Baby Bingham arrives!

July rolled around, and, as 40 weeks crept up, we anticipated the birth of our child.  Morning sickness continued, but there weren't many days left to be pregnant.  Contractions started July 1st, and we were admitted to the hospital July 2nd, the day before my birthday.  After a long day of back labor and all the joys labor gives to mothers, midnight crept around, and then shortly after arrived a beautiful little blessing, sharing a birthday with her mommy!!  Hannah Carole was born at 3:19 in the morning, at the same hospital I was.  Mom and baby we healthy, and we all were exhausted! 

The Birthday Girls!

The details of her arrival into this world are written elsewhere, for Hannah to read and cherish as her own.

Due to not finding out the gender of our child, we had 2 sets of names picked out- the boy name, and the girl names we didn't think we would need, as we were guessing we were having a boy. 

Why Hannah Carole?  Her middle name, Carole, is that of Luke's grandmother, a sweet, loving, God-fearing, precious woman.  It is our hope to get back to Oregon to have the two "Carole's" meet in person in the near future!  Hannah's first name was picked to resemble the love that God gives to His people.  The meaning of Hannah is "God has favored me."  Biblically, Hannah gave birth to the prophet Samuel, after years of being barren. She prayed to God for a child, and He blessed her with a son.  After an emotional journey through two miscarriages, it was our great prayer to be blessed with a child we could hold.  While we knew that we had two precious children in Heaven, it was the desire of our hearts to have our child with us here.  After much prayer and reliance on God, He blessed us with our own Hannah, and we are so grateful and unworthy.  It is our hope that Hannah Carole will see and grow in the love that God has for her, and that He would be glorified through her life.  We are excited to see what is in store for this precious little one!

2012 Catch-Up

2012 has lended itself to being a very quick, lively year.  Although no "traveling" by public definition was had, we did manage to travel from De Pere, WI to Green Bay, WI by way of... our own house!  We moved in in April, and owning a home has been great, although not without its own challenges.  Our furnace was broken when we moved in (fixed quickly with a new fuse), which caused the wax seal on the toilet to break, thus flooding the bathroom and leaking into the basement.  Thankfully for a really nice furnace fixer and friends that know plumbing, all was well by the end of day 1.  (a picture will be posted once I find out where I may have put the pictures on my computer...oops!)

Aside from the independence, responsibility, and fun of owning our own home, in addition to being done with apartment living, and having color on the walls, there was another great reason to move into a home:

Baby Bingham was on the way!!

We found out we were pregnant in October 2011, shortly after what would have been the due date of our first child.  Our pregnancy progressed well, aside from persistent morning sickness, but all involved were healthy.   We painted the nursery a light tan not knowing what we were having, picked out a few names, bought unisex clothing, and did all the traditional "first" pregnancy things.  And then July rolled around!!

It has come to an end

Friday morning began with a trip back to Grandma and Grandpa.  It was so wonderful to get to visit with them so many times.  We showed them some of our pictures from the trip, and got a few more pictures with them. 

Before leaving town, Uncle Bobby told us we needed to stop and eat at the Bowpicker.  They make only one thing- fish and chips.  It was delicious!  And I'm not a fish fan, either.  We ate it so quick we forgot to get a picture of the food.

After lunch, we headed out.  We drove down the coast to Tillamook, stopping at a gorgeous scenic overlook along the way. 

Then it was on to the cheese factory.  Luke really likes Tillamook cheese, so we stopped and bought some. 

After that, we headed to Beaverton, OR to visit with Uncle Roger and Aunt Mary Ann.  It was so good to meet them.  We went to dinner at Red Robin, but forgot to get a picture with them.  They showed us around where they work, and then we headed to the airport.  On the way, I checked to make sure our flight was leaving on time.  We were scheduled to leave at 10:49pm.  We were delayed until 12:30am, but made it to Detroit in time for our next flight!  We got home around 9:30 in the morning, and I settled in for a nice nap.  I am happy to say, though, that as I write this, all the laundry is clean!  It was a great trip, but equally good to be back home. 

Thursday's doings

We had a great Thursday! 

visited a fire station Luke volunteered for

The building Luke's dad used to work in- it is now the waste company...WOW-- Western Oregon Waste

Went to the Maritime Museum

rode the trolley

saw the sun!

saw the sight of a bad fire Astoria had last December

Went to the docks to see the fishermen fillet their fresh catch

and saw Luke's uncle

And his catch!

and I touched it...

saw the gas station Luke used to work at... no longer in business

had a fantastic evening with Uncle Bobby and Aunt Debbie.  They were fabulous hosts and great to get to know!

Wednesday's Adventures

Yesterday we took some time to stop and relax.  The sun was shining beautifully all day, and the ocean was calling my name.  We took a walk through downtown Astoria in the morning, and went to sit by the docks for a bit.  We had some lunch and headed to the beach.  Later in the evening we were blessed to be able to take Grandma and Grandpa out to dinner and visit with them.  I really am going to miss them when we have to leave.  We finished off the evening watching the sunset over HayStack rock.  Here are some pictures of our adventures!

A trolley runs along the bay through town, we may ride it today

Luke's Clam Chowder

Luke's mug shot

Grandma and Grandpa

Another fire station- remodeled.  I'm not sure which one :-)

We didn't make this, but thought it was neat

I liked this sign!

Yup--- he's a tourist!!

One more full day here, more things to do and see!!

We found the sun!!

This blog post is going up a big later than usual... we had some internet connection difficulty that is now fixed :-).

Monday evening we went to the Astoria Column.  It is on top of a hill and has some great views.  I'm not a fan of heights, but I went up it and took a few pictures.  It is 164 steps to the top!!

As a way to fund the column, you could purchase a step.  I particularly like step #143!

This door meets you at the top right before going outside!

 After the column, we went to visit Luke's grandparents again.  I really enjoy being able to see them.  On the way Luke showed me another house he lived in.

1419 5th St

Tuesday morning we went to see the sights, and headed to Long Beach, WA.  The sun was shining!  Luke even got pretty sunburned, which isn't that unusual if you know him!

The first fire department Luke volunteered with.

Luke and the chief!!

House #3-- 91299 Walluski Loop.

The church Luke's father was a pastor at.

Youngs River Falls

The Sun!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are in Long Beach!

I found a cookie as large as my hand!!

The sun!!  A little blurry, but it's there!

It was nice, so we went horse back riding by the beach.  Luke got Bucky-- he didn't like to move very fast!

I was riding Butter- she was a really hungry horse that stopped many times for grasses!

 After we left Long Beach, we headed back to Astoria.  We stopped at the jail from the Goonies:

 We were blessed to be invited to dinner by the Jones family.  We had a wonderful time visiting and catching up.  Their girls were a bit attached to me!

Faith wanted a picture with me, but wasn't cooperating with the camera!

 Next stop was a sunset over the ocean.  We went back to the Peter Iredale.

I got a bit wet in the ocean trying to get a picture- it was worth it!

All together now---- awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Heading out for the day now, more to come later!