Big Girl!

Molly was 9 lb 5 oz at her check up this morning. She's gained a whole pound! This is Molly with her new little friend, Jorja. Doesn't Molly look big? Jorja was 1 day old in this picture, and Molly was 2 weeks.
This is Jorja's mommy Julie.

New Life

Ryan's cousin Julie passed away this morning. She had battled Ewing's sarcoma cancer for three years. I know that many of you have prayed for her. Please pray for strength and peace for her family. She was 22 years old. She shared with us some time ago that she had placed her faith in Jesus and knew that she'd be in heaven. Ryan's grandma was with her when she passed away and told her to go to God.

Mark Schultz has a great song called I Am. It tells of God's attributes. Two lines are especially meaningful to me in reminding me that God gives new life. One says, "I am the breath of all creation," and the other, "I am... the healer of the broken." It was God that gave Julie initial breath, and it is He that gives her breath in heaven. He's also the one who has healed her striken body and made it whole and more perfect than can be imagined.

It is sad to think about how fallen is this world into which our little Molly was born. There is so much potential for evil and pain. I pray quite often that God would protect her from these things. The greatest comfort is that no matter what this life holds, Molly has been born into eternity. We pray that she would choose to follow the Lord. We know that if she does, this life is just temporary, but she is guaranteed a wonderful inheritance forever. That is the hope we have in the midst of this world of suffering.

We also have great news of new life! My friend Julie had her baby Georgia just after noon today. We plan to go visit her tomorrow, so that Molly can meet her new little playmate!

I was reading John 1 today. At the end of the chapter, Jesus is calling the disciples to follow Him. He tells Simon that his name will now be Peter. I was struck by how the disciples immediately gained a new identity. Simon went from being known as a fisherman to having a new name given by Jesus and being known as a follower of Jesus. He gave up his livelihood and former life to take on a life of moment by moment obedience. Our lives should be the same!

Molly is still doing super! She is a delight to us. She is a very efficient eater! She doesn't nurse for very long each time (usually less than 10 minutes), but she has lots and lots of wet and messy diapers (this is the indication that she is getting enough to eat). She also seems to be getting bigger. She is a very good sleeper. I am praying that she continues to be this way!

Mom and I were posing Molly in her pretty white dress. This is her at 12 days old!

Visit to Michigan

We bought tickets to Michigan for Thanksgiving week. We're flying in on Sunday and leaving Friday morning. We'd love to see our friends and family in the Detroit area, Lansing, and GR. Just wanted to let you all know that we'd be around then. We'll have a quiet family Christmas here in TX. We may go to Austin for a couple nights.

I'm going to try to get to Dayton to visit friends there sometime in the winter or spring. Remember, we're always up for visitors here. All of our runner friends, don't forget about the two marathons down here: http://www.cowtownmarathon.org and www.runtherock.com

Life with the Kelly's

Ryan went back to work on Wednesday. Right now, his job is much more stressful than mine. He has 12 hour days of inner city teaching and coaching. He was out for the baby's birth for three days. He has my empathy. I know that first year teaching is very difficult, especially when a sub covers your classes for several days. Molly and I pray for her daddy throughout the day, especially in the early morning when he's driving to work and from 8:35 to 1:15 when I know he's teaching. After 1:15 he has lunch, his planning period, and volleyball. The last period of the day all of the volleyball coaches run a practice session with many of the players. Many athletes have an athletic period during the school day. His day ends anywhere from 6 to 9 depending upon when practice is over and whether he has a meeting or volleyball match.

His team had a great week. They won their matches on Tuesday night and Friday night. This morning they won their first match in a tournament. One of his starters was out this morning. These were their first wins, and so everyone is excited. Molly and I made it out for the tournament this morning. I want to get out and do things, but I want to protect her from too many germs also. We went to the 8:00 match, and there were not many people in the stands yet.

The baby is very content. She is eating and sleeping really well. I'm praying that she will continue to have a spirit of joy and peace. I have not had any baby blues yet. I'm praying that my emotions would continue to be stable! Ryan is hoping for that, too! We're hoping that the honeymoon isn't ending soon!

Molly had a couple appointments at the pediatrician this week. They were just standard check ups and weight checks. On Tuesday she was down from her birth weight of 8 lb 5 oz to 7 lb 14 oz. By Thursday she was back up to 8 lb 3.5 oz. She is probably back to her birth weight by now.

I have been feeling a little weak. I lost a lot of blood at delivery and was closely monitored at the hospital. It is taking me awhile to feel strong. Molly is also taking a lot of my calories. She is a good nurser. I'm trying to eat a lot.

My parents have been helping us out a lot. They've been helping with laundry, ironing, meals, and lawn mowing. I'm so thankful! Our friends Julie and Brian also brought us a meal this week. Julie is going to be induced with her baby this Friday. Molly will have a little playmate!

Finally home!

Welcome home party! (Harrisons and Grandparents)

Beautiful roses from sweet husband

Relaxing with Grandpa Ritter

Exciting first bath

Molly in a pretty pink dress

Visitors

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA RITTER
PROUD DADDY
COACH BURNS
JULIE AND BRIAN
GRANDPA KELLY

Precious Pics

Change of plans

Thank you all so much for praying! I've gotten several e-mails from friends today. I decided yesterday to cancel my induction. I was dreading it and had no peace about it. I was praying for God's wisdom yesterday and felt like I should cancel it. I believe that inductions are very important if something is wrong, but there is nothing wrong with my baby or my body. She's just slow in coming!

Generations of women in my family have given birth to babies of all sizes (my dad was 10lb 2 oz, I was 9 lb, and my great grandmother gave birth to 18 lb of triplets!). They all survived without medical interventions! I am trusting God to bring the baby at the right time. He brought about the pregnancy in His time. He also provided a job for Ryan and a buyer for our house this summer. Who I am to second guess His timing for the baby's birth?

Thanks for the prayers! It is really difficult to make a decision like this, and I hope that she comes soon so that I don't have to consider being induced because she's REALLY late!

Great day for MSU fans

Mom and Dad came over today to watch MSU beat UAB. Then, U of M was defeated by Appalachain State. I'm not sure which is sweeter: seeing our team win or our rival deflated.

God blessed me through Ryan this morning. This past week I have been writing down scriptures to use as motivation and perspective during labor. I had been thinking about and searching for a particular verse all week but was unable to find it. This morning, I asked Ryan what he had read in the Bible. He said that he had a couple verses for me. The first one he read was the one for which I had been looking! How sweet that God would unite Ryan and me in this way. Here's the verse: Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:3

I have an appointment at the hospital Tuesday morning to have my water broken. That should start my labor, but if it doesn't I'll have to receive pitocin. I definitely hope to go into labor naturally before then. The doctor doesn't want me to go too late without having the baby though. I'm having a really hard time with the idea of being induced. I understand that I am very blessed to have no other complications. Many women have to face scheduled C-sections. However, if I do have to receive the pitocin, the contractions will likely be much more intense than those that would occur naturally. Pitocin can also cause the baby's heartrate to drop and increases the likelihood of a C-section. If I receive pitocin, I cannot walk about during labor but must be continously monitored and will be tethered to the machine. So, I am facing a lot of fears right now. However, I need to remember the verse God gave us and recognize that my troubles are so small compared to His suffering for us. Please pray that I go into labor naturally!