Let us introduce you to Ayden James Ho!!!!!!!

Well... I was planning to post about two weeks another picture of my belly at 37 weeks, and well my plans were changed as our son arrived a week or so earlier than expected!! We are more than blessed to announce Ayden's arrival on November 19, 2008 at 7:49pm, that is East coast time. :) We have had a wonderful ten days so far getting to know Ayden and love him to pieces as we figure out what it means to care for e newborn. Min has been INCREDIBLE, and I don't mean that lightly. While we were in the hospital I didn't change one diaper, he has been amazing as a husband and a dad from the time that he knew I was beginning labor. Okay so I guess the story of his arrival is at hand... FYI there will be things shared that are personal so get ready :)

I think, for being a rookie at labor and delivery, that I began the process of labor on Sunday night, November 15th. That night I began to lose my mucus plug. I won't share too many details it was just very apparent to me that things were different and I felt different than before. Can't really say how, but I felt like man maybe he could come any day now. I told myself though that it couldn't be and that I didn't want to psyche myself out and it all be false labor. So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I worked as usual and did normal daily things like grocery shop, etc. Wednesday morning I felt very different, like crampy and achy, but not bad, so I went to work for the day. As I drove I just prayed and asked the Lord to get me through that day by His strength! I took the girls to the library, doing the normal daily things that I would usually do with Elizabeth and Sarah, the girls that I nanny for. As the day rolled along I began to have cramps, like period cramps, around 1pm. It struck me as funny but again I was like okay this could be false labor, and really I thought I don't know what labor feels like. Well I drove home at 2:30 and the cramps were stronger and five to six minutes between them. I called Melissa and asked her what a contraction felt like... and she told me to call the hospital. LOL!!! I did call the OB nurse at the hospital and she told me that I was probably in early labor. So I checked my email, and did things around the house, having cramps all throughout and laboring and breathing through them in the most comfortable ways I could find. Min got home at 4:45pm and I greeted him at our garage door saying that we probably were going to have a baby in the next 24 hours. He jumped into the shower and began packing things we would need. I told him that I needed to do laundry, so I threw a load in and then I wanted to take a bath before we actually made our way to the hospital. I guess I was just not wanting to rush to the hospital and them tell us that I was 2cm dilated and then we had a long night ahead of us walking the halls of labor and delivery. So I ran a bath and got in, this was the most comfortable way for me to go through contractions. While I was in the bath my water broke and this was the last straw per se that told us we should head to the hospital. Also Min said while I was in the bath that he felt my contractions were closer than five minutes apart. I agreed and in the next 20 minutes or so we made our way out the house and headed to the hospital.

We live about ten minutes from the hospital and as I had contractions during that drive, I counted then every two minutes as I tried to concentrate through them. As we arrived at the hospital we parked the car and headed to the second floor labor and delivery. Min checked me in because right away the nurses scooped me into a room and had me change and lay down to monitor Ayden and my contractions. The checked me and said I was 6 to 7 cm dilated. Min came and was again right by my side through every contraction, allowing my to grip his hand and sweatshirt as I went in and out of contractions. I told the nurses at this time that I felt the urge to push and they checked me again and I was already at a 10 in dilation. They told me that I was ready to push but we had to wait for the doctor to get there. Dr. Fishburne was the doctor that delivered Ayden and he was on call that evening. He got there within minutes of me reaching full dilation and he checked my charts and began to allow me to push as my contractions came. He was a good doctor and told me to use all of my energy to push and not yell. I was letting all my steam out with yelling. LOL!! I was embarrassed after the fact, but during you really can't get through without making any noise. But with what he said I had something to focus on and Min was a great coach to me as I would push Min would remind me not to yell but push with everything in me. Within five contractions, which accounted for about thirty minutes of pushing, Ayden James Ho had arrived!!!! They placed him on my chest as Min cut the cord and we admired the miracle that God has blessed us with and trusted to us!! Shortly after they cleaned him all up and weighed him, measured his length and head. He was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long!!!

We spent the next almost two full days in the hospital with many visitors who came to meet Ayden and celebrate with us; we were blessed by time spent with friends and family during those days! Min and I hardly slept the entire time; we found ourselves overjoyed and just in awe of what God does when He creates life!!

We have been home for 12 days now; Ayden is two weeks old today!! We have taken him to the pediatrician once and came away very encouraged about his progress in gaining an ounce since leaving the hospital and just his overall health was great!!

We hope this finds each of you doing well and we can't wait to introduce you to our son, whether that be here in NC or when we arrive home to California in February!! Thanks you for your prayers for Ayden's labor and delivery, they were all answered in great ways, and I personally praise the Lord for His presence and strength throughout!! We hope you enjoy these photos of Ayden!! They are just a few of the many that we have taken throughout the past two weeks!!! Love,

Min, Kimmy and Ayden :)

Fall Leaves, Fall Friends, Fall Festivals, and Fall Pumpkins!!!!

Well, we have had a very busy month in the month of October!! We have made our way to the mountains north of Charlotte and were able to see the beauty of God changing seasons literally right before our eyes!! It was a great day trip or us to just take time and see the beauty. The pictures are at the bottom of this blog entry... I uploaded them backwards. :) We decided as we drove that next year we would really like to head a little more north and spend some time in Virginia, where we have heard the leaves and colors are just unreal!!! But we were blessed to see the trees here and the amazing clouds too as you will see below!!

We were truly blessed to have our good friend Christiane FOX come and stay with us for almost a week!! She is heading to Sudan to be a Missionary there, hopefully sooner than later. You can check out her blog and her heart by clicking on the link to her webpage here on our site. She is truly a blessing to my life. God has crossed our paths originally at Briercrest Bible College about eight years ago and we have met up here and there along our journeys since then. She was able to fly here and share with our church, as well as the kids we work with weekly at AWANA. God had given her a heart for the people of Africa and He has opened the doors through a ministry called SIM to get her over there to use her nursing skills to bless people in the Name and love of Jesus Christ!! You will see pictures of her and I below at our annual Fall Festival at Mount Harmony! She was a blessing to have with us for a short while and I know that the people who spoke with her and met her were blessed as well!! We look forward to seeing how the Lord is going to use her in Doro, Sudan. If you know her, or even if you don't, please pray for her safety and that God will get her there finance wise when He wills!!

Below too you will see pictures of kids all dressed up who attended our Fall Festival at church this year! We dressed Ayden up as a little pumpkin the best that we could... people thought he was a cute pumpkin, and we did too!!!! We had a great time with all the kids that attended, the pictures that I posted are of some of the girls we have in our AWANA class, they were just too cute for words!! All the kids had their faces painted and well it was tempting to me to go get my face painted too!! I caved in and at the end of the night I got it painted!! It was one of those things that I just had to do...reliving childhood. :)

Lastly, the pictures right below here are of Min and I carving our pumpkins this year!! We did them a few days before Halloween and they actually made it this year without rotting... that happened t us last year. :) Min carved the Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus pumpkin, and I did Jesus praying and the little pumpkin for Ayden with a funny face. We had fun, we did not do them free hand, haha. We are not that talented, but even when they are traced it is still tricky to carve out the small details!! Min is way better than me, he always does a great job on them!!!

Well we hope this finds you doing well!!! We have less than 30 days until Ayden is due to arrive!! We are excited and are feeling more and more ready to meet our son! Can't believe that we are already into November, time is doing it's normal job of going too fast right before our eyes!

We are looking forward to a restful month ahead... we will see how that turns out :) One week from today I go to the doctor for a physical exam and that in when they will tell me more details about where we are standing labor and delivery wise... and hopefully they will have a better guesstimate of how big Ayden will be when he arrives!! We will see, we just pray for a safe labor and delivery and a healthy baby boy!!!! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and we look forward to hearing for you all and soon introducing our son to you!!!! Love from us to you!!!

Here is our carving process and the end result of our fun pumpkins!!!! We had a lot of fun doing them!!!

Here I am after the Fall Festival on Oct. 25th. I am 34 weeks here and still growing like crazy!!!

Christiane and I here at the Fall Festival!!

Danny Williams (He was a groomsman in our wedding) his neice Allison painted my face very pretty!!! It was a lot of fun!! The sign you see is Trunk of Treat... the kids trunk or treating and this is how they got candy that night!!! I think it is such a great idea!!!

These were the games we ran for a few hours that night, it was really fun!!!!

When we were at a lookout on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we randomly bumped into Danny Williams, Mom and Dad!! They are like are family here and it was just such a surprise to meet them randomly so far away from where we usually see them!!! Haha. It was a great picture opportunity!!

Less than fifty days to go... that is if he comes "ON TIME" :)

Well hello there!! Sorry that it has now been over a month since we have taken the chance to blog. We have had busy weeks and time just seems to be flying by right in front of our eyes. I cannot believe that there is seven weeks until Ayden's due date!! We are getting more excited with everyday!! I am feeling more and more ready as he grows and takes up even more room in my abdomen. I feel sometimes that he is bruising my ribs with his little feet. :) Good thing I can gently move him some when he is poking out in funny spots. Yesterday I had a 33 week doctor appointment and once again they assured me that everything is looking normal and that my uterus is measuring very normal as well. I asked the doctor if he could guess his weight and he said they don't tell until closer to his due date... but measuring average by the books means Ayden is 4.4 pounds right now!! Crazy to think in the next few week he will gain a half a pound a week, and I will as well!! :)

Below are a few updated pictures of my belly and how it is growing out of control!! I feel so big compared to how I was nine months ago but everyone here, even strangers, comment on how small and compact I am carrying him. It is funny to have strangers comment on your body, but I guess this prepares me for people making comments about Ayden after he is born. There are times when I will lay on my side and my whole stomach will shift because of his movements. It is a really fun and amazing time to be carrying him. It just amazes me the certain things that are a part of pregnancy and God creating a little baby!! I am thankful though as each week passes that he has longer in my womb to develop and be ready for all the things of this world.

Min and I are enjoying our days together before Ayden arrives. Min has been working longer hours than we are used to, but we are just thankful for the job that God has given him to be the provider for our family! As the Fall leaves change we are hoping to make a trip, even a day trip, to the mountains here and take in the beauty of God's creation, and He makes the leaves change form green to vibrant yellow, orange and red!! Hopefully we will have pictures to share sooner than later. :)

Here is me at 32 weeks pregnant :)

My tummy looks a little pointed to me with a shirt on.

Below are some changes we have made to Ayden's room, we painted letters for his name and hung them, as well as a little coat rack that will hold hats and bath towels and coats too :) Min and I love the San Francisco Giants, and this little hat I got for him when I was back home in May before we found out we were having a boy... we would have put it one a little girl too!! :) We also took the doors off of his closet and put up simple curtains to make his room seem and feel bigger. I think it worked well. We are slowly but surely continuing to prepare his room. It is getting there!! :)

We love and miss you all and pray that this finds you doing well!! We are so excited to eventually be sharing pictures of our son with you via the Internet!! And for those of you in California, we booked tickets home today for the dates of Jan. 30 through Feb. 9!!!!! So be ready to meet our little man when we travel home. Nana if you are reading this be ready to eat some pie with Min and I in celebration!! We send our love!!!!

Additions to Ayden's room!!

We have been little by little filling Ayden's room. The family that I work for has been so generous to us and given us books, and maternity clothes, as well as a three drawer dresser that we are going to use as his changing table! We have put his crib up and his mattress came today so we put his bed together with the bedding I found some months ago at a garage sale. As we continue to put his room together we will share photos of the process and final end product before he arrives!!

We have yet to put his name on the wall and hang some shelves... if you have any cute ideas feel free to share!!!

Love from us!!!

And we're in the home stretch!!

Min and I are overjoyed and kind of nervous too as we enter the last trimester of our pregnancy. I think that I (Kimmy) may be the one who holds nervousness, just about labor and delivery, you knows the new experiences I may have as Ayden enters the world! We had a doctor appointment on Sept. 2nd and we found out that Ayden is already head down which the doctor said was a good thing, because he knows the way out. Haha. We just hope and pray that he stays head down and for an overall smooth delivery!! We are very much looking forward to the next twelve weeks passing with quickness as we anticipate meeting Ayden!! I am in my 28th week, and Ayden is probably about 2.5 pounds give or take a little. He feels to me like he has grown so much because I can feel him move on both sides of my stomach now, where before there would only be movement in one area. He is just beginning to run out of room... but still moves around like crazy. Min is sometimes kind of freaked out by how strong his movements are from just laying his hand on my belly. He is strong that is forsure sometimes he moves in a way that shocks me some. It will be interesting to see how active of a boy he is when he is born. :)

Overall we are doing well here in NC, we are anticipating the humidity to end here soon, as the leaves show changes from Summer to Fall. Fall and Spring here are just so beautiful, we will post some pictures this Fall of the beauty that we are blessed to see daily!! Min is working hard daily as he always does!! It has really been neat for us to see over the past year how the Lord has provided for us, in all ways, and just dwell some on His faithfulness to us as His children!! This past Wednesday, Sept. 10th we began AWANAS, we work with the Sparks who are 5, 6, and 7 year olds and we are looking forward to another fun year with these kids as they work hard to memorize verses from the Bible! We look forward to one day when Ayden will be in this program and to what he will learn about God from studying His Word at a young age. It always amazes me to watch a child that cannot read learn a whole verse and know it in his/her heart before they are taught to read words! Kids are like little sponges!! We will also share with you pictures of the kids in our posts to come. :)

Here are some pictures of my belly recently and in the past weeks

26 weeks

28 weeks