A little rant....

 But first, I must show you my gorgeous little Zanna.....almost 3 months old and well over 14 lbs now. I treasure her. :)

 Ok, now I want to rant....Promise, Toby and I were playing "Hi-One" (a game where dolls talk to each other) yesterday and I noticed a pattern with her new toys....you might have read rants about "Barbie" and her body being totally disproportionate...her 'chest' being insanely large in comparison with her teensy waist and massive hips....not to mention her astronomically long legs with the tiniest of dainty lady feet....well, ladies and gentlemen, our toy manufacturers have found another way to trick our kids into seeing the world a little more warped....and I mean SEE....

Case and point...the above picture....WHAT IS WITH THE MASSIVE HEADS AND THE BIGGIE-SIZED EYES on eensy weensy bodies??? Biggest offender? The "Littlest Pet Shop"....they seem to be lacking 'little' in the head department....and they BOBBLE! Probably because their necks can't bear the weight of their heads!

 I don't think we are teaching our children the laws of physics with these toys....it's a wonder they are able to stand on their own...oh, wait...most of them can't!

Take "Strawberry Shortcake" on the far left....we have tried and tried to stand her up, but between her enormous head and wild, never-ending hair, it's just impossible....and why do we consider these poorly clothed, gangly-legged dolls to be enriching our child's imagination? They resemble severely malnourished children...it's not particularly the "healthy" message I want to send my daughter...

I still prefer Fisher Price's "Little People"...in comparison to the above, they are far more proportionate....a little portly, perhaps, but strangely endearing and dressed appropriately....and they play "Hi-One" just as well.

So, that's my rant...Hats off to the "Little People" and just say, "NO!" to the "Littlest Pet Shop". I know, it's silly, but I really do find these toys ridiculous!
Thanks for letting me share....
Be blessed!

The Zanna Joy

 Did you ever hear the story of how Hosanna Joy was named? Well, let me tell you!

About two weeks before I knew I was pregnant with Toby, I had a dream while sleeping in my Filipino bed. While I do not remember what the dream was exactly, I do remember waking to the sound of a voice saying, "Her name is Hosanna Joy" and falling back to sleep.
Not knowing who Hosanna was and hoping we would be able to have another precious baby, I just assumed that Hosanna was coming when I became pregnant with Toby. I was surprised to find out that Hosanna was a TOBY! Grateful for my wonderful boy, I figured the dream was just a fluke and that the named belonged to someone else...perhaps I would meet someone of significance by that name...?

Then, after returning to Canada in 2010, our baby-having years were over. Tim looked into getting the "snip-snip" and we figured that two miracles, given all that we had been through, was plenty. However, deep in my gut, I knew we had one more coming to us...I didn't know when, but there was something incomplete in our family. Two and a half years later, I met Hosanna...not face to face, but rather as little kicks and squirms in my belly. The prophetic name given. I knew it was her the moment the pregnancy test came back positive.

My my my...she's grown so much. Only 10 weeks and already into the 3-month clothes and teething! She coos and sings...smiles for free whenever she sees me....our little reminder of God's faithfulness and redemption is daily a blessing.

 Too big for her little plastic bath tub (Promise's rubbermaid bin)...we had to upgrade to the kitchen sink.

 She even endures the constant nuzzles and knocks from her siblings with a smile.

 And when she eats, she's joined by her 'breastfeeding' brother and sister who conscientiously feed their own....

 And at nap time, she waits patiently for mommy while she reads stories to the others until it's her turn...

 Yes, Zanna brings us a whole lot of joy...

 Except when mommy has to do laundry and she's wanting to be held...so mommy has to transport her up and down the stairs in the basket....but she is not a fan.

But then, just a little cuddle and a bum change and Zanna is back to her content and peaceful self again. Sigh. I love my Zanna.

Though mommy is struggling immensely these days, Zanna continues to remind her that 'salvation comes'.

Christmas-New Year Catch-up!

 Promise and daddy helping me buy a winter coat for my birthday.....

 decorating our Christmas tree that daddy cut down....

 Getting Toby dressed for our day when the snow fell.....

 Toby taking ornaments off the tree with intent to destroy......

 a visit from Great-Grandma Phoebe with all the Stewart side grandkids.....

 Promise enjoying her Christmas spoils....wings and all.....

 Zanna heading for her first bath at Grandma Con and Papa Jim's house in Oregon.....

 Christmas party dress-up....

 Church Christmas program....Promise is just behind speaker.....

 Merry Christmas greetings.......

 Promise's preschool Christmas show...she's fourth one in from right.....

 Toby and mommy enjoying iPhone time.....

Hosanna tries on another embarrassing gift.....

And she is loving her two new friends!

So i type this all as i bounce a two-month old on my leg and attempt to keep her quiet so that the two-year old and four-year old stay in quiet time.....never a dull or quiet moment with three on the go, but God has blessed us and we're thankful for His Provision and Grace! More to come when this mom gets a free-er moment! Be blessed!

My 4-week wonder woman

 Hosanna (Zanna) Joy hit 4 weeks today with a new weight of 10 lbs 8 oz.  If she continues to grow at this rate, at 10 years old, she'll be 248 pounds. Wow.

With her baby acne and rolly-polly thighs, she's the cutest baby ever. I love her.

Christmastime is here....

 A brief look in pictures.....early Saturday mornings.....this week's feature presentation...."The Lion King"...Toby says, "Too scary, mommy".

Zanna sleeping....during the day

 Our town's Christmas tree lighting ceremony! Utter chaos.....and not a flattering photo of anyone. :)

 Our Little Bedford Falls in our little town....this weekend - we're getting our Christmas tree!

The whirlwind of THREE!

Sorry for the delay in posting! Three kids under 5 has proven to be quite the adjustment! Every moment (except for this very moment) is consumed with nursing, changing, whining, conflict resolution, cooking, cleaning, or if we're lucky, sleeping. We've not been very lucky these days. :)

Despite exhaustion and loneliness, Tim and I are so thankful Hosanna is here....like Piper wrote (you can click on the link from last post), "its the bubbling over of a heart that sees hope and joy and salvation on the way and can't keep it in."


She's our precious gift and we feel so very privileged to be given another chance to glorify the 
Lord with her....that's our prayer anyway. 
Thank you for your continued prayers as we are still adjusting to some kind of routine....
We're enjoying our precious family so much....we are very blessed.


Although, I must be honest, the smells, sounds and sights coming from her are not particularly 
glorified. :)
I will keep this post short, as I have to go rescue the children.

We also need prayer for health, too, as Promise has been fighting a cough, belly ache, 
and other issues that she doesn't want the doctor to know about. :) 
Toby and Promise have been dealing with the "sharing mommy" issue pretty
well, although behaviors are beginning to come out...and they are not pretty....but normal, 
I suppose. It does make parenting a lot tougher, though! 
We are so enjoying our precious family...we are very privileged and blessed....certainly beyond 
what we could ever deserve.

Two weeks old and just perfect. :)

Be blessed.

Happy Birthday, Hosanna Joy!

 Our precious miracle #3 is here!
Hosanna Joy Stewart came perfectly into our arms Friday, November 2 at 9:12 am weighing 8 lbs. and sporting 51 cm long. She's got a full head of dark brown hair and has already showed signs of a strong personality....opinionated about everything! :)

 We named her Hosanna for a variety of reasons, but Tim found a great word study done by John Piper on Hosanna. Click here to read: http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper83/032783e.htm

The longer birth story will be in a later post, but here is the brief synopsis.  I started labour on Wednesday night but it was very sporadic.  We knew impending doom was coming though.  On Thursday I laboured with some dear friends who go to Promise's preschool.  They were a little nervous to ride in the car with me; I was driving.  But things really didn't get active until about 5pm when I could no longer give undivided attention to the kids, so Toby threw trucks at me during contractions in his rage.  So I asked Tim to come home and we called the midwife.

Left the kids with grandma Christina and headed off to the hospital to get the first bout of antibiotics.  At 8pm they admitted me; I was 4cm.  After a loooong and sloooowww labour, at 8:45am I felt it was time to push this sucker out but my midwife told me not to.  So I waited very begrudgingly and tried not to push.  At 9am I'd had enough and it was time to push.  Three contractions and Hosanna came out without a tear!

There were cries of joy and excitement as our healthy baby girl breathed her first.  We are so grateful she is strong and healthy.  Grandma brought Toby and Promise by to meet there new sister.  They were very sweet and gentle and Toby declared "She's cute!" and then asked if he could pet her.  Promise started to tell us the agenda for when we took Hosanna home, which included babysitting her and teaching her to crawl and walk.

They discharged us from the hospital with a clean bill of health on Saturday around noon.  We'd love your prayers as we adjust to the chaos of home life with three kids under five.  Specifically, it would be nice if Hosanna would sleep at night, not just during the day.  We're so grateful for all the well-wishes, prayers and support of you all.  We are amazed at God's faithfulness.

Be blessed.