My Favorite Christmas Present...

I actually didn't post this. This was the sweet workings of my wonderful husband, Ben. I was completely surprised to check my blog Christmas morning (in Houston) to find this lovely gift. Thanks honey!

The porch was so bare without them. Yay for my new rocking chairs!

His Very Own Snuggie

The 2009 Gingerbread House

With it being so cold outside last week and me not able to drive anywhere, the kids were going stir crazy indoors! (Well, not so much Asher, just the E's). To provide some much needed entertainment, we threw on Veggie Tales Christmas music and got to work on a gingerbread house!

Evan thought the all you can eat candy bowl in front of him was a pretty sweet deal!

Elena got concerned at the rapidly disappearing candy

Hmmm, it's missing something, but what?

Ahh yes, now it's perfect.

Their sticky hands cracked them up

Showing baby Asher their masterpiece!

Asher Update

So, we are in a much less crazy state around here. We're just taking it slow and I can see that each day is getting a little easier than the next. We are loving Asher and are already seeing him grow before our eyes!

We're so thankful for all the help we've received. We could not have survived on our own, that is for sure! Ben's parents watched the kids for most of that first week, my mom has come over multiple times during the past week, my parents took the kids for a night just so I could sleep in (ahhh, heavenly!), and friends have poured upon us delicious food and company! Thank you all so-so-so much!

Bringing Home Baby

Have you ever seen this show on TLC? It follows a couple for the first 24 or 48 hours after they bring home their baby from the hospital. I don't really watch it because I find it a little dull, but I have to think if TLC had been following our first 48 hours at home with Asher, we could have boosted ratings. :) So here are the highlights of our could-be episode of Bringing Home Baby.

We were able to leave the hospital late Thursday night. We had a great experience at the hospital, but of course, there's no place like home so we were thrilled to be going there. We had a lovely and relaxing time talking with Ben's parents (they were at our house with the kids during the hospital stay), they enjoyed holding Asher, and I got my fix of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal. All was right with the world.

... and then we went to bed...

Just getting to bed took a lot longer than expected because we were sorting out a variety of things like how to swaddle Asher and snap him into his little papasan chair, what lights to leave on so that I can see him but still sleep, clearing off our vanity so that we have a place to change his diaper... etc. (I told you we were not prepared!)

Finally, it was lights out and we slept okay until about 2am. But at that hour, I woke up in a lot of pain and was shivering uncontrollably. It occurred to me at that point that it was a really dumb idea to not pick up my prescription for pain medicine on our way home from the hospital. I had been optimistic that I could make it until the morning, so that then we could use (don't laugh) a coupon at our local CVS. But I was wrong. The rest of the night was pretty awful as I was counting down the hours until CVS opened. Ben didn't get much sleep either because he was doing all he could to take care of Asher and me. But hey, we made it and we did get to use the coupon!

Friday was a blur of successful and unsuccessful attempts at nursing, changing countless diapers, and thanking the Lord for Ben's parents still there to keep Evan and Elena occupied.

Saturday morning came, we said good-bye to Ben's parents, and then did our best to figure out what "normal" looks like for us now as a family of five.

And the pinnacle of the story...

I was burping Asher Saturday evening, he began spitting up stuff that was dark brown. "Woah-not normal!" I knew something was not right and immediately got up to dial the "Call-a-Nurse" number to get some answers. The nurse told me that if his spit-up is either dark brown or bright red it could be blood. As she told me this he spit up again, and this time it was bright red. I told the nurse what I saw, and she told me to get him to the ER immediately... and the tears started flowing!

I quickly went to tell Ben (in a blubbering sort of way) what the nurse had said. Now as I'm just getting out that we need to go the hospital, Evan walks up to our feet and starts hurling like never before. I'm really not sure if he's ever thrown up before that night, but he made up for it then.

Okay, I'm going to try and end this story in a timely manner.

My sweet friend and neighbor, Melissa came and picked up Asher and me (remember, I can't drive after a c-section). Ben stayed at our house putting the kids to bed. Then my mom arrived so Ben could leave the house and join me at the hospital. At the hospital we were quickly seen and quickly told by the doctor that it was probably just blood in the breast milk. They ran multiple tests to make sure it wasn't anything more serious and they all came back negative, so he was diagnosed as being perfectly healthy and home we went.

So, that's been us as of late, and since the hour is now late I will bid you adieu.

Elena and Evan Meet Baby Asher

Shortly after Asher was born Elena and Evan arrived at the hospital with their Ma and Pa. Their first view of Asher was through the window of the hospital nursery. They were so excited to see their baby brother, although the story goes that Evan was more enthusiastic about a little hispanic baby closer to the window.

Getting a good view up close

The big moment she's been waiting for!

Psst... I added more pictures below

Asher Martin Elkins

Our precious Asher Martin was born right on schedule; December 8th at 8am. The c-section went wonderfully. I was relaxed enough to join in on the conversation Ben, the doctors, and nurses were having about Christmas trees (random right?); but not so relaxed to the point of being "loopy."

Once Asher made his entrance into the room conversation stopped as it was hard to do anything but listen and laugh a little at his persistent, loud, "dying-cat-like" cry. It was beautiful.

He had trouble getting the nursing thing down, but picked it up by the end of the second day and I have to say that I do believe he really likes it now.

Asher seems to be cut from a different block of wood than Elena and Evan. There's just something about his features that set him apart. The most obvious thing is his hair; there's very little of it and it's dark brown!

Thank you Lord for your hand of protection being on Asher. He is a wonderfully good gift.

"Hello World!"

7lb 12oz and 20 in long.

Ahhh, cuddling is the best!

Oh Christmas Tree

In other news, part of this weekend was spent decorating for Christmas. Before we put any ornaments on the tree we had the kids open new ornaments for this year. In previous years I've done a cross-stich ornament for each of them, but reality is choking out that dream of doing one-per-kid-per-year so we went the store-bought route (which really opens up the door to some cute options!)

Oh the anticipation!

Elena "helping" her brother - isn't she sweet?

A "Joy" ornament for our Elena Joy.

A dump truck for our little man.

An affection growing for the dump truck.

(My precious...)

"If you think you are going to pry this ornament from my kung-fu grip you are CRAZY!"

And it has yet to make it on the tree. Maybe next year.

38 Weeks - The Clock is Ticking!

I have one more week (as of 7:30 tomorrow morning) before baby Asher is here. This hit me today as my doctor says "Okay, see you at the hospital!"

***

Wait... Huh? Really???

Uhhh, how does that nursing thing work again? Where's my copy of Baby Wise? Car-seat! Gotta get that in the car. Do I have enough onesies? Oh yeah, where is he sleeping? He doesn't have a Christmas outfit, he cannot come until he has a Christmas outfit!!!

***

But I didn't say any of this to my doctor. I just smiled and said, "Okay, see you then!"

Thankful for a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Our time of thanksgiving started off with a bang on Wednesday when Ben took his final of seven exams for a CPCU certification... and he passed! This ends 6 or so months of constant studying and he is thrilled to feel like his free time is his again. We went to Bigz (a delish burger joint) for an early dinner to celebrate. We had the place almost to ourselves and enjoyed sitting outside relaxing while the kids ran around in the play area. To continue the festivities we rented the movie, "Up" to watch as a family that night. It was the first time the four of us have sat down together to watch a movie, and we all really enjoyed it.

Thursday was of course Turkey Day! I was extremely thankful to not have to do much cooking as we were going over to my parents house for the meal. We had a full table with my cousin, brother, sister, her boyfriend, and my sweet new niece all being there. It was a great relaxing afternoon and of course, our kids could not get enough of Char-Char and Mace.

Friday, we took advantage of some black friday deals, bought some things to begin some projects on the house, and began decorating for Christmas. Ben went on a painting blitz that lasted through Saturday and I am so excited about our freshly painted master bedroom and half-bath.

Sunday is now upon us and we'll be having "home church" this morning due to the kids being sick. I'm glad we're getting this fever/cold/cough stuff out of the way before Asher comes next week!

It has been a wonderful extended weekend and a great time to reflect about the countless blessings the Lord has heaped upon my life.

The Birthday Party that Almost Wasn't

HOORAY! We did it! We celebrated Evan's 2nd birthday!

Now, as a reminder Evan turned 2 on October 8th. His original party was cancelled when the move was scheduled for the same weekend, and we've just been waiting for the dust to settle ever since.

Well, I finally picked a time (this past Friday) and a place (Orsinger Park) and alerted his friends. We've been having beautiful weather and I was anticipating another gorgeous day, until last Wednesday when I checked the weather and they showed 80% chance of thunderstorms all day Friday. Seriously??? Ugh! After, checking the calendar, it became clear that canceling the party was not an option. It was now or never. So, we moved the party indoors to our home, and his friends lovingly came out even in the pouring rain. :)

We had a dump truck theme.

Can you see how dark it was outside?... and this was taken in the middle of the day!

Evan was really looking forward to his "potty cake" (his party cake). In fact that's all he talked about when we told him that he was going to have a birthday party.

After cake, it was on to the pinata. Ben had to drill a hole in the the ceiling to make it work indoors - yeah, we were pretty committed to it happening.

The kids gave it their best shot, but there was no way they ever would have punctered the thing, so Ben had to break out the saw at the end.

CANDY!

Thanks guys for coming to my "Potty!"

The Daily Grind

These little men took a break from the hustle and bustle to enjoy a cup of coffee together.

Outdoor Pizza Oven = YUM!

I've been doing a ladies' Bible study at my church called Interface. This is my second year with these girls and our mentor, Nancy. I love them all so much!

Last week Nancy and her husband had us and our hubbies over to enjoy pizza from their new outdoor pizza oven. It would have been fun to hang out with this group regardless of the food, but oh man did the pizza make the evening over-the-top-incredible! :)

Thank you Nancy and Jack for such a fun night!