Getting things packed...

We have basically two days left here in South Africa before we head back to Malawi on July 3rd. There is much packing and organizing to do. B picked up the baby's passport today. We will probably have 13 checked bags including some carpets we found here for our living room. Yay!

Brotherly and Sisterly Love

Benjamin giving his sister quite a bit of love.

Ami is a great helper.

Brad is so sweet with Alli Mae.

The kids all love their new baby sister very much. They love to hold her and give her kisses. Our boys become quite sweet and gentle when they talk to her. Ami's motherly instinct kicks in often. She loves singing to Allison.

Sleeping beauty

She's getting cuter every day.

Ami was so hoping for a little sister. We explained that we need to be thankful for a healthy baby whether it's a boy or a girl. She is very very thankful.

My brother with Alli.

Who looks like Daddy?

Allison Mae 2009

Benjamin Luke 2007


Bradley David 2005


Ami Lee 2003

Brian Randall 1969

Alli Mae

Nanny with grand baby number 6. Now she has three girls and three boys.

Here she looks a bit like Brad did...it seems she is more Biedebach than Kelder.

Our Baby Girl

Here are the pics and details we promised.

Allison weighed 3.55 kgs which is 7 lbs 13 ozs

She is 53cm tall which is 20 and 3/4 inches

A very happy Daddy!

A very happy Opa!

She looks quite a bit like Ami did.

On Saturday and Sunday I felt really groggy. It's winter here in South Africa and I picked up the cold bug from somewhere. I didn't go to church on Sunday and said to my mom that if I have to have the baby while I'm sick I don't know that I'll have the energy to deliver. I had an uncomfortable night with a runny nose, watery eyes and a yucky cough. On Monday morning I woke up at 5:48am and thought I felt some contractions. They were not intense, but definitely something to make me think, this could be it. I woke Brian up at 6am and contacted my midwife. She said I was so casual about the pains in my text to her. She told me to take a warm bath for about 45 minutes. I did that while Brian packed the car. I was only in the bath for about 8 minutes when I decided to get out and call her. I told her that the pains were getting closer, about 5 minutes apart and that we were on our way to the hospital. We arrived at 6:45am. She had worked night shift and was handing over her patients. She showed us our room and I walked around trying to endure the pains. Then I told B that they were coming quicker. Like every two and a half minutes. He called Sue from her office. She checked and I was 9 cm dilated. WOW! She broke my waters. I got into the tub and one push later Allison was born at 7:20am. It was amazing! I am SO thankful to God Who gave me the strength and energy to deliver Allison. To think that I was in the same hospital at 27 weeks with contractions and unbelievable pain. And then severe cramps again at 32 weeks. God in His grace has given us this precious gift and our hearts' greatest desire is that she will come to know Christ and serve Him all her days.

Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for us over this time. All praise, glory and honour to God Who gives life and life eternally.

P.S. The Austin T. Duncan Test appears to work in the Southern Hemisphere as well as the Northern! Would have been fun to have tried it with all the others too :)

P.P.S. 9 years ago on June 16th, 2000 my gorgeous husband dropped my engagement ring out of a hot air balloon, while getting ready to propose to me. He then pulled out the real ring and got down on his knee. I said, "Yes" and here we are with a blessed brood of Biedebachs!

Allison Mae

What's in a name?

I am quite sure you've realized we are going with the B and A thing. All the girls' names start with A and all the boys' start with B.

Brian and I have debated many times about the boy name. We cannot agree on one we both really like. Also, with a last name like ours, it's not easy to find something that'll flow.

Any suggestions? Brian likes Brock, but just say "Brock Biedebach" out loud and...

I would like to go with the letter Z, because this baby is the last...Zach or Zeke, but that's not flying here.

Our prayers answered

Some of you may know about my family's cardiac history. My mom had a triple heart by-pass at the age of 37, and yet God in His grace has allowed her many more years. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Barlow's Syndrome which is a mitral valve prolapse. It's nothing serious and apparently half the world's population has the same thing. While we have been down here in SA and because of my history we decided to have Ami checked out. She often complains of being tired and that she can feel her heartbeat- that it's beating too fast. We had her seen by a paediatric cardiologist and she wore a heart monitor for 48 hours. I just received a call from the doctor's rooms to say that her report is fine! Her heart is normal. Praise the Lord! How thankful we are! I feel so much better knowing that she is fine and that we can head back to Malawi and the ministry there without having to be concerned about her heart medically. Pray with us though that as she begins to understand more of her sin that spiritually her heart would be challenged and that she would begin to see her desperate need of Christ.

June 6th

Brian's long-time friend and the best man at our wedding was hoping that he and the newest Biedebach would share birthdays. Still nothing, Dave. We saw the midwife again today and she said if the baby hasn't come by next week Monday then we may try some natural inducers.
Baby B is still doing fine and so we continue to wait patiently.
All my pregnancies have been so different. Ami was three weeks early. Bradley was a day early and Benjamin was three days late. We are excited!

"THE" Austin T. Duncan Test

If you have chosen not to find out the gender of your baby (like us), but happen to meet up with Austin T. Duncan, well then he'd probably encourage you to do his test. No, we didn't meet up with Austin T. D, but we did meet up with a previous colleague of his who gave us the necessary test info.

Get a spoon and a fork. Wrap both up individually in dish towels. The expectant mother must not see which wrapped utensil is placed on which chair. She enters the room and takes a seat of her preference. If she sits on the wrapped fork then she is having a boy and if she sits on the wrapped spoon then she is having a girl. Apparently Austin T.D has never been wrong. We did the test to prove otherwise...

Guess which I sat on?

We LOVE surprises and we'll thank the Lord for our bundle of baby no matter what the gender!

Not a May Baby

Can you spot Benjamin?

May has come and gone and our baby is still snug as a bug. No appearance yet, even though our midwife thought that we might meet him or her early. The due date is still a week and a half away! We appreciate your prayers for a smooth delivery and healthy baby.