5 Things I LOVE About Having A Newborn

Our little "Jedi..."

There is something super sweet about having a newborn in our home again. Yes, newborns can be trying on the body, but they are like pure water to the soul.

Some things that I love about having a newborn around...

1. I LOVE, LOVE the scent of a newborn. Several times a day I find myself rubbing noses with Jed and taking in his "new life" smell.

2. I LOVE how when he's upset, and his whole body is all tense... I can swoop his tiny body up in my arms and draw him close to my chest, and all of a sudden I can feel his body magically melt into mine... and this sense of calm just takes over him.

3. I LOVE when I look down at the newborn in my arms and I see these eyes (below) looking up at me with wonder.

4. Having a newborn means that there is NO LONGER a baby in my tummy. And what I LOVE about that is that now I can see him, I can touch him, I can admire and study his fearfully and wonderfully made little features.

5. And what I LOVE absolutely the most about having a newborn, is the opportunity that the Lord has given me to pour my heart and soul into another little life. With a newborn everything is new and fresh, without blemish.

Jed is a daily reminder to me that life is "new every morning."

He's innocent.

He's humble, not really by choice, but... he's completely and utterly dependent upon others for every facet of his little life.

He's carefree.

His little life is simple.

He's not yet been bogged down by the things of this world.

He's fragile.

He's tender-hearted.

He's simply precious.

This newborn phase goes by so fast.

I know it won't be long before he attempts to show me his independence,

before he defies me,

before he states his own opinion,

before he purposely bonks his sister in an attempt to repay her for all the times she has already bonked him.

But for now... I am soaking up his innocence, his scent, his purity.

I just LOVE having a newborn in our house!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

All

Four

Treasures

Took a GENEROUS

NAP

this afternoon

AND....

SO DID I!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

I feel soo much better! :)

Recovery And Coming Home

The last few days have been a whirlwind. It's felt busy, but we haven't really done much at all. The first few days with a newborn are this sweet rush of adrenaline mixed with the kind of exhaustion that you don't even want to really admit is happening to you... because if you acknowledge how tired you are you just might fall over and not get back up again. :)

When we got home Saturday afternoon we gave Jed a tour of the house (like we did when we brought all of our treasures home from the hospital.) He seemed to like the place just fine... in fact I think he slept through most of the tour... Oh well. :)

When we walked in the door there was a lovely welcome home sign that Aunt Tara had made a sign with some help from all the kids. It made me feel special and glad that our little guy was being celebrated. :) It felt so good to walk in the door, sit on the couch and find myself surrounded by all FOUR of my little treasures. The kids were so excited that their little brother was home. And my heart was so blessed to witness their joy and excitement.

How am I recovering?

That night (Saturday) we went to church for the first time as a family of six. On the way to church Joey was talking to his dad on the phone. His dad asked how I was doing and Joey responded with something like, "She's good... Looking as beautiful as ever." And I just started sobbing. Joey looked at me and asked what was wrong. And through my sobs I tried to explain that that was just such a nice thing to say to his dad considering that I am quite lumpy, stretched out, and did I mention lumpy. He just started laughing... Can anyone say hormonal??? Geeeezzzz!! Having babies can do strange things to a woman's personality. My goodness me! :)

But physically I am feeling great. I can walk around like a normal person which is a true blessing since I want to be able to take care of ALL my amazing kiddos.

I'm tired... MAN, am I tired! But the Lord is constantly reminding me to live these days with many small children one hour at a time. I can't think about whether or not I'll get a nap in, or how long my night will be. I just constantly have to remind myself to live in the moment. And with God's grace I am doing just fine.

How is Jedediah Cyrus adjusting?

Our first night home was a bit rough. Jed was fussy off and on from 10-345 in the morning. Once he finally went to sleep I got some solid rest from 4-8am when Joey got up with Jed at 6am.

The last two nights have been pretty good. He gave me a nice five hour stretch on night two at home. And last night he went to sleep around 10pm and only woke up to eat then went right back to sleep until 7:30am.

He doesn't really cry that much at all. At least not yet. I know that they are super sleepy the first few days so we'll see what comes about in the next few weeks. :)

I'm not just saying this to be positive, but Jed, thus far, has been super mellow and sweet as pie! I have looked at him countless times and whispered over and over again, a very genuine and deeply felt, THANK YOU! to the Lord for another, healthy, peaceful baby. I KNOW that little Jed is a pure gift, and not a moment goes by that I am not aware of my blessing.

How are the other kiddos adjusting?

Truly, truly, all three of them are doing so well. No one has asked me to take Jed back to the doctor, which is a step up from when I brought Reesie home from the hospital and Siah asked when I was going to take her back.

The sweetest art about watching all them is that they all three truly LOVE Jed. They want to hold him, they talk to him all the time, they try to comfort him with his pacifier, they kiss his forehead. I have been so blessed to watch all of our kids cherish each other. Even Reesie has done pretty good with Jed. Reesie has one volume when she talks... LOUD... so everything that she says, she says at the top of her lungs, often times right in Jed's ear... soo... we are working on volume control around here. :)

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We have been ultimately blessed out here. Truth be told I was a bit overwhelmed about how it was going to go having a new baby, in a new city, in a new house, with new friends. In my own mind I couldn't have thought to even ask for all the ways that the Lord has met all of our needs and then some. We have meals for the next three weeks brought to us by people that we have only known for a very very short time. We diapers from some incredible women who threw me a shower after only knowing me for four weeks. We have formula from a Granny and Gramps who made a very generous trip to Costco for us. We have visitors and phone calls and texts and emails that have all provided friendship and love for our hearts. We are not without a single need. God is so so faithful!

I am tired.

I have found myself being irritated.

I am busy with my brood of many small children.

And...

I am so so so in love!

An Hour With My Son

I don't want him to get lost in the shuffle...

After all, he is #4...

And if I'm not intentional, I can see him getting left behind.

So I decided that I would use our time (just Jed and me) and give Jed a little heads up on what he's getting himself into. I held him on my chest for a few hours and told him everything I could think of to prepare him for our crazy little household.

I told him him how incredible his Papa is. How madly in love with him I am and always will be. I told him how hard his Papa works and how he makes funny faces and tells jokes when Mama is having a bad day. He thinks he's so funny. And the truth is... he really is funny... and he knows how to brighten Mama's day. I warned him how his Papa smells good most of the time but he has some of the worst gas that anyone has ever had to deal with! I told him to be prepared. :)

I told Jed all about his incredible brother Siah. I told him about the ways that Siah had been praying for his arrival for several months. I told him about how good Siah was on his bike... and I told him that I was confident that Siah would gladly teach him everything he knows. I told him that as he grows up, Siah will be the kind of brother that watches out for him with great joy and pride.

I told him about Hal... how sweet and tender she is... How she'll probably constantly want to hold him and feed him and change him and coddle him... and how if he gets annoyed with the excess amount of love that he's getting from his sweet loving sister he needs only to scream and I will gladly come to his rescue.

And when I started to think of what I should say about his big sister Reesie... well, I decided that a warning would be more appropriate... So I told little Jed,

"Sweet boy, watch out for that sister of yours. She may talk nice but she's got a firm grip. Your interactions with her might go something like this... "nice pat, nice pat, WHACK, WHACK, WHACK!" So watch out my little man!"

I told him that she'll probably smother him in kisses and shove her big furry kitty in his face over and over again. But he'll get used to it... Just like the rest of us have gotten used to it.

Check out the progression of how Reesie "Loves on" her little brother below...

1. Looks on like an innocent bi-stander.

2. Slowly makes her move.

3.Goes in for the eye poke.

4. Stashes key chain in her shirt... so that... next time....

5. She CAN USE BOTH HANDS to "Love on," I mean, WHACK her little brother....

Welcome to the world Jed! :) Don't worry, your Papa and I are here to protect you. :)

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I told him how much we love Jesus in our home and how we strive with our whole hearts to love each other the way that He loves us. I confessed that we struggle, and struggle often, to always do this. But we pray a lot and we are learning daily to give and receive each others forgiveness.

I told him about his Mama and how I can seem sort of grouchy in the mornings but I usually perk up by the mid morning. I told him how much I love tea and how I eat a bowl of cereal almost every night before I go to bed. I told him how aware I am that he is one of the greatest treasures that the Lord has ever given me and that I will never be without gratitude for his little life.

I told him about his three brothers gone to be with Jesus. I told him about how precious this life is... how we only have one chance... and how the best way to live out our one chance is in the arms of our sweet Savior Jesus Christ!

I told him about where we used to live and how beautiful the ocean was and how dear our friends were (and are). I told him about where we live now. I warned him about "Falcon" and how it has been a "special" place to live... and how there have been a lot of "special needs" there. I reminded him (and maybe myself too :), how even with all the little corks in our "kansas home" we are truly truly blessed to have that roof over our head. And how the most important part of that home is truly the family that loves and lives inside of it. I told him about how quaint our little house was, about how I love making our house feel like a home with pictures of our family scattered around, comfy blankets on the couch ready for us to climb up under and read a book with, and lots of homemade yumminess in the fridge. I told him about my obsession with vacuuming and how I tend to be a control freak but how with each treasure I am learning to let go of that a little bit more. So in that sense... He's pretty lucky to be #4. :)

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As I was wrapping up my hour long mantra of information with my son,

I looked down on my chest where he was whimpering a bit and got completely overcome by a sense of gratitude.

Four... Healthy... Living... Breathing... Crying... Treasures.... entrusted to me... Oh my goodness Lord... Thank you!

Just few more pics...

Easy Peezy

Easy Peezy!!!

I want to brag on God's FAITHFULNESS to his fearful little daughter, Kacy Nicole, who loves her babies, but fears labor so much that she'd rather have someone punch her in the face and knock her out than have a natural birth. And her Jesus knows that better than anyone and blessed her with the absolute easiest labor EVER!

Man... It's just so evident that the Lord knows what each of His children needs and can handle! Can I tell you how AMAZING this birth went?

I came in at 7:30 am.

Gwendy was my nurse. She was kind, gentle, funny and fabulous!

She got my IV in on the first try! (BTW, this is the first delivery EVER where I didn't pass out when getting my IV in... Praise God! :)

I got a round of antibiotics for strep B and a little pitocin.

I felt some contractions that were a bit uncomfortable.

Dr. Rafael (AKA, My best friend for the day), put my epidural in. I felt FABULOUS!

At 12:15 pm I got my second round of antibiotics and Dr. Claus broke my water.

I went from a 5 to a 10 in less than an hour.

Then at 1:21 Joey said, "Alrighty Kace... You have 60 seconds to get him out, then he would be born at 1:22 on the 22nd."

SO I pushed twice, and at 1:22pm on July 22, 2010 we met our son for the very first time!!!!!!

EASY PEEZY!!!

And here he is... our fourth, living treasure that the Lord has entrusted us with for this season.

Our little... JEDEDIAH CYRUS CLARK

(Known to us as "Jed" and sometimes, "Jedi")

His Papa and I labored over his name more than any of our other kiddos. WE wanted him to have a strong name like his brother... one overflowing with meaning and purpose, but had the HARDEST time coming up with anything at all. A few weeks ago I was going through the book of 2 Samuel and reading about David and the birth of his first living son with Bathsheba, Solomon. And how the Lord sent a message through Nathan to David saying how much He LOVED Solomon....

"And the Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedediah because of the Lord." (2 Samuel 12:25)

Jedediah means, "Loved by the Lord, or "The Lord's Beloved."

And Cyrus, means, "King", or "Lord." Which is like his Papa's middle name Ryan, meaning, "Little King."

Papa with his newest son!

So now all three boys (Papa and our two sons) have a special connection in their names. All three have the same initials, JC. Josiah and Joey share similarities in their first name. And Jedediah and Joey share a connection in their middle names.

And although I am well aware of the fact that a "name" does not determine the outcome of a child, the name that we chose for Jed, is a constant reminder to us, his Papa and Mama, that he is loved first and foremost by his heavenly father, and that he is only on loan to us for as long as the Lord sees fit. :) And for that, we are so so so grateful!!!

The Proud Papa and Mama

In other news... I felt so good after I delivered that I thought out loud to Joey and the nurse, "Surely I can get up by myself and walk to the bathroom."

That was until I tried to even move my leg off the side of the bed and it just kept falling over on it's own. NO control what so ever! :)

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One of my favorite parts of the whole day was seeing my older kiddos meet little Jed for the first time. They have been anticipating this day for weeks. Josiah has asked me every morning how many weeks we have left till his little brother comes.

They are all responded so differently... Halee was smiling from ear to ear and kinda cheering and clapping. Reesie was chanting "bebe, bebe, bebe" over and over again. And Siah climbed up next to me and buried his head in my shoulder and whispered, "Mom, is that my little brother?" I wrapped my arm around him, kissed his forehead, and said, "Yes, He finally made it, huh?"

(Oh, and after viewing her new little brother for a brief moment Halee informed me that she, "Really, really loves my BEAUTIFUL pink dress." AKA my extremely attractive hospital gown.... She cracks me up!)

It was a sweet moment with all four of my treasures meeting each other for the first time! I'll always carry that moment in my heart.

The Mama with her FOUR kiddos.

A few visitors....

Little man... I hope you know how incredibly loved you are! We have been praying specifically for you for nearly two years. Your Papa and my hearts longed for you! And the Lord was more than faithful to give you to us to help us learn to love others even more like Him!

You are cherished little boy!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD!!!

Are You Ready????

Tomorrow's the big day!!

It's so crazy to me that tomorrow we will become a family of SIX!!

So today we just soaked up our last day together as a family of five.

We played in the back yard. The kids laughed and giggled with each other as they played with the hose in the pool.

The kids tested out their new little brother's car seat... just to make sure that it still works...

My precious friend Tara took me to get me a pedicure. I got my toes painted blue... Blue for my baby BOY! Thank you soo soo much my sweet friend!!

We hung out with Granny and Gramps... watched movies...

We BBQ'd some chicken and had a most delicious chinese chicken salad and some yummy cheese bread...

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I'm kinda funny about cleaning my house for my newest little treasures... I LOVE bringing my new babies home to a sparkling clean house... So I did 7 loads of laundry today, scrubbed my kitchen floor on my hands and knees and vacuumed my whole house! And sweet Granny scrubbed my bathroom for me!!! Thank you Granny!!!

Now...........

I feel ready to go from being a family of five....

To becoming a family of SIX....

Could y'all join us in praying for the arrival of our newest little man!!!! What I pray for most is that God's will be done... No matter what the outcome we trust His sovereignty and know that He has an amazing plan up His sleeve for tomorrow! We are praying that every moment of our day tomorrow brings HIM glory... may our words, our actions, our love for each other and for our boy be an incredible testimony of God's great love for us as we welcome our son into this world!

We can't wait to introduce him to you here on our little family blog!

So stay tuned....

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!!!

"Firsts" All Around

We have had a bunch of firsts going on around here...

For the past two weeks Siah has been going to swim lessons for the first time ever in his life. Yes, he's five... and has never had swim lessons. But I am so glad that we put him in this summer. He has become so much more confident in the water and although he still doesn't really know ho to swim, he's no longer afraid to put his head under or jump off the edge into the water.

He's had a few different teachers over the past two weeks... This is Miss Brianne...

Siah even tried floating on his back... which for my Siah, is quite a brave maneuver!

His great friend AJ took the lessons with him... Here they are learning how to do the "chicken, airplane solider," stroke... mmmmmm... I've never heard of that stroke before!

He totally jumped off the edge without his teacher even catching him!

And he even went down the water slide all by himself... At the beginning of the summer he wouldn't even look at the slide... So YIPEE!!!

Way to go little man! We are SUPER proud of you!

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In other news... Halee got her first haircut this past week! It still looks pretty much the same. I took several pictures with my old phone camera and I can't get the pictures off my phone and onto my computer for the life of me... bummer! But she was awesome! She sat there perfectly still and let the woman cut her hair. I was SUPER proud of her!!! :)

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And finally little Reesie... Everyday there seems to be a new "first" for her... She's learning new words and new tricks. The other day Her and Halee were playing and I heard Hal say, "Shake your body Reesie! Shake, shake, shake!" And I peeked around the corner and saw little Reesie wagging her little bum back and forth while pushing her kitty in her stroller down our hallway. It just might have been one of the cutest things that I have ever seen!

She has so many new words every single day. Below is a little video of some of the words that she uses all the time.

(Don't forget to turn the music off at the bottom of the page. :)

And here's a little video of Reesie and Hal playing ring around the rosy together...