Experiencing Fall Again!!!

Gideon was so excited to experience the fall season again since we didn't have it in Cambodia the past two years. He was anticipating what it would feel like. Once it came he said it didn't feel new or like we even missed it these last two years. I guess because we had experienced it the majority of our lives fall didn't seem abnormal or out of the ordinary. We are excited that Kai gets to experience fall even if he won't remember it we will get to show him the pictures. Please enjoy some of our fall pictures!

Busy Busy Busy September

I think September has been the busiest month we have had since Kai was born. Gideon loves to be busy, but I would rather have relaxing weekends where we stay home and have nothing planned. September turned out to be how Gideon perfers, but I did have lots of fun. Enjoy these pictures to see what we have been up to this month.

        Kai was dedicated at  church.
We were also able to speak
       about our time in Cambodia and move
to Kenya in front of River of Life
  and First Baptist Palisade this month.

      This is Remy. I have been
    watching him during the day
    on week days. He is 14 months,
and full of energy. 

  Went camping one more time. Kai
    did awesome sleeping in the tent, but
   I froze. We got to see some beautiful
fall colors on the Mesa.

      Lunch with family and friends to
celebrate Kai's dedication

           

                    Gideon got a position
                      at Caprock Academy
                        teaching 8th grade. This
                                 isn't a picture of him teaching,
                                 but he always looks this
                             handsome when he leaves
                                 to go to work. 

      Made it to the top of Hanging Lake on
                 our second try this summer. Our first try          
         we only made it up to the first bridge.
      Hiking with a baby proved harder than
thought.

 

We celebrated our anniversary twice. I planned the evening of our actual anniversary. It was a theme of 3's since it was a third anniversary. We had a three course meal pic-nic. Gideon got 3 small gifts. We watched Home Alone 3. Gideon had these flowers delivered on our actual anniversary. Gideon planned a surprise weekend to celebrate. We went to Denver, had my uncle and aunt watch Kai for the evening and we went to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. It was so much fun. Gideon was even entertained, but neither of us figured out who the murderer was.

What in the world has Kai been up to? (sung to the tune of where in the world is Carmen San Diego?)

- Gaining weight now weighing 18lbs
- rolling over from back to stomach and getting upset he can't roll back over
-getting his 4 month shots, and handled them a little better than his two month still very lethargic for the following couple of days
- picking his pumpkin out of Bibi and Babu' garden
- laughing lots especially at other kids
-teething- always chomping on his paci, fingers or someone elses fingers. He has a couple of white spots on his gums.
- getting over his eczema hopefully it is just a phase from this dry climate
- watching football with Papa
- learning to eat yummy fruits and veggies even when his Papa keeps telling him that veggies are gross
- playing in the nursery during moms group at church.
-helping mama take care of a 14th month old during the week
- sleeping great only waking up once after 8 hours of sleeping to eat, then back to sleep for another 3!!!
-Playing with his toes!

Feeling Anxious To Go

We have been slowly but surely getting ready to go to Kenya. We got Kai's passport in the mail a couple of weeks ago. We skyped with Jerry and Danielle Sanders and met them for the first time. They are another American couple that just flew out to Kenya this weekend. They will be serving long term as house parents in the orphanage alongside of Peter and Maryann who are a Kenyan couple who are also house parents.  It was great to get to meet them. We hope to skype with them a couple of more times before we head over to join them. The part of our conversation with them that stuck out to me the most was when Jerry explained that he is so humbled that God would call him and Danielle to take care of all those kids. He also talked about how he is famous in his small town in Tennessee because it is unheard of for anyone to move to an African country. We are excited to get to know them and become great friends.

We have also sent out our support letters and have several opportunities to speak at churches. If you have not received a support letter and would like one please email us at gkkwalker@yahoo.com.

We have days when we wish we were leaving for Kenya tomorrow. Its hard to be in transition and see a goal but know that you have a long time before you can even start working for that goal. We also have those days when we are making great memories with friends, family and Kai. We know as we look back on this time in the States we will be so grateful that we had it.

We have been keeping busy. We just got back from a week in Portland, Oregon visiting my (Kristy's) college friends. Kai got to see the ocean, pick berries, ride up to the top of Multnomah Falls in his stroller, and meet lots of new friends. Gideon found out that his teaching job at CCU will not start this fall because they had a smaller number of students than expected. A little frustrating that they did not communicate that was the case when they hired him, but God continues to provide. He has been helping me take care of Kai. He is a great Dad! We are also watching a friend's 1 year-old everyday. It has made me realize that I would never survive if I had twins. I would never go anywhere. I would stay at home all day long. Gideon is also cleaning the office where the president of CWH (Children With Hope) works. All this to say God is taking care of us and knows exactly what we need.

June and July Praises and Prayer Requests

Praises:
* We are getting to spend lots of time with family. Grandma and Grandpa Walker came out in early June to meet Kai for the first time. We just got back in early July from seeing Kai's cousins closest to his age Hannah and Asher. We get to see Babu and Bibi (grandpa and grandma in swahili) almost every day.

* Gideon has a job and is in the process of filling out paper work and getting all set up to start his job as Adjunct Professor at Colorado Christian University for the online and some in seat classes.

* Kai is healthy and happy. He is experiencing a lot of firsts. First camping trip, first fourth of July,  first 5k run/walk, first hike.

* Despite feeling like we are in a period of transition we have been busy.

* God continues to provide for all our needs even when we are impatient and worried about exactly where God has us.

Prayer Requests:

* That Gideon's classes that he is teaching at CCU will begin soon.

* That we will continue to be prayerful about the way we are raising Kai. That he would see God through our interactions with each other, our families, our neighbors and with him.

* That we will be patient as we are eager to go to Kenya in January and start our next adventure. That we would be fully present here in Grand Junction, content,  and attentive to God's will while he has us here. That we will take advantage of spending time with family and loving on them.

We are thankful for each person that reads our blog and sends up prayers and our behalf. Please let us know if there is a way we can be praying for you.

Postpartum Lessons and Thoughts 2 Months Out

We always get asked if being a parent is harder or easier than we thought it would be. I think you can all guess our answer. Why is it that no matter how much we were warned to get rest during the pregnancy and warned how challenging parenthood will be that we didn't  fully understand what those words meant until the time came when we are experiencing it? I think overall Kai is sleeping really well, but still we are not getting as much sleep as we are used to. Also the changes in his sleep pattern throw us off as well.

With the lack of sleep also comes more of a challenge to show the fruits of the spirit to one another as we try to figure out our parenting style. I think mainly me, Kristy, gets a little less patient and moody with less sleep. Some of our discussions that have turned into small arguments have been over what exactly does a nursing schedule look like, should we use the pacifer at all times or just for nap times,  is it too early to put Kai on a nap schedule or should we just let him sleep whenever he wants. Of course we both want to have him sleeping through the night as early as possible, but what exactly does it take to get him to that.  I'm not sure we ever came up with answers, but we learned that even if we disagree with the way we do things we need to be more patient with one another as we learn what is best.

Last summer I wrote about how our  vacation time in the States was a reminder of our True Home in Heaven as we didn't feel completely at home since we missed things about Cambodia. These past two months after having Kai is another one of those reminders. Having Kai has given me a new perspective on how fast life on this earth is. When I am watching him grow and change so fast I'm so thankful to God for this gift and want to enjoy every minute and not  take advantage of what God has planned for us each day. It challenges me to have more faith and trust in God's promises as we live life here on earth.

We are loving our new life as parents and all the learning, challenges and new experiences that comes along with that. Kai is doing great. He is full of smiles, coos, dirty diapers,  and movements. He loves to be moving unless he is sleeping. His favorite toy is the ceiling fan. It entertains him for minutes. He has already more than doubled his weight and we think he is going to be a big boy!

We're Parents ( for over 2 weeks and its still sinking in)

If you are friends with either one of us on facebook you know Kai has arrived. He was born May 11th, 2012 at 10:08 am. He weighed 6 lbs 14.5 oz and measured 19 inches long. The birth experience was great up until the 2 1/2 hours of pushing. He was face up and had his arm around his neck and hand up by his face. I guess he did not want to come out. My midwife ended up using the vacuum to help pull him out. Gideon even had to sit down the last couple of minutes because he felt like he was going to faint. When I was pushing through a contraction he would also stop breathing.

Waiting for Kai was definitely not easy, especially since he came 8 days later than his due date. Gideon was getting really antsy and kept worrying about not having a job yet. After Kai was born Gideon was so glad that he has had some time to spend with Kai. Gideon is a great dad. He has changed more diapers than I have. Gideon always gets up at night after I feed to change Kai's diaper and rock him back to sleep. These first couple of weeks we can't stop commenting on how cute he is. We feel deeply blessed to have this new joy in our lives. We have enjoyed hanging out with my family. Grandma and Grandpa Mercer are so happy whenever they get to hold him. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Walker will get to come meet Kai in person the first week of June. Gideon is still in the process of looking for a job, but we know God has a plan for us while we are home for this little while. Please pray with us that we would be patient and trust that God will provide while we are here.


With no job and adjusting to a new family member, our lives feel a little bit in a jumble. We are now longing for some sort of routine to at least feel a little normalcy in our lives.  Please pray that we would continue to trust God, that He has everything in control and peace.


We have been going on long walks, hanging out with friends, doing lots of laundry (baby clothes, spit up rags, blankets), spending lots of time with family, applying for jobs, giving Kai baths and showing Kai off to our church family.

Thank you for praying for us these past nine months, as we have prepared and awaited Kai's arrival. He is healthy, absolutely adorable, and continuing to grow every single day! Please continue to pray with us that we would be great parents and we would be able to show Christ's love to him.

Since being home we have been able to meet with the Children With Hope board members. We have not quite yet began to prepare for our departure to Kenya, but it is always on our hearts and minds. If you would like to see more about the Children With Hope organization you can visit their website at www.childrenwithhope.org, and they are also on Facebook at Children With Hope. The organization has gone through some difficult transitions these past couple of months, but God is growing the organization through the difficulties. Our job will remain the same and we are excited to see how God will work.

Above pictures of Kai. He has already grown and changed so much.

Above pictures are of the new kids at Children with Hope Tobiah Home. Their names in order Jared, Joshua, Sophia, and Rachel.

It looks like Kai already has lots of friends to keep him busy.