2 Weeks

I am still not good at this update thing...Emma likes to eat a lot! Most days, it's hard to squeeze in time for a shower and food for myself. She is quite the grazer; she eats lots of small meals during long periods of time. I am hoping we settle into more of a schedule in the near future so I can get some stuff down and maybe get out of the house a little more. The pictures are from the day we came home from the hospital, after bath time (not very fond of the sponge bath thing!), and Emma resting in a onesie (it says Worth the Wait) from our friends the Merritts...we both were '06 due dates and didn't make it. What a fun, appropriate shirt! We took Emma for a weight check at the hospital Saturday with the lactation consultants, and she is now 8 lbs. 8 oz.--she had gained 12 oz. since our visit with the pediatrician last Thursday! I had been worried about her spitting up too much, but apparently she's getting plenty of nutrition! We are doing well overall, but the transition is definitely a tough one! Emma has met lots of friends and family over the last 2 weeks, and mom and dad have enjoyed visits and the wonderful meals that have been provided! We've actually made a trip to the grocery store and two trips to watch Daddy coach and our high schoolers play b'ball. We were hoping to make church yesterday, but Emma didn't have the same plans. Ben went on, but Mommy stayed home to feed all morning! Oh well..at least she's eating well!

Emma has arrived!

Emma Elizabeth Howell finally came to greet us on Saturday, January 6, 2007 at 11:46 pm. We are all doing well and happy to be home! More to come...

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year..and Still Waiting!

Yes, the holidays have come and gone, and there is still no Emma. I am 3 cm and 75% effaced and scheduled to be induced Wednesday, January 10 at 6 am if she doesn't come on her own sooner. This is not what we had hoped for, so we are praying she wants to meet us before then! It's been an emotional and frustrating time, but I feel much more at peace with things now. We were scheduled to be induced tomorrow, but I changed that today after much prayer and discussion with Ben. We seem to continuously be in the learning stages of trusting the Lord's timing rather than our own! As we were praying last night, I was really convicted of our lack of patience and have begun to pray that we don't push Emma to do things on our time schedule throughout her life. We are all ready for different stages in life at different times, and I hope our dreams and visions don't interfere with letting our precious little daughter move at her own pace...again, the Lord's timing!! I cannot imagine the lessons the Lord will be teaching us through this parenting journey as we are already learning so much without getting to officially meet our baby!

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot..." Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

I included some of this passage from scripture in a letter I wrote to my grandfather as part of a family Christmas gift just before he passed away last January. I was writing about how much I admired his love for life and ability to take things in stride; hopefully, this can be said of us in years to come...


The pictures are of me getting as big as a barn as I wait and my brother-in-law Rick and nephew Will. I had to include this one bc it cracked us up Christmas night. Rick got an Ipod shuffle (I think...not up on my technology!), and it fascinated Will! He's RARELY still, but when Rick would pull that thing out, Will would just climb up on his lap with a serious face and wait on his earphone. The look on his face in the picture is the look he gave the whole time he listened to music. He LOVES music!