Date Night

Well, Kurt and I got gussied up and went on a date the other night for the first time since Madelyn was born. He was invited to a couple of cocktail parties through work, so Grandma O. came over to watch Maddie (thank God for our Grandmas!!) and I ventured outside of my sweatpants and ponytail and into an actual dress and lipgloss. Shocking! But I think we did a pretty good job :) We had a great time, and Maddie and Grandma did just fine without us. Maybe we'll go out more often...!

Much love,
Kim

Button

Look at that little face! I think I can say completely objectively that hers is the cutest little face to ever grace the planet. Our good friend Jessica took this photo of Maddie, and I must give her credit. She's a fabulous photographer, but then she did have a fabulous subject :)

Enjoy!
Kim

a book review by Madelyn Grace...

Hey all~

So it's been taking me a while to finish up more of the chronological videos - the sequels to the previous video I posted. Until then, there are little ones I'll share so I can do my best to keep up.

Ok, now Maddie isn't really reviewing books, but she sure did get talkative when Kim was reading her this book. She's so cute and such the little blessing in our family... even when she pouts or cries.

Enjoy!





~Kurt

Madelyn of the Various and Sundry Nicknames

It occurred to me today that poor little Madelyn might have difficulty when it comes time to go to Kindergarten and learn to spell her name. It's not that "Madelyn" is so hard to spell...it's more that she might not know exactly what her name is because we rarely use it! And to think of all the hours we spent pondering and debating over what to name her :)

The following are a mere sampling:

Maddie
Maddiecakes (thanks to Auntie Kelsie)
Button (also thanks to Auntie Kelsie)
Little Lamb (Gramma O's favorite)
Precious Lamb (frequent derivation of the above)
Juicy Girl
Sweet Girl (Daddy's favorite)
Drooly McDroolerson (becoming entirely too fitting)
Snebly (Grampa B's favorite)
Sweatheart
Bright Eyes (which is, in itself, a nickname of one of my baby nicknames "Bright Eyes the Guinea Pig"...see my father for an explanation!)
Sugar
and, of course, the ever descriptive "Baby"

This topic begs the question: if a nickname is significantly longer than the name itself, is it by definition a nickname?

Discuss.

Much love,
Kimberlee (AKA: Kim, Kimmie, Honey, Sweets, Babe, Love, and Babymama)

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

More photos of Madelyn sleeping... I know, I know! Many of you are probably wondering if she's ever awake. I assure you that she is often awake, and Kurt has lots of video to prove it (coming your way soon, says he). I just love the sleeping photos because I so love sleeping with her. I love feeling her breathing get heavier and her little muscles relax. And I love that she trusts me enough to fall asleep on me. She also makes these great little noises when she sleeps...little squeaks and sighs and sometimes even little giggle precursors. It's the best!

Much love,
Kim

the wonderful life of Maddie... vol. 1

Ok all~

It's been a long while since I've posted. Life for me has been moving at full throttle. I'm so thankful for so many things right now, I won't take the time to list them all.

Some of the highlights?

I'm successful at a job I enjoy in a company I love, we've got a house that keeps us warm and dry, and most of all, I've got an amazing family that has grown since last Thanksgiving.

Our sweet girl has been with us for while now and I'm finally getting to the posting of this video... I guess I had to finish it first. It's the first part of her little adventure. I'll be adding more videos as I get them completed.

Enjoy!

~Kurt

Gift Wrapped Moby Style

Madelyn will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. 10 weeks!! I can hardly believe that she's been with us (this side of the womb, that is) for that long. Let me just say for the official record that knowing her more than makes up for any and all of the discomforts of pregnancy as well as the pain and trauma of birth. She is such a sweet, cuddly, happy little girl... Kurt and I feel increasingly blessed every day. She is so social these days and loves to smile and chatter with anyone who will give her their undivided attention. She's a good eater and is getting so big! She's nearly 12 pounds and is working on establishing her third chin :) Fortunately, she's still small enough to enjoy cuddling with her parents. She loves to snug up against Mommy's chest in our Moby wrap. She falls asleep almost instantly and then burrows her head under the fabric. So precious... Still my favorite time of day!

Much love,
Kim

Birthing Class Reunion!

Last night, Kurt and I hosted a reunion for our birthing class. Amazingly, all seven couples (and our teacher!) showed up with their little ones, so it was quite a houseful! So fun! We all kind of wondered how our babies would do together in such cozy quarters, but they were such troopers and even endured the torture of us parents putting them through a photo shoot. But look how cute they all are! They were all born within six weeks of each other, and Maddie is the second youngest by one hour. She is also the only girl of the bunch, isn't that wild? I made it quite clear to her that this had better be the only time I find her lying on the floor with six boys :)

Beginning with Madelyn (in her rough and tumble overalls with the red cherries on the front) and moving clockwise, the babies are as follows: Kingston, Xander, Austin, Scout, Noah, and Ian.

Enjoy!

Much love,
Kim

Happy Halloween!

Today was Madelyn's first official holiday. Well, I suppose technically her first official holiday was Columbus Day, but until that holiday gets some candy or fireworks or a big meal, I'm not counting it. I digress.

As you can see, Maddie was a doctor for her first Halloween...complete with little Crocs and everything! Her Aunt Kelsie (who is in her fourth year of medical school) gave her this little outfit before she was born, I think mostly as a gag. But alas, as it turned out, it made a perfect Halloween costume! So fun! She and I walked to adidas to meet Kurt for the last part of the day to trick or treat around his office. Every year adidas hosts trick or treating for the employees' kids. She was the littlest one there and quite a hit. You can see why!


Our first trick or treaters were our friends Took and Jeff and their little guy Max (aka "Maddie's boyfriend"). Have you seen a cuter Tigger?! Incidently, we only got four more trick or treaters the whole night. Sad! Evidently our neighborhood isn't exactly the prime location for trick or treating...

Hope your Halloween was just as sweet!

Much love,
Kim

Attempted Photo Shoot

Well, I attempted to do a photo shoot with Madelyn the other day that ultimately ended up being way better in my head than it was in reality. Kurt is definitely the photographer in our family! But fortunately, Maddie's sweet little face more than makes up for my lack of photographic skill. And in case anyone is wondering, she's wearing a Fuzzi Bunz cloth diaper. Yes, Kurt and I are using cloth diapers with Madelyn. I know, I know... Call us hippies if you must, but we do live in Portland after all. We love our Fuzzi Bunz, but that's a discussion for another post!

Much love,
Kim

CAUTION: Massive Amounts of Cuteness Ahead!

No big news or pontifications... Just want to share some fun photos of Madelyn. Enjoy!

Here you go, Molly!

This post is just for my dear friend Molly Rank who checks our blog "every five minutes" while on five and six hour conference calls... Hopefully this will bring a smile to your face and get you through the tediousness!

Madelyn is ready for her first Halloween, thanks to her great-grandma Johnson who has designated herself the "holiday outfit" purchaser (wait 'til you see her Thanksgiving garb!). I think the little spiders and bats look kinda cute and friendly, but Maddie doesn't seem to be convinced!


Kurt and I are enjoying our daughter more and more each day. She has started to smile at us, and she's right on the cusp of cooing and babbling...so cute! She loves to have us sing songs to her, and if you hold her little hands and clap them along with the beat, that's even better. We've started reading books to her as well, and she really seems to study the illustrations. Actually, she's already attended two of her mom's book clubs! I'll admit it... I'm doing everything I can to ensure that my daughter is a book lover. She can choose whatever other extracurricular activities she wants--sports, theater, music, etc.--but I really hope that she is an avid, eager reader!

Much love,
Kim

Madelyn and Her Parents

Happy Autumn! I LOVE this time of year, and we've had some beautiful, crisp, dry weather this week...perfect for walks through the colorful leaves. Madelyn and I have taken some great walks around Portland with our friends Nick and Beth Dekker who are visiting us from Ohio for a few days. Oh who are we kidding...they're visiting Madelyn and we just happen to be her parents. Today we're heading to the Pumpkin Patch to find Maddie's first pumpkin. How fun! We'll definitely take some photos and post them soon.

Kurt took the above photo one afternoon this past week when he got home from work. This is often how he finds Maddie and me. It's my absolute favorite time of day with her. She is so warm and soft and sweet, and I know she won't stay this little forever. It's also her favorite way to sleep, and there is no shortage of people in her life quite willing to allow her to sleep on their chest as well!

And this photo shows Kurt's fool-proof method of holding Madelyn when she is a bit fussy. I know...how on earth this can be comfortable for her is beyond me, but I promise you that she calms down almost instantly. In fact, most of the time she falls so completely asleep that he can just hold his arm straight out and all four of her limbs are limply hanging there along with all ten of her little fingers. Quite amusing.

Hard to believe that our little girl is nearly five weeks old. We've had some bumps and are sure to have more along the way, but overall it has been the most incredible five weeks of our lives. We have savored every day with Maddie and eagerly look forward to each coming day as she grows and changes and develops her own little (or big!) personality. Thanks for checking in...

Much love,

Kim

Maddie's First Date

So I realize that some of you might take issue with Kurt and me for this next picture. Many parents choose to wait until their daughters are 16 (or 35) before they allow them to begin dating, but alas, Maddie had her first date last Friday night. The very eligible (and handsome) suitor is named Maxwell Smoot. He is the 3 month old son of our good friends Took and Jeff Smoot, and how could Kurt and I resist when he is already courting her with SHOES?! He sent Maddie a pair of sock monkey booties that are just too cute, so we decided that that was criteria enough to betroth the two of them. Really, the four of us parents decided that betrothals are a lost practice in our culture that we plan on resurrecting.

This picture shows off Madelyn's fondness for her fingers and thumbs. She found her hands before we even left the hospital, and her determination to get them solidly lodged in her mouth has only increased since then. Suck that thumb, Maddie! Self-soothe away!
Ok, and this photo is just too cute not to share. Being 3 weeks old is hard work! Madelyn just gets exhausted eating and pooping and growing. I love that she uses her whole body to yawn. Her back arches and her arms shoot out... So sweet! In this picture, she's being held by her great-grandma Johnson (aka Resident Baby Snuggler).

My Cup Runneth Over...

Alas, I am finally sitting down to collect a few thoughts about these past two weeks and share them with you. Thank God for Kurt or none of you would ever know what's going on or what our beautiful little daughter looks like! Here's a fun photo for you. Madelyn has more and more alert times during the day and loves to take in her surroundings. Here is one of her first meetings with her zebra. She really tracks his movements! I think she likes his black and white stripes, and he does have a rather winning smile.
So I'm a mom. Seeing that sentence actually in writing is just crazy! What a whirlwind... sometimes I just look at my precious little girl and I can't believe that she's mine. Everything they say about becoming a parent is absolutely true. There is no love like the love you have for your child... even when you've only known them 13 days. I am totally exhausted and overwhelmed and anxious about these next few weeks, but I am completely smitten with Maddie. When she wakes me up at 3:00 to eat and it's been a couple hours since I've seen her, I find that I miss her. Every little expression and gurgle and wrinkle seems somehow sacred to me, and maybe it is given the miracle of creation and birth and life. I am just so overwhelmed with how thankful I am for her... and for my amazing husband. Kurt redefines the "involved father." He is so wonderful with Maddie and so patient and encouraging with me and my already crazy hormones. I am so blessed to have him and to be riding this crazy ride with him.

I am also so blessed to have each one of you in my life. I fear that it will take me far too long to get individual thank you notes to each of you, but I want to make sure that each of you knows how grateful I am for all of your cards, flowers, gifts, meals, phone calls, visits, etc. Everyone has been so thoughtful and kind and generous, and it has been so fun for Kurt and me to introduce you all to Madelyn.

So there's so much more to say, and I'll try to keep up on postings and photos. Thanks for checking in :)

Much love,
Kim

I get to work tomorrow...

Hey all~

This post probably won't make me as popular with those of you wanting to see more of Madelyn. For that, I'll add a picture at the end.

I'm just writing to share how excited, nervous, and thankful I am to be going in to adidas tomorrow for my first day on the job. It sounds like it's going to be low key, but I don't want to lose any focus starting up. I think I'm going to be hitting the ground running and working with the team very quickly. This is such a great opportunity and I definitely plan on over-delivering.

Okay, enough of the boring stuff.

Here's a little pic of Maddie rockin' her first pair of adidas kicks. Yeah, so they're a little big, but the camera angle is exaggerating things a bit.

Here, it looks like all of our practice swaddling the stuffed animals paid off. With Maddie finally here, she's as snug as a bug and sleeping here and there.
The sweetest thing in life is family. Here are 4 generations, 3 of which are amazing moms that are shining examples of unfaltering love. How sweet it is!

I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to get the video up. My instincts tell me it has something to do with the lack of sleep. It's coming soon... I promise!

Talk again soon.

~Kurt

"When am I going home?" --Madelyn Grace

Well, my daughter is the most beautiful girl on the planet! I can't believe how much I love her. I can't take my eyes off of her when we're in the same room and when we're apart, I kick myself for not having a wallet full of photos yet... given the number of pictures I've taken, however, I could carry 7 of them.

So the nights are still pretty tough to get used to. Madelyn loves the night life -- she likes to boogie. All night long she squirms and coos, waiting for attention from her scruffy, sleep deprived, ragged-looking father or her beautiful, strong, able-to-tackle-anything mother. The days are great: visitors stop by and see how cute she is in person, Kim and I dote on her, the nurses do their thing. Funny how, through all of this, Maddie is generally fast asleep but when the rest of us want to catch up on some z's, she's all about the party time and social hour. I love her so much.

As for going home, it sounds like we'll be able to leave (some say able to, others say forced to... hee hee) tomorrow at around 11am or 12noon. It's been great to have the support of the nurses and other hospital staff, but we've had our amazing family offer some pretty great support as well.

Once we get home, I'll throw together some video that I took during our life-changing adventure (G-rated, of course). Thanks for your continued prayers and thoughts.

Life is beautiful... so is Maddie!

~Kurt

IT'S A GIRL!!!

(Baby-O's 1st Picture)

As of 8:01pm on 9.10.7, Madelyn Grace Olmsted is breathing her own air. She was 7lbs. 12oz. and 21in. long with more hair than I had when I was 3years old (slight exaggeration). She is absolutely beautiful and is passing all of her tests with flying colors... 100% healthy!


the gist of labor...
Kim started having pretty heavy/painful contractions on Sunday around 1pm. We continued to do a lot of walking to keep the contractions coming, and they stayed a very consistent 4-8 minutes apart for a couple hours. By 10:30pm we decided to head in to the hospital but we were given "the walk of shame". They sent us home to keep working on the contractions since we were in the very early stages of labor.

At about 2:30am, Kim's contractions were reaching near intolerance due to the pain. We raced back to the hospital and were admitted nearly straight away. The grandparents got their calls at around 3:30am and were at the hospital by 5 or 5:30 ready to welcome Baby-O into the world.

peaceful babies sometimes enter into a world of chaos...
Once Kim got the epidural, it was a waiting game until she needed to push -- nearly 12hours. At 3:15pm, Kim started pushing and was absoLUTEly amazing!! She powered through pain and frustration for over 4hours before the doctors finally made the decision to move to a C-section.

One of the biggest complications for Kim was that her body wasn't responding to the epidural. The pain would subside for about 30minutes, then surge back relentlessly. Because of this, the doctor tried a 'spinal tap' for the surgery, but it didn't take either. This is where I fell apart.

They put Kim under with general anesthesia and I wasn't allowed to be in there with her. Not only was I freaking out about not being with Kim through this life changing event, but we were both going to miss it altogether. After many tears and some prayer with my mom and mother-in-law, I went back to my chair outside the OR and listened ever so intently. I even video taped the door as I heard Baby-O cry for the first time. The word "helpless" comes to mind.

Eventually, the door to the OR opened and out came a nurse with the question I was waiting to ask her, "Boy or Girl?" Going off of Kim's instinct, I replied, "Boy?" She quickly responded with joy, "It's a GIRL!!" I -- being the emotional, exhausted, sappy wreck of my former manly self -- burst into tears, of course, and was taken to the N-ICU where Madelyn was bawling away... I followed in suit while I video taped and took some photos.

Anyway, I could go on for pages more. This is a beautiful thing, life.

about visitors...
Kim said she's totally game for visitors, but she wanted to be sure everyone knew that she's still a bit loopy from the post-op meds. If you would like to come by and meet Madelyn Grace, please call my cell first to see how Kim's doing and to let us know you're coming.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. I can't wait for you to see our beautiful little girl.

~Kurt

Baby-O's coming soon... My wife is amazing!

After quite a bit of pain and discomfort throughout much of last night and early this morning...

... Kim was finally able to get some rest after her epidural kicked in.
Since 6:30 or 7:00am yesterday (9.9.7), Kim hasn't had but an hour or so of sleep. The zzz's in the picture above lasted about a half-hour, but she's currently sleeping now after another hit of the "good stuff" from the nurse. She's doing SO great! I'm impressed beyond words at her ability to tackle this task with such grace.

Thanks for the continued prayers. I'll try to post more soon. The nurse told us it should only be a couple more hours! Woo HOOOO!!! Here's to hoping that she's right.

~Kurt (aka: BabyDaddy)

WE'RE AT THE HOSPITAL!!!

Sorry for this post instead of emails. I'm trying to get my email program to work on the hospital's wireless server.

Anyway, Kim and I are at the hospital with all the 'Grandparents-to-be'. She has her epidural and is getting some rest now. I'm just about to put my head down as well.

More to come. Please pray for a healthy baby and a problem-free birth!

~Kurt... YAY!!

9 days to new job...

Ok, Baby-O~

So your dad is about to start his new job on the 17th and he really wants to spend time with you. Why are you taking your time coming into this world? I'm serious, it's really great out here! You get food, hugs & kisses, clothes, naps, toys... you can even poop and pee whenever you want and your mom and dad will change your diaper and get you all cleaned up. Doesn't that sound great?!?!

Please, Baby-O, there are tons of people out here wanting to meet you and, again, your dad wants to spend lots of time with you before he starts work. Talk to you soon and love you like crazy already.

Sincerely,

~A concerned friend (aka: Dad)

Countdown finished-ish...

Well, we still don't have Baby-O in our arms and the countdown has come and gone. To save ourselves from focusing on this fact, and making it feel like this event-to-be is dragging on forever, we won't be continuing the countdown. We're both very anxious for Baby-O to get here and are trying to keep our focus on things that aren't baby-related.

Also, please keep praying for Kim as she's getting more and more uncomfortable with every passing hour. She's doing a great job focusing on other things, but people's comments and questions while we're out in public (along with looks of shock and horror... no joke) re-appropriate her attention to her discomfort. That may have been funny for me to see the first couple times since she's pointed it out, but poor Kim is living it daily. She is so amazingly strong!

We have an email list set up so you will all get notified when we head off to the hospital. I'll also try to post something on here and make phone calls as soon as we've got our baby in our arms -- or down for his/her first nap.

Here's to the little one coming as soon as possible. Thanks for the prayers.

~Kurt

GOT AN OFFER...

I received my verbal offer from adidas today!! I'm so excited and can't wait to get the ball rolling on this.

I was told that the written offer will most likely be ready by this Friday or Monday of next week. The projected start date is 9.17 or so -- it kind of depends on when my 2week notice gets turned in to Henry's. My Filter contact told me that all three people I interviewed with said that they enjoyed meeting me and were excited to start working with me.

This has been one crazy roller coaster ride, but God is AWESOME!! I'll be a 3/4mile walk from home to work, Kim will probably have the baby before my start date, and what a great company to work for!

Sorry if you didn't get a personal phone call with this info, I'd love to chat about it, but I got a little tired so I'm just throwing this post up for general information. This is all I know so far.

Thank you all for your prayers!

~Kurt

The waiting game...

I had interview #3 at adidas today. It went very well, I think. At least, I felt better about this one than the second. She told me that they'll probably be making a decision by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Here's to more prayers!

Also, my interview at Keen went very well. I met with the VP of Marketing for the company. I would have been more intimidated by the title had the interviewer not been as approachable and interesting to talk to. She'd worked with Nike for a few years, moved to London for two (still working with Nike), and she's been at Keen for the past two years reshaping its overall brand image.

Anyway, bottom line is, it's nice to have backups and it's especially reassuring when the interviews go well - for both first choice and backup jobs.

Thanks for the continued prayer. I'll post more when I get more information.

Cheers!

~Kurt

Pop quiz... errr, interview

Hey all~

I was called back by Keen Footwear for an interview with their Director of Marketing today. It's for a Global Marketing Coordinator position that could be cool.

Also, my 3rd interview with Adidas is tomorrow! Whew, big week, eh?

Thanks for the continued prayers!

~Kurt

I'm exhausted...

Well, today's interview was much more intense than the previous. The person I met with asked some great questions but she was a little bit hard to read. I didn't leave feeling great about where I stood, but I didn't feel poorly either... just pretty neutral.

Please keep praying for the situation. I'll post an update as soon as I hear. Man, as I've said to many of you, waiting for the interview to take place is much more pleasant than waiting for the results of the interview.

Thanks for the support and prayer.

~Kurt

Next round on Monday...

Thank you so much, everyone. I really felt at ease during my interview and I know that it was thanks to God and all of your prayers.

The interview went very well and I left feeling solid about who I was during it: myself. I think this position would be a great fit with amazing opportunities for growth. The flip-side of that coin is that there'll be just as many opportunities for mistakes so I'll have to be on my game... I can't wait.

So, after making multiple phone calls to my bride and all the parents, I called my contact at Filter and gave her the download of what happened. She was very encouraging. After I got off the phone with her, I started to do some chores around the house when I received another call. It was my contact calling to tell me that she heard from adidas and they'd like to see me on Monday to meet with a Director of Marketing. How amazing!

Please continue praying. I'll keep you posted.

baby stuff_
Kim and I are going for a looooong walk tonight hoping to get things moving. Here's to hoping for a new job and a new baby!


Cheers!

~Kurt

First interview...

Praise God! I have an interview with adidas on Friday at 11am. My Filter representative said that adidas thinks I look like a great fit on paper (resume, portfolio, etc.) and are very excited to talk with me. A college friend of mine works there and when I told him with whom I'd be interviewing, he said, "I see her every day. I'll stop in and put in a good word."

It really does seem like this could be 'the' job (a lot of open doors), but I'm really trying not to get my hopes up, just my trust in Him.

If you think about it, please be praying for me that I have the answers they're looking for, that the personalities will blend well, and most of all, that this will be a great fit. Oh, and did I mention that work would only be about 3/4 mile away from home? How cool is that!

(whoops, that's not "me not getting my hopes up")

Thanks for the support and I'll update this again when I hear more!

~Kurt

Finished, but something's missing...

Yes! Baby-O's room is finally finished!! The only thing missing is baby-O and, trust me, Kim is definitely ready to have baby-O breathing its own air. She's very uncomfortable, but she's doing great. I honestly don't know how she does it.

Below are pictures of the baby's room. The pictures go around the room and there's lots to see:

This is one of 3 Cheryl Robertson originals in our house. It features a sock monkey (the baby's room theme) and both Kim's and my baby blankets. Too cute!

You can see the diaper bag, that Kim found, on top of the changing pad.

Here's the crib. There is a great sock monkey collage that Aunt Kelsie made. Also, one of the dots has made it into this photo. It's featured much more on the next wall.

A little better shot of the massive collection of sock monkeys and friends.

This shows off the main wall really well. All of the dots were hand painted as well as the clear-coated stripes.

The last of the dots are on the corner of the closet. The absolutely perfect curtains are thanks to Kim's mom. Jan had a great idea for them and the room wouldn't be finished without them. Thanks Grandma B.!

Ok, that's pretty much it. Now what's missing? Hmmm... OH! Baby-O! Where are you?!?! Time to come out now. There's a lot of love for you and plenty of warm arms to hold you.

Cheers!

~Kurt

First day back at Henry's...

Wow! So if I ever doubted whether or not I should go back to Henry's while I look for another marketing position, may the doubting stop now!

Yesterday was my first shift back serving at Henry's. Yeah, not ideal, but necessary to bring in some money. I was only scheduled to work the lunch; however, when I arrived, one of the managers asked me if I'd like to work a corporate party during the dinner hour: lot's of people ordering copious amounts of alcohol and eating nothing less than steak and seafood. So I knocked out a VERY profitable lunch (especially for a Monday), took a Flatiron break (1/2 price steak for servers), turned my day into a "double", and walked away with my most profitable day serving ever. To give some perspective without hitting hard numbers, I made exactly the same amount as my weekly unemployment check (in 10.25 hours of work). If that isn't God saying, "Thank you for finally listening", I don't know what is. What a blessing!

I'm scheduled for 5 shifts this week and 6 the next. It's pretty grueling, but fun to reconnect with old coworkers and get back into a groove. I realize not every shift will be nearly as profitable as yesterday's, but He knows we sometimes need billboard-sized, neon lit signs with strobe lights and giants with megaphones screaming, "His will this way; come to the lights and follow His will." Meanwhile, I'll keep looking for another career position. This is going to work out in His time.

Thanks for the continued prayer.

~Kurt

More preggie-pics...

Ok all~

As promised, here are more pics of Kim being pregnant. Yeah, they're from the same day as the last set, but I thought I'd space it out a bit.


We just went to a baby shower that Kim's coworkers threw for her (thanks again, Took, Sarah and Charmaine). As has been the going trend, people were VERY generous and we felt very overwhelmed; baby-O is going to be spoiled like no other. Although, I was very spoiled as during this event because I got to hold babies a lot:

• Max (Took and Jeff's little guy - see the link to their blog to the left),
  
• Rowan (Sarah and Ormond's little 4mo. old girl),
• Jack and Justin (Ann and Charmaine's twins)
• Carina (Tamara and Travis'... the oldest in the pic below)

The twins hung out the entire time, but I didn't get to hold them. Totally cute and very interactive little guys.

Well, we're still in waiting. Kim's banking on starting the labor process in the next 5 minutes or so. I'm sure baby-O will wait for a later time, however. We're so excited to have him/her enter the world, but we know we won't be able to hurry it along or 'will it' to happen... shoot, if I could 'will' things to happen, I probably wouldn't be looking for work, eh? Ha!

Cheers!

~Kurt