A year ago today, we welcomed our fourth child into the world.  I was feeling nervous going into the hospital, wondering if I could keep up with four little ones and nervous about what lay ahead that day.  Little did I know what the next few days would bring.

I labored all day and just wasn’t progressing.  It turned out she had her arm up above her head and was stuck.  We did everything we could to help her get ‘un’stuck, but she wouldn’t budge so I had my first c-section.  That was quite an experience, obviously unlike one I had before.  But we got through it.  We had our little girl and were as happy as could be.  Unfortunately the next night we got a call from my mom at about 1 am,  Clay had the flu and was having a rough time.  Joel went home to help out and as many moms know, when one gets sick ALL get sick.  Well, that didn’t fail to be the case this time.  All the kids ended up with the flu.  The next day I was ready to be home (since Evelyn and I had already been exposed) so we left the hospital.  That too was a new experience.  I was so emotional on the drive home that I cried the whole way home, completely overwhelmed by what had happened the past couple days still unsure of how life would go with four.

Later that night my mom and I started to not feel good.  We both ended up with the flu too.  Now the fear was if Evelyn was going to get it.  We watched her closely.  At some point in the evening, we thought she had thrown up, so Joel and I headed to the ER with her.  She was checked out and all seemed to be ok. So we went home and tried to get some rest.  Thankfully Joel never got sick, which is only from the Lord.  Anyone that knows our family, knows that if someone gets sick, usually Joel gets it for sure.

God has been so good to us and we got through that first week of Evelyn’s life, and thankfully the rest of the year was NOTHING like that first week.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives.  She is such a sweet, happy, content baby that loves to snuggle and watch her older siblings.  She seems to be pretty adventurous, she is our earliest walker, and tries to keep up with her brother and sisters.  It is so fun to watch her interact with them and love them.  We are so thankful for this past year and look forward to celebrating her for many more to come.  We put together a video of this past year.  Have a look at our lovable little girl.

WE LOVE YOU, EVELYN!