What a treat to be at home, with my baby, and at the beginning of this next stage in our family life.

Baby Lilly did excellent during her first night at home. I nursed her at 11 pm and then we went to bed. She was up at 2 a.m. and then again at 5 a.m. to eat, but after each feeding she settled right back down and went to sleep quickly. She couldn’t have done any better than that!

This morning we woke up to piles of snow. Michael calls it “five inches”, but it sure looks like more than that. Poor Mac (the very short mini-Dachshund) had to practically tunnel his way out the back door to do his business this morning. No doubt his Christmas wish list includes an indoor doggie potty.

The children have been very excited about the snow. They enjoy opening the back patio door and fetching cups or bowls of snow to eat and feed to the birds and to play with. Miguel and Amelia worked diligently this morning making some sort of “dessert” with their snow bowl. I try not to think about contaminants in the snow, and instead just let them have fun. What they don’t know, and what I try not to think about, hopefully won’t hurt them.

It fascinates me how much the children want to be near Lilly, hold her, and talk about her. They all seem to really love her and be so interested in her. Not a single one of the children has a “who cares?” attitude about Lilly.

Oh, and in case it hasn’t been mentioned enough yet, we DO have photos of our baby for your viewing pleasure. More will be posted on a regular basis, so be sure to check back often. Here is link to the gallery.

I commented to my mother yesterday that it just doesn’t seem like this is “Baby Number Seven” or that it’s been twelve years since I started having babies. The experience is just as exciting and fresh and wonderful as it was the first time around. I don’t feel any older or more worn out or less eager to nurture this newest family member. (Mind you, I’m talking about the baby side of things… not so much the pregnancy side of things. That’s getting a little tiresome… )

It’s easy to focus on the daily details and the laundry and the dishes and the dirty handprints on the walls. But every now and then God grabs me by the nape of my neck and insists that I see His goodness and His gifts to us. A recent example is when Michael brought all the children to see me in the hospital Friday night. Just before they left, they all gathered around my bed and sang “The Lord bless you and keep you…” to Lillian. Wow. The chorus of their voices, and the love on their faces was almost more than I could take in. I started to get choked up two different times, but fortunately God also gives us little gifts to help us through these emotional moments. First, Miguel decided to cry through the whole song, for some unknown reason, and then the second time I started to get emotional, Amelia pushed Isaac and Isaac responded by punching Amelia.

Today, during our snowy, chilly Sunday, Amelia has decided that she wants to spend the day being my servant. She got all dressed up and did her hair and washed her face. Now she is holding Lilly and feeling all important and grown up. Lilly, on the other hand, seems oblivious to this attention. She’s sleeping through it all.

At some point I want to compose the story of the day Lilly was born. I am still in awe at God’s most gracious gift to me this holiday season. He gave me the one thing I really wanted but couldn’t get without Him. I’ll tell you all about it later!