Enjoying Allison

We've all had a good weekend. The kids are all doing great with their new sister. Ryan enjoyed his first time holding Allison, as seen in some pictures below. The girls are having to learn to share time holding her. We are certainly never without some hands to hold her.
Here are some pictures from our weekend together.


Allison never has an opportunity to be lonely.


Ryan's first time to hold his baby sister.


Sweet kisses.

Ryan pointing to Allison's nose.

Kaitlyn is proud to be a big sister.

Meghan already has "multi-tasking" down pat.

Praise the LORD

Well, our house is quiet as everyone takes a nap and I now have time to post... how can I not say something in honor of my Father after all He has done for me!

David and the three older children were sitting on the couch last night reading and I was watching and thinking of what a blessing we have! "Behold children are a gift of the Lord!" Psalm 127:3

I can't tell you how many prayers God has answered from little things to big things throughout this pregnancy; and how many details He worked out that I didn't even think to ask about.

Praise the Lord for:

-the privilege of being His child!
-the number of brothers and sisters I have scattered throughout the US!
-for the prayers of those brothers and sisters!
-for delighting to hear our prayers!
-for delighting to answer those prayers!
-for doing "exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think"!
-for always being true to His Word and promises! for His faithfulness!
-for "gently leading those that are with young" Isaiah 40:11
-for my husband who is so quick to serve me in every way so that I can tend solely to our new baby girl; for taking care of the children, cleaning the house, preparing and serving me meals, cooking... I am truly blessed beyond measure!!! (how much I have to be thankful for!)
-for my husband who loves his children and loves his new "little pea"
I could keep going and going, but this song seems to sum it up best. As the years pass and my walk with the Lord grows in years, this song rings more and more true! How thankful I am to be His child! How thankful I am to be surrounded by and engulfed in His love!

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain: Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary (old, ancient) time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Welcome Home

We made it home yesterday evening. Allison was just over 24 hours old when we left the hospital. The girls were thrilled to have their new sister at home. Ryan still doesn't know what to make of it all. Our first night was a typical night with a newborn...little sleep and a lot of baby holding time. Allison had an appointment with our pediatrician today. Again, the report was good and everything seems normal with her. Praise the Lord!


Daddy holding Allison in her new "going home outfit".


Allison all bundled up and ready for the drive home.

Big sister Meghan with Allison.

Big sister Kaitlyn with Allison.

Going Home

11:55 A.M. The pediatrician met with us this morning and said that everything looks great with Allison. They did another X-Ray this morning and the preliminary results show that there is nothing abnormal in her chest. This cyst that we prayed so much about appears to have been healed by the Great Physician! The pediatrician and OB doctors both said that Deann and Allison are okay to go home today. There is still a lot of bloodwork, paperwork, and waiting ahead but we plan to be home in our own beds tonight.

Praise the Saviour you who know Him

Who can tell how much we owe Him

Gladly let us render to Him

All we have and are!

Family Visit

My mom came this afternoon and brought Amanda and the kids along to meet Allison. We were all excited to be together. Ryan doesn't quite know what to make of this whole "big brother" thing. Meghan and Kaitlyn seemed very excited about their new baby sister.
Allison and Deann continue to do well. Allison has already nursed a few times and hasn't had any trouble figuring it out. Deann is feeling great considering she just gave birth about 6 hours ago. The Lord has been so good to us! We are rejoicing in His mercy towards us! "Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name." Psalm 97:12

Baby specs

Allison is in the nursery right now getting evaluated. She weighed in at 6 lbs 5 oz and is 20 inches long. They already did a couple of X-Ray's and the pediatrician spoke to us and said he cannot see anything in the area where the cyst was. I asked him what the spot was on the ultrasound that we could clearly see and he said he doesn't know. He wants to repeat the X-Ray's tomorrow. Praise the Lord for answered prayer!!

She's Here!

Allison Deann Kelly was born at 1:20 P.M. Everything went well. The doctors did a quick assessment and said everything looked great. She is breathing fine on her own. They will do a more thorough evaluation when she goes to the nursery.

Praise the Lord!!!

Visitors

12:30 PM. We had our first visitors of the day. Robert, Melissa, & Daniel stopped by. They are in Columbia for doctors appointments today so they stopped by to say hi.

Deann's contractions are becoming more intense. We're still waiting.

Point of No Return

11:40 AM. The doctor just came in and broke Deann's water. In the doctor's words "we've reached the point of no return." Lord willing we'll have a baby soon.

11:10

11:10 AM. They've increased the pitocin now that the doctor is done with the C-Section on the other patient so things should start moving a little faster, hopefully. We just finished an episode of "Andy Griffith". I bought some a season of "Andy Griffith" a few weeks ago and the kids and us have all enjoyed watching them. I brought along a DVD to help pass the time.

9:55

9:55 AM. The doctor just checked Deann and she has progressed some more. We are getting close. They have not broken her water yet as the doctor is about to do a C-section on another patient and doesn't want to risk Deann going into labor while she is doing the C-section.

D-Day

Well, D-Day has arrived. Deann began having contractions yesterday afternoon so we made our way down to Columbia after dinner. After being observed for a couple hours upon arrival we thought we'd be sent home since it didn't seem like much was happening. However, the doctor checked one last time and found that she had dilated just enough to warrant keeping her overnight. (Answer to prayer #1)

We were able to rest decently in the hospital room, Deann still having a few mild contractions throughout the night. After checking her early this morning the doctor found that she had not progressed any and talked like we would be sent home. However, after the doctors conferred together they decided to keep her and induce labor today. (Answer to prayer #2)

Now (9:10AM) contractions are regular and we are just waiting for Allison to arrive. I'll try to keep everyone updated.

Thank you all for your prayers. It is such a blessing to be able to rest in the arms of the Lord in every detail!