My Heart Doth Overflow

     Our son Nathan Timothy was born this past Sunday evening.  He was born healthy and beautiful, and my labor and delivery went quickly and well - I made my husband bite his fingernails all the way through the evening church service and the 20 minute drive to the hospital.  ;)  "Nathan" means "God has given" or "Gift," and his middle name he shares with B.J.'s Dad, Tim.  His name is especially fitting, Leah reminded me, because we shared the news that I was pregnant with our family and friends on Christmas Day - we told Leah and Willem, "We have one more present for you, but it won't arrive until summer..."

     I couldn't sleep the first night in the hospital.  Adrenaline and emotion prevented me from turning off my thoughts.  So while I lay there in the hospital bed, I played the alphabet game, trying to think of a Bible verse or a song for each letter of the alphabet in order.  "A" was easy - "Amazing Grace."  "B" - the Beatitudes - I've taught them to Leah and Willem, but I'm not sure I got them all in the right order.  "C" - "Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord" - we sang that song in grade school choir.  "D" - one of my favorite hymns:

 "Day by day, and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here.

Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,

I've no cause for worry or for fear.

He Who's heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest."

     "E" - the second verse of "Day by Day," which begins, "Every day the Lord Himself is near me, with His promised mercies for each hour..." and so on, until I reached "M."  The stanza that came to my mind for "M" was stanza #1 of Psalter #124:

"My heart doth overflow,

A goodly theme is mine.

 My eager tongue with joyful song,

Doth praise the King Divine."

     My Dad walked me down the aisle to marry B.J. to the tune of #124.  I didn't get any farther in the alphabet game.  My mind started traveling back over the Lord's goodness to B.J. and I in the past 6+ years, and all I could think was, "My heart doth overflow, my heart doth overflow..."

     And now we're home.  I've resolved to take it easy, so I don't get sick like I did after Marie was born.  Lord willing, we're going to enjoy the rest of the dog days of summer, eat off paper plates, and let the vine crops take over the garden.

     May your heart overflow as you meditate on God's blessings today.

Two New Dresses

One for our love seat, one for our couch.

They're not perfect, but I've learned I can have any project one of two ways: perfect, or finished.

I'm always happier when I opt for the latter.

My motivation for getting these finished was B.J.'s family coming, followed by baby time.

I was thankful for the slipcovers today - Will's fighting the stomach flu, and he lost his breakfast on the couch. :(

Family Camp

Most of B.J.'s family traveled to our home and camped here for 5 days last week.  Our yard was complete with six tents and even a port-a-john.

Things were somewhat chaotic Saturday evening, when we were hit with a fierce thunderstorm.  One tent was flooded, and everyone moved inside for a good night's sleep before Sunday.  Since we don't have enough room for everyone in our home, some dispersed to the homes of my family members that night.  In spite of the chaos it brought, the storm was followed by a beautiful rainbow.

Other photos from the week:

Play-dough!

Playing in the pool.

B.J. and his dad spent part of Saturday afternoon making dumplings for Sunday dinner.

The boys reading their scavenger hunt treasure map.

Ryan and Anthony.

Anthony, all tuckered out.

Tia, Shadow's sister, belongs to B.J.'s parents, so even Shadow had someone to play with.

Shadow.

Leah coloring.

Trista coloring.

Trista and Addi (and Dan? ;) coloring.

All the boys - even Ian - had to take a turn on the motorcycles or the moped.

Tractor ride!

Crafting with Grandma.

Whitney and Willem could pass as brother and sister.

Marie, Addi, and Kinsley eating their candy.

Leah and Tori.

What an enjoyable week we had!