Andrew Asbury Stimson!

We are so proud and happy to announce the birth of our son, Andrew Asbury Stimson! Drew was born on May 14, 2012, at 10:11 PM, and he was 7 lbs., 14 oz. and measured 19.5" long. The story of his birth is pretty fantastic, so we wanted to share it with you all!

Stephany's due date was originally tomorrow, May 16. Yesterday evening, after Nathan had come home from work, Stephany had taken a warm bath and was laying in bed. Around 8:45 PM, she began experiencing contractions, and by 9:15 PM, we realized that she was in labor and that this was it! Nathan called Stephany's sister, Malory, to come over to watch Becker for us for when we would go to the hospital. By the time Malory arrived, around 9:30 PM, Stephany's contractions were serious and were happening every two minutes or less. As Nathan was grabbing one already-packed bag and gathering things into another bag for the hospital, Stephany began telling Nathan and Malory to call 9-1-1 because the baby was coming! And sure enough—he was!!! Nathan saw the baby's head emerging, so he washed his hands and grabbed a towel (a little in disbelief), and began holding the baby's head with the towel (all of this happening in our bathroom). Around this time, the EMS paramedics arrived, and we soon had ten or so firemen in our bedroom, their assorted gear all over the place. They took over (from Nathan, that is), and a few minutes later, Stephany pushed once and baby Drew was delivered! A little while later, Stephany and Drew were taken by ambulance to the hospital, and we will be heading home tomorrow.

Stephany started going into labor around 8:45 PM. Drew was born in our bathroom at 10:11 PM. The home birth was completely unintentional for us, but all praise to Jesus, it was a completely awesome and amazing experience! Stephany prayed throughout the final portion of the delivery and was filled with great joy afterwards. We are completely in awe of the circumstances, and we are so grateful for the Lord's provision and care.

With great joy and appreciation,
Nathan & Stephany

Becker Turns Two!

Our Becker turned two years old this past Sunday, March 4! It's so amazing to watch our little boy grow up! Stephany and I are so thankful that God has blessed us with the Beck boy and another little boy on the way in May.

Stephany made a very fun Thomas the Train cake for Beck. He's really been into Thomas lately, and he was very excited to have such a fun (and delicious) cake!

The birthday boy with the birthday cake! The rockin' "2" shirt was courtesy of Aunt Tish!

Auntie Mals got Becker some fun soccer gear, including two kids-size goals and these cones. They also work pretty well as orange party hats.

Beck also got a super fun bowling set for his birthday. He was already well acquainted with Wii Bowling, thanks to Pappy, so he's a natural. Here's the little bowler with his bowling ball and Me-mom.

Checking out the fun musical card Gran sent from Texas!

Daddy and Becker, taking a break from opening presents. Beck's holding a fun cowboy cup with his name on it, thanks to Aunt Tish and Uncle Joey.

Resting with Mommy on the new Thomas pillow.

Pappy and Me-mom got Becker a fun train set! We can hardly wait to get it all set up!

Beck was so excited about his new table and chairs that Nana sent! He's been sitting there near-continuously for the past week, eating snacks, coloring in his drawing books, and even bowling from his chair! It will also be great for visits from his young friends in our community group.

Playing the new matching game with Pappy (and probably beating him).

Beck's birthday was so much fun! We love our little boy!

Nathan

Balloon Fiesta 2011

This is a little late, but we wanted to post some pics from our visit to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta this year!  We were able to head out to the balloon park for one of the evening balloon glows (or "Glowdeos"), which was a lot of fun.  The Fiesta draws hundreds of balloons and balloonists from all over the world.  One of our favorite things about the Fiesta each year is seeing which new shapes show up.

Most notable here is "Spider-Pig" (far left), which, as far as I can tell, is a balloon based on a reference to The Simpsons movie.  Crazy.

Corporate sponsors, balloons with lots of colors, etc.

Intel, a local large employer.

The bees!

Even a Miller Genuine Draft balloon.  Yes, it IS a bit ridiculous to see a giant Miller beer bottle floating through the sky over Albuquerque (I mean, if it were a New Belgium Brewing Co. bottle, I'd find it a lot cooler).

Becker and Auntie Mals in the van after the fun.

Stephany's dad's parents and his sister were also in town from Colorado, which made the weekend very special for us.  Here's Becker "Shelton" Stimson with Pappy and Grandpa Shelton.

And Becker with Grandma Shelton.  So fun to be together.

Becker with Aunt Carolyn.

And a family pic!  Good times with the Albuquerque family!

Nathan

The New Stimson Home!

This is a little late in coming, but we bought a house this summer! We started looking for a home around the beginning of the year. We found a nice, older home for a pretty good price on Albuquerque's Westside, not too far from Stephany’s family here. We closed on the house at the beginning of June, and since it didn’t need much work (just some painting and cleaning here and there), we were able to move in about a week later.



It has been a great place for us! We were happy to find a property with some trees and a big back yard! Beck loves playing with the sticks and rocks and everything else he can find in the yard, and we enjoyed eating dinner on the back patio several times this summer.




In looking for a place, we really wanted to find a home that we could open up to others in community, through our church, our friends, and whoever else God might bring into our lives. We started a community group at our home through our church about a month ago, and we have been very glad and thankful to see people coming together to share their lives and praise Jesus together with our family.

Nathan & Stephany

Labor Day Weekend Celebration

Over Labor Day weekend, Stephany and I celebrated our fifth anniversary together! Also that weekend, Becker turned a year and a half old! It was a momentous weekend for us.

We decided to take a day trip up to Santa Fe to celebrate. We first stopped and had lunch at Second Street Brewery, which has been around for a while, but which I had only heard of recently. We enjoyed lunch (and I enjoyed one of their beers) on the patio. Afterwards, we drove around the city for a bit, finally deciding to drive up towards the mountain ski area. We proceeded up the winding mountain road and then stopped to do some hiking. It was Becker's first time to hike, and after just a couple of minutes, he was totally loving it! He was quick to want to lead us up the trail, despite the rocks and roots in his way.

My two favorites.

It was a beautiful area, with lots and lots of tall Aspen trees.

It seemed that a storm was coming upon us as we were heading out. I love seeing the dark clouds covering the New Mexico sky.

And finally, back in the car, headed home. It was a lovely day, and a wonderful weekend for our family.

Nathan

Don & Molly's Dallas Wedding Weekend!

The picture pretty much sums it up: we had a wonderful time at the wedding of our very good friends Don and Molly. The wedding was Saturday, May 21, in Dallas, which also happened to be Stephany's birthday! We left Becker with the grandparents and embarked on a two-night stay in downtown Dallas—no car, plush hotel room, and lots of fun!

Here we are riding the M-Line trolley between downtown and Uptown Saturday morning. We had enjoyed the rehearsal dinner the night before at a restaurant within walking distance of our hotel, the Fairmont, and since the wedding wasn't until that evening, we spent the day enjoying the city. We ate lunch in Uptown and enjoyed a beer at The Gingerman (as always, I was so impressed with the number of quality beers on tap).



Here's Stephany in the Fairmont's rooftop garden. My beautiful birthday sweetheart!



The Beck Group, a design-build firm, has a building directly across the street from the hotel. It was a nice reminder of our little guy.



Don and Molly had their wedding at the Dallas Museum of Art. I just have to say—the DMA is one classy place to have a wedding! I mean, renting out a major, contemporary museum with elegant halls and ornate pieces of modern art is just cool. Check out the reception hall:





They had a fantastic new wave 80's cover band called The Spazmatics play at the reception. I have to say: I have never seen Stephany dance as much as she did that night. I also have to say: I have never danced as much as I did that night. It was SO much fun! Stephany danced her little heart, and her feet, out that night. Fantastic.





Us during a break from dancing. At some point during the reception, very fun sunglasses started appearing everywhere. We eagerly participated.



We had such a fun time in Dallas that weekend. Don and Molly asked us to read Scripture at the ceremony, which was especially an honor for us. Stephany read 1 John 4:9-12, and I read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Most importantly for us, we were able to be with our dear friends to celebrate the beginning of their marriage. It was a joyful time for us, and we pray the Lord's blessing over this new union that He has graciously provided.

Nathan