Karis is still sick. On top of her cold, she got a viral infection that spiked her temperature for a few days. Now she is covered in hives that is a symptom of the viral infection. She's been a bit spacey and when she regains some of her energy, she has been extra cranky. Lydia is still congested at nights and doesn't sleep very well.

Surprisingly, I am doing well. God is truly sustaining me physically and protecting my spirit. In the midst of tantrums and inconsolable cries, I'm able to find His peace and calm embedded in my heart and even when I'm unsure how I should handle a situation at hand, I'm reminded that He gives wisdom to those who seek it... and He does!

We barely made it to church yesterday, but once we were there, I was so thankful that we went. The worship was so powerful. I love the words to the song "Saviour King" by Hillsong.

And now the weak say I have strength By the spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead And now the poor stand and confess That my portion is Him and I'm more than blessed Let now our hearts burn with a flame A fire consuming all for your Son's holy name And with the heavens we declare You are our king We love you Lord, we worship you You are our God, you alone are good You asked your Son to carry this The heavy cross our weight of sin I love you Lord, I worship you Hope which was lost, now stands renewed I give my life to honor this The love of Christ, the savior king Let now your church shine as the bride That you soar in your heart as you offered up your life Let now the lost be welcomed home By the saved and redeemed those adopted as your own I give my life to honor this The love of Christ, the savior king

I love the last phrase, because it reminds me why I must strive with all His might to live this day well. I give my life to honor this- the love of Christ, the Savior King.

I've been finding a lot of comfort and strength from 1 Peter. Not that I'm suffering like the first century Christians Peter was writing to were. In the midst of uncertainties and unjust suffering, Peter exhorts them to set their hope fully on the grace to be given them when Christ is revealed. He's not asking them to grit their teeth and wait until this suffering passes them by. He commands them to prepare their minds for action and be resilient (self-controlled) and actively set their hope in Christ. For me, the exhortation is not only to exhibit patience when I'm feeling frazzled and tired, but to actively repay the debt of love I owe to those that are in my life- especially to those that are closest to me.

My prayer is not necessarily that my life will get easier, but that through this season of life, I will learn more the heart of God and that I will become more like my maker.

With her sickness, once in awhile, Karis will let me know that she wants to lie down on the sofa with her duckie with the blanket over her. I put on her favorite VeggieTale and let her rest until she's feeling squirmy again.



Even though Lydia is the reason for the many unwanted changes in Karis' life right now, she adores Lydia and considers herself a proud older sister of a beautiful baby. When someone asks her if she's a big sister now, she beams with pride as she taps in the gereral vicinity of where Lydia is seated.

My mom had to come over to watch the kids for about an hour on Saturday when I was on the road and had car trouble and Mike had to come to my rescue. My mom said that Karis cried hysterically for the better half of the hour which set Lydia off. Whem my mom was trying to console Karis, she told my mom to tend to the crying baby first, even as she was still crying. That touched my heart so much. How much it must touch God when we all just get along and love one another sincerely.

Wow... it's been busy here. Both Karis and Lydia have been sick. Karis seems to be getting better, however Lydia seems to be getting worse. Poor thing... she's had a cold for almost two weeks now. It's hard to figure out what kind of baby Lydia is just yet. She's been very cranky lately wanting to be either fed or held when she's awake. Due to her stuffy nose, her sleep is often light and disrupted by the noise in the house.

Everyone in the family is carrying a heavy load right now. I know it's inevitable and even a good thing for Karis, but she's been acting agitated and frustrated lately. We've been in the house for the most part and that's added to the frustration Karis has been feeling. Today, I got the courage to take both of the girls to the mall by myself. I felt that Karis really needed the outing and I needed a break from simultaneously caring for a sick new born and catering to a high energy, attention craving toddler inside of the house where all the toys and activities have been played out one time too many. It took a lot of work to get us all in the car, but I imagine that it will get easier with practice. When they were both in the stroller quietly, it was heavenly, but it didn't last. More times than not, I felt anxiously short handed.

Once Mike gets home from work, we work like well-oiled machine as I prepare dinner and clean while Mike tends to the girls and gets Karis ready for bed. Once Karis is bed, we consider this our cherished moment together when we are able to catch up with each other, but lately, one of us have already fallen asleep by then.

Man, it is hard. It's harder than I expected. Please keep us in your prayers. Pray that both of the girls will recover quickly and that God will continue to strengthen Mike and I for the task at hand and that we will learn more and more what it means to depend on Him and His strength.

How do I keep a toddler entertained and care for a new born you ask? By the strength and grace that comes from God... and sometimes that saving grace comes in the form of finger paint, play dough, paintbrush, and washable markers...

I cut out shapes from a sponge and had Karis stamp them on paper. Did it get messy? Yes. Did it keep her occupied for twenty minutes so that I could cater to Lydia? Yes!


Lydia watchingt her sister painting.


Was I able to grab a few minutes to enjoy a cup of morning coffee? Yes! Those few stolen minutes here and there are so precious and revitalizing.

Last night I happen to be talking to a father of five. Our conversation went something like this.
"Congratulations on your newborn! It's a wonderful journey."
"Yes... and a sleepless one as well."
"Haahaa... sleep is overrated." Translation: Our kids are older, but we still don't get much sleep. Accept it and embrace it.

Things at the Yang household has been... busy. As far as we can tell, Lydia is a very different baby than Karis was. She doesn't seem as relentless and determined to have things her way. When Karis was an infant, babies that slept most of the time and woke up only to eat seemed like an urban legend, but Lydia is a living proof of that. Even so, having two children is very different from having one. Mike goes back to work tomorrow and we've been very busy keeping up and with the help of friends who have been preoccupying Karis, we've been able to get the house organized in a way that will help us keep things afloat after Mike's back at work. We've finally tackled the closets, finished the nursery, have a plan in place for the clutter that seems to accumulate in days time.

Karis is doing very well. She's doing the best she could under the circumstances. She loves Lydia, however, it's hard for her to watch Lydia being held and being nursed and prioritized over. She loves to dote on Lydia and the only concern we have so far is her being unknowingly rough with Lydia, but she never does it intentionally. One change I've been seeing in her is that she's not as picky as to who she will play with. She will take the attention if you are willing to play with her.

Mike's been a super dad tackling the day's task with such a great attitude and diligence. I, on the other hand, have been adjusting to my role as a mother of two. With the profound blessing, I'm understanding a little more, the profound responsibility. I won't lie. It hasn't been easy. The lack of sleep, never ending amount work, and two precious human beings in need of so much love and attention have been overwhelming at times. And at the same time, it's been so sweet as God meets me in my broken and haggard state. I'm learning a little more about what it means to take up the Cross to follow Christ and a little more about the Father's heart of love and sacrifice. As the father of five said, "It's a wonderful journey." In deed, it is.

After months of watching Mommy and Daddy building, Karis finally learning to build instead of tearing down.



Can you tell from these pictures, Karis' attempt to be gentle and sweet to Lydia? It blesses my heart.




Who is the big and the little sister?


With Grandma and Granddad Lee.


Karis in Lydia's bouncer.

Believe it or not, things have been pretty smooth so far. We were mostly concerned about Karis' transition and how we would do with lack of sleep. Karis is doing remarkably well. We really believe that God is answering our prayers. We thank our friends for praying for us. For the most part, she seems to feel secure in the midst of the shift in our family dynamics and number and she seems to like having Lydia around. We are trying to stay sensitive to her feelings and needs and are being extra careful not to use negative language like "no" and "don't." Of course, it's inevitable at times, but we are trying to be extra patient with her until we are all a little more settled in. Lydia is still sleeping all day and waking up around 10pm for some time of looking around, crying, taking care of business , eating and eating to fall soundly asleep again around 6am. She's doing great nursing and we are not having any health issues at all so far. Mike's been such a HUGE help. He's been taking Karis out with him on errands which gives me some free time I'm not used to having. I know it's all temporary and I'm relishing every minute of it.

We are especially thankful for friends and family who have been so thoughtful. Even though the transition so far has been much easier than I had feared, some daily chores that we took for granted are out of the question for now such as cooking dinner and we are so blessed by friends who have taken the time to think of us. We've had delicious dinner delivered to us every night so far since we've been back from the hospital. Food made with love is so yummy to eat :-)!

Introducing Lydia Hee Jung Yang... She was born on October 1, 2008 at 9:28am. She weighed 8.5 pounds and measured 20.5 inches long.



We are enjoying her long sleeping hours that are broken up by short periods of intense crying. Several nurses from the hospital speculates colic. One nurse came into our room and said, "I'm scared of your baby's crying." I said, "Me too." All in all, it's all very very good and we are so happy for this beautiful new addition to our family.


Here Karis and Mommy are taking care of our babies in the hospital bed.



Karis strolling her baby down the hospital hallway waiting for Mommy and Lydia's bill of health.



One last peek before heading home.



God is good.

Karis loves babies and is surprisingly gentle with them. Whenever she hears me mentioning either Michelle or Will, she exclaims with excitement, "Baby!" She loves Baby Emily. This is an encouraging sign, but we shall see.

We got her a big girls' bed the other day and set it up in her room. When we ask her if she likes her new big girl's bed, she nods her head, but when we ask her if she wants to sleep in it, she shakes her head. We are really hoping that before Baby #2 needs the crib, she will voluntarily give it up.