Life with 2 . . . .

We were down in TH at my parent's for a few days (hunting season). Here are a couple pictures . . .

Jackson was helping me get Kinsey ready for bed last night. He wanted to help put on the lotion : )

Selling Our House . . .

Say a little prayer for us as we are still trying to sell our house here in Rochester. We have a realtor friend in the church that we were going to list our house with at about this point in the process, if it had not sold. But she told us that we would be just as well off to continue trying to sell it ourselves with her help because of the slow housing market. So that is what we are going to do, but we are starting to feel a little nervous timing wise. Or when I say "we", I mean ME! So if you could just say a prayer that we would let go and let God take care of the timing and such, we would appreciate it!

Kinsey Update

Just a quick update on how we are doing . . . . We got home on Thursday around 1:30 pm. Jackson was anxious to see us and actually wanted to hold Kinsey. He has been really sweet with her, which we are thankful for. Kinsey has been nursing well and sleeping good. She actually slept last night from 11:30-4:30 am and then 5-8:30 am, when I woke her up to eat! I didn't sleep so well because I was up checking on her several times to be sure she was ok and breathing : ) Of course, if by some miracle she does that again tonight I will definitely SLEEP! Here are a few new pictures. We will be down in TH from Wednesday night to Saturday afternoon. So if you are down that way and want to come by, just call my parents and we would love to share Kinsey with you!

Going Home . . .

We will be heading home sometime this morning before lunch. We had a little more restful night last night and are ready to be back home in our own beds.

Here are a few more pictures from yesterday . . . .







On Wednesday, Jackson was a little more interested in actually holding his baby sister. He even wanted to share his sippy cup of juice with her. Grammy helped him to hold her at first and then he wanted to climb on the bed and hold her too. You might also notice, he is wearing his "I'm the Big Brother" shirt that my mom got for him.



Grammy brought Jackson Wednesday morning to visit. They stopped for McDonald's on the way, so the best picture we could get of the 4 of us also included a chicken nugget : )

More Pictures

I couldn't resist trying on this little bow headband last night : ) It is going to be way too much fun dressing her up!!

We had an ok night. . . all the hospital noises, interruptions, etc. make for interesting sleeping! But we did send Kinsey with the nurses for a couple hours just to try to rest and then she slept well after her 2 am feeding and we were able to rest a little more.




This is a picture of Kinsey with a very special friend of ours, Brenda Butcher. She is a labor and delivery nurse here at St. John's and involved in the Creative Arts Ministry at RCC. When Jackson was born, she was on duty and took care of us ALL day (and night). And this time, she let us pull her out of bed and come in on her day off to once again help us every step of the way. We feel SO blessed to have her there for both our kid's deliveries. Thanks Brenda!!

Kinsey Grace

Kinsey Grace Jarrett
Born November 6, 2007
at 9:55 AM
8 lbs., 20 1/2 inches

















Big Brother Jackson came to visit with Grammy and Papa right after lunch. He got to see her getting her 1st bath (as seen here).

Everyone is well! Labor was shorter this time . . . HOORAY! My water broke around 1:45 am, we were admitted around 3 am, and then started pushing at 9:35 am. We feel so blessed that everything went so well once again. We were able to have another natural labor and Kinsey is already doing well nursing. More to come later!

We're at the hospital!

Dave here!

Kristin's water broke at 1:45, so we're laboring! Look for more information to come soon! Keep us in your prayers.

No Baby Yet!

Well, there really is nothing to report. But I felt that I should report that there is nothing new to report : ) We are anxiously awaiting Kinsey's arrival. Of course, I wanted her to wait until after the last weekend in October, but I didn't mean she had to wait this long! I have EVERYTHING ready, so I started packing boxes today for moving because I'm running out of busy work to keep my mind off of it. I also went to the grocery store today and stocked up on a few more things. I have pretty much been nesting for the past 3-4 weeks, so I really have EVERYTHING done!

We did have an open house yesterday, but only two people stopped in and neither was actually looking for themselves. So we'll try it again next Sunday and see if we have any better luck. We have had two other people call this past week and set up a time to come see it. But nobody overly interested yet!

So we figure everything will all happen at once!! : ) God has directed us in this whirlwind journey so far and we trust that he will continue to be faithful.

Halloween Pictures

Here is Jackson sporting his Zebra costume . . . along with Princess Claire and Frog Prince Blake : )





And then here he is with Levi Price on Halloween night at the church.

38 Weeks

I had a dr. appointment on Wednesday morning. She did the exam and said that I was already dilated to 2 cm and 60-70% effaced. And her guess is that Kinsey is already around 8 lbs. (FYI: she was within 2 oz. on guessing Jackson's weight--so she is pretty good). I don't want to have a 10 lb. baby, so we are VERY anxious for her arrival! I did have some contractions last night, but then they slowed down and stopped before I went to bed. And we have had a few more signs of things today, so my body is getting ready for her to come but she is NOT here yet!!! So hopefully we will have something to report over the weekend at some point . . . the sooner the better! : )

So it's official . . . .

We went to Salem yesterday and it is completely official now! Fortunately, Kinsey held off and we were able to do everything we had planned this past weekend. We celebrated with my cousin Ashley and her new husband Dustin on Saturday. And then went to Salem later that night to be there for Sunday morning.

We were also able to meet with the Realtor and start house hunting. However, it didn't go quite as well as we hoped! The houses we saw online that we liked were not the same in person. So that was a little disappointing. But we did see one that was newly on the market that we did really like. But of course it is a little more than we were actually wanting to have to spend. So we'll see! We did have someone come by this evening and look at our house. He was interested, but said he was also going to look at a couple more. We are planning to have an open house on Sunday afternoon, so hopefully we'll get some more leads then.

We expect Kinsey to arrive ANY day now! She dropped on Wednesday and then I did have lots of pressure and a few contractions on Thursday. But David put me on "restriction" so we could make it through the weekend : ) So hopefully things start back up soon . . . . I was cleaning and doing laundry ALL day today so hopefully that will do it : ) We'll let you know as soon as she arrives. We can't wait to meet her!

37 Weeks!

I had a dr. appt. this morning. She said that I measured a week ahead this time. Everything else looks good. Just have to wait for her arrival now! We are hoping that she won't come until after this weekend : ) My cousin Ashley gets married on Saturday. And then we are going down to Salem on Sunday for the official congregational affirmation and then to look at houses that afternoon. So we are hoping that she will wait until after that . . . and then she can come ANYTIME! We'll keep you posted!

36 Weeks

I had my 36 week prenatal appointment on Thursday (10/18). I saw a different midwife this time because Helen was out on Wednesday. She said everything looked fine and I was measuring right on. They did the Group Strep B swab, which I will have the results for when I go again on Wednesday. Every week from now until she arrives! I really need her to stay put until after this next weekend and then she can come whenever she wants : ) We'll keep you posted!!

So, we're moving . . . . .

If you haven't already heard, we are moving to Salem, IL the end of the year! We really feel that God has walked us through this whole process and are excited to see how he uses us in our new ministry at First Christian Church. The staff is young and in fact the Youth and Children's ministers have kids that will be almost exactly the same age as both of ours. We still have MUCH to do here, with selling our house, packing, having Kinsey Grace, finding a new house, doing a Dinner Theater. . . well you get the idea! And we do not look forward to saying good-bye to some VERY dear friends. But we know this is where God is leading us and we trust his calling.

St. Louis Zoo

We took in the Zoo on Saturday morning before heading back home! It was fun for the 3 of us to spend quality time together before Kinsey arrives. So we were thankful for the opportunity to get away! We made it (barely) to the Children's Zoo while it was still free, so we check it out for a while. Here is Jackson posing next to a very BIG rabbit, which I don't think you can really see in the picture.

We also HAD to be sure to check out the penguins, which is our family favorite!! Yes, it is VERY cold inside, but it is just TOO cool to look over the glass and see them right there. We let Jackson down so he could be right up by the glass and see them swimming in the water. He was having a little trouble keeping track of them as they would quickly hop out and then dive back in.

Grant's Farm

We went with The Warner's to Grant's Farm on Friday. Here are a few of the highlights . . .

Jackson loved feeding the goats from OUTSIDE the fence. Daddy took him inside for the second bottle and he was not too crazy about that at all! The goats were a little too aggressive and started jumping up on him, so we finished feeding them outside the fence again : )

At the elephant show, Jackson got to keep the balloon that the elephant blew up with his trunk.

Jackson was watching the kangaroos over the fence. Two of them were sleeping just sprawled out on their backs. I had never seen such a thing before it was very funny!

Here is Blake on the tram ride . . . he was a good boy all day (of course he slept through most of it).

Claire again wasn't too sure about the Clydesdales, but eventually (after some investigation) determined that it would be "OK" to pet the baby horses because "they were nice".

Both of the older kids came home with souvenir Baby Clydesdales named "Dale"! It was a fun day and the weather was BEAUTIFUL! But by the end it was definitely time to go back to The Warner's for naps : )

Our Silly Boy!

We took this picture of Jackson last night. He was "helping" me fold the laundry and he HAD to wear his Cardinal's sweatband. He just cracks me up sometimes! The funniest part is that the sweatband actually came with a 6-9 months outfit that he wore last summer!

Update

Well, I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and got the results of my Parvo blood test. It showed that I did have the antibody, which means I have had it before apparently and my body already built up immunity to it. But it did not show any current infection, so Kinsey was at no risk! THANK GOODNESS!!!! So we are very thankful to get that good news : ) She also measured me like 2 1/2 weeks further along, so either she made a mistake or Kinsey just went through a BIG growth spurt all of a sudden. We also found out that our hospital (St. John's) has wireless now, so we will be able to post pictures shortly after Kinsey arrives.

Here is Jackson riding his little motorized motorcycle. A lady down the street saw us on a walk several weeks ago and was going to just throw this in the trash. She thought it didn't work anymore because it is like 30 years old. But Jackson hopped on and pushed down the pedal and started to go down the sidewalk! So it still works . . . and it came home with us : ) He is the one that usually insists on wearing his helmet while riding it too! He is SO funny : )

We are looking forward to heading to Champaign tomorrow night to see the Steven Curtis Chapman Concert. David of course can't wait!!!

Stay tuned for late breaking baby news : )

Playing Around in Our Backyard

32 Weeks

As you can see compared to my last picture that Kinsey is certainly GROWING : ) I had a dr. appointment yesterday and I actually measured right at 32 weeks. And everything looks good! I do have to go in tomorrow for a precautionary blood test because I might have been exposed to hand, foot & mouth several weeks ago. So my midwife wants me to go in to have the Parvo virus titer just to see for sure. There are some possible links to some birth defects, but most of what we have found on-line doesn't seem to be very conclusive. So just something to pray about . . . there is no treatment and nothing that can be done if I was, so I'm trying not to be too worried about it right now. I need to take some new pictures of Jackson to post! Maybe we'll take some tomorrow while David is off : )

Our Visit to Cedarly

We had a great, relaxing time at Cedarly this past week!! It was wonderful to share with other ministry couples and to have time to remove ourselves from distractions and focus on our marriage and our walk with the Lord. The atmosphere was beautiful . . . 6 1/2 acres of woods on a lake. And the weather was cool, which was perfect! It was an amazing experience that we have already decided will be something we try to do every 2-3 years. So if you know of other full-time ministry couples, please let them know about this WONDERFUL free opportunity!

On Wednesday morning, we visited an episcopal seminary that was just down the road. We were able to attend their morning prayer and eucharist service. It was a good experience and one of the professors visited with us afterwards which was really great.

Jackson had a great week with Grammy and Papa! He got to ride on a combine and even help drive, which he was REALLY fascinated with!! And they took him to the zoo and he got to ride on the train and carousel. He also got to feed the goats too (well actually I think Papa did most of the feeding). Mom took pictures, so I'll have to get them from her : ) He also got to watch several Cardinal's baseball games, which were only complete with his favorite snack, popcorn!

We spent the rest of the weekend in TH once we got back on Friday. So we got to go to one of Josiah's soccer games and he made his 1st goal!!! David put together this picture collage to remember his BIG day! And you can see Nathanael was cheering him on from the sidelines.

This picture is what happens when a little boy finds a sharpie marker on the way home in the dark : ) Yeah, I thought I heard him in the back seat with something and he was curiously quiet. So I had David turn on the overhead light to discover him pulling the cap on and off of the sharpie that he somehow pulled out of David's computer bag! At least I caught him before he did TOO much damage . . . it certainly could have been much worse! Thank goodness the baby wipes got it all off : )

Ready to get away . . . .

David and I will be going to Wisconsin for the week to one of the Pastors Retreat Network centers. It appears to be a quaint area just outside of Delafield, WI (just west of Milwaukee) with a bed & breakfast feel. So we are excited for a spiritual/marriage retreat. And Jackson will be heading down to TH with Grammy and Papa for the week : ) We will miss him, but we know he will have a LOT of fun with them . . . and they will enjoy him too!

Happy Labor Day!

We enjoyed a fun couple days in TH! Here are Jackson and Tate Wagner enjoying the parade . . . (Thanks Traci for the picture!)

It was our first time at Mom and Dad's since Jackson switched to a "big boy" bed. So we weren't exactly sure how Jackson and Claire would do sleeping in the same room together. They did really good over night . . . well, after Claire went over to visit Jackson in his bed before going to sleep. And then she also woke up first this morning and decided to go over and climb into bed with him again and wake him up : ) She said "but he was just so cute in his pajamas!" They both took REALLY long naps this afternoon . . . . thankfully!

Here are a few pictures from the past week or two that I hadn't posted yet . . .
Jackson tried to dress himself the other day . . . here are the results. He was SO proud!!



Jackson peeking out of the fence at the park in Rochester checking out the ducks on the pond.



Playing around with Cousin Nathanael. . . aren't they cute : )

Pregnancy Update

I had a doctor's appointment today and got the results from both my 3 hour glucose tolerance test as well as my follow up ultrasound. She said I passed my glucose test "with flying colors" and my placenta has moved up so it is no longer considered "low lying" . . . . YAAAAAAAAAA!!! Kinsey was super active yesterday and my stomach was REALLY shifting around . . . . and as it turns out she was moving head down (at the sonogram last week she was still lying horizontal). So again more GOOD news!! I measured a week ahead, which I have been for a while now. So nothing new there. I am suppose to go every 2 weeks now, but we will be out of town so I go back in 3 weeks.

In other news, we had small group tonight at a couple's house that have an inground swimming pool. So David and Jackson went swimming. We bought Jackson a swimming vest on clearance over the weekend that will fit him for a few years, but thought he could go ahead and use it tonight too. So he put that on him and he was like a little fish tonight!!! David put a little innertube around him too and Jackson was swimming everyone by himself. He was kicking and splashing everywhere. Of course, we didn't bring the camera!!!!! He was even jumping in to David from the edge of the pool and would go under for a second before popping back up. But he didn't seem to mind a bit!!! Maybe we'll catch a few pictures next time we go : )

Trying to stay cool . . . .

We went over to the Chiapetto's tonight to get out of the house, but still try to stay cool . . . . we are probably going to go swimming again tomorrow morning since David is off : ) I can't wait for fall!

Another Ultrasound--28 Weeks

We had a follow up ultrasound this morning. They were checking to be sure that my placenta was no longer "low lying" (if it had not moved I would have to have a c-section). Fortunately, it appears that it has moved and I should not have any problems!!! HOORAY!! I haven't heard results yet on my 3 hour glucose screen, but I have a dr. appointment on Wednesday so I should at least know then. Here are a few pictures of Kinsey Grace (they did reconfirm that yes, indeed we are having a girl, just in case you were wondering). There is one of her foot, face, and her profile . . . good luck figuring all of that out : ) At least it was easier this time, since she looks more like a baby and less like a little alien!

State Fair

My parent's came up today to go to the State Fair with us this afternoon (partially to celebrate Mom's Bday). As you can see, we all had a fun time! Though it was VERY HOT : ) Jackson really liked the petting zoo. David got to participate in the Wildlife Bird Show. And Jackson got to make a Build-A-Bear with a State Fair tee on. . . . instead of just kissing one heart to put in him, he gave "Bubba" (David picked the name) 4!! Jackson also REALLY enjoyed his first homemade caramel corn, mini dough nuts and salt water taffy : )