We Are Good!!

I just wanted to post something today and let everyone know we are doing well. My mother-in-law is here this week and she has been a huge help!! (Thanks MiMi) I will post more pics sometime this weekend. We are still getting adjusted to having Parker home with Cade but its going well. Cade just looks at her and smiles. He does this cool thing I wanted to share. Whenever we ask for a kiss or hug, he just leans his head into us. It is really sweet and cute. Well we have asked him to kiss or hug Parker several times and most of the time he does it. Well yesterday I had Parker laying beside me starting to wake up so I could feed her. Cade comes over and looks at her, smiles then leans his head in!! It was really cool and something I will never forget. Actually he has done that a few times. He is still trying to figure out who this new person is but he's getting there.

Mindy is a rock star as usual. She has been such a trooper and I am amazed at how fast she snaps back from being pregnant for so many months out of the past 2 years. And last night MiMi and Missy watched the kids so Mindy and I could get out of the house. We drove around then ended up at Nelson park to watch softball, breath and talk. It was awesome....almost like college, except we are married now and have 2 kids and a mortgage and school loans (wait that part is the same).

Parker Noel Bedard

Well she is here. For those of you who haven't seen pics or know the specifics...
She was born at 7:44 am, weighs 7 lbs 3 oz and was 18.75 inches long. She is beautiful like her mom!! Mindy is doing great and has been resting comfortably all day. Our family was here and that was awesome!! Here is a link to an album I have publised with some pics if you would like to see them: http://gallery.me.com/twobedards2#100016

The adventure continues!!

3 Becomes 4

I wanted to write tonight or today about a couple things. My mind is racing today and I am so overwhelmed with emotions and excitement it is hard to think straight so this may wander a bit. My classes are going great and I am already learning a lot. Today, though, I found myself wandering in and out of the discussion we were having. Naturally I was thinking about things more important than General Systems theory. I just wanted to brag about someone that I think has become my hero, my wife. Mindy has been a trooper over the past 2 years. She has been pregnant for the past 18 out 24 months. That is a long time!! The past 2 months have been especially hard on her and she has weathered through like a champ!! I have been falling in love with Mindy for a long time now but the past few years have brought us to a deeper level of love and admiration and friendship and devotion. She is amazing to me and I wish everyone could see her as she interacts with Cade and talks to Parker and loves me and supports me and my craziness. I was telling someone today that one of the things that initially attracted me to her (besides her hotness) was her ability to see through my crap and tell me I was full of it. She has never judged me, only loved me for who I am warts and all. And believe me I got a lot of warts. I can not imagine my life without her.

As you can tell, my emotions are bubbling today. Our lives are changing for the better. Yes stress levels will rise and we will be living through things we were just living through a year ago, but we will be doing it as a family. Or as I like to say, we are Team. I love that concept. As we sat there waiting for Cade to be born, we just looked at each other knowing things were changing now. All I could think about was that we would have to work hard together to make things happen. We would have to encourage each other and support each other and keep each other accountable. We would have to function as a unit or Team. So we have become and are becoming. We are going from 3 to 4 in 8 short hours. Our Team is expanding and I can't wait for it to be here.

Cade Is Walking

Well, it took a bit of time but little man is even more mobile!! He is a little shaky still but he took his first true steps tonight!! The great part is there were several people here to see him. You might recognize some of our Fairfax friends in the video. Enjoy the video. Sorry its short but I just wanted to get something up tonight!!

2 Days To Go! Long post ahead...

So, everyone wants an update on how we're doing. Here it is!

Chris- overwhelmed and overloaded with reading and new vocabulary to learn, BUT loving every minute of it!Every student has to work in the MFI clinic each week which means they have to dress appropriately for clients coming in to the office. I have enjoyed this because he has to dress up more than he ever did during youth ministry! He is really looking sharp this week!

Mindy- never been more uncomfortable in my life and not loving every minute of it! No, she hasn't dropped or turned, but it doesn't matter with a c-section. I have no idea if I've dilated, or how much, b/c it doesn't matter with a c-section, so the Dr hasn't even checked. I just know that I'm uncomfortable when I'm walking, standing, sitting and laying down! I'm sore from head to toe. I could go on complaining, but it really won't help anything! I feel sorry for the women who deliver after their due date. This c-section is already 5 days early and I'm counting every hour that goes by. Need I say more? 2 more days, 2 more days...

Cade- having a rough week. He has 4 teeth coming in at once, and they aren't small teeth. This time the teething is giving him major stomach problems. It started Sunday night when he didn't want to eat dinner and he had 4 (or was it 5, I lost count) stinky diapers in a row. We were trying to watch the closing ceremonies, but kept running to his room to change him. It's been so bad that this morning he had poop coming out of his diaper and all down his leg, and all over his sheets. Between the 2 of us, Chris and I have changed 6 poopy diapers since that one this morning. He is also trying to walk. Every day gets better and better, but this is such a slow process for him. He is almost too cautious. He takes 2 very small steps and then falls. We're waiting on that 3rd step before we video tape him. If he sees the camera he won't do anything. He's too fascinated with the camera and wants to push all the buttons! Lastly, his little sister will be entering HIS world on Friday. I know he doesn't understand this yet, but I believe he knows there is something new going on. He spends time with me in her room, and plays with her dolls. He mainly just throws them around the room! This next week will be interesting to see how he reacts to her being around 24/7. Pray for our little man! He's got more going on than the rest of us, and he's just so darn sweet about it! I don't know how I got such a sweet child. Quick example: I was getting some wet clothes out of the washer and, by accident, I dropped some of them on the floor right in front of the dryer. Being as big as I am it's so hard for me to bend over, but my little man came to my rescue! I didn't even have to ask him, he crawled up to the dryer and threw the clothes right in perfectly! I was so proud of my little helper! He just thought it was a game and giggled at his accomplishment, but I'd like to think he saw my frustrated face and came to my rescue! He is truly so sweet!

Parker- I'm pretty sure she already knows how to crawl! She moves ALL the time. I did not experience this with Cade. He was swimming in all the extra fluid I had(which some believe was caused by the IVF, but we'll never know). I felt him move, of course, but not like this little gymnast! This is good news to the Dr, but it gets annoying when it's happening to you! Today she was laying in a weird position which made my right leg and my left arm and hand numb for hours. Right now she is moving up and down, up and down. I can see what I think is her head moving up and down and pushing all over my insides! She gets the hiccups a lot too, but not as much as Cade did. Hers are different. They aren't as violent as his where, but they happen more often and last longer. Other than that, heartbeat is fine, measurements are fine. The Dr thinks she will weigh more than Cade, but that's a no brainer b/c he came 3 weeks early and didn't have those last days to fatten up! She is plenty fat! My guess weight is 7.8; my mom says 7.2, and Chris says 7.5 We'll know in 2 days!

That's it for our family update. All of our parents come in Thursday night for the exciting festivities happening at 7:30 am the next morning. I won't blog any more until she's here, so check back for pictures of her this coming weekend. Coming soon!
Love to all,
mindy

Back To School!!

For everyone not keeping up with our life we are about to have 2 pretty significant things happen to us this week. The first one is tomorrow. I (Chris) am going back to school. I did not think I would ever say that again 8 1/2 years ago but tonight as I type this, I am so very excited. I can't wait actually. I know that may sound weird but I have been looking forward to this day since early March. I know it will be different and it will take some time to get used to it, but I look forward to the challenge. As a family, we are ready to take on a new kind of being busy (after 7 plus years of full time ministry). It will be a 2 year crazy journey, but it will be one we do together as a family.

And speaking of family, the second big event this week happens on Friday. Our little girl, Parker, comes into the world around 7:30 am Friday morning. And as excited as I am about starting school, it pales in comparison to the birth of our second child. But more on this later this week.

Me and Jana @ church last Sunday. We have our ACU Wildcat spirit going! Jana was one of my roomies during my incarceration (ha ha) at ACU! Her husband, Brandon, (one of Chris' former roomies) is teaching in the Graphic Design Dept at ACU. We are so happy to hang out with them again, and especially their kids! It's so fun to watch your friends as parents. We all grow up too fast!

We tried to get Cade and Jana's little girl together for a photo shoot for the ACU magazine, ACU Today. As you can see... Cade is afraid of girls! He loves Jana's little boy who is 4. He follows him around and tries to imitate him, but Skylar is a different story! For some reason EVERY time we got her near him he would FREAK out! I just kept telling him to get used to little girls, Buddy! There's one coming to our house very soon!!!