One busy week!

The past week has been very busy!

Sunday- Samuel's first day at church

Monday- Laundry and homeschool(Scott gone for a full day of work).

Tuesday- More school stuff and another full day of work for Scott.

Wednesday- A bit more relaxed:)

Thursday-Be in town by 8 to redo Samuel's blood test(not enough on the first one). Visit with a friend, trip to Thrift shop for more sleepers, 1 week Dr. Appt., Meet Scott and kids for lunch and a stop at the library:). We slept really well that night!

Friday- Be at the hospital by 8 for Samuel's circumcision. He was really good and the two nurses that helped deliver him were really happy to see him again, They were like " Come to Auntie " ":). We didn't get home until lunchtime because of observation time, etc...

Saturday- House cleaning and watching the kids squeal with excitement over the science lesson. Scott made a volcano and added red stuff so that the lava would be the right color when it erupted! I'm also heading to a one day Ladies Retreat with a friend from church. It will make for a long day, but I'm looking forward to it:).

Happy one week little guy!





Praying for a special friend-Allen Ironside. He's very sick right now and all extra prayers for him and his family caring for him are greatly appreciated!

What's in a name?

I was planning to write this post next, but was spurred to write it earlier in the day; due to a friend's question and also having a very contented baby at the moment:).

Many people pick their baby name based on popularity, uniqueness or in honor of a special family member. The first name came easily for us. We'd surrendered to the Lord in the area of the number of children he wanted us to have. We were content with the ones we had, but prayed that if the Lord wanted us to have another baby that He would help me not to be sick and also that we'd really like another boy. I think that Caleb was praying for a little brother too. Amazing how God chooses to answer the specific prayers of little ones:). Anyway, on the way to the ultrasound I was talking to the Lord. I had the thought that it might be a girl, but told the Lord that we especially wanted to have him use this little life for His glory and honor. We know that our children belong to the Lord and that we need His help to raise them right. We need to be yielded to His plan for their lives instead of molding them into our own little clones. When we found out that we WERE having a boy, the name Samuel just seemed right from the start. It means "heard and asked of the God". God truly heard our prayers. I had nausea, but wasn't throwing up like with all the other pregnancies. This was an amazing blessing! To be able to keep up with the other kids and all the activity last summer was wonderful!

As to the middle name. I know many people are curious as to why we picked it. The meaning of the name is great(One who is very strong and courageous:Having great stamina or resistance), but that was not the reason for our choice. My husband's pastor growing up was Gordon Ironside. He was a very special man. Many preachers would give up and move elsewhere if their church remained small for more than 5 years, but this was not the case with Pastor Ironside. He was faithful and stayed til the end of his life, even though it was down to Scott's family for the greater portion of that time. We believe that his life had a greater impact on those around him and not the half will be known until we reach Heaven. His faithfulness has been an encouragement to us many times since we moved to Saskatchewan and in our personal lives too! Since we got married I've been blessed to meet some of Pastor Ironside's nieces and one of his brothers. They've also been an incredible encouragement to us and for these and many other reasons we chose to give Samuel the middle name of "Ironside". We pray that the Lord will use him in a mighty way. We pray that he will love the Lord and serve Him with the same dedication and faithfulness that many in the Ironside family have shown over the years.

We may not think that the choosing of a name is all that important, but we really do feel that it's best to give them a name to live up to. Many of the names we hear hear these days make us think of food and other ridiculous things. I wonder what most of those kids will strive for as they get older. How many of them will change their names when they're on their own? We pray that there's no confusion in this area for our children. We pray that they know they are the Lord's and that He has a purpose and a plan for their life.

He Amazes Me!

With all the prayers through this pregnancy I really shouldn't be surprised that the Lord answered all our prayers perfectly, but I really am in awe of how He brought it all together. I'll admit that there were times that I started to worry and times that I got impatient, but in spite of that God still took care of it all over and above what we ever imagined.

First of all there was the question of having someone to stay with the other kids. My mother in law volunteered and it was wonderful that she had the freedom to have an open ended stay with us. I don't think that she figured on staying as long as a week and a half, but we're so thankful that she did! There were rough times and tired eyes, but we thank the Lord for this first answer to prayer.

Next was the dilemma of the doctors in Kindersley saying that we would need to go to Saskatoon. Once again the Lord came through. I wasn't sure how I would know exactly the right time and was concerned with all the cold and wind we were having. There were lots of ups and downs as I had close to 2 weeks of off and on contractions and also the tendonitis issues with my knee. I wasn't completely sure that I was doing the right thing when we got in the car on the 15th of January to make the trip to the hospital. It was super windy and Scott was tired. It wasn't a lot of blood I'd seen and was second guessing myself. I prayed that the Lord would send the contractions at least as close as 5 minutes apart and harder to help confirm that we were indeed supposed to be going to the hospital. He did just that:). We arrived and there was a question about whether I was planning to go the city. I told the nurse that I'd like to get checked first. The nurse that took me in remembered helping with Kiersten's delivery, which was super fast and there wasn't any more question of going to the city. They checked and I was between 5 and 6. About an hour later I was closer to 8. The dr. came in about 1:30, checked to see where I was at and asked if I wanted the water broken. We said yes and it went quite fast from there. I think it was 15 minutes, 3 contractions, one LONG push and we were looking at our newest blessing-Samuel Ironside Holloway! Everyone was amazed at the size of the baby that made it's exit from my body:). They all wanted to see how much this guy weighed! He weighed in at 9lbs 10 ozs! He was 21 inches long and had hands and feet that surpassed the size of Garrison's when he was born. We used to call Garrison "Big Paws" because his hands were so big.

All of those who helped with the delivery were amazing and God answered another prayer when I heard the Dr. say that I wouldn't need stitches. This is the first one I've not torn badly enough to need them with. It has really made a huge difference in how I felt after delivery too. There weren't any bathroom issues and we were allowed to come home shortly after supper on the same day Samuel was born! We slept really well that night and the two little girls were super happy that I came home and brought the baby too! They had come to visit the hospital shortly after breakfast and there were some tears from the little ones because they wanted mommy and baby to come home with them.

So far the transition from 5-6 hasn't been too rough. My father in law came to reclaim his wife on Friday:). They both went home shortly before lunch and Scott headed into town to do some errands while I laid down with the little ones. We had a normal "somewhat noisy" evening as a family tonight. There was Pillow stuffed under shirts "sumo wrestling", which Kiersten and Addie thoroughly enjoyed being a part of:). Who wouldn't enjoy getting to bang their pillow stuffed bellies against their siblings til one of them fell down:))). Quite funny actually. Samuel slept through it all, which is probably the wonderful side effect of being used to hearing them when he was inside my belly.

Samuel is adored by all the kids and is enjoying all the loving kisses of any who pass by. Addie still points at my belly and says baby sometimes, but then runs to my door and points at it saying baby too. She adjusted much better than I thought she would to his presence and to my holding him. I try to read to the other kids while he's nursing and include them in the joy of holding a newborn throughout the day. There will probably be more adjustments ahead, but so far it's quite wonderful. We look forward to enjoying his "babyhood" as much as possible and pray that the Lord has something special for him as he grows up. We pray that Samuel grows up to love the Lord with all of his heart, soul, strength and mind. We pray that he is willing to do whatever the Lord asks of him and look forward to seeing how the Lord will use this little life to make an impact on those around us.

Heading to bed now with a heart full of thanksgiving for the many undeserved blessings that the Lord has given us. Looking forward to the days ahead and praying for many of my friends that are close to their due dates. Praying that they have many answers to prayers and as little pain in delivery as possible. Focusing on the truth that "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"-Phil 4:13.

Still here...

I'm thinking that saying, "I doubt that I'll make it to my due date" was the wrong thing to say:). Each day brings us closer to Friday and actually facing the possibility that I might go past. That would certainly be a different experience, but not unusual for many. We are trying to be patient, but it's hard not to wonder each day and night if it is "the day". It seems like someone new calls each day to see if I've had the baby yet. We'll have a lot of people to call once it finally happens. Until then we're keeping busy with school, reading, a bit of knitting, chores, and the everyday. Thankfully the weather has improved quite a bit. It's mostly around -7 these days. There was a bit of snow yesterday, but it warmed up enough to melt it. They were calling for 70 kmh winds yesterday, but that didn't happen. We're quite thankful for that because it would've brought a lot of extra snow in to fill up the lane and block our exit. So, until there's more news to post, it'll probably be pretty quiet on the blog front. Hope everyone else is having a good New Year so far!

Vehicles, in-laws, knee trouble, etc...

The past week feels like a month all rolled into one. The unusual actually started last week. Scott was helping a friend with house renos, but had to cancel on the second day because his car stalled and was acting strange. He had it towed into town, but couldn't get it looked at til this Monday.

Sunday we had temperatures of -40C and that wasn't including the wind chill, which we hear brought it down to about -50. We still managed to get to church and enjoyed the preaching and fellowship with those who were able to make it.

Monday we packed up the van and headed in to spend the day at the church. Scott had some work and was hoping to pick up his car later that day. We didn't want to be at home if my contractions continued, so we planned to make a day of it and possibly spend the night there. It ended up being one of the longest days/nights I've ever experienced. I did have contractions about every 15 - 25 minutes, but they never got any closer. Scott's car ended up not being fixed that day and he ended up making sure that most of it got taken care of on Tuesday.

Tuesday the contractions continued and were around 10 minutes apart. The in-laws arrived and we really thought we'd be heading to the hospital to deliver the baby sometime before midnight. As I was saying goodnight to the in-laws my left leg gave out and I fell sideways. My in-laws thought that I had fainted! That was not the case. I was rather embarrassed, but thankful that I hadn't fallen on my stomach. I did discover when I stood up that my knee with the tendonitis was back to square one. I could barely limp to my bed. I had been walking normally for a week, so this setback was quite disappointing.

It's now Thursday night and my knee is starting to feel almost normal again. The fall and pain seems to have stopped the close contractions though, so we're really just in the waiting stages again. I was told by a friend today that there are rumors of some patients at the local hospital having H1N1 flu. I'm not sure, but have considered the possibility that the Lord is delaying the delivery to avoid us coming into contact with those patients. I'm not sure if they're in a separate area and how susceptible we'd be to catching it, were we to be in the hospital right now.

So, we get more practice with patience and look forward to seeing when the Lord will bring this little one out. We are ready with the bed set up and car seat ready to go. Bags are packed and my mother in law is here to stay for awhile. So, although the waiting is hard, we're trying to maintain a good attitude. Hopefully I will be able to announce the arrival and post a pic of the new baby soon:). Until then....

Last one...

Today I had my last prenatal appt. for this pregnancy! The roads were covered with snow, but it wasn't that cold out. Yesterday was so nice that the kids played outside for awhile:). Tomorrow is supposed to bring a drop in temperatures again, so we're trying to enjoy the nicer days. The colder temps make it easier to get out of the yard, so it's probably a good thing so close to baby being born. Nothing has changed with the delivery policy, so we're just planning to hang out at the church til we're sure we're past the point that they would put me in an ambulance. The Dr. said that baby is head down, which is really just a confirmation for me. I've felt a lot more pressure, which is a good indication that we were close. I just wanted to make sure that the baby wasn't in the breech position. Other than that, things have slowed down a lot around here. Kind of makes the waiting that much longer, but trying to get a bit more rest before baby comes.