Here we are, our first family photo with Isaac! It is a wonderful day at the end of some challenging months! We are so thankful to God for His grace in bringing us through to the end of this, and we are so thankful that He has blessed us with a beautiful baby boy to love and care for! The last couple of weeks were very uneventful and the labor went wonderfully, and we are so thankful to God for this, because it easily could have been very difficult. We decided to give him the name Isaac Jack Gustafson. Isaac means laughter and we are trusting that God will give Isaac and those around him great joy and laughter, and Jack is a form of John which means grace of God, and Isaac is with us by God's amazing grace. And, Jack is my (Leif's) grandpa's name and he has always been such a kind and wonderful part of our family's life. We love you Grandpa Jack!


It was so great to see the girls as they first saw Isaac. The came excitedly into the room and right away both showed how interested they were. Anneka could hardly wait to hold Isaac, and then just stared at him and wanted to hold him all by herself. Ella just ran straight over and pointed at Isaac while emphatically declaring, "baby." It was great to see the wonder and love that they have already!


Of course the real heroes are Isaac for making it through the birth process and Jami for doing all the hard work. And it was hard work. We had the induction because we were hoping to avoid a baby that was too big, but Isaac still ended up being 9 lbs. 5 oz. (4230 grams) and measuring at 21.5 inches long (55cm)! Thank the Lord with us for this amazing new life and thank you for continuing to pray for us through these early days of recovery and adjustment.

Princess Party

My mom's good friend threw a princess party for Anneka and Ella and her grand daugthers last Friday. Her daughter is my age, and we're all friends- 3 generations! Anneka was in heaven and especially loved the "carriage ride" (a golf cart with chains) to the party through the snow. She also liked that she had pretend tickets to buy concessions. The girls watched the Rapunzel movie and then we all had pizza afterwards. I tried to link my friend's blog so you could see more pictures, but it isn't working. And I have other things to do, like getting ready to have a baby! =)


I go into the hospital tonight for an induction in the morning! Hopefully in our next blog, you'll see our sweet little baby boy!

Our Baby Is Full Term!!

Praise the Lord, I've made it to 37 weeks of pregnancy! Our baby is now considered "full term"! Thank you so much for your prayers. We're getting excited to meet our new little one. I feel very big and ready for him to come now. I think I may have to cook something with eggplant in it to induce labor. =)

God's Many Provisions

We've been so blessed by God's provisions through MANY people this past month of being in the States. This list is not extensive (it's basically just what I had pictures in my camera for). We're so happy to have an apartment (the same building we lived in the last time we were in the States!) to live in a few minutes away from my parents. They got the apartment ready for us before we came- signing papers, cleaning, putting away dishes and washing bedding, moving in furniture, stocking with food and supplies, etc, etc! Others helped, too, with moving big furniture and supplying us with necessities, yummy food, and frozen meals.



We've also had people give us a bassinet, car seats, baby bath, baby swing, etc... to either use or have while we're here!



Leif's sweet great aunt Peggy is letting us use her car for our time in the States! It runs so well and has so much space inside. It is so nice to travel in a vehicle without wondering if it will break down at any minute!





A couple from my parent's church gave us this nice dining room table. It makes it so much easier to have guests over and is nice and sturdy (and pretty!) As you can see, we've also had a wonderful time with different friends! Scott, Erin, And Cheryl traveled over the snowy pass from Portland and the Seattle area just to see us!!



Some other friends gave us this beautiful crib for Ella to use. She loves it and it fits perfectly in a little nook in the girls' room!




My friend, Gina, made these mobis (baby carriers) for the new baby. They're so cute and soft. The girls loved trying them out with their dolls. Gina also gave me a TON of super-cute baby clothes for the first year of our little guys' life. What a HUGE blessing!


Leif preached at my parents' church on Sunday, and afterwards, they had a big baby shower for us. We got SO MANY clothes... and in the sizes we didn't get from Gina!- for our baby. Ella wanted to fall asleep on the soft blankets while I was sorting through them and getting ready to store them.


Also, Leif's Dad and his wife got him a really nice (and warm!) REI coat for Russia, and my parents got him some warm boots and gloves.

We are truly blessed!

Celebrating the Holidays With Family

It's such a gift to have been here over the holidays with family! We got the go-ahead from my doctor to travel to the west side to be with Leif's family over Christmas. Here are some pictures that show glimpses of all of the wonderful moments we've had over the past weeks....



Going to a Christmas tree farm to chop down a tree with Baba and Grampa, seeing lots of deer, decorating the tree together, playing with the dog...



Special times with Grandpa and Grandma great, working on "school", getting new dolls to play with, seeing Christmas lights...



Giggles, hugs, eating avocados, discovering drinking fountains, eating yummy breakfast cereal, hearing English everywhere...



Times with Leif's Dad and his wife Rebecca, and "Grancy", yummy restaurant food (Leif and I both gained 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks!), McDonalds playgrounds, delivering flowers for Rebecca's Flower Shoppe, new stores...




More giggles, mustaches, playing at the beach, not having to wear hats and gloves all the time...




Hair fixing (by Grancy), fun rides on walkers (from two great grandmas)...



New books, special reading and cuddle times...



Opening stockings, giving and receiving presents, sleeping in the living room Christmas Eve, making a gingerbread train, Frangos, advent and prayer times...



times with Great Grandpa Jack, giving gifts to those in need, acting out the Christmas story...



Playing with Great Grandma Margie, singing Christmas carols...



Playing, playing, playing with cousin Gwen, bubble baths, trip to the library, puppet shows, matching outfits...



matching jammies, more books, candlelight service, reflecting on Jesus...


... and many more wonderful moments!

We are now mostly settled into an apartment near my (Jami's) parents. I've officially been off of bed rest for over a week now! It's so nice to have this time to see friends and family and get things in order before our new little one arrives. If I don't go into labor sooner, I have an induction scheduled for the 24th... less than 2 weeks away! I'm feeling good (other than normal pregnancy hugeness and tiredness). We are truly blessed!

Leif is getting back into the swing of things with skype meetings and sermon prep. Hopefully now that we're more settled, we'll update the blog a little more. =)