"It's going to be splendid, isn't it?"

On August 31st, my beloved Grandpa Farmer passed away after battling lung cancer for over a year and a half.  He was a wonderful man who loved his family more than anything.  Grandpa was a friend to all and, if you knew him, he probably felt like he was your Grandpa too.  He will be missed greatly.  

Although we are grieving his death, we are rejoicing that, because of his faith in Jesus, his suffering is done and he is at home with his Heavenly Father.  A story shared at my Grandpa's funeral keeps going over in my head.  I have been learning a lot from these words from Grandpa in his final days.  This is the story as I can recall from the funeral:

The pastor, a hospice chaplain, sat down with Grandpa when it became apparent that things were getting worse quickly.  During the course of their conversation the chaplain spoke of John 3:16 which says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  He asked Grandpa if he believed that to which he replied, "I do."  Then the pastor read the verse again and instead inserted my Grandpa's name reading, "For God so loved Glenn that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."  In response, my Grandpa smiled from "ear to ear" and apparently you could see a peace and joy come over my Grandpa.  

...Here is the best part...

Soon afterwards, the chaplain had already left, the nurse came in and my Grandpa said to her, "It's going to be splendid, isn't it?"  

Grandpa was referring to heaven.  As his grandchild, I am so thankful to know my Grandpa had faith in Jesus and am also thrilled to know he was excited to meet his Savior.  Like I mentioned, I have been reflecting on his words, but more importantly his attitude.  What about you?  Have you thought about that day?  Do you have peace that you will be in heaven?  If you are unsure and ever want to talk, please call me, I would love to chat.  If you have confidence you will go to heaven, are you excited about it?  Do you realize that its going to be splendid?

Although Grandpa didn't get to meet Eden, we were so glad that she got to be loved and cuddled by her Great-Grandma Farmer.

First Week!

We have had such a wonderful & blessed first week with Eden.  We first of all want to say "Thank you!" to all of our family & friends who have prayed for us, helped us & congratulated us.  We are glad to share these special moments with you all!

The day before Ms. Eden Lynn was born Jon, Owen & I had an enjoyable time just three of us and Jon got to come to the splash park with us.  Here they are playing at the pool:

Here is a photo of the three of us before we left for the hospital on Tuesday morning:

First Moments with Eden:

Visitors!

Brother & Sister time:

At the park:

At the State Fair:

More family shots:

Introducing Eden Lynn

Our beautiful daughter, Eden Lynn Schreiner, was born yesterday, August 9th at 6:57 pm.  She was a good size at 9 lbs and 21 1/2 inches.  We think that she is amazing!  The labor went decently well, at least for what it was.  :)  We are so grateful to God that I did not have preeclampsia again or that I didn't need a c-section.

If you have facebook, these are pictures I took from friends and family.  I'll add some of our own later.

The Homestretch

With baby girl coming just around the corner, we have been eagerly trying to finish the basement and have some good quality time with Owen before he has to adjust to a sibling.  

We have been so blessed with the basement in that so many friends & family have helped Jon in doing the work.  At one point, he counted 22 different people that had helped and I'm sure that after this week the number has gone up to 24 or 25.  Today, the texture and primer went on the drywall - it is a beautiful sight to see!  Tomorrow, the real paint!!  We are so near the end, it is almost surreal.  Hold off a few more days baby girl!

At the beginning of the week, I was feeling so bad for Owen because it has been way too hot for his 9-month pregnant mama to play with him outside.  One day, he brought his shoes to me twice hinting at his desire to go play.  I put his shoes on but we definitely stayed inside - I felt so bad.  Then one morning (wednesday?) we woke up and it was so pleasant outside.  So we wasted no time and headed to a nearby park that has lots of shade and played!  The rest of this week Owen & I have gotten some good Mother-Son time in by going to the zoo (we even rode the train!), the splash park a couple of times & cuddling which watching Dr. Doolittle on Netflix. 

 

I am so thankful for Owen & little man he is turning out to be.  He is a delight to be around and bring so much joy to my life - even when he is mischievous.  The other day I left the kitchen for two minutes and when I returned this is what I found:

Such a stinker.  Owen continues to be a people lover - always waving, always trying to get laughs and now always giving a hug or wrestling.  Here he is attacking Ava G for 20 minutes straight on the couch. She loved it.

We are so excited at the near-arrival of our little beauty, but we are also thankful for these last few days to finish the basement & have some more Owen-loving time.  God's timing is perfect & we continue to be excited to see what He has in store for us!  In case she comes before I post again, please pray for a safe delivery, a healthy baby girl & a good transition for Owen to having a baby sister.  We appreciate it!

photo booth fun

"Hello world."

"Oh mama... stop embarrassing me."

"Get BIG"

"and again..."

"this is the only pose I do.  p.s. did you check out my new haircut?"

Brave Big Boy & Big Baby Belly

Now that I am full-term (37 1/2 weeks) I keep wanting to make sure Owen & I have some special time together before baby girl comes.  We have been spending some good time together at home coloring, reading books, playing in the gravel, & watching dog you tube videos.  We also enjoyed a day at the pool with Shaly & Bo last week.  He is growing up so fast and is so brave!  I love my little man.

Our sweet baby girl is going to be here soon.  So we decided to take some pictures just the three of us so that she can see how big she made her mama get.  :)  Enjoy the baby bump to all of my out of Des Moines family and friends.