Nathan Andrew Schweitzer has entered the world.  He arrived at 2:35 a.m. on Wednesday, October 12, 2011.

Deanna and Baby are both doing great. Dad is still recovering from permanent smile damage but is expected to recover by the baby boy’s teen years….

Deanna was walking around snapping photos shortly after the baby was born. She had a walking epidural and did an AWESOME job while dad stood there working as a squeeze toy, scratching post and voice of encouragement…. (he did mediocre compared to her in this effort)

The midwife and hospital staff (baby and parents too) were obviously guided by God through all of your prayers. We really appreciate all of them — they worked!

We arrived at the hospital at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Deanna didn’t waste much time with all her walking, wiggling and working through the contractions. Just over 8 hours later she was done, smiling and staring at our amazing baby boy.

Here are the stats:

Birth Date Oct. 12, 2011 @ 2:35 AM
Weight: 3370 g / 7.43 pounds
Length: 52 cm / 20 &1/2 inches
Head Circumference: 34.5 cm / 13.6 inches

Here are the pictures:

More to follow after a little more baby holding time and maybe a little rest…

On my birthday this year, Brad and I took a day trip to Koln (also known as Cologne). We headed out mid-morning and made the hour and half drive up from the Wiesbaden area. The day was dreary, but at least we were able to get in a few hours of sight seeing before the down pour began. 

The main attraction for us in this large city (it’s Germany’s fourth), was the Kolner Dom–Cologne’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. It was completed in 1880, 632 years after its construction began! My pictures do not do it justice. In fact, I am extremely disappointed with how my pictures turned out that day. I think it was the camera ; )

What you will gather from my pictures is the size of the cathedral. It is one of the world’s largest and the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe. Fun fact: It was the largest structure for four years running until the completion of the Washington Monument. Aside from its eye-catching size, it also has beautifully intricate details (both inside and out) as well as 113 square meters of stained glass. In short, it is one massively beautiful sight.

The Koln area offers many churches for sightseers. Many are found in the vicinity of the Cologne Cathedral. We were not able to get a good view of many of them during our visit due to structure maintenance being done. We were, however, able to take in the bustling sites of the downtown area and indulge in some local cuisine.

Last week, Brad treated me to the Wiesbaden Wine Festival (held August 12-21) in downtown Wiesbaden. We attended the festival for a short while after my doctor’s appointment. I, of course, did not indulge in any wine tasting since I am with child. Brad and I did share a delicious Flammkuchen as we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the festival around us. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in the spa city of Wiesbaden.

The festival, also known as Rheingau Wine Week, hosts more than 30 vineyards from the famed Rheingau Wine Region, which begins just down river from Wiesbaden. Aside from the over 100 booths offering a variety of wines, culinary delicacies can also be purchased through the street festival.

Visit the Rheingau Calendar of Events to find more Wine Festivals in the Rhein-Main area.

Brad and I recently stumbled across a fun little local treat for kinders (children). Here in Germany they are know as “Kinder Eggs” or “Kinder Surprise”. The confection is a chocolate egg with a small toy offered in the center of it. I am told that Kinder Eggs have been banned in the U.S. because the small toy, that often requires assembly, poses a choking hazard to young children. Um, yeah. Most small toys do pose that threat. As you can see from my photo, the Italian company that makes these eggs also states that in the warning on the back of it. For children here in Germany, it seems to be a popular and entertaining treat for kinders (and this adult   : ).

This morning I was walking to the car in the drizzling rain that has fallen off and on for several days now. I was on my way to a women’s Bible study that I had been looking forward to attending until I realized I had over-slept by a tad. Although it was early, everything about the day already seemed to be pulling me back in the direction of my bed. The consistent rain (which incidentally has also been effecting my sinuses-thank you pregnancy for allowing me the experience of healing without REAL medication) and the absence of my love who was given the opportunity to travel to the States this week, had me a bit melancholy. That was until God sent me a beautiful reminder.

This is what what I found on the wall outside of my car:

Most people I know don’t think much of slimy things. For me, I am intrigued by all of God’s creation and found this little guy to be an inspiration on a morning when I really needed it. I honestly think that when we take time to notice the little things, it is one of God’s ways of telling us, showing us or reminding us of something important. Yeah, it could have just been a coincidence that that snail was at the same place and the same time as me. A big snail with a beautifully large shell attached to it-something that I have never seen in nature before. If you think about the journey that the snail had to make to arrive where it was, it is quite amazing that we crossed paths. With that, the message of its presence is clear… don’t give up. No matter how bad the day seems to start off, no matter how many things don’t go the way you plan, no matter how far you have to go or how long you have to wait, don’t give up. It may feel like we move through the tough times at a snail’s pace, but God has a plan and His own timing. We can take comfort in knowing that He is control and He will take care of us.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1 NIV

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” James 4:8 NIV

I recently discovered that the makers of FIREPROOF are releasing a new Christian movie. This gets me REALLY excited!!! Not just because I thoroughly enjoyed the movie FireProof (and the others created by Sherwood Pictures), but because this is an opportunity to reach the masses with a message from the Bible. As an educator and a soon-to-be-mommy, I am encouraged by the message that Courageous is sending. It is one that will literally hit home for many-one of how father’s are to live according to God’s expectations. The Courageous movie release date is September 30, 2011. PLEASE mark your calendars and plan to go out and see this movie. I can’t imagine that it will be anything less than inspiring. By supporting Christian films like Courageous, we also send a strong message to Hollywood that this is the kind of entertainment that we want to spend our hard earned money on.

Visit the official website of Courageous the Movie for more information.

Watch the Courageous Movie Trailer:

As I was unpacking our book collection a couple of months ago, I came across five books from the Left Behind series by Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. We purchased the books years ago when the series was first introduced. For whatever reason, I have never committed to reading the books-until now.I started reading book 1 and could not put it down. Thus far, I have read all of those five books. The series has completely captivated me and I am eager for more. In my search for locating the books in the series, I am left wondering, how many are there? Several sources tell me there are 16, others document up to 19 and the official Left Behind website indicates there are only 12. Does anyone know the actual number of books in the LB series???? I am in desperate need of finding out how the story continues, but am feeling a bit left behind…

This past week I officially became 20 weeks pregnant. That brings me to about the halfway point in my pregnancy. To mark the occasion, our little one decided he/she would start to make his/herself known to me. As you can imagine, it was very exciting (once I figured out what it was) to feel the baby move.

I have to admit that the first few fetal movements were a mystery to me. I wasn’t quite sure that the flutters in my belly were actually from the baby or the increase in fiber : ) Since those first kicks, they have been nonstop. It is amazing to feel the baby moving and comforting to know he/she is strong enough to do so. Brad is convinced this little one will be a soccer player. At our doctor’s visit last week, the doctor applied the “wand” to my belly to show us the baby. When she pressed down, she said, “Woah!”. She pressed again and then told us that the baby was kicking the wand. Brad and I just laughed. If you know the story of how Brad was caught at two years of age on top of the fridge eating out of a cookie jar, then the fact that any child of his kicking the doctor’s instrument was no surprise. I do hope that all this movement is not an indication of how the baby will be outside of the womb.

Earlier this week, Brad and I took our boys for a long walk on the trails right here by our house. We have been patiently waiting for spring to take hold of this German countryside. As you can see from the pictures, spring is definitely here and boy is it gorgeous.

The route we took on this particular day lead us by a stable and views of a local castle. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many horses out in the fields. The times I have walked this route, I have not been so lucky. I just love animals and feel they are such a gift from God. If you look carefully, there are a couple of photos where a bird was perched on the back of a horse. Too funny!

Our Lil' Peanut

Yep, after almost 12 years of marriage, Brad and I are expecting a new little Schweitzer to arrive later this year. Some of you may have thought the day would never come. We have intentionally waited to have kids until we were completely comfortable to take on such an enormous responsibility. With the advisement of God, the time to start our family is obviously ideal.

We feel very blessed and look forward to sharing our adventures in pregnancy and parenting with all of you. You can follow my pregnancy blog at mommyship.com and check back here to find out how things are progressing. We appreciate your prayers for a smooth pregnancy and healthy baby.