Well...

I'm still here! (but not here, as you can plainly see) I have several posts in the works, but am still 3 months behind. hmmm. What could have gotten me 3 months behind when I had almost caught up...

Anyway, please don't give up on me! I'm going to be back in the swing of things soon! gulp, I hope!

:)

Extreme Home Makeover (well, sort of)

Ok, maybe not so extreme...

But we did do some make-overs in honor of Abby's arrival:

Abby's room is now one half of our office/den. Of course, she'll spend the first several weeks in our room in her pack-n-play bassinet.

Anna's plain light butter yellow walls now have a cute outdoorsy feel courtesy of some "wallies" from Target. I love Love LOVE the little hedgehog above her little bookshelf.

The tree was fun to put up, and I assure you (since it was bothering me) that the decorative boxes atop the armoire now extend to the right so that the owl's branch isn't hovering on it's own, but rather grows out from behind a box. :)

This wall needed something to compliment the oh-so-cute wall art from our friend Alisa.

Caleb was sad initially when he found out that Abby was to be a girl instead of his chance to have a brother. We found out later it was because he thought he wouldn't get to have bunkbeds if he didn't get a baby brother.

Little did he know that Mimi and Pawpaw still have the bunkbeds that my sister and I used when we were little -- nice sturdy wooden ones! We surprised him one afternoon just before Abby was born:

So "convenient" that we had purchased matching bed quilts way-back-when... hee hee

I have a First Grader!?

Last year, as a brand new Kindergartener...

This year, as a brand new First Grader!

I'm starting to notice that I pick similar clothing for him each year...

Oozing confidence

Caleb received a post card the week before school, confirming that Mrs. G would be his teacher and welcoming him to First Grade. Caleb had been through a school year in our wonderful school already, so attending the first-day assembly was nothing new, and certainly nothing scary. After the assembly, which Scott and I attended (Anna hanged out with Mimi), the classes formed a procession to their respective rooms. Scott had to rush back to work, so he high-fived and hugged his handsome boy.

Caleb was excited to enter his room for the first time (and deposit his heavily-laden backpack, I'm sure)

TEXTBOOKS!!

Caleb's friend from church is in his class, not to mention some friends from last year and even a friend from his old preschool!

(goofy due to poor photography) action shot of my proud first grader at the end of the day, coming to the car

We're proud of you, Caleb!

Who's dripping water on her?

FLASHFORWARD

(by the way, Scott and I are loving the new tv show by the aforementioned name, and you can catch previous episodes on ABC [dot] com.)

Ahem. Excuse the thought tangent please. Thank you.

This is a flash forward post to update you on precious Abby's progress! Previous posts have us to mid-July, so it won't be too long till we're caught up to the present instead of giving you flashbacks. Yippee!

If you remember, Abby was born a few days prior to her due date, weighing in at 8 lbs, 6 oz and 20-ish inches. ( I think there was an extra 1/4 inch in there somewhere, but my brain cells are seriously compensating for the ones that went kamikaze during pregnancy...)

At her 2-day appointment, (most babies have lost weight at this point but are slowly gaining it back), she was already back to birth weight but was moderately jaundiced. So, since this was a weekend, we went to the local children's hospital twice for bilirubin labwork (and ended up with two sweet bruised heels). Abby was a champ, though. Her levels began to recede toward healthiness by the second day of testing. Whew.

At her 2 week appointment, (by which she should have been back at her birthweight) she measured a healthy 9 lbs 8 oz and 21 1/4 inches. For those of you who, like me, are also missing brain cells due to past pregnancies, that's a pound and 2 oz. in two weeks' time. Not to mention the inch of growth... Sweet girl managed to soil all 5 diapers I had with me during our doctor's visit, and I promise I was waiting a while to make sure she was done before changing her!

Here I was, worrying that she wasn't getting enough nutrition because she was nursing for less time during each feeding than moms are advised to encourage.

When her month (4wk) appointment rolled around, I expected some growth, but not alot since I hadn't noticed all that much change. To my surprise, she had gained another pound and 4 oz! Then we measured her, and she had grown another inch. :) At this rate, I'm beginning to wonder if she'll out grow her clothing once a month! Have you ever seen those animal capsules you can buy, drip water on, and they grow quickly into an animal-shaped sponge?

Abby surprised us with a 6 hour stretch of night time sleep at about 4 weeks. That was somewhat inconsistent for a while, but last week (6 wks), she surprised us with a fairly consistent 7-8 hour night time habit. Here's hoping it will continue! I feel good, but I can tell I'm not caught up yet. Check back with me when she graduates from High School! Ha!

Welcome to the Ool... aka Swimming Trip with Friends

There's this neato-mosquito water park in a nearby community. My friend Sharla and her three boys invited us to go along. It was great fun!
Let the fun commence! Caleb loves playing with Braeden and Carsten!

Couldn't you just pinch her cheeks?

I must admit that I did not yet own a maternity swimsuit at the time, so that gave me motivation to wade in the shallow pool taking pictures instead (with my maternity capri pants rolled up above the knee, of course).

As promised to my friend, there are no pictures of me or her, though we were most certainly in the pool the whole time! :D

This is one of my favorites of Anna.

This is another of my favorites.

Anna spent nearly the whole time pouring water.

The only downer was that a coming thunder-shower caused the lifeguards to sound the all-out alarm, so our time to leave came while we were awaiting the all-clear.

I'm with ya, Dallen. SO with ya.

The next time we went back, I saw to it that I was appropriately attired to join in the fun. Who cares if I was a very large 7.5 mo. preggo in the pool?

If Only Abe were here...

Frolicking Fun

There's just something about

a hot summer day

and a sprinkler

that brings out

playfulness,

adventure,

attitude,

mischief,

bliss,

wonderment,

and all-out joy!

Three new posts!

Don't miss the 3 new posts from today! Two are the final posts about our DC trip. One includes baby pics! Scroll down to read them, or click the titles for their individual pages.

D to the C, part "Kevin Bacon"
D to the C, part שבע
Announcing the arrival of...

Announcing the arrival of...

Abigail Grace McDonald!


(ok, so, we've already announced it, but read on, there are pictures attached!!)

One morning, bright dark and early, Scott and I traveled to a local hospital to induce labor on our 3rd child. After going in the wrong doors and the back-way through the ER to be admitted, we came to a labor/delivery room to prepare. We discovered I was already in labor! (Funny, you'd think I'd know it after two other labors/births)

We were so excited to finally reach the day when we'd meet and hold our sweet girl! The nurse looked at me while we were sitting there doing the prerequisite paperwork and asked if my other two kids were red-heads also. (? Maybe the room's lighting was bringing out the 40-or-so red hairs I have mixed in with blonde, brown, and, yes, white.) We began preparations and got settled. We saw my doctor, whom I really like! (Have I mentioned that before?) Pitocin was administered to speed things along. By 10:30 am and at least 5 hrs of close contractions, I inquired about when an epidural would be advisable. I wasn't miserable, but I knew things were progressing. I had experienced two perfect epidurals before, but my only concern was that I'd had friends whose epidurals had worn off when labor stalled. (I was told that doesn't happen.)

The epidural was administered by a funny but strange anesthesiologist. I loved being able to relax. Sweet girl was not "descending" quickly, and when epidural wore off (yup, wore off), I got an additional dose of a different med, which was VERY effective for a good while.

About the time that wore off (12 hours of labor at this point- come on sweet girl!), the L/D wing was bustling with lots and lots of deliveries, and we were getting excitedly anxious because we knew ours was imminent. My doctor, nurse, and the student nurse were occupied by lots of calls and a delivery next door, so when I knew it was time to deliver, imagine the conversation as I'm repeatedly saying "I have to push" and Scott's saying "Please don't push. It's just me in here. PLEASE."

Our doc made it just in time and it was only a moment before we beheld Abby with our own eyes for the first time! Praise the Lord! The pain wasn't all that bad, and there's something about birth that makes the recollection go away. Sweet Abby was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 in long with an arrival time after 6 pm.

Wanna see our little Blessing #3?

Not much crying at first, until...

...cleanup made her mad. But not for long.

Quiet bonding with Mama. Tongue out over and over again. Silly cute little thing.

Goofy and somewhat disheveled big sis and big bro in their apropos attire.

Caleb immediately wanted to hold her, but the first thing he said after climbing up on the bed with me was... "How'd she get out of there anyway?"

Sweet big brother

Anna was apprehensive at first, so Mimi helped calm her.

Then she "sort-of" held her... for about 3 seconds.

Getting a checkup in the nursery

Sweet sleeping babe in her clear plastic hospital nursery crib

Going home outfit

Not liking being dressed in going home outfit

snuggly warm and ready to go home!

D to the C, part שבע

"Seven" in Hebrew is שבע
(read right to left) and, not-so-incidentally, is the number in Scripture that represents completion. (On the seventh day, God rested after Creation, etc)

So, I thought it fitting to wrap up the marathon postings about our DC trip with a miscellaneous smattering of photos and brief anecdotes. You can thank me for wrapping it up later... :)

This is a picture of one of the statues on either side of the non-tourist entrance to the National Archives. Both Scott and I took pictures of this, as we see the importance of studying the past. Have you ever heard the quote (attributed to George Santayana, I believe) that "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" ? That is true of the mistakes in the past, and knowing history also helps you greatly appreciate and understand who you are, what you believe, and why you believe it.

We got to stand in line to see the documents from the founding of our nation at the National Archives. I know they take great pains to preserve and protect the originals, and yet I am so thankful for printing presses and facsimiles. You'll see what I mean when you compare the next three pictures: First, an original printed copy of the Declaration of Independence, followed by a facsimile of the original handwritten Declaration, followed finally by the actual original handwritten Declaration of Independence. Flash photos were prohibited, of course, on the first and third, but the middle picture was from the display outside of the protected area housing the originals.


p.s., we were assured that there was absolutely no way that there is a secret map on the backside of the original, a-la-National Treasure.

This is the Supreme Court building. We got a neat tour and description of the chambers and Court history. A pro-life group stood in silent peaceful protest on the left in this pic with their mouths taped to show that the unborn do not have a voice in matters of "choice."

Here is a view of the back of the Capitol from the entrance level of the new Capitol Visitor's Center. The Visitor's center is elegant and matches the rest of the Capitol well, in my opinion.

Closeup of the Capitol Rotunda Dome.


Little Monkey takes the Capitol a-la-King Kong.
(one of the texted pics we sent home to keep the kids involved)

Nancy Pelosi's office (for now)


The Capitol Dome from inside the Rotunda. Gorgeous. Also weighs 9 MILLION pounds. No. joke.



I'm sure our backgrounds have been thoroughly checked. We got to "tour" the White House (which is just a do-it-yourself walkthrough of a couple of rooms) and one of the Secret Service agents was certain that Scott looks just like one of their fellow agents.


Note. to. self. When taking a self-photo, remove the sunglasses to prevent your goofy arm from showing up on your lenses.



Scott should have access to this stairwell in the National Cathedral, shouldn't he?

The restaurant at the National Spy Museum. EXCELLENT Lobster Mac 'n Cheese as a side dish, btw.

Fancy Soda:
Ginger Ale, Lime, Blueberry, and Mint.
Very refreshing. No alcohol, duh. Available at Zola's.

This is the church we visited for their Wednesday night service. It's the home of 9 Marks ministries -- a great resource for churches!

Sesame-encrusted somefishwe'dneverheardof&can'tremember
served fresh at the Oceanaire Seafood Room. Delish, even though I can't remember what it was.

Quite possibly the best burgers we've ever had. 3.6.9 miniburgers with gorgonzola cheese and onion straws from Matchbox in Chinatown.

D to the C, part "Kevin Bacon"

Yes, I said "part Kevin Bacon".

This is D to the C post 6, and it's all about the Six Degrees (or less) of Separation made popular by the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, amongst other things.

For those of you who may be confused... It's the concept that we really do live in a small world, and if I'm connected by one degree to each person I know and two degrees away from each person who is known by one of the people I know, then I'm at most six steps away from any other person on Earth.

Why do I link that to our DC trip? This turned out to be a real Six Degrees of DC trip.

Well, we embarked on this trip with the intention to spend time with our friend, Nate. YEA!

(yikes. Pregnant picture)

We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Nate and his great parents. Thanks for the hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. S! Nate celebrates a birthday this Monday: Happy Birthday!!

My dad serves on the board of both a Farm-related bank and also on the National Cotton Council, and it just so happened that he was scheduled to have a semi-annual meeting in DC on our first couple of days there. He invited us and Nate to join him for dinner at a scrumptious and very cool 1930s style restaurant that evening.

Then, we found out that a friend from college (who serves in a covert branch of our military) is currently stationed there with his family, so we got the awesome opportunity to catch up with him in the Ice Cream parlor of the Museum of Natural History. It was great to see you Mark!

We ate lunch at a great little cafe one day, and because it was tiny (not because we were altogether nosey) we overheard some guys talking "church planting". Our ears perked up as we realized they were believers and actually on staff of a church we would be attending that evening. (...and I really enjoyed the plantains from the cafe... couldn't pass up mentioning that.)

We visited that neat church that Wednesday and chatted with some great guys whom we'd never met before: one knows a friend of ours who attends Southern Seminary, another went to our University, and a third lived in Springfield, MO about the same time we did.

Thursday of our trip, we scored some Gallery Passes to the Senate from one of our state's Senators. We went that morning (NOTHING was going on), and then again that evening in hopes of catching some Senate fireworks. The evening didn't disappoint, as we saw Senator Lieberman, and witnessed some incessant slick-talk from Sens. Dodd (CT) and Reid (NV) get interrupted parliamentarily by Senator McCain. Then, to top it all off, three cowboys (in hats) came into the gallery to observe, and would you believe that one of them was a guy who taught small group Sunday BibleStudy for us when we did College Ministry in Springfield? Jason was there as a representative for the Missouri Cattlemen's Association at a conference that just happened to be there that week. We hadn't talked to him in a couple of years, and ran into him in the Senate Gallery!?!

It truly was a small world on our trip!

Ahhh. *pleasant sigh*

Ahem. I'd just like to start by saying I'm loving being a mom of 3. Seriously! Yes, there's a distinct lack of sleep (but not all that dissimilar from the last month of pregnancy), and it's an adjustment trying to effectively meet the needs of 3 kiddos instead of two, but I'm still loving it!

Now, at the risk of irritating those of you who are anxiously awaiting pictures of sweet Abby, I'm going to attempt to start catching up on the blog and at the same time appease the picture appetite. Can you handle the flashbacks and present-days together? :)

Here we go!

[Bear with me, since I'm trying to do this during Abby's naps that coincide with independent-play for Caleb and Anna. I can't promise that will be as consistent as I'd like, not to mention the crizazy amount of emails (over 100!) and Google Reader items (382!) I have yet to read/answer, and the loads of baby laundry]

Praise be to the Lord!

We are celebrating the arrival of Abigail Grace at 6:22 pm, measuring 8lbs, 6oz and 20 inches long. She took her sweet time, :) but she arrived healthy and fairly happy! For those of you who like such details, her Apgar was 9/9!

No, I was not super mom since I was able to post some updates on twitter. Actually, there is a lot that can be accomplished when you have a good epidural! :)

And you'll notice there were substantial gaps in the updates. That's because my epidural wore off TWICE. Once was in the middle, and the anesthesiologist saved the day with the addition of a different med. But...

Ahem. The second time was the last hour and a half. No rescue meds allowed. It was lovely.

But so worth it!

So, there's an update for you! I'm awaiting transfer to recovery, sweet girl is being pampered in the nursery, and Daddy is rustling up some grub for himself and his ravenously hungry wife.

http://twitpic.com/f61z1 will take you to a picture.

Glory to God for this sweet bundle of joy!

Mark this date...

Monday is the day! Most of you will be reading this on Monday, so expect forthcoming news of baby Abby's arrival!

Either Scott or I will be offering occasional updates via Twitter (you can see my account updates at the right of this page) and Facebook (which receives my Twitter updates).

We are scheduled to start the induction process at 6am, so pray for a quick and easy and healthy delivery! :)

The next blog post that appears should have a picture of our sweet girl! You might even get a sneak peek at her via pictures posted on Twitter if you're watching!

We're excited and eager and anxious and relieved that the day is here. Thanks for checking in with us!