Growing....

Who could resist this?

Here are a couple pics to kind of give you an idea of how much she has grown...

A few days old

One month old

Our Little Red Sox Fan

Well...thanks to the Pichuras, we are training her young where her loyalties ought to lie concerning baseball. :) She is most definitely the cutest Red Sox fan I have ever seen! :) Although I have to admit that we aren't exactely acting like avid fans since we can't afford (or maybe choose not to) cable, much less satellite, nor can we really afford the time to watch the games. Maybe someday....

She turned four weeks old yesterday (which I'm sure you could do that math) and grows with each passing day. To be honest...there is not too much more to say about her...she doesn't do much besides look really adorable, eat, sleep (looooots of sleep), grunt (which leads to pooping), pee, smile (in her sleep), yawn (which is sooo cute), spit up...and so on... oh and cry.

(This is her "pirate eyes" stare. She does it quite often! :))

She is a true joy to take care of with each passing day. And on an encouraging note, I am already learning how to get things done...slowly but surely. The house is actually clean at the moment...although it took a few days!





(Yes...she is smiling in her half sleep state...which by the way, she fell asleep sitting up)



As far as updates go on us :) (I suppose I don't just have to update you about the baby), we are doing well! Most definitely tired, especially my husband. Aaron's schedule starts at 6:00, sometimes 5:45 (which is very early for him). He accompanies for a high school choir at 7:00am on Tues.-Thurs. and teaches Theory 3 and 4 at The Master's College from 8:00-9:00am on Mon, Wed, and Fri. Then he heads off to work for the rest of the day! Yes...he is working incredibly hard to support our family! And I am SO grateful for him and his willingness and joy to serve our family! He sometimes comes home early and works from home, because he misses his little girl (and maybe me :)). He is also going to be playing the piano in the TMC jazz band this semester, and that's just for fun.

Aaron and I hope to do the Crown Financial Study at church these next couple of months, depending on what night it falls on. Just when we thought we were doing a good job with our money, the Lord gave us a few difficult months financially, and we aren't exactly sure why...so we decided it was time to get some help :). Actually, we do know some of it has to do with a new baby, but we really do know there is improvement to be made in our budgeting, and we want to be good stewards of what the Lord has given us.


Grampy came to visit for and afternoon and evening...which was SO exciting! He flew out a day early for a business trip in LA, and got to meet his "little princess" (that was his nickname for her...which was precious).

He said our baby is "not normal". Haha...We didn't realize sleeping a lot and not crying all the time was abnormal, but boy are we thankful if this is the case. I'm sure there are all sorts of different situations out there!

I am planning on going to the women's bible study that starts next week, and I am incredibly excited! We are going to be studying the book "Changed Into His Image" by Jim Berg. Since that is exactely what I need to be striving for in life, I think it will be great...and probably quite convicting!

And lastly...this video is the often case of trying to wake Linnea up to eat. She is actually progressing in the waking up department, but sometimes it is hopeless...such was this occassion. Our friends Nathan and Leanna Fogde came down for a visit and we all had a blast with her very limp limbs. I couldn't suppress my laughter at the fact that Linnea didn't even flinch! I wish I could sleep this soundly.



Oh, and one more lastly! I read this beautiful encouraging Psalm today; yet quite convicting....I want to memorize this portion, because I most definitely need to remember these truths during hard situations when I am most likely to forget who my source of strength is. Often when things get tough, I try to stand on my own strength, which is like quicksand, rather than the rock of my salvation, which shall never be shaken. No....no.....no.....no....never be shacken (sorry...a Seeds song just sprang to mind :)).

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him AT ALL TIMES, o people; pour out your heart before Him."

And what just struck me NOW (so neat how the Lord can open your eyes to new things every time!!!) is "on God my salvation and my glory rest." My salvation rests wholly upon the Lord, and it will NEVER be taken away from me! Here I was just thinking after I wrote the passage that I fail so many times in trusting the Lord at all times, and I feel like I let the Lord down. BUT that doesn't change the fact that I am saved one bit. It doesn't change Christ's work on the cross and His love for me. It doesn't change my righteous standing before the Lord! WOW! And He WILL be glorified in me and through my salvation! Praise the Lord! And may I continue to grow in my obedience and trust because of these great truths. There couldn't be a better motivation!

3 Weeks Old!!!

Wow...I can't believe she is already three weeks old. On one hand, it seems like she has been here for so long, and on the other, it seems like she was just born the other day!

It's amazing how much time and energy it takes to take care of a newborn...which in my mind sounds so silly, because I feel like all I do is feed her, burp her, change her diaper and change her clothes, but I know there is more to it then that (don't worry, I do just spend time with her and love on her!)...or maybe those things take more time than it seams. I am realizing being a wife AND and a mom is going to be a little more challenging than I thought! Praise the Lord she didn't come out of the womb crawling or walking! Yikes! We will cross that road when we get there :). I was telling someone at church that I guess you learn as you go, because if I am going to serve my husband and have more children someday, then I am going to have to intake a lot of wisdom! She wholeheartedly agreed!

Speaking of wisdom...I'm realizing how easy it is to skip my time with the Lord...that sounds so horrible, doesn't it!? It brings tears to my eyes just thinking that I would want to do that to my Savior! I guess want is a strong word, but it some senses, it is true! I don't necessarily want to miss time with HIM...gleaning oh so needed wisdom from His Word, praising Him, and laying my burdens and others' burdens at His feet. But the sad thing is, is that I often want to get OTHER things done more. I feel like I'm letting my husband down by not being able to clean like I used to and serve him in many different ways. I plan on starting to make dinners tomorrow (the Lord has blessed us with many meals from the church), so we will see how that goes :). But my husband would tell you that he wants my priority above all to be the Lord, and so do I! Time with the Lord should be the most precious part of my day...it's ridiculous that I actually pass that up sometimes!

Anyways, I don't know why I think I can be a wife and a mother on my own, because I can't. So I most definitely need to be leaning on my Savior for strength and guidance and growing in Him daily! So...you are more than welcome to pray for me if you think of it...I would truly appreciate it! And you are also more than welcome to keep me accountable. :)

One thing you should know is that I am still absolutely loving being a mommy! I feel no matter how much sleep I get I am still often tired, but it's definitely worth it. She is growing up (and out! :)) so fast! I stepped on the scale today with and without her to see how much she ways, and she ways 8 1/2 pounds!! I still can't believe some babies come out as big as her!! :) And of course she is still the cutest little girl I have ever seen in my life :). It's ok, I'm not offended if you don't agree (which if you have any daughters you probably shouldn't).

AND THANK YOU GRAMMY for coming to visit and cooking and doing the dishes and making coffee, and babysitting, etc. etc.!! I know this thank you is delayed, but that is because you left and all the sudden life got so much busier! :) We were SO GLAD you were able to come out in the midst of a crazy schedule and we absolutely loved having you! I promise I will do my best to keep posting pictures and some videos to keep all the family updated as she grows. The videos aren't too exciting yet, but hopefully they are still enjoyable :).

sleeping is what Linnea did best in Grammy's arms :)

One More Addition to the Family!

Well, Linnea is awake at the moment, but actually not crying. She was called the "perfect" baby while the grandma's were here, hmmm....I wonder why....lol, let's just say she enjoys being held now, but unfortunately, I only have two arms :). But, I'm sure compared to some really fussy babies, she would still be considered the "ideal" baby. Anyways, while I have the chance I thought I would post a short but big praise!

The Lord provided a new family vehicle for us! Aaron keeps calling it my car, so I guess you could say this is my first car! We are so thankful to the Lord for finding just what we were looking for at a very good price, and can not believe how MANY blessings the Lord keeps showering us with. God is SO good!

On another note, I was going to take our daughter out today in our new car, which I have yet to drive, but it's snowing here in So-Cal! Well....it's not really snow, but ash. The fires are probably about sixty miles away, but the smoke they are producing is traveling hundreds of miles, and carrying plenty of ash with it! It's not falling heavy--just little pieces here and there. Definitely a good reminder to keep praying for the firefighters and the residents of all those places. Praise the Lord the fires aren't here this time!

Thank You Grandma!

Well....Grandma has gone :( and the house feels quite empty. Linnea really misses her, too. Especially when I was giving Aaron a haircut and Linnea cried for her half the time! Yes....we miss you grandma!

But I sincerely want to say thank you for all you wonderful help, and not to mention wonderful mother/daughter time (and I suppose son-in-law time, too :)). It was SO fun just having you here to talk to and be with, and then to share with us the moment our daughter came into the world and her first few days of life. The house looks immaculate thanks to your hard work, and the dishes are piling up faster now that you are gone. And we now have keys to our closet dooe thanks to you! :P Thanks for all the fun laughs and for letting me win Ticket to Ride a few times :). Thanks for holding Linnea when she was especially fussy. Thanks for being such a wonderful grandma to our little one.

Mom, you truly are a living example of a godly mother and have raised me to love the Lord, so that I would one day want to raise my daughter in the same manner. I praise God for you in so many ways! I would be overjoyed to be able to follow in your footsteps by the grace of God. I love you mom!

...Linnea pooped really loud during our photo shoot....it was really funny :) (look at her face)

I think she is smiling....precious

snuggle time with Grandma

We miss you mom...and can't wait to see you and everyone else in a couple of months. We love you!

Linnea's First Night Home

Welcome to the World Linnea Joy!!!

Wow.....where do I begin?? Well, I suppose from the beginning. And I hope you don't mind all the pics ;) ....I figure the more the better for family and friends who can't be here to experience it in person. Now, I am VERY serious when I say don't read this if you are not one for labor details...I couldn't resist, and don't have a clue how to condense a story. I suppose I could just not write about the whole labor, but it was all so crazy and exciting to me, I just can't help myself.

I woke up at about 3:15am on Tuesday, August 18th and most definitely did not return to sleep. I think I had a few contractions that were 4-5 minutes apart, but after that, they were even closer together. Anyways.... :) .... In less than an hour I realized the contractions were really close together (probably 3 minutes), but didn't waste my time coutning knowing that we needed to get to the hospital. I took a shower and woke my hubby up at 5:15. My mom and him got everything packed up and into the car, and we were on our way by 5:45.

I decided to time my contractions with my cell phone during the 30 min. car ride (well....more like 20-25 min....let's just say Aaron wasn't exactly driving slow). They were 2-3 minutes apart. Now, as a side note...we were in a hurry because they wanted me at the hospital in the beginning of labor in order to get two doses of a drug in me. I have GBS I think it's called, which is vaginal beta strep (sorry to be detailed...I hope it doesn't gross you out). Each dose can only be given 4 hrs. apart. GBS doesn't affect me at all, but there was a slight chance of infection to the baby, which could have dangereous ramifications.....SO, all that to say, we tried to hurry.

By the time I got a room, my contractions were no more than 2 minutes apart and many times less. My initial thinking was there is NO WAY I can do this for many more hours, and since I assumed labor lasted a long time, I thought I had many more hours to go, and just happened to have my contractions really close together. At about 8:00am (I think) I started to have 2-3 contractions on top of one another and then a rest. I laugh at how I groaned I think through every contraction. I remember telling my husband that "relaxing is a joke, becuase it is impossible". My body was being taking over by extreme pain that made me shake and throw up. I was thinking "this is crazy! I thought this wasn't supposed to happen until transition (right before the pushing stage) and there is no way I am at that point yet!" Boy was I wrong!

Because I thought I had hours to go I told my husband that I couldn't do this anymore. He said "yes you can, honey, one contraction at a time." I didn't say anything in response, but I "knew" I wouldn't be able to go much longer without an epidural. The last thing I remember before asking the nurse to check me is having four contractions in a row without a rest period and pushing periodically during those contractions. The nurse checked me and said my bag of waters was "right there" meaning I was ten cm. dialated and I think fully efaced, but my water hadn't broken.

The next few minutes were the most unbearable waiting for the doctor to get there to break my water. He finally arrived, and didn't have time to put his blue scrubs on before breaking my water. This part is somewhat humorous. He rolled up his collared shirt as much as he could and broke my water, which went everywhere! Then he stepped aside to actually put his scrubs on, which felt like an eternity of time since all I wanted to do was push and all the nurses kept telling me not to. I won't go into detail, but I pushed like 6-8 times and she was born at 9:37!!!!
She is/was 6 lbs. 5 1/2 oz. and 20 3/4 in. long. Tiny but long! I only got one dose of the drug in me, so they had to take her blood the next day to test her for infection from the GBS, but she is perfectly healthy, so that is a praise!

That is a total labor of 6 hrs. and about 15 minutes. This is the part where you are not supposed to get jealous but rejoice with me ;). God is SO good and gracious!!! I just never expected it to be like that (nor that painful). Yes, I thought I was going to die, but then there was an end to it and the Lord definitely carried me through (with the amazing help of my husband and his sidekick, my mom). And the Lord's grace and MANY blessings have only continued!

I am amazed at the miracle of a child and have literally enjoyed EVERY minute of being a mommy and seeing my husband be a daddy. Linnea is SO precious, even when she cries. God has been so gracious in giving us a daughter who is absolutely beautiful :), nurses well, is healthy, and has pretty much already adapted to night and day. My mom has been a wonderful help and Aaron's mom is coming next Thurs! My heart is overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness to the Lord for abundantly blessing us.

Thank you all for your prayers and excitement with us! Enjoy the pictures of sweet Linnea Joy!

One minute old

A very happy grandma and mommy!

Daddy trying to give you a size perspective and touching his precious daughter's head.

Daddy bonding with Linnea.

Our new family of three (sorry Linnea is a little blurry)
Resting after her first bath.
Hannah meets her baby cousing for the first time!
Grandma's lovin on her!

I could kiss her all day!
All ready to go home :) (Thanks sis for the adorable outfit!)
VERY excited to be going home from our long three day stay at the hospital.
Readu for her first car ride!
Yes, she makes funny faces quite often that I think are just adorable
Welcome home Linnea!
She has really long fingers and toes!

Precious...

So tiny....