6 weeks old

It is so crazy to think that my baby is now 6 weeks old! It has been a WONDERFUL month and a half- full of memories I will cherish a lifetime, as well as fresh challenges of learning to be a mom of two. I couldn't ask for a better baby than sweet Abigail. She is the picture of a happy, content baby. While Alathea was an easy baby too, she was way more active and opinionated, even at six weeks old! As long as Abigail is fed and snuggled, she rarely cries. What a gift!

She has grown so fast. I actually cried at her four week appointment because she was already 11lbs and 23 inches. I couldn't believe it! Over 3lbs and 3 inches in one month. She is still tiny, as she is only one month old, but those little chicken legs are long gone! She also has some pretty bad baby acne- exactly like Alathea at this age. Fortunately as bad as it is, it is starting to clear up.

This has been quite a month and a half for me! I have learned so much as a Mom. First of all, I have learned how VERY little I know. With Alathea I started to feel like I had this Mothering thing down- at least some what. I have been so humbled with two. I feel so desperate for God daily (a good thing!). I need the Lord simply to get out the door on time and to figure out what to do when Abi is hungry and Alathea needs discipline at the same time! I'd love some advice on how to tackle housework and meals while caring for a newborn and toddler- I haven't figured that one out either. Despite all that, I am LOVING being a Mom of two. Days are filled with twice the sweetness, laughter and fun. And Abigail started smiling this week! 

Rekindle 08...and other life updates...

It has been forever since I have posted! Things have been crazy around here- lots of fun and LOTS of learning what it means to be a mom of TWO! More about that later, I want to update about our 5th trip to Laguna Beach, Florida for Rekindle!

For starters, all of the wonderful pictures are taken by Reba! She was kind enough to make me a CD- and I haven't even loaded my own to the computer yet! Reba also was kind enough to drive down to Rekindle with me and the 3 little girls (including her Kathryn). We made the 11 hour drive into a 2 day trip, spending the night in Atlanta with Reba's sister. It was a fun experience with lots of funny memories I'm sure we'll enjoy for years.

Once we arrived at Laguna Beach, Alathea was ALL about the beach. She loved playing in the sand, running into the ocean (once with her clothes on!), chasing seagulls (which I find particularly funny), and simply running down the beach. She's always been a beach bum, just like her parents :). We figured we'd train Abigail young too...starting her at the beach at 3 weeks old!

Joe is a busy man at Rekindle. He leads the whole trip and once again, did an outstanding job! I'm so proud of my boy! Two college kids gave their life to the Lord and countless other lives were changed. God was so kind to us, yet again!

Isn't that sunset incredible! Its taken from our balcony (well- Reba's balcony two doors down). The gulf coast is so serene...one of my favorite places in the world! 

I had to include the Starbucks picture Reba took- we made a daily trip there :) It was so fun to have our own car. Alathea so enjoyed having "Kat-kat" to play with too! We had to share a room with both girls...we had Alathea in a pack n play in the bathroom, and Abi in a clothes hamper by our bed. Hey...it worked great!

Here is Nick being pulled by a rope. Yes, for real. This is one of the many crazy M28 Rekindle Cup games. Nick was a GREAT sport. Gotta love college ministry. It certainly is fun.

A view of our retreat center...and our room second from right on 2nd level. Amazing blue sky!

The biggest highlight of the week was....JULIE!! My beautiful sister came for the whole week! I don't know who was more excited, Alathea or me? She was a "guest", but served the whole week! She impacted many of the M28 girls lives. I'm thinking future M28 intern...

Alathea is an AMAZING big sister. She calls Abigail "MY baby". I just LOVE my girls!

I'm cherishing the time with my sweet Abi. She is 3 weeks in the picture, but is 5 weeks old now!!! Time goes so quickly...

 Abigail being introduced to the Gods gift of the Beach at 3 weeks old! We start them young! I have MUCH more to share. Its been quite the past two weeks since we've been home. But I hear both my babies awakening from their naps....so I will have to catch up later. Sorry to leave you hanging, but please pray for Joe's brother Jon who was in a motorcycle accident last week...

And we're off...

...to Rekindle '08!! Reba, my sister Julie & I are heading south with the three little girlies (Alathea, Kathryn & Abigail) in the morning. We're taking two days to make the 10+ hour trip. That is 10 hours driving straight through with no kids :). It could take us a while! We will be spending Saturday night in Atlanta with Reba's sister, then on to Florida Sunday morning. The rest of the M28 crew will meet us in Laguna Beach, Florida late Sunday night. 

Pray for our trip! Pray for safety in travel and at the conference. For health (Joe went to the DR's today and they think he may have broncitis or whooping cough- not good!). And most of all for the actual conference- that people would get saved, that lives would be changed, friendships formed. And for Joe- that the Lord would give him grace & wisdom to speak & to lead this trip! 

We'll see you next weekend! By that point Abigail will be 1 month old!!! Yikes!

Me & My Girls

My Aunt Jeanie took some pictures of me and the girls while she was in town. How amazing to be able to say "Me & my girls". What a gift they are to me! It was eye opening to me today as I took both girls out by myself for the first time. I think we'll be staying home more as a result of this trip :). Actually, it wasn't too bad. I did notice I was much more tempted to be harsh and impatient when Alathea did not obey. I had Abigail in the car ready to go and came back in to put Alathea's shoes on and get her in the car. Well, she first decided to disobey- which meant me having to discipline her while Abigail was sitting in the car (not to smart to put her in first- but I am still learning). Then once I had Alathea's shoes on she started crying for her bunny, which of course I couldn't find. So I had to get Abigail out of the car so I could look for bunny. I've never been tempted to be angry at Alathea for asking for bunny- but I was today as her newborn sister sat in the car by herself. It was quite eye opening into my sinful heart!! Alathea has always asked for bunny, and I typically have no problem spending a few minutes searching for her. But now my "sponge is squeezed" a bit more with having two, and the sin that has always been in there is pouring out! The good thing is as a result I am much more aware of my dependence on the Lord to be patient, loving & kind with my two girls, who are such undeserved gifts to me. And I am much more aware of how sinful I am. I'm sure with each week that goes by I will become more and more aware of that! 

     I'm also learning how to love three people well. That sounds silly, but it can be difficult to feel like I am adaquatly loving Joe, Alathea & Abigail. Sometimes I feel stretched too thin...like I should be spending more time caring for one of them. I know this is not true, as God will give me the grace to love each of them. And I look at Moms with WAY more kids than I have and they do it well. Any advice anyone??

Abigail

Our littlest girl is now 2 weeks old! I'm trying to savor every moment because they feel like they are flying by so quickly. Abigail is still an amazingly easy, wonderful baby. She sleeps 90% of the time and when awake seems to be happy. She's growing like a weed- and now weighs 9lbs! She's also grown an inch and a half and is 21 1/2 inches long! She continues to have streams of visitors, with my Aunt Jeanie flying in for a visit last weekend, and my Dad in town this weekend. Its been so fun to spend time with family! Saturday we even drove down to Columbia, SC to introduce Abigail to my Grandma Bowers. She has been a busy little girl. Since Abigail is so happy & content, life with her has not been too eventful so far (now her big sis is another story...!!). The only thing worth mentioning (and this is kinda gross- sorry!) is that she has now 3 times covered me in poop reaching all the way to my shoulder! I know that is hard to imagine how, but she can explode! Like I said, gross, but true! Even with that said, I love my little Abi-girl!!

My Boy

I'm convinced that words cannot express how deeply I love this boy. I'm in awe at Gods amazing design of marriage, and how even when life gets more challenging (like through adding babies) you can by his grace fall even more in love with each other. This is whats happened these past two weeks. As we have started the journey of having two kids, an energetic toddler and a brand newborn, which means a lot of sleepless nights, much adjustment, less time to relax and rest, a postpartum body (for me), I have only fallen more in love with Joe.

God has once again opened my eyes to the gift that Joe is to me. He has joyfully laid down his own interests and desires (which is mostly simply to sleep at this point :), to serve me, Alathea & Abigail. Starting from the way he tenderly and compassionately held my hand during labor, the way he prayed for me and encouraged my soul when I was fearful of Abigail's health just before delivery, the exuberant joy on his face when he saw little Abigail for the first time- all these things make me love him so much. But that is just the start- during the days at the hospital my after birth contractions were so painful, other than feeding Abigail, he took on all other opportunities to care for her so that I could recover. Since we have returned home, he has had to work every day with February being his busiest month of the year. On top of working every day and still fighting a bad cough, he comes home full of joy & excitement to be with his girls. Yesterday, for example, he came home and immediately sat on the couch and read the girls stories, then picked up the house and vaccumed, then proceeded to heat up dinner, fed Alathea on his lap during dinner, did the dishes, gave Alathea a bath, played some more with her after her bath and once Alathea was in bed spent the rest of the evening with me & Abigail. You would have never known how little sleep he had been getting, or how much work he had waiting for him at the office the next day, or how he hadn't taken a moment just for himself in days. He is one godly, generous, loving, joy-filled, selfless man! And I am blessed beyond belief to be his wife! I love you, baby!

One Week Old

Abigail is one week old today! What a blessed week it has been. I have so enjoyed having TWO little girls, and it has been so fun to be at home with both of them. I'm also enjoying this "babymoon" as I call it, where I am not back to the daily tasks of cooking and cleaning and caring for two on my own. We have been blessed abundantly with family and friends who have served us, and allowed us to truly enjoy this sweet newborn season. Abigail is doing wonderfully. She is a happy, content baby. A great eater and sleeper. And she seems to only stay awake if Joe or Alathea are talking to her. What a sweetie! 

Happy Birthday, Alathea Joy!

Where did the time go?

Alathea turned TWO on Feb 10th!! Unbelievable! What a precious little girl that we are SO blessed with and love more every day! And she is one amazing big sister too :)

Abigail Kathleen Lechner...

Yes, she indeed does have a name! For months now we have prayed that the Lord would make this little girls name clear to us... and we "thought" we knew what she would be called. But about a week ago Joe began feeling very strongly about the name Abigail, which means "a fathers joy". Because it was such a shift from our original thoughts, we wanted to really be certain that is was indeed her name. There is more to the story, but that is it in a nutshell. So it took us until 9am this morning- and now there is not a doubt in our minds! You can still call her "baby A"- but now her official name is Abigail Kathleen. We call her "Abby-girl" :). Kathleen is my Mom's full name- and it is such a joy and honor to be able to name this little girly after her. 

Anyways...praise God we are home with a beautiful, healthy little girl. So far she has been so wonderful- a happy, peaceful baby. She's eating and sleeping great. We enjoyed the special "bonding" time with just her in the hospital. I am recovering pretty well, but feel pretty fatigued and "beat up" from labor, delivery and the after birth contractions that come with nursing (which have been WAY more painful this time!). But overall, I am far better than I would have expected. In case you haven't heard about her delivery- it took me from 8am-1:30pm to get to 2 1/2 cm- at which point they ordered my epidural. After the epidural, my blood pressure dropped rapidly, they put me on oxygen and were concerned about Abigail's heart rate- which was fluctuating from the 50's to 200's- they thought the cord may be wrapped around her neck. And the epidural was so strong that I couldn't move the bottom half of my body, which I really didn't like. I was tearing up at one point because I was so scared for the baby. I prayed and prayed that she would be OK.  I had to lay on my side to help the blood pressure stabilize, and they decided to turn me to my other side, at which point the nurse noticed Abigail's head coming out! This was at 3:40pm. So at 3:43pm Abigail was born! No doctor- just the nurses! I only barely pushed once. It turns out nothing was "wrong" with her or I, other than I went from 2-10cm in just over an hour and her head was starting to come out, but no one knew! Crazy. But praise the Lord we are both well!!

Alathea is still loving on baby Abigail. I can tell its a bit hard for her- so keep praying. Tomorrow is her birthday!! She'll be two! It will be wonderful to focus on her for the day.

Joe continues to amaze me as he is one AMAZING husband- he serves me & loves me all day & night!!! I love you, baby!

Here she is...

She's Here!

Our beautiful baby girl #2 has arrived! She was born at 3:43pm and praise the Lord she is halthy & adoralble! We arrived at the hospital and they immediately broke my water and started the induction by8:00am. It was pretty slow going a first - by 1:00 I was only 2cm - at 1:30 I got an epidural. I was checked again at 3:30 and the babies head was already half way outand I didn' even know it!!! So in the end I ony pushed like3 times - if you could even call it pushing. She was born healthy and in one piece at 3:43 - 7lbs15oz; 20inches long.

Alathea visited along with Joe's family and Steve and Lizzy. Alathea did great and totally loved her!! She even gave little sister her bunny a few times!! What a blessing!

Ifyou'd like to visit we are inroom 8905 at CMC Main - you can call 704-355-6760 first. Reba is coming in the morning and hopefully can post some pictures once she gets home .Love you all!!

She's Here!

Hi, this is Alathea here- I wanted to tell you all that I have a new baby sister!!! Mama and Dada haven't decided on a name yet, but I get to meet her today...finally! According to my Daddy, my sister was born at 3:43 this afternoon and she weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. My Mama is doing well, and Little Sister is healthy. I'm so glad. And while everyone else has been in the hospital, here's what I've been doing-

Coloring in my new Winnie the Pooh coloring book

I went to Chick Fil-A for lunch with Kathryn, CJ, and Avery...we had a lot of fun playing, as you can see!

After lunch I hopped in Kathryn's stroller basket...

...from my point of view, who needs a double stroller?

I think I might get to learn how to work Mama's camera tomorrow, so I'll post some pictures of my new little Sis then...

Here we go...

Joe & I are heading to CMC Main at 7am to be induced! Please keep us in your prayers...healthy baby girl, safe & smooth delivery, Joe's health (he's been sick all week), Alathea's transition, and a quick recovery!! Reba will be upadating the blog as soon as anything is worth updating!!! Hopefully you'll hear from us soon!

Take two...

February 3rd has now come and almost gone and no little Lechner lady has made an appearance. It seems strangely familiar to EXACTLY two years ago, on Super Bowl Sunday, our sweet Lechner lady named Alathea didn't appear either. That was her official due date as well!! (Super Bowl Sunday was Feb 5th in 2006). We also made plans to induce Alathea 5 days later- on Friday, Feb 10th. Its almost exactly the same if we go through with the induction of this little girl- 4 days later, on Thursday, Feb 7th. This sure feels familiar! I can only pray that this little girl is as easy of a baby as Alathea was, and that my recovery goes as smoothly (maybe labor & delivery could be different though- Alathea's was hard!). I'm trying to keep my expectations low while still being really excited...

I have the exact same picture of me holding a sign on Alathea's due date two years ago. Blogger isn't letting me upload it for some reason, but hopefully I will be able to soon. You can compare baby bellies too :)

An Update

My Handsome man giving me & the baby some love :)


I went to the DR yesterday morning and have made some progress. According to this DR (who is not my main doctor), I am still 1cm and now 50% effaced. The baby has dropped some. For most women I am still slow going, but for me any progress is progress :). My due date is Sunday the 3rd (2 days from now). My DR is going to be out of town for a week starting on Wednesday. She offered having me induced before she left, but Joe & I thought that was too soon. We did feel peace about scheduling one for Thursday, Feb 7th. The main reason for this is so that my aunt will be able to come in town and help for a few days. If we wait much longer than this, she will not be able to come. I have another appointment with my doctor on Monday morning and will have a better idea then if we will go ahead with the induction or not. Please pray for wisdom! I'm getting excited to meet this little sweetie face to face! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!