A Visit from Aunt Chel!

We have had the privilege of having several visitors over the past month (hence no blogging! perhaps... :) and Aunt Chelsie was the first! She got here the week after we had the baby and was an amazing helper... here are some photos to commemorate her time! Thanks Tia Cheshi! :)
First night and first time holding baby Ithan, who appears to be winking... watch out world!

Saturday morning before-breakfast game time!

Marcos, Ithan and Candi reading Ithan's baby books... :)

Tia Chelsie and Diego are pretty good buddies!

Chel went outside and saw the two boys chillin' out and reading on the trampoline one morning!

Raquel planned a fun Saturday where the different families decorated areas of the cancha, played marshmallow-war games and then watched family videos... the kids (and adults!) had lots of fun... :)

The "content baby" pose according to Denise... maybe I should take a picture of his bright-red tomato face the next time he's angry... :)

Diego and Chimuelo... can you tell Diego was a little tired in this photo??? ;)

Cafe Sed with Tia Chel where Kt graciously let us eat Las Chicas at one of her tables and then get yummy drinks afterwards!

We also went to Gallego's for lunch one day... Aron enjoying his caramelo!

Marcos and Tia Chel hamming it up!

We also went to Cono Rico... of course! Candi really, really enjoyed her dipped cone!

Tia Chel taking care of Ithan while we ran errands in town!

Thanks again, Chel, for coming down! Your help was great... as great as the meatballs you made for lunch! ;) We love you lots and look forward to you coming back with Uncle Lee sometime soon!

We appreciate your continued prayers as we adjust to life with a baby and especially for our four older kids as they continue with life's lessons, homework lessons, and diaper lessons!

Welcome to the Family!

Ithan Santiago Rinkenberger Bahr came into the world Tuesday, March 13th at 10:45 p.m. He weighed 3 kilos 400 gramos (about 7.5 lbs.), was 22 in. long, and made all the labor worth the wait! :)

I catalogued some of the time leading up to his birth... which ended up being longer than we thought, but we're thankful that God worked things out the way He did!
Joan gave Joel "Lamaze in 10 minutes" as she called it... :)
He was (we were) very grateful and so here he is timing my contractions. They started me on the inducement medication (oxitocin) at 9:00 a.m. so we had a lot of contractions to write down throughout the day...!

Grandma Mildred, you would have been so proud! I taught him how to play Skip-Bo; not that it's that difficult, but it's the art with which you play it! ;)

The hospital rooms (aside from being the lovely shade of peach you might have noticed above) were pretty sparse, but they did sport a long bench with a seat on it and a sign on the wall that said, "Thank you for not consuming food/drink." If you know my husband at all, you know that he's definitely a "munchies" type of person... so think of 26 hours in a hospital room with no food... not happening.

So... here was his stash in his bookbag (above) and he charmed the nurse into letting him bring in his Dr. Pepper's in a cooler... ;)

The aforementioned sign!

So... after 14 hours of labor or so, Peanut was born! We were so, so thankful that it all worked together in the end and we praise God for the miracle He allowed us to be part of and see!

Ithan's first photo... with a rather tuckered-out mother!

With his papi -- who was also rather tuckered-out!

This is Dr. Urbietta; the pediatrician and anesthesiologist at our hospital who assisted with the birth.

This is Dr. Madrid (left), our prenatal care doctor and physician and Fresia (right) our nurse while we were in the hospital... both supremely appreciated for their compassion and wisdom!

We finally left the hospital Wednesday morning around 11:00 a.m. and headed home! It was so fun to be able to get back and share Peanut with his brothers and sister! :)

Candi was the first to hold the baby... surprise, surprise! ;)

Diego was second -- and told me that he thinks it's "really fun" to hold the baby! He wanted to this afternoon as well and I think would have held him all afternoon if he could have... :)

Aron held him third and decided that he wanted to read him books... in English! I actually took a video which hopefully I will be able to upload later on. It was, suffice it to say, supremely adorable... :) And then this afternoon, he asked if he could hold him while he read his lectura for school -- how could I say no?!?

The oldest brother! Marcos read to him as well in English and did a fantastic job! I'm so grateful that these kids already love their little brother! And you know what's crazy? When Ithan turns 5, Marcos will be almost 16 -- that's nuts, isn't it?

A few more photos just for viewing pleasure!

This is maybe my favorite picture so far -- even though is eyes aren't open in it! He just looks so content... :)

Right after feeding... who doesn't like to curl up all replete??? ;)

Then again... it's not always an easy-going world! ;)

Thanks for all your prayers for everything -- we felt them! We're looking forward to having each of you meet him someday!

The February Miscellaneous File!

Except for this first photo!

Peanut: We're ready for your arrival!!!

Your brothers and sister have been counting down the days for the last few weeks and can hardly wait for this weekend to pass! And your papi and I are ready to see you, too... :)

So the rest of these photos are mostly from the miscellaneous file in my February photos... enjoy!

One afternoon Diego brought home this large piece of paper from school where they'd been drawing their outlines... he and Candi had lots of fun continuing to draw!
One of the finished products!

I have had this silly string bath soap for... probably 3 or 4 years. And we had NEVER used it! So... when Candi was bathing the other night, I totally doused her bathtime silly string... she loved it. I plan on being rid of silly string bath soap in the next month, if possible... :)

The boys have reading time that they have to complete for school every day and usually I read with Diego. One afternoon I came into the house to find that their dad had already got them started doing their reading, all sitting on one couch, and the two oldest keeping tabs on Diego to make sure he wasn't inventing words! It was great... good job, Joel! ;)

This is why all the kids love our director -- and why we do, too! These moments are so important, Bill... thanks for taking time to be a "grandpa!"

Leo and Candi enjoyed pushing one another around, too! Leo is such a little man... he was giving the lady a ride...

... and then the inevitable happened! :)

The little girl on the left is Samuel and Szabina's daughter, Panka. I was watching Mili for a couple hours for Jenna the other day and when we walked out on our porch and she saw Panka, she literally squealed with delight! It's a lot of fun to see how much joy they take in just touching one another's hair... ;)

The rest of these photos are from a Tuesday night dinner with just our family. We had grilled barbecue chicken sandwiches and for some reason the photos and faces this night were just funny... so I thought I'd give you a glimpse of dinner at our house (which is usually a VERY talkative and drawn-out affair... ;).

Joel's piece of chicken was quite grande and the kids were in awe that he could fit a bite into his mouth!

Maybe too large a bite, darling dearest husband of mine??? :)

[check out Diego's face!]

Diego balancing his sandwich on his hand...

Aron obliterating his sandwich [in typical Aron fashion with food all over himself, the table, and the floor!]...

And Candi [not very lady-like, but then again who really cares at this point?!?] chowing down on her piece of chicken!

We are so thankful for these children that God has blessed us with and we are thankful for your prayers that support us as we try to raise them according to His Word and with His love! We are looking forward to Peanut joining the crew and watching His hand continue to work in our lives and the lives of these young ones...! Please continue to pray for Peanut's birth and the adjustments it will bring in our lives! Thanks... :)

Our House Renovations

In the last couple months, we have been extremely fortunate to have several work teams help with the renovations to our house -- the old girls' dorm. We are delighted with the progress and hoping that we can get the kids moved in before Peanut makes his appearance... :)

I book-ended the post with a couple random photos, just so it's not all construction!

Right before Valentine's Day I bought some Cuties from the States and brought them home... each one had a sticker on it, and Aron decided that he really liked this one that said "in love" -- go figure -- so he decided to decorate his glasses! ;)
Our new front entryway! Joel expanded the door out (you can see where the tile stops) and put in...

... a new front door (goodbye old prison door!) and this fun side window! It was a return at Home Depot, so it was also cheap... :) It adds some character to the front entry!

The new wrap-around porch, viewed from the southwest side...

And from the northwest side!

Painting starts! These ladies from the Washington group were AMAZING... seriously. Lots and lots of detail work over the drywall and mudding that the Gridley group had done... which was also AMAZING! This purple will be Candi's room...

And the blue is for Marcos' room... :)

This is looking from our kitchen toward the north side of the house, down through the addition and out toward the clotheslines and comedor.

My husband has been working like crazy to finish tiling this weekend... this is Marcos' room again.

And Candi's...

And the visitor bathroom! Yeah!

This is our laundry area and the north door that opens to the porch... unpainted still, but functional!!!

And... the living room! This picture doesn't represent the blue very well, because of the light, but we like it quite a bit!

(You can also see our son wrapped in a blanket in the armchair -- a few of us seem to be going through a nasty bout with flu-like symptoms; praise the Lord, I think we're on the upward mend!)

And, to finish off, the women on campus had a baby shower/wedding shower for Kali and I this past Saturday. We all enjoyed brunch, opened a few gifts and then had a praise singing -- what a blessing to be able to praise God for the changes He brings in our lives! Thanks, ladies... :)

Thanks for your continued prayers as March has now begun! Please pray for patience and endurance as our family battles sickness and that we can look forward to the birth of our fifth child with joy and anticipation! We also ask that you keep CVE in your prayers with visitors, work teams, and the daily challenges that come... we appreciate them!