Turning 6...

The traditional trip to IGA with Daddy for birthday donuts, Arbys for lunch, and "Daddy's chilli and cornbread" for dinner.... Cake, ice cream, a "George Curious" movie and a big, cool, lego ship to put together... What a day. I will admit that Micah and Caleb have both kind of gotten the shaft on birthdays this year. Micah's we spent in the hospital and on Caleb's we were back at the hospital getting more tests done.. Plus, I'm just a little tired and short on party-planning motivation and time... I feel badly about it, but honestly, neither of them seemed to notice. I'm thankful that they are still so easily pleased.

Fun with Picasa

(You can click on the collage to see the pics closer up.)

Cousins... Buddies...

Anna Caroline and Hannah Rose spending some quality time together. :) And no, the coordinating outfits and matching pacifiers were not even planned!! Pretty funny, eh? Great mommy-minds think alike, I guess. :)

Hannah Rose

Scott's sister and brother in law welcomed sweet little Hannah on December 30th. (3 weeks after Anna.) We got to meet her this weekend and she is just precious. My mom bought the two babies the same jammies and Chenoa made them matching bows! Anna is going to have a lot of buddies.. In addition to Hannah, Scott's cousin and 2 of our friends have all had babies in the past month! 5 babies in one month!! And my sister had her baby at the end of September! What crazy, fun times...

Sleeping baby....

Anna's surgery went very well. She is home now and her pain seems to be managed. I'll write more details of all the ways God blessed us through this when I have more time... and sleep. :) But, for now, here are a couple of pictures of something we treasure greatly these days... A peaceful, healthy baby... No wires, no lights, no needles...

The Big 3...

My baby boy is not a baby anymore... :) (And I guess he's not THE baby anymore either, is he?!!) Micah has grown up and changed so much this year.. It's crazy how fast time is flying. We celebrated his bday in Anna's hospital room since it was the day after her surgery... He didn't mind at all. Grandma, Daddy and the 4 kids packed up cupcakes and presents and brought it all in. It was quite a celebration! And for all you safety-minded people - no, we didn't light the candle in the hospital room. :)

Little Anna...

Anna Caroline Lee

God brought Anna into this world on December 8th at 2:29am. She was 6 lbs. 1 oz. and 18 1/4 in. long. Labor and delivery went smoothly with no complications and she is strong and "looking and acting like a 37 1/2 weeker, not a 35 1/2 weeker." according to the nurses and Doctors. We are so thankful. Tests after her birth showed that her right kidney is still very large and they have confirmed that it is ureteropelvic junction obstruction. We have another test on the 29th to see if she has the additional problem of kidney reflux (which is appparently common in people that have the her diagnosis.) Surgery to remove the obstruction is scheduled for January 2nd. We stayed in the hospital a day or two longer than usual this time due to elevated bilirubin levels for her and elevated blood pressure for me, but after several days under the bili lights in the hospital and at home it looks like she is starting to level out. I'm finding myself feeling a bit like a first time mom this time around... The week since her birth has gone so differently than the other 4 births... And even though she's already back up to 5lb. 10oz. feeding a "preemie" has proved to be more difficult than it ever has been for me. We have been at the lab and hospital or clinic every day since our discharge testing levels and weighing in. And having to keep her in a diaper and under the lights 24/7 is a whole new postpartum experience! But other than the few bumps along the way so far and trying to keep her awake long enough to get her to eat things are going really well. The kids are in love (again) with the new addition to the family. It is so fun to see how they interact with her, singing and talking so sweetly. So many have been praying for us through this whole deal. We are overwhelmed by the love and care that God has placed around us... It's truly overwhelming. Saying that we are thankful just seems like such an understatement. But we are... We are so thankful for the gift of another child. We are so thankful for her health and strength.. We are so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends that know and love God and that care for us in such Christlike ways. We are so thankful that we can rest in the assurance that God is in control and that even if things don't go the way we think best that He loves us and cares for us in ways that we can't comprehend. That His plan is far greater and more wonderful than anything we could come up with. We are thankful that we don't have to be in control because He- who is infinitely wise and infinitely loving is. And that He works all things for the good of those who love Him. Things with Anna have gone so wonderfully in our eyes so far, and we are so thankful for that, but we pray that we can be thankful and hopeful in EVERY circumstance, not just when things go the way WE would like them to.

Yea for Snow!!!

Christmas Tree Hunting...

The hunt.....

Isaiah's first year "cutting down" the tree...

And of course... Decorating...

So, another year at Talbott's. It was a beautiful day. The kids were troopers as we searched for the "perfect" tree... Isaiah was excited about the responsibility of sawing down the tree once we found it... He worked so hard and was ready to perservere to the end, but after about 15 minutes we gave him permission to give up the fight and Scott assisted in the last two thirds of cutting through the trunk. :)

More Hiking...

I love keeping up with the boys...

Climbing mud walls...

Identifying tracks!!

Forging streams...

Gramma loves to go with us..

Follow the (2 y.o.) leader.... :)

Who says you can't trudge through muddy streams in tights and a skirt??

The crew.

I'm thinking we're done for a while with hiking.. It's too stinking cold and I'm too stinking big! Last time we went out I was huffing and puffing at the top of a ravine wall we had decided to climb for fun. :) And though we've gone for hikes in winters past, I'm not so sure taking a newborn out would be too wise. So... as we look forward to more hikes this spring here are some pics of another hiking day this fall. We have so much fun out there.