We’ve been enjoying the warm weather this week: it gives us a chance to play outside!

Today we leave on our last post–deputation trip. We will stay in five different states: NC, VA, PA, NY, & NJ. Hard to believe it’s almost officially over. Once we return we’ll have 27 days before we leave for Cambodia – to God be the Glory!

 Sweet dreams to our 5-week-old little bundle of sweetness!

This past weekend, all of Josh’s immediate family gathered at Dad & Mom’s for a family weekend. Caroline’s family came up from Florence, SC, and the rest of us drove each day to spend time together. We started with dinner Friday evening, then were back for family pictures (thank you to Donna Bixby) Saturday morning. We enjoyed fellowship all day Saturday. On Sunday we ended the weekend with church and Mother’s Day lunch.

The cousins all enjoyed playing with each other. Once the picture taking was over we had a relaxing day of simply hanging around the home and enjoying each other’s company.

We are very thankful for Josh’s parents. For their faithfulness in raising their three children to know and love God and for how that blesses each of their children’s spouses. We are thankful for the godly heritage they have given us. Josh and I are also grateful for Dad & Mom’s continual support as we head to Cambodia. We appreciate their excitement for us, even though it means not living so close any more.

Not sure how you can be one month already! We’re enjoying having you as a part of our family. What a precious gift of God you are to us. Happy 1-month birthday, Anna Grace!

I am truly blessed to be the mother of these three.

Anna went on her first trip to a supporting church this past weekend. She did great on the 3-hour car ride but didn’t sleep too well that evening in different surroundings. Our next overnight travels will be in about 2 weeks, so hopefully she’ll do better then.

A week after Anna was born, Becca began looking through her special cookie cookbook to decide what kind of cookies she wanted to make. Then, the week Isaiah and I had made chocolate chip cookies together, Becca decided it was her turn. To my surprise she picked Butter Cookies with Raspberries. She was pretty insistent that we were going to make these cookies. . . . Wow, they are sure good!

Monday we took a picnic to the park across the street. The main highlight for Isaiah was feeding the ducks. Becca was thrilled to ride her bike around the pond. When we were over halfway around the pond, Becca decided to get off her bike to look at a light pole.  Josh and I watched as her bike headed toward the pond and splashed in. You should have heard Becca scream. All ended well: bike was rescued, though we still need to wipe the algae off.

Hard to believe this sweet girl is 3 weeks old already. She had her first cranky day on Thursday, but I attribute that to her being nervous about her daddy’s ordination exam that evening. Once he passed she was content.

After a week of crankiness, due to molars and ear pain, Isaiah is back to his normal happy self. He really wanted to hold “baby sister” the other day. He especially wanted to hold her when Becca asked for her turn!

Anna celebrated her 3-week birthday by meeting her Great Grandma Martin. Grandma Jensen and Great Grandma Martin came up for the morning and lunch. We all enjoyed visiting with them.

We celebrated Easter in stages. . .the last stage being an attempt to get a family picture a few days after Easter (above). The Saturday before Easter we had the Erkens cousins over to decorate eggs. It was a rainy day, but all the kids had fun decorating and finding the eggs around the house. Easter Sunday after church we went down to Greenville to have dinner with Josh’s parents and the Erkens.

A few other pictures of the kids below. Becca and Anna have matching dresses: I found a Dollie & Me set 70% off and thought the dresses would work for a picture. Becca couldn’t wait to have Anna’s dress for her doll.

Anna Grace celebrated her 2-week birthday by going to the doctor. She’s doing great and gaining weight nicely – 8lbs & 3.5oz! We all continue to enjoy our three little ones. Anna Grace is a sweet addition to our gang.

l wouldn’t pray about it. When Josh would pray each night that God would allow Anna to be born by VBAC I would think, why pray for something when you already know that God’s answer will be no? All through Isaiah’s pregnancy I had prayed that the Lord would allow be to have a VBAC. And He said no. A VBAC after two c-sections is rare. I don’t like being told no, so I didn’t ask.

At the beginning of Anna’s pregnancy I met with a doctor who has done VBACs after two c-sections. I went to find out if it was a possibility for me. He came into the room rather abruptly and told me I was not a good candidate for a VBAC. I’d never gone into labor on my own. For a VBAC to even be considered I would have to go into labor on my own before my due date (something I’d never done before) and be far enough along that the doctors would consider a VBAC. Furthermore there were only two doctors within the hospital system that had ever done VBACs after two c-sections, so they would have to be the ones “on duty.” All the other doctors would do a repeat c-section no matter how far along the labor process was. Oh, and I was told to not labor at home since I could end up with a dead baby. In other words, the answer was no, and for the next several appointments I was told the same thing. I was ok with that. I had wanted to know if it was a possibility and now I knew that, unless God worked in several specific ways, Anna would be a third c-section. That was fine. We thank God for c-sections, for what modern medicine can do, for the way a c-section saved Becca’s life, and for God’s hand over all our pregnancies. Anna’s c-section was scheduled for April 11^th – 9AM. I’ll mention here that the doctor let me choose any date between April 7th and 11th for the c-section. I chose the 11th since it was a Friday and would be easier for my mom to come. At my next few appointments the other doctors questioned to wisdom of waiting so close to my due date (April 13th) to have my c-section. They were worried that I would go into labor and have to have an emergency c-section. I kept going by what the original doctor said and the fact that my mom’s plane tickets had already been purchased.

Tuesday night before Anna’s scheduled c-section I started having contractions. They seemed more than my normal nightly Braxton Hicks. The next morning at my scheduled doctor’s appointment there was discussion about keeping me at the hospital, but I was only dilated at 1cm and they let me go home. I took it easy on Wednesday. Wednesday evening the contractions continued and I didn’t get much sleep. Thursday we had our last family of 4 outing to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. (This was actually our first ever outing to Krispy Kreme, but not our first family of 4 outing!) The kids enjoyed seeing the doughnuts being made.

Thursday night the contractions continued and grew. I didn’t sleep much. I didn’t bother timing. I didn’t want to go into the hospital early just to have them do surgery. We could wait until morning. Sometime during the night I went and slept on the couch. It was a little easier to adjust my position. Around 4:30 Isaiah woke up and wasn’t going back to bed, so I had him on the couch with me and tried reading him books, though every so often I would stop and work through a contraction. I felt it was unfair that I had to endure contraction pain only to go have a c-section.

Friday at 6:50AM we left for my c-section. As they were starting to prep me for surgery they decided since I seemed to be having contractions in regular intervals they would check me – and I was dilated 6cm. The doctor came in. It happened that the exact doctor I had initially met with — the one who has done VBACs after two c-sections — was on delivery duty that day. He came in and asked me about my first c-section and started talking about how this was my chance to try a VBAC. I realized he didn’t know that I’d already had two c-sections. I was tempted to keep my mouth shut, but when I mentioned I had already had 2 c-sections he quickly changed his tune and told the nurse and resident to continue preparing for the surgery.

I didn’t want to ask. I had hardly slept the past two nights. I’d been in pain – contracting for no purpose but to have a c-section. I was ready to get it over with. But I thought about how my dear husband had faithfully prayed for a VBAC. I had to ask for his sake. . . . So I asked if I could try a VBAC. The doctor seemed surprised that I wanted to try but said I was a good candidate for it, since I was already in active labor and dilated 6cm. He was willing to give it a try and would be around all day. If I needed an emergency c-section he had plenty of doctors around who could do one. So off they wheeled me into a labor and delivery room.

We spent the next hours wondering what God was going to do. I kept saying I couldn’t believe this was happening, but I was worried that I was going to go through all of this only to end up in surgery. They broke my water. Later in the day they started me on pitocin. The doctor wanted my labor to continue progressing, but didn’t want me to labor too long in case of rupture. A little before 3 o’clock, I dilated to the full 10cm. Things moved pretty fast after that. We were told the doctor did a happy dance out at the nurses’ desk when he was told I was ready. Anna Grace was born at 3:39PM – a VBAC after two c-sections.

I am amazed that the Lord allowed me to have a VBAC. He lined up every detail, right down to the doctor and the later c-section date, so I didn’t have to have a c-section. It was one of those unexpected blessings, a sweet undeserved gift, an answer to Josh’s prayers when I chose not to pray about it.

Happy 1-week birthday, Anna Grace! Hard to believe that last week at this time we were waiting for you to arrive, wondering if all the laboring would end in a c-section. You are a sweet darling little girl, and we’re so glad God has blessed us with you.

We came home Sunday afternoon from the hospital. What a turn of events. I left Friday morning expecting to have a 3rd c-section, and the Lord gave us the unexpected blessing of having a VBAC. More on that in a later post.

My mom was with us until Wednesday morning and we were all blessed by her many acts of service in our home. We’re so thankful she was able to come and be a part of Anna Grace’s birth. She’s also great at taking pictures for us!

Monday morning Isaiah asked to hold Anna Grace. He was eager, but than got nervous. He seemed to be worried that Anna would hurt him. When I told him that Anna wouldn’t hurt anybody he replied: “Baby hurt Mommy!” He’s also very concerned about Anna’s umbilical cord. Whenever I change her diaper her insists that I button her up so it’s covered. Yesterday Isaiah held Little Sister and seemed to enjoy it.

Becca continues to love having a little sister. She likes to hold her several times a day and is a good older sister to her.

Anna Grace Jensen

April 11, 2014, at 3:39 PM

7 lbs. 5 oz.

21.25 in. long

13.5 in. head circumference

Meeting Big Sister (Becca is thrilled to have the little sister she’s been asking God for):

Meeting Big Brother (Isaiah was a little nervous at first. Once he got snacks and Anna gave him Donald Duck, Isaiah was willing to touch her! His first comment was “baby hurt me”):

Meeting Grandparents:

Last Thursday we drove back from a week in PA at one of our supporting churches’ mission conference. We had a great time getting to know the church members. A special treat was being there with Naomi Glock. During the summer of 1999 I spent a month with Aunt Na in Suriname helping her with an OT Bible Stories project for the Saramaccan people. It was great to catch up with her.

The morning after we arrived home we took our stuff to be loaded in a container headed for Cambodia. Some other missionaries, the Hancocks, had extra space so we were able to pack up our books, kitchenwares, and other stuff to send over. Yesterday the container was officially loaded, and it left. So glad to be done with that packing process.

Little Sister is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. It’s been a little hectic with traveling, packing for Cambodia, and getting ready for Little Sister, but we’re all excited and looking forward to unpacking this precious bundle of joy!

Happy 33rd Birthday to my wonderful husband! You’ve had a full 33rd year: finishing your Ph.D, moving to SC, starting deputation, traveling every weekend to present our work for 8 months, completing deputation, buying our plane tickets to move to Cambodia. . .to name a few major  events. All the while you were a fun, loving Daddy and a wonderful, caring husband. Happy Birthday my love! Looking forward to lots of exciting events during your 34th year!

The clock is now ticking! 98 days until we fly to Cambodia. We are rejoicing in the Lord’s provision of our support and continue to thank Him for answering so many prayers since we started deputation. Last Sunday was the last time we presented out ministry at a new church. This week we head to participate in the Mission Festival at one of our supporting churches. After that we will revisit a few of our other partnering churches in May and early June, then spend the remaining Sundays at our home church.

Little Sister’s arrival is almost 2 weeks away: 15 days! Tuesday morning Becca and I went on a Becca-Mommy date which started with Becca coming to my ultrasound. All is well with Little Sister — she’s currently 6lbs and 5oz.

Last week we had two of Josh’s former elementary teachers over: Mrs. Whitaker (1st grade) and Mr. Whitaker (6th grade).

Two weekends ago we were at Bethany Baptist Church and spent a few days at Uncle Rick and Aunt Kathy’s rental home. It was nice to be somewhere where I couldn’t “do” anything.

Yesterday we nearly finished packing up our tubs/boxes to be sent in a container that some other missionaries are using to send their belongings to Cambodia. We have to have these things to the container packing place the morning after we arrive home from PA. Exciting times!

While in CO, we participated in a missions conference at Red Rocks Baptist Church. We enjoyed the hospitality of Carol Roland and got to spend some time with our future field director, JD Crowley. JD was the featured speaker at the missions conference. “Uncle” JD made Becca’s day by bringing her a roll of pink toilet paper from Cambodia.

Thursday, March 6, we drove from Denver, CO, to Waverly, KS, where we visited with the Williams family. Darin and Nancy were very kind to let us stay with them, as the older Williams family were unable to house us due to a shoulder injury.

Friday, March 7, we drove from Waverly, KS, to Danville, IN. There we visited with the Pringle family. It was neat to visit Rebekah’s home and spend some time with her and her family. Becca loved playing with Auntie Suzie and sobbed when we had to leave.

Saturday, March 8, we took a short drive (3 hours) to Nicholasville, KY, where we met the Raslau family. We enjoyed our time with this couple and are very blessed to have their friendship.

We arrived home around 9 on Sunday night. (With time zone changes and the start of Daylight Saving Time, our internal clocks were about 4 hours behind.) We’re grateful to the many who were so hospitable to our family as we made this trip – and we were glad to be home for a few days!

While in Colorado the church we were at treated us to visit to The Children’s Museum in Denver. We all enjoyed the our afternoon out.

Becca enjoyed being inside a bubble. Isaiah enjoyed popping bubbles. The safety glasses were a hit.

Becca was quite serious about her veterinarian work. I took Isaiah back to the ball room and came back to find Becca giving Josh all the animal vaccinations!

A brief and perhaps boring recounting of our trip  and the people we were with. In short, we traveled to CO through AL, MS, and TX and visited with many friends along the way.

Returning late Monday (2/10) afternoon from our Georgia trip, we were told by Josh’s parents of wintery weather headed straight for us. After I went to my Tuesday morning doctor’s appointment and sonogram, we decided to leave that afternoon instead of Wednesday morning. It was a fast turn around as we quickly repacked for a month trip out west. The Hancock family graciously offered to open their home to us in Birmingham, AL. We were able to drive to AL on Tuesday and spend the night there, while the storm passed over during the night.

Wednesday morning (2/12) we drove to Greenville, Mississippi, to visit with the Parkerson Family and have our teeth cleaned. Dr. Parkerson let us stay with them from Wednesday to Friday and took care of all our teeth. It was Becca’s first time to the dentist.

Friday (2/14) we drove to Houston, TX, to be with North Houston Baptist Church. We visited this church last last May and thoroughly enjoyed being with the Brays and their church family (both times!). Becca was DELIGHTED to be back with her friend Charis.

Monday (2/17) we drove to the DFW area. We first stopped to spend the afternoon with Steven, Kristen, and Claire Ryland. Kristen had prepared Valentine cookies for the kids to decorate. It was great to visit with the Ryland family and meet Claire for the first time. That evening we drove to Alvarado, TX, where Micah and Anna Martin let us stay in their new home for the week (they had moved just 2 days before).

Tuesday (2/18) we had lunch with Leon and Nick Kahler and were able to see Aunt Rita Watson. We had dinner that evening with the Zollingers. Michael Zollinger used to work in AWANA at Hampton Park, and he was Josh’s worker to recited verses to.

Wednesday (2/19) we took the day off and went to the zoo. (See previous blog post.)

Thursday (2/20) we had dinner with Kathy, one of Becca’s main NICU nurses. We’ve enjoyed keeping up with Kathy since Becca left the NICU and are very grateful for the good care Becca received from Kathy when she was in the NICU. Isaiah LOVED the chocolate covered strawberries.

Friday (2/21) we had lunch with Kent and Alda Walton (no pictures). We spent the evening with Micah, Anna, and Adam Martin.

Saturday morning (2/23) I joined Anna at a ladies’ meeting set up for younger mothers to be encouraged by older women. I really enjoyed being with the ladies and received several good ideas for future use. Saturday afternoon and evening we had a lovely visit with the Countryman family.

Sunday (2/24) we were at Arlington Presbyterian Church. It was so good to be with our church family. Even though we attended for less than a year, it felt like being home. In the evening we had dinner with the Bennet family, a family from APC. Sunday night we moved into the Gamblins’ home so we could be in the Arlington area for a few days.

Monday (2/25) I had an appointment with Dr. Moseley to check on Little Sister. We then went to lunch with Parke and Lynnelle Brown. We had dinner that evening with Gary and Karen Isham.

Tuesday (2/26) we had lunch with the Crook family – I taught Cayti Crook piano and voice lessons when we lived in Arlington. We had dinner with Steve and Kelly Walter.

Wednesday (2/27) we had lunch with Pastor Wes and Kathy O’Niel from APC (no picture). Then we said goodbye to the Gamblins and made our way to Keller, TX, to have a New Life Bible Church reunion at the Woods’ home. It was good to get together with so many TX friends. Wednesday evening we stayed with the Ishams.

Thursday (2/28) we left the DFW area and started our trip to CO. We drove to Lubbock, TX, and stayed with the Siu family. Lap (who is Jarai from Vietnam) was a great help to Josh with his Jarai research and became a good friend. It was good to visit with their family.

Friday (2/29) we drove to a suburb of Denver. We saw a lot of interesting countryside during our drive. Saturday through Wednesday we participated in a missions conferences at Red Rocks Baptist Church.

Today we start out trip back to SC.

Last week we enjoyed time with friends in Alvarado, Tx. The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed exploring their backyard.