And wait...and wait...and wait....

Our little Sven made us wait for his arrival.  (Keep reading to see the two posts about his arrival and name.)  I started my tea regimen on Sunday, July 2nd.....and during the following week, Dave would quote "Casablanca" to me over and over and over again.  Go to the 1minute 59second part of the video.  We were just like the people the narrator is talking about.  We waited....and waited....and waited......

Everything was set.  All of my lists were complete.  My parents came back from 3 weeks in Ireland, Scotland and Norway.  My doctor was prepared.  All of the equipment was down and set up.  We had people "on call" to come take care of the boys in the event that the baby came before my parents arrived.  Godparents were lined up.  And.....we had a "new" car....on that fits all of us plus visitors.  :)  

On a quick side note: a quick homage to the Corolla.  We bought it in Boise.  It was shipped to VA when we moved.  I drove it 112 miles every weekday from Richmond to Williamsburg for 2.5 years.  It has been our work horse.  I felt a little sad seeing it go.  But now, we have a Pilot that seats 8 people and life is happier.  :)

IF there was a positive to Sven arriving late.....it was that I actually got to celebrate Jeffery's 6th birthday with him....something that we all knew might not happen if I was in the hospital or in labor, etc.  But no baby meant celebrating Jeffery!  And.....it meant getting to see him take his new bike for a test drive!!!!!!!!  :)

God bless my parents!  1 week after they came back from Europe, they got back on yet another plane and took a red eye flight so they could be here for Jeffery's birthday first thing that morning.  It was REALLY special that they were here to help celebrate!  

And God bless Theresa Fox.....a dear friend of ours.  Not knowing what my status would be and not wanting to burden my mom with making a cake immediately upon her arrival, I commissioned Theresa to make one for Jeffery.  Her cakes are AMAZING and simply beautiful and beyond delicious and this one did NOT disappoint.  

While we waited for Sven's arrival, my parents took Jeffery and Jakob to the Children's Museum....one of the boys' favorite places to go with Oma and Papa.  They also helped Jeffery learn to use his new bike, helped Jakob learn to use his trike (we've been rather neglectful in that), read stories with them, played games with them (Papa taught Jeffery the card game "War"), involved them in selecting music for new choir seasons :), gave them new chores to accomplish, etc.  Their help and attention to the boys was simply crucial at that time and we would have been lost without them.

So.....as we all waited (rather impatiently).....we were at least all together.  :)  And then Sven decided to come....and.....well, you can just keep reading to learn all about that.  :)  But before I close.....Happy Birthday to my Jeffery.  You were my first little boy and I love you so dearly!