2008: A Year in Review

How do I begin to describe how abundantly the Berndsen Family has been blessed in 2008?! I suppose I can begin with the very beginning and just mention a few of the highlights our family has experienced this past year, in chronological order to make it easier :)

January - We escaped the winter blues to venture on a cruise to the Caribbean. We loved our vacation and were so happy to get such a great deal on it! It was the perfect way to begin the year, and get us one step closer to our new home.


February - We moved into our new home, which we had eagerly been waiting for the past 6 months. We had so much fun getting settled into our new house and preparing to make our house a home.


April - We learned that our family of two was becoming a family of three! Such a beautiful miracle and we immediately began preparing for our little one. Words alone can't express the happiness and love that we immediately had for our little peanut.


May - We ventured to Miami, FL for a business trip for T.J.'s work. Such a great getaway and an opportunity for our family to make more memories.


August - We were honored to celebrate our sister Jenna's wedding! Such a beautiful ceremony in a rose garden in WV, and we pray that Jenna and Matt remain as happy and in love as they were on that beautiful day. Trust me, with each day...marriage is more and more rewarding! Congratulations!!


September - We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary with a little rendevous to Bay Harbor, Michigan. Our trip was just what we needed to celebrate and reflect on our marriage. We relaxed, shopped, walked and enjoyed the spa...everything was just perfect! Thanks hubby for a great getaway, as usual! :)


October & November - We were blessed with the love and friendship of our family and friends with the many baby showers that we enjoyed. Thank you to everyone for showing us the love and support as we prepared for our newest blessing, who was due to arrive the next month.

December - December marked the 9th month of pregnancy. Everything about that last month was incredible, scary and yet incredibly rewarding. We learned a lot of patience, learned to trust God even more and our love for each other grew even more strong than I had known was possible. I thought this picture was appropriate for the month of December, as our niece Dinah eagerly peers at my belly waiting for some action (much like I did most of the month!)


And, I already know that 2009 will be even more incredible than 2008 was! Our baby girl arrived on January 3rd, and I can't think of a better way to begin the year. :)

Our First Week

Well, I knew the time would come for T.J. to return to work, and that time officially came this past Monday. I must admit that I was a bit nervous to be a full-time Mommy as T.J. has been such an incredible help the two weeks that he was home with Elliana and me. But, the reality was that in order to continue to pay bills and provide food that Daddy had to return to work, even though I know he would have been happy to stay home forever.

Our first week home alone together went better than expected, and I am so very fortunate that we have this time together. We have read books, taken naps together, and tried to prepare the house for when Daddy comes home from work so that we can play together as a family.

One of our major accomplishments this week is that we ventured out of the house on our own, which believe it or not was a major feat for the Berndsen girls. I know, it might seem silly that a simple trip out of the house with my daughter is an accomplishment, but the past few weeks a lot of my energy has been spent recovering and determining a feeding schedule...so managing to get out of the house within the timeline of feedings is an achievement. Yesterday we went for another weight check at the hospital, and I am pleased to announce that our baby girl is now weighing in at 9 lbs, 5.4 ounces! At this pace, I predict she will be wearing 3-6 month clothes in about 2-3 weeks which I find absolutely incredible at how quickly my little girl is growing!

As much as I have loved our alone time this week, I am so very excited that today is FRIDAY and we will have Daddy home with us all weekend long. Elliana and I are a great team, but it is the three of us that make us a family.



Elliana happy to be playing with Mommy

Even more enjoyable

It is amazing to me how in just over two weeks, Elliana's personality is already starting to shine through. Each day, she brings a new kind of happiness and laughter to our lives that we never knew was missing.

My new role as Mommy

Well, my baby girl is now officially 10 days old, and with each new day, I am loving my new role as Mommy even more. After a pretty rough labor and delivery, the first few days after Elliana arrived went by in a bit of a blur, and I find it hard to believe that more than a week has already passed since her arrival, expanding our family of two into a beautiful family of three.

All is going great here in the Berndsen household. Elliana has already surpassed her birth weight, and earned her first smiley face sticker at her doctor appointment. She entered this world weighing 7 lbs, 11.8 ounces and 10 days later she is already weighing in at 8 lbs, 8 ounces! We find such joy in watching her funny facial expressions, and learning to distinguish her different coos and cries.

Although we have no other baby experience to compare against, we are convinced that God has abundantly blessed us, as Elliana is a great baby who very rarely fusses or cries. She is perfect to us in every way, and we love to show her off to our family and friends. I must admit my motherly instinct is a bit in overdrive and I am trying my best to guard her from small children and anyone who might be sick. It didn't help to calm my fears when the doctor reminded us that January isn't a great time for a newborn to arrive with the many winter illnesses that are floating around. But, we are trying our best to keep her healthy despite mother nature.

As for my wonderful husband, T.J. is an incredible father! I have no idea how I would have adjusted these past few weeks without him. He has happily taken care of not just a recovering wife, but a beautiful newborn baby and has never once complained about any of it. Just thinking of how blessed I am brings tears of joy to my eyes and my heart well up with gratitude.

Thank you Lord for my beautiful and healthy family. I truly couldn't ask for anything else!!

Welcome Elliana!!!

She is here. At 1:12 am, Elliana made her way into the world, all 7lbs 11oz and 20 1/4 inches. Both mom and baby are doing well and all of us are extremely tired and extremely excited.

She received her first bath and tried to get her first meal. Now, mom is trying to get some food in her. I think we all will need our rest, but now after all the excitement, we don't want to go to sleep. I think we are all tired, but no one is too tired to get some photos.

We thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers today and we look forward to when she can meet you. And, since I'm the daddy now, I say, how about one more picture.