Hello Family...it certainly has been a while since I have updated this blog...going on 8-9 months now...I won't make false promises of updating it more regularly or right now of even going back and catching everyone up on our hectic/exciting lives since last September as I was just getting back to work after my sabbatical. Suffice it to say, we continue to be abundantly blessed (beyond explanation) and going about our happy existence here in Cornelius OR, or wherever in the world our adventures take us.
The one thing you should be aware of is that we found out in September of last year that we were expecting our 4th child...
Fast forward 40 long weeks to April 30 2008 - my 34th birthday, which I now share with our lovely daughter Bella Gwyn (8lbs 10.5oz, 20.5in) ...yes you heard correctly...daughter... count'em...4 girls...Maggie (8), Lydia (5), Paige (3) and Bella (2 weeks)...what a wonderful birthday present...this was the first time we had not found out the sex of the baby before hand and we had kidded ourselves that we would be having a boy, but needless to say, we are estatic about the addition of our precious little girl to our growing family (family of 6)...whew....
The one thing you should be aware of is that we found out in September of last year that we were expecting our 4th child...
Fast forward 40 long weeks to April 30 2008 - my 34th birthday, which I now share with our lovely daughter Bella Gwyn (8lbs 10.5oz, 20.5in) ...yes you heard correctly...daughter... count'em...4 girls...Maggie (8), Lydia (5), Paige (3) and Bella (2 weeks)...what a wonderful birthday present...this was the first time we had not found out the sex of the baby before hand and we had kidded ourselves that we would be having a boy, but needless to say, we are estatic about the addition of our precious little girl to our growing family (family of 6)...whew....
We are very happy to have her here now...safe and happy at home...inspite of the challenges that lack of sleep present, the weeks leading up to the birth and the weeks since have been hectic so we are glad they are behind us. We are also so very grateful for Grandma Hansen...she has been here with us in OR for going on a entire month now and we simply would not have made it without her...we love her and her countless charity, love and service to our family...thank-you JoAnn!
JoAnn arrived here in OR on April 18th...and on the 19th I left for a 5 day trip to Bangkok Thailand for a sales conference...(it was good)...upon my return to the US on Thurs, April 24 (Maggie's birthday), we heard the sad, but not unexpected news that my Grandpa..Samuel Dewey McKibben (1918-2008) had passed away.
We spent Friday the 25th celebrating Maggie's 8th birthday and had 7 little girls over for a birthday Luau and slumber party...needless to say it was intensely crazy, but also a lot of fun.
We spent Friday the 25th celebrating Maggie's 8th birthday and had 7 little girls over for a birthday Luau and slumber party...needless to say it was intensely crazy, but also a lot of fun.
So after a night of endless giggling and lots of fun, I flew to Ohio on Saturday afternoon to be with my family and to pay tribute to my Grandpa at his Funeral...it was a time of mixed emotion...it is always certainly nice to see family...my sisters, Meggin & Savann flew in for Arizona and Alaska respectively...but also a very sad time...in spite of the gospel knowledge of the resurection...and that we will see him again, it is honestly horribly sad to think of going on with your live without someone who has been part of it. Grandpa and Grandma had been married for upwards of 65 years, so I can only imagine the anguish my Grandma must feel daily when she stops to think and realizes that her life long companion is no longer there with her...my heart goes out to you Grandma...we love you and cherish you...you truly are a wonderful woman.
It was "if you'll forgive the expression" a wonderful weekend...we had a family viewing on Sunday from 3-5, followed by a public viewing from 6-8...the public support was almost overwhelming...if you can judge a man's impact on this world by the number of lifes he touched, then certainly Grandpa lived a great life...it seems everyone in Morgan County knew my grandpa. The weekend provided lots of not-so-quiet (not surprising if you know my family) meals and precious family time...talking and playing games and of course comforting each other and grandma...I would not have missed it for the world...the only thing that could have made it better, were if my brother Josh could have come (but he had just that week flown to Berlin Germany to start a 4 month intensive training course. )
The rest of the family stayed for another few days, but I flew out on Tuesday because as I mentioned above...my dear wife Mindy was in her 40th weeks of pregnancy and we had a C-section scheduled for Thurs. May 1st...upon landing in Portland on Tuesday night, April 29, I had a voicemail from Mindy, saying the doctor was leaving town and would like to move the surgery to Wednesday...April 30th...about 15hours after I landed back in Portland...And so you can now return to the beginning of this blog to be reminded of what happened on that day...
Over the course of those 2 crazy weeks in April, I spent only 2 nights in the my own bed...3 nights in Bangkok, 2 nights on airplanes, 3 nights in Columbus Ohio, and another 3-4 nights on a fold out in the Hospital...
Since coming home with Bella on Saturday, May 3rd, we haven't slept much at night and for the first week did at least 3-4 visits to the hospital for Blood tests for Jaundice and for possible Anemia and RH conflicts between Mindy's blood (0+) and Bella's (A+)...
The Doctors concerns were resolved and it ended up the only problem was jaundice, which we treated with a Billi-Blanket here at home for 4-5 days...
Life is now slowly returning to normal , if we can remember what that means...guess it has something to do with going to work and waking up before 9am and not having an extra live in cook, cleaner and childcare provider (thanks again JoAnn!...I think I can say for both Mindy and I ....we are very saddened to see you go...and absolutely scared out of our minds...we are outnumbered 2:1...mind you...and those are not good odds.)
Anyways...as you can see...we have been blessed...enormously...I could try to count them...but I can only ever get to 5 (mindy, maggie, lydia, paige, bella) before I have to go change a dress on a barbie or sing the backup vocals to Hannah Montana...(best of both worlds indeed!)...and when I name them 1 by 1...each of you...our beloved family and friends are counted therein...we love you all and pray Heavenly Father's choicest blessing upon you...
until later...(hopefully not as long as 8-9 months...)
Love,
The McKibbens...(family of 6)
