Madelynn's First Birthday

Here she is, the Birthday Girl! She turned ONE:

Eating pizza for supper.

Oh Madelynn! Over here, yoo-hoo!

Happy Birthday Madelynn!!

Yummy apple pie! (Gluten Free of course!)

One of her birthday cards, this one from Great Grampa and Gramma E.

The pictures below are just for fun:

She's just sitting there looking cute. No actual riding yet. :)

Peek a boo!

Sprouts and Sprout

The First thing is I've been growing alfalfa sprouts in the kitchen. I was a little hesitant it would work at first but it's quite easy to do. Now we have fresh sprouts in the fridge for the family! So tasty!

The Second thing is that we are expecting Baby #5 at the end of January. That makes me about 7 weeks along. So come along Bean Sprout, go easy on your momma, and we look forward to meeting you around January 22!

Two Years Old Today

This is a blog post announcing the birth of Emily Grace, our third child, on June 2, 2008 written by Joel:


She Cried!

Thank-you Jesus for that little voice!
Emily arrived at 1:27 today, June 2. She was taken immediately to a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) next door to the delivery room. We could hear her screaming through the thick door. After a few minutes I (Joel) was allowed to see her. They placed a breathing tube down her throat. She doesn't always remember to breathe they told me. Into her bellybutton went a tube that goes right into her heart for medications and taking blood. Just before she got trollyed over to the Children's Hospital Renee got to see her for a moment. I went with her through the tunnel. Eventually she was placed in the Pediatric ICU. The x-rays and fetal ECHO (ultrasound) showed that her heart is still abnormal. She will stay on the breathing machine and medication to keep the bypass that still allows blood to get to the lungs open, for a few days. Then they will take her off the medication and see what happens. If she can't push blood through the proper avenues they will surgically place a shunt in her heart. Renee was eventually wheeled over to Children's (a ten-minute trip). She was pretty weak so we came back to Abbott and placed in a recovery room. I think Renee will heal very well. But she is feeling kinda lost and lonely being separated from this girl she's spent the last nine months with. Emily is so wired up we can't even hold her yet. But hopefully we'll have a lifetime to connect with our daughter. Thank you for praying us through labor and delivery. We'll keep you all posted. Grace, Joel
P.S. Renee reminded me of some important things to share! Emily Grace was 19 1/2 inches long (just like Joshua and Rachel). She weighs 5 lbs 15 oz. She's got dark fuzzy hair - a little more than the other two did. And despite all the tubes and wires and stickers, she's adorable - looks very much like Rachel did as a newborn. Even the rest of her body and the way she lies is just like the other two. Back to Renee - bye.



If you would like to see pictures of Emily, there is a slide show on the right hand side of this blog, scroll down some until you see it.