My first thoughts by Beth

This is my first time trying to blog. I have been wanting to get to it for weeks, but it just never seemed like I had enough time to gather my thoughts before I had to be doing something, or was being interrupted. I finally decided to just try it and get as far as I can until it is time to end.
Stephen has now passed the three month mark. He has a wonderfully predictable schedule. After I feed him, he is up for one hour, then sleeps for two. Well, until recently that was his schedule. Lately he has been waking early, wanting to take cat naps, and then won't nurse well. But, overall he is still a good baby. He definitely likes his crib. When we take him to soccer he gets tired and then is crabby. He is very cuddly. I miss the early weeks when he would fall asleep on my chest, and I would work on the computer while he was snuggled there asleep. He did that the other night to catch a cat nap and it was soooo nice. I thank God for him every day.
After we had Abigail by c-section, I had a nurse friend that cared for me during that trial tell me/us that we should probably not have any more children. We thanked her for her concern and said we would pray about it. After arriving home I remember sitting on the edge of the bed and Jon and I were discussing it. I remember telling him that I felt that we were not finished with our family and that I would like to have another baby. I know that flies in the face of the world's logic, but we were convicted long ago to let the Lord plan our family. We did not believe that we should change our minds just because things were more difficult. If we had listened we would not have our sweet Stephen. I love him so much. Just think what I would have missed!! Who knows what a blessing he will be to us in our old age, Lord willing.
Having a large family can be very overwhelming at times, though I don't feel that way often anymore. I have been trained through the years and I also have all my helpers. It is a delight to be home with my children.

A Boy After Five Girls

God has been good to us. At one time, He had given us five boys and one girl in our family. For many years Katie was the lone girl, and desired to have a sister in the family, but her hopes were not realized with four brothers born after her. The LORD sent another girl when Christiana was born in '98. Four other girls followed her, and the balance of siblings tipped in favor of the girls six to five. As we awaited the birth of our newest child, we wondered which gender he or she would be. God graciously gave us another boy, and Beth has commented, "It's so fun to have a little boy again."

It's always amazing each time we have had a new baby. The baby's siblings just dote over him or her. Stephen is no exception. All of the children--from the youngest to the oldest--enjoy holding him, and we've even had squabbles over whose turn it is. "You already have held him today. It's my turn!" While we never have liked squabbles, if there was something our children were to squabble about, then wrestling over whose turn it is to hold the baby is a pretty good thing. All in all, this lies at the heart of how we feel about children. Someone has rightly said, "If you love children, then your children will love children." Beth and I truly love our children, and so it is reflected in how our children love their new baby brother. Now, that's not to say we don't have any troubles, because we do. However, our hope is that all of our children feel loved by their parents and also by their siblings.

By the way, we've affectionately called Stephen "even Stephen" because he's the one who evened the score at six boys and six girls.

My other observation is that God gives grace to Beth to adjust her schedule to accommodate the baby. She is wise to keep track of his feeding times, and knows how long she can be away from the house. She has recognized his pattern of awake and asleep time. She knows when he's getting tired and crabby. She knows when it's time for bed. I guess that's just what a good mother does!