Sophie & Maw-Maw

This was written yesterday but blogspot has been a major pain and had all kinds of errors...very frustrating!

It's been a while since I've had time to post, so this might be as scatter-brained as I feel right now! The last time I blogged, I said that we were waiting for the arrival of Sophie Lynn. Well, she finally arrived last Wednesday evening after a long day of labor for Jodi (Mark's sister). After attempts were made to meet Sophie all day through contractions and drugs, the moment finally came by c-section. Sophie was 8 pounds, 4 ounces and absolutely beautiful! She is now home with mommy and daddy and doing great. Kendyll is once again obsessed with a baby cousin of her own, and tells everyone she sees about her. It really is the most precious thing to watch your own child love a baby that much. I can only imagine what she will be like with her next sibling. (Carlie, on the other hand, doesn't care much either way, although she has been rocking and loving Braden more lately, so there is hope!)

The day Sophie was born was a day of rejoicing for the Jacobs family, and also a very hard day for my side of the family. We got the phone call you always dread getting....my grandmother (Maw-Maw), who was going in for a routine "stint" surgery had suffered a heart attack and was not expected to live through the night.

It was amazing to feel all of the emotions related to the beginning and the end of life in the same few hours. Rejoicing over life He gives, and mourning over life that might end. As my sister so eloquently wrote in her blog, He is the Author of Life, the Beginning and the End, and we are comforted by that and praise Him for that regardless of the outcome. But, we are thankful that my sweet grandmother is now doing remarkably well and has been named a "miracle" by the doctors who worked to give her life again. It's always amazing to watch the Lord work and to witness His miracles here on earth!

So, our week has been filled with two-hour car trips to visit my grandmother, my grandfather, and my mom, as she cares for them both. We have had the blessing of lots of family time because of this, though, which is always so wonderful. And, as Cassie (my other sister) said in her blog, it is in times like these that you truly appreciate who you have in your life. I have all of my grandparents living, and not only living, but healthy, happy, and busy people! They are such a big part of our lives, but I am now vowing to make them an even bigger part. It was interesting that when we got the phone call that night, that I couldn't remember specifically the last day I had talked with my grandmother. That means it had been too long....

But, since she's been better, we have been able to do other fun things around home, especially with my sisters and their husbands, who were off of school this week. We visited the Arboretum and attempted tulip pictures for the fourth year. I'll post some soon, if they turn out at all! We've also had family fun shopping at the outlets, eating together (our favorite thing to do), bowling, and just hanging out. Nothing's better than time with your family (and especially with your new niece and nephew!!). We were able to visit Sophie and Brad & Jodi a couple of times over the week and steal some sweet newborn hugs and kisses. There really is nothing better than that sweet soft skin of a newborn's cheek (either kind of cheek!)

So, we are now entering a catch-up weekend, we hope! After one last trip to the hospital tomorrow morning, we are planning time to relax, clean, reorganize, and have some downtime. Mark's mom is taking a break from Sophie-watching to come Kendyll-and-Carlie-sit on Saturday so Mark and I can have a date day/night and just be together. Those are the best little surprises and the greatest thing about grandparents!!

I'm sure there are other updates to make, but I am so tired I can't think of anything else! I will be back soon with tulip pictures, as well as some family pictures we had made this week too! (By the way, that was quite an accomplishment to get any of the four of us---Carlie was in a crying mood and Kendyll was in the mood to dance all over the place.....so, we'll see what we end up with!)

Fun weekend wishes for you all!