special prayer needed

Just a quick note to ask for your kind prayers for Elijah this week. He'll be having surgery in Houston on Friday to relieve some of his muscle tightness (spasticity). This is a non-invasive procedure, and we're so excited to see how it might help Elijah. Thanks for praying!

tiny one

There is a second, very rapid heartbeat nestled beneath my own! We are so blessed and thankful to announce that we're having another baby, Lord willing, who will be born in May! I am fourteen weeks today.

A little frame on the sill holds our latest ultrasound picture. Joy wells up as things become more and more "real"...yet I still can't grasp that we get to have such a treasure. So, so grateful for this new life.

Thank you, God, for your gifts...all undeserved.

October boys

The boys are growing up!

I am so, so blessed to get to be their momma. Luke is at such a cute age right now, learning so many new things every day. I just realized that he says "pay" right before meals (to pray) and "min" at the end of the prayer. Today Luke was wiping Elijah's drool with a rag he found - already learning to be a sweet little brother. Elijah is all smiles anytime Luke is near, but he also has to be tough to take some of the stuff Luke dishes out!

Mothers Day 2011

Me and the two precious gifts God's given to us! So, so thankful for the privilege of being a mom.




Isn't this baby the cutest little person you ever saw? He makes us laugh so much.



Luke turned 8 months old a few days ago! Eight of the sweetest months of my life.




Luke is our boy who is by turns intensely serious and then a little jokester. He always wants to be doing something, have something to eat or put in his mouth or explore. He never just "sits", even for a few seconds! I think he'll be quite the little busy guy once he starts to crawl. We wonder if he might just walk before he crawls, because he loves to stand every chance he gets. He can pull himself from sitting to standing by the couch now. His head is covered with soft, downy fuzz and he has three teeth going on four.

Elijah seems able to communicate a little more now. He kind of responds to being tickled, which he never used to do. A few days ago we took him to the swings at the park, and he laughed out loud. Pretty fun to see him enjoying life so much! He likes having Luke close by, and we usually see a smile on his face if Luke is playing near to him. Elijah just got a new standing device that we've been waiting "forever" for. He seems to enjoy standing up, and I like it because I can have him sit down without having to lift him out. (He can stand up and sit down in the same equipment.)












"Haha, Mom, you're funny, taking pictures of me like that."

A picture post!

"Thumbs up to us, Mom, don't you think?" (The following pictures are my attempt to play catch-up on the last few months! They are in reverse order, so pictures from March are first and January is at the end.) Warning: lots of pictures!


Don't you love Luke's fuzz?
















I love my little buddies!







Luke's t-shirt is a gift from Grandma Warner! Thanks Grandma!











Luke is all boy...no fear to do anything with Daddy!



We spent two weeks in Seattle for Todd to do some engineering training. We were blessed to spend time with Tytus and Cathi and their kids, as well as several good friends. Fun days!











A younger picture of the balance act!









I've been living lots of "life" lately...and haven't done much blogging. I love, love, love this season of my life with baby Luke and Elijah. I'm very busy, and a bit tired, but there is so much raw joy in taking in the moments as they happen. I feel so blessed that the Lord has given us two boys, entirely different in how they will grow up, but both enormous gifts to Todd and I.

The joy and sense of awe we feel watching Luke grow, develop, and interact is intensely heightened by the loss and sorrow we have experienced (and continue to experience). It's as if we are marveling every day at perfectly normal things...the way a prisoner who has seen only gray walls would turn his face to the sun and stare at the color of green grass and blue sky. I don't mean that in a depressing sort of way; we've found beauty and incredible, deep-within joy in the "gray walled" pathways of life, so to speak.

I also see that some of our joy spills over to Elijah. I can tell that it makes him so happy to hear us laughing and that he loves the sounds of his little brother playing and "talking".

Luke is a funny little guy and finds a lot to laugh about. He is quite the little dare-devil already and we can definitely see his sense of humor. He laughs at things like popcorn popping, listening to the sound of himself blowing through a play "tube", and meeting new people who smile at him. He has two teeth, has started eating a few bitefuls of baby food, and tries to rip the spoon out of my hand at every opportunity. :)