4 Months!!

I can't believe it, but Cavin turned four months on December 20th! He is a growing boy! He loves to sit and stand up. Most of the time he will fuss or scream if you try to lay him down while holding him! He does love to lay and play on his playmat! He has also rolled over several times. He also still loves to talk! His other biggest adventure has been starting to eat cereal with a spoon! After just a few bites he had it down and loves to eat his cereal in the mornings and evenings before bedtime!

Here are his stats and some cute pictures--the professional ones are from his 3 month pics.

Weight: 13 Pounds (25th Percentile)
Length: 25 inches (50th Percentile)

Merry Christmas from the Richards!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Cavin's First of Four!

On the Ground Before Takeoff!

Last Monday we flew to Oklahoma City to celebrate Christmas with Matt's family. This was Cavin's first time flying, and he did great! He slept most of the way there and ate most of the way home! We enjoyed our time with family and some time to just relax.

I can tell Cavin definitely spent three days straight with Daddy. As Matt was getting ready for work Thursday morning Cavin watched him everywhere he went until he walked out the front door. Then he immediately got fussy. He did the same thing today. I am glad he loves his Daddy so!

Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest, but we forgot the diaper bag at home which is where the camera was!

We're up in the air!

Video from Matt

If you keep up with our blog, you may remember me talking about Matt Chandler after our Dallas trip a while back. If not, here's a brief recap of who he is.

Matt Chandler was my Matt's college minister while my Matt was attending Abilene Christian University for a year and a half. Then both Matt's moved to Dallas! Every Monday night Prestonwood Baptist church (the Baptidome!) hosted an event geared for college age students. Matt Chandler was the speaker, and its where I met my Matt, the first week I was in Dallas. We went most every week that year, drawn to the raw honesty and boldness of Chandler's words. He is a gifted speaker to say the least. He is the senior minister of The Village Church in Dallas, TX.

On Thanksgiving Day, Matt Chandler suffered a seisure that landed him in the hospital, which led to the discovery of a brain tumor, which could be cancerous. A few days before surgery to remove the brain tumor, here is what Chandler has to say about it. This video is short, but very powerful. Please watch it and please join the thousands of believers all over the world who are lifting him up in prayer.

Video from Matt

You Are For Me -- Kari Jobe

Matt and I both love this song, especially the moving lyrics by Kari Jobe. The chorus really spoke to our hearts, "I know that You are for me." So many times in a world full of bad things and hurt, we forget or don't truly believe that God is for us.

So faithful, so constant, so loving and so true

So wonderful in all you do

You fill me, You see me

You know my every move

You love for me to sing to you

I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me

I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness

And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart

To remind me who You are

So patient, so gracious, so merciful and true

So powerful in all You do

You fill me, You see me

You know my every move

You love for me to sing to you

Lord, I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me

I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness

And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart

To remind me who You are

Cavin Discovered his "Outside" Voice!

So Cavin loves to be talked to and to talk in response. Last night we were watching t.v. and he discovered his "outside" voice, it was hilarious! Its not the greatest video, I just grabbed our camera that was nearby and you can totally hear the t.v. in the background, but its the best one I got. Anytime I put the camera in his line of vision he would get distracted and just stare at the camera! He's too cute! He talked like this for a good 15 minutes!

Dallas, Texas

Last Tuesday, November 2, we began our trip to Dallas by driving to Dexter, MO for the night. My Grammy and family live there and for some of my cousins, it was their first time meeting Cavin. Plus, we got to eat some Dexter BBQ Ribs, some of the best ribs out there. It was good to spend time with family and it really helped to break up our trip.

Wednesday morning we got up and left pretty early so we could meet DK in Conway, AR for lunch. DK was a student at Vienna Christian School, we coached him in basketball, he spent over a month with us the summer of 2007, and he spent a good amount of time at our apartment in Vienna eating cookies and playing playstation with Matt and other boys from VCS! It had been way to long since we had seen DK so it was great to catch up. DK loves little kiddos and it was also his first time to meet and love on Cavin. A perfect stop to break up our 8 hour drive!

Our primary reason for travelling to Dallas was to attend the Right Now conference at Irving Bible Church, although friends and food were both close seconds! The conference was amazing. Kari Jobe led worship. It has been a long time since I have been a part of such powerful worship, since I have been brought to humbling tears before the presence of my Savior.

Francis Chan, George Barna, Kay Warren, Matt Chandler and Donald Miller were the main speakers. We were excited to hear Matt Chandler again. While in college in Dallas we attended a Dallas/Fort Worth event on Monday nights for college age students where Matt was the speaker. We were both truly encouraged and challenged as all the speakers bodly spoke about leadership as God had put on their hearts.

Matt Chandler hasn't changed at all, I love the way he preaches the Scriptures. He doesn't water them down, he's passionate, and he speaks boldly. He is the pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, Texas, a church of around 8,000 people, primarily made up of 20 something year olds. Here's the website, I challenge you to check it out, podcast his sermons, listen to him preach. I guarantee you will be challenged and encouraged in your faith.

www.thevillagechurch.net

We were also able to attend worship services at The Branch, the church I used to work with and that Matt and I were children's ministry leaders at. It is a church that averages 1,500 people each weekend. It was great to walk in the church after being going for over two years and the preaching minister, Chris still remembered us. Granted he didn't remember our first names, but he knew our faces and knew we had been children's ministry leaders in his church. We had a nice visit with Chris and were able to see some of our good friends from our old small group as well as catch up with some people who supported us financially while in Vienna. Chris is also a gifted preacher, and it was his sermon series on Joshua that really challenged us to ACT on our call to be missionaries.

Matt's mom was able to drive down from Oklahoma City to babysit Cavin while we attended the conference on Friday and Saturday, which was nice for us, and Grandma as well! Cavin got to be spoiled! We also stopped on our way home on Sunday in Oklahoma City to eat a late breakfast with Uncle Mitch at IHOP!

This is why Cavin knows how to make so many funny faces!

A few other highlights from the trip...

-Cavin chuckled for the first time!! Its so cute!

-Only in Texas....a waffle iron that produces waffles shaped like Texas. No joke! Here's a picture for proof!

-Freebirds and Snuffers! (Restaurants)

Daddy and Cavin at Snuffers and yes, we are sitting outside!!

-Fresca at Pei Wei! (I LOVE Fresca, but its never a fountain drink, but they had it!)

-Upper 70's and even 80 and 81 degree weather!!

All in all, it was good to visit what is still to us, our home Stateside.

Many Have Asked, You May Be Wondering...Here's the Answer!

Adoption

Yes, we are still adopting.

With all of the ups and downs with my pregnancy we decided to put the adoption on hold until we had a healthy baby. Now that Cavin is here, cute as can be and perfectly healthy, we are ready to roll.

When?

As soon as we can get a few things in order. One being insurance. With Matt being a minister, insurance is not provided so we are currently looking for a plan that best suits us that we can afford. Secondly, money. We still don't have quite enough for the initial fee and our homestudy. We've been working on it, but with me staying at home with Cavin, it has been hard with only one income.

Once we have our insurance figured out and our money for the initial costs, we will begin the process.

From there we will be fundraising and applying for grants to cover the additional costs.

God continues to press this child on our hearts and we are eager to begin the process to bring him or her home! We would like to have him or her as part of our family before next Christmas.

Right now we stand glaring at some pretty big obstacles, but we have been called by a mighty God and we know he will provide in all ways.

Please be praying for us as we make decisions on insurance and look to find the finances to get the ball rolling.

9 Weeks!

So last Wednesday we took Cavin for his 2 month shots. Not so fun for mommy, but in all reality, it wasn't so bad. Anyways, he weighed 11 pounds and was 23 inches long now! He's a growing boy!

Pumpkin Patch

We met some friends today at the pumpkin patch. It was fun, although a bit chilly! It will be even more fun when our kiddos are older!

Its Been A Busy Week

Cavin has had a super busy week!

Tuesday: Shopping with Grandma

Wednesday: Doctor's appointments and church

Thursday: Birthday Party and MU/Nebraska Football game....yes, in the rain...

Matt put him in our front carrier, then winter coat, then a poncho (it zipped so he could breath...) He was completely dry the whole time...don't worry. Cavin was awake most of the game and was content until he got hungry! So I had to leave a little early to go feed him and ended up missing the most exciting part!

Friday/Saturday: SuperStart! CIY Conference for 4th, 5th and 6th graders.

A good time was had by all. The kiddos loved on Cavin, which was super cute! Worship with Yancy was awesome as always. The topic was "Good Works" a great thing for preteens to learn about so they can continue to develop heats of service. Totally fit into what Matt's been trying to establish within his ministry--getting the kids serving. Only con: Cavin only slept 4 hours Friday night so I was super tired Saturday!

Sunday: Church all morning, naptime for Cavin in the afternoon while mommy and daddy put the house back together, then small group this evening!

I wish I could say this weeks going to be slower, but its not! Cavin's doing great with all the chaos, which is good, because I love being busy!

I would add pictures, but blogger still won't let me...bummer because I have some cute ones!

7 Weeks!

Tomorrow, Thursday, October 8 Cavin will be 7 weeks old! I can't believe it! He weighed in at 10 pounds 3 ounces today and was 23 inches long! He has filled out but is still long and skinny!

When Cavin is awake he is NEVER still. He is always moving! He loves to be talked to and has lots of smiles to share. He's also really starting to talk himself which is so cute! He is so much like his daddy, in looks and personality. He is very easy going and laid back.

I have some cute pictures that I've been trying to upload the past few days, but somethings up with blogger and it won't let me.

It's been a busy week for Cavin and I! I have thoroughly enjoyed being out and about and being busy! Cavin is a great baby and has been perfect in all of our outings. We have truly been blessed with a very easy baby!

Smiles!

Cavin has been smiling for a while now, but at some point this past week he realized what he was actually doing! This morning he was hanging out in his highchair while I ate breakfast. When I was finished I picked him up and started talking to him as usual. However today, I received a big grin and some cooing. It absolutely melted my heart. I'll try to get a picture of his cute smile to post in the days to come...

5 Weeks!!

Stats:

Length: 21 and 3/4 inches! He's grown 1/2 an inch!

Weight: 9 pounds 4 ounces! Still no chub though....

Cavin is definitely filling out as he's putting on the weight. He can no longer fit into most NB clothes except for short outfits because they are too short! So he can finally wear all of his cute 0-3 month clothes! I keep waiting for a roll or two to form somewhere on his body, but no such luck. He's still skinny and long!

Over the past week he has discovered his tongue and voice! Both are super cute.

4 Weeks!

Sorry I didn't get this updated yesterday, but I haven't been feeling well. Today isn't much better, but since Matt is home I am able to just lay in bed and do as I please. I am so thankful to Matt for this! I am not sure what is wrong with me, but my whole body just aches. The only thing we can think of is all of the activity is finally catching up with my weak and exhausted body. Even though Cavin typically does great at night, he is still up every 3-4 hours to eat which keeps me awake for 30-45 minutes. I am hoping after a hot shower and bath that I will fill up to attending the drive in movie night at the church tonight!

Anyways, yesterday our little munchkin turned 4 weeks old! We can't believe it has already been 4 weeks! We are still in awe of God's grace--that we have this perfect little baby, who is ours, for always, to love and take care of. We continue to praise God for our little miracle baby!

Here are Cavin's 4 week stats:

Length: 21 and 1/4 inches (No change from 3 weeks!)

Weight: 8 pounds and 10 ounces! Thats right, in the past week our little pig has put on close to a pound!

We're celebrating by moving up to number 1 diapers!! Lol.

Hopefully soon I will be feeling better and I'll post some new pics of Cavin.

Road Trip to OKC

We left Wednesday night at 10:30 for Cavin's first road trip. Destination: Yukon, Oklahoma which is a suburb of Oklahoma City. Although it only took a little over 7 hours of driving time our total trip time with feedings was 11 hours! It was a long night!

We went for three reasons.

A good friend of mine, who was actually a bridesmaid in our wedding, was getting married. It was so good to see her and some other girlfriends from college! At the same time, it was a bummer some of our other good friends weren't able to make it.

Secondly, Cavin finally got to meet his Uncle Mitch!

And, Cavin got to meet Janette, the mother of Matt's good friend Cavin who was killed in a car accident 11 years go. This is who we named our Cavin after. In our conversation it came up how most people are confused with the name Cavin and are unsure how to pronounce it. Janette said she finally started telling people its pronounced like Kevin only with a thick Oklahoman accent! Loved it!

Highlights from the trip:

-Cavin did great on the road...he ate and slept the entire way there and back!

-Cavin got to see his Grandpa Richards one more time before he flew back to Alaska.

-We got to see and Cavin was able to meet for the first time, the Palacios family. They live two
houses down from where Matt grew up and are good family friends. Plus, their son Roger was died in the same car accident as Cavin. So it was meaningful for them to meet our Cavin as well.

-Mommy got to visit The North Pole City. Its my favorite Christmas store! I got 4 new ornaments for our tree!

-We were all able to spend time with Matt's family who lives in the OKC area.

-We got to eat at Johnny Carino's! They have a spicy bacon pasta that I love. I have tried to duplicate it at home, but haven't quite mastered it yet.

-Lots of time with Matt. I hate road trips, I'd much rather fly, but I love the conversation and worship time with Matt.

A Belated 3 Week Update!

So last Thursday Cavin turned 3 weeks old! Can't believe it! He got to meet his new pediatrian on Wednedsay. We had to switch because the first pediatrician didn't think there was anything wrong with Cavin projectile vomiting and spitting up a ton, sometimes up to 8 times after feedings. The new pediatrician diagnosed Cavin with reflux and sent us to get an ultrasound done to make sure he didn't have pyloric stenosis: a disorder in which the muscle in the lower part of the stomach, called the pylorus, builds up and blocks the flow of food into the small intestine. Thankfully that is NOT the case, Cavin just has really bad gastric reflux.

Anyways, here are his three week stats!

Length: 21 and 1/4 inches! He's already grown an inch!

Weight: 7 pounds 11 ounces. We're working on gaining more...but its hard when he spits up most of what he eats!

Two Weeks!

Today is Cavin's 2 week birthday! He had his two week appointment with his pediatrician and here are his new stats!

Weight: 7 pounds and 7.5 ounces

Length: 21 inches

He's a growing boy! Both Matt and I laughed when we saw the percentiles he's in, 17th for weight and 63rd for length! He's definitely a long and skinny baby!

Cavin's Nursery

Its hard to get good pictures of Cavin's nursery because its a pretty small room and the doorway is in a bad spot for picture taking! But these are the best we got. The 4th wall missing is mostly closet doors so we figured we didn't need to put up pictures of them!

Of course we decorated in a sports theme. Both Matt and I love sports and we are hoping Cavin will as well. I saw this bedding and loved its classy look mixed with the sports.

We made the circles out of insulation board so they are "3d" on the walls. This way I can move them as much as I want and reuse them if we ever move.

I love my green corduroy curtains with white buttons on the tabs! Its hard to see their green color in this picture with the sun coming in.

We had a big debate over what to put over the window. Matt wanted to put our house rules there: 1. Love God 2. Love People and 3. Love Sports. I wanted something with a little more meaning!

We decided on Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." Here's why.

This is one of my favorite verses out of the Bible. The Israelites had just witnessed God's power through the plagues in Egypt and the miracle of their escape. Now they turn back and see the Egyptian army pursuing them and they immediately forget the display of God's power they witnessed just moments before. Instead of remembering and standing firm in their faith that God will continue to deliver them, they immediately begin to doubt and become fearful.

"10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

I wish we could have fit all of verse 13 on his wall as well. These verses were my stronghold throughout this pregnancy. Like the Israelites, I often forgot God's power and faithfulness and began to fear and doubt instead. These verses helped me to remember there is nothing I can do but be still, stand firm in my faith, allow God to fight for me, and He WILL-- He HAS delivered me.

48 Hours...

And only two bottles!! It looks like we've made the transition to nursing!

Now to figure out what I am eating that is causing Cavin to spit up... I have decided to eliminate dairy products and chocolate as much as I can. This will not be easy for me as I love milk, ice cream, cheese, yogurt and all things dairy! But Matt was lactose intolerant as a little guy, and I am wondering if this isn't the case with Cavin as well. So we'll see if I can handle it and if it makes Cavin any better!

We are still in awe of our little guy. We can't believe he's finally here and he's ours to keep. We are so in love with him and continue to praise our Heavenly Father who truly gives perfect gifts.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17

A Few Prayer Requests

1. For Cavin to nurse. While he had jaundice we couldn't get him to nurse at all, even after trying everything. We couldn't even get him to want a bottle, we had to force feed him so he wouldn't drop any more weight. Now that the jaundice is over we're trying to transition back to nursing from the bottle. Its a tough battle! Please pray for mommy to have lots of patience and for Cavin to make the switch!

2. My healing....

The following is a summary of what happened on Thursday, August 20th....read at your own risk!

Thursday morning we went to the doctor hoping to have Cavin that day. His movement had decreased and I wasn't sleeping at night worrying about it. I was dilated to a 6 and Dr. T agreed it was time and I was admitted.

Start: 10:00 a.m.

As soon as they put the monitor on my tummy they noticed big variables (drops) in Cavin's heartbeat. Instead of waiting to break my water as planned, Dr. T decided it was best to break it then (11:00) and get the show on the road. Immediately after breaking my water my contractions starting coming 2-3 minutes apart and were lasting a good 45 seconds.

After almost two hours I was checked and there had been no change in my cervix. There were however, still frequent drops with Cavin's heartbeat. Dr. T wanted to increase the pitocin (I had started at a 2--didn't want much of that stuff going natural!) by two every 30 minutes. They needed to get Cavin out as soon as possible.

I decided with a rushed labor process, not being allowed out of bed at all, and stress over worrying about Cavin, to have an epidural so they could speed things up as much as needed. I did ask for the lowest dose so I could still feel my legs, contractions, pressure and the sort.

After two hours I was completely dilated and effaced and we were ready to start pushing as soon as Dr. T could get there. I pushed for about 45 minutes before Dr. T got there, practicing pushing and working on bringing Cavin's head down. Once Dr. T came in the room, the real pushing began and 45 minutes later Cavin was born!

Cavin came out side ways-horizontal instead of vertical like babies are supposed to come out. The cord was wrapped around his neck, his body, and one of his legs. We were very fortunate not to have lost him.

The instant he came out he began crying and I began weeping. There is no way to describe what I felt when I heard his cry and saw him kicking and moving. As images from the triplets birth flashed through my mind and heart, I welcomed and wept over my new-and perfect son.

Finished: 8:38 p.m.

It took over an hour for Dr. T to put me back together again due to Cavin coming out sideways. At this point I was so thankful I had the epidural! The first time they got me up I passed out. My body just couldn't handle anymore.

Yesterday when we were at the hospital getting Cavin's blood work done a mommy and her newborn were being discharged. The mom was bending over and talking to her little girl and walking with ease. It had been a week for me and it hurt to take a step, sit, and do basically anything. Needless to say I was quite jealous!

Clothes!

We're finally getting to dress Cavin in all of his cute clothes! Its funny how big the newborn clothes are on him--they need to make slim sizes for newborns!!

This outfit is from Grandma Clapham who loves Mickey Mouse!This one is just because its cute! But this was Cavin's first time laying in his crib in the nursery!

Answered Prayer!

After being off phototherapy for the past 24 hours we were delighted to hear that Cavin's bilirubin levels went down even more!! Cavin and I's blood war has finally ceased and jaundice should be behind us now!!

We've also been concerned about Cavin's weight, and today he weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces!! We were pretty surprised at how much he had gained since Tuesday! He's been a little pig! 2 more ounces and we'll be back at his birthweight!

Now if mommy can get to feeling better we'll be good to go!

We're in the "Normal" Zone!!

We had to take Cavin to get his bilirubin level tested again today. His levels are now down into the normal category!!!!

This means we can take him off the bilibed at home and snuggle him in our arms as much as we want! I can also start dressing him in all his cute clothes! We'll also be able to take more pictures!

Thank you all for praying with us. God is so faithful and this small trial just adds to the amazing testimony Cavin is to God's love for his children.

We'll take him to get his bilirubin levels tested again tomorrow after being off the lights for 24 hours to make sure he is able to maintain.

Going Home!

Cavin's bilirubin levels were down this morning so we'll be able to go home later this afternoon! He will still be on the bilibed at home, at least for the next 24 hours, but we are so excited to be home again!

His levels are just back into the normal range now so we're keeping him on the bilibed so we don't have to repeat this past weekend. (Taking him off the lights and his levels spiking.) We're hoping and praying our red blood cells will end their battle soon!