Two weeks with Beth

Little Beth has now been in our home for a week and a half. We are very thankful. The first week was a little rough. We got to bring her home from the hospital two weeks ago and then we had to re-admit her the next day because her jaundice got so bad. The admitted her in the ICU and throughout the day it got worse. Later that night, they hooked her up to an IV and three lights. After three days, she was able to come home. We are very grateful! It was definately a difficult week in that I was trying to keep track of Beth and Jess in the hospital, our girls at home, maintaining hours at work, and keeping my head above water at school. However, I am grateful for the experience. My empathy has really grown for those who have complications with little ones. We also greatly experienced the grace and strength of God. We grew a little more in understanding the words of Christ to Paul "My grace is sufficient." We are so very grateful that Jess' mom was here to help us through that time. That was a huge blessing.

School is going well. I am already four weeks in. Last week was extremely busy as I had three papers to write and turn in. Things should level out a little bit now, but it is just going to be very busy for the next two months.

The girls have been going to AWANA here in town at great church. That has been fun, but it has made me feel old! It is weird to have children in Sparkies and Cubbies! Rose earned her vest last week and she was soooooooooooo proud! The look on her face when she came bouncing out of her classroom with it on was priceless! I think Kate will earn hers tonight.

We are starting to move into the thunderstorm season here. The rain is starting fall and the and skies are getting dark. As I am writing, I am watching a storm come in and it is enjoyable to see the variety in weather. There are not any flowers yet, but the shoots are starting to come up in the yard. It is always fascinating to watch the seemingly dead ground, trees, and bushes come to life. It is a visible picture of what happens when Christ comes into one's life. The dead become alive as the Holy Spirit breathes true life throughout every ounce of one's life. It reminds me of Ephesians 2:4 where Paul writes, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved." I think the Lord has given us many theological illustrations through His creation.

Speaking of God's creation, we were blessed yesterday to be able to go out for our first picnic and hike with Beth. It was a chilly hike, but it was wonderful to be out. We went to our favorite spot, Bernheim Forest. Great to be out in God's creation!

Blessings,
Shane

Some pictures from our hike yesterday!

Beautiful dresses and bonnets my Mom made for the girls! Kate and Rose wore them to church this morning.

Rose with her AWANA vest the night she earned it!

The day we brought home Beth from the ICU. Rose was thrilled to be able to go with me to get her!

Beth Anya Sander

Beth Anya Sander was born yesterday evening at 6:45. Praise the Lord! She was 9.4lbs and very healthy! Both Jess and Beth are doing very well! We came into the hospital at 7 in the morning to be induced. The doctor decided to induce 10 days early because of the size of the baby. Unfortunately, little Beth wasn't quite ready to come out! Mild labor began around 10, but didn't really get serious until 4. Jess did great, but it was rough on her to have labor stretch out for so long. Thankfully, Jess only had to push once and Beth came right out! The downside is little Beth's face got pretty bruised up, as the first picture shows! The other pictures were taken this morning.

Blessings,
Shane

Update

Well, it has been a long time since I have updated everyone on what has been happening in our life and for that I apologize. I am currently sitting in the hospital waiting for the birth of our 4th girl. We are noticing the difference in the medical field between California and Kentucky! The baby is large (no surprise there) and they have decided to induce labor 10 days early to prevent the baby getting any larger. We are excited to meet this new little girl!

There have been a lot of changes over the last month. A few weeks ago we moved into a little house on the other side of campus. We are very grateful for the Lord providing the house for us in the small little window in which we could have moved. It is a two bedroom house, but it is two stories with a full basement. It also has two extra rooms downstairs that give us more room for living space. Jess has a homeschooling room now! Thankfully, it is only $50 more than what we were paying to live in the apartment on campus.

I also just started a new job last week working 20 hours a week in the housing office. Moving into the house increased our expenses and we needed more income. It is going to make this semester our busiest semester by far but I think it will be doable. Even though the rent didn't go up all that much, the utilities doubled and that is what necessitated more income.

The semester started for me last week and it was a little chaotic. I had to drop a class and add a different class to make the work load more managable with all that is going on this semester. I am taking Personal Evangelism, Old Testament I, Preaching, and Marriage and Family Counseling. At the end of this semester I will have 59 units done and only have 35 units left to go. We are grateful and praising the Lord for that!

Jess and the girls are doing well. Kate, Rose, and Tess are very excited about welcoming a new little sister. The girls really enjoy having a house to run around in and they sleep much better at night! We have a back yard as well that the girls really enjoy playing in.

Well, I better go. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support! Enjoy the pictures!

Blessings,
Shane

The first sledding of the year! Always an exciting time. There hasn't been as much snow this year so we haven't been able to sled as much as last year. Hopefully we will get another good snow before Spring!

The backyard. The girls really enjoy riding their bikes in the yard.
The house from the front.


We went for a really nice drive in the snow. It was the most snow we have had so far, which was about 3 inches.