She's Here!

Evangeline (pronounced Evangelynn) “Evie” Grace Bishop was born on Friday, June 24 at 2:08am. She weighed 8lbs 0oz and was 21” long. Evie arrived 3 days past her due date, but when she came, she came quickly! We arrived at the hospital at 1:30am, and she was born 38 minutes later! Thankfully we live in a small town because we (and the delivering doctor) barely made it as it was. Evie came out after only 2 pushes and has been doing great. We were discharged yesterday afternoon and are starting to settle into life at home.




I hope to post more pictures and details soon.

Stages

It's weird to be about to start over with a newborn. It seems like just yesterday that Caleb was so tiny and I kept wanting him to stop getting bigger. I've loved each stage along the way and was amazed when people would tell me that it would just keep getting better.

Thankfully, it's been true. Caleb is at such a fun, fun age, and I feel like he gets so much smarter every day. It’s fun when they start talking more regularly and you can actually get glimpses of what they’re thinking. We had lunch yesterday at this restaurant on the lake, and Caleb loved looking out the window. I pointed out a boat to him, and he kept saying, “butt” (boat). But then the boat drove off, and he started saying, “Butt. Bye bye.” Then as I was talking to him about the water, he said “sammie,” which is his word for swimming. He then looked inside at the fish tank and said, “fish.” As he scanned the restaurant, he saw a picture of a guy riding a donkey and said, “gee up!” (giddy up). What a blessing to now be able to follow some of his thought process!

One of My Favorites...

I wish I could have known Ryan when he was a little boy. I have no doubt that he was absolutely adorable, and I love being able to see old pictures and hear old stories about him. Well, one of the things that I've often heard about was how messy of an eater Ryan was as a little boy, especially when it came to chocolate ice cream. Caleb doesn't get a whole lot of sweet treats, but as evidenced by this picture, he thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate mousse Ryan made the other night. Cute, but messy...just like Daddy!

Maybe Today??

Well, I couldn't sleep and am up having some more regular contractions, so maybe today's the day we get to meet our baby girl! Thankfully the Lord's timing is so much better than our own, but now being two days past our due date has really heightened my eagerness to see and hold her!

While I'm thinking about it, if anyone had noticed, several of our more recent blog posts say they were written by Ryan, but it was actually me who wrote them. Not that it matters, but it might make more sense.

Anyway, I thought since I was up I would do a little blog update.

A few weeks ago, our church threw us a baby shower. I was totally amazed at the love and generosity that was shown by the ladies at Graham Bible Church. It was sad to leave our dear friends at Kenwood Baptist Church, but God has been so kind in placing us in such a loving congregation here in Graham. I didn't take many pictures with my camera (but have been given a CD with more which I have yet to download to our computer), but here is one of the few I did take. I was amazed at the ability of a friend who made the cakes to match the plates exactly! You may not be able to tell from this picture, but each cake she made was identical to the corresponding letter on the plate.


Caleb's hair had been getting a little unruly, so Ryan cut it a couple of weeks ago. It's crazy to me what a big difference a hair cut can make in how old Caleb looks!


We've been trying to prepare Caleb as much as possible for the arrival of Baby Girl. We are borrowing a bassinet from some friends, and Caleb will show it to you if you ask where his baby sister is going to sleep. He will also point to his old crib and say, "Baby Nigh Night." At our baby shower, one sweet lady brought Caleb some presents which included a book called "Little Sisters Are..." which Ryan tried reading to him the other night. I don't think they got very far in the book before Caleb was ready to move onto the next thing, but that's ok. :) Here's also a picture of Caleb kisssing my tummy...not too much longer and he'll be able to kiss his sister in person! All this to say, that I still don't think he has a clue what's about to happen, but hopefully it won't all be quite as big of a shock for him when it actually does.


Some sweet friends came by the other night to drop off some shelves and play tools that their son no longer needed. I think that's the only toy Caleb played with yesterday was those tools--he loves them! I'm sure they make him feel more like his daddy. :)


Though we're so very excited to meet Baby Girl, I've been trying to soak as much time with my boys as I can. Here are just a couple recent pictures.




And finally, here are a couple pictures of Baby Girl's new nursery. It hasn't been fully decorated yet, but it's super exciting to know that we have a place to put her when we're ready. A place that is not only free of boxes, tools, ladders, etc., but that's actually painted and girly! So fun! (By the way, the walls aren't quite as bright yellow as they appear in these pictures.)

Baby Girl

Well, sweet girl, we thought you would be here by now. Tomorrow is your due date, and your big brother was born 4 days early. Your daddy and I were both convinced that you would be even earlier than he was, but you've definitely proven us wrong. I know you have to come out at some point, but our mindset has shifted so much with regard to your arrival. We've gone from waking each morning wondering if that would be the day we would meet you to just wondering if you're going to come on your own at all. I'm sure you're warm and cozy in there (though I'm not sure how because there certainly isn't much room), and I appreciate your patience in waiting to come which has allowed us to even get your nursery ready, but come, sweet baby come! We're eager to meet you!!

Humbled

On Saturday afternoon, we looked out our window and noticed someone in our front yard. Upon looking a little closer, we saw that it was a member of our church who had decided to mow our lawn for us--just to serve us! It was the sweetest thing and brought tears to my eyes knowing that people love us so unselfishly.

Our house has definitely been a work in progress since we closed, and there have been many, many projects left to do, including getting the nursery ready for baby girl. Because of the chaos of our lives, we had written that project off until after baby girl arrived. Besides, she wouldn't know the difference anyway. Well, a sweet friend of mine decided last week to come over 3 mornings before she went to work just so she could help me get it all painted and ready to go. On Friday morning another lady also came over to help, and when we got back from our weekly doctor's appointment, they had left but had finished completely setting up our nursery. Oh my goodness, how that blessed my heart! Having Baby Girl's nursery done was not something I had expected for another month or two, but these 2 ladies chose to spend their free time blessing us in this way. I'll post pictures at some point soon, but I'm really excited about it.

I must say that we have had many, many people serve us in a number of ways over the last couple months, so these are just a couple of examples. We've had people provide meals, lots and lots of painting, family slaving over drywall, installing floors, etc. It has been such a beautiful, humbling process to be loved and served in such practical ways!

Any Day Now...

our daughter could be here! We are 39 weeks and are so excited to meet this sweet baby girl. Caleb was born at 39 weeks 3 days, so we'll see when this one decides to make her appearance. Please be praying for her safe delivery!

Caleb's Hair...

is a little hard to explain. Immediately after it's been washed, it usually dries fairly straight but still with some wave in it. However, if it's been more than a day since it's been washed or if he has gotten even a little hot and sweaty, it gets pretty curly. We'll probably cut it soon because it's getting a little unruly, but I'm kind of enjoying seeing those sweet blonde curls. This picture doesn't show nearly how curly his hair can get, but it can give you an idea. I can't wait to see what Baby Girl's hair does (or if she'll even have any)! :)