A Day at the Orchard

The weather couldn't have been more perfect this past Sunday as we put on our sweaters and headed south on 169 after church to spend a few hours at Minnesota Harvest picking apples.  We started with a lunch of apple cider brats and then headed out in a tractor pulled wagon to pick...after, of course, I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a good picture of Isaac and Emma together...both looking at the camera and smiling.  Maybe someday they will both cooperate.  =)  Isaac was so excited to pick the apples and was so focused and busy the entire time we were out there.  Emma loved it, too!  I'll let the (many) pictures tell the rest of the story of the afternoon...

 Next post...coming soon...recap from the summer.  =)

"I have a park in my backyard!"

Isaac is SO excited to now have a "park" in his backyard!  They came yesterday morning to install it and were completely done in just over 2 hours!  We ended up purchasing one through Crown of Minnesota, which I HIGHLY recommend.  They were a great company to work with, build quality swingsets and the install was free due to a State Fair special.  Can't beat that!  Sadly, we had to dig up our garden since it was right in the middle of the best spot in our yard to put the swingset...so if you'd like some green tomatoes, we have plenty to share!  Mom came to help watch the daycare kids (thanks again, Mom!) while the men were here. We spent the morning on the deck watching...Isaac was even too excited to change out of his pajamas first.  =)                                  Quite an entertaining process...

Next weekend's project...enclosing the area with some sort of wood chips, mulch or something of the sort.  THANKS Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Lila for our park in the backyard!!!  Love you!

100 days old

These pics were taken on Emma's 100th day of life.  As I post this now on June 10th and look at her beautiful, perfect features (yes, I realize I may be a bit biased as her mommy)  =)  I am amazed at the fact that one year ago today we did not even know we were having another baby.  It was June 14th that we discovered Isaac was going to be a big brother.  Two weeks later, I had an ultrasound that showed a tiny tadpole-like figure with the faintest heartbeat that even the ultrasound tech was surprised to see so early on.  Makes me tear up whenever I think about how truly amazing, wonderful and beautiful the creation of life really is.  To look at an ultrasound of a tiny blob, and not even a year later to look at this face, is an amazing miracle.  One that in my mind, no matter what one's circumstance in life may be to make them think otherwise, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is very, very real and He is worthy to be praised!!!

three months ago...

Three months ago today...February 4th, we were a family of 3, eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new baby.  Brian went to work, I took care of children in our home, Isaac played with his friends, and that evening we went to Perkins for dinner.  Little did we know the next day we would be a family of 4, welcoming our beautiful little girl into our lives.  Emma is now 12 1/2 weeks old and I've been back to providing child care for 4 1/2 weeks.  I loved the 8 weeks I had to spend with just Emma and Isaac, but I have to admit I love doing child care even more.  While I do still sometimes miss the freedom we had to go wherever we wanted, whenever, and being able to give our children all of my attention, I absolutely love watching Isaac play and interact with his friends and seeing the joy in his face every morning when he wakes up and sees all of his friends here.  The years between our children's birth and when they go off to kindergarten is such a short, quick time in our lives, and I am SO VERY thankful that I have the opportunity to be a part of most every moment of it.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's perfect for us.  Emma is growing way too fast, loves to smile and is a champion sleeper.  Last night she ate at 9:30, fell right to sleep and slept until 4:30!  Isaac loves her to pieces and it is so much fun to watch him interact with her.  He rubs her back, gives her hugs and kisses, and loves to hold her and lay next to her when she's having "tummy time."  I can't wait until she's a little bit bigger and they can actually play together more.  People often wonder if and how they will have as much love for a second child as they have for their first.  It is very true that your heart just gets bigger and there is plenty of love to go around.  Each and every day my love grows even more for both Emma and Isaac.  You wonder how in the world could I love them more, and then you wake up the next day and you just do.  And then it amazes me even more when I think of the love I have for my husband and children and know that God's love for me far surpasses that...amazing.

Here are some Easter pics...

Beautiful, smiley little lady

 Lovin' the Easter egg coloring

 Major bed-head Easter Sunday after nap!

 Trying to get a pic of the two of them together...never really did accomplish that.  =)

Our prayer...

I first heard these two songs, written by Cheri Keaggy for her son Cameron and daughter Sarah, when I was in college.  They are beautiful songs with such great lyrics that express exactly how Brian and I feel about how we desire to raise our children...

“Little Boy On His Knees”

He sees me in the morning,

Lifting him out of bed.

The sun comes with little warning,

A brand new day's ahead.

To the kitchen for some breakfast,

A plate of toasted bread,

A cup of milk just as expected,

Close your eyes and bow your head.

You can thank Him for anything you want to,

For the flowers and the trees

And pray, Lord Jesus, make me,

A little boy on my knees.

He's Mommy's little helper.

Learning to comb his hair.

And loves his baby sister,

Though he doesn't always share.

A quarter in the bucket,

A memory verse or two,

Although he may not know it,

He's beginning to follow You.

You can thank him for anything you want to,

For your Daddy and for me.

And pray, Lord Jesus, make me,

A little boy on my knees.

As we teach our Son to serve the Lord, in every way,

Lord the most important thing is this that we now pray,

Lord, we thank you for everything you give us,

but most importantly,

We pray Lord Jesus, make our Son a little boy on his knees.

Lord we thank you for everything you give us,

but most importantly

We pray, Lord Jesus, make our Son,

A little boy on his knees.

We pray that someday he'll become,

A young man on his knees.

“Beautiful Little Girl”

Beautiful little girl

Discovering all the world

I wonder what she'll be

Will she take after her Daddy or Me

Careful to hold her hand

And help her understand

How much we love her so

And how much we'd like

To help her to grow

Into a woman who loves her Maker

And who knows what she's living for

So that nothing can harm

Or take her from You

For a woman who loves her Maker

Has a quality you can see

That will certainly mold and shape her

Into the woman she's meant to be

Beautiful little girl

Adorning a lovely smile

Eager to learn to fly

There's almost nothing

She wouldn't try

Lord, help us do our part

To give her a Godly start

Teach her what she must learn

And guide her

Until she's ready to turn

Into a woman who loves her Maker

And who knows what she's living for

So that nothing can harm

Or take her from You

For a woman who loves her Maker

Has a quality you can see

That will certainly mold and shape her

Into the woman she's meant to be

Beautiful little girl

Discovering all the world

I wonder what she'll be

Serving her Maker faithfully

Emma Grace Harrison

These are some pictures taken by the gal we had photograph our wedding.  We went to her home when Emma was 3 weeks old.  Mom made all of the hats, which I think are adorable!  Thanks again, Mom!

 Isaac was less than trilled about being in a few pictures...

Emma's Arrival

The morning of February 5th, I checked my email and there was one from Mom telling me that she had just looked up flights from Dallas to Mpls., and if I were to go into labor while they were on their trip there later in the month, she could be home within about 8 hours. She was wondering if she should go on the trip, or not.  A decision that she had been going back and forth on for quite some time.  She said "This is why you should just go this weekend." I responded and said I thought she should go, and said "Keep praying for this weekend, or early next week!"  I was dreading having to do daycare for another couple weeks, since it was getting to be rather difficult to move around so much, so was really hoping Friday had been my last day for awhile.

At about 1:30 that afternoon, I was taking a much needed nap and starting feeling a dull ache in my lower back that was going around to my lower abdomen.  I was induced with Isaac due to the high blood pressure I had during my pregnancy with him, so didn't really know what it would feel like to start going into labor naturally.  I got up and moved around, had something to eat and drink...all the things they say to do to see if the contractions stop.  They did not, so I called the hospital and told the nurse I wasn't sure if I was in labor, but thought I might be.  It wasn't as painful as I'd remembered the beginning stages of labor with Isaac being.  She suggested I come in and get checked out just in case...that it sounded like my body was thinking about it, is how she put it.  So, at 4 o'clock, we grabbed the bags I'd had packed for several weeks already and got in the car to head to United.  I had a feeling it was most likely a false alarm, because what were the odds that I would actually be going into labor on the very day I wanted to, and two weeks before our due date?  Isaac came with us, since I was sure we would just be sent home with some meds to slow down or stop the contractions, as a friend of mine had happen when she started labor with her son.

When we got to United's Birth Center, they had me sign some forms, and then took us back to one of the birthing rooms.  We ran into a couple in the hall.  The woman was being pushed in a wheelchair by her husband and they said something about us having a baby today, too.  I said I wasn't actually sure if I was in labor or not and the wife kindof chuckled and said "oh, you'll know", making me doubt myself even more.  I changed into a gown, laid down on the bed and waited for the nurse to come in...all the while telling Brian how foolish I felt and they were doing all of this for nothing...we would just be sent home.

The nurse came in and asked a bunch of questions and then said she was going to check if I was dilated at all.  She said "well, it's not a false alarm, you're dilated to 5!"  I was so relieved I immediately had tears running down my face.  But, I was also not really prepared to have a baby in the next 12 hours or so.  We had planned to go to Target that day and buy groceries to freeze some meals to have on hand after the baby came, I was going to write down some instructions for those caring for Isaac while we were at the hospital, the house still needed to be cleaned, etc.

Brian called our friend Jess and asked her if she could come and pick up Isaac at the hospital, since they live about 5 minutes away and bring him to our house.  Brian's mom and step-dad headed to our house to be there soon after Jess got there.  My parents quickly got out of their greeting duties at church for the Saturday night service and headed down to the cities.  After kissing Isaac goodbye and telling him we'd bring him home a new brother or sister, Brian and I made ourselves at home in our little birthing room.

Our nurse was absolutely wonderful.  She had a "let's get down to business" attitude, which worked very well for me.  I asked her when her shift was over, hoping it wouldn't be soon.  She said "I'm here until 11, so I think we're going to have a baby together!"  It gave me great hope that she thought baby would be born within the next 6 hours!  She gave us her plan of action.  Once she got me hooked up to an IV to start antibiotics I needed to be on during labor, we were to go for a walk for about 45 minutes, then come back and she would evaluate things.  We walked down to the part of the hospital that Brian had been in just a few days prior for a blockage in his small intestine.  The nurses recognized us and said to me "wait a minute...weren't you walking him around this floor a few days ago?"  It was pretty humorous.  The bills that have started coming in for these stays...not so humorous.

When we got back to our room, I rested for a bit while Brian ran to Burger King to grab dinner for himself.  Then our nurse told us she'd like us to go climb some stairs to help baby move into the right position for birth.  We did this for about 30 minutes and then went back to our room.  I was instructed to sit on a birthing ball for an hour...one of those large exercise balls.  Up until this point, my contractions had been uncomfortable and only slightly painful.  When I was up and moving around I could barely feel them.  The doctor had come in to introduce herself (I was bummed to be missing my doctor's shift by about 8 hours) and our nurse said she'd come back out and told her I looked a little too comfortable.  That all changed in the next few minutes when our nurse decided it was time to break my water.  By this time it was about 9:30pm and for the next 1 1/2 hours I experience by far the worst pain in my entire life.  I definitely second guessed a few times my choice to not have any pain medication.  As long as Brian was rubbing my back through each contraction and my nurse was talking me through them I was okay.  A little after 11pm, I started pushing and 3 pushes later all of the pain disappeared (well, most of it, anyway), and I heard the doctor say "it's a...Dad, what is it?"  And Brian said "it's a girl!"  Our nurse was not expecting her to be born quite so quickly, and the dr. didn't get in the room in time...she was putting her gloves on as baby entered the world.  She arrived at 11:11pm weighing 7.2 pounds and was 19 inches long.  We spent the next 2 hours in the delivery room holding Emma, feeding her, calling our parents, taking pictures and resting.  I was a little concerned that her face was so blue, but the doctor assured us it was just bruising from being born so quickly, and that she was completely perfect.  We were so thankful to be holding a healthy, beautiful baby girl.

I was then wheeled down to the room we stayed in until we went home Monday afternoon.  After watching the nurse give baby her first bath we once again tried to decide what we should name her.  We were still debating between two names.  Brian decided we should sleep on it, and decide in the morning. So, he curled up on the not so comfy chair and slept, and I got on the computer and looked up girl names some more.  =)  When morning came, we decided her name would be Emma Grace, and I think it suits her perfectly.  So, that's our story of how our second born joined our family...a little bit early, but at the perfect time...God's time.