House and Pregnancy Updates

The House-
We moved into our new house last Saturday! In the past week, we've been able to unpack most of our things and it is really starting to feel like home. Next on our to-do list is to paint and decorate the nursery for Ava. If we have time after that, we'd like to paint the living-room and dining room before Ava is born. If not, we can live with the existing colors until this Spring or Summer. We feel extremely blessed to have this house! God provided it for us at a really good price with a really low interest rate on our mortgage. The house is across the street from the parents' house (the house where I grew up!) and next door to a playground. We are within walking distance to some local shops, the library, and the Erie Canal. We couldn't have asked for a better location for our family. We are not really finished decorating yet, but here are some pictures of the house:

Those last two pictures are of Jonas' room. As you can see, we are going to transition him to a twin bed. Tonight will be his first night sleeping in it. We'll see how it goes!!


The Pregnancy-
Everything is going well with the pregnancy. I've been blessed to have very few negative pregnancy symptoms. We had another ultrasound a few weeks ago that showed that Ava's stomach is still not in the right place, but she looked very healthy! She weighed about 3 pounds 6 ounces! It was an encouraging ultrasound because the perinatologist explained that there was still no intestinal blockage, which is a great sign. She does not believe there will be any complications with Ava's health right after birth. She wants us to tell our pediatrician about the placement of her stomach so that he can do testing if it appears that she has certain symptoms as she grows. It may or may not be a problem for her in the future, but we have peace knowing that if it is a problem it would be something that could be corrected. I am 32 weeks along now, so I only have 2 months to go! Time seems to be speeding along rapidly to my due date and I sometimes wish I could push the pause button. It is so different from our wait for Jonas, which seemed so long and unending at times. Maybe it's because our wait to become parents started long before we started the process to adopt, and once we started the process we had no due date, but only rough estimations of time lines at best. But when I get a moment to stop and rest from my busy day I can concentrate on feeling the baby moving inside of me, and I'm reminded again of God's blessings. I look forward to meeting this second child that He has chosen to place in our family!

One Year Home! at OneTrueMedia.com

A year ago today, we stood in a courtyard in Ethiopia and held our precious son for the first time! Here is a picture montage of the past year. Enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mama, Da-ee, Bapa, Nana, Papa...

Jonas has a vocabulary of about 25-30 words. Here he is practicing family names in the bathtub. He knows how to say Ava, but for some reason he thinks it's funny to refuse to say it. Hmmmm... is this predictive of the kind of big brother he's going to be?

Peek-a-Boo!

Prayer for Baby Ava

We've had a couple of ultrasounds that show that Ava's stomach is midline in her abdomen, instead of off to the left like it should be. Thankfully, everything else appears completely normal and healthy. The perinatologist that spoke with us after the last ultrasound explained that when they find something abnormal in an ultrasound they try to rule out birth defects and problems that could go along with that abnormality. Everything they know that could be wrong was ruled out. The only thing they can't see is whether or not the intestines are rotating normally. The technology just doesn't allow them to see that detail. If the intestines are not rotating normally it could cause an intestinal blockage. There was no blockage at this time though. The perinatologist told us that we could be "cautiously reassured" that the baby will be fine, but he couldn't say for sure. I would rather have some plain reassurance without the caution, but we are trusting that Ava is in God's care. I'd just like to ask for your prayers that the Lord will continue to protect her as he forms her in the womb, and that there will be no intestinal blockages (or other complications) now or after she's born.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139: 13-14

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

Introducing the Newest Member of the Hammond Family!

According to the ultrasound, it's a girl! We will name her Ava Grace Hammond. In Spanish Eva (pronounced Ava) is Eve, and Eve means Life. So her name will mean "Life Grace", for by God's grace he has given us this little life. I just keep thinking about how much God has blessed us recently. There were times a few years ago that it seemed like we would never know the joy of parenthood. Both pregnancy and adoption seemed so far out of reach. Now we have a son and a daughter, and know the miracle of adoption and pregnancy! God's love and strength were with us when we were in the midst of the pain of infertility, and his blessings and healing have been poured out on us by first giving us Jonas and now Ava. Wow. I feel so inadequate to receive such blessings. But that's the awesome thing about God. He blesses us simply because He is Love!

In other news, we are in the process of buying our first house! That's another thing that I thought was impossible that God has made possible. I'll write more on that later!

Splish Splash

I just found out there is a spray park in a town very close to where we live. I wish I had known about it at the beginning of the summer! Jonas had a lot of fun running around in the water. His facial expressions were sometimes hilarious. It was hard to get good pictures without getting the camera wet, but here are a few. After our fun at the park, Grandma took us to Abbott's for Frozen custard. Yum! It was a fun afternoon.