A long line...

 

My great-grandmother was the daughter of a minister. His name was Charles Dewitt Hestwood and he pastored in Kansas the majority of his life.

His father, William Finley Hestwood, and the majority of his brothers were also preachers.  (Sidenote: This also happens to be how my little nephew came by his name.) And his father before him. Many of them were circuit preachers traveling and living in difficult circumstances for the sake of the Gospel.

Both my dad and brother have spent time as youth pastors.

 

Then there's Jesse's side. Both his mom and dad are pastors. They've planted numerous churches in Texas and Mexico. Two of his older brothers are also pastors.

So, when one of Diego's community group teachers pulled Jesse outside for a moment on Sunday, I'm not quite sure why I was so surprised. (Okay, maybe I thought he was in trouble.) But Jesse came running back into the house for his phone and came back with the tail-end of a sermon.

Perhaps we have another preacher in the family.

Day One

We started school today... it's that or get done with school in July. Again. And we'd like more of a summer next year. So, here we are! Excited. And nervous. Super, super nervous. How does one teach while you have a newborn and a toddler to take care of? (These are things that were not addressed in all my El. Ed. classes. So much for a having a teaching degree. *sigh*) Here we go!

3 Weeks

Rio is 3 weeks old today. She's handling her old age well. At her one week appointment, she was at 7 lbs. 6 oz.

Yesterday, she was at 8 lbs. 11.5 oz. Apparently, she's eating well if she gained over a pound in less than two weeks. Miss Rosario Eden, you now weigh what your brother Cruz weighed at birth! Welcome to the big baby club.

School for Princesses

Something about this sweet little vintage button dress reminds me of Snow White. These photos are from a couple of weeks ago while we were still at the hospital... but I wanted to share them.

I think part of it may be due to Eliana... I made the mistake of letting her watch Snow White a few weeks ago, and I've seen it at least a dozen time since.

Part of it is that dark hair and that pale skin.

And part of it is probably due to the fact that when we're not talking about dinosaurs around here, then we're talking about princesses. For example this morning, when I was indulging in one of the awesome pumpkin bagels that my even awesom-er sister brought for me from her recent trip to Kansas City.

Diego: Why are you so excited about bagels?
Me: I just love these bagels... when I was in college my friends and I would always go and get the pumpkin bagels from this place when it was fall.
Diego: I think I want to go to college.
Me: I hope you do!
Diego: Can I take classes about dinosaurs at college?
Me: Yes, you can.
Eliana: I want to take princess classes when I'm in college!

Yep, my girl wants to get her major in Princessology. Jesse thinks that means that there's definitely not any Home Ec. classes in her future... but I'm not so sure, seems to me that a lot of those princesses start out as scullery maids.

Another picture for you: Our attempt at a family portrait after Rio's baby dedication last week.

Rio and Eliana- Dresses: Vintage Shoes: Thrifted
Diego- Shorts and Shirt: Target
Cruz- Shirt and shorts: Thrifted

Linking up!

My Big Girl

Started dance classes for the first time today. We signed up last minute and were unprepared for class or photos...

But she was plenty happy to model her new ballet shoes after we got them home.

She couldn't stop talking about her 30 minutes of class (it's a 45 minute class but we were 15 minutes late).

She loves that little sister so much and can't wait to dance with her... and find ballet shoes that'll fit those naked feet.

 She rediscovered her sewing cards after nap.

She's turning into quite the little lady between dance, and sewing, and love of all things baby... I'm sure enjoying her!

Hello

I wanted to share a few things with you that have been wandering around my mind for the past few days but have little to do with one another. These pictures are of the day Rio arrived. I think they sum up each kid's attitude about the new little one quite well:

 Diego: adoring, protective, big brother

Eliana: Absolutely in love and perhaps a bit infatuated... leaning to the slightly crazy/dangerous side

Cruz: Happiest at a distance and to have a parent all to himself; far, far away from baby sister. In fact, he would much rather learn the name of a friend's dog in an hour than say baby sister's name in the first two weeks :/

My wonderful cousin, Emily Bergquist, took some beautiful shots of Rio this week. Love them!

Went to a Porterbrook Kansas Conference today. Was not looking forward to it really because it meant spending the entire day away from Cruz who is in need of much mommy attention/instruction/discipline. Heard Joe Thorn speak. Was incredibly challenged in so many ways and am so thankful I had the opportunity to go! Not only is Joe a pastor and author, he is also the founder of Bearded Gospel Men, which is super funny, especially if you've seen the pastors at my church... or my brother.

The Red Barn Outdoor Market is next weekend. I would love to go if I have the chance, but don't really have extra spending cash right now so I might not. I'm not sure. But if you have time and change you should! I really enjoyed it last spring. So much so, I considered having a booth this time, but then thought the better of it. I mean, seriously, how on earth would I manage a booth and a 3-week-old at the same time? Maybe next year.

For those of you not aware, I've had four c-sections... the first one, an emergency. It was devastating to me at the time: that I didn't "really" give birth, that it didn't go according to my "plan," etc. And although I do realize that more c-sections happen in the US than are truly necessary and that should be fixed, I do also wish that someone (that first time around) had told me to hold more loosely my own "birth plan," find a good doctor I could trust, and to have an attitude of thankfulness to a God who is good and always has a better plan for me (and my kids) than I could ever come up with. That's why I loved this post so much.

Okay, that's all for tonight! Blessings!

Dedication

Rio was dedicated on Sunday... at nine days old.

I can't even begin to say how much I loved it... it was such a meaningful time. To present her to the Lord and ask His help and guidance to raise her. Praying that one day she may grasp the grace and love that God has so lavishly poured out on us.

This was the most precious part to me. 

All these loved ones gathered around my little girl praying for her. Praying for Jesse and I as parents. Praying for our family.

(This beautiful lady took all these wonderful photos... thank you!)