On Friday, October 2nd, Elijah James Winters was born, at 7:58 in the morning.  He weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces, and was 20 1/2 inches long.  For those wondering, that means he showed up about two weeks earlier than expected.  We had been to see our nurse midwife on Wednesday, and she said Lydia was already 2cm, and that she thought Lydia would deliver within the week.  After some random contractions throughout the day on Thursday, the contractions really kicked in that night.  We got to the hospital a little after 4am on Friday morning, and Lydia was already 8 cm.  By that time, the midwife thought she would do fine without an epidural, so Lydia braved the labor without any pain meds.  After a very short labor, thank the Lord, Elijah was born at 7:58, less than 4 hours after we got to the hospital.  Having him so early in the day was kind of nice, but Lydia was dragging by the end of the day, after going without sleep for most of the past two nights. 

It was interesting being at the hospital, as we were the only Anglo couple there.  They joked that they would have no problem matching us up with the right baby.  The nurses and midwives were wonderful, and we discovered that we live very close to two of our nurses.  Elijah stayed in the room with us, as the hospital does not really have a nursery where the babies stay.  While we were a bit worried about the setup at first, it ended up being very helpful.  Dealing with a first night of trying to feed every 2 hours and changing diapers and swaddling was a bit overwhelming, but it prepared us for going home.  It sort of forced us to get in there and do it all, with a group of nurses to fall back on if needed.  It especially paid off when we were told that we would be going home on Saturday afternoon.  They originally planned to keep us until Sunday morning, but they were out of beds, so we got sent home.  We were not too upset over being sent home, as it has been so much better to be sleeping in our own bed again, and not having to worry about nurses coming in and out throughout the day.

As for Elijah, he is very cute, with little dimples on both cheeks.  He gets those from me.  People are still split on who he looks like otherwise.  I'm sure once our parents come out that they will have very firm opinions on the matter.  Speaking of which, the plan had been for all the parents to come out after the due date as the midwife thought we would go late.  Since he came so early, it is going to be another 2 1/2 weeks before Lydia's parents make it out here, and mine will come out a week and a half after them.  We hate that they are having to wait for so long, but of course we had no way of knowing that he would come so soon.  And, it has been nice to be home with just the three of us, trying to establish some sort of routine before others arrive.  But trust me, we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone, and can't wait to have the extra help.

So far he has been a very agreeable baby, and has graciously allowed his mom and dad to get some sleep during the night.  He is feeding well, although we have to take him in this afternoon for another weigh in.  The midwife thinks he is gaining weight, they just need to have it verified on the chart.  They had trouble testing his hearing at the hospital, mostly because he would not sit still for them, so we have to take him in on the 29th to the audiologist at the hospital.  They say it is normal for the babies not to pass the initial exams, and the test they give in the office is much more precise.

All three of us are doing very well, just trying to adjust to the wonderful addition to our family.  Lydia gets six weeks off of work, so she will be home with us until the week before Thanksgiving.  After that, it will be me and him every day, and I can't wait.  As soon as I have more time, I will put up some more pictures, but here are some to hold you over.  Sorry for those on Facebook, because you have already seen most of them.

So we are finally back in Arizona, and we will be here for some time.  We have plans for one more weekend in Albuquerque to finish buying everything for the nursery, but after that, we will be here until after Elijah is born.  It is sad to think that we won't get to see anybody from back home for another three months, but it is nice to know that we will have time at home to get ready for Elijah.  And I'm hoping that during the long period of being at home, that I will be able to finish up my rewriting and start my book on the process to being published.  Again, God keeps teaching me patience.

While we were in Kentucky, we had three great baby showers.  It was wonderful getting to see everybody, but it always seems like there are people we don't get to spend as much time with, or who we completely miss.  If you fall into either of those two categories, I am very sorry.  A week always sounds so long when we first arrive in Kentucky, but by the middle of the week, time is starting to fly by.  But the showers were a lot of fun, much more fun than wedding showers, and we got so much stuff for Elijah.  Our living room is currently a disaster zone, as I have everything laid out in there, trying to figure out if we have enough clothes, towels, blankets, etc.  The nursery is starting to come together, and this weekend we finally cleared our stuff out of the closet so we could start filling it with his stuff.  Once we get the nursery organized, I will put up some pictures.  Right now it still looks pretty bare as we have yet to hang anything on the walls.  But we're making progress, trust me.

Before the Westport potluck/shower, the church had a contemporary service with Pat Day as the speaker.  If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, do it.  He has an amazing testimony, and it is incredible to hear how God blessed him with such an amazing talent.  That night we also did Cardboard Testimonies, which were so moving, especially considering that the whole thing was done without saying a single word.

Below are a random assortment of pictures from our time at home.
We got Liz and Lydia together for a few pictures the night we arrived.  We were so worried that Liz would go into labor before we would get any.  Unfortunately, little Zeke arrived the day after we left, but he is healthy and doing well, as are Ben and Liz.

Here is our cake from the family shower.  It was delicious.
 
Lydia had to buy this little outfit when she saw it.

Here are some pictures with my grandparents, with Rosanne sneaking into the first one.

We did not plan to all wear blue, we just all happen to have very good taste.

Pictures from out on the farm.  Mom complained that we were too tall, and that all of the pictures made her look short.


And a trip home would not be complete without shooting some guns and hitting some golf balls.  After a horrible day of shooting with Joel and his nephews in New Mexico, I redeemed myself in Kentucky.  And we made it through the whole week without me breaking another driver, so I will call it a success.

We had a great time while we were home, but we are so thankful to be back safely.  We do not know when we will make it back to Kentucky, but we are sure that it will be after Elijah is born, so we are thinking February or March.  We already miss everybody, and we can't wait until we can introduce Elijah to you all.

Lydia will soon be 24 weeks pregnant, and the days seem to keep flying by.  We are both feeling little Elijah kick more than ever, which has been very exciting.  And aside from some difficulty sleeping through the night, Lydia is doing great.  She continues to regain energy and work seems to be going better every day.

The changing table and crib are finally together, and they match perfectly.  Buying two pieces from different stores made us a bit nervous, but the wood matches and looks like it could be part of a set.  But thankfully there will not be anymore furniture to put together in the near future.  I got hurt in the process, a nice little cut on my finger, and little got very frustrated.  It was not a good evening for anyone.  But they are together, and they look good, and that is all that matters.  In this first picture, I've got two books that Lydia bought me for Father's Day, both children's books.  I am already looking forward to reading them to Elijah.  My goal is to make sure he has the same love of reading that I have, because I could not take two people in the house who aren't big readers.  Also, the red backpack is my backpack for carrying around Elijah when we go hiking.  I cannot wait until he is old enough for us to use it.

We also took some more pictures of Lydia's belly for all of those back in Kentucky.  I think she looks adorable.


Currently, we are getting the house ready for visitors.  Lydia's sister and niece, Dorian and Camryn, are coming out to stay with us for a few days.  We'll pick them up at the train station on Sunday and then I'll drive them to the airport on Wednesday.  This will be the first time they have seen our home, and we are so excited about it.  They will also be the first to try out the sleeper sofa, so we're hoping that they give it a good report.  Our parents are also hoping it gets a good report, as that is where they will be sleeping when they come to visit.

As for me, the book continues to go well, and I am trying to get as much editing done as possible in between getting our place ready.  The goal is still to start sending out letters before the summer is over.

We are both looking forward to coming home in July and cannot wait to see everybody.  Another reminder, please be saving your Campbell's soup labels and Box Tops for Education for Hilltop Christian School.  I will be more than happy to pick them up when we are home in July.  We love you all and miss you like crazy.