HE'S HERE!

It's a BOY!
Keith Allen Ahlgren
7lbs 10oz - 21 1/4 inches
6:00 am

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

(I'll add more pictures later, so check back... later!)

We are so thankful for our newest little blessing and how he has grown our family! The Lord really blessed the labor and birth. All went very well, things got going on the due date after coming home from an exciting party at the Morris's, David is the best help to me during labor, our midwife is marvelous, I only pushed for 5 minutes, Keith Allen came out healthy and calm in the water, Lilian slept through the birth and on til noon so we could get some sleep, we have the best midwife in the whole world, David is MAGNIFICENT at everything and loves me so sacrificially, I felt great after the birth and had energy to enjoy everything afterwards, and GOD IS SO GOOD AND GRACIOUS!

Keith Allen is healthy, eating a bunch, and is getting lots of love from our family and friends, and especially his big sister!

Lilian was so excited when she heard Keith cry for the first time! She looked at David all wide-eyed, "Baby!?! Baby crying!" She couldn't wait another minute to see the baby! Her initial observations: "Baby! Legs. Feet. Hands. Nose. Baby come out!" Every day she's been more and more interactive with "Keef", rubbing his back, holding his hand, petting his head, watching and offering commentary during diaper changes, "Yucky!", bringing toys to share, offering to cook for him in the little kitchen, asking to hold him, singing to him, and laughing at his funny faces. Keith likes to look at her!

Keith loves the sound of Papa's voice and often calms down when he hears Papa! David very quickly figured out how to soothe Keith; wrap/hold him tight and pat his back. So helpful! Lilian hated to be swaddled because she liked a hand by her face. But Keith LOVES to be swaddled tight! This info makes nighttimes more easily managed! Thank you Lord for an attentive Papa!

Our midwife Charlee Lacy is so skilled, and gifted at her work! We are beyond blessed to have her in our life and at our births! We are so thankful for the wisdom that the Lord has given her, regarding pregnancy and birth, and all other areas of life! Thank you, thank you, thank you.....

Thank you to everyone who was praying for us! We have been greatly blessed....

And in case you wondered, Keith Allen is wonderful, simply wonderful!
And I LOVE David more every moment!
And he constantly SHOWS me that he loves me!
And Lilian is the the best and sweetest new big sister around!

The LORD hath done great things for us;
wherefore we are GLAD!
Psalm 126:3

The day draws near...

For the beauty of the earth!

For the glories of the sky! For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies! LORD of ALL, to THEE we raise,
this our hymn of grateful praise!

Somebody just turned 2 and
somebody else is getting close to being born!

I sing that song nearly every time Lilian and I walk up the driveway to get the mail! Maybe that will become a family tradition... haha!
We're so excited about life and so thankful; for both of our babies, for each other, and for our Lord who gives us our every breath!

36-37 weeks (mid 9th month)!

Colossians 3:17-21,23
And whatsoever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
Children, obey your parents in all things,
for this is well-pleasing in the Lord.
Fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged.
...whatsoever you do, work heartily, as unto the Lord,
and not unto men;
knowing that from the Lord you shall receive the recompense of the inheritance:
you serve the Lord Christ.

Pictures for now...

Here are a few pictures from the past month or two. Hopefully I'll soon share pictures of a HUGE project we've been working on. Well, David's been the one working on it, but it is "our" project! :D

17 weeks/4 months with Ahlgren Baby 2.0

Playing the harp with Papa! She loves music!

On the dozer with Papa!
23 weeks/5 1/2 months
Surveying his work.
26 weeks/6 months!
We finally got Lilian to play the harmonica! She loved us playing it, but she would not do it!
Laughing with delight!

Busy Summer!

I've got multiple good reasons for not blogging lately: we're really busy with the garden and market and regular life, and I got locked out of our account and didn't get around to getting access again for over a month, but praise God I got back in and we're good to go! Thanks for the encouragement to write again Corrie!

Lilian has been changing so much lately! We are so thankful to have her, she is a delight! She imitates us a lot! Tuesday night at dinner David told about the geckos falling on you in Guam and how ladies that would visit his family's home would get all agitated, "Aaah! It's in my hair!" Lilian thought that was funny and started imitating her Papa acting like something was in her hair and she was trying to brush it out! She really likes sharing her food, with people or animals or toys! We ate some of our first watermelon and she took a bite over to her "rolling horse" and was making little smacking sounds like it was eating. Then she ran away, got her blanket, came back and started wiping it's mouth! Her favorite song (maybe not the whole thing, but at least the part David and I sing to her) is "Oh Happy Day", she walks around saying "Happy day!" in her little singing voice! It's such a joy! She sings her sweet little gibberish in the car a lot too!

I think I'll just share some pictures and captions to show a little of what we've been up to!
We started getting siding on the house! Three sides done, one more to go! When Lilian and I got back from a baby shower we found Dad hard at work on the porch siding, so we joined him! Lilian LOVES helping and figured out how to put screws into the drill! My Man put the tin on the porch roof and painted the "inside" of the roof white! It looks nice! Baby watermelon! Little Zucchini, or as Lilian calls them, "kini". The zucchini plants (and pumpkins) are undergoing a gruesome attack by squash bugs. Some have been annihilated but a few are still alive, and recovering! Some of our Kikos... Three of them had kids, one doeling and two bucklings. Cucumber blossoms. They are doing very well! One day I was taking Lilian's pictures and every snap she'd make a different funny face!


David the Snake Slayer. Note the blood on his shirt. He showed Billy how to do it Mav style! :D Aunt Kris came and kept Lilian and me company while David went to some fire training! We had such a good time! After David got back from training he brought the doe kid inside. It apparently felt quite at ease with Kris; first it fell asleep under her legs, then is snuggled right in and slept soundly on her. She didn't have a name that day, but after David and Kris discovered poison ivy all over their arms and necks, we dubbed her Itch. Lilian likes looking at Billy's pictures! She's my little kitchen helper! This day she got a little hungry while helping! Riding her horse with Papa! A four generation picture with a father and grandfatherly figure in David's life! L-R: Lilian, David, Grandy (Grandpa Randy), and his father Alfie. They are a blessing to us and we are so glad they could come out! Lilian LOVES tickling people, but particularly me! Showing Grandy the gardens. My uncle, aunt, and cousin came to visit for the Fourth of July! It was a lot of fun watching Austin and Lilian play together. He's about a year older. I like this picture because so much is happening! Austin and Lilian liked the cash register! This picture is funny because Grandpa and Billy just sat back and watched the show! (Billy has come back from Mississippi and is staying with us while he builds "The Billy Shack" nearby! It's looking good! We can't wait to see the finished project, and neither can he!) Lilian's been a bit bitey lately! We're breaking the "habit" fast, before it becomes one! Even though it's not good, it is rather hilarious when she does it! :P When we first bought this land we were amazed by the broad variety of moths and butterflies that are out here! This is what Lilian does when she wants to be held, she says, "Me!? Hold!?" Here's the front of the house with siding and the roof on! Papa and Lilian riding horses together! :D Our first watermelon! It had split so we harvested it early, but it was pretty good! I froze it and another one to make some delicious watermelon smoothies! All you do is blend up some frozen chunks (seeds get blended too) and pour it up to enjoy! It's so refreshing! See my dead and defeated foe, a squished squash bug! David giving our friends the Engles a farm tour! We really enjoyed our visit with you all! Me and Ahlgren Baby 2.0 somewhere around 16 weeks! Wednesday I thought I felt some flutters, but I definitely felt movement yesterday and today! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Thank you Lord! My next favorite stage is when David can feel the baby moving! My belly really looks big in this picture, I don't think it looks that big in real life. :P We went to the midwife's (the same one as Lilian's! Praise the Lord!) this week and got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! It seemed like every 5-10 seconds the baby would kick! (S)He was really active!
*Here's a picture from Friday, the 22nd, before I ate breakfast. :P It's the same shirt but pulled back. I think I'd eaten more in the first pic and David's above angle changes my perceived dimensions. :D


Please be praying for our friends the Smiths, their 17month old daughter died this past week. The funeral was last Saturday, it was sad, but they know in Whom to put their trust and that was quite evident! But please pray for them!

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
John 13:34-35