Our Story, Part 6

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

The thought of another child was definitely at the back of our minds...or maybe the forefront.  Following the Lord in faith is an exciting journey, partly because you never know what's around the bend.  And as we continually gave over our family planning, we wondered what God would do.

It wasn't long before we knew what was next.  One night, when Joshua was only a few months old, I noticed that my hair wasn't falling out like it normally does when I wash or brush it.  From my first full-term pregnancy I knew that could only mean one thing...

The Little One would soon be joined by a Little Two!

Claude and I were really excited about having another baby.  While most people responded positively to our news, we had some exhortations that made it clear not everyone around us was in agreement with our choice of family planning.

Of course, when we welcomed our first daughter, Hannah Elizabeth Chew, to the Crew on a beautiful October day in the fall of 2008, we didn't have any critics.  Who could be upset that we had "failed" to plan to prevent this little one from entering the world?

After Hannah's birth, life went on as it had for the year or two previously.  Claude was working, I was at home, and we were both still in the part-time orchestra.  We had some financial challenges around the time of Hannah's birth but God was faithful to see us through.  We were learning to rely on Him before looking to our own wisdom or resources - something that goes against the grain of what we were taught growing up.

Our one bedroom, fourth floor apartment was becoming less than ideal for two toddlers to be running around, so we started looking for a bigger place.  The problem was that in the New York metropolitan area we couldn't afford a bigger place.  So, we opted for a first floor, one bedroom apartment.  We jokingly said that with the size of the bedroom and knowing that only the laundry room was underneath us, we could live there with four kids and still make it work.

Little did we know...  ;)

We moved into our new apartment (just two buildings down the street from our old one) at the end of 2009, and just a couple months later we had another announcement to make.

The Little Three was on her way!

Abigail Joy Yong En Chew joined the Crew in September 2010, and we haven't stopped laughing with her since!  :)

Life after Abby was born was very full...and very stressful.  I had a hard time adjusting to taking care of a 3-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a newborn.  The winter that year was very cold and snowy.  With giant piles of snow blocking the shoveled sidewalks from the plowed roads, I couldn't go anywhere on my own.  It was a looooong winter and I was glad for spring!

But spring didn't bring all of the relief that I was hoping it would.

To be continued...