11/27/2008 As Predicted . . . Thanksgiving in the Hospital! When we announced Cade's birth we joking said we made our hospital reservation for Thanksgiving. In amazing timing, he arrived a few weeks early . . . and here I sit in the hospital! We continue our Lehman tradition of spending holidays in the hospital: Christmas with Tim's hand surgery, Easter with Cade's birth, 4th of July with Tim's dad's stitches, and now Thanksgiving with Tess' birth. Too funny! You might want to stay far from us when the holidays come around!! Dad and Mom joined us here at the hospital for a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch, and Tim and I have been able to enjoy a quiet afternoon alone with Tess. We truly have so much to be thankful for today! More Photos

11/26/2008 Welcome to the World, Tess Shalom!! God is so faithful! After a pre-eclamptic pregnancy, God blessed us with a wonderful deilvery and a precious little girl! The pregancy had been going smoothly until two months ago when I began to notice swelling in my legs and tingling in my hands.  I soon learned the symptoms were associated with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, something I did not have during my pregnancy with Cade.  The swelling became quite severe, but thankfully Tim and I could laugh through it!  He got a kick out of writing messages to me in my legs, as anywhere you pressed would leave an indentation that would stay for 10+ minutes.  The swelling in my hands led to carpel tunnel syndrome, and I went through the day with my hands feeling numb and arthritic.  I had been really excited to go into labor on my own, as I had to be induced with Cade . . . but last week my doctor informed me it was no longer safe to continue the pregnancy due to my high blood pressure.  I spilled many tears that afternoon, but I soon realized it was the best decision for my health and the health of Tess! So . . . Tim and I arrived at the hospital at midnight Tuesday night ready to be induced.  We were able to enjoy a special morning together, and I was extra blessed to have my mom in the delivery room!  My labor and the epidural went very smoothly, and we were ready to have a baby by noon.  With the help of a mirror, I was able to watch the birth of our little girl!  It was very emotional for me to watch her be brought into the world!  Unlike Cade, she came out healthy, and we were able to enjoy her company for two hours in recovery.  She was wide awake the whole time, and were able to bond with our little Tess!  I am feeling great, and enjoying a quiet hospital stay with Tim and Tess.  I am so blessed! More Photos

11/24/2008 "Baby Tess" As I was pulling the baby equipment out of storage, Cade seemed to think it was for him! He has talked alot about "baby Tess", but it will be interesting to see his reaction to her in a few days!

11/22/2008 Fun Last Saturday as a Family of Three!!! Tim and I had a free night stay at a Marriott hotel that was due to expire at the end of November, so I had scheduled it at our local hotel before I knew I had to be induced. It worked out AWESOME, as we were able to spend our last Saturday as a family of three relaxing and enjoying our time together! I was able to soak in the hot tub while Tim played with Cade, and then I enjoyed a nice long shower while Tim watched football and Cade was entertained by Elmo. We walked across the street to eat supper at our favorite restaurant, and then put Cade down early for bed. Tim and I then had a few hours alone to enjoy some great conversation and a movie. Top it all off with a great breakfast, and you have the right combination for a perfect day! More Photos

11/21/2008 New Table in the Playroom Recently, Tim and I decided to move our table into the kitchen and convert our dining room into a playroom. It has been a wonderful addition to our home!! Cade and I spend most of his awake time in the playroom. The table arrived on Cade and Emma's playdate, and they enjoyed trying it out! More Photos

11/17/2008 Toothbrush Cade and I were playing with his magnetic "ball and stick" set today when all of a sudden he exclaimed, "Toothbrush!" I looked over to see what he meant, and he had stacked a thin magnet on top of a long thick one. It very closely resembled our electric toothbrush, which Cade loves! I laughed out loud, and then watched him carry the "toothbrush" around for the rest of the afternoon. I love the creativity of a toddler! More Photos

11/15/2008 - 11/16/2008 Visit from Mike and Carmen Carmen and I were roommates our freshman year of college, and we try to get together one to two times a year. This year we hosted them at our house, because I'm just a couple weeks from our baby's due date! As I was sitting back watching the action, I found it strange to be at this stage with Carmen. We spent our weekend talking about kids, and our husbands chatted over work! But, as I told her, I sure wouldn't want to go back in life, even though our freshman year was very memorable! Thanks for making the trek down with two kids, Mike and Carmen. We loved having you, and Cade enjoyed having some playmates! More Photos

11/14/2008 Sage is 2!!! Sage recently turned 2, but she wasn't too excited about smiling for the camera at her party! Thus . . . you get to see a picture of Natalie's great Elmo cake! More Photos

11/8/2008 Fun Afternoon at the Farm!! My sister, Jackie, and her husband, Jay, came down this weekend, and they blessed Tim and I with a WONDERFUL GIFT . . . a Friday evening and Saturday morning alone!!! They took Cade to the farm and allowed Tim and I to enjoy a real date night! We were also able to get a lot of projects done to help us get prepared for the arrival of baby Tess. Jay and Jackie, thank you so much for your act of service!!! Tim and I joined our family at the farm Saturday afternoon, and Tim was able to spend the evening in his deer stand. We also celebrated Jay and Jackie's 5th anniversary later that evening. More Photos

10/31/2008 A Beautiful Fall Day!!! Mom met Tim, Cade and I at the park, and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the sun! Cade loved playing on the swings and slides, and the adults basked in the sun's warmness. The temperature was very welcomed after a week of cold! More Photos

10/30/2008 Walking in Daddy's Shoes! Cade has recently had a facination with Tim's shoes, and he puts them on multiple times during the day! More Photos

10/26/2008 Sunday School Fall Cookout Kenny and Phyllis hosted another wonderful Fall Cookout for our Sunday School students! We had a fun afternoon of games, food and smores!! More Photos

10/25/2008 Happy Birthday Elaine!!! Our neighbor, Elaine, recently turned 8, and Cade was the only boy invited to her party! Tim and I didn't really know what 8 year old girls are into, but thankfully Tami bailed us out with a gift idea! We enjoyed a fun hour of giddy girls chatting about Hannah Montana, the Jonas brothers and many other things that made us feel really old!

10/25/2008 Fall Fundraiser for His Ranch It was a beautiful day for an afternoon at His Ranch!!! Shannon and Susan, pictured, founded the ranch a few years ago and it has alreay been a blessing to many people. Their goal is to use horses to minister to children who may have special needs because of circumstances in their life. They patterned their ranch after Crystal Peaks Ranch in Oregon. You may have heard of this ranch through programing from Focus on the Family. Feel free to visit Shannon and Susan's website, www.hisranch.org, for more information! More Photos

10/17/2008 - 10/22/2008 Phoenix Vacation Tim was given the awesome opportunity of an all-expenses paid business trip to a JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix!!! For the cost of a flight, Cade and I were able to join him! Tim's sister, Kristen, lives in Phoenix, so we were able to spend a few days with her family before we headed to the resort for Tim's conference. On the way to the resort, we stopped by Target to buy Cade some swim gear but couldn't find any. We asked a clerk for help, and he informed us that swim items are SEASONAL!!! We couldn't believe it! The weather was in the 90s, but it wasn't swimming season in Phoenix. Well . . . we went swimming anyway and had a wonderful time! More Photos

10/13/2008 Playtime with the Neighbor Girls Clarice and Elaine, pictured, live across the street, and Cade loves to join them outside for playtime!!! Nearly every day Cade stands at our window, looking at their house, and asks, "Clarice . . . Elaine???" I have to tell them they are at school but will be home later. If Cade and I go outside to play after "school time" we usually hear the door open across the street and the girls come out to play! Elaine is the mother-hen type and follows Cade around, while Clarise is usually content to sit on the step by me and talk about the school day. Living in a retirement community, we didn't have any kids in the neighborhood until these girls moved in last summer . . . and we are so thankful Cade can have some playmates! More Photos

10/11/2008 4th of July . . . in October! Due to all the flooding this summer, our Forth of July fireworks had to be canceled. The city decided the Lincoln festivities this weekend posed the perfect opportunity to pull the fireworks out of storage! It was a gorgeous evening, and the fireworks were able to start at 7:00 which worked perfect with Cade's bedtime. Tim and I might check into permanently moving fireworks to October!! **The internet is being fickle and not letting me upload these pictures, so I'll try again in a day or so.** More Photos

10/11/2008 A Beautiful Saturday Afternoon! With Darin's wedding and quarter-end for Tim at work, we haven't been able to spend much time together as a family over the last few weeks. Tim had to work until 1:00 on Saturday, but then we were able to head to a BBQ stand with Ben and eat lunch in a beautiful park. After Ben headed off to the Taylor Invite, we walked a few blocks to another park where the city was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate. It was fun to hear the patriotic music, mingle with the crowd, and enjoy the absolutely beautiful day!!! More Photos

10/11/2008 Cade's New Bed!!! Ben has been staying with us for an extended weekend, so I enlisted his help to put together Cade's new toddler bed. He's great to have around!!! It actually came together pretty fast, and Cade was very excited to play on it when he woke up from his nap! We found out we are expecting a little girl, so she and Cade will be sharing the nursery. I was thinking we'd put the toddler bed in the nursery and let Cade get used to the idea of a new bed . . . but he had so much fun playing on it, he's in it for good. The crib is standing empty until Tess arrives!!! As I type this I hear Cade upstairs banging the safety rail against the bed. He's supposed to be sleeping . . . but he must not think he's tired enough yet! More Photos

10/5/2008 High School Photo Road Rally Every year our high school church students get together with the students from our southern Iowa churches. This year we hosted the event, and some of the girls suggested we do a photo road rally through town. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and it was neat to see the creativity in each group! This photo was taken in response to the phrase "Can you find us?" More Photos

10/4/2008 Darin and Danni's Wedding Darin and Danni were blessed with a beautiful fall wedding day!!! The day was fast-paced but a lot of fun! Due to the nature of the day I was not able to take many pictures (much to my dismay!!!), but hopefully I'll be able to post the link to their formal portraits in a few weeks! It was really special to watch Darin and Danni commit to a lifetime together, and I am excited to have them home from their honeymoon so we can start life together as a completed family! Darin and Danni, we pray God will bless you with many wonderful years together!!! More Photos

10/3/2008 Rehersal Dinner Mom and I arrived at the rehersal dinner site a few hours before the party to find the room in complete disarray from the previous event!!! Needless to say, we were pretty speechless . . . but by God's grace and a lot of quick moving we worked with the staff to make the room "dinner ready." Let's just say we didn't really need another crinkle in the day, but my mom lives by the saying: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. We really put that saying to the test!! The evening turned out beautiful, and we were treated to a wonderful meal. After a slide show, group sharing time, and many tears we left the hotel at 11:00 . . . excited for the following day!!!

10/2/2008 Popcorn and Palin Scott and Anna graciously invited us over for a wonderful dinner which was followed by the Palin debate and many wonderful desserts! Thanks for the invite. We had a great time! More Photos

10/1/2008 Wedding Preparation This week has been full of wedding preparations! Mom and I worked together to get the rehersal dinner checklist done, and we also helped Darin and Danni get the reception hall ready for Saturday. I must say, Darin is marrying a very flexible girl! Last week she found out she didn't have someone to make her wedding cake . . . so she decided she, Darin and her friend, Jen, would give it a try!!! Most girls would be completely stressed, but Danni went with the flow and the cake turned out beautiful! More Photos