We Are All Smitten with This New Little Man!!

 Israel is doing so well!  He was born a very happy little guy and wonderfully healthy! As I mentioned, he was a whopping 9 lbs 5 oz- we are just in awe of how the Lord protected him and even though I was so sick and lost weight, he gained all he needed to be our cuddly butter ball:).  He and I spent the night in the hospital together without daddy.  Matt went home to be with our 5 other kiddos and get a bit of extra rest since he has been sick.  It gave me a chance to really get to know Israel in all the quietness of our little room.  Not any sleep happening, been some really good cuddling and heart melting happening.  I was glad I had the time then too because when I returned home, there were 6 other sets of hands to share him with! We returned home yesterday afternoon and have been enjoying just being together as a family. Lots of laughter and a lot of peace and gratitude for this new little gift.  I was blessed with a good night's rest, and Israel slept very well.

I had woken up early Monday morning around 2am in labor.  I was able to stay home through it until around 6am when it became pretty active and regular.  We arrived at the hospital and less than 4 hours later, Israel was born.  We had a lovely nursing staff and of course my Dr was a continued blessing that we were so excited to share this experience with again!  I am feeling great!!  I love being able to say that after nine hard months!!  Labor and delivery was smooth and had no complications, which is of course a very big blessing with this being my sixth!

We are taking time this week to soak in this new little man.  Matt is on vacation for the week-so thankful he had vacation time to spend at home for this.  I am still managing the shop, enjoying sharing the news with so many of my lovely customers I call friends, that have been on this journey with me, just laying a little lower than usual with work.  We have family coming in this weekend to meet Israel and we will be finishing up enough of our room to move in on Friday.  Yep!  Baby beat room-we were pretty curious about which would win out:)  I like the outcome! Our oldest, Cole, had been on a camping trip for 4 days and returned home Sunday evening just in time for me to have Israel.  The Lord's timing is pretty cool!

Here are some of our pics...

Bell is liking Izy's idea!

Madison is the second mama around here. Pretty hard to get Izy away from her. She is a natural and will be quite a helper!

I am smitten!  

love his little cry.

Talk about a contrast! 14 years between these 2 brothers. Can't wait to see the relationship grow into God's design!  I know He has a purpose in all of these things, we get the blessing of seeing it unfold.

Do you think he loves his little brother!?  He has been so anxious to meet Israel whom he previously named "fireblast";)  Noah is loving watching all of Izy's little movements and hearing all of his little noises. These two will be my last two at home-never thought I would have 2 young men completing our family-how fun is that!

Joslyn just giggles when she sees him and can't believe he's here-the whole thing just boggles her mind.  She adores him!!  

And of course-a very very happy daddy-who just thrives on this newborn baby stage!!  He loves his kiddos seeing him with Israel makes everything worth it!! I was the one who wanted a big family when we met-he thought I was funny-I thought he was funny for not taking me seriously-both of us had no idea how hard it would be to have a big family and how much of partners we would need to be to make it through.  He had no idea how amazing a daddy he would make to a full quiver-I did.  I had no idea how much he loved me until "in SICKNESS and in health" was put to the test-6 times over-but I do now and I am beyond grateful I could carry and bring his kiddos into the world. And we are still just beginning to grasp the love the Lord has had for us-but all these miracles are a pretty good indication! Thank you Jesus!!

He's Here!!!

Just wanted to share a quick praise!!  Our little man was born this morning at 10:50 -he weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz!!!  He is perfect!!  His name is Israel Hudson and we are just in love!!


And here is our amazing crew finally altogether!!  I will share more later:)

While Waiting.....

Well, it just does not matter that I have gone through this 5 times already.  I am just as anxious to meet this new little one as I was the first time!  The last few weeks of pregnancy when you know that wee babe is ready to for holding in your arms can drag out to be an eternity full of ups and downs.  We had thought from clues that he would have been here by now, but that turned out not to be the case.  But we do know that on Wednesday, if I have not gone into natural labor, the Dr wants to induce and I completely trust her!  I have been down that road 4 times already-only once did I get the chance to call Matt and say-It's Time!!  I am still hoping and praying for that chance this time as well, but it is fun to know that i will not have to wait any longer than Wednesday to meet my child!!

So, what do you do when each day carries possibility of a new little life?  Some things are quite routine and unexciting, like cleaning the house all over again-although, with five kiddos within these wall and one busy husband, I'm not sure that ever comes to completion:)  but it is worth a shot each new day.  We have continued to work on a bedroom for Matt and I-and we may just have one by Wednesday if this babe waits.  The taper was here almost every day this past week and Matt was able to prime the walls for paint last night!!  We actually picked up the paint this afternoon and I cannot wait to see it on the new walls.  We are figuring that the trim, closet build, and finishing electrical work will get finished after we start to move in to the room since we really want to be in there when we bring the baby home instead of in the unfinished part of our basement.  Here is the progress...

 We were excited to celebrate Madison's 13th Birthday this week!  The day before had been a bit hairy and I almost ended up in the hospital to have the baby, so being able to be at home, enjoying our beautiful gift from the Lord was a real praise!! We are glad her day will remain her day!  They sure do grow so very fast!!  But I am praising the Lord for ALL of the stages we go through with the kiddos, there are blessings in each!!  She is my amazing helper, strength, inspiration, encourager, and gift!!

I have done A LOT of sewing too!!  Is that any surprise though-haha.  I would love to be outside, but our weather has been in the high 90's and even 100 with heat warnings which doesn't really work well with a 9 months pregnant mama!!  I try to water in the wee early morning hours for the garden and my sake, but many times the girls help out with that right now.  So, sewing keeps me off my feet and passing the time of being anxious and a little crabby(in all honesty).  So this is some of what I have worked on...
  
Lots of new sets of napkins for the shop, here are 2 of them. Having fun with color!

A new little skirt design.
   

I have started on the felted wool mittens for fall.  Not sure I am totally ready to dig in to that yet, but it was fun to get these finished and I know fall will sneak up on me faster this year than in other years.

And I have worked on turning a vintage bandana map into a fun quilted throw pillow for the shop as well.  It is a map of the Rocky Mountain National park.  I like wandering off the beaten path every once in awhile to work on something a bit different.

So, I guess, this is not the update I had anticipated, but that will come soon enough.  Hope this week is one you see the Lord's blessings in and find rest in Him!!

How about an Update...

I should probably just do little bits and bobs here and there instead of recapping an entire month or two;)  And maybe that will happen eventually.  But for now----well, you know.  We are just about to welcome our newest little guy!  Can you believe it!  He is due to arrive any day.  So, my head is finally happily lost in daydreams of baby and preparation for him.  I am so thankful that we will soon be able to put to rest a difficult time for all of us.  The pregnancy just kept throwing curves our way and I am still hoping I can somewhere down the line bring honor to the Lord in how I look back on it!  I took a few big steps backward with my health this past month, landing me back in bed.  The hyperemesis made another appearance briefly and I ended up needing the aid of IV intervention to keep things from getting too out of hand.  But I am again, back up on my feet and ready.  Being just plain tired will be a nice treat from being sick!

Our bedroom is getting closer to being done-but the little babe will most likely arrive before we have a bedroom-and honestly, that is A O K with me;)

The shop has been a challenge to keep up with, but one that has helped me through this time and I have had such gracious customers with such gentle hearts.  It has made working a blessing!

The kiddos are doing so well.  We are still schooling most weeks, but also enjoying summer life!  Cole is involved with football training and we are looking forward to the upcoming Sr High season!  He had an awesome missions trip training conference out in CO.  Matt took a team of awesome leaders and Sr High kids from church to be trained by "Dare to Share".  We are excited to see the fruit that comes from this trip in years to come. It is the first year Cole is in the Sr high youth group with Matt-time sure flies!  Cole has been such a dependable and gentle spirited young man towards me and helping filling in the gaps my illness has left. The Lord has been shaping each of the kids through this trial and that part is pure joy. Madison is in Jr High now and again-times just flies.  I think Matt is really enjoying this season now that our own kids are involved in the youth ministries with him.  Madison is enjoying her week of being a crew leader at VBS.  There are over 400 kids coming and the excitement for the Lord is just contagious!  Madi just loves her little group of kids and I love hearing all about them when she gets home each day.  Joslyn is stretching and growing and has become one of the "older kids" through this pregnancy.  Helping make meals, taking care of the younger 2, and being just a comfort to mama.  She continues in her love of creating and when she gets home from VBS today, she and I will be working on a quilt she has been designing.  Bell just grew up before our eyes as well.  She is all girl, loves her guinea pig and taking care of it, loves doing her hair all by herself, and has taken to being a big help with chores around the house.  She loves her quiet time to draw and is really quite talented in that.  Her head is always spinning with ideas to get down on paper.  She has struggled a good amount with me being sick and all the fullness of a big family, but she has been good about sharing her hurts with me.  Helps me to be more aware and prayerful in this and it is stretching me to be more intentional about how I use my time. And Noah, he is our laughter!!  5 years old already-crazy! Noah is our most social, and all of us enjoy the lightheartedness he brings to so many situations.  Noah ended up breaking his wrist right at the beginning of the summer from falling of of Madison's loft.  And instead of it hindering him one bit, that cast became his tool to imagination, and maybe a bit of a weapon we all tried to avoid;).  He kept all of the Drs and nurses giggling with his 101 questions or thoughts.  He is my one child in which I sit at the edge of my seat when we are in public, wondering just what is going to come out of his mouth.  Am I going to burst into laughter, or turn bright red from his child like honesty and assessments of a situation.  But most of the time-especially with all the Drs appointments we have experienced this past year-he leaves those rather downcast people around us, smiling from his ongoing conversations with Matt and I.


On the creative side of things, the end of this pregnancy, like all the others before it, has allowed me time to create.  Having to remain low key and at home most of the time could have been much more difficult without that outlet.  So it continues to be a gift.  I have done a lot more sewing for the shop than I have done supply work-just from the simple standpoint that I rarely could gather enough strength to shop. I love the variety!  But there are still days that the whirl of the sewing machine is not heard.  Sometimes my creative part of the brain just needs to be used for being mom or wife or teacher.  The girls and I had the chance to surprise Matt for father's Day with a gift outside.  He was gone over Father's Day and the 8 days after, giving us time to slowly put into action a plan.  We had a big "crop circle" looking area in the back yard that was left from where we had put the pool last year.  With all of the demands this summer for Matt between construction on the house, caring for me and the holes in my part of things, being Dad and youth events at work, I knew he couldn't do much in the yard this season.  So the week he and Cole were gone-the girl's and I designed and built a fire pit for him.  While physically I could not do much-I was able to help with the brainy part of creating it-I got to be the contractor for the project ;).  Here are the pics from the work in progress.  It will bring us together as a family for years to come.


 
The girls started by spraying off a perfect circle.
They dug a hole for the bowl.  It was pretty hot, so Joslyn kept madi supplied with shade and water!

We used our old above ground fire pit bowl to be the new pit's bowl since that part of it was still in good shape.

Each day that I was feeling strong enough to drive to the store-we would take a short trip around the corner to Menard's to gather supplies for that day's work.  The girl's were happy to be the muscle-they loaded bricks, rock, and sand each day and little by little the fire pit got finished.

Adding the gravel took quite a few days of small trips to the store.  But the result was so nice!!

We had gathered the larger rocks for the border from the digging out the new basement window.  They were put to good use! And it is all ready for Dad's return!

ole was more than happy to start the fire for Dad:)

But, yes, there has been a good amount of whirling going on with the sewing machine and here are some of the creations.

 Finished some little pants for the baby this past week.  Cannot believe how tiny they are!! Here is a link to the free pattern and tutorial.

 Made some quilted burp cloths-and am looking forward to seeing how they work out.

 This is our wee one's crib quilt-finally finished and ready for cuddling.

 I made this scrappy quilt for the shop.  Had fun digging through my scraps to do this one!

 Place mats I made from vintage bed linens-They went in the shop as well.

Most likely the next time I check in, it will be to share our newest little guy's arrival!!  Thank you so much for all of the encouragement and prayers through this past year!!  You have all been such a blessings!!