thankful for family

                                                            3 generations of women

If you aren't family, sorry for the explosion of pictures. :)
If you are family, I will keep posting them.

We are absolutely loving having Linden in our family. She is a great eater, sleeper and pooper. She scared me on Tuesday when she cried on and off in pain for 4 hours. I had thoughts of cutting out dairy and horrible colic. Thankfully she hasn't had that again, but I am well aware that she is just 2 weeks old and could have stomach issues.
My parents and brother were here for Linden's birth and were an amazing help. My friend Hayden watched the boys when we went to the hospital after my water broke. The next day my brother and dad got the boys and then brought them to the hospital. It's so much harder when your family doesn't live in town and you have another baby. Nathan and I are forever grateful for ALL of their help. We could not have done it without them- my dad stayed for a week and my mom was here for 11 days.

What's in a name?

Linden

Nathan's grandmother's maiden name was Linden.
Both of our mom's are Linda.

Caroline

My mom's middle name is Carol.
It is the feminine version of Charles which is Nathan's dads middle name.
It's a variation of Carolina and of course we love North Carolina.

 

Linden Caroline

The first few days

June 7. 2012

Linden Caroline

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.

James 1:17

Linden Caroline Scholl

graced us with her presence on

June 7 at 3:17 p.m.

weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches tall

We are so thankful for the large and small details that were effortlessly worked out in her birth. God was very gracious. I had a successful VBAC which was something that I had wanted and prayed about. What a gift our healthy and beautiful girl is. The boys are absolutely in love with Linden and both ask to hold her often.

all tied up nice in a bow

Ever since Hunter wore a bow tie to Cherry & Peyton's wedding last summer, he has been asking me to make another one for him.  He also has been wanting to wear a tie like daddy to church. Of course, if one boy has it, both boys must have it. They were too precious in their little ties.

When I posted this picture, I thought about things being all tied up nice in a bow. That's how we like things. Neat and tidy, picture perfect. Hiding the mess that we all have in our life and shoving it away. I've thought about this a lot recently as we have just moved and are constantly asked, "How are things?", "Are you settled?", "Do you like living here?" and so on. Everyone that asks has good intentions and most want to hear things are great, yes we are settled, we love it here, etc. Some of those things are true- we do like it here and we are settling in. However, these things take time. We have no doubt that God wants us right here and are not questioning that. However, it seems like people don't want to hear that things are hard. Moving is hard- it's one of the hardest things many people do. Friendships aren't developed in 2 months and it's not easy when people are asking the same surface-level questions. Again, I recognize that this is how things start out, but nonetheless it doesn't make it easier or faster.

Although I know that most people aren't moving to a new state and changing jobs, we all have some kind of yuck in our life that we would like to hide and put on our happy face all the time. It's a great reminder to me to get more involved in the details of the lives around me even when it is messy and ask hard questions about how things are REALLY going.

So if you're wondering- we do like living here. We are settled in our house, ie no visible boxes around. We are adjusting to life in a different city. But it's a process, not a completed task.

It's no coincidence that after it rained tonight Nathan looked outside and saw this rainbow. While we were out there, another rainbow appeared. Wow- a double rainbow and it was a complete arch. God's promise that He is always with us- through our tears and triumphs.

 

 

water pals

So much fun to be had with a sprinkler, the inflatable pool and your brother.

Last weekend we enjoyed one last date night before little miss enters the world. We have been going on dates for almost 11 years. I so look forward to date nights now since they (lately) are a rare treat. One of the greatest things is to watch Nathan with our boys, but I'm glad when I get him all to myself!