Wild Ride

Like I said, it's been a wild ride since Lillian's birth on Aug. 18. Here's the short version:
Lillian was born at home after what turned out to be a very short labor of only 6 hours! This was a planned homebirth as our goal was to achieve a gentle, unmedicated, natural birth in the comfort of our own home with as few medical procedures as possible. And by the grace of God, we did achieve that--at least for the actual birth. It was a truly beautiful birth until my placenta just refused to come out and my blood pressure dropped. The midwives made the wise decision to go ahead and transport to the hospital, which we did, and the problem was resolved quickly, though not painlessly, that's for sure!
Though Lillian's initial exams all showed she was perfectly healthy, we did choose to have her admitted to the hospital with me so that she could stay with me and we could have the help of the nurses during my short stay. Unfortunately, Lillian soon began to appear "dusky," which indicated respiratory problems. The doctors admitted her to the NICU and treated her with oxygen and antibiotics. She had to stay in the hospital for a whole week, but thank God they let me stay with her the whole time. It was so hard for us to see her like this:

But she got better quickly and we were able to take her home.

After a week of being at home, Lillian ran a high fever and we had to take her back to the hospital. She was treated with antivirals for an apparent virus and had to stay for a whole week again. Thank God I again got to stay with her!

Having a sick baby was so hard on our family, but by the grace of God (her middle name ended up being quite meaningful), we all made it through and are finally home and happy and healthy! We are forever grateful for our new friends at VA Beach General Hospital. They were amazing to us in every way. However, we hope to never stay longer than a quick visit there again!

We can't thank everyone enough who prayed for us during this ordeal, too!

Don't forget to check out the new photo album and the new video over there to the left!!!

Welcome Baby Lillian

Lillian Grace Kunes was born at home on August 18 at 9:45 a.m. weighing 10 lbs. 4 oz. It has been a wild ride since then, so look for a very long blog sometime soon!

Thank you for your prayers!

Robert on the divingboard

Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes....

Well, we're here in Virginia! Actually, we've been here for a few weeks now and are finally getting somewhat settled after swimming through hundreds of boxes. They are mostly cleared out now, and we are slowly but surely finding a place for all of our "stuff." I don't think a house full of boxes annoyed Robert a bit. He especially loved the big wardrobe boxes once Nona showed him how to build a series of tunnels through the living room. How fun!

Rob has started his new job as Associate Rector of Galilee Church. The Rector, Father Andrew Buchanan, has been so kind and sensitive to allow him to ease into the position. He preaches his first Sunday sermon at Galilee this Sunday! The Galilee parish is wonderful. They have made us feel at home here and have showered us with gifts and food and helping hands galore! Now all I have to do is remember their hundreds of names! I'm horrible with names and having the hardest time with it. Call me if you have any suggestions. In the meantime, I will continue to rely heavily on the name tags they wear on Sundays!

I am starting to get uncomfortable (wait, did I say that last post, too?), but I'm hanging in there. I found a great midwife and am looking forward to a tour of DePaul Medical Center next week. I'm trying not to start a countdown quite yet, but boy am I ready!

We've been trying to get out to do some fun stuff when we have the energy, so we've been swimming in the Chesapeake Bay and various swimming pools of generous parishioners. Right now I prefer the pools to the beach because it's just too hard to lug all of our stuff onto the beach in the hot weather. Robert doesn't care where we swim; he just loves to swim. He's started wearing water "wings" and is doing great with them. He also loves to jump in. I know, I should have pictures, but I keep forgetting the camera!

Robert is talking more and more and really starting to get an imagination, too. Yesterday he showed me a little cut on his hand and said a dinosaur bit him. He's definitely using sentences now, except they have no articles. Like just now he said about his ball, "Kick it me, Momma." He's a curious little guy, but he really doesn't get into things or break things. He's pretty careful overall. In fact, we've had all of our breakable decorative items laid out on our dining room floor until we are ready to find places for them, and he hasn't broken any of them yet. Every now and then he'll carry one to me to show me, and I'll tell him to carefully put it back, and he does!

I could say lots more, but it's time for breakfast, and neither child is willing to wait!

Call or email if you would like our new contact info.

We love you!

Deacon Daddy

Robert now has a new title for Daddy, "Deacon Daddy." He's a little parrot and will repeat anything you teach him to say if he's in the right mood, so someone taught him to say this just before the ordination, and sure enough, he repeats it often! Too cute!

The ordination was spirit-filled and amazing. It was a beautiful service complete with tons of friends and family to share the important event. The reception that St. Michael's gave us afterwards was awesome! It almost felt like our wedding day all over again!

We are proud and excited to officially announce Rob's calling to Galilee Epispopal Church in Virginia Beach, VA. Check out their website! It's a wonderful church, and we can't wait to join their parish family.

We are frantically packing up here in Wisconsin and heading to VA Wednesday morning. Thank God that we have packers and movers coming Monday and Tuesday and that we're not trying to do it all by ourselves. We are both exhausted from a crazy past few weeks of graduation, ordination, miles and miles of car travel, pregnancy, and an ever-active toddler.

Sorry for such a brief update. There are lots more pictures and cute stuff to say about Robert, but I just don't have time to write it all down! I do want to say thank you to all who attended our important events, served in any way, and prayed for us. We love you so much and have been blessed beyond measure by your love of us.

Hope to have lots of visits in VA Beach!

Rob's Ordination to the Deaconate

Well, it's only about one week until Rob graduates from seminary, and we are excited!!!! He's officially done with all of his schoolwork, finishing his final senior sermon just yesterday at Evening Prayer. Robert and I feel just as relieved as he does, I can assure you!
The only solid news of our future is that Rob will be ordained to the Deaconate on June 3 at St. Michael's in Charleston. Check out the invitation above. All are invited! For all of those non-Epsicopalian readers, this means that Rob will become a Transitional Deacon for 6 months and then will be ordained to the Priesthood. This is as far as we've gotten so far with future plans. God seems to be taking us one small step at a time, which is trying at times but is proving to be a blessing with each revelation He gives us along the way.
We'll keep you posted...

Happy Easter!

Family Photo outside Zion church on Easter morning. Even Baby Sister is making her presence known in the picture! (note that church hasn't even started and Robert already got something on his outfit:)

Just before church on Easter morning...could he be any cuter?

He had to have a little romp to try to get dirty before church!

Candy and junk food before breakfast...what a morning!

He was really surprised and excited about the Easter bunny visiting and leaving a basket. He opened all the eggs and ate most of it. It was mostly goldfish and fruit chews, but he did get pez candy! He loved it!

We went to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. He loved picking up eggs and even waited until he was done to open them! He was mostly excited about all the people there. This child loves a crowd!

It's kind of sad that he's wearing pants, a coat, and a hood for an Easter egg hunt, huh? It was rainy and chilly. Welcome to Spring in Wisconsin!

Robert made this in his little YMCA class. I couldn't get him to actually wear it, but he did agree to hold it up for the camera.

We had a wonderful Easter. The weather on Easter day was actually mild and sunny, which means we didn't have to wear coats and hats to church! Robert had a fun morning opening his Easter basket and going to church. We then went home for naps. Then, my friend Laura from Zion church invited us to join her family for Easter supper at her house. It was so nice to be with a big family for Easter, and the food was SO good! Laura's son Jack is almost Robert's age, and they had a blast together. It was a truly blessed day.

It's Spring Break for us right now, the weather stinks, and we're stressing about the future. So while we are thankful for a wonderful Easter, we are praying for a big turnaround this week or at least a sunny, warmish day!