Well, here we are at week 7! That is crazy... and now I need to slow down the use of the "I have a newborn" excuse. In all honesty, this little guy is more fussy than the previous 6weeks. Supposedly the crying peaks from now until week 12, I hope we reach the climax soon and put the "fussies" behind us. Ezra's actually a pretty laid back boy who just has a little trouble when wanting to go to sleep (especially at night). The few times we've tried to go out with friends to dinner, one of us has ended up outside with the baby pacing the sidewalk until he falls asleep. Apparently the days of falling asleep in the carrier in a noisy restaurant are over. But he can still make it through Karate Kid with a little supplemental feeding in the dark.

Monica came and went, and we all had a wonderful time with her. Ezra was cooing and smiling at her the first night she arrived. She even confessed at her attempt to take Meemaw's baby whisperer title...granted, she has had a lot of personal practice with her own four. We lounged about for a few days and ran a few errands, but mostly just enjoyed company. We are so glad that Chris found a flat in London, and we are now just praying for a great transition for everyone. God has surely blessed His ministry through them and I cannot wait to see what this next transition holds for them. His faithfulness to the faithful is evident in this beloved family.

We look forward to our trip to Houston in July. I arrive the 19th and will leave the night of the 25th. I've heard that the "stuff" is harder to manage than the actual baby. We will see!

Well, yesterday was the one month mark since Ezra's arrival. We are all doing well and other than a few breast feeding snafus things have been running smoothly.

Ezra has been amazing us with holding up his head (since week 3) and even occasionally rolling over from his tummy to his back. This only happens on a random basis, but it's still pretty cool to watch. It has been such a blessing to have family nearby the past few weeks as many of them have donated time to take care of the baby so I can have a nap! So nice! This picture is of Ezra with his cousin, Ty, at Uncle Billy's birthday dinner. They are so sweet.

We are also benefitting from the fruits of summer at our home and at the local farmer's markets. Our cherry trees are producing some gorgeous fruit and though I've never thought I needed a cherry pitter, I think this may be the year to buy one.

Mark, Ezra and I look forward to a summer of seeing family and hopefully doing more outside of the house! ! The 101 degree weather this week has been a bit of a deterrent, but at least there is no Houston humidity to go along with the high digits! And Aunt Monica comes to visit next week! Hooray! We'll be sure to save her lots of cherries.

All right, so a few people have been asking me about Ezra's nursery. It started with an antique nail bin that Mark and I bought at the Round Top antique festival last year. It has been stashed with all sorts of antique finds from this year's festival as well as a few new and re-used pieces. The walls were our idea, but I was not terribly motivated to paint while pregnant so we passed that job to the professionals. Speaking of professionals, the inspiration for the room was really the fabric used for the curtains and bed which my mom (with the help of dad and Monica) turned into an absolutely gorgeous original set. I could go on and on about how beautiful, fun and perfect it all is...but instead I'll just let you look at the pictures. (And I threw in the sleeping smile I caught from Ezra yesterday).

Let's see, the futon was a re-use piece from Mark's bachelor days. And the bed is new as are the lamps. The changing table is an antique piece from Pennsylvania (I'm sure the dealer would be not so thrilled to hear of its current purpose), and the shelving is a chicken coup that my dad rigged with shelves for cloth diaper paraphernalia. The corner dresser was in my bedroom growing up and the rug came from our trip to visit Ryan and Laura in Istanbul. It's so soft! I contributed a painting of Ezra's name that I made while passing the time in early labor at home, but it is not hung yet. The green letter "E" is from an old JcPenney and Co. sign and the tiny rocking chair in the middle of the room was Mark's mom's as a little girl. So Ezra is the third generation to use it.

Anyway, enjoy the pics! This was the most fun I've ever had decorating a room....I just hope he likes it a loooooong time.

Praise God, our little guy has arrived. Ezra Wolf Bieniarz came into our arms on Thursday, May 6th clocking in at 7 lbs 5 oz and 19.5 inches. After 2 days of labor, we were all glad to see his beautiful face and hear his gorgeous cry. His sounds and size have changed daily and Mark and I are just thrilled to look at him. My parents have been here to help since a few days following his birth, and they have been a tremendous blessing to our family as we transition into parenthood.

My mom and dad have helped with everything from groceries, to burping. It's nice to watch experience in action. So far, our little guy has taken well to feeding and gained an absolutely astonishing 15 oz in a three day period. No joke! The pediatrician made the nurse weigh him a couple extra times just to be sure that was correct, but apparently he has hit the ground running in regards to scaling the growth charts. I, on the other hand, am eating a daily dose of M&Ms and Reeses Pieces to be sure I keep up with his caloric needs....oh with a dollop of Blue Bell on the side. He's also sleeping in 4-5 hour stretches most nights. What a blessing!

While Ezra's health has been fantastic, I am still waiting on my body to fully heal. If you think of us, please pray for healing for my body especially as my parents return to Houston later this week.

We look forward to introducing him to everyone, and he's already been to church (at 4 days old) to be dedicated on Mother's Day. It was very special to have both of our parents there. We read the verse from Neh 8 where Ezra the prophet encourages the people to let the joy of the Lord be their strength. We pray the same now for our little guy and our family and pray that the Lord would always be his help.

Two days until the 5th! It has come quickly, and now cannot come soon enough. The bouncer is ready, diapers are washed, pack-n-play assembled, hospital bag packed, iPod list made ...and now we are just waiting. Pray with us as I try to walk 8 hrs a day (okay, not really) and eagerly anticipate with us the arrival of this little guy, this precious gift. I told Mark that the baby must be like his mom and is currently refusing to come out until the low temperatures are finally out of the 30's! Can you believe we've had some sleet and snow since last Thursday....ridiculous.

We are thankful though to have had the weekend to attend a fantastic conference at our church. We heard from Randy Alcorn and Wayne Grudem all weekend on amazing principles of God's Word in living in light of eternity. It will be posted on our church's website in a week or so if you would like to download a great dose of wisdom and humility (www.desertspringschurch.org). I highly recommend it!

Let's see, just a little over a week until the due date...but who really knows when that will be. Praise to God and thanks to all those who prayed that our little guy would not show up this weekend while Mark was on call. I can finally relax and finish packing my hospital bag now. Mark says that it is his turn to carry around the baby, and I agree! I'm not desperate yet or terribly uncomfortable (thank you prenatal yoga videos) so others have told me he's not ready to show his little face yet. Blast! I will work on my best face of desperation this afternoon to speed things along.

We had our final baby showers this weekend. This little guy has been showered enough to float from New York to London, and I think we are finally close to the diapering artillery needed to care for his little tush upon arrival. After 5 minutes of adjusting one all-in-one diaper to fit a newborn I'm fairly convinced that I could probably blog just on the topic of cloth diapering once he arrives....and I haven't even pre-washed them yet! I'll keep you updated on that one. My favorite gift of the weekend came in the form of baby Mark in a car seat. Sarah, Mark's mom, made a stuffed baby version of Mark and slapped a life sized version of his cute little face while still in the hospital on the fake baby's head. Then he was gently placed in the car seat to greet me at our baby shower. We will have to put our little one ( the real baby b that is) in the same outfit and compare look-alikeness after his arrival.

Pray with us in the final days of anticipation that we would be filled with peace, hope and joy....and be well rested because goodness knows that won't last!

A few more weeks

Have you ever been without internet for a month? NO FUN! Our internet is still not consistent even a week after an upgrade and three technical visits later. Ugh! But now we have an "expert" technician coming out for problems of "escalated status" tomorrow. Hopefully I will be more motivated to blog when my download speed is greater than 0.2.

Enough complaining about technological woes. Mark and I are excitedly approaching the birth day of our son one moment at at time. We spent fabulous time with friends and family in Houston. Our shower in Katy at Lillie's home was incredibly elegant and fun! Thanks to everyone who drove across town or the state to make it special. The shower at my sister's house with all my family proved truly entertaining as the grandads diapered baby dolls and the dads swaddled the plastic infants.

After our time in Houston, we celebrated the Texas wildflowers in Round Top with my family sans children, and Mark's parents. We had a great time amid the flowers, antiques and intriguing individuals selling their wares at the antique festival. We have since come home and even had the help of my parents in Albuquerque for a few days to set up the gorgeous curtains that my mom (with the help of my engineering dad) created for his room. They are LOVELY and higher quality and more fun could not be purchased! And what kind of artist actually comes to install their own artwork but a loving set of grandparents?!

My recent visit to the midwife went well, and the baby is growing right on target but apparently sucking nutrients from elsewhere in my body since I cannot seem to gain weight even though I've added daily Oreos to my diet. Why not? My doula (birthing guide) came over the other night to lead Mark and I through a labor and birth visualization....it was very nice, but I could not make eye contact with Mark for fear of absolutely loosing it with laughter as I imagined him trying to attempt such a feat as "birthing". Our doula is very sweet and we look forward to her reassuring support and knowledge when the time comes. Its crazy to think that we have less than a month...the time went slowly at first, but now its is speeding up! And I haven't even packed a bag for the hospital. Better go get started on that.

To all my family, it was wonderful to see you all and we look forward to introducing you to our new little guy this summer. Praise God for a healthy pregnancy and for faith in His timing and provision.

Yes it's true! Mark and I took a real vacation! We (okay maybe more "I" than "we") decided to stick close to home (read: shorter plane ride, less ankle swelling and low back discomfort) that we could get away for 4 nights. So we visited "Fabulous Las Vegas". We stayed at a non-gaming spa hotel to avoid smoke and noise....but we were attached to the Bellagio in case we needed our smoke and noise fix for the day. We had a few fabulous meals overlooking the fountains, lights and city chatter, and we saw two Cirque De Soleil shows which were feats of acrobatic and engineering ingenuity.

Since I am my father's daughter, it could not be a purposeful vacation without a little history thrown in, hence Mark and I drove to Hoover Dam. We took the tour into the tunnels and power generator center and admired the feats of men who worked 24/7 for about 5 years to complete the structure. It was truly amazing.

For Mark and me, it is not a real vacation if you are not outside doing some hiking of some sort. So we drove to Zion National Park, and despite our unpreparedness, in other words we stopped at WalMart to buy clearance clothing for the wet-cold weather, we had a great time seeing the natural wonders of this corner of Utah. We definitely want to bring little BUD back in the spring time when your socks aren't iced over after a hike.

I am now 30 weeks pregnant, and this little active guy has not appeared to run out of room yet. He still flops around like a fish trying to jump out of water...or a kid trying to come out of my belly button. We are having our house painted this week, including the baby's room, so hopefully I'll have some domestic pictures for you all next week. Praise God for a healthy little guy, a healthy mom, and a wonderful and patient dad! I love my sweet husband and am so grateful for the time we had together to rest and rejuvenate for the final quarter! We are now really looking forward to our trip to Houston in one month. I fear I may be in a full waddling state by then, but none-the-less we're coming!

Happy late Valentine's day to all family and friends. This past weekend my dear friend, Sara, came to visit from Houston, and we made Indian food for four. We went so far as to make cheese and naan. Soooooo tasty! And now that my stomach is finally in synch with my tastebuds, I can eat spicy foods and not suffer all night long. Praise God for Prilosec and modern medicine.

Above is Sara rolling out the naan with a wine bottle. We do lots of reusing and recycling around here, and well, I don't own a rolling pin. Isn't she lovely in the "covered with flour look" ? Below is a picture in front of the Loretta Church in Santa Fe where we went for the afternoon with Mark. There is snow all over the ground up there, but we only see snow on the peaks of the Sandias from our house's windows. I had a fabulous time chatting, cooking, meandering, and relaxing with Sara. If only I could get everyone I know to visit for a weekend! We love our guests!
I'm now at 29 weeks pregnant, so about 7 months. And just so you are not fooled, pregnancy is a 10 month process (not 9, they lied). Two more months and it'd be like an elephant's gestation, thankfully I'm not birthing an elephant. Just an averaged sized boy (7lb 6 oz) is what I'm praying for....but God in all His wisdom knows what I can handle. My midwife says things are looking great, and we've hired a doula (a birthing guide) for the labor and delivery process as well. We are grateful for the support these women will provide when the time comes to hold this little one in our arms. And everyone keeps asking about names, so if you must know, we have a running list of options, but I think we will wait until we actually see him to give him the right one. If you have any new options for us, just post them! We love new ideas!

It is the Monday after a busy but very fun vacation to Phoenix for the weekend. Mark and I went with Sarah, Mark's mom, to visit Mark's grandmother, Carol. Despite floods in Phoenix, and snow storms in Albuquerque we managed to get there safely (in a very short window of time when neither of the airports were closed).

Grandma's 90th birthday is in April and we wanted some special time with her as we will not get to make it to her party in late March. We were well cared for out in Sun City, and even did a little sight-seeing on Saturday including some of Frank Lloyd Wright's famous architecture. We went to a neat 1920s theater renovated in downtown, a cake tasting event at a local bakery, and we ventured out to an artist's colony in Paradise Valley where they make spectacular bells of brass. It was a fabulous weekend and we were so grateful for Grandma Carol's hospitality and energetic spirit. Mark somehow managed to beat us all at hearts, but I'm pretty sure Grandma was just holding back! It is a sweet thing to make precious memories over conversation and experiences with loved ones, and it always adds thrill to a trip when it involves an airport (even if the one hour flight does make your ankles swell a bit).

Before heading out to Phoenix, we had a third ultrasound done on Thursday. There were a few particular views that the ultrasound technician could not get in December due to the baby's "high activity level". Well, this visit was no different. He was constantly kicking the tech's probe and moving in circles and punching and flopping around.....the WHOLE time! After over an hour, when we were about to have to reschedule, again, he calmed down for about 30 seconds, just long enough to get the pictures we needed. Silly baby! He does not particularly like being watched, I wonder. We have a few pictures in 3D of his sweet face, which caused adoring coos and ooohs to fall from our technicians lips. I think I'm reserving my coos for when I actually get to hold him and I don't see placenta by his face! He's gained 1lb in one month and now weighs roughly 1lb 14 oz. The crazy thing to me is that his feet have grown 2 cm and are now 6 cm long! Definitely Mark's size 12 and NOT my size 6 feet. Mark and I are excited, so as my mom prepares to make bedding and curtains, and I finally decide on paint colors, we ask that everyone just keeps praying that the Lord would prepare us as parents to trust in Him for the life and salvation of this precious child.

Okay, So I am a very delinquent blog writer and I'm sorry to have deprived any of you of pictures of my burgeoning belly. For the quick version of December up 'til now, it was busy....but oh so much fun! My mom and dad, Monica and Chris and the four kiddos all came up to see us for Christmas. We had a little bit of snow in the valley where we live, and we even took a morning trip up the backside of our mountain for a bit of sledding. I think the adults had a bit more fun as the children were wearing rain boots full of melted snow after a couple runs down the short hill. And of course, Anna proved to be the snow bunny of the bunch! You'll have to go to Chris for pictures of that one, I was sadly without camera.

Mark and I took a day and went to Tent Rocks which is in between Albuquerque and Santa Fe to do a little hiking. Pregnant ladies on ice should have walking poles, that's a tip for my own future. Anyway, it was great to get outside into the cool sunshine and see some of God's creative handiwork at the park.

I am now in my 24th week, and we are headed for another ultrasound in a week. Yeah! This sweet little boy is enjoying meal time and any time I think is a good time for lying down. I suppose that is his time to shine as my tummy visible wiggles and bounces with his acrobatic feats.

We are trying our best to think of names and pick out paint colors, but in the end we already have diapers, onsies and clean sheets and blankets.....I think we're set. Ultimately, it is hard not to find ourselves so blessed and mercifully spared as we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Haiti, and hope that those who do not know Him will turn to Him during this time of suffering.