Toby - 9 Days Old

Here are a couple sweet pictures of baby Toby.

Camcorder Blessings!

Everyone in my family knows that we have misplaced our Canon Camcorder. We bought this camcorder back in 2008 right about the time Molly was born, knowing we would want to take videos as she (and subsequent children) grew. Over the past 18 months we haven't actually used the camera as much as we thought we would but we have enjoyed having it and we've already enjoyed looking at the videos we've taken to date.

Curt & I know we took the camcorder with us on our Babymoon #2 to Eureka Springs last Nov 09. We also know we got home with the camcorder. After that we can't tell you what happened to it. Did we leave it at someone's home? Did someone swipe it as we were selling our home? Did it get packed up in the move? We have not found it yet. I'm convinced it will show up someday when I least expect it and yet I don't really expect that to happen. I'm quite appalled that we have misplaced such an expensive item--I don't lose things! "There's a place for everything and everything should be in it's place" is my motto. HOW COULD WE LOSE A CAMCORDER?!!!

When we bought the camcorder we bought 2 4G SD memory cards to go with it. So there has been a 2nd SD card in the office ever since we got the camcorder. It just occurred to me last night to check the SD card and see if there was any video on it. Curt checked it out for me tonight--would you believe it has all the videos we've taken up through Oct 09? That means we have ALL the videos from Molly's birth till just before we misplaced the camcorder. What a blessing! So, even though we've lost the camcorder (yes, I'm admitting it's probably lost) we haven't lost any of the memories we've captured on it. Yeah!!! Just one more way God blesses us in small ways. God is good--all the time! How's that for seeing the silver lining behind the cloud.

A First - Errands with 2 Children

Can I just tell you what a fan I've become of businesses with drive-throughs. You can get so many things done, and so quickly! This week finds me on my own with two kids. Today we had to get out and get a few things done so I loaded up. Well, I have a stroller for one and took a few minutes to figure out the Baby Bjorn. Our inaugural single parent outing took us to the library--and that's it! The other errands were accomplished via the nifty drive-through. Who knew you could have a baby on your front side, a toddler on your hip, and the diaper bag draped across your back. Very impressive, if I may say so myself. :)

Today's outing convinced me of two things: 1) I need to get a double stroller, and 2) I might should re-think having a third child! But as Curt says, let's take it one child at a time.

Day 5: Toby's First Outing

Today was Toby's first real outing! I don't know that yesterday's trip to the Doctor really counts as an outing! (At his appt, he was 7 lbs, 2 oz and 21 inches long. Molly went for her 18 month appt at the same time and was 18 lbs, 10 oz.) Auntie KK and cousin Jace came to visit for a few days so we all loaded up for an outing today. We met Robin & Emmelyn for lunch at Pei Wei before going on 'Amai & Baba's quest at Wallyworld.

Pei Wei was an adventure with 4 children in tow. It was quite entertaining as "Day Care" met "The Office" We got quite a few questions about the age of the children and several looks when Molly was yelling for a drink!

Welcome Baby Toby Haskell

We welcomed the birth of our second child over the weekend. Baby boy Toby Haskell was born on Feb 13th at 8:38 pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz and was 20 1/2 inches lonng. "Haskell" is my maternal grandfather and "Toby" we just liked!

Saturday morning I woke up about 3:30am to the beginning of contractions. My friend, Christina, had come to visit for the weekend. Needless to say our plans changed slightly. She and I toodled around the house most of the day and wiled away the time as the contractions got stronger. Middle of the day Curt took Molly over to Grandmother and Papa. As soon as he got back we left for the hospital, getting there a little before 5 pm.

I don't think the nurses thought much about me coming in with a smile on my face but as soon as they hooked up the machines there were contractions. A check found that I was already dilated to 6 cm and with that the nurse declared I had bought myself a bed. :) The contractions were getting enough uncomfortable that I was very glad to get an epidural quickly. It wasn't long before the nurses checked and declared I was just about complete. Unfortunately, the epidural made me sick at my head and then to my stomach. We pushed for about an hour before Baby Boy made his appearance at 8:38 pm.

G'Mother and Papa brought Molly in to see us and her new brother. I don't think she was very impressed. It didn't help that it was 9:30 at night and she was up way past her bedtime. I must have scared her because she didn't want to have a thing to do with me! Kevin & Robin, the Bs and the Danes were also there to see us. We called Mom and Dad in Taiwan to share the news and were later able to Skype with them so they could see Toby.

We got to go home on Monday afternoon. Toby is a little jaundiced so he's having to sleep under the bilirubin lights for a couple days. Thankfully it's a very mild case and he's not having any problem eating. Actually, he's a very good eater. Let's hope that continues and he isn't the picky/slim eater his sister is.

We're so blessed God has given Toby to our family and we can't wait to see how this little boy worms his way into our hearts. Thank you Lord for a safe delivery of a healthy baby. God once again showers us with his goodness.

One Can Only Hope

This has become a regular occurence at our home. I'm not sure if it's because we have a lot of books, or that we have too few toys, or if Molly just likes books. I'm holding out for that last option. I'm really hoping that Molly grows to love books just like her momma, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers do. Reading and going to the library has been instilled in me since I was itty-bitty. I can only hope and pray Molly loves to read as much as I do. :)

Brrr...Oklahoma Weather

Only in Oklahoma. We were in the 60s yesterday and today it's in the 20s with freezing rain. Crazy. The weathermen says it only going to get worse today and tomorrow. Ice and snow, with the possibility of power outages. Ugh! After spending a couple hours yesterday cleaning out the garage and the backyard (I hadn't done anything to the backyard since we moved into this house in Dec.) today is going to spent in doors. I'm so thankful to be in a place where I can do just that--hibernate in my little den!

One of the things I did yesterday was mend Curt's khaki pants. The process reminded me of a couple things my Mom taught me that I am very grateful for. One, my Mom taught me how to do some basic sewing on (and off) the sewing machine. Over the years it has been so useful to know how to do some basic fixes. Not only can I mend Curt's pants but I have been able to alter my pants and shirts. I've taken in seams, notched the waist in, hemmed, etc. Granted, they have been very simple fixes but I've been able to do them because my Momma taught me to sew.

The second thing that yesterday's mending reminded me about was/is the way my Mom has taught me to take good care of my things. She never verbally said this but she exhibited this in her day-to-day activities. Point in case: The last one to use my sewing machine was Mom. She hemmed some pants while she and Dad stayed with our family the past couple of weeks. When she put the machine away she had the cord wrapped up so nicely. That's just what she does. It seems like a silly thing, but Mom has always been very neat with cords. (Family, do you remember the velcro tie things she got for our cords a couple years ago in our Christmas stocking?) It's not just cords, though. I have watched Mom work hard to keep her carpets spot-cleaned, junk drawers neat, and even paint supplies well-cleaned. Seriously, why toss paint rollers when just a little bit of elbow-grease makes them useable again. And paint trays--there's really no reason there should be leftover paint from last year's project dried on it. Just a little elbow grease and there you go.

I don't mean to leave Dad out of this musing. Dad has similar traits. My Dad has always worked hard to keep the garage tidied and taken good care of his lawn equipment, cars, and homes. It's the same type of thing. Thanks Mom and Dad for consistently showing me how to be a good steward of the things God has so graciously provided for me. I hope that one day my children can same the same thing about me.