Faith & Eli

UPDATE... We posted the answer below. A little over half of you were right!!

Can you tell which baby is Eli and which one is Faith? Apparently, neither child is very fond of this sweet little outfit!!!


Baby #1 This one is Eli!!!

Baby #2 This one is Faith!!!

See any resemblance????

Faith at 3 months



Eli at 3 months

Minus a big red curl (on Faith) and a "few" extra pounds (on Eli) these two babes sure do look a lot alike (to us anyway). What do you think????

Are you ready for some football????

Well, our new hometown was "bleeding" blue and white today! We saw Colts jerseys everywhere!! We couldn't help joining the crowd!! We were SO EXCITED that the Colts won the Super Bowl and now we are excited for the new season to begin! I grew up going to watch the Colts play with my dad and sisters back when they were really horrible. It's been fun to see them change and become the best team in the league. Faith with my cousin, Tiffany and her daughter, Alex
Eli with all of his Colts gifts from his Indy baby shower (minus the shirt that Faith is wearing)
Faithy giving Eli smooches
Eli, just thrilled to be near his big sister!
Quite possibly the cutest little Colts fans (along with Alex and her big sister, Sydney)

New Sheriff in Town!!!

Here's a pic of our sweet "New Sheriff" and New Smiler!!! He is bringing us so much joy!!
And our "Big Girl"...she's already trying to fill my shoes!

The Wedding

We had a great time in Virginia at the beginning of the month. It was so fun to see all the Burkhalters as well as our immediate family. Eli enjoyed being introduced and Faithy enjoyed being the center of attention (her red hair and curls steals the show every time).

Nana and her brother, Terry, father of the groom
Faithy checking in on Eli and Stone
Uncle Michael and Eli
Faithy cooling off....it was ALL KINDS OF HOT in VA that weekend
The handsome-est boys at the wedding: Stone, Eli and Sterling

Meeting cousin, Bennett
Nana and the grandkids!Eli and Aunt Mel
Aunt Darla snuggles
Superheros, Dash and "Black Spiderman" (not just "Spiderman") to the rescue

Please keep praying for our friends, Travis & Kelly and their precious son, Bennett. He's making some progress but is still in need of LOTS of prayers.

Visit www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com for more updates.

Pray for Bennett

Our good friends Travis and Kelly had their first child this Monday. He is a precious and sweet baby who is critically ill and in desperate need of prayers. Please Please Please say a prayer for baby Bennett and his parents and family right now and throughtout the day.

You can check out this blogsite that has been set up to keep updates on his condition and specific prayer requests known www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com

Check out the prayer pager number and page Travis and Kelly to let them know you are praying for them. Even if you don't know them, please pray for them!

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". James 5:16

All By Myself

Faithy put her shoes on all by herself yesterday. I know they're on the wrong feet but I just couldn't help sharing this milestone with everyone!
So proud!
And Eli turned 2 months this week! Our little ones are growing up so fast!! How does that happen. Childhood seemed to last FOREVER when I was a kid.

Birthday Parties & a "Big Girl"....

Whew...we have been so busy!! Lots of birthday parties, weddings, unpacking, etc. Here's a partial recap....more pics to come later.My mom turned 60 last month. We hosted our first family gathering at our new house. It was so much fun honoring such a special woman!! My sister, Kim and I bought her 60 roses and had special messages attached to each rose from all her family and friends.
My sister, Kim, turned 30 last week. It was fun showering her with some special gifts, yummy birthday cake....and an especially delicious dinner at BD's mongolian BBQ.
Our nephew, Sterling, turned 5 last week. We got to celebrate with him during our family trip to Virginia. So fun!
Here's our big girl!! She is growing leaps and bounds and we LOVE LOVE LOVE being her parents. She makes us so proud! Her pony tails make her look especially grown up.

Faith has officially moved to a big girl bed. The transition was so easy. She has taken to it quite well. No fussing, escaping or falling. We know that's a blessing!

Can this be our baby girl sleeping in such a big bed?????
She's taken to her big sister role quite well. She kisses Eli ALL THE TIME, gives him his paci and runs to me when he starts crying and "tells" me to go help him. Here she is "holding" him.
Her love for books has continued to develop. She now will turn pages and "read aloud" what's on each page. She's very independent and won't let Murray and I read to her much. She'll sit for 1-2 pages and then runs off but if she is in charge she'll sit and "read" for about 15 minutes.
And here's a couple pics of our precious Eli! He has brought us so much joy!!

He is growing SO FAST! He has started to smile but I haven't been able to catch one on camera yet.

We'll be back soon (I promise) with pics from our trip to Charlottsville, VA for Murray's cousin's wedding. It was so much fun and so great to be around his family again.

Our boys...

Faithy and I sure are glad to have these sweet guys in our lives!!! They bring us such joy! We love you Daddy and Eli!

We made it!!!

Needless to say, we're a bit overwhelmed with all the unpacking. Just wanted to let you know that we entered the "Crossroads of America" and are Hoosiers now!! Here's a couple pics to keep you updated. We'll post more as soon as we get another chance.....can't promise that it'll be soon, but check back, we may just surprise you!!!Our last day on Pennsboro Court. It was so hard to drive away from this WONDERFUL house. A home we will ALWAYS remember as it has held all of our firsts and countless other treasured memories!
Faithy and Mommy playing with our straws at Cracker Barrel, our favorite pit stop.
Crossing the state line!!!
Eli LOVES to hold onto the shirt collar while being held.

Blessing...

We received an incredible gift from one of our dear family friends, Morton J. He was in town visiting his son and his family and stopped by to see baby Eli. He offered a prayer of blessing over Eli and we were able to capture it on video. It was an incredible moment (too precious and treasured to adequately put into words). Morton is an INCREDIBLE man of faith and prays prayers that could move mountains. We will always treasure that moment and look forward to replaying Eli's blessing over and over as he grows into the man that God created him to be. Here are a couple still shots from the blessing....

The second we put Eli in Morton's arms he must've felt the Spirit moving b/c he immediately lifted his hand in praise!!

Thank you, Morton!! This meant SO MUCH to us!!!

It's a Boy!

Baby Eli has arrived!
Proud Mama!!!

Proud Papa!!!

Jaime gave birth to Eli Burkhalter Sanderson on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 3:59 pm. He weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz at birth, and was 19.5 inches long. He is totally healthy and handsome, with a ruddy complexion and dark brown hair. And I have a whole new level of love, admiration and respect for my beautiful wife than I already had! (and that's after she delivered our 9 lb 12 oz baby girl 1.5 years ago.)

My wife is a certified superhero. After delivering our 8 lb 1 oz baby on Tuesday, she was delivered from a "very large rock", in the words of our urologist, aka kidney stone, on Wednesday. He showed it to us on x-ray film, and to see it would make you double over in sympathy pain.

She endured both of the most painful situations that humans will ever endure in a span of 4 days. (Sunday through Wednesday of last week) She became known this week at Reston Hospital...it seemed whenever we went anywhere that people were like, "oh, that's the woman who had a huge kidney stone and just gave birth!" Every woman we encountered who had had both a baby and a stone said that the stone was far worse. Jaime agrees wholeheartedly.

An induction was planned for Monday, June 18th, but the stone hit Jaime like a rock (well, it was a rock) last Sunday afternoon, June 10th. We spent Sunday & Monday in the hospital, where they could give her safe but strong medication for the pain, and so they could monitor her, the baby and conduct exams, x-rays, ultrasounds, etc. After our urologist discovered such a large kidney stone, he recommended that he perform a lithotripsy to blast the stone & then insert a stint so that her body could return to healthier function asap. (trying to spare you the details) Understandably, blasting is not a good thing when you have a baby inside of you, so they moved up her induction to Tuesday morning, June 12.

(A huge thank you to Bailey & Brylee and their parents Sam & Emille for keeping little Faith all week & showing her such a great time! And what did you guys feed her? Both Jaime & I feel like she gained weight and is bigger than 4 days ago...I don't suppose that's because we've been holding our little 8 lb miracle too much.)

Thankfully, the epidural blocked the kidney pain completely along with some of her labor pains. Jaime got to experience and enjoy childbirth without passing out from the pain of the stone combined with the pain of delivery. God brought her through all the suffering to a place of joy and celebration with the birth our healthy baby boy. He really is, in the words of the pediatrician, just perfect. I was the one who got to tell Jaime "it's a boy" and it's a moment I'll never forget. We were both so elated!

We are quickly adjusting to life with a newborn and an 18 month old (there's no way to do it slowly)...to say there's never a dull moment is a gross understatement. We are having so much fun though, and are catching naps whenever we can. Faith loves her little brother, but we're having to coach her on what a "gentle touch" is...so far she just enjoys coming up and tagging him on the shoulder like she's playing a game of "you're it". It's so hilarious.

We love Faithy's smile in this picture!

Our new family of four!!!

My Dallas family comes in this week, so that will be tons of fun.

Thanks everyone for the prayers, and the well wishes, the meals, the grocery runs. Say a prayer of praise & thanksgiving to God for bringing Jaime through such a painful and gut-wrenching week, and for our new little gift from Heaven.

Getting Ready....

Well, I am oficially feeling ready for the arrival of baby #2. There has been so much going on with the move and other family matters that I was afraid this baby would come and I would be TOTALLY unprepared. After our good friends had their baby nearly a month early, Murray has been asking me to get our hospital bag packed "just in case". I kept putting it off and couldn't get in gear to start packing up boxes for our move to Indiana either (a job I'd much rather do pre baby vs. post baby).

Finally, the nesting bug bit me and I got in to Mommy mode and started packing, shopping, and preparing like a mad woman!! I am happy to report that:

1) our hospital bags are packed.

2) the new baby's clothes are washed and ready for his/her arrival home.

3) about 3/4 of our house is packed up (thanks....Ramona and Emille!)

4) Faith has someone to watch her when we go to the hospital the morning of the induction.

We are REALLY getting excited now that it's less than a week and a half away! Most of Murray's family will be here for the "Big Day" which makes it even more fun!!

FYI--I returned home from a shopping trip to Walmart to buy some things for the baby. I was showing the purchases to Murray and when he saw this....

he asked me, "Who are the size 1 diapers for? Isn't Faith wearing a size 4 now?" It took him a minute then he remembered that we have ANOTHER baby coming soon!! It was cute!! Needless to say, he's got a lot on his "to do" list too!! We are hoping to get it all checked off so that after the baby arrives....all we will need to focus on is our new family of 4!!!

P.S. We've chosen "new" names for the baby and have decided to keep them a secret until the baby arrives!!

Future Seamstress....

This week I enjoyed a fun girls night out at my friend Amanda's. Our friend Ramona joined us and we had a wild night filled with lots of.....sewing!!!! Amanda graciously walked Ramona and I through the steps of how to make a simple A-line dress. It was so much fun!! (and easier than I expected...although I couldn't have interpreted the pattern directions without Amanda's help.)

Here are a couple pics of the finished products (the picture quality isn't that great as Faith rarely stands still for a picture these days and nearly all of them turned out really blurry!!)


Gillian (on the left) looked SO CUTE in her dress this morning too! She especially loves doing the buttons all by herself. Great job, Ramona!!


Faith is starting to "discover" her dresses. When I put this on her this morning, she started swaying back and forth and smiled as it moved along with her! So cute!!