The Lawn Mower’s in the Shed!!

…and then there were TWO!! That’s right…baby-girl is HERE! Noah Faith Atkinson was born at 8:04 am on Monday, April 5th, 2010….and our lives have never been the same! My sweet Noah is quite possibly the most beautiful and precious thing I’ve ever seen….and the best part is, she already almost sleeps thru the night!! (and all the mommies in the house said “AMEN!!”) Well…at least on Daddy’s shift she sleeps good. (whatever….) Okay, here’s the skinny…

Noah: Just the most beautiful thing EVER!! (wait…did I say that already??) Okay, you know they say (btw, who are “they”??) that every pregnancy/childbirth is different?? Well they ain’t neva’ lied!! (again, “they” are..who??) The pregnancy traumatized me so; therefore, we’ll just skip right over that! (yeah, what’s up with me being in the hospital so stinkin’ much?? Sakes alive!! Oh well…by-gones, right?) Let’s talk delivery.  First of all, the hospital must’a spiked my epidural with something becuz I got all “crazy-girl” while on the c-section table.  Now, mind  you, I was all epidural’d out, so from like my armpits down, I couldn’t move a single muscle, but for whatever reason, just about the time they were ready to cut Noah out, I HAD TO SIT UP and GET OFF THAT OPERATING TABLE!! Of course, it was all in my head becuz all I could do was swing my arms and flail about like a mad woman…until Nurse Cratchit had Brent come in and hold my arms down. Crazy-girl, indeed!  Once I figured out that it was a losing battle (why I didn’t know that going in is beyond me), I kinda chilled out just a bit….for a minute….then I was at it again! Flailing about until Nurse Cratchit grabbed one arm and Brent grabbed the other!  Anyway, this was as bizzarro of a delivery (again, they soooo slipped me a mickey…of that, I’m sure!) as it was a pregnancy.  And then…came Noah Faith! She’s absolutely perfect! Okay, a little FAT…but hey, who isn’t right?? She’s soooo cute! Her nickname is Fatty McFat-Fat…and she wears it well! I swear, as soon as they handed her to me in the delivery room, I could tell she was gonna be a “big-girl”! (No shame in that…I say “represent Noah…represent!”) She eats like she’s goin’ to the chair…every meal is consumed like it’s her very last one! (mommie’s hearty-appetite girl) She’s a perfect combination of her daddy and her Ya-Ya and me! There are times when she looks just like me; times where she looks just like Ya-Ya (who, btw, is my mom; aka ”Toria”); and times when she looks just like her Daddy.  It’s sooo cute! We especially like it since Elijah looks just like his Uncle Jason and his Granddady; nothing like me or his Daddy!  Anyway, she’s super chunky, and has the most beautiful crooked little smile! (have I mentioned how cute she is??) She’s about 9 weeks old and she’s already trying to pull herself up to a sitting position from a laying down position;  and she’s totally trying to figure out how to talk! Every time I get real close to her face and say “HI!” she tries to mimic me, but all that comes out is “squeak!” or “coo!” Sooo cute! More on her later, I’m sure…

Elijah: “Hurricane Elijah” as we call him! Seriously, the most adorable thing on the planet! He’s soo funny! He’s still a musician at heart; loves the drums, loves the guitar, LOVES to sing!! And he’s added a new instrument to his repitoire…the violin! (what the…???) That’s right…he likes to grab a shoe or something like that, and use is drum-stick as the violin bow (?) and pretend he’s playing the violin….bizzarre, perhaps, but not for Elijah! That’s just apparently how he rolls.  He was doing it one day and Brent said “are you playing your guitar, Lij?” and he said “No, Daddy…that’s my violin!” He cracks me up! And if he had his way, we’d all be one big happy BAND.  He likes for me to play the guitar, he likes to play his drums, and he likes for his daddy to either sing or dance (maybe Brent can be the groupie of our band??).  Oh yeah, we have jam sessions about 3 or 4 times a day. We ROCK!! \m/ \m/  Okay, besides musical instruments, his favorite thing EVER is the lawn mower.  Seriously.  The lawn mower.  And the best part is, he’s always aware of the exact location of the lawn mower.  And just in case you forget where it is, he’s more than happy to tell you.  Often.  Out back, there’s a large shed that the lawn mower is in.  So, periodically throughout the day, Elijah tells whoever will listen “The lawn mower’s in the shed!”  Not just once or twice a day, but about 15 times a day (seriously, FIFTEEN FREAKIN TIMES A DAY), he’ll look at the window and say “Mommie, the lawn mower’s in the shed!”  Even if we’re not home to look out the window, he’ll say “Mommie, the lawn mower’s not in the back yard” (where we used to keep it).  And I’ll say “that’s right, love, it’s not.” Then he’ll say “The lawn mower’s in the shed!”  His fascination with the lawn mower is sooooo funny! Every time we go outside he wants to go see the “lawn mower…in the shed!” (he doesn’t want you to start it..that freaks him out! but he wants to see it and sit on it — it’s a riding mower.)  Okay, what else…OH, he can count up to 13 without any help.  He can make it to 20 if  you coach him a little bit.  It’s so cute! He goes “13, 19, 17, 15, 13, 19, 13, 20! I DID IT!!!” And we all cheer him on!! (close enuf, right??) He’s learning his ABC’s, but stubborn child that he is, he won’t sing his ABC’s on demand. It has to be his idea, or his answer to “Hey Lij’, will you sing your ABC’s for Mommie?” is “NO!!” (nice…I love the 2′s…ugh!) As a southerner, he’s learning to say “yes ma’am” and “yes sir” as part of his manners. So he’ll either say “yes please” or “yes ma’am”, and everything is with a southern drawl!! It’s sooo funny! I don’t have a southern drawl, and his daddy only sometimes has a southern drawl, but Elijah adds about 2 syllables to every word he says! Mommie’s country boy! The latest cuteness came when he said “Daddy, are you sitting in Mommies chair??” And his Daddy said “Yes I am.” So he stood there for a minute and said “Sharing is GOOD!”  Okay, how much cuteness can one take!!??!! His daddy has been working with him on sharing for several weeks now, so that was especially precious! Yeah, my kids have me all wrapped around their tiny, precious, perfect, little fingers!!

Brent: Just wonderful! I love me some him! (color me Toni Braxton) Okay, so most of you know, he resigned from the church so we are no longer pastors.  We need to move (we’re currently living in the church parsonage so it’s their house), and we need to do so before we come to L.A. (btw, for  those of you who don’t know, we’re coming to L.A. at the end of July).  Good news is, we’ll probably be staying in a friends vacation cabin for a bit while we look for a house to buy (hopefully!).  And BETTER news is, Brent can go back to being supported as a missionary (like he was before he took on the church as a pastor), so we won’t necessarily be poor!! YAY!! God is good!! Anyway, more on the move when I have more info. 

Life with 2 dogs, a husband, and 2 kids: Totally exhausting.  But the most fun I’ve ever had!! I absolutely adore my family (even the dogs!).  Please continue to hold us up in prayer for clear direction from the Lord as to which area to buy a house in, and which direction to take for ministry.  We love you all and we’re praying for you! Can’t wait to see you in July!!!!! HOLLAH!!!!

All our love,

Brent, LeeSa, Elijah, & Noah Faith (aka The Atkinson Posse)

p.s…per Elijah, the lawn mower’s in the shed!!

xoxoxox