Zeke became uncommonly fussy on August 23th and we took him to the hospital to find he had an infection spreading throughout his body. After several horrible hours and a transfer to Children's Mercy Hospital, Zeke died early Monday morning. We know that G0d is in control and are trusting that He will be with us in our pain. We are grieved beyond words and would appreciate your prayers.

he's here! ezekiel "zeke" john. he came friday august 14th at 11.26pm. i went in friday evening because of a fever and headache and the doctor decided to break my water and get things going. it was a great labor (if that's possible) and by the time he came he was healthy and my fever was gone. when the doctor said, "oh he's big" i thought, not really. yup, 9 lbs 2 oz big. i had no idea and i'm thankful; he didn't seem any bigger than the other two kids who weren't more than 7 and a half pounds. we struggled with the fever some through the weekend, but we're doing well now and he's fitting in great with our family. he's following in wyatt and cassie's footsteps: he sleeps and eats like a champ. i am thankful.

we had great help from family and aunt rachie watched wyatt and cass all weekend so we could take care of our new little one. they were so excited to be with her and i'm sorry to say they will miss her terribly. i'm no substitute for her, but hopefully i can work my way back. they are very excited about their brother, touching him and kissing him. wyatt tells him, "it's okay, baby bruder" when he cries and cassie tries to give him his pacifier all the time. i think it's going to be a great transition to three kids.

we're really thankful he's here for so many reasons. he came just before the 14th ended, meaning he was born on aunt lauren's birthday. we are so glad they are birthday buddies, i know it will be a special bond. and he was born on sabbath and it really did mean i could rest, even if it wasn't sleep. and since he's an august baby we will get to celebrate my mom and aunt's birthday with him, as well as harrison's. plus, if he had been in there one more week he would have been even bigger! so many other reasons to celebrate, but that's it for now. once i get a battery that works for my camera i will post more pictures. in the meantime, here are a few from big cassie, who was smart enough to bring a camera (good work cass!)