Christmas Celebrations

Christmas was a different experience for us this year, as we were in the hospital Christmas Eve and most of the day on Christmas. My parents came to the hospital Christmas Eve to spend time with Lily and I while Jeff went to his family's annual Christmas Eve celebration, possibly his favorite celebration of the year. They brought with them Christmas dinner that we could eat the next day at the hospital and our gifts since we wouldn't be there with the rest of my family as they exchanged gifts Christmas day. Lily didn't get to participate since she was in the nursery, but I loved the extra time with my parents.

On Christmas day we didn't see any family, but did have the blessing of going home earlier than expected and getting to eat Christmas dinner at home.

Our real Christmas celebrations started a couple of days later. Our little family of 3 celebrated first. It was very low key since we hadn't known what to expect this year.

Lily did get a few gift from us. Jeff and I had each picked out a special toy to give Lily once she arrived. Doesn't she look adorable in her Santa hat?


That afternoon we headed up to my parents house for Grandma's birthday and more Christmas celebrations. Most the family also got to meet Lily for the first time.

Uncle Ryan enjoyed holding Lily while her cousin Jacob admired how pretty and soft she was.

Lily has four wonderful cousins who eagerly welcomed her into the family. One of my favorite moments from the night was Grace explaining things to Lily. "I am Grace and this is my brother Charlie," she explained as she put her arm around her brother. "He is toddler and I am a big girl." I am sure Lily will appreciate having a girl cousin to explain the ways of the world as she gets older.

The following day Jeff's family came over a more Christmas celebrations. They were only here visiting for a short time so it was special to spend this time with them.

Christmas is always a special time of the year as we celebrate the ultimate gift that God gave us in his son and look forward to his return again soon. This year was made even sweeter by His amazing gift of Lily to our family.

Biliruben

The first of many unexpected twists of Lily's life was that her biliruben levels were very high, causing a sever case of jaundice after only 24 hours of life. Her treatment was simple, 24 to 48 hours under a bili light with meals every three hours supplemented with formula for extra protein. Lily was moved to the nursery and Jeff and I spent much of our time there, too. Lily didn't seem to mind as she bathed in the warm light.

Check out those stylish glasses!
We tried to use socks to keep her from scratching herself, but they didn't last long.

After 31 hours under the bili light, Lily's levels were well within the normal range. The doctor gave us clearance to go home as long as we went back to the hospital the next day for some follow-up testing. We happily agreed and both of us were discharged Christmas evening to go home.

Meeting Grandparents

Our families are amazing. Throughout the delivery day we tried to keep everyone updated with text and pictures since they couldn't come back to visit us due to the hospital policies. Some still waited at the hospital, anxiously listening for "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to announce Lillian's birth. Others wisely waited at home communicating with frequent texts and supporting through constant prayers. My dad desperately tried to make his flights from the east coast dodging snow storms and delayed flights. Due to complications with the delivery, no one got to meet Lily until the next day, and then only grandparents could come back to the recovery room. As soon as they could, they were there to meet little Lily.

It only takes a moment to fall in love with this precious little girl.

I think Lily already loves her grandparents. Just look at how she can't take her eyes off Nana.

Papa, who quickly was wrapped around Lily's little fingers, had some fatherly advice to give.
Grandma and Boppo couldn't keep their eyes off of their fifth grandchild.
Looks like a great friendship is already forming between Lily and Grandma!

Introducing Lillian Tish Melvard

Lily was born on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 12:09 AM.

She weighed in at 6 pounds, 4.5 ounces and measured 19 and 3/4 inches long.

Lily is the ultimate Christmas gift and we continually thank God for the blessings he has given us through her already.

Waiting

The waiting game has officially begun! Jeff and I are anxious to meet our little girl, as are our family and friends. She could come join us at any time, but we are hoping to encourage her to come out before the holidays. Instead of just sitting and waiting, we have been trying to keep busy. Saturday I treated myself to a pedicure in the morning. My toe nails are now a festive red and the pampering was wonderful. Saturday afternoon our good friends the Simmons (complete with 6 month old Bridgett) and DeKokers came over for Christmas fun. This year we had to combine and simplify some of our traditions, but we still managed to fit in another viewing of Christmas Vacation and some good hang out time.

Sunday we were blessed by the children's performance at church. The preschoolers were simply adorable as they sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and the celebration kidz Sunday school classes wowed us with their songs and skits. Sunday afternoon I went to a memorial service to celebrate the life of a friend from high school. He truly lived more fully in his short 26 years than many do with a whole life time. The day ended with a fun visit from Angela, Jeff's sister, who joined us for dinner and Elf.

Monday we plan to relax and maybe walk around the mall or catch a movie. Jeff also has a little Christmas shopping to do, too. Hopefully we won't have many more days of waiting. Tuesday we are on call to be induced, but God has a way of changing our plans. Prayers for patience and peace are appreciated!

Sleepless Nights

Between my mind racing with all the last minute details, the baby kicking and poking at my insides, and my nose making it difficult to breath, I haven't been sleeping much the past few nights. Instead, I have been making good use of my time! On Saturday I moped the floors, cleaned the bathroom, and sorted the baby's laundry which included taking all the tags off. Do you know how long it takes to cut apart baby socks? Seriously, for each pair of socks there are three little ties holding it together which are almost impossible to find and challenging to cut without cutting the socks. It took forever but it was nice to have the laundry all ready to go for Sunday. Sunday night I packed for the hospital and did some baby reading and research. If she could really come any day I suppose I should be ready. Monday night I wrapped Christmas presents. Our tree is looking much more complete with fun presents under it. There are even a few for baby just in case. The only down side to all this extra time is that my poor students have to deal with a tired and somewhat cranky teacher. Oh well, just another four days! Here are pictures of my latest profile. It may be my last pregnant pictures...

Wicklander's Pond

One of Jeff's favorite winter memories of growing up was when the Wicklander's Pond would freeze over and the family would have ice skating parties. They would light up the pond using Christmas lights and spend the afternoon/evening ice skating and staying warm by a big camp fire drinking hot chocolate. The weather was only cold enough for this to happen a few times as Jeff was growing up, but with the cold spell we have been having this year the pond was completely frozen. In fact, this has been the third year in a row that we have enjoyed an afternoon of ice skating back on the pond.

Sadie loves to chase the ball and slide on the ice.

Making sure the skates are nice and tight so Emma can wow us with her ice skating moves.

Of course the night isn't complete without roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

The sleds are always a big hit and everyone gets to turn pulling and being pulled.

Jon and Curt take their boys racing on the sleds.

Cookie Baking

One tradition that I have had the honor of becoming part of since joining Jeff's family is cookie baking. It quickly became one of my favorite traditions as I love all kinds of cookies.

Every year the women gather to bake and share cookies. We spend the afternoon preparing cookies, catching up, and enjoying Lea's great homemade soup. It is quite a process, but at the end of the day I came home with tupperwares full of 9 different types of cookies to last us through the holidays. This year I made magic cookie bars and peanut butter rice crispy treats at Jeff's request. I still have plans to try to copy Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bar as well but there just isn't enough time in one weekend!

Angela made yummy mint chocolate chip cookies!

Someone has to unwrap all those kisses for peanut butter blossoms.

Emma and Cruize joined in by making gingerbread houses this year. Don't they look yummy?

Oh, Christmas Tree!

On Saturday we headed down to our favorite tree farm. The people are friendly, the trees are big, and the cider is hot! I have learned to let Jeff have his fun and not argue about how big the tree is. This year Jeff picked a "small" tree, at least one he was sure was smaller than last year, but it was so pretty it would work. Obviously I couldn't help much getting the tree into the house or set up so we invited our friends over for dinner and tricked them into helping. As it turns out, the tree is bigger than last year, almost touches the ceiling (but he was right, it did fit!), and only fell down once when the weight collapsed the stand. Thankfully our friends were here to catch the tree before it took out a bookcase or table.

Adam held the ladder for Jeff as he climbed all the way up to the top to put on our silly star. The evening felt like it belonged in Christmas Vacation.

On Sunday, Jeff and I finished up decorating the tree.

It is fun every year to remember all the fun ornaments we have collected through the years. Both our families had the tradition of giving kids a new ornament every year. It is a good thing we get such a big tree to display all our ornaments.

Don't worry, I was on the ladder for the purpose of the picture only and quickly got back down.

Oodles of Noodles

Every year after Thanksgiving, the Tish family keeps celebrating with Noodle Night. This year Jeff dropped me off at my parents on his way to hunting so I could spend the day helping to make noodles. My mom and I both set up our mixers on opposite sides of the counter and mix, roll, and cut homemade noodles to feed 25 people. The kids, especially Grace, like to come help, too. This year the big hit was flour- which manged to get all over the counters, floors, and kids!

All these noodles went into the pots for yummy food and then more family time. This is one of the only times that most od the Tish clan reunites each year and it is so fun to see everyone together.

Thanksgiving

This year we celebrated all that we have to be thankful for with Jeff's family. We missed a few of our members that could not be with us either due to distance or health, but enjoyed all that were there. Jeff and I were both especially thankful for the bundle of joy that God has chosen to bless us with and all the support and encouragement we have received from family and friends as we prepare for her arrival.

The boys watched football and quoted lines from Christmas Vacation in preparation for the traditional first viewing of the same movie after dinner. They also threw in a few Elf quotes, which in my opinion would make a much better movie to watch every year...

As always dinner was great and we had lots of yummy desserts to sample throughout the evening. What a great day to remember the blessings God has given us!