Lucas Collins Christian

This is him. Lucas Collins Christian. The newest addition to our wee clan. This picture was taken this morning - he's starting to check things out a little more, taking a few more peeks between all of the naps and meals. As with most newborns, he spends most of his time sleeping:







I can't blame him. I love naps too!



Everything with his delivery went well. We had a scheduled C Section - since Audrey came that way, that's what the doctors recommended - on Tuesday, July 21. The only hitch was the initial administration of the spinal didn't work, so I had to have an additional dose - but it all worked out after that. I even got to watch this time. They set up an angled mirror so I could see what was happening while it was happening. It was nice to feel more connected to the process. It was pretty amazing. And so is Lucas.



Or Luke. Whichever. We like Lucas. We like Luke. We hope he does too!

Just a Glimpse

Life is full of lessons. Love. Loss. Loneliness. Grief. Perseverance. Faith.

On this day last year, I was blessed to witness the birth of two of my nieces - twin girls. They came much too soon, though, and could not stay. Even though they were only permitted to stay a short time, I will never forget the feelings and impressions I had in that hospital room. I felt their sweet spirits. I felt their strength and their love. I felt the love of their parents and the ineffable and immeasurable amount of courage it took to hold and love their girls for the brief time they were allowed. I have since been awed and amazed by the faith that has been required to get through some really tough days since their passing.

I really have no words to describe all of the feelings in my heart today. But I wanted to do something for my sweet, angel nieces. I love them. I look forward to the day when I will get to wrap my arms around them and get to know them and be their favorite aunt.

I stumbled upon a song that seemed to have some of the feelings I am feeling today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doaHIOXIhH0


I love you, Megan and Marc, Elliana and Emmaline! You are always in my thoughts and prayers. And that's especially true today.

Fifth of July Heroics

This year's Fourth of July was so much fun because Audrey is now old enough to really appreciate sparklers and firework fountains. We started our evening with some great homemade burgers - the works: juicy hamburgers, cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and Adam's delicious sauteed mushrooms - YUM! I made potato salad, and we had cantaloupe and had some limeade to top off the meal - which we ate in the shade of our huge wisteria tree. It was a really nice meal for our family, made that much nicer by having my parents here visiting, and Adam's mom and brother also stopped by to join in the festivities.

After dinner we lit some sparklers and a few small firework fountains - all of which Audrey loved.



She laughed and applauded and said "ooooohhhhh" a lot. It definitely didn't hurt that she could share her excitement and enthusiasm with her Grandmas...






and one of her Grandpas...



and of course, Adam makes everything fun for Audrey.



But the real excitement of the night didn't start until after the Fourth of July became the fifth of July. I woke up at 4am to Audrey just starting to cry - an occurrence which has thankfully become pretty rare since adjusting to her new bed. I slowly sat up on the side of the bed and my eye was caught by a strange glowing outside one of our bedroom windows. I stood and parted the curtains to see what the glowing was and discovered that the garbage can of one of our neighbors was on fire! I wasn't sure I could trust my sleepy eyes - I blinked a few times and looked all around to make sure it was what it looked like and then woke Adam. He instantly called 911 and reported the situation. I got Audrey and we all watched out the window as the fire spread from one garbage can to the other two cans next to it. Two big fire trucks showed up just as the siding on the carport shed began to warp and buckle from the heat of the approaching fire. We anxiously watched as the firemen extinguished the fire. We were so relieved that the destruction was confined to their trash cans and what looks to be very minimal damage to the siding on their shed. And this was thanks to Audrey - I would not have discovered the fire had she not woken me when she did. The timing couldn't have been tighter! She's our little hero today!