Abigail Hope

On September 2nd at about 11:05 am we welcomed little Abigail Hope into our family. Though it may sound a little cheesy, she really is a dream come true for us. When I was a teenager I had dreams of having a daughter. In the dream we would both be wearing white dresses and big sun hats while we sat in the grass. There were never any other kids in the dream, but in hindsight I realize that the boys were in the dream - just off playing in the mud or wrestling or running around! When Ted and I were first engaged I remember having a conversation about baby names and we talked about one day having an "Abigail". Caleb has wanted a sister for years and was moved to tears when we found out that our newest blessing was a girl. As with the boys, we are so grateful that the Lord has seen fit to entrust us with this little girl. We are all trying to get used to using the pronouns "she and her", but that might take a while.

Saying Goodbye!

So maybe it is not the saddest or hardest good bye, but it is the end of a relationship all the same. For more that 9 years I have had most of these clothes. The little green one with the cars was one of the first that Caleb wore. The white one with the cars is the one that Josiah wore home from the hospital. Before we found out that we were having a little girl I commented that I was really tired of folding the same clothes. The blue outfit with the red and white strip down the leg was worn by four Browne boys! Even as I went through the clothes, washing them one last time, I couldn't help being a little sad that I was parting with them. How can I give away the years of matching Easter dress shirts or the shirt Lucas wore for his 6 month picture or all the cute footie pajamas? There will be no more baby clothes with baseballs or race cars! As I told Caleb, even if our daughter ends up being a tomboy, she will have to do it in pink!

Caleb's Birthday

On the 18th we celebrated Caleb's ninth birthday. It is hard to believe that he is that old. I told Ted that is makes me kind of sad to think that once out newest child is Caleb's age Caleb will be getting ready to move out. Time really does go by so fast. A few weeks before Caleb's birthday I asked him what he wanted but prefaced that it needed to be something that I could find here. After thinking for a minute he said "I know something that you can get me in any country. I want you to love me the most." He said it with a smirk on his face but I knew that he really meant it. Caleb is our emotional child, needless to say. He is a very good athlete, loves to play and watch sports. Since he was very small it has always been important for him to look the part of whatever sport he is playing. If it is basketball, then basketball shorts are a must. If it is baseball then he wears his Cardinals jersey and hat. After receiving a soccer uniform from a friend he immediately put it on and asked to run to the corner store to get a cheap soccer ball. Having the right gear is important, right? He received a guitar for his birthday and is very excited about starting lessons. Caleb said that he had a great birthday and I wonder if part of that was because he really felt like he was loved the most!

Our Baby Girl

We cannot believe it but we are actually going to have a little girl. The doctor said she was pretty sure at 17 weeks and then confirmed it again at 23 weeks. We are very excited and are so thankful that the Lord has blessed us in this way. Months before we found out that we were pregnant I wrote an email to a friend saying "I was thinking of asking for a daughter for Christmas but I think that I stand a better chance of getting my dining room chairs recovered". I took a pregnancy test on Christmas Day which confirmed that we were expecting #5 and my dining room chairs remain the same. I know that, whether we had a son or daughter, the Lord has designed this for our good, that he has fashioned this baby, and that all the days ordained for him/her were written before one of them came to be. We look forward to holding this little girl and learning how to be parents to a daughter.

Easter Sunday

So I am a little behind on my blogging! This Easter we were able to celebrate with a few other foreigners in the city. Not all of the foreigners speak English so our service was in the national language. In all honesty, that is still a little hard for me. Easter is one of my favorite times of the year and what I really want to do is to be able to worship with my whole heart. That is hard to do when you are speaking, listening and singing in a language that you are still trying to learn. At the same time I am thankful that though we do not all speak the same "heart language" the reason we came together to celebrate is the same - we have a relationship with a risen Savior.

He's a Mess!

A popular kid treat here is chocolate
spread on bread. Micah loves it and this time
he literally inhaled it (sneezing chocolate hours later).

Now that is some serious bedhead!

Micah has entered the "Terrible Two's" and while he is not exactly terrible he is causing a lot of problems. Just last week we had the hardest day ever with him. The day included him blowing his nose into the curtain, spraying cleaning liquid into his brothers pants drawer, pulling a shelf off the wall (breaking 5 of my Willow Tree figurines), and using a face cloth and toilet water to wet the bathroom. You may be wondering if anyone is watching this kid! I told him that he is lucky he is so cute or else he'd be in big trouble. Most of the time he is not that hard to handle but now that he can climb up to the top bunk and open the front door he needs someone to watch him like a hawk. I just hope that he doesn't learn any new, dangerous tricks.

Micah turns 2

Yesterday we celebrated Micah's second birthday. Micah has been talking about cake ever since Lucas' birthday so he was very excited about his birthday cake. He was so excited that he tried to eat the scraps off the parchment paper. His favorite gift was his blue tricycle - though he is still too short to reach the pedals.
Micah is a very sweet little boy. He still likes to sit with me and often asks me to hold him. I found myself thinking the other day that I really do not want him to get any bigger, but somehow I do not think that that is going to happen. He loves balls, jumping off of things, puzzles, being chased by his brothers, and playing outside. I love when he - hides behind something and says "you can't find me" - when he says "thank you mommy" - says "please mommy please" when I tell him to stop jumping on the bed - climbs up onto the back of the couch so that he can play with my ponytail - puts his finger on his nose and says "shhh" - runs to say "you okay?" when his brothers are crying.- plays with his hair when he is tired and wakes up with a mohawk because he fell asleep holding his hair. Basically we are so blessed to have this little boy!

Lucas' 4th Birthday

On Monday we celebrated Lucas' 4th birthday. It is hard to believe that when we moved here he was only 18 months old. Suffice to say, he has grown a lot. I was able to take a birthday cake to Lucas' school and he celebrated with his classmates. I'm not sure why, but Lucas was out of sorts on his birthday. At school he barely said a word and never smiled. Once we got home and he opened his presents we were able to get him to smile. His favorite thing was his guitar. He also requested to ride the small train at the mall, but ended up crying for most of the ride. In hindsight I think that he had not completely recovered from his illness the week before. He is back to his old self now - though I told him that once a kid turns 4 he can no longer do naughty things!