Last Friday (July 20th) I entered a new decade. I’ve been thinking about all that’s taken place in my 20’s. I’ll name a few. I’ve lived in three different states (PA, SC, & TX). I’ve owned three different used cars (Acura, Grand Prix, & Camry). I’ve been a part of three different churches (COD, CPBC, & NLBC). I’ve earned three degrees (Bachelors in Music Education, Masters in Bible, & Doctorate in Education). I taught in the Dallas public school system. I’ve spent most of the decade (20-28) being a student. I spent the last 4 years being a wife, and the last 2.5 as a mommy.

Some would credit my doctorate as my greatest accomplishment this decade. But for me, my greatest “accomplishment” this past decade is something that was given to me from God. (I’m not saying that earning my degrees was apart from God’s help . . . this is just in a totally different category.) My greatest gain during this past decade is my husband. What a sweet gift from God is my man. My life is radically different because Josh chose me. He has been a wonderful friend, husband, lover, and pointer to Christ. I could not have better.

My second greatest gain this past decade is the sweet (double) gift of Becca and Isaiah. I am truly blessed to be a mommy to these two precious children. God is using them to draw me closer to Himself as I must rely on Him for strength in daily training my children. They bring me so much joy and laughter and are teaching me patience. My life as a stay-at-home wife/mommy is a great gift and I treasure this season of life.

The Lord has truly blessed me the last 10 years. He has carried me through the difficult times and abundantly blessed me with undeserved gifts. I thank Him for His unfailing love and faithfulness to me. I praise Him for always keeping His promises and never giving up on me. I look forward to what He has in store for me this new decade.

Happy 7-week birthday to our precious little man! Bath time has become extra fun as Becca has decided that just helping Isaiah’s bath by standing outside the tub is not good enough. Now I have two little ones in the tub and both seem to enjoy it. Becca’s one request is that I turn Little Brother so he won’t spray her. As for Isaiah, he just enjoys showing off his muscles!

Last Friday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. We enjoyed taking our two little calves to celebrate the event. Becca loved dressing up and was very happy to see the “real” cow instead of the fake one (poster). Isaiah was very content to sit and watch people at Chick-Fil-A.

We enjoyed our free meal with René, Yani, and Amaris. It was our last get-together with them before they moved to Greenville, SC, where René will be teaching math at Hampton Park Christian School. We have truly been blessed by their friendship in Texas these past two years. We’re sad to see them go but are happy they are moving somewhere we’ll eventually end up. I’ve been telling Becca that Amaris would be moving soon. My practical little girl just reminds me that Amaris is going to Greenville and someday we will move there too and she’ll get to see Amaris again. The other day she also told me it was ok, since we had Amaris’ picture!

Happy 6 week birthday to our little boy! A few ways we’re going to celebrate today: 1.) Mommy can drive again; 2.) Mommy can swim again – though I don’t think we’ll make it to the pool today; 3.) Mommy, Becca, & Isaiah will attempt their first shopping trip without Daddy; 4.) We’re all going to dress up like cows for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A!

“So, tell me about your day?” This is the question Josh and I asked each other every morning during our prayer time. My answer usually runs along these lines: “Take care of and play with the kids, feed Isaiah, make meals, take a nap.” In addition to these things I usually list a few projects I could get done, but I’m reluctant to commit myself to getting anything done besides the essentials.

When Josh comes home and asks about my day I usually draw a blank: what did I do today? It takes me the rest of the evening to remember things. This week, I decided to keep a little outline of the things I did while Josh was away. Enjoy a small peek into our days.

Monday: Breakfast, cut out & bake cookies with Becca, feed Isaiah, give Isaiah a bath – Becca wanted to get in too – frost cookies with Becca, give Becca another bath (frosting in hair), clean kitchen, cut/freeze peaches in smoothie packets, feed Isaiah, lunch, doctor’s visit, put Becca down for a nap, feed Isaiah, schedule Isaiah’s 4 month doctor’s appointment, nap, and supper prep.

Tuesday: Breakfast, feed Isaiah, take some pictures for the blog, finger paint with Becca (foot paint with Isaiah), apple snack and reading on the couch with Becca, make some phone calls, feed Isaiah,  lunch, put Becca down for a nap – then myself – emails, feed Isaiah, reading with Becca, prepare supper . . . Josh home!

Wednesday: Breakfast, feed Isaiah, give Isaiah a bath, vacuum, work on blog, play games with with Becca, apple snack & reading time with Becca, feed Isaiah, prepare supper & let Becca make a little “treat” for Daddy, feed Isaiah, lunch, naps, feed Isaiah, teach piano lessons.

In case you’re concerned that I never change Isaiah’s diaper . . . these are just the highlights of my days. I left out all the little things.

Children are truly a blessing from the Lord. We continually thank God for the two little gifts He’s given us. Isaiah continues to grow and be a sweet baby. Becca is also growing in her interactions with Isaiah. She’s quick to jump in for picture taking if I’m taking pictures of Isaiah.

I’ve learned three things about myself and taking care of the kids: 1.) Each day I must rely on God’s grace to give me patience as I parent a toddler an infant;  2.) I must have a morning snack and afternoon snack or I become rather cranky and impatient; 3.) As much as I like to have everything neat and tidy, dishes and straightening up can wait when both kids are napping and I can catch a nap too.

 A few last pictures from the 4th of July. We went to see fireworks sponsored by the Arlington Highlands (shopping center). Before lunch, Becca and I spend some time preparing for the event by watching fireworks on youtube. The preparation seemed to help, and Becca not only enjoyed the fireworks but was very anxious for them to begin. We found a great spot to watch and enjoyed the apple juice ice pops and popcorn we brought from home. (Isaiah slept through the fireworks but was pretty mad that his feeding was late due to the time it took to get out of the parking lot!)

On Wednesday we enjoyed the Arlington 4th of July parade. The parade route is really close to our apartment, so we didn’t have to travel too far to get there. Becca enjoyed seeing a real parade and kept asking if she could ride on the floats. Isaiah was hungry!

Tuesday night we got together with the Countryman and Rodriguez families. Heather wanted to have us all over before René, Yani, & Amaris move back to SC. Becca loved swimming in the Countrymans’ pool. She amazed us with she fearlessly jumped into the pool and would “swim” underwater.

Last Friday night we had Josh’s cousin, Christina over for dinner. Christina is down here house sitting and studying for the MCAT. We enjoyed our evening with her.

The collage below is of a project Becca enjoys making: “stained glass.” The big pull for her is using glue. It’s the second one she’s made within a week. The hands on the wall are the Bible verses we’re working on memorizing.

Becca quote of the week: “Daddy – can you stop kissing Mommy so she can read me a book?”

Our precious little man is now 4 weeks old! Hard to believe it’s already been that long. This week has been my first week without company or Josh around during the day. Josh is back at school full time doing research, so it is just me and the kids all day. It’s gone really well so far. I just have to make sure I keep low expectations for how much “non-mommy stuff” I’m going to accomplish during the day. I’m also trying to come up with creative projects for Becca to do while I get a few things done. We made a stain glass project while I was working on writing a letter – Becca loved it.

Tuesday, Heather Countryman brought us a meal as well as 5 freezer meals. It was a big blessing. Thursday Lynnelle Brown brought us another delicious meal. Ever since I was little I’ve always looked forward to the time when I would have a baby and people would bring me meals. We missed out with Becca, since she was in the hospital. These dear ladies made a “little girl’s someday” come true. The meals have been a great help as I’ve been juggling Becca and Isaiah.

Becca is now wanting to help with everything. Her desire to help has greatly increased since Little Brother’s birth. I’m continually trying to find ways to incorporate her help into my regular duties. She did a pretty good job cracking eggs yesterday morning (only one egg shell got in the mix). She also really wanted to help give Isaiah a bath. Our first try was yesterday – at one point she almost climbed in the tub with him and the other times I was trying to explain that we couldn’t put water all over his face. She’s a good little helper and a good big sister!

Happy 4 year wedding anniversary to the most wonderful husband in the world! Thanks for asking me to marry you and for being my faithful friend and lover these past 4 years. Being married to you is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I love being your wife and being loved by you. I love being safe in the treasure box of your heart.

It’s hard to believe is has been 4 years already and at the same time it’s hard to believe it’s only been 4 years.  In four years we’ve doubled our family size (love it!)…want to try to double again by our 8 year anniversary?!? Thanks for being a wonderful Daddy to our kids. I’m delighted to be married to a man who is an excellent husband and father.

Happy Anniversary, my darling! I adore you!

This is a catch up post on a few things from the past couple of weeks. We had a great visit with my mom and were sad to see her go. Becca decided to get in her suitcase and insisted that she was going to Pennsylvania with Grammy. The only way I convinced her to removed her belongings from Grammy’s suitcase was to remind her the we were house sitting for the Woods the next week. (I’d already asked her if she wanted to leave her Mommy and Daddy but she insisted it was ok since she would be “right back.”) Becca also decided that Isaiah was going to Pennsylvania too.

One thing I always appreciate about my mom is whenever we visit with her she always ends the visit by telling me that I’m doing a good job as a wife and mommy. It’s always very encouraging to hear my mom (mother of 6) say that and know she means it. It was also helpful to hear her opinion on Becca. She was with us long enough to see some of the “not so cute Becca” and make some good observations on how Becca interacts with me.

The day after my mom left, we moved to our “vacation home” – i.e. we house sat for the Woods. Becca enjoyed the pool. She had a great time jumping off the diving board with Josh. I couldn’t go swimming, but enjoyed sitting out and getting my legs wet while Josh and Becca swam.

House sitting at the Woods was a perfect time for Dad & Mom Jensen to visit with us. We had extra space and a pool for entertainment. Mom made us breakfast each morning, and it was great for me to not have that responsibility. We enjoyed their visit very much. Here’s a few more pictures from their visit (other pictures are in last week’s post).

(Pictures against white wall and collages comparing Isaiah in the womb and out were taken by my mom on Isaiah’s 2-week birthday.)

Today we celebrate Isaiah’s 3-week birthday. It’s hard to believe that a little over 3 weeks ago he was still in the womb…seems so long ago. At Isaiah’s doctor’s appointment on Wednesday he weighed 9 lbs. & 2 oz. and measured 21 inches. The doctor gave him a glowing report. Little Brother is doing great with all his feedings and has figured out his days and nights properly.

Becca is doing great with Little Brother. She has been willing to hold him a little more often and asked to have her picture with him on the floor (pictures on the right). She’s always quick to inform me when Isaiah is crying in bed. “Mommy,” she says, “Little Brother is angry.”

We enjoyed our Father’s Day. Josh continues to be an amazing husband and am amazing daddy. I love watching him with our children. I’m delighted Isaiah has such a godly man to pattern his life after. I’m so thankful for my husband!

I’m recovering quite nicely from the c-section. I still have 3 more weeks of no driving, heavy lifting, and swimming, but I feel good and haven’t had any trouble (yet) getting back into the swing of things. Of course, my days are busier. Next week will be our first “normal” week with no company, so we’ll see how I do all day balancing 2 while Josh is gone. I will say that being a mommy continues to be a sweet and wonderful gift. Sometimes (during a quiet moment) I just sit and smile, so happy. After all the stress with Becca’s birth and all the stress of wondering if something would go wrong with Isaiah, we now have 2 wonderful gifts from God: Becca & Isaiah. Children are truly a gift.

This week Grandpa and Grandma Jensen came to meet Isaiah and visit us. We’ve enjoyed spending time with them in a relaxed setting. Tuesday night we celebrated both of their birthdays with a dinner, dessert, and small gifts. I’m short on time this week, so I’m just going to put some pictures up from the week. More to come later.

As of this week, Isaiah weights 8lbs and is 19.8in. Normally infants are given 2 weeks to get back to their birth weight. Isaiah passed his birth weight in 11 days, so we can assume he’s eating well. Isaiah is a very easy-going baby. He sleeps, eats, and stays awake for a short while in between feedings – though sometimes he sleeps and eats and then continues sleeping until the next feeding. He’s doing well at nights. I usually feed him before we go to bed and then again around 3AM. He’s very nice to his mommy!

After Becca’s stressful first few weeks home, I wasn’t sure about having an infant. But I’m loving it. He is the sweetest and cutest little baby boy in the world (of course I think that because I’m his mommy).

Becca is a sweet big sister. She never wants to hold Isaiah since she’s afraid he’ll spit up in her. But she likes to kiss him, help me rock him in his chair, and bring him toys.

Wednesday night I was by myself for the first time with the 2 kids. Josh was at church. Mom was out with a friend from seminary days. Both kids went down well and all was quiet in the house until right before both adults arrived home. Isaiah woke up hungry and crying and Becca woke up crying and in a miserable state. I could not get her to calm down and ended up having her sit on the couch with me while I fed Isaiah. By the end of the evening, I had both little babes sleeping in my lap. Sweet moments.

My mom has been with us for two weeks. She arrived the day before Isaiah was born (May 31st) and will head back to PA tomorrow night. She said she was coming with lots of things for Becca to do . . . but I wasn’t expecting a whole Mary Poppins suitcase of fun activities for Becca. Let’s just say, if you’re expecting a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc child and need someone to watch your kids for you, my mom is the person to ask (but we have first dibs!). She’ll even feed them kale!

While we were in the hospital Grammy and Becca made a blanket/banner for Isaiah. It’s really cute and we’re planning on hanging it in the kids’ room. They also made signs to welcome Isaiah home. One night Josh dropped Grammy and Becca back from the hospital . . . it was already late and then they decided to play a game from Grammy’s suitcase after supper. Bedtime wasn’t till 11 that night!

Once Isaiah and I came home, Becca and Grammy were able to go on outings, since the car was available. They went to the library for story time, a park, the sprayground, the zoo, and the apartment pool. Grammy has also spent considerable time playing in Becca’s room. She taught Becca how to have Sunday School with all her animals. During Grammy’s visit, they’ve been working on making a book for Becca (hence some of the posed pictures). Grammy made Becca a cute story book all about Becca.

All week long, Grammy has been pulling more things out of her Mary Poppins suitcase: paper strips to make a paper chain, macaroni to make necklaces, different paper crafts. The other day they went into Becca’s room and shut the door . . . we found them later doing flannel graph stories of fairy tales. Add to that that Grammy also taught Becca how to spit when brushing her teeth and is trying to motivate her not to cry when she wakes up.

I shall also add that my mom has done several projects for me. She hemmed the curtains I’ve been wanting to put up in the kitchen for months. And she is working on a painting project for the curtains in the kids’ room – hand prints and foot prints. She also sewed the wall hangings I’ve wanted to put up in our church nursery. And she’s great at distracting Isaiah when he “thinks” he needs to eat too early.

Thanks, Grammy for ALL your help! Becca has had a blast! We all really appreciate your help and how it’s allowed me to ease back into my responsibilities in the home. I am continually impressed with all the activities you have for Becca. Thanks for being a great mom and Grammy!

For pictures of Isaiah – come back tomorrow to celebrate his 2 week birthday. After this week, I’ll have less time and will probably go back to one post a week!

Thursday Night (5/31): The day before Isaiah’s birth, I taught my last set of piano lessons for the month while Josh picked up my mom from the airport. For the past few days I had been in rush mode. We had thought the c-section was scheduled for Monday, June 4^th, but found out Tuesday afternoon that it had been scheduled for Friday morning! There was a lot to do before the surgery. I spend Thursday night giving my mom “Becca instructions” and doing my last-minute packing for the hospital. It’s a strange feeling knowing that you’re going to get up in the morning and have your baby in a few hours.

Friday Morning (6/1): Friday morning, we had to be at the hospital at 5:30. Surgery prep went well, the anesthesiologist said he had the right hand of God on his side. I was just hoping he did well in school! Josh read us Sense and Sensibility while we waited. I walked into the operating room, sat on the table, and was given a spinal block. While I was trying to think about how nice it would be to have our boy with us soon, I kept thinking, “I hate this. I hate the operating room. I hate giving birth this way.” The surgery went well and Isaiah Emil arrived safe and sound. He was a lot bigger than they were expecting from my size. They also noted that I had no scar tissue from Becca’s c-section. I ended up getting sick during the surgery – a reaction to the meds. I threw up during surgery and then several times throughout the day. It was a pretty miserable day, as I couldn’t sit up too far or take any movement without getting sick. BUT – I was delighted to have a sweet baby boy. The nurses were concerned about my low heart rate – several asked it I was a runner.

Becca: Becca came to meet Isaiah in the afternoon. I was sad I couldn’t be move involved with her first interactions with Isaiah. We tried to take a family picture, but I was “a little green” as my doctor put it. Saturday I was able to actually interact with both my children and enjoyed it very much. Becca wasn’t too excited about all the pictures, but was excited to see Isaiah for the first time and to exchange gifts.  She also sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for Isaiah with hand motions.  Becca even helped me walk the halls. Becca also enjoyed riding up and down in my bed.

Hospital Stay (6/1-4): Josh stayed every night with me at the hospital. It was great to have him there. The hospital staff was great. My doctor visited me every day while I was in the hospital. One of the nursery nurses noted that Jensen was a Danish name and made Isaiah a special hat. I had a wonderful night nurse. She was one of the night nurses I had after Becca was born. She was very patient while I got out of bed for the first time. Isaiah had his hearing test before we left the hospital.

Visitors: We had some visitors in the hospital. René, Yani, and Amaris visited both Saturday and Sunday. We also had 5 of Becca’s former NICU nurses visit – word gets around the hospital. Becca and Grammy came every day to visit us.

Home (6/4): Going home was great. It was good to be back with Becca and be in my own home again.

Just a few pictures to celebrate Isaiah’s one week birthday! Our sweet little boy – such a precious gift from God. His first visit to the pediatrician went well. His weight when he left the hospital was 7lbs and 1.6oz. The next day his weight at the doctor’s office was 7lbs. and 3oz. (Head circumference 34cm.) He’s growing!

It’s Wednesday night and I’m plugging away to get our weekly post up before midnight. I don’t have time to write much. I don’t have time to post all the pictures I’d like to. So, I picked a “few” pictures from our week to highlight. Maybe next week, I’ll have time to post the rest to chronicle our son’s first week.

We’ve made a good transition to being home. The first two days were rough for Becca, especially the afternoons and evenings. Wednesday went well without any breakdowns from Becca. I kept reminding myself on Tuesday that it was only the second day home. My mom has been a great help – pretty sure my family would be starving (or not eating until really late each day) if it were not for her. Isaiah continues to be a sweet cutie – he sleeps a lot, which I’m not used to, since Becca was awake much of the day when she came home from the hospital.

Thank you for your prayers for us. Now for the pictures…

Sibling Gift Exchange – Becca wanted to give Isaiah a zebra. Becca named the zebra Jeremiah. (She chose this name all on her own. We’re not sure why.)

Hospital

HOME – One happy little girl to have her mommy home!

Isaiah Emil Jensen
June 1, 2012
8:06AM
7lbs. 11oz.
18in.

Isaiah: Named for the Old Testament prophet (“Yahweh is salvation”)

Emil: Named for Amy’s Grandpa Sutter’s first name. Emil is also her Grandpa Buecher’s middle name, her dad’s middle name, and her brother Jon’s middle name.

The c-section went well. I had some trouble with the anesthesia the first day and was unable to sit up or eat the day of the surgery. Saturday I was feeling much better. I’m scheduled to go home on Monday.

Becca enjoyed holding her little brother. She’s having a great time with Grammy Sutter. Saturday night Becca burst into tears when she realized I was not going home with her. She cried and kept saying, “but I want you to go home with me.”

Josh is, as always, a great Daddy! He’s been staying at the hospital with me and has changed a few diapers.

Isaiah is an absolute cutie. It’s so precious to be able to hold him and take care of him. It’s quite different from our NICU experience with Becca. We’re thanking God for protecting his life these past 9 months.

Rebekah Pringle came to visit with us at the end of last week (Wednesday to Sunday). I picked Rebekah up from the airport Wednesday night and took Emily to the airport early Thursday morning. It was the “changing of the guard” while Josh was away. We had a lovely visit with Rebekah and it was a special treat for me to get to spend so much time with her. She was the perfect house guest, especially since we had been roommates in grad school. Becca enjoyed playing with her Auntie Bekah.

Josh had a successful week at Breath of Life. All his teaching sessions went well and we survived the week without him. Becca enjoyed our extra company and all the extra activities: parks, mall (including a lot of escalator riding), ice cream, sprayground, late nights, etc. We were very happy to have Josh home Friday night.

I found out on Tuesday that my doctor was unable to schedule my c-section for next week, so Little Brother’s c-section is scheduled for tomorrow at 7:30AM. It’s a bit jolting to find out that you’re having surgery 3 days earlier than you were planning.  We’ve been praying for a regular delivery and are resting in the Lord’s sovereign will in this situation. My time is running out . . . here comes the knife! I’ve been trying to spend a lot of time with Becca, as I know our lives are about to drastically change with the addition of Little Brother. It won’t just be Becca and Mommy playtime any more. We’re excited to meet Little Brother tomorrow morning.

Happy 47 month marriage anniversary to my wonderful husband!! It’s been an amazing 47 months, and daily I’m reminded that you are God’s sweet gift to me. Thank you leading us to Christ, for loving me, and for choosing me to be your wife. Thanks for keeping me priority and not becoming too busy with other things for me. Thanks for being so much fun!

Right now you’re taking a nap with Becca in “mama’s pink chair” – so I could keep napping myself. You are a terrific Daddy and I can’t wait to see you with Little Brother! I adore you. Next month we celebrate 4 years!