GRATEFUL

Judah's name means praise and I really feel like God has helped me to have a heart of praise during this entire labor/delivery/c-section process.   Gratitude is what I feel most right now.  I'm thankful to the Lord for so many aspects of these last few days.  I just have to write them out so I can remember God's faithfulness to us in bringing Judah into our world!

I'm thankful for this little life that God created.  Having children, in my opinion, is one of the most sacred and eternally significant moments in this life.  And Judah is just precious.  He is truly a gift from God to us. 

I'm so grateful he's healthy.  With each pregnancy, I've realized how fragile life is and  it's truly a gift, not at all deserved, to welcome and big, plump, healthy baby boy into the world!  

I'm so thankful for my parents who are here taking great care of my older kiddos.  They are so well loved and time with their grandparents is probably the best part of adding a sibling to their lives! 

I'm so thankful for our nurses and doctor.  Our doctor took every precaution thinkable with my low platelet issues and history of postpartum hemorrhage.  I felt extremely confident in her ability to take care of me.  We prayed specifically for kind nurses and we got several of them.  We were in labor for such a long time that we got to know several of them well.  And each one seemed to be the perfect one for each stage of labor I was in.  Natalie was funny and caring.  Vickie was someone I would want to be friends with.  She was with me until 5 pm, and when she left, we all thought we were just a few minutes away from having a baby boy...little did we know it would be another 10 hours!   Our last nurse, Rose, who was with me during the toughest parts of the process, was encouraging and patient and incredibly competent, which was just what we needed in our situation.  We even spent some time praying together and she was showing me pictures of her daughter's wedding while I was in recovery.  These doctors and nurses were evidences of God's presence during the whole process.

I'm so grateful for the friends God has given us here. I told Andy that God has really used the last bit of pregnancy to open my eyes to see how well he's providing for us here, in our new life.  Our friends here have been so excited to welcome Judah with us and I've realized that after only two years here, we have so many people who really love and care for us.   We've come a long way from knowing almost no one to being in a community of people who are rejoicing with us, praying for us, bringing us meals, throwing us showers, and offering babysitting.

I am incredibly thankful for the health care available in America. We are just so blessed to live in a time and place where we have access to this type of care.  From the monitoring of my platelets throughout pregnancy, to the blood transfusions that were on hold in case we needed them, to the option of c section to get Judah out safely-we are so blessed to live in this time and place.  Labor and delivery has never been this safe in all of history and I just kept thinking about women all over the world who don't have access to type of medical care.

Just so thankful to the Lord for his kindness to our family through his whole process.  

Judah's First Visitors

Judah is doing great and we're enjoying cuddling with this little guy and enjoying the gift God has given us.  He had his first visitors today and they too were smitten!  

As soon as they walked in, Jack said, "where's Juda Buda?"  He's been referring Judah with his nickname for him for a while now!  They were grinning from the moment they saw him in his little bassinet!

 They loved holding him and kissing him, and Jack whispered, "Oh he's so precious" while leaning in to get a closer look at his face. 

Grapes kept saying how cute he was after they left the hospital. 

They've waited a long time to meet this little guy and they seemed just as delighted as we are to finally hold him in their arms.  It's amazing to see the love they already have for our Juda Buda. 

He's Here!

Welcome to our world, Judah! Born 2012-08-10 at 12:53am by c-section. He and EA are doing well, recovering from an insane 24 hours. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us. We're so grateful to have access to modern healthcare.

 

TOMORROW IS...

JUDAH DAY!!!  We're heading to the hospital in a few hours for an induction.  I'm at 41 weeks and they didn't want me to go much longer because of some issues I have with low platelets.  This will be my first time to be induced (which I am a little nervous about), but we're definitely excited and ready to meet our little guy!  Judah Kai Huffman is his name.  I'll have to write about the meaning of his name soon.  It's a really neat story of how God has been working in my life and how he led us to this special name.  It means praise and that's what I plan to do tomorrow when this little guy arrives.  Praising the Lord for new life and letting us be a part of creating it.  Please join us in praying for a safe and healthy delivery and baby boy!!!!

To my Aunt Diane

Diane,
       There are so many things I miss about living in North Carolina.  Family is on the top of my list. Then comes things like BBQ and driving on long country roads and that feeling of belonging somewhere.  And I also miss what "would be" if we lived there.  I know if we lived in NC we'd see you all more.  And Emma Grace and Haley and Peyton would be fast friends.  And I know that Jack would be your ultimate card playing partner.  He loves playing cards more than any child I have ever seen and  think he would play for hours if we let him.  You're the only person I know that can keep up with his love for cards.   I have fun memories of us sitting in your blue camper at the lake playing UNO and eating PB and J's with Doritos!

Jack inherited your your love for cards and wakes up everyday and asks to play UNO first thing.  And everyday we tell him not until after breakfast.  .  And everyday he throws himself on the floor in a fit of despair.  Wonder how long that will go on?  And everyday, after breakfast and throughout the day,  we play multiple games.  We figure we're close to 300 games for the summer.  Maybe more.  He's actually quiet good!  So next time we're in NC, we'll have to get you two together for some PB and J's and cards!  Much love to you!

August 3rd

is almost over and no baby yet!  I should have expected that my due date would come and go like any other day, since I was late with both my other babes!  We've had several "I think this is it" moments with an hour or two of contractions here and there.    I had planned to write about his name and why we chose it before he was born...it's looking like I still have time to do that!

In the meantime we are enjoying the pool,  a lot of naps (me), and trying not to get impatient! 

Emma Grace and Jack start school in two weeks so between that and our little guy coming, things are going to get a little crazy around here. I should just enjoy the calm before the storm!

Despite my desire to just have this little guy RIGHT NOW, there's a part of me that hopes he'll be born on Monday-which is August 6th-a very special day to me and most of all, to our very dear friends, Matt and Laura.  It's the day they meet their adopted son, John Paul.  We've been so privileged to watch them walk the LONG road to bringing this little orphan into their family forever and it would just thrill me if our son and their son shared a special day.  But as Laura's story reminds me, God is in control all things, and his plans are perfect...so I'll trust him whatever he decides!  

Join me in praying for this precious family and rejoicing in the adoption of an orphan into their loving family!!! 

Welcome to the Art Gallery

 As I said earlier, Emma Grace has been working on an art collection all summer.  She's taped and glued and cut and painted and glittered and stickered her way through the summer, and this was the final product...AN ART SHOW!  Put on by the artist and the art gallery manager, Jackie Boya. 

They covered three bedrooms and a bathroom (including inside the tub and sink) with her artwork and Andy and I got to take a tour!

big pregnant lady at the art show

 It was really neat to see all the pieces she's created, some I hadn't seen before, because she works on them while alone in her quiet time in the afternoons.  I've been begging her to give me a few pieces to frame and she's adamantly refused.  I've even offered to buy them, multiple times, but she didn't budge.  I guess some things don't have a price.  But she surprised me at the art show and let both Andy and I pick out a few to take home. We were excited and paid what we thought was a fair price to both the artist and her manager!  I love the sass she has in this picture, as well as how you can see into their very different rooms! 

GREAT JOB GUYS!!!