Lena's Baptism

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones.

For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 18:10

Lena was baptized today!

God's own child, I gladly say it; I am baptized into Christ!
He, because I could not pay it, Gave my full redemption price.
Do I need earth's treasures many?
I have one worth more than any
That brought me salvation free
Lasting to eternity!

God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It, verse 1

We are so happy to welcome Lena into God's Kingdom! She did really well, not crying or fussing at all when Dad poured the water on her head. It was an especially neat experience for him, as it was his first baptism as pastor. He even sang a solo for her:

I bind unto myself today
The pow'r of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heav'nly host to be my guard.

I Bind unto Myself Today, verse 3

This is the dress she wore. (She was not this unhappy-looking during the baptism, just when we tried to take her picture later!) Her Grandma Tammy made this beautiful dress for her. Well, not just for her; it will be used for each one of our children.


Grandma Tammy did make a slip that is just for Lena. On it she embroidered her name, birth date, baptism date, and she even did her entire baptism verse. It is so pretty. Here is some of the detail of that.


Rev. Tom and Brenda Chryst are her sponsors. They came to visit us over the weekend. We had lots of fun spending time with them and their three adorable daughters, Bailey, Helena, and Morgan. On Saturday we went to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. It was really fun watching the Chryst girls explore and play.

Church members Brian and Gayle provided us with a lovely reception at church following the baptism. They even had a cake made with her picture on it! It was really neat. And delicious! (Yes, her middle name is misspelled on it, but that's ok!)

Lena's First Easter!

Today is Lena's first Easter! She looked so pretty in her Easter dress and hat. They were a little bit big on her, but that's ok. She went to the sunrise service at 7:45 and then had breakfast and another service at 9:30. It's neat because it is also Daddy's first Easter as a pastor.

Lena did really well in church, sleeping almost the whole time. The new formula seems to be making her feel better. Thanks be to God! As a result, I am feeling better as well.

I have to include more pics because they are just so darn cute!

Rough Times

Today we found out that Lena is allergic to milk. She has been really fussy ever since we brought her home, but it had been getting worse. She cries all the time and often writhes around in pain while screaming. It's been very hard on Jim and me. Last night I noticed some blood in her diaper and we called the pediatrician. She told us that Lena likely has a lactose intolerance and should be on a special formula.

I am sad that I won't be able to breastfeed her anymore. I was really looking forward to having that experience as a mom. But the only reason I was really for it was because I thought it was best for her, but it turns out that it isn't best for her. So we are trying a hypoallergenic formula called Nutramigen.

We really hope it works. Things are really rough around here right now and I am dealing with post partum depression. This being Holy Week doesn't help things either.

I pray that God takes away Lena's pain and my depression.

First Sunday at Church

Today Lena went to church for her first service. It was Palm Sunday. She was really good and didn't fuss at all. Grandma Sheryl was with us to help out. Everyone at church enjoyed getting to meet her. She wore the little outfit with the lambs on it that Aunt Hilary got for her.

Lena's First Bath

Today Lena got her first bath. Her umbilical cord stump fell off this morning and it's great timing because she is going to go to church for the first time tomorrow.

She did not like the bath one bit! She cried and screamed through the whole thing. She's probably not used to being wet all over. It was really hard on Mom to see her so upset!

Bringing Lena Home

Today we brought Lena home from the hospital. The car ride was the most stressful event of my life! I've never been so nervous in the car before! But we made it home just fine. The cats aren't too sure about what's going on, but they'll get used to her.

Lena has to be seen by a home health care nurse twice a day until Thursday night to have antibiotics administered. They go into an IV in her foot.

I'm in a lot of pain today, having problems recovering from the c-section.