Hello Again!

Hey All! Apologies for not continuing to update the blog lately. I promise that I will get better once we are settled into this house. (And apologies for any typo that I may write and not have time to correct.)

A lot has happened since my last post. I want to start by giving thanks that Celia is hitting all of her developmental milestones, that she has not been hospitalized still since her birth, and that our little family has a wonderful support system.

Celia at the doctor's office. I thought she had an ear infection, but nothing was wrong! :)

Shortly after Celia turned 6 months old, she was sitting up all by herself! As soon as she got a little taste of independence, she was off on her own crawling, pulling up on objects to stand, and walking (with the assistance of pushing something).

Her personality really has not changed too much, she has and always has had a feisty little attitude. She is now able to grasp the concept of "no!"; and let me tell you, our little girl does not enjoy that restrictive, two-letter word. As soon as she hears it, no matter the tone of voice, she will usually throw a fit. Now that she is strong enough to throw a true fit, she likes to throw her head backward and arch her back. I have to warn whoever is holding her because she may likely flip right out of their arms.

She isn't all attitude though, she has a very sweet side now, too. She is smiling and laughing all the time. She is able to "engage in conversation"by babbling and spitting back and forth. Her favorite person to "talk" to is his her daddy, of course, he makes the craziest voices and noises; she loves it.

Celia is still waking up in the middle of the night to eat, but I am okay with that. I've heard from so many parents that their babies sleep through the night, and I thought to myself, 

"Celia, you little stinker! I need you to sleep through the night too, but I also don't want you to go that long without eating because you are still such a little squirt..."

Thankfully, she is not waking up with her eyes wide open and ready to play anymore, she really just wants to eat and go right back to sleep. I'm okay with that. And I have now heard the other side...some nurses that I work with told me that their children never slept through the night until they were two years old. Scary thought! However, at least I know that we are not alone.

Her cousins still spend quality time with her. I love having them ride in the backseat with her because that is the one and only time that she will not cry in her car seat! When she sees Eli, Thia, Ella, Blaine, and Ari, her face truly lights up. She is the only brunette cousin so far, but not for long! She has more cousins who are due to be born soon, and I am sure that she cannot wait to meet them. (Please pray for quick and safe deliveries of the precious baby cousins!)

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, we have moved into our own house (in Des Moines)! We are renting it for now, and hope to own it in the future. Everything is all moved in (besides other furniture that we will pick up in Mason City), but we have yet to put some belongings away and decorate. Alex has done a lot of work on the basement and plumbing so far; and he will build our wardrobe down in the laundry room today so that we can put away the clothes that are currently taking up the living room space. I cannot wait to get everything put away and organized so we can get to the fun stuff. I want to thank everyone that has helped us move. I want to thank everyone who has given us things for this house. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We cannot wait to get this house into shape and start having company. You all are welcome to visit :)

*I have a feeling that we need a little cousin sleep over soon*

I want to end this post with some prayer requests again. We have been prayed for by so many, and that was the best gift that anyone could have given to us. If you would like to email me a prayer request that I can anonymously put on here...please do at Jabecker3@dmacc.edu.

<3 Please pray for my sister, Toni (and Jomil), and my sister in-law, Erica (and Cody), as they both have had smooth pregnancies thus far and are due at any time to have their sweet babies! Please pray for Alex's cousin and his fiance', Dawn (and Danny), as she is pregnant as well! Please pray that they will also have smooth deliveries and that the babies will be healthy and come home right away.

<3 Please pray for a friend of mine that was just diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. She is not necessarily a friend that I hung out with, but we grew up in the same hometown around the same friends. She is a great person, a mother, a girlfriend, a daughter, and so much more to others. Please pray that the treatments she is receiving heals her body. Please pray that she is getting the help that she needs with her daughter in such a time consuming and physically/mentally/emotionally consuming trial in her life. 

<3 Please pray for a friend of my dad and brother. His wife is pregnant with triplet boys. Please pray not only for their sanity (haha, just kidding, I'm sure the boys will be sweet hearts just like their parents!) but pray that those sweet babies will grow and thrive in the womb and will be born at a healthy weight. If they do end up in the NICU due to prematurity, please pray that they will grow and thrive in the NICU. Please pray that God will guide the physicians to make the correct critical decision for those sweet boys. Please pray for the parents of those three babies: that they will remain relaxed and give all their anxieties to God. Please pray for a speedy recovery of Mom after the birth of these babies. Please pray that Mom and Dad will get the help that they need from family and friends when the boys finally arrive home!

<3 Please pray for all the babies that are currently in the NICU, their families, their nurses, their doctors, and all others that are affected or helping. 

<3 Please pray for all the infants, children, and adults that are currently hospitalized or dealing with health issues (both new diagnoses and on going issues). 

<3 Please pray for yourselves, asking God what you can do to help someone that you are praying for; and asking God to help you with your own needs as well!

<3 Whoever is reading this, I pray that God will meet your needs, I pray that you will keep growing in your relationship with God and that you will be a light onto others (I pray this for myself, as well).

Romans 8:35-39 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Amen