a day well spent

Thursday was a hard day for Evelyn and me.  She was a bit sick, spitting up all day.  I was a bit sick of changing our clothes every couple of hours.  Naps didn't last longer than 15 minutes at a time, but crying lasted far longer.  And it certainly didn't help that Kevin had to work from 7 AM until nearly 9 PM. 

When Friday (today) rolled around, I frankly wanted a break from being a mom. 

But tonight as I think about my friends Brandon and Mandy, who are going to their baby's funeral tomorrow, or I read about this woman who lost her sweet son a month ago, my heart breaks. 

And I know that tomorrow I will not let Evelyn go.  I will hold my baby, and she will hold her mommy.  And Saturday will be our day.  Laundry, cleaning, all those silly things?  They can wait.  There are more important things to accomplish, like getting my hair pulled out by tiny, strong baby hands.  And getting my face all wet because those same chubby hands like to go straight from her mouth to my face.  And whispered morning conversations, trying not to wake Daddy but failing because we're just so excited to see each other after our night apart.  And songs to sing and dances to dance and books to be read and laughs to coax out.

And it will be a day well spent.

new little friends

Three of my friends had babies last week. 
Mandy and Brandon welcomed Baby Jude (we are still enveloping them in prayer as he deals with so many problems) on Tuesday.
Then Luana and Mikey had their second son Nathaniel on Thursday.
And Mandy and David just welcomed Abigail on Saturday.

You can click on their names to read each of their blogs, if you're interested.
I wish that we were fabulously wealthy so that I could go visit my friends in New Mexico and Texas, and we could meet each others children.  But I am at least looking forward to meeting Baby Abigail, since she's here in the Springs.  She is already the recipient of many hand-me-downs from Evelyn.

Congratulations, everyone!

prayer for jude

Our friends Mandy and Brandon welcomed their son Jude this week.  His little life has been full of turmoil already.  Please pray for him as he fights.  You can read more, as well as get updates and specific prayer requests, on Mandy's blog:  http://mandypelton.blogspot.com/.  Remember, the newest post is at the top.

par-tay

Yesterday we held an open house for our friends to come meet Evelyn.  Since Kevin is switching schools, we told everyone at his old school that we would have them over so that they could meet the baby.  So the open house was scheduled with them in mind, and everyone else was invited too as a thank-you for their friendship and support and gifts they had given.

Floors were vacuumed, dishes were washed, cookies and cakes were baked, and Evelyn was bathed and waiting in a pretty white sundress.

So we waited and waited.  The open house was scheduled from 1-3.  At 2:30 our friends Jerry and Joan came.  We know them from ballroom dancing.  Then Mandy and David came, we know them from crafting.  And Julie came, we know her from school.  It was fun to have people from every different aspect of our lives here at once.  They all brought gifts for Evelyn, which was not the point, but was very sweet of them.  We enjoyed seeing all of them.  Mandy has a little girl due in 3 days, so Evelyn has already given her some hand-me-downs.

We love the people who came, but I must admit that I was a little bit disappointed.  I wish that more people from Kevin's school had comes since the party was planned with them in mind.  But we had fun anyway.

After the open house we went over to my parents' house to meet my cousin's identical twin boys.  Ryder and Logan are so tiny!  They're one month old, but were born one month early, so they're the size of newborns.  It was amazing to see the difference between them and Evelyn.  She is so much sturdier and alert, with so much more meat on her bones!  What a difference a month makes!

Evelyn with Ryder & Logan.