Life on the Inside

Hello blogland! This is Josiah, hacking into my mom's computer while she is (once again) feeding Annette. . . you may have noticed I've been upstaged lately by my little sister, so I wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and well. Lately we've had to stay inside a lot! The air pollution has been so bad and Annette just wants to eat and sleep the day away. But, that's okay because I've found lots of ways to stay busy inside.

Sporting Mom's glasses

Helping keep the laundry running

Creating a Picasso

Styling my hair- do you think I have enough gel?

Smelling good

Brushing up on my percussion

Nibbling off the kitchen counter, now that I'm the big brother I've got to fend for myself!

Olive Rinehart

I was saddened and surprised to receive the news yesterday that my Grandma had passed away. It has been nearly three years since I've seen her, and was planning a trip out to Utah with my family this summer to visit her. Although I regret that we weren't able to have one more visit with Grandma on earth, I can rejoice knowing that she is with the Lord now- which is better by far.
My Grandma lived an amazing 95 years. Most of her life was spent on a farm in Ohio, but more of my memories with her took place in a small yellow mobile home with a black mailbox out front. My Grandparents spent the winters in Palm Desert, California allowing us to develop a close relationship with them.

Here are some of my memories of Grandma:
- never hearing her say "no" to anything, it was always "yes" or "maybe so" (this is a great Grandparent quality!)
- her impeccable memory, recalling detailed events fifty years back
- her deep love for America, history and literature
- the hearty appetite that allowed her to eat a 12 oz steak in one sitting
- the fierce love she felt for her grandkids, in her eyes we could do no wrong
- gumdrop cookies and jello fruit salad
- birthday cards with every other word underlined for emphasis
- the fearless way she drove her giant black Lincoln Continental around town
- visiting during college and being treated to 3 meals out in 12 hours
- talking til late at night about history and politics
- the way should could name every flower and tree we passed and took delight in their blossoms as if they were old friends
- the wrinkles that formed around her eyes as she laughed
- slide shows in the living room, I could probably narrate them myself
- watching Grandma play hymns in the tiny country Scrogsfield church
- hearing "oh, hi honey" come through the phone
- insisting that others take the best and putting herself last
- being given the nickname "cuddle bug" and confirming (even recently) that I'm not too old to be "her cuddle bug"

I'm so glad that I was able to know my Grandma. Knowing her has helped me to know myself and my roots better. I'm proud to be related to such an amazing woman and hope to be like her in many ways. She was hard working, self- sacrificing, loving always, and quick to smile and laugh. I will miss her deeply, but am happy she is home.

Little Girl, Big Name

Our daughter's name in Annette Marie. We believe that the Lord gave us this name and it is significant for who she is and who she will become. Annette is derived from the name Hannah. Like my name (Christine Rene) both Annette and Marie have a French origin, which is a link to our heritage and my maiden name (Ouimette). The Bible tells us Hannah was a woman of great faith who sought after God’s heart and trusted him against all odds. God granted the desire of her heart by giving her a son, Samuel, who she then gave back to the Lord for service in the temple. Annette means “gracious” and our prayer is that Annette will experience God’s grace and be an instrument of grace to those around her.

We want our children’s middle names to be a connection to someone who will play a role in their life, and in whom we deeply love and respect. Josiah’s middle name is “Michael” named for his Uncle. Marie is my sister’s middle name. We desire for Annette to grow into a beautiful, compassionate woman of God like Angela.

1 Week

Annette is one week old and we are enjoying getting to know her more each day. Here are seven things about Annette
1. She light brown hair and brownish/ blueish eyes. The jury is still out on what her coloring will truly be

2. She has long slender flingers and toes

3. She loves the womb like feeling of the sling

4. She is sleepy, sleepy, sleepy (probably due in part to her rather severe case of jaundice, which is also giving her a great "tan")

5. Although she doesn't appear to be enjoying this cuddle, Annette loves to be held close

6. She is showered all day long by dozens of kisses and gentle (or not) love pats


7. She is on California time and most awake in the middle of our night (:

Coming Home

I had a wonderful home- coming on Sunday afternoon. The hospital does not allow children to visit, so this was the longest time Josiah and I had been apart. He did really well, thanks to his amazing Dad and our great friends. Jason and Josiah had picked out a doll for Annette and he was very excited to give it to her upon meeting. It was a fun time reuniting as a family and Josiah chatted to Annette the whole taxi ride home. I was so amazed at my husband who, in addition to watching Josiah, doing laundry and cleaning, had baked a cake that said "Welcome Home Girls". We had a fun little party as a famliy of four.
The third slide on the smilebox is a video of Josiah meeting Annette. It takes a while to load, so be patient. (:

This free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

Surprise Surprise!!!

Praise the Lord, Christine gave birth to Annette Marie Paine on Friday evening at 5:15 p.m. She is so beautiful and Christine is feeling like a million bucks!! Everything happened so quickly as she was 2.5 weeks early. She started having contractions at 6 am, I left work at 1 p.m. and we were at the hospital by 2:30 p.m. At that time she was only at 1 cm, quite discouraging and we thought we had a long road ahead. As she walked around things quickly progressed to 3cm. At that time they sent us to the delivery ward and within about 30 minutes the Doc came in and said she could start pushing. The next contraction the water broke and Annette popped out. Here I was thinking we had like 4-5 more hours and all the sudden I'm cutting the cord. We should have known she was going to come barreling down with the initials AMP. She looks so tiny at 5lbs 11oz and probably only 17 inches, although we haven't measured her yet. Christine and Annette will come home tomorrow to a bewildered little boy who wants his mommy. More updates to come!

Shower of Love

The Mom's Group I'm a part of threw a baby shower for me last week. It was such good time of celebrating with friends. We ate delicious food, opened gifts, chatted and decorated onesies for the baby. They turned out adorable so I'll have to post pictures later of their creative designs. I feel so blessed to have the support and encouragement of other Christian moms on a weekly basis. Thanks Emily and Sumiko for organizing such a fun morning!



Josiah testing out the swing we got for baby sister