Noah's first 3 days at home

Our friend, Tarita having her turn with Noah on Tuesday.

Two days old on Monday

On Sunday, Mary was the first sibling to hold Noah when he came home.

We are so blessed to have a healthy baby boy! What a great surprise to add another boy to the family. His delivery went extremely well and we brought him home after 24 hours. Many of our family and close friends prayed for months that our baby would be full term, and the labor would go easily and safely. All of our prayers were answered. Praise the Lord!

Noah has been eating like a champ! He had his newborn baby appointment today and hadn't lost any weight. His doctor (Blackwood) is an answer to prayer. We met him and his wife today. It was refreshing to learn that he is the father of 10 children - and I was thankful at how family-friendly, thoughtful and practical he is.

Kendal and Kelsey have done a great job over the last few days running the house during our time away. After being more involved in laundry and making meals over the past few months, they ran the operation since we went to the hospital. I am sure they would be thrilled if we rewarded their hard work with holding Noah. They crocheted a beautiful blanket for Noah, and Kendal made several much needed burp cloths from flannel remnants.

Isaac and Daniel have enjoyed watching Noah open his eyes, and have given him a few kisses. They are still waiting for their chance to hold him. Maybe tomorrow.

Anna, Joy, and Mary run to see Noah every chance they get. They touch him and kiss him as much as Marcella will let them. They have all had a chance to hold him and are looking forward to their next opportunity!

I've been able to hold Noah when he isn't sleeping and Marcella isn't feeding him. He is precious! When I look at Noah - and his brothers and sisters - I am reminded of how much God loves us. He gives GREAT gifts!

The Big News...

The baby is finally here!! It's a boy! We named him Noah Solomon. He was born at 3:33 pm on April 26, and weighed seven and a half pounds. We are all very glad about the baby being a boy! It is, however, hard to believe after three baby girls in a row.

Noah is so sweet! We all love holding him, especially Mary who asks to do so constantly.

Well, we're going to be quite busy, but we hope you'll check this blog every so often to see what's happening at our house!

Kendal

Baby News

The big day is finally close! Tomorrow morning we'll be going to the hospital for an induction. The children will be at home under Grandma Butler's care. If all goes as expected we'll be holding our new little boy or girl by lunchtime, or certainly dinner. Please pray for a safe delivery. We'll add photos and details as soon as possible. Maybe we'll be home by bedtime-at least that is our ideal plan.

Thank you for your love and prayers,
The Butler Family

A Week Day in the Life of Our Family

For the last week, I (Marcella) have been able to take a walk in the morning and some in the evening too. We're trying to encourage the baby to come and help me get back in shape for delivery. Anna and Daniel have caught on to my patterns and try to finish their work in time to go with Mary and me.

Joy spends alot of time looking at books, making up stories, or repeating the ones she knows. She also uses Daniel and Anna's old workbooks and pretends to do "schoolwork." Clearly at four, she is ready to have some assignments of her own. This summer we'll let her start some phonics.

After chores, breakfast, devotions and clean-up everyone starts their schoolwork. Kendal (9th grade) and Kelsey (6th grade) work in the dining room. We have generous breaks for lunch, projects, and many unexpected events. Throughout the day they help with the younger children too. They are truly learning how to multi-task and stay focused in a busy environment. We're very proud of how much they are learning!
Isaac works in his room alone usually. We've found that he can get too easily distracted, especially by cute little Mary. Isaac's progress in school is slow and steady. He is our most improved student and he works hard for every well-done task. His handwriting is beautiful! We are thankful for his diligence and the freedom to teach him at his own pace.

After lunch we put Joy (4) and Mary (2) down for a nap. They're usually much happier during the evening hours if they sleep for an hour or two. These days, I try to get a little rest myself too.

Naptime cooperation depends upon what season we our family is in. When the youngest child is still in a crib- all is quiet. But once he or she is old enough to move into a boy or girl room the challenges start. I have to stand guard near the door to be sure everyone is in their beds! If I'm faithful the tired ones will give in and have a peaceful nap. Joy and Mary have just begun to share naptime. We've been here before and we know that peristence pays. "Do not grow weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap [some quiet time again :) ]" -my rendition of Galatians 6:9.

By lunchtime, the boys have finished their schoolwork and chores. After they help clean up they go outside to play cowboys or soldiers. They especially enjoy visits over the (shorter) side fence with our neighbor, Mr. Mills, or just play with his dogs. Isaac and Daniel have a box full of toy rifles, pistols, holsters and caps in the shed. In colder weather they wear Bob's VMI (grey) and US Army (blue) uniforms and hats. They've learned how to use hammer and saw with left-over wood. They are handy with the rake and shovel too. We just have to keep an eye on where they dig and what they hammer or saw!

This is new: a human-drawn chariot. It was formerly a bike trailer/stroller. Every child in our family enjoyed a few trips around the yard this week. Our yard isn't large, and there aren't many outdoor toys, but that does not keep the children from inventing all sorts of entertainment! In the springtime, the younger children are anxious for Kendal and Kelsey to finish their schoolwork so they can come outside to help them with a new invention or project. Stay tuned for more photos of their campsites, medical tents for wounded soldiers, favorite birds, wildflowers, and hopefully a newborn sibling very soon!!!

Looking back...

Over the last couple of days, I (Marcella) have had the pleasure of reconnecting with some highschool classmates from Windsor Forest High School in Savannah, Georgia. I attended there for two years in ninth and tenth grade. My life long "best friend" and WF classmate, Susan McTier Crain, sent the webpage link for the 20th reunion. I'm always asking her if she knows what became of "so and so." She rarely has an answer since hardly anyone keeps up with highschool classmates. So this website, complete with bios and photos, is a great idea! I hope more of my old friends will add their entries so that I might touch base with them too. It's really encouraging to see how God has been busy blessing lots of folks over the years.

At the same time I was working on our family background (on the right sidebar of this page), therefore I've taken alot of time this week to reflect back over the last two decades. Looking back always makes me more grateful for God's hand in our life.

This morning before church we took our final family photo- as a family of nine, that is. Our next group picture will include our newborn, who is expected on May 1. The last picture of us all was taken at Nagshead in Oct 07 (also on the right sidebar of this page).

I'd promised my mother a photo of Mary and me wearing these dresses (in above photo) since I'd called her many times with questions about how to make both dresses just before Resurrection Day. In fact, nearly everytime I sew I call Mom. She knows how to do everything!

Happy Springtime!

Marcella

Welcome to our first blog!

Hello! We finally did it! Now we have our own place for family news and photos! We hope this site will be a blessing to all who visit. Please bear with us as we continue to learn how it all works!

The most recent Butler Family news is that I (Marcella) am 37 weeks pregnant with our eighth baby! After delivering Mary at 34 weeks unexpectedly, we are extremely thankful to God for bringing our baby this far along in the womb.

Everyone in our house is very excited about the new arrival. For the first time we do not know whether the baby is a girl or boy! This makes the anticipation even greater!

Bob and I have finally settled on a name for each. We dug deeper than ever to find names that have great spiritual meaning to us. The Lord has blessed this pregnancy with an unusual and supernatural degree of peace. And a house of nine can be anything but peaceful at times, so we've found ourselves praying quite often for peace. It seems appropriate for our newest addition to bring with him or her the peace that only the Lord can provide, so it will be an important part of his or her name!

Blessings to you!

Marcella