A Month in Review

Since we've gotten home to Smithers, life has been, in certain ways, just as busy as we expected it to be! There is rarely a time when all of our 5 children aren't in need of some sort of attention.  That said, we've all come a long way in adjusting to all the craziness, thanks in large part to lots and lots of help.  Several meals a week are provided for us, housework and baby laundry are taken care of, people are coming to help with the boys each day after supper while we put the girls to bed, and then also later in the evening so we can go to bed at a decent hour.  In addition to the daily organized help, we've got lots of offers for occasional help as needs arise.  What a blessing to be part of such a caring church community!  I know we would be terribly overwhelmed if it wasn't for all this.

At the beginning of August, Dan's parents travelled back up to Smithers for baptism.  They pulled their 5th wheel and camped at the Municipal Campground.  Abigail especially enjoyed having a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's trailer!  Ray and Heather arrived Saturday around suppertime, and my parents and grandparents flew in on Saturday evening as well.   

Baptism was on Sunday, August 8.  It was a beautiful and meaningful service.  Dan enjoyed preaching and baptizing all 3 boys, with both our dads holding their namesakes during the baptisms.  After brunch with the family, Dan's parents and Ray and Heather all headed out.  My parents and grandparents stayed for a longer visit, and we kept busy visiting, caring for kids, sightseeing, and baking.  Too quickly, the time came once again to say goodbye.  One of the toughest things about living so far away from our families is knowing how much our children change in the time between visits.  Our boys will be so different by the time they see any of their grandparents again.  But, hard as it is to say goodbye, we are glad to settle into a routine again.

Nursing is going much better than it was.  We can get all 3 boys changed and nursed in one hour.  They generally go 4 hours between feedings.  Other than that 4-hour routine, the boys are still not completely predictable, especially overnight. We have wonderful friends who are willing to come over around 10 pm, keep babies happy till they feed them around midnight, and put them to bed so that we can have a good stretch of sleep.  Occasionally, the boys have slept till 6 am, but more commonly, they are up around 4:30 a.m.  By the time we get the boys fed and settled again, we don't usually find it worthwhile to go back to bed ourselves.  While we can't predict what any given day will be like, we are noticing that the boys are starting to have more happy awake time.  They're starting to follow voices, focus on faces or toys, and even started smiling!  They're following their birth order -- David's been smiling for about a week, Isaac a few days, and William just a day.  They've had a few evenings when they've settled for a good sleep by about 8:30, giving us a little bit of free time to sit together and relax.
So.  Sorry for the epic update.  We'll try to be a little more consistent in the future. 
Love to all!!