Hospital Photos

Here are some photos of our time at the hospital. 

Derek cutting the umbilical cord which was wrapped twice around his neck.

They let Kyle lie with me for an hour before cleaning him up.  

After his first bath.

Derek and my sister brought the girls to the hospital in the afternoon.  It was so much fun to see the girls meet their long-awaited baby brother.

Karis checking out Kyle with his eyes open.

Our THREE kids!

More hugs from big sis.

New family addition....

Welcome Kyle Joseph to our family!   

Immediately after birth; beautiful even with the gunk

Lena's due date was May 21.  But since she again had gestational diabetes, the doctor had selected May 15th to induce.  Lena mentioned wanting to experience a more natural (ie: non-induced) delivery because the doctor had previously induced both Karis (non-responsive to her in-office stress tests) and Makena (gestation diabetes).  As such, we avoided the stressful, water-breaking, "hurry to the hospital" experience that you see in the movies.  =)     

Lena got her wish.  Her water broke on Mother's Day right as she finished making dinner.  We took off to the hospital after arranging unexpected care for Karis and Makena. Since her body wasn't moving forward in the process, they gave her Pitocin at 11:00 PM to get the contractions going. Just like what happened with Makena, Lena's dilation jumped from 7 cm to 10 cm in one hour and you could see the baby waiting to be delivered.  At 4:17 AM Monday, May 14, Kyle was born on the first push!  He weighed 8 pounds exactly and was 20.3 inches long.

I (Derek) almost passed out... not during delivery however.  While Lena was receiving her epidural, I sat in front of her and let her squeeze my hand.  However, I started feeling warm and light-headed.  I had to go sit down in the corner of the room and encourage her from the floor.  

When Kyle arrived, he had the cord wrapped around his neck. Karis did, too.  That is why she wasn't reacting at the doctor's office during the stress testing.  So when the doctor advised Lena to slow down to undo the umbilical cord, I went on instant alert.  When the doctor unwrapped the umbilical cord the SECOND time, I breathed a big sigh of relief. 

The girls have been a bit cranky.  We've been trying to give them as much attention as possible, but it is noticeable that they are missing love from us as we (Lena) has to feed Kyle.  We'll keep trying.  Glad "Nana" will be visiting next week to add in an extra dose of love to the girls.

Here is a quick video of the sweet guy.....

Mother's Day

A family picture from church Sunday morning.  Our last day as a family of four!

We went to a friend's house the night before and stayed out past the girls' bedtime.  Early Sunday morning around 5 am, both girls woke up which is very rare for them to do.  They slept in that morning so we went to the later church service.  Karis was her normal self but Makena was off.  She was not happy that day and when I tried to drop her off at her Sunday School class, she cried.  I could tell she wasn't herself so I didn't leave her in class.  I didn't bring the stroller with me and she didn't want to walk so I ended up carrying her a lot.  She's no feather either, weighing around 25 lbs.  I made her walk as much as I could but then I carried her -- back down to the adult service, back up to pick up Karis and then back down to the parking lot.  At one point when I was carrying her, I thought to myself, "This is so going to put me in labor!"  And sure enough... at 5:30pm, my water broke!

The Truth Is Out

I'm not sure how he does it, but Derek is a stern disciplinarian but also the biggest softy to his little girls. They simply love and adore him, and I know they'll one day appreciate his loving discipline.  I watch his relationship with them and it assures me that they'll grow up to be amazing women with such a positive and loving male figure in their lives.

Derek's Ministerial Licensing Ceremony

On March 25, we celebrated Derek becoming a licensed pastor.  Saddleback requires candidates to go through an extensive process before receiving their ministerial license.  Some of the things include completing seminary classes, classes at Saddleback, counseling hours, a theological paper and an interview.  Derek completed the long process and recently passed the interview with flying colors.

He invited family, friends and co-workers to celebrate.  It was great to see people from different areas of his life who met him at different points in this process.   Here are some pictures of the ceremony.

Getting ready for a special night

Listening to the lead pastors share what it means to be a licensed pastor

Julie and Makena praying

Trying to keep quiet during the service

Our campus pastor shared some words of encouragement for Derek

The floor was open to share how Derek has touched their lives.  Many shared ... and shed tears.

Praying for Derek

Derek among his fellow licensed pastors

Our family

Derek's co-workers

A photo with Nana

A dessert reception I created for our guests

Counting Down the Days for Baby Brother's Arrival

We're in the home stretch!

This is me a few weeks ago at 34 weeks (I had to squeeze in at least one photo of me pregnant).

Just one short week and we'll get to meet baby brother.  One change I found out today is that I will be induced on Tuesday, May 15th and not on Monday.

I don't know if the girls know that a big family change is just around the corner.  One thing Makena does know is that I can no longer carry her.  She will often ask to be held, but when I say I can't she'll pat my belly and say, "Baby brother."  She knows baby brother makes momma tired.  She also knows she has to wait for Daddy to be held.  Check out the video...

A Day at The San Diego Zoo

We took the girls to the zoo today.  They were so excited to see all kinds of animals.  The drive was a little long (about two hours), but we spent almost five hours there.  We met up with Derek's childhood friend and his daughter who live near the zoo.  Afterwards, we went to a Chicago pizza place for dinner.  

I was hesitant to go to the zoo because I thought all the walking was going to put me in labor.  But it actually wasn't that bad.  Derek pushed the loaded double stroller and held the girls when they wanted to be held.  Derek's friend helped out a lot too.  I just wore comfy shoes and carried my big belly and the camera.

Derek and Makena checking out the hippo

A big gorilla standing his ground

Watching the gorillas play

Smile!

Little fuzzy baby ducks

Ready, set, dive!

Watching the zebra

The giraffes

Daddies and daughters

I love seeing things through the eyes of children

Rhino 

Pushing 120 lbs of kids

Makena and her friend, Lily

It was great having Lily with us.  She's seven years old and enjoyed watching after the girls.  Having all three girls with us reminded me of my family and what it must have been like when my parents went out with us.  The age differences were similar with my oldest sister being 7 years older and my middle sister being 11 months older than me.

A skytram ride to end our time at the zoo

Party Time!

Last night we went to a friend's 3-year old birthday party.  It was a fun family time at Pump It Up.  The girls had a great time.  Here are some pics of our evening.