Typical Day for a Johns

Abigail

Abigail loves hanging out on our changing table. Corrie made some artwork for her to look at, and Abigail really loves it. As as soon as I put her down to change her diaper, she looks over at Corrie's pictures and starts smiling and talking to them and kicking her legs. 

I love seeing Abigail coming alive to the world around her. I have even heard a couple giggles already! Right now she mainly communicates through raspy gurgles when she is happy. Corrie thinks Abigail's "baby language" is hilarious. :-)

Big Brother

Mac loves Abigail so much! There are many times that he asks if he can sit next to her, "just to spend some time with her." 

The other day he practiced his reading homework with her. It was pretty precious. 

Yesterday I found this in Mac's backpack when he got home from school. I asked him about his award, but he seemed to have no clue about it. Pretty funny.

We are proud of you Mac! God is growing you into a kind big brother, and a good leader at school. 

6:03 pm

Abigail

David

Abigail Ruth Johns

At 6:30am on December 24th, 2015, our sweet Abigail came into this world amid much of the usual chaos and adventure that our family seems to experience on a daily basis.

It was a memorable Christmas for all of us, even though we didn't all get to spend the actual day together. Abigail and I were in the hospital while Ellis was home with three very sick kids. Though it wasn't what we had imagined, we were still very grateful for the unexpected blessings that God brought. The kids got to see Grandpa and Grandma Johns, and I got to spend a lot of extra one-on-one time getting to know our tiny new member of the family. 

And now a whole month has passed already. Here are some pictures/videos of Abigail's first four weeks of life:

Ellis was the first to hold her, as I was too exhausted to even raise my arms to receive her after she was born. She reminded us so much of Corrie:

I enjoyed getting to know her during our time together in the hospital:

And soon it was time to go home:

Ellis and I were really grateful for a couple of days of just us and Abigail:

We have enjoyed having Abigail home:

It's been a definite change having four kids, as there is another (very time-consuming) plate spinning in my day now, but I wouldn't change it for anything (and neither would Abigail's big sister and brothers!)

(David thought Abigail would like to sleep with his new beanie baby owl that he got for Christmas. Mac and Corrie thought she would like theirs too)

And although there is so much chaos, there seems to be more than a few sweet moments to enjoy each day, if I take the time to stop and recognize them:

It's been a long and short month at the same time. I often look at Abigail and marvel at her beautiful and cute features. Maybe because she is our fourth baby, I savor every moment that I have with her.