I Would Do It All Again...

For me, bringing Andrew into the world was like being pregnant for two years. It was mid-May 2006 when I got pregnant with the first baby that we lost, and so, in many ways, it felt very fitting to me that Andrew arrived mid-May. It was like the completion of a long journey. Those of you who were with us for all (or much) of those two years know the pain and loss and fear that I dealt with. After losing two babies in my second trimester, my initial response to finding out I was once again pregnant last September was that I was scared death! It was about 5 am on a Sunday morning...still dark outside...I was alone. But in that moment, God spoke to my heart and assured me that HE was the one who had created this baby and that He had orchestrated the conception with His own hands. What a picture He gave me. I wish I could say that that peace remained with me throughout the entire pregnancy, but it wasn't until we had a heartbeat scare (how we found out we'd lost the other two) at around 16/17 weeks that I finally really let go and trusted God with this baby.

As someone who does NOT enjoy being pregnant (and yes, there are people who claim that they do!!), it was tough for me to get through this third pregnancy in such a short period of time. It just felt like one first trimester after another! And this time, guess what? Not only was I sick until about 5 months, I was still waking up sick at full term! I took anti-nausea medication the day Andrew was born. What a deal. :) Alas...the things we do for love. Anyway, towards the end of the pregnancy I was going crazy. So many days of contractions that I was so anxious to really go into labor. Then I went into labor and remembered how much I hated being in labor! During those 50 minutes between having my water broken and delivery, I just couldn't believe I had done this before and chosen to do it again! And I couldn't believe that I might one day be crazy enough to do it AGAIN! But do you know what? This morning as I held my precious baby and looked at his sweet face, as I felt his tiny little body cuddled up against me, all I could do was cry. This child, THIS child was God's gift to us (Jonathan = God has given). He chose this particular baby to be part of our family. I never really asked "why?" we lost the other two or why we had to go through that pain. It really doesn't matter. God is God. But I will say, for the honor of being chosen by God to mother a precious little life, I would do it all again. In a heartbeat.

Twins?

Can you tell which one is Joshua and which is Andrew??


Last night was a great night. Andrew slept for two four hour stretches. Yeay! We're hoping that wasn't just a fluke and instead is an indicator of things to come. :)

On another note, we took some fun pictures tonight and hands and feet. Aren't they cute?



By the way, the top picture is Andrew and the second is Joshua. A lot of similiarity though, no?

Day 3

3 days into little Andrew's life, we are all doing pretty well. The older boys are running on "fumes" and are a "wittle cwanky". They both need a good nap! So do I, for that matter. :) Both boys are very excited about their little brother. Caleb likes to put his socks on. Joshua just always wants to know where he is and to touch him. I knew Joshua would love him right away, but I have been surprised by how affectionate Caleb is being. And he has yet to say "I wish you were a girl!" Heehee. :) Anyway, here are a few more pictures from yesterday and today.

Philip with all three boys

Caleb and Andrew

Our little peanut :)

Grandpa and Grandma Hines and Great Grandma Hines (Grandma GiGi)

He's Here!!

Our New Arrival: Andrew Jonathan Hines 10:22 pm May 13, 2008

Andrew means "brave" (named for the disciple who was best known in his life for bringing others to Christ and in his death, being more concerned with preaching the gospel than his own suffering)

Jonathan means "gift of God" (and he is, especially after our two losses)

We arrived at the hospital at about 7:45 pm and twiddled our thumbs until 9:20 when Margie, my amazing midwife, broke my water. Let's just say the next 50 minutes were fast and furious and Andrew was born (in a 3rd unmedicated birth!) at 10:22pm Tuesday night and was 8lbs, 4oz, and 21.5" long. Margie did a fantastic job getting us through the birth. The recovery so far has been much easier than with Caleb, but more difficult than after Joshua.

We were blessed with several visitors at the hospital yesterday, including Philip's parents and Grandma. The boys hadn't seen "Grandma GiGi" (who lives in Washington state) since Nov 2005, so it was very special for her to be able to be here during this special time. The boys will be going to Philip's parents house for the week next week to spend time with them and give us a break. We also got to play "visitor" to our good friends Kelly and MJ and their new daughter Maddie, who were hanging out just down the hall! Kelly and I were both due on the 16th, and we managed to deliver on the 13th! How fun. :)

We took the "24 hour minimum stay" hospital rule seriously and were discharged at 11:00 last night. It was a bit of a rough night, but I was so happy to be home. We are off to a good start this morning. Today is Joshua's actual birthday and he is very excited. But, he is more excited about the baby. First thing this morning he wanted to hold Andrew, and then after breakfast was jumping around in front of him saying "I love you baby!" So cute!

We have chosen as Andrew's life verse(s)

Col. 1:9-14 :

9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[a] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,^[b] the forgiveness of sins.

Here are some pictures to enjoy!

35 minutes old

His first bath

Mom and baby the next morning (Andrew bearing a VERY strong resemblance to Joshua here!)

Our family!

The Baby's Room

For those of you wondering what it will look like, here it is. We don't have anything hanging on the walls yet, but hopefully will one of these days. :) The dresser is one that Philip refinished. We were hoping to use a crib that was refinished to the same color, but it's still in progress, so we went ahead and set up the one we used for the boys. :)

I love the bedding! I love that this room is neutral so that it could converted to a girls room by only changing the bedding. Just in case... :)


Can't wait to see this room occupied!

Joshua's Birthday Party

Seeing as I am due the day after Joshua's birthday (although mightily hoping to deliver before then!!), we decided to celebrate Joshua's 3rd birthday early (11 days early, as Caleb will tell you). I decided to actually have a "real" party this year, instead of just a family celebration, I think mostly to make sure it happened! :) So, that was today. The "theme" was Thomas the Train. Joshua had been anticipating his cake since January when I told him he would have a Thomas cake this year. Friday night he saw me starting to ice it and asked "what kind of cake are you making, mommy?" When I told him it was his Thomas cake, his eyes got all wide and he said in a breathless, excited voice, "my Thomas cake???", as though he couldn't believe it was finally happening. Today when they saw it, with the trains on and all, oh boy, talk about excited! All the little boys at the party were in awe, I think. :) Anyway, Joshua received some very nice new engines and Thomas toys and he and Caleb were in absolute train heaven, until bedtime....at which point they both melted down from the sadness that they couldn't play any more today (and all the excitement with no nap!). But, it was a very fun day, and one that I am sure Joshua will remember for a long time. :)


And just for good measure, here's my basketball belly. :)

Maybe the next post will be announcing our new little guy....maybe. Or maybe it will be pics of his room...which is done, but I forgot to take pics of...and now the sheets are in the wash. Oops. :)

Picnic Fun

Yesterday we went to Philip's company's annual family picnic. The weather was perfect this year and the boys especially had a blast eating the yummy food, playing in "the beach" (so what if there was no water?!) and playing a game of mini golf....which when you're 3 or 4 is also known as "randomly hitting the ball while chasing it around the hole until you eventually get it in". Here are some of the highlights.

Joshua at "the beach":
Caleb contemplating his golf strategy:
And implementing his strategy. Check out that stance:
If all else fails, drop the ball in the hole. Just kidding...he did actually manage to hit the ball into all the holes...eventually:
Joshua giving it his best shot:
Angela and Joshua:
Philip and Caleb:

Finally...Basement pics!

The moment I know you have all been waiting for. I finally got around to shooting pictures of the basement. So, here it is! Doesn't it look great?!

To refresh your memory. Here's the before:

And after:
The little room, with twin bed:
The bigger room, with queen bed: