And his name is...

Isaiah Daniel Van Dyk

Pictures will have to wait until Jo allows me to take the camera home.

6lbs 11.9oz

Born Monday, March 3, at 08:57, a full 3 hours before the "appointed hour".

Praise the Lord!

(Sorry for the lack of nice writing and commentary - there isn't WIFI at the hospital, so this is not Jo posting this)

Baby break...

The next time I write, I will be one child richer. As sober as I am about the pain I am about to endure, I can't help but be overwhelmingly excited. If we are organized enough, Aidan will post in a couple of days time so you can be introduced to our baby boy.
My love to you all.
Thank You for following along, and covering over our family in prayer. The blessings of this blogging endeavor have been rooted in the ways I have been able to share the minor and major episodes of my life. In return, I have received encouragement and love and some good laughs.

Prayer Requests:
*Safe delivery of baby-- Each delivery had had some minor complication so far. I'd rather this one be a gold star delivery.
*Smooth recovery for me-- It hurts so much!
*Understanding for my confused children-- Gabriel may be very upset and resentful by the end of this week.
*No weather complications: A Storm Watch has been issued--freezing rain and snow etc. I need to make it to the hospital. The surgeon needs to make it to the hospital.

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

Last

When I have slowed,
enough to give this little life inside me a thought,
I have wondered if he is my last.
The last breathing, thriving, kicking child I will house inside me this lifetime.

A spontaneous, low-level ache of defeat settles in.
Intermittent spurts of panic surfacing over the lack of control
A woman has over her body's ability to yield life.
To will her womb to hold on a little longer...

I have loved holding life within me.
Glowed stronger with every kick.
Felt more beautiful wearing this rounded form than when I shed it.
Been in awe of the honour I know has been bestowed me.

Is he my last?
A passing season of joy, a mere day away?
I want to know. I wish I had a way --
of preparing,
of bracing myself against the loss,
of re-savouring every last along this nine-month road:
Flutters, kicks, movements, sensations, contemplations...
Mulling them over at leisure until satisfied,
and then telling them goodbye.

If he is my last,
then time has run out.
The day has arrived;
A last day before the last birthing of a the last baby I will bear.
All of the joys I have felt will become memory,
dimming as the years go by.
Yes, old delights will make way for new:
the freshness of things first taught and learned,
growth and discovery;
new understanding and expanded love.

But I will still mourn
the passing
of this last
beginning.

Sticky Snow. . .

. . . Can only cling on in a display of white prettiness for so long. So I have to bask in the view while it remains.

The not-so Nursery

???Not a chance. . .
Here is the state of the "nursery" today; a week away from baby's homecoming:

Four kids, two bedrooms, no doors and an unfinished master bathroom. . . Make it work! Our long term plan, regarding children and bedrooms, is to have a finished basement with two bedrooms for the boys someday. The five-year plan is to have the boys sleep together in one room in a funky triple-bunk arrangement. The immediate plan is to have the baby use our master bathroom as a nursery until he sleeps through the night. And then Caelah will have her brother in her room for a year or so. "But he's a boy!" She'll embrace the idea eventually, I'm sure.

While I wait for renovations to progress. Baby's things lie in wait also.
Here, there and everywhere.

Nesting

Maybe it is the cozy, curl-up, nesting instinct that has taken hold of me these past few weeks that has me so drawn to these images. So homey and inviting. These cottages belong to a little village in California called Carmel. Apparently the architect responsible for these beautiful creations became known as "The Builder of Dreams." To read more about him and this place *CLICK*. How I would love to explore every one!



As for my personal "nesting," our house has been completely purged and organized. The basement. My craft supplies. My clothing. The children's clothing. The toy room. . . There isn't much excess left. It feels good. Unfortunately, this condition awakens a heightened awareness of the unfinished state of the house, but I have been mostly at peace in this regard. I love my nest.

Bumped. . .

. . . UP!

Baby will be here on March 3rd! Ten days earlier than previously expected.

ME: "Hi, I'm scheduled for a c-section on the 13th and was hoping you could check for any new openings in March?"
SECRETARY: "Ok. Let me call over."
[Put on Hold]
SECRETARY: "Johannah? I'm so sorry--- pause ----(I begin to assure her I hadn't really had my hopes up anyways,) but I got you spot on the 3rd!"
ME: "What?! Oh! You're horrible! You can't mess with c-section women like that!"
SECRETARY: "I told you it pays to keep bugging us."

So, now we are in a whirlwind of lining up childcare etc.

ONE week and counting!

"M, N & A" are for. . .

...Three little cousins!"M" for Michaela

"N" for Nick

"A" for Abby

THREE more weeks. . .

. . . and counting!!!

"I love so much, I bought you a mini van."

I think Aidan needs to cope with our recent acquisition by telling himself he did it out of love. The truth is, it was out of necessity. We are about to have our fourth child. The Saturn is one seat short. For awhile, Aidan made a desperate attempt to find us a truck. A big manly vehicle that could haul our family around, and a load of flagstone in the summer. But, the prices weren't right, and I think he knew that a mini van was inevitably awaiting him,with it's tongue stuck out, at the end of his bout of procrastination.

So, here she is:
And the prettiest thing about here are her 7 seats.
Baby can just come on down now. . .

Everyday in Photos #25

A heart-warming moment the other day: Elijah, Lyssa's big cousin, felt she needed a bit of "protection." So he pulled out his skipping rope "caution tape" and carefully hemmed her in, securing the end of the rope with his big yellow school bus.
In his mind, he had done here a great service.
To us, he had too: He loved her.
There's much protection in that.

Handpainted Alphabet Letters

I apologize for the double posting between blogs. When I make something I'm proud of, I wanna share it...twice even!

Something new

Just because this little man is the fourth down the line, doesn't mean I can't get him something new.

The ultimate gift for a boy turning two. . .

. . . is a tape measure.
For real.
We weren't being cheap. We just know our kid. The pictures back me up.

He opens up this big beautiful metal dump truck. Does he play with it? Drive it around? Nope. He measures it. We knew what we were doing. Best $4.99 we ever spent on him.

Everyday in Photos #24

A tear to mend.

Our Hearts

Since my beautiful tulips last year, I have come to think of fresh flowers as integral to Valentine's Day.

A sweet gift waiting at the breakfast table for the kids. Yeah, major sugar intake before 8:00 AM, but it's that kind of day.

The art of heart-shaped pancakes.

Yes, even heart-shaped pizza. Go big or go home, I say.

Cinnamon Bun CAKE, to top of the sweet day.

"My Heart Wanders"

I have plenty of my own hearts to share with you tomorrow, but today I will share someone else's: A truly unique photo project by Pia Bijkerk. I love this kind of thing. When nature offers up odd visual moments. I once found a tiny rock by the river that was shaped like a perfect little teddy bear. I don't know why this pleases me so much, but it does. I think it's because it makes you very aware of what is around you, even if for only a little while, before we continue on in our higher velocity, destination-oriented, wanderings. Here are some of the photos Pia has collected so far:

I decided to send in my own contribution, though very humble. I posted this picture on September's Apple Day post:

I can't wait to see the project finished, with all of it's hearts exposed.