Big Sunday for Lucy

We had the joy of having Lucy baptized yesterday at church. Instead of having Matt do the baptism, we had one of our other pastors here, Pastor Greene (he and his family have loved us very well since we have been here, especially through our bed rest adventure!), baptize her. Matt was able to just be a daddy which was special. It was great to celebrate God's work in keeping Lucy safe and helping her grow as we saw her be baptized. We know that this baptism did not save her, but we trust that God has made promises to us AND to our children, and we look forward to the day where Lucy will call Jesus HER Lord and HER savior! Pray for that with us!






Our family of FIVE



Some of our family that were able to come for the day



Three generations of Gillan/Purdy GIRLS



Our good friends the Zollinhofers had their little girl baptized yesterday too - it was fun to have them baptized "together"

I love my brothers!

Change of plans

So, yesterday, Owen had FOUR shots at his 5 year check up. We had talked about it with him for about a month to get him prepared as much as we could. He did great! God really gave him courage and peace. He cried some, but over all he did great. We were so proud of him! The nurses were great too - they showered him with multiple lollipops and stickers AND a kindergarten work book. He was thrilled! We went to Chick-fil-A that night to celebrate a job well done.

Well, today, Owen was rather cranky and lethargic after naptime. I was getting irritated at him because it seemed he was in a funk! I was feeling like I couldn't handle a funk with two other kids to tend to (which is a matter of my heart and having compassion and finding strength in the Lord and not myself...but that is a story for another day!). I realized his eyes were looking pretty glassy and he was warm. He had a fever of 102 degrees! No wonder he was laying on the couch like a bump! The nurse at the doctor's office said it was normal given the fact that he had 4 shots 24 hours ago! Give motrin and if it doesn't go down, call back. We have given motrin and it's starting to go down.

We were supposed to go to church tonight for the monthly church dinner. We were going to stay for the nursery and adult education class that Matt is starting tonight. I wasn't going to have to make dinner. I wasn't going to have to have all three kids by myself. We were going to go and enjoy fellowship. We were going to go so I could just rest a bit. BUT, God had other things in mind for tonight. He had a change of plans. Not that he is against all of the things I listed above, but for tonight it wasn't what he had planned for us.

I had a choice. I could mope the rest of the night (which my heart is prone to do!) or I could choose to love and serve my feverish child and his two siblings. AND his daddy so that Matt could freely stay at church and be fully present there. I give all glory to the Lord, for I was able to chose the 2nd option. And it's been the sweetest night!! We whipped up some chocolate chip pancakes and strawberry applesauce - nothing like a sugar over load to heal a fever right?! We enjoyed our dinner together while Lucy took a quick little nap. Now, the boys are enjoying a movie night (watching Leap Frog Math to the Moon). Owen made a family rule (that is what he called it) that if anyone has a fever on a Wednesday night that we're supposed to go to church we get to stay home and have a movie night. That is one rule I can agree to!

I am writing all of this not to brag that I made a wise choice, but to boast in the Lord and His work and HIs providence. If only I could always entrust myself to Him like this - what sweet times would follow! I hope that tomorrow when something I have planned goes awry for one reason or another I remember this! Chances are I'll forget, so please remind me!

13 weeks

Today Lucy is 13 weeks old. This is a very significant thing for our family because we were on bed rest for 13 weeks. This is amazing to me. I have been processing this for the last few days. It's been interesting. New emotions have surfaced. Mostly gratitude. Some sadness. I think it's hitting me more and more just how long and hard that time was. But also just how good God is! The past 13 weeks have been so crazy and so rich at the same time. The 13 weeks prior to that were crazy in a very different way. We are so thankful for all that God has done in the last 26 weeks! Bed rest AND with Lucy - we see God's hand in it all and we can praise Him for being good and faithful in it all! (A friend pointed out today that that is 1/2 a year! No wonder we're a bit tired and ragged at times!)

Here is a picture of me on bed rest (start of 13 weeks), Lucy on her birthday (start of the new 13 weeks) and Lucy tonight at 13 weeks.

Three Six 2011

So,the big day has come and gone! Phew! It was really the big weekend, not just the big day. We started out Friday afternoon with free french fries at Chick-fil-A (they were introducing these cool new ketchup packets they offer). Saturday morning we had some time together as a family. Then we went to a University of Richmond mens basketball game with all four grandparents and our friends the Zollinhofers (Kylen and Owen have been pals since we moved here, the four of our kids really enjoy each other). It was just what we pictured - and just perfect for who the boys are and what they love this year. We had a picnic on campus and made it inside in time for the tip off (Owen really wanted to see that). After the game, we went back and spent some time with the grandparents. It was special for the boys and for us that they could all be there!

We woke up Sunday and made pancakes in the shape of a 3 and 5. Then we went to church and they received many Happy Birthday wishes from friends and teachers at church. After church, we drove on THREE Chopt Road (all holding up THREE fingers for Baxter) and went to FIVE Guys (all holding up FIVE fingers as we drove in the parking lot for Owen). After naptime, the boys opened gifts and I made an elaborate dinner of Mac n Cheese from the box (as requested by the boys!). We finished the day off with a basketball cake. I wasn't sure it looked like a real basketball, but when Owen saw it, he said "Mommy, it looks like a real basketball!" Phew!

It was a real fun weekend celebrating our sweet boys. We realized just how much we love food in our family and how central food is to how we love each other. I guess we're thankful God made so many yummy things to enjoy together! We'll have to watch that!

Three Months Old!

It's hard to believe, but our little girl is THREE months old today! What a sweet girl she is! She has just started to "talk" up a storm and hands out smiles more often than not. She is growing bigger and bigger which is great. She is sleeping well, napping either on the run or in her crib during the day and only waking up one time in the night to eat (between 10pm and 8am) which is super helpful. Her brothers still adore her...as do her mommy and daddy! We love you Lucy Grace!





(the sheep is a gift from some friends of ours from growing up in Ridgefield, CT (Thank you Berans!) that now live in Richmond! It's a stuffed animal, pillow and blanket all in one. They had it monogramed for us too which is so sweet. I think we'll use it in pictures with Lucy to track how big she's getting vs the size of the sheep.)

FIVE!

Our sweet Owen is FIVE years old today. I just can't believe it! What a joy it has been to be his mommy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last five years. There have been innumerable joys as well as innumerable hard times packed into those five years. I am so thankful to the Lord for who HE made Owen to be and for the joy of being his mommy. I feel like 5 is a big deal - moving out of toddler/preschooler into BOY. He does seem more like a big boy to me than a little boy these days - reading up a storm, figuring out math and sports statistics, learning about the world with the Magic School Bus books, playing board games alone or with us hours upon hours of the day. We have decided to homeschool Owen for Kindergarten this fall, and it brings me great joy to know that I'll be spending much of his FIVE year old year with him - learning about God and His world in new and different ways. I am sure that - as with all stages thus far - with the joy will come the challenge and hard long days, but I am glad to walk through it together and with the Lord as our helper and guide. Here are pictures of him at his birthday each year so far...

One



Two



Three



Four



Five

THREE

Our Baxter bug is THREE today! He has grown up so much this year - especially since he has moved from being the baby of the family to being a big brother and the middle child. He has been such a passionate boy since he was born - if he is happy, he is SUPER happy...if he is sad or mad, he is SUPER happy or mad. This lends itself to providing for a lot of fun and joy and a lot of need for grace and the cross. I think he will be our child who sees most clearly that He needs Jesus to rescue him from sin! He is currently very into puzzles and legos, coloring and playdoh- and moving around and being busy! He is creative and active. He LOVES his baby sister intensely and is learning to express it in ways that are loving to Lucy and not harmful to her. He keeps us on our toes and blesses us beyond belief! Here are some pictures of Baxter on his birthday...

ONE



TWO



THREE

Check it out...

Matt is working through the book of Colossians this month on his blog...check it out!

Sweet Girl

Some smile time with Lucy Lu today. Enjoy!

2 Months Old (a little late)

Lucy is almost 11 weeks old - She turned 2 months old two weeks ago when Matt, Baxter and I all had the flu, so that is why I am just now putting this post up (AND the fact having three kids is a lot of work! It's hard to know how two parents can parent three kids well, we're working through that and realizing again and again how much we need the Lord in it!)

She weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz and 22 inches long - all in the 25% at her last appt this week. At one month she was only in the 10%, so she's growing well! She has started to smile more and even engage with toys a little bit. She still would rather be held than in a bouncy seat or on a blanket, and we're trying to enjoy that as much as we can - although it makes it tough to accomplish much or help big brother's with art or playing outside...but she's only going to be little once! Her brother's still love her VERY much and are getting better at being gentle and giving her space when it's needed. Lucy is especially fond of Owen - she smiles a lot when he is talking to her and playing with her!



First time wearing a dress with tights!









This is my favorite one of Lucy right now. She is snuggling her daddy in this picture -one of her favorite things to do!

Go Dukes!

We have just returned home from a very long and fun family day! We took a trip to Harrisonburg for the day to bring the boys (and Lucy!) to their first JMU sporting event - a men's basketball game(JMU VS. VCU). It was a blast! The boys loved getting new JMU t-shirts, eating a packed lunch in the van, walking up to the game, seeing the Duke Dog, watching a GREAT game that we almost won (a few too many bad calls from the refs in our opinion!), seeing a player from the Eagles who used to be a JMU football player, getting to see Miss Sarah on our way home (mommy's great friend from JMU) and eating Mellow Mushroom Pizza in Charlottesville on our way home. It was fun to just be together and enjoy some fun parts of God's world and enjoy something with Owen that he loves so much (sports and numbers!). Lucy did great - sleeping in the car and Baby Bjorn the majority of the day, certainly playing the part of a third child, being toted around to a basketball game at 2 months old! We feel like we have now properly taught our boys about our alma mater and instilled a love for JMU in Owen that may just rival his love for Virginia Tech.

Lucy's Life

This picture sums up Lucy's life right now. Owen LOVES his little sister and wanted to be right next to her playing today. Note the two toys AND Owen's hand about as close as possible. If this had been Baxter, the toys and his hand would have been ON her and pushing down hard. Poor little girl. I think it stresses me out more than it does her :)

Smiles!

Lucy has started to grace us with sweet smiles. They aren't flowing freely - they take a lot of coaxing, but they are well worth the silly sounds, noises, etc. that it takes to induce them. She often adds a coo in with the smile making it all the more rewarding. I have to say that her daddy is the most frequent recipient of her smiles - there is something special about a daddy/daughter relationship, isn't there?!

Here are a few smiles and a few others that are just sweet.

Smell

Yesterday Owen had a field trip to the pediatric ER at the hospital I was at, St. Mary's Hospital. When I picked him up, I could smell the soap that they have in the hospital. My first reaction was a fondness - oh, remember when Lucy was born, how sweet she was, etc. etc. As the afternoon wore on, the smell of the soap was not going away. The longer I could smell the soap, the more I remembered how hard it was to be away from my family before Lucy was born, washing up to go into the NICU to see Lucy hooked up to all of the monitors, etc. etc. It's amazing what a smell can do! I am so thankful to be home using our Walmart Anti-Bacterial Foaming Soap!

Three

Just some pics of our three kiddos. As hard as they can be, they sure are a blessing!!