Moving

Thankfully, we're not. My parents are, though. Out of the house that I called "home" for my junior and senior year of high school, and the house I have returned "home" to ever since. I think that will be the strangest thing for me. That is, in future months and years, coming home to see my parents in a house I have never lived in, a house that doesn't hold the nostalgic memories of years gone by, perhaps even to a different town than the one I lived in for almost 19 years of my life. "Home" sure will be a lot different from here on out.

And more to the point, this is a huge move for them, too. Of course for the fact that they've lived in that house for 13 years and have a fair bit of family roots to pull up by leaving, but mostly because they have no idea what's next for them. There are lots of options on the table, but no indication from Heaven yet as to which one is right.

So, Dad and Joanie, hope all goes well and may the Lord clearly speak and lead you and guide you as you begin this exciting new season of your lives.

One of the things I hate the most...

...is saying goodbye. I've done a fair share of it in my day. My first memorable goodbye was when I brought my dad to the airport in Kansas City after he and I drove halfway across the country for me to begin my new life as a 19 year old "adult" in the midwest. I still remember crying most of the 45 minute drive home. More recently have been the goodbyes on either side of the pacific ocean. And today's goodbye was much the same ~ except this time we're on the western side of the pacific rather than the eastern, and Graeme and Sabrina are headed back on their yellow brick road to Oz. (The Kansas Oz, that is, not the Australian abbreviation). And no matter how much you do it (say goodbye, that is), it never gets easier. I'll admit that I cried like a baby this morning saying goodbye (of course, it doesn't help that my own baby was crying most of last night and therefore I was going on very little sleep). But I think it would be safe to say that even had I the luxury of a 10 hour sleep, the goodbye wouldn't have been any less painful. But fortunately the farewell is behind us, and from here on out it gets a bit easier. Of course, we'll still miss them heaps in the days and weeks and months to come.

But.....

In the midst of it all I lean into sovereignty. I lean into Strength when I am weak. And I believe that not only does He know what is best for Mum and Dad, He knows what is best for me. And for my children. And so I trust. Say yes again. Sign up again for this life that we live that isn't always comfortable or easy, but is right. And I hold close to my heart the promises that He has given and the signs in recent days that have shouted to me from Heaven that He knows, that He cares deeply, and that He has my best in mind.

1st Bath at Home

Samuel had his first bath at home today. And since big sister Taylor wasn't feeling 100% this morning and stayed home from school, she got to be part of the action! Enjoy the pics.

Samuel loved the water!

Nice and cozy!

How in the world did I get such beautiful children?!

Our future all-star, dressed and ready for action!

Samuel John

Seeing as how it's now 4 days later, I suppose this is now "old news" for most of you, but Samuel John Walsh made his entrance into the world on June 24th at 5:03pm, weighing in at a "whopping" 5 lbs. 12 oz., 20 inches long!

I have so much to say, I don't even know where to begin! Everything with the birth went so smoothly with no complications, thank the Lord. The doctor even advised at the end of the surgery (after seeing how my previous scar healed) that the repeat C-section was a good choice (in other words, doing a VBAC could have been a bad one). I was pleased to hear we made a good decisoin on that one! My stay at the hospital was great. The maternity wing is completely new construction, so the facilities were bright and clean and quite pleasant, and (most of) the nurses were fantatic.

We came home from the hospital yesterday and have been settling back into life at home. Aaron has been absolutely amazing, taking care of all the details of life and housework so I can focus on resting and recovering and being a mom. Taylor is an adoring big sister who is nothing but full of love and affection for her little brother. She's been a huge help around the house already. I've actually found myself wondering what I did last time without a 5 year old around the house to help me! And Samuel is doing really well. Although he does have his (brief) moments, for the most part he's quite laid-back, calm, and easy-going. He's feeding great, sleeping good (most of the time), and overall doing just fantastic!

The Lord has been faithful to answer all my prayers related to his birth ~ many of them in ways over and above and beyond what I ever could have imagined. My heart has been so full these last few days as I've felt the heart of God towards me in such real ways. Not to mention the fact that I am loving getting to know our little guy and (as challenging as it can be sometimes), I'm thoroughly enjoying the newborn phase, knowing it will be gone in all but a few short weeks.

A Brief Explanation of New Zealand School

For the sake of my North American readers, I'll give a brief explanation of the way they do school here in New Zealand ~ it is way different than America.

The school year starts in February (late summer here). I guess you could say it's "year-round" school; the school year consists of 4 terms, with a 2 week break in between each term, and a 6 week break over summer (i.e. Christmas).

The confusing part is when kids start school. Rather than having one intake per year as we do in the States (i.e. all 5 yr. olds starting kindergarten in Aug/Sep), most children here start school on the day they turn 5! Hence the reason Taylor started school immediately after finishing pre-school. Now the really confusing part is that depending on when a child's birthday falls during the year, he/she will either attend anywhere from 1-3 terms of "kindergarten" (called "year 0" here), or, they'll skip year 0 and go straight into year 1. Yes, very strange. (Now the really, really confusing part is that often at a school, they will begin a new class every term. So where they get teachers from and what those teachers are doing in the other terms of school when they don't have a class to teach, and what schools do with a classroom sitting empty for half the year waiting for a new class to begin.....it all still remains a mystery to me.) Anyways, fortunately Taylor has a birthday at the right time of year so she will get almost 3 full terms of year 0 before moving onto year 1 next year, which puts her at a big advantage.

So there you have it; a completely different way of doing things when it comes to school. But all that aside, Taylor has continued to do very well and is settling in just fine. This past Friday her teacher had an open house for parents to come just before lunch to see what their children have been learning, and then join them for lunch. It was so fun to go and visit Taylor during the day at school. And her teacher is planning on making it a regular thing; I'm looking forward to the opportunity to have consistent insight into Taylor's education and the world she's in for so many hours of the day now. I love her teacher's "open door" policy in which she welcomes parents into the classroom at any time. She's great at what she does (for many reasons), and I'm so thankful that Taylor got such a wonderful teacher for her first year at school!

First Week of School

Taylor has done amazing at school this week ~ even to the point where she's surprised us all at how good she's done. Her teacher had her wisdom teeth taken out yesterday, so Taylor had two different subs yesterday and today, making 3 different teachers for her first 3 days in school. And she took it all in stride and did beautifully regardless! Admittedly, she was slightly more clingy when I dropped her off this morning, but with just a little bit of encouragement, she obediently found her friend and sat next to her for "mat time" first thing in the morning. And by the end of the day today when I picked her up, she was all smiles and reported another great day. What a little trooper! She's done absolutely wonderful in her reading, too ~ honestly, I had no idea she could read as well as she can. It's been a great confidence-booster for her to start off school with immediate success in reading.

Her teacher, by the way, is absolutely wonderful and has gotten rave reviews from other parents; and though Taylor's only had her one day so far, I've been quite impressed with what I've seen already.

I am definitely looking forward to the weekend and having Taylor home for the next couple days ~ I do miss her when she's gone all day for school! I think it will be good for Taylor, too, to have some down time and maybe even a nap or two.....she's definitely been tired after the long days. I can't wait to have cuddles with her in bed in the morning and read stories together ~ now that's the way to start the weekend!

Milestones

The last two days have been pretty big ones around here! Between Taylor's 5th birthday, her pre-school graduation, and the start of school.....she's had a lot going on in her little world! Yesterday we celebrated her birthday as a family.

We had waffles for breakfast, opened presents, and then enjoyed what will be our last lazy weekday morning for a while. It was cold and rainy outside, so the 3 of us got cozy on the couch with blankets and pillows and watched kid's DVDs until it was time to get Taylor ready for her last day of pre-school. And what a full day at pre-school it was! Not only did they celebrate her birthday, but they also had a special little graduation 'ceremony' for Taylor to remember her last year at the pre-school and to honor her on her last day.

Then, this morning, we were up early to get her off to school! I began to get a bit nervous about it all last night, as Taylor started to get a bit teary and anxious about the prospect of starting school. She was still a bit hesitant this morning.....until she got dressed in her uniform. Then suddenly everything changed, and she was confident and ready for her day!

Fortunately there are 2 little girls already in her class that she knew from pre-school, so when we got to her classroom, she immediately found them and was happy as could be. When it came time for me to leave and say goodbye, she said, "Bye, mom! Love you!". No tears, no hesitation; quite happy for me to leave and for her to begin this whole new adventure on her own. I couldn't believe her confidence, and I was so happy that it was such an easy, painless morning. And when I picked her up at the end of the day, she was all smiles and giving a great report from her day! I am so grateful for the pre-school and the preparation they deliberately do to make the transition into school easy on the kids. It seems to have really worked! Of course, it will probably take her a good couple weeks to transition fully, but if the first day is any indication of how the following days will be, we're in for a good ride.

I gotta say, Mama sure is proud of her little girl tonight!