Growing!

Four weeks has flown by! We are blessed by our sweet, snuggly, relatively complacent baby girl... life has its challenges, Mommy has her moments of utter failure in maintaining a gracious spirit, the big girls have times of wanton destructiveness, and Raina sometimes cries :)... but we are thankful for each busy moment.

Raina is growing quickly... like my other girls, she takes advantage of Mom's thick, creamy milk and gains nearly two ounces a day, meaning she is over nine pounds now! I am thankful to have had no problems feeding my little ones. She sleeps well at night, and tends to take one good, long nap in her cradle during the day. The rest of the day, she wants to be snuggled, and will nap just half an hour or so in her bed, then finish her sleep in mama's arms. As long as the big girls are content with quiet projects, that works fine! I have been praying for wisdom in helping her sleep better in her cradle, but also know she is still fresh from my womb and there is so such thing as spoiling a baby with too many snuggles! :)

She is so sweet and content during her awake periods after eating, and she loves tummy time. What a joy our little girl is. Elisa and Sadie love their baby sister, and, for the most part are adjusting with aplomb. A few potty training setbacks, some wreaking havoc just for the fun of it... but I am thankful for our big helpers!


Bright eyes


At one week.


Sleeping sweetly



Snuggled with Daddy - taken last night



Four weeks old




Proud big sister

Raina's Story

I have been wanting to write out the story of Raina's birth while the details are fresh in my mind... so this post is mostly for me. If you like those details, read on. If you are content to know that the Lord has lovingly granted us another healthy little girl, you can skip this entry. :)

I feel blessed to have had three uncomplicated, smooth, and unmedicated pregnancies and deliveries. Elisa came after about 12 hours of Lamaze-style labor, and Sadie arrived in a fast and furious two-hour birth. We had planned to try the Bradley method of natural labor, but her delivery was so intense and emotional coming on the heels of my daddy's death that we were unprepared and thankful God allowed her to come so quickly. This time around, I felt God nudging me to rely solely on His grace and not on a secular method of childbirth. So instead of preparing with exercises or breathing regiments, we prepared with prayer and Scripture. We prayed for specifics, like for our baby's neck to be free from the cord, and his or heart to be strong and steady. And I prayed that God's grace and power would be showcased in my body as I labored, that His strength would be reveled in my weakness, that His peace would fill my heart and mind, and that I would handle each contraction with grace and valor. I don't know about the grace and valor part, but I do know that God's grace filled the hours of laboring with Raina and that it was His strength that sustained us.

(In the moments before my membranes were ruptured.)

On Monday, I had visited the doctor and was dilated enough to be considered in active labor, despite having only irregular and mild contractions. That afternoon and night, my contractions became more persistent and consistent, but I was still not in the hard work of labor. I alternated between sleeping through them, and laying awake feeling the contractions strengthen slightly.
In the morning, Erik and I decided to head to the hospital. We knew I was not in hard labor, but given my advanced dilation and history of precipitous labor, we decided to head in at a safe, early time, knowing they would break my water to put me in labor. (Our doctor had given us the option of coming in at any time for that purpose.) Our doctor ruptured my water at about 8:00 Tuesday morning and within minutes, the contractions picked up strength and speed. We were able to walk around the hospital for about two hours before strong back labor led me to ask our nurse to fill the hydrotherapy tub. Walking was a blessing; Erik and I talked and held hands and prayed as contractions grew stronger and more frequent. Once in the tub, my backache subsided and contractions continued to intensify. I had printed a list of precious Bible verses to meditate on, and Erik read them to me several times in his strong, soothing voice as I closed my eyes and breathed deeply through each contraction. It was amazing just to lean back, breathe, and concentrate on the Lord's sweet promises.

After an hour or so in the tub, I could feel I was in transition. My body was trembling and I was intently focused on maintaining deep breathing. We moved to the room, where I nested myself in a bed of pillows and tried to relax my body. I began to just pray with each contraction - "God, I know your grace is sufficient for me." I started feeling pressure, and the nurse checked me. I was 8-9 cm, and she phoned our doctor to hurry. He arrived about fifteen minutes later, and there was now just an anterior lip of cervix. He told me to push with the next contraction, and I did, with all my might! After two contractions, a beautiful baby girl was placed on my abdomen. I saw Erik's shining eyes and tender smile, and I cried. I remember just saying, "Thank you, Jesus," over and over. Every prayer had been answered. We are so grateful for this sweet gift!

Raina has several meanings depending on origin and spelling. The meaning we chose is Hebrew - "song of the Lord." Her middle name, Abigail, means, "her father's joy." We pray Raina's life will be a song of praise that will delight her Heavenly Father!


In the quiet bliss after she arrived

Raina Abigail

Our third beautiful daughter has arrived! Yesterday at 11:42, Erik and I welcomed Raina Abigail into our family. She weighed 7 lb, 2 oz, and is 19 1/2 inches long. We are thrilled and thankful. I will post a few pictures, and I promise to write more soon to share the story of her birth and more details about our precious baby girl. For now, though, three Wachob daughters are napping, and a sleepy mama needs rest, too.


Fresh from the womb

Big girl!

Cute as a bug

Proud papa

Happy mommy

Introductions

Loving little sister





Yeah! She's home!

Guessing Game

Amy did this yesterday, and I am copying. Guess our baby stats here!

Envibum Diaper Giveaway

We are getting ready for Baby Wachob to arrive sometime in the next week or so... my actual due date us next Thursday, but I confess I am getting antsy as my first two arrived at 39 weeks. Trying to let the Lord teach me patience and be thankful for moments with my two big girls - who, by the way, are far more antsy than their mama. As we prepare, I thought I'd link you to a cloth diaper giveaway. I love my Bum Genius, but have been excited to replace a few with some new types -- Fuzzi Bunz was at the top of my list, but I also heard about this Christian company that makes simple, soft cloth diapers - called Envibum. Check out the giveaway here!

A Few Pictures

Erik returned from Kenya last Thursday night. A snowstorm in Dallas meant his flight was canceled, but I happened to check email that morning, see the update, and arrange an alternate flight for him before his incoming flight touched ground. He was able to get on a flight into Jackson instead, and it turned out to be one of only a handful of flights that actually took off that day - albeit after six hours on the runway waiting for de-icing! We were so thankful for God's provision. He landed here in JH at about 1 AM - having traveled for about 34 hours!

We will give many more details later -- and hope to make an album that others can access electronically. He has more than 600 photos, so we need to pare those down to the few best. He had a challenging and wonderful trip - and is very glad he went. He is covered in flea bites but seems to have managed to get away without any kind of gastroenteritis or other infection. Others on his team were less fortunate. The work went well, and he will continue to work here from home, compiling written recommendations for the villagers about how to work as a community to implement simple irrigation that will sustain them through the dry season. His observation of Western Kenya was that it is a land of great abundance in terms of rain and ability to produce... but also a land of extreme poverty and hunger. A land of hospitality and kindness, but in need of the Lord, as well. There are many missionaries and projects - but a dearth of discipleship that would allow the Kenyans to take over leadership roles and continue effective programs.

Enjoy the few photos!


Saturday church in the village of Nyangina

Giraffes at the Masai Mara


Early morning in the village


Water source: cattle wading, women washing clothes, others collecting water to drink and use - all in the same muddy spot

Outdoor kitchen - fire pit, dishwashing station, food preparation. All of their meals are essentially the same: a cornmeal mush called ugali, potato, steamed bananas, rice, possibly chicken cooked in salty broth, and fruit. Erik was wary of the fruit because a knife might be used to cut raw chicken, then laid on a cow pie, then picked up without washing to cut papaya or pineapple. He did eat the pineapple - hoping it was acidic enough that bacteria would not survive on the surface.

Gospel-Centered Parenting

I mentioned in my last post that while my awesome husband has been in Africa, I have been trying to be faithful and purposeful in each day... in how I manage my home in his absence, in how I minister to, discipline and love my girls, in quiet times and prayer, and in how I begin to mentally and spiritually prepare for this new little one who will join our family in the next few weeks! Usually if Erik is gone, I find myself filling the time with novels or movies that make the lonely evenings pass by, and this time I have prayed for God's grace to not lean on false sources of comfort or companionship, but to lean on the Lord instead.

Every night, I have cleaned the house and tried to complete all the chores I could (making mornings happier!:)), and then have settled in with pjs on to read. I feel like the Lord is showing me so much about how I have failed in my mothering (thankful for his forgiveness!) and how to follow after His pattern. I have been really blessed by reading through Sally Clarkson's "Mission of Motherhood" for the second time and thinking through how to serve, love, disciple, teach and, most importantly, display God's grace to my precious girls. One thing the Lord has shown me so clearly in these last two weeks is that I cannot expect my kids to stop sinning! They are, after all, sinners! Born in the flesh, full of selfishness and wickedness. They are in need of a Savior, just as their mom and dad are. And, they haven't called on His name yet! My children are not yet believers, though we pray every day for their salvation. They don't have the Holy Spirit. Elisa told me the other day that she likes to sin. After I got over my initial shock, I realized, "Of course you do. In my flesh, I like to sin, too!"

My neighbor Sera loaned me a set of CDs from a conference called "Women Discipling Women," and I have been listening to a couple of the talks as I fold laundry or do the dishes. Last night I spread scrapbooking supplies on the floor and listened to an hour-long talk on Gospel-Centered Parenting. It was phenomenal. The basic point is this: We don't show our kids the law in order to make them obey it. We don't discipline and train them so that we will be glorified as good parents, or even to establish peace in our homes (although that's a worthy goal!). We give our kids the law in order that they will see that they cannot live up to it. They will fail! They are law-breakers. All their good deeds are filthy rags because they are defiled by sin. But - thanks be to God - He sent a Savior who willingly took their sin and mine upon Himself and will impart His perfect, sinless record to us if we believe in Him! The central teaching of all my discipline and training should be, "You sinned. Your sin has separated from you from God. But God loves us! And He died for you. And if you believe in Him, He will give you His sinless record, and He will empower you by His Spirit to choose to walk in His ways. You can't choose what is right on your own. But by God's grace, He will help you choose what is right and what honors Him." I need to focus on the beauty of God's grace in the moments when my children fail to obey - not on demanding obedience from them or being shocked because they - again - sinned. Not that I shouldn't train them in obedience or discipline when they don't. But my heart and the way I approach them needs to be different.

This morning, I took my wayward, tired, grumpy four-year-old in my arms and told her that she was a sinner. And that mommy is a sinner. And that Jesus loves us and He took our sin on Himself at the cross. And isn't that amazing, that He loves us that much! She listened and we snuggled, and I stroked her fresh-from bed blonde hair, and something softened in her.

I don't know exactly how the moment by moment aspects of my parenting will change as God continues to show me His ways. But I do know I need His grace - and so do my little ones.

~

Erik is currently sleeping after a day of sightseeing in the Masai Mara. Tomorrow they will drive to Nairobi and catch a flight home. The girls and I are driving to Salt Lake to pick him up on Thursday night. I am so excited to plant a big kiss on my hubby's lips. :) I have been debating the wisdom of making the 5 hour drive, but unless something changes, I think we will head down. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and I am only 2 cm dilated, so the doctor felt I was safe to go.

The kids are so excited to see him. I am trying to think of fun, creative ways to welcome him. Any ideas?