Christmas

Joshua on Christmas Morning

Our friends Annah and Wayne

Joshua with Katie and Will, Eric and Marianne's cuties!

Christmas was a whirlwind of activity, but so much fun! We went to Eric and Marianne's on Monday the 21st, left late that night for my parents' in GA, and then had Christmas with the rest of Keith's family on the following Sunday. We started a new tradition on Christmas Eve, when Keith read the Christmas story and then we watched The Nativity Story.

Joshua of course was the star of the show on all accounts. He did develop an earache on Christmas Eve, but we were blessed to get him into the doctor's office before he closed. We treated him for an ear infection because his low grade fever continued, but I'm not sure it ever was a full infection. Joshua is sleeping TONS lately, so mabye it's a combination of things. We have a well-baby visit on Friday.

Keith and I go back to work this Friday - neither of us are looking forward to it. Our vacation has spoiled us both because Joshua is so good and doesn't get up until about 8:30. We'll be setting our alarms for earlier than that though soon!

Tagged?

So evidently I've been tagged - except I don't follow any one's blog except my friend Lauren, so she's the only one I'll tag back. Basically, after you've been tagged, you have to give 10 random facts about yourself on your blog and then list some more friends and their blogs on yours to tag them.
Here are my 10:
1. I love Joshua's feet... really. Keith has always said I have a fetish for feet, but I didn't think it was true until I saw Joshua's. They're so teeny!
2. I love frogs - I collect them and they're all over my classroom! (They are not allowed inside my house!)
3. I am addicted to some weird T.V. shows - Ghost Whisperer and Prison Break.
4. I lived in Uganda for two months, and want to go back desperately.
5. Keith and I met online. We met in person a day after we started talking, and got married a year to the day after that.
6. I have a noise aversion - particularly any kind of animal noises.
7. I do not like big parties. I prefer small groups.
8. I feel called to be a speaker/teacher about all that God's done in my life... but I don't like the limelight on me!
9. Keith says I have all five love languages. I can't help it that gifts, words, quality time, acts of service, and hugs say I LOVE YOU to me. :)
10. I am a very clean junky person. There seem to be piles no matter where I go!

Alright, so Lauren, you're tagged!

Christmas!

This is Joshua after I caught him trying to eat the Christmas tree.

Notice his hand is about to be on a limb - I didn't get the picture of him with it in his mouth! He rolled all the way over there in the matter of seconds!

Joshua eating cereal for the first time.

Christmas is such a busy time of the year... I feel like all too often we get caught up in parties, shopping, and eating, that we forget what Christmas is all about. However, this year has been a little different for me. Having Joshua has given me so much to be thankful for, that I feel like the meaning of Christmas has been exemplified in my heart. I've spent a lot of time just talking with Joshua, praying for him, telling him about Jesus.

Keith and I didn't do any shopping until yesterday (the Sat. before Christmas!!) and we're so thankful for Grammie and Grandpa -they babysat while we ran all over the place. Keith is playing with the Salisbury Symphony tonight, and then tomorrow we'll start our Christmas rounds. We'll leave either tomorrow or Tuesday for GA (after having Christmas with Keith's brother Eric's family in Raleigh), and will return either Friday or Saturday to have Christmas with the rest of Keith's family.

God is good! We pray that you will have a wonderful Christmas, annointed with God's Holy, mighty love!

Time Flies...

... when you're having fun. We can't believe that Halloween has passed, along with an election. It's only a week and a half until Thanksgiving!! That means I (Kimberly) have a week and half to lose 4 more pounds - that will be 10% of my body weight since I started, and only 6 lbs. until I'm back to pre-baby weight.

Our little guy is growing so fast! He can roll over, rotate, sit up with a little help, AND... scoot on his bootie! He's sleeping through the night, smiling, and laughing all the time. He is such a joy to be around, and LOVES to sing and talk to his friends (which are the animals on his gymnie). I am remind everyday of how good God is, just by looking at him.

We have some huge praises - those mentioned above - AND the fact that Joshua is on 100% breastmilk! We have found some awesome women who produce tons of milk and have been able to provide our little guy with what he needs. Yay, God!!

Please be in prayer for us, as we go through switching babysitters and traveling for the holidays. I'll post again after Thanksgiving, if not before then! Joshua can't wait to see all his family members that he hasn't met yet, especially his Nanny and cousins.

It's been too long...

George vs. Central Michigan! It was SO HOT!



Joshua gets to meet PawPaw and Aunt Nancy for the first time, not to mention seeing Nana again. YAY!!


Isn't our little Steelers fan cute??


Our last post was over a month ago! I can't believe that time has went by that fast, but it has. Since then, we have gone to a UGA game, experienced Joshua's first little cold, and celebrated Daddy's birthday! Joshua is absolutely wonderful - when we went in for his cold, he weighed 11 lbs, 14 oz.! That's almost double his birth weight! He is grasping more things (and trying to put them in his mouth). He laughs and smiles all the time, and is sleeping through the night. We are so blessed to have him!!


As far as Keith and I are doing... Keith is working every Saturday this month doing marching band competitions, in addition to teaching some lessons after school. I am teaching a homebound student twice a week that will eventually be in my classroom this year. We are both involved in small groups at church, a different one for each of us, which is a first. I miss being in a small group with other couples!! We are busy, and tired, but very, very good. God is good!

As a side note, we are trying to find a home for our dog Charlie. We just don't have the time to give him the attention he needs with both of us working full time. If you know anyone looking for a great dog, point them in our direction!

A Short Week

Isn't it funny how babies can be spitting up with the cutest look on their faces?

When you think that you have time to catch up, time flies faster than ever. That's what I've experienced this week. I was able to take my last week of maternity leave this week since I went back to work a week early, and it has flown by!! I have gotten barely anything done that I wanted to, between doctors visits, messed up lesson plans, and trying to get some Joshua time in. I have caught up a bit on my sleep, and on Monday Keith and I went to hanging rock. Joshua's first hiking trip was fun! I can't wait to go again, and hope to convince some other couples into going with us for a picnic lunch afterwards.

We're going to Athens, GA for a UGA game this weekend. It's both Joshua and my's first time at a bulldogs game - look for upcoming pics soon! Pray also for traveling mercies!

We did find a wonderful babysitter for Joshua. She doesn't take care of any other kiddos, so Joshua can get spoiled rotten. :) We're still supplementing with breastmilk, and have actually joined a group called milk share for mommies willing to donate their breastmilk (after the appropriate screenings, of course). We haven't found an ongoing donor, but have been blessed with a couple of smaller donations. I'm using it to add extra breastmilk into Joshua's bottles at the babysitters. We're hanging in there - God is in control!

Isn't he cute?

Our baby is such a trooper! Today he went to work with Mommy so that she could work on lesson plans for the upcoming year. He was so sweet, looking around as if he was trying to figure out where he was. He is very popular among the ladies - even the three year olds! :) He's started smiling more and even giggling!!

Keith and I go back to work officially on next Monday, though Keith is working all this week at the high school band camp. Yesterday he left before Joshua and I awoke, and got home after we had went to bed. I don't know if the rest of the week will continue like that or not! We did get a very nice date night on Saturday; one of our friends was nice enough to keep Joshua so we could get dressed up and go out to eat.


We are still continuing in our breastfeeding efforts, and have interviewed a couple of people for the childcare position. Please continue praying for both aspects, in addition to praying for solidity of our relationship as we add work back into the schedule. Thank you for all your prayers & support over the last couple of weeks!

Week 5

This has been an interesting week, as Keith was gone everyday for band camp. Kimberly discovered that she and Joshua do very well going out - evidently cabin fever was beginning to set in, but getting out a lot this week helped us to have a better week. Joshua is such a good baby - he spends much his time out sleeping because it's so cozy in his carrier!

Our time to ourselves before going back to work is winding down. Keith will have another band camp on the week of the 11th, and then we both go back to work on the 18th. This upcoming week will be our last week without "scheduled" work, though it will be a busy one too - Keith will be hoping to get much of the leftover house painting completed. The picture above is him finishing the 1st coat of our house. Painting takes a long time, because it dries so fast if you paint in the middle of the day, so he has been painting in the mornings and evenings to make sure it looks good.

We are still fighting the breastfeeding fight. Kimberly is on a different prescription, and will begin an herb this week that is noted for helping PCOS moms produce milk. We are taking it one day at a time, and we will decide when school starts what route we're going to go. We are so glad that God meets our needs "according to his glorius riches in Christ Jesus!" Please join us in prayer that the breastfeeding will work out, that we will be able to be rested enough to begin our school years, and that we will find Godly childcare for Joshua.

Almost a Month Old!

On Saturday our little guy will officially be four weeks old, and on Monday he'll be a month! Time has seemed to fly by! Has gained a lot of weight!! His weight was 7 lbs. 9 oz. last week, and we'll go for our month old well baby check on Tuesday.

We are adjusting to much less sleep, being on call at a moment's notice, and being parents in general. Joshua continues to sleep great during the night, continuing his one feeding in the middle of the night. (We are so grateful!) He has started staying awake a lot more, and he's content to sit in his bouncer looking around. He's such a sweet baby!

We've been so blessed by the meals brought in to us - I (Kimberly) have no idea how we would have survived so far without them! I have spent the last few weeks sleeping when Joshua sleeps, and Keith has been fabulous. He's done laundry, kept the kitchen tidy, and has still been painting in the mornings and evenings, not to mention getting ready for band camp next week. It will be my first week with Keith gone everyday, so we'll see how sane I am at the end of it. :)

Joshua has officially met all of his first cousins on Keith's side! We had a great time with both Eric and Mark's family as they came to meet our new addition. He has also met his first friend, Cooper. Cooper looks so much bigger than Joshua and is only 2 1/2 months older!

Thank you for your prayers concerning Joshua and our breastfeeding problems. We are still struggling through it, fighting to be able to do what most mothers can do naturally. Please continue to pray for us; for God's will in whatever we're supposed to do, whether it to be keep trying or to just switch to a formula only diet.

We've been home for a Week!

I (Kimberly) can barely believe that we've had Joshua home for a little over a week. We were so concerned last week - he had lost more than 10% of his body weight and was so much more fussy than the first two days. However, those concerns are gone! Using a SNS system (supplemental nursing system), Joshua has regained weight and is already back to his birth weight! Yay God! I am still taking meds in the hopes of being able to nurse without the SNS, so please continue to be in prayer with us for that. My mom was here for a week and half to help. She left yesterday to go back to GA. She cooked and cleaned, and even allowed Keith and I to go to lunch. (That about killed me, but Keith insisted!) We were only gone about an hour, but it felt like forever.


Joshua has been sleeping so well! He has been sleeping for about a week on a 4 hour sleep, nurse, 3 hour sleep schedule. We don't take this lightly at all - we are so thankful for the prayers that have been going up for a baby who sleeps through the night.


He (Joshua) is already trying to hold his own! He has been trying to move his head and body (meaning we have to hold on tight!), and he grabs everything with his hands. He is such a miracle!


Keith has been so wonderful to the both of us. Most nights we get up together with Joshua - with Keith changing the diapers and then me feeding him. He has been working during the mornings and evenings to paint, and has been a tremendous help during the afternoon, often allowing me to take a nap while Joshua has his "wake" time. He is an awesome daddy!

Oh, I nearly forgot the pics.... the first one is Joshua's first sponge bath. Keith calls it the "no peeking!" picture. He sure was angry!! I love the second one - daddy and baby napping together!

Meet Joshua David!

We finally have a baby! :) Joshua David was born on Saturday at 4:16 am. At birth, he was 20 inches long and weighed 6 pounds and 10.5 ounces. The delivery was very intense - after 29 hours of labor, the doctors needed to do an unexpected C-section because Joshua rolled on top of him umbilical cord every time I had a contraction, causing his heartbeat to be very erratic. The surgery went well, and Kimberly is beginning to feel more human.

Joshua was born a natural breast feeder! However, after two days, he became very fussy and lost a lot of weight very quickly. On Monday we began supplementing him with formula, and Tuesday we discovered the issue was due to a medical condition that Kimberly has. We have started a natural supplement that we hope will help, and if it doesn't, then we will start a prescription drug. We appreciate any and all prayers concerning this - breastfeeding is very important to us!

While the method of supplementing we're doing is draining, Joshua is doing well - he is so sweet and peaceful! He is even sleeping through the night, other than needing to feed a couple of times! We really feel God's hand over everything that has happened, and we know that Joshua will continue to thrive under His love and care.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! We will be posting again soon! Enjoy the pictures of our sweetie!

Still No Baby

Our official due date is tomorrow, Tuesday the 24th, but from most people's reactions when they see us, you'd think we're two weeks late! Things are moving along within Kimberly's body, so we know it will be any day soon. The wait is making us anxious and excited at the same time!

The painting of the siding has officially begun! The yellow color we picked out is much brighter than we thought, but it's going to be so fresh and pretty compared to the grayish tan that it was.

Our friend Elaine painted us the wonderful pictures for our nursery! She used pictures from Kimberly's trip to Uganda in 2003. We hope you like them! If you'd like some artwork done too, just let me know and I'll give you her contact info. (This is free advertising, Elaine!)

Please continue your prayers for us! Hopefully they'll be a baby picture posted within the next week or so!

Impatience

I (Kimberly) have discovered that along with the joy of waiting for baby to comes... is the WAITING for baby to come. I am fully confident that God knows what He's doing, and that He has all of our best interests at heart. However, I am so tired of being pregnant. But, then again, afterwards I'm just going to be tired. We have been very blessed with a healthy pregnancy, with very little illness involved. God is SO GOOD. :)
Good progress has been made so far on our house painting. It's been throroughly pressure washed and a lot of the trim has been scraped and primed. I'm looking forward to the transformation! I'll post pics as soon as painting is started.
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to wait for baby and still try to get things done! Thanks for all the ones you have already sent up for us!

Baby Coming Soon!

After enjoying looking at a couple of our friends blogs, Keith and I decided to start our own blog! With our new baby coming soon, we'll be able to share pictures and stories instantaneously!
Kimberly has spent the week getting the house baby ready. The nursery, guest room, and linen closet have all be cleaned and organized - but that doesn't mean it will be the last time! Evidently I've started "nesting" and so I'm VERY restless. If the heat isn't too bad, then I'll begin working outside - weeding and cleaning out our storage building in the back. If the heat is terrible, then I'll probably be reorganizing something inside. Everyone says, "rest," but my body says, "stay busy". Hopefully I'll find a happy medium between now and when the baby comes.
After a very successful first year at North Davidson Middle, Keith will finally have some time off this week. Now he gets to start the work on the outside of our house, though, so there's not much time for rest. His plan for the week is to start scraping old paint off the trim of our house, and then to start painting. We don't know how long this will take, but we are very thankful for a friend from church who is going to be able to help us. We may be two toned for a little while if the baby comes this week, but we know everything will work out in God's time.
We'll post another update sometime this week! Come back soon, and blessings on you! :)