Introducing Emma Karis Heneise! Emma means complete or universal, and Karis means grace or undeserved gift. She is such a blessing, and we are so thankful that she is ours forever. As the judge said, we were just waiting for the court to make legal a commitment that was already made in all of our hearts.

Yesterday, Emma joined with over 60 other children at Austin’s Adoption Day. The Juvenile Justice Center was transformed into a huge party with games and celebrations for everyone. The courtrooms were packed with stuffed animals, and the judges happily made legal one adoption after another! It was incredible to be part of such a big event. It really made me excited to see all of the other families. I really hope to adopt again someday (when our girls are just a bit older!).

Here we are: Ryan, Bethany, Emma (almost 15 months), and Selah (4 months)

Also posted on Becoming a Midwife

Ever since Emma was a baby, we’ve loved being able to have her in the office with us. Now that she’s turned into a toddler (amazing transformation, by the way), she can wreck some first-class havoc with cables, filing cabinets, and anything else that is supposed to be orderly. So we’ve had to get pretty creative with our office setup in order to have her in here while we’re working.

When Selah was born, my whole family came out to visit. My dad, who is a construction contractor, helped me do some serious child-proofing. I am pretty proud of the results, so I thought I’d share some pictures with you.

The Child-Resistant Office, bird’s eye view.

(The photo has notes – click on the photo to see them.)

The Cables

My dad is very creative. Here is what we ended up doing with the cables:

More photos

What’s Next? Maybe a little toddler desk, where she can express her toddler creativity.

Welcome to the world, Selah Sofia Heneise!

We welcomed our new daughter into the world on Sunday! She was born at 1:00 Austin time, a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Bethany and Selah are both doing wonderfully. Selah got blessed and dedicated by our pastor on Monday. We’ve just been lying in and enjoying the feel of a brand new person.

We gave birth at Austin Area Birthing Center, and we couldn’t be happier. The midwives were so wonderful, and the environment was peaceful and comfortable, more like a bed and breakfast than a hospital. Everything about it just made for an awesome birth experience.