Season's Greetings!
I am not saying that to be politically correct, but because I wasn't able to get on the computer until now, the week between Christmas and New Year's. I have no problem with different greetings such as Happy Holidays or Happy Hannukah or whatever as well. I just don't think people should be regulating what other people say about a holiday that has been around for a very long time! So Merry belated Christmas!!! :) We have had a wonderful time and I will gladly post some pictures and stories soon. For now, I hope you all had a nice weekend and that you have a great week. We'll be back in Winnipeg late on Saturday night. It will be a mixed goodbye for sure so think and pray for us! :)
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Parties and Pagents
'Tis the season! Deyan arrived around midnight on Tuesday (Simeon's birthday). It was SO great to see him again! He was amazed at Esther's changes, of course. Simeon was sleeping but was very cute with him when he woke up in the morning. Unfortunately, we had all just begun our rounds of antibiotics and Sim definitely wasn't feeling better yet. We had a birthday party for him on Wednesday night, and it was fun, but the poor guy just wasn't himself. Thankfully, he is now back to being so happy and cute! Esther is still a bit snuffly, but otherwise ok and my ear has finally stopped hurting.
So, we hung out for a couple of days and allowed Dey to recoup after a hard last few weeks of school. We did get out to see the Chronicles of Narnia which was cool. I even left Esther at home for the first time! She did great, as I knew she would. Saturday we spent the day shopping. Crazy! Saturday night we went to a Christmas party at our friends' house from church. They invite everyone over 16 from the church over every year and they feed us a scrumptuous feast! Salmon and meatballs and chicken au vin and lasagne and salads and rolls and rice and ham and cheeseballs, etc. Everything is homemade and delicious! Then they top it off with wonderful desserts like trifle, cheesecake, mocha freeze, etc. They really do go above and beyond. I have a picture of their ENORMOUS tree which I will post later when I figure out how to get them off Dey's camera onto my parent's computer.
Sunday evening we had the Sunday School Christmas play. It was very cute, though I didn't know alot of the kids that were in it! I guess that happens when you move away. The kids you know grow up and new people come to the church and voila! Last night was my youngest sister's school play. They did a great job of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Emma was an Oompa Lumpa - pretty cute.
I know it sounds super busy here, but it really isn't too bad. We hope to see some more people soon because as Christmas near, the busyness will definitely pick up! Missing you Winnipeger's, but enjoying the mild weather here! :)
Sick...Yuk!
Well, I was finally able to get Simeon and I to a Dr. last night. Poor little guy! He's been trying so hard to be happy but it's been a difficult 5 days! Well, no wonder. It turns out he has strep throat and 2 ear infections! His tonsils are really swollen which is making him cough and gag all the time too. His fever is pretty low-grade, but it is still there. Since Thursday morning all the has eaten is a few bites of yogurt, a couple of chocolates, and 1/2 muffin. He is nursing more though, which has been interesting! I didn't mind tandem nursing when he only did it first thing in the morning and at nap time. But now that it's more often, between him and Esther I feel like I constantly have someone attached! Oh well, I'm glad it's bringing him some comfort. He is also cutting his 2 year molars, which can't be fun!!!
So it turns out that I also have an ear infection. I've never had one before and it sure has been painful! Sim and I are both on antibiotics so pray we don't get any yeast/thrush infections! Esther also has a touch of strep and ear infections, but I'm not going to put her on antibiotics unless I need to. She seems to be her happy self, and I know she's getting lots of antibodies in my milk. She seems to have her days and nights mixed up which really sucks. She still sleeps a 6-8 hour stretch every night, but she stays awake until 3 or 4am before she does it! I think if she does it again tonight, then I'm going to keep her awake all day tomorrow! I know...good luck with that! ;) Oh yeah, we had her weighed last night at the Dr.'s. So, at 5 weeks old she is 12lbs already!!!
Today is Simeon's 2nd birthday! He doesn't know, though, and doesn't seem to care (being sick and all). Deyan flies in tonight (YAY!!!) so we are going to have his party and celebration tomorrow anyways. Hopefully he'll be feeling better by then.
Pray for safe travels for Dey!
5 Generations!
Esther with her Great-Great Grandmother Walsh
Nanny celebrated her 90th birthday 4 days before Esther was born!
Me (28) My Mom (45) My Nanny (65) My Great Nanny (90)
Esther (5 weeks)
My great grandmother (Nellie) had 14 children. She is a very strong woman and continues to amaze us all at her stamina! I recently learned that she had alot of her babies at home and that she even assisted the local midwife with some of the births in her neighborhood when she was young! Some of her ancestors were also midwives, which is cool.
My grandmother (Joyce) is her second-born. She had children, my mom (Kelly) being the oldest. My mom had 6 kids and I am the oldest. I was also the first grandchild and great-grandchild. Simeon is the first great-great grandchild and Esther is the first great-great granddaughter!
Quick update
Well, it has been a busy few days visiting friends! I stayed at my Dad's house all week. Simeon has lots of fun with Grandpa, especially lighting the fire in their woodstove. He used to like their cat too, but they are on bad terms at the moment! :) He has definitely warmed up to Grandma and auntie Marli and Emily as well. Auntie Katie just came home on the weekend so we haven't gotten to spend any time with her yet, but I know Sim will have no problems connecting with her. My sister Emily cut my hair for me. Shhhh! Don't tell Deyan - it's a surprise! :) I really like it.
I went to Fredericton to visit my really good friends Matt and Chrissie and their kids. It is amazing how we can go an entire year without any communication (even though we are super close - Chrissie and their oldest daughter Molly were in my wedding) and then see each other and pick up exactly as if we had never been separated! Relationships like that don't come a dime a dozen, that's for sure. I had a wonderful time hanging out with them as a family and then being there for their housechurch Christmas party. We had a fun Yankee swap that included prophetic words for each other. So cool. I even got to see some other old friends who were there as well. The only bummer of our time there was that Simeon came down with a fever and wasn't himself (hoping it's not the pox!!!). He is still not well, but seems to be much better during the day. He coughs alot at night and his fever gets pretty high then too. Esther hasn't been sleeping that great at night either so I am getting very tired! Trying to catch up during the day, though.
Yesterday we came back to Saint John and went to lunch at our friend Linda's house. She is a gourmet cook and always makes us unbelievably delicious food. The coffee and homemade Bailey's was great too! :)
Today we are going to visit my grandparents. My great-grandmother is down from the Mirimachi visiting for the weekend. I will hopefully take some pictures of all of us with her. 5 generations doesn't happen very often!
That's about all for now. Did I mention that my 4 week old daughter is now rolling over? How crazy is that!!! She honestly looks and acts about 3 months old already. I know I keep saying this, but she really is growing up very fast!!! And she sure is cute! :) She has won everyone's heart over, that's for sure. She is super cuddly. If only she wasn't such a night owl! She is a very content baby and hardly ever fusses or cries. But lately she wants to be awake until 2, 3 or even 4am!!! Not good for my nerves and emotions, that's for sure! Pray that I am a patient mother in those times!
Love to all of you! :)
The story behind the story...finally!
Well, some of you have been anxiously waiting...I know! :) Here are some little tidbits about little Esther which I think are pretty neat!
As most of you know, thanks to my complaints, this wasn't an easy pregnancy for me. But besides the excitement of bringing forth a new life and a new member to our family, I sensed there was more to this birth. I have been going through a pretty dry time in my spiritual life and somehow I felt that I wasn't the only one. This often happens to me where I experience things not just personally but also as an intercessor or representative of others either in the church or in the city, etc. Sorry if you don't understand all of this, but it's too much to explain in one post! :) Different friends at different times were praying over me and the baby within and would say things like, "I think this pregnancy/birth/baby is a picture of what is going on in the church right now." I agreed. Someone also said, "I keep hearing the words - name her well." This was interesting because just that week Deyan and I had been talking about names and I felt like, girl or boy, we really needed to decide on a strong name and none of the ones we were thinking of were fitting at all.
Fast forward a bit to 6 weeks or so before due time. I had been asking Simeon throughout my pregnancy what kind of baby we were having and he would never answer me. All of a sudden he started saying, "Girl baby!" So I jokingly asked him what we should call her and he said, "Esther." I thought it was cute, that he must be thinking of his Veggie Tales or something. But as the days and weeks progressed, every time I would ask him he would say the same thing! Dey and I started thinking more seriously about the name and began to really like it! Needless to say, we weren't surprised when a girl popped out and we knew exactly what to call her!
Esther means "star", but more importantly is her story in the Bible. First of all, she is the only female to have a book named after her! You can read about it in the Old Testament. But the jest of the story is that she was chosen as Queen of Persia (after 1 year of primping and preparation) out of all the women in the kingdom. She was a jew (unbeknownst to the court), a minority and not very well-liked people group at the time. She saved an entire generation by stepping out in courage and doing something that could have caused her death. She also relied on God for everything and had many people fasting and praying for her. There are many parallels I can draw to the here and now, but they would be better explained in person. Read the story and see what you think! Either way, I know that my Esther is destined to be a strong woman who will follow God and be a leader in her generation!
Her middle name is Iova which means "God will establish."
Then there is the timing of her birth. I had been praying and trying to go into labour for 3 weeks with no success. Our church was going to be having its 10th annivserary celebration and I was hoping to participate, with a newborn in tow, not still pregnant! But God had other plans and they were perfect. I had an incredible woman's breakfast on the Saturday morning and again received confirmation that this birth was not just going to be a physical act, but would release something in me personally, especially related to the prophetic. There is more detail to this story, but again would be better shared in person.
That night I went to church and danced my heart out in an awesome worship/celebration service. Simeon did too! I was not surprised to go home with regular contractions! Oh, and Saturday was the official day of the church's 10th anniversary. Esther was born on Sunday morning, the first day of a new beginning for our church. She weighed 8lbs 8oz, was born after 8 minutes of active pushing (which would have been much faster if she didn't have her hand up by her head) and emerged at 8:04am. Notice all the 8's? The number 8 means "new beginnings". Neat, eh?
I have definitely felt a difference since her birth in my own spritual life. Like there is new life coming out of me and I am excited about it. And the more people I talk to, the more I find they are experiencing some of the same things...at the same time! So, although I don't want to read too much into it all, I truly believe there is something significant about all of this and I can't wait to see it unfolding. There may be more to the story that I have forgotten, but I think I'll leave it at that for now. Esther sure is special and a wonderful addition to our lives! And we are grateful for her big prophetic brother too! :)
Prayer Requests
I have had incredible back pain all week long. It is concentrated on the left side, right under my ribs in the middle of my back. It is an unusual place for me to experience back problems and nothing that I have been doing so far helps! I've tried the chiropractor and massage as well as heat and Robax. I can't afford any more special treatments so I need God to heal me!
I just got a call from a friend of mine who has 2 little ones. They have both had the chicken pox a few years ago, but her daughter just broke out in them for a second time! Problem is, I was visiting them this week when she would have been contagious. I wouldn't be too upset if Simeon got them, but I would hate for Esther to get them at this young age. And really, it is pretty bad timing for either of them to get sick over Christmas! Especially with all the visiting we would like to do! I'm not sure what to do as far as seeing people and knowing whether or not the kids are contagious. Any advice? Please pray for protection!
Pictures
Uncle Jordan
Sleepy, Chubby Little Girl!
Simeon dancing at church
Alert and smiling lots!
I'm not sure how much Esther weighs now, but at 2 weeks old she was already 9lbs 12oz! She is definitely growing fast...too fast for me! I wish she would stay little just a little longer. She is very strong and can hold her head up for a long time. She is very content and smiles all the time for us! We love her to pieces!
Things I appreciate...
Homemade tea buscuits and strawberry jam and other yummy goodies.
Warm weather - not only temperatures above zero, but in the double digits! Today the high is plus 12 degrees Celcius!
Simeon loving his sister - he always wants to share what he is doing with her. Like if he's coloring, he says, "Baby hold the pink marker?" and puts it in her hand and laughs. He really thinks she's great.
A fun church community here. My dad's church is known as a party church because there are so many spontaneous get togethers and everyone just loves hanging out together. They also have a vibrant youth/young adult crowd who are totally passionate and inspiring.
My brother and his Christmas cheer.
Lots of "aunties" who want to hang out with my kids. Not to mention the many grandparents. It does make it possible to catch extra sleep!
A wonderful sleeper for a newborn. Esther sleeps at least one 5 hour stretch every night, nurses, and goes back to sleep for 2-3 hour stretches. For 3 weeks old, I can't complain! If only she would go to sleep a bit earlier! :)
Sharing chocolate. Boy, if I don't put on a ton of weight while I'm here it will be a miracle!
Veggie Tales - okay, so this is Simeon's favorite thing, but it sure can give me a break sometimes!
Running into old friends anytime I go out. Being in the Maritimes sure is a social time!
These are in no particular order, by the way. I'm sure there are many more, but I need to go and attend to the little ones! :) Have a great December 1st everyone!
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