sweet p

it is hard to believe that just two short days ago, little miss p (penelope pamela buser) was still not on the scene. she is one sweet addition to our family. coming in at 9lbs. 3oz. she is the biggest of our babies. she also takes the title of "baby that cooked the longest". can you believe she stayed in there 11 days past her due date?

labor began on the 27th at 8ish and we headed to the hospital at 11pm. we were met at the hospital by my friends kristie and jen, who were there to support scott and i through this birth. at around 1ish, it looked like we might be hanging out for a while waiting for things to really kick into gear, but just as soon as we started to think about resting, things began to get going. poppy (as she will be called) emerged at 4:50 in the morning on the 28th, to a very excited momma and daddy.

scott and my friends were so amazing as a support team. at every turn of the labor process they were right there with the words i needed, the cold wash clothes, the hand to clench onto, the prayers and the love that kept me going. i feel blessed beyond measure to have such wonderful friends. i feel even more blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

poppy was introduced to her sisters later in the afternoon. they were so happy to finally meet her and gave her lots of hugs and kisses. sweet p and i left the hospital early and returned home on the 29th. we are all doing great, hanging out and adjusting to our new normal.

waiting

it has been a long week of waiting. here are some snaps that i've taken to capture our week.

miss d got some new kicks just like her big sister. she wears them as often as she can. while ellie was at camp, miss d "cooled off" over the ac vent... very marilyn monroe-esq. (notice that her "hair" is standing straight up on the top of her head. yes, it is true. my girlie has a faux-hawk.)


e has been taking her sister for very animated stick pony rides. it is pretty funny. she yells like a cowboy and invites d to jump on. afterwards she pretends that the whole ride is less than fun for her and that she does it to help entertain delaney (in spite of the fact that both girls howl the entire time and end up on the floor in a pile giggling). d, decided that momma was ruining the fun by breaking out the camera, so she turned her head deliberately for the snapshot.



and d spent some time hanging out in the laundry basket inspecting e's crocs.

and after looking at these pictures, it should be painfully obvious that we really want our baby to show up. we want to meet this little one and we are getting a bit loopy while we wait. clearly, these two big sisters are being good sports about the wait.

the momma = not so much!

i'm getting anxious... and crabby... and trying to have patience... and trying to get some good sleep... and walking a lot.

is that a basketball under there?

the morning before ellie was born, before we left for the hospital, we took one last photo of my bulging belly.

i regret to inform you, this is not that picture.

i went to have a final "before baby" pedicure on friday. when i sat down, the girl in the chair next to me asked me when i was due. we got to chatting and a few minutes into the conversation, i realized she too had a bump. i immediately apologized for not noticing and she let me off the hook by saying that i didn't notice because she was wearing black.

it got me thinking... maybe that trick would work for me:) what do you think?

notes:

1.) using the word "bump" is slightly inaccurate when describing my current state.

2.) i apologize for several less than thrilling blog posts concerning the wait that is now on. i tend to be on the impatient side.

due

dear sweet baby in my belly,

i really want to meet you. will you be a girl baby or a boy baby? do you have a soft peach fuzzy bald head like your sisters? how big are you? will you be quiet and gentle or are you intense? what does your smile look like? will you have e's button nose and perfectly pink lips? will you have d's captivating eyes?

your momma and daddy really want to hold you and give you kisses. your sisters are so excited to finally see what their momma has been hiding in her belly. won't you come out soon so we can meet you?

love,
momma

i left my heart in san francisco

i've been keeping a secret from you. i was sort of waiting for everything to gel in my mind before publicly announcing that...

we are moving (gulp) to california!

that's right. i said it. it is official. and now, of course, the sorted tale:

a year ago, while vacationing in michigan, scott and i took the first step on what would prove to be a long journey. we opened our hearts, minds and futures to being part of a new office opening in san francisco. when we first evaluated it, it sounded crazy. today, given the current state of the economy, it sounds even crazier. in fact we've been told we are insane by friends and family members alike. and while that has been difficult to hear, our motivation for doing this isn't rooted in something we really have "control" over.

you see, when scott proposed this idea, the first thing he said was: "we're only going if it is where God wants us." immediately, i was on bored. knowing that my husbands heart was seeking a posture of obedience was a deal sealer for me. and so we began to pray. scott let the san francisco project leader know that we were seriously considering it and we began to take steps towards seeking God's will.

the journey has had its ebbs and flows, if you will...

post nursing depression- not so much feeling like i want to move across the country

cost of housing in the east bay- not so much feeling like i want to move across the country

a trip to california in november with snow on the ground in il and sunshine in ca- let's go

my mom lying in a bed with an uncertain future in richmond- not so much in favor of moving

discovering we were expecting a baby- not really inclined to start packing boxes

discovering the baby was due at the exact time we thought we'd be moving- no way!

but as we prayed about this all over the month of december, we kept feeling like we were being told to "just walk through the open door". neither scott or i felt like God was saying, "yes! i want you in calli. GO." we simply felt like he wanted us to be open to the next step. and so step by step we went forward. to say that i went eagerly is inaccurate. often, those were the most painful steps i can remember taking in my lifetime. but with each step, we kept feeling the nudge to take the next one. we negotiated a moving contract with scott's office, we remodeled a bathroom, we transformed a playroom into a dining room, we organized every closet/cupboard/cabinet in sight, repaired a leaking basement... etc. through all of it, we also juggled traveling back and forth to help out in minor ways with my mom, adjusting to the approaching arrival of baby three, two kids, and life in general. it has been a tiring 6 months.

in june, after 90+ showings (do the math- that means cleaning my house at least 3 times a week for 6 months... sometimes more) we received an offer. it was sad. essentially, at the end of the day, they wanted us to pay them to buy our house. and to make matters worse, the negotiations were slow and drawn out over 9 days. and eventually, we walked away from the deal.


at that point, all signs pointed to this being the end of the road. statistically speaking, your first offer is always your best. when looking at the timeline, we were quickly running out (our contract with our realtor was to expire july 15th). and so from mid-june on, we kind of felt like the door was closing. and the minute that i began to feel like we were staying in chicago, i suddenly realized that in my heart, i really wanted to move. it felt crazy because all along i had been so unsure. it was frustrating and i spent a lot of time trying to figure out the take-home God wanted me to have... because in my mind this deal was done and we were staying put in Chicago.

the last week of june, i looked at scott and said, "wouldn't it be funny if we got an offer in the 9th inning?" i was mostly joking, but for some reason, i had this feeling that God hadn't closed the door.

on June 30th, we received an offer on our house. it came from a couple that we ironically have two connections with (out of all the people in the chicagoland area???). the number we settled on... the exact number we needed.

isn't God amazing?

and even more amazing is that He put up with me through all of it... my complaining, my doubt, my confusion, my frequent moments of failing to trust, and my extreme desire to control the situation. at the end of the day, His plan was way better than mine. go figure, the God of the universe knew what He was doing after all:)

not so funny bones

last week a friend of mine commented on d's energy level. i responded with, "yeah, we're always one step away from the emergency room with this little one." turns out, i would live to regret saying that just a few days later.

d and i were coming down from the balcony at e's swimming lessons this week and miss d thought the first step was actually the bottom of the stair case. she walked right off the step, landing on her poor little knees. after some minor tears, she seemed good to go. i checked her walk and she appeared to be fine. we proceeded with picking up e and making our way home. me, feeling pretty confident that we had just dodged a bullet.

once we arrived home, d began to limp. momma became worried. we watched her for a bit and determined that a trip to the er would be best. scott took our lil' bug for some x-rays (as a pregnant momma can't get near the machine) and it was determined that miss d had a fractured tibia. she came home from the er with a soft cast and orders to get a permanent cast within a week.

scott and i were both really sad, but in true d fashion, she handled it like a rock star. she was a good sport through the whole procedure and didn't seem too fussed by the cast.

d and i then headed out the door to the orthopedic doctor for a cast. we had a considerable wait in the waiting room (as i kind of forced them to let me come right away instead of their first available appointment for fear that i'd go into labor before we could get it properly casted). the entire time miss d refused to sit. the poor girl kept hobbling around to explore the ins and outs of the office. all the while, dragging her poor wrapped leg, slipping and sliding all over the place. as i watched her, i became terrified about how in the world we would make it with a new baby and a toddler in a cast for the rest of the summer.

fortunately for miss d and everyone else, we were spared from that situation. the dr. checked out delaney's x-ray, examined her leg without the cast and determined that it wasn't actually a fracture but just a bad bruise. hooray! he removed the cast and gave d her walking papers, so to speak.

that girl is like the chumbawamba song, tubthumping...

"i get knocked down, but i get up again. you're never gonna keep me down..."

closer

getting better...

but still some room for improvement.

mail call

today e and i received our favorite catalogues in the mail, respectively. she spent the latter part of the day skimming through the pages of the latest american girl catalogue. she looks intently at each page and picks her favorite things. she loves to scout out the stuff that she already has and makes plans for what other things she might enjoy. when we first got on the mailing list, i was a bit peeved as i thought it would promote american girl mania, and at first, it did. but now that she is a little older it has been a good tool in helping her make choices. she recognizes that purchases from the store our special and that they don't happen with much frequency.

we are about to go on our first mommy daughter trip to the new store downtown and she is very excited. it was sweet to see her look through the book today and carefully consider the item she might like to get when we go. the verdict is still out- i think she changed her mind five times in a thirty minute time frame.

i on the other hand, received my annual nordstrom anniversary sale catalogue. i love the anniversary sale and will sadly be missing it this year as i am a wee bit sized out of their lines right now:)

however, miss d decided she didn't want to miss out on the fun. after i had finished looking at the book and set it aside, she picked up right where momma had left off. here is how i found her this afternoon. the funniest part... look closely at the page she landed on!

she actually found a pair of shoes that her sister owns and became very excited. then, she kept trying to get me to put them on her feet (as if i could pull them magically out of the book). it was a sight to see. and she sure was persistent!

90 and still going strong

my grandmother (gigi as she is now called by her great-grandchildren) has probably been the most influential woman in my life. she is nothing short of amazing. as she approaches her 90th year of living, i am in awe at her grace, wit, style and attitude towards life. she always looks for the positive in the world and is full of encouragement. she understands the art of friendship and is the first to support anyone around her in need. she is in tune with the world we live in and keeps up to date on politics, the latest trends, current "must reads" and of course, the lives and happenings of her family members.

in june, i had the honor of traveling with ellie to niagara falls to celebrate this amazing woman that i call grandma. it was a weekend filled with fun: aunts/uncles, 10 grandchildren, most of their spouses (that somehow fit seamlessly into our crazy family), 13 out of the 15 great-grandchildren, and the queen gigi. and it was nothing short of wonderful!

glowing

my amazing friend janet had a little shindig to celebrate america's big birthday. it was a night filled with great food, meeting really cool new people, enjoyable conversation, opportuties to hang with old friends, lots of kiddos and a little bit of rain. but janet didn't let that rain slow down the party. she had a backup plan...

and it was a BIG hit.