Moriah is 6 weeks old, Shad almost 2 1/2--Time Flies!!!

Life is wonderful! Now am I saying that EVERY waking moment, no. We still have our challenges. But I can't even begin to describe how blessed and happy I am. Things are getting easier with managing 2 kids, the home, a husband, etc. Moriah is growing, changing and looking more like a girl :-). Shadrach is growing, learning, and there is not a day that goes by that he doesn't make me laugh and love him more.

Moriah started smiling over a week ago. Wednesday, September 10th, that is. I need to document that specifically since I have yet to buy a baby book and I want to make sure to have all the major things written down for when I do. Her favorite person to smile at is Shadrach, of course. Whenever he is talking around her, she finds his face with her eyes and smiles right at him. He says, "Look at baby sista! She miling (with no s) at me!" He adores her, its so cute!

Moriah also started reaching for her toys attached to her carseat today. She was staring intently at them and then reached her hand up and hit it. Then she did it a few more times. That really excited Shadrach. We keep telling him that she'll play when she's bigger. So he informed me that she is now "bigger" since she reached for her toys.

Shadrach is a little parrot. He copies EVERYTHING we say and do. We have to be very careful even about what is on TV in the background when he's in the room. Here he is copying daddy's juggling.

We have been working hard on allowing Moriah to fall asleep on her own, without being held or rocked, the last couple of weeks. I am realizing that with having to take care of Shadrach, I can't hold her during her naps. I know not everyone agrees with letting your kids cry for a while when they are so young, and it is heartwrenching to listen to, but the results are so worth it! The first couple of days she cried for almost her entire naptime, but now she cries only a few minutes, and falls asleep peacefully. I am so thankful for this!

A few more pictures for ya!

I tried to get them both looking...didn't work!

No more pictures!

This looks just like me (Kristi) when I was a baby

Moriah loves to cuddle with Daddy!

Loving tummy time!

Here's how Shadrach stays entertained!

Family Pictures taken September 3rd

Finally...I think they look quite a bit alike :-)

(they are about the same age here...3 weeks or so)

Shadrach

Moriah

If you live in the San Diego area, our new church, Cross Church San Diego, begins Sunday morning services this week. Its at 10:30 am, so not to early!!! Check out www.crosschurchsandiego.com for details and directions. We'd love to see you all there! If you already belong to a church, please pray for us...that we'd reach many people for Jesus!

Settling in as a Family of Four

Moriah is almost 4 weeks old...its time for an update!

How do I describe the last few weeks...challenging. Wow, I feel like having 2 kids is MORE than twice the work of having one! We are adjusting well though, and getting into a really great routine. Moriah sleeps all night, except for waking to eat once around 3am. She eats and naps well for the most part during the day, and is generally happy when she's awake. I can tell she's growing, but probably not as fast as Shadrach did. She still fits into 3 month sized clothes, whereas he was in 6 month size when he was 1 month old. :-)

Shadrach is a GREAT big brother!

This is one of my favorite pictures, he likes to hold Moriah's hand while we're driving. One of the things I was a little worried about was if he'd bug her in the back seat when I was driving and couldn't do anything about it...but he takes good care of her. He actually is always very gentle, and loves to give her hugs and kisses. He is adjusting pretty well in all aspects. He doesn't seem to be jealous at all when I'm with her, which I was also a little worried about. The first couple of weeks he seemed to misbehave a little more often than normal but the past week has been much better. And I know that is to be expected, his life has just change dramatically!

I am feeling good, and getting a decent amount of rest. I am healing very well, although I am probably doing more than I should physically. I don't have a choice but to pick up my 40lb 2 yr. old once in a while even though that's a no-no. Mark has been working A LOT so I'm home by myself quite a bit. Honostly, the hardest part is making sure Shadrach gets to play outside a decent amount every day. It would be so easy just to let him watch TV and play inside all day. Actually, that kind of happened yesterday :-) But thankfully Moriah likes to be in the baby carrier, so I can put her in that and walk with Shadrach to the playground. He loves to just run around and climb!

Here are a few more pictures to bring you up to speed!

About 3 days before Moriah was born:

Moriah taking her first bath!

Phototherapy for Jaundice.

First family picture!

First bath at home.

It's a Girl!!

Baby Moriah Joy Salazar was born yesterday, August 4th @ 1:41pm. She was 8 lb, 11 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long! Big baby but not quite as big as Shadrach. Good thing she has an older and bigger brother to keep an eye out while daddy bulks up and shines hit shotgun!

Prayer Requests

Please keep Moriah in your prayers. She seems to be perfectly healthy except they think she may have some jondice (spelling?). We will find out later today if they have to put her under the uv rays/photo booth thing. I guess she has a moderate amount of jondice and they are waiting to see if it increases or decreases to see if she needs any kind of treatment or not.

Also pray for Kristi, she had a c-section! She is recoving well and we plan on going home Thursday together as a family.

For Shadrach, that adjustments would go well as far as adding a new member to the family. SO far he is doing really well and seems to like his new sister!

For myself, that I would get some rest and some work done for this weekend @ Cross Church!

Thank you guys so much for all your prayers!!!

In His Mighty Grip,

Mark

Prayer Request!

Family & Friends,

I have a prayer request for you all. Kristi is going to Scripps Mercy hospital at 11:00 am Monday, August 4th. At 1pm the c-section will begin and Baby Moriah will be born. Please pray for a healthy baby, Kristi's health and for Shadrach as he will meet his Baby Moriah for the first time! As soon as I get pic's and able to get to a computer I will post them as well as give you an update. Thank you so much, I thank you in advance for your prayers.

In His Mighty Grip,
Mark C. Salazar
619-838-8625 cell

New things!

So obviously I've been a little less diligent to update here than I initially intended. We still don't have internet at our new place...so that's my excuse :-).

In case you haven't heard...
1. We've moved.
2. Mark is starting a new job on August 1st.
3. Moriah will be here in a week or less.

So life is a little crazy, full of changes, but nevertheless very EXCITING! Mark will no longer be working as a youth pastor at Calvary Chapel Mira Mesa, he is moving on to be the youth (Jr. High, High School, College & Career) & outreach pastor with a new church starting in San Diego, Cross Church San Diego. (http://www.crosschurchsandiego.com/.) This opportunity to help start a brand new church is totally from the Lord, we know b/c it took us completely by surprise! Mark will be helping to start small groups, organize community outreaches and events, and any other odds and ends that are needed. Services are scheduled to begin in the fall...we will keep you all updated! Actually I will have Mark post with more details about how God has lead us to this new church and more about what he'll be doing.

I am scheduled for a c-section on August 4th, if Moriah doesn't decide to come before then. Its nice to know that there is an end in sight, the last couple of weeks have been increasingly uncomfortable. But right now I am really trying to enjoy my time with Shadrach in his last days as an only child. He is so much fun, so full of energy, and of course hilarious! We are talking a lot about Baby Sister and things we'll do when she's here. Still praying for a smooth transition for him!

Hopefully this gives you a little glimpse of what's been going on...I promise to get some pictures up soon! Check back next week for new baby news!

We are MOVING!!!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord! God is so good, and has given me one of the desires of my heart, to be moved and settled before Moriah comes. We have been keeping our eye on Craigs List for good deals in the area, in case the waiting list wasn't moving forward, and found a great place with everything we want in Rancho Bernardo. And for a great price. We are moving next week!

A few weeks ago I was pretty bummed that it looked like we weren't going to be able to get into our own place before the baby was born. God really worked on me though, and I came to a place (with difficulty) that I trusted whatever he had planned for us. And even through my moments of frustration, I was able to thank Him. Thank you Jesus for hearing my prayers, working on my heart, and changing me!

So now, being 9 months pregnant and moving...interesting and a little difficult. But I am definitely NOT complaining! It is all God's perfect timing for our family. We have so many great people (including our wonderful family) to help us! I just cannot even express how blessed we are!

Waiting...

As many of you know, we are living at my dad's house (or my dad is living with us, as I like to say :-)) and we are hoping to move before Moriah is born. We are on a waiting list for some really nice apartments in Scripps Ranch, and could receive a call at anytime. My heart's desire is to move as soon as possible, I would like to get a little settled before life changes even more with the addition of a new baby. But as WAITING lists go, its all out of our hands. We know that God is good, has a perfect plan for us, knows our desires, and knows what is best for our family. So we are in the best, toughest place to be...with no control! Honostly it is a great faith stretcher, but so hard! If you know me, you know I'm not really a fan of having no control over a situation.

It has been a blessing to be with my dad for the past year, though. We have paid off sooooo much debt (accumulated over the time since we've had Shadrach and I haven't been working). Thank you Lord! Plus it has been nice to have the extra help of my dad watching Shadrach, since this pregnancy hasn't been the easiest. Once again, we rest in the fact that God knows what's best for us!