the biggest maturation in both boys but mostly with Judah. It has been amazing to watch, really.
Here's a run down on each of the boys.

Isaiah is 7 years old. He has only lost 2 teeth so far and is finally pushing ahead of Malakai in size of clothing. They have worn the same size since he came home from Liberia even though Kai is 15 months younger. He is also about an inch shorter than Alana(when he came home he was about a foot shorter even though he's older). Isaiah is becoming more of a little boy instead of a baby. He got real binoculars, a real fishing pole and an archery set for his birthday and is really enjoying them.
In school he is doing really well with reading and math and I am very proud with his efforts. His printing is beautiful and he takes such care with making sure his work is done right.

Judah is 4 years old and has grown emotionally and pysically by leaps and bounds the past 6 months or so. He is now a confident little boy who doesn't refuse to talk to people but, instead, will say hello to strangers in the store and smiles readily to people other than his immediate family. Judah is loving preschool and is doing well with what he is given to do. His speech is understandable now and he loves to talk about God and His creation. Judah is VERY excited about the new baby coming and talks about him all the time and the fun things he wants to do with him.

So, Happy Birthday to my Liberian boys! Mommy loves you!

I am back!

2 weeks ago we moved into our new house! And Jonah's computer broke so we were without a computer AND without Internet. Even when we got a satellite installed to get Internet, it didn't matter because we didn't have a computer to use. Talk about frustrating for me! However, it was a really good time for it to happen because there has been SO much to do!

Last Thursday I was able to go with our birth mom, T, to her doctors appointment. She had an ultrasound the day before and gave me 5 pictures of our little man. The technician got 2 great pictures of his face and he is precious! I can't wait to meet him. There were some concerns about 'T' having diabetes at the beginning of the pregnancy which can cause some serious issues but it turns out that she does not have diabetes and baby boy is perfectly healthy. Praise God. We could use some prayers for 'T', she is battling depression(occurring before the pregnancy) and, as you can imagine, this situation does not help things at all. She is also having some issues with the maternity home she is staying in and the staff there judging her for her choice to place the baby for adoption and not parent. One last thing about baby... 'T' has been measuring about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks ahead at every appointment. Her due date is June 27(her initial one at 4 months and a different doctor was June 5) but I highly doubt we will make it that far. 'T' is already huge and does not look like she is only 7 months pregnant. We shall see when he will make his appearance!

Overall, our lives are so full right now with the house and getting ready for baby. Things are washed and set up in our room and the only thing I really "need" is a pack and play to put in the living room(one where it raises up with a changing table and bassinet kind of thing) and a glider. I have wanted a glider for my last, um, 4 babies and have never gotten one! I know these are not needs but I would like them anyways;)

So, that's about it!