In case you didn't know, the Hot Mama of the Ferrin Five is turning...well...that's none of your business...today. She's actually upstairs napping right now while Hannah naps. (Always a good plan.)
If you're reading this and have her email feel free to flood Kari's inbox with birthday greetings.
Okay, so Hannah and Sarah aren't the only ones with big things going on. Our Big Boy (I'd get in trouble if I called him my Little Guy) started preschool today. He's in the City Kids program at City Church, which is literally six blocks from our house. Caleb was so excited. In fact, as we pulled into our parking spot and turned off the van, he thrust his hands into the air and said, "I'm a City Kid now!!!"
I think the teachers know that this is harder on the parents than the kids, so they let us stay the first day. We headed into class, met the Teacher Susie and Teacher Monica, read a few books, played with some pretty sweet toys, and painted a "homework bag."
And what would preschool be without some "circle time." Songs were sung, hand motions were practiced, and the day ended with a stamp on the hand - or both hands if you wanted. Caleb loved every minute.
Tomorrow we have to just drop him off and let him go to school by himself. Just him. Without us. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair! And yet, somehow, it just seems right.
The bus is coming! The bus is coming!
Sure enough. There it was - heading down our street. The big, yellow bus that would change our lives forever. I'm sure the driver and the assistant she had for the first day are nice enough people, but they were there to take away my Peanut.
Seems like a blink since Sarah was as tiny as her week-old sister, 
Hannah. And there she was, climbing aboard the bus, turning toward us for the obligatory wave, yet clearly more interested in what was to come. The thud of the closing doors. The hiss of the breaks releasing. And off she went. The first day of Kindergarten.
I am proud. I am excited for her. I am sad. I am scared for what she will face. I am angry at the kid on the playground who will say something that will hurt her tender heart. I am confident she is ready for this next phase of life. I am overjoyed to see the twinkle in her eye as she talks about "her school." I am thrilled at 3:01pm when she comes through the door of her school and runs into my arms shouting "Daddy!" In my arms - right where she's supposed to be.
Oh yeah...and on the walk home when I asked her to tell me her three favorite things about her first day of Kindergarten, the first word out of her mouth was, "Recess!"
That's my girl.
Kari and I figured we didn't have enough craziness in our lives this week, so we decided that 24 hours (almost exactly) after leaving the hospital, we would pack our three kids (still feels wonderfully weird to type that) in our minivan and head over the mountains to Lake Chelan. Lake Chelan for Labor Day Weekend has been a decades-long tradition for Kari's family.
We headed into the road trip thinking we'd be stopping every hour to tend to our 3-day-old daughter. Instead, Hannah literally slept the entire way, even during a coffee/potty break for her parents and siblings.
Of course, we still have tomorrow's trip home for her to turn the tables on us. But for now, we're just enjoying the downtime with family - sleeping little, and eating more than we should. (But it's sooooo yummy!)
We have survived Night #2! She ate well, slept well (as well as a 2-day-old baby can sleep) and the doctor has said we can go home. As I type, the nurse is taking the IV out of Hannah's foot (ouch!) and then will prepare the discharge papers.
Thank you for following us on this journey. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for visiting us. Thank you for offering free babysitting for the next 10-12 years. (Hee hee)
I'll be adding more pictures, stories, prayer requests, and crazy happenings in the days, weeks, and years to come. So keep checking back with The Ferrin Five!
Things started out rough. From 10pm to 1pm Hannah would eat, but only for a few minutes at a time. Then she'd zonk out. Of course, we were exhausted so we were happy to wrap her up in the "baby burrito" and lay her down. Unfortunately, during those first three hours, she wouldn't lay down for more than five minutes. 
Up. Down. Feed. Wrap. Cry. Repeat.
Finally she had a really good feeding just before 2pm and then the nurse came in to check her vitals (which were perfect!). Then she said the sentence that helped turn the tide.
Hey. Things are a little slow. If you'd like me to take Hannah for an hour or two, I'd be happy to.
She took Hannah. The room went quiet. We drifted to sleep. And all of heaven rejoiced. (At least that's what I dreamed.)
About 4:45am she ate well again, and then slept in my arms in the reclining chair from 5-8am.
Sleep is a beautiful thing.
Hannah is about 15 hours old right now and doing extremely well. 
We've had heaps of visitors today and talked to lots of people on the phone. Hannah and Kari have both had their fevers disappear, so we thank you for your prayers.
Sarah and Caleb got to meet and hold their baby sister for the first time. Very fun to see their curiosity and excitement - and a hint of bewilderment.
We're hoping to have a pretty low-key evening, with some naps, uploading some more pictures - check back soon - and maybe watching a movie.
Thanks for taking this journey with us. And pray that all goes well the next couple days so we can head home on Thursday morning.
After 21 hours in the hospital Hannah GraceAnne Ferrin was born at 3:22am on Tuesday, August 26. She is a gorgeous, perfect, very big girl. Twenty one and a half inches long and – are you ready for this? – 9lb 7oz! Mommy and baby are both doing well, although they both had fevers at birth. Because of this, they want to keep us in the hospital for 48 hours, which will have us heading home – God willing – Thursday afternoon.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. We can’t wait for you to meet Hannah!
Rejoicing in the miracle of life!
Keith & Kari
Well, I guess Hannah didn't like the idea of having her birthday on the 25th. Or maybe she wanted her birthday exactly a week after her big sister. In any event, we're past midnight, so Hannah will - God willing - be born today, August 26th.
Things are moving along. Most likely this baby will be born while you were sleeping. I'm also guessing this will be the last time I use the word "sleeping" for quite a while.
ZZZzzzzzzzzzz.......
Things are progressing…just very sloooooooooowly. No need to worry, Hannah is doing well. Kari is doing well. Please just pray that Hannah comes safely – and specifically – that we can avoid a C-section.
We just can’t wait to meet this little miracle!
Waiting…and hoping…
It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the contractions have started in earnest. Kari's doing well and we're praying she goes soon so our doctor can be here for the delivery! Please pray with us...
At 7am we dropped Sarah & Caleb off at Aunt JJ's and Uncle Doug's and had JJ snap the last photo of us as a family of four! 
Unbelievable! By 7:30 we were in our room with a wonderful nurse named Karyn. Dr. Wells came by about 8am and said everything looks good and she'll check back about lunch time - unless she hears from us. :) And now we wait...
So...we just got a call from the hospital and they’ve schedule our inducement for 7:15am tomorrow (Monday)! So…we’ll be dropping off the kids with Kari’s sister and heading to the hospital bright and early.
Pray for a smooth labor and a healthy baby girl. We can’t wait – and Sarah and Caleb are so excited!
With joy and anticipation …Keith (Hannah's daddy!)
Best friends. They may drive each other crazy, but they sure do love each other. (Even when Sarah's making Caleb pretend to be a kitty cat, or Caleb's tackling Sarah for no reason.)
It happens to everyone. The death of your first pet. Today was the day for Max Ferrin. Sarah and Caleb's beloved beta fish. He's lived with us for the better part of two years. Right there on the kids' bathroom counter. Hey Max. What's up Max. Just brushing my teeth Max. Gotta go potty Max...don't watch. And now he's gone.
Right before dinner we headed out on the other side of our creek. I had shovel in hand. Sarah carried a small popcicle cross with "Max Ferrin" written upon the crossbeam. Caleb had "the deceased" inside a small box, inside a Ziploc baggy. A hole was dug. Max was placed ever so gently inside. Dirt was filled in. The cross was poked into the dirt. And we bowed to say a prayer.
Thank You Jesus for the honor of having such a wonderful pet. Max was a great fish. We hope he has fun in fish heaven. Amen.
Immediately upon the word Amen, Caleb says, So...can we get a snake pet now? To which Sarah replies, Well, maybe we should get a frog or a turtle. And thus, the end of Max's funeral.
[Heavy sigh]
No...the baby isn't here yet.
No...there haven't been many contractions.
No...we don't have a clue when she'll come.
Yes...we can't wait.
Yes. Yes. Yes!
"The little Gospel promises me personal salvation and eternal life. But the robust Gospel doesn’t stop there; it also promises a new society and a new creation.” - Scott McKnight (The Eight Marks of the Gospel - article in Christianity Today, 2/29/08)
I don't know about you, but the robust Gospel sounds a bit more appealing than the little Gospel...and a bit more like something Jesus would say...
I had a pretty cool experience last Sunday. I was speaking at a small church in Seattle that had two services - a "traditional" service, and a "contemporary" service. I've found that generally means that there is more gray hair at one than the other. My cynical hat was on nice and tight as - sure enough - I turned out to be one of the youngest people in the first service. The only people younger were the youth pastor and two boys (probably 8-12 years old) that were there with their parents.
We got a couple songs...er...I mean hymns...into the service when they took their take-a-moment-and-greet-each-other break. Being the only person in the front row, I turned around and greeted...nobody. Which was good, because it gave me time to witness something truly wonderful. As I stood there, two or three of the gray-haired worshippers made beelines to the young boys and hugged them, greeted them, and made them feel like the two most valuable people in the room. Being young boys, they tried to play it "cool," but I could see the grins (albeit cool grins) on their faces.
My cynical hat fell to the floor and my spirit lifted. The rest of the morning I sincerely and thoroughly enjoyed belting out some hymns - most of which I didn't recognize - and gazing around at people twice my age, truly enjoying each other the presence of God.
Kari and I just got back from a pretty thought-provoking event. That said, even on the way there I didn't really want to be going. It was a beautiful night...we could be out on a boat. I had spent the whole day working in the yard...my body ached and I just wanted to sit down. It was hot...I didn't want to put on "nice" clothes.
Then I got to Dance for a Cure and realized I was surrounded by people currently fighting cancer, people who lost loved ones to cancer, and people who had beaten cancer. And I stopped whining.
Dance for a Cure is a night filled with every kind of dancing you could imagine. Hip-Hop, contemporary, ballet, improvisational, modern, 50's swing, and a guy who could tap dance like no one I'd ever seen before!
Not only was the dancing a smorgasbord, but the dancers were of every age, nationality, body type, and ability. All coming together to celebrate, struggle, and fight together. Hmmm...sounds a bit like what "church" should be like...
