ROSEBUD LIPS AND LOVE ALL AROUND

JOJO LOVING ON SAMUEL

ANNA... SO IN LOVE WITH HER BABY BROTHER

We were just amazed by Samuel's rosebud lips... they were so rosy red and beautiful. We couldn't help kissing them. The kids took all sorts of pictures while we spent time with Samuel. Any one who knows me knows I love pictures and am rarely in one because I am the one taking them. But the kids were busy that day, and they caught some very precious moments with our 4th son.

Another thing I noticed was how God created little girls with that "mommy heart". It was so evident in the time that Anna spent with Samuel. She was constantly wanting to hold him and love on him. I finally had to say, "Anna this is the last time." because I wanted to hold my son. All of the kids wanted to be with Samuel and hold him, there was just something a little different about how Anna went about it. She is probably, well already is just like me... A BABY LOVER.

We just had 2 very quick precious days with our friends the Boggs from the seminary. They would've have been Samuel's godparents along with our niece Hannah. Becky and I are so much a like, I know she completely gets me. Being in a new city and grieving has been difficult, I am not going to lie. Having her here was just a blessing and gift to me. She walked with me, listened to me, hugged me and cried with me. She isn't afraid to let me grieve and be right there with me... what a gift.

Their family along with 3 others from Sem. gave us the most precious gifts. Each family took one of our 4 living kids and tied a fleece blanket for them. Each family prayed over that specific child as they made the blanket for them. I will post pictures of them after thanksgiving. Then all four families made one huge blanket for Greg and I. It was divided into fourths. Each fourth was one of the same patterns of fleece from the other 4 kids. Then smack dab in the middle was a different piece overlapping the other 4 with a new pattern to represent Samuel. My description is not doing it justice at all. All 4 families got together and as they tied the big blanket they prayed for our family and Greg and I. When I saw the pattern for Samuel I jsut wept. What a gift and treasure, the blanket and those dear friends. I can't wait to thank them... but for now Thank you Boggs, Barketts, Hayters and Stinettes. I can't tell you how much we all love them and what they mean to us now and will mean to us in the future. Thank you for acknowledging Samuel's precious life. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for wrapping us all in your prayers and God's love shown in the flesh.

We thank you all for your prayers and love. We would ask that you continue to pray for us. Each day I realize what a journey this is going to be. I want to go back to who I was a month ago. That will never happen. I am forever changed, a totally different person. I know through God's work in the long haul that won't be a bad thing. Right now though it is rough. Just when I think it has to get better, I feel a deeper pain than before. I want to be on the other side of the pain... There is no way to get there, but to go through it. And I know the other side will never be what we had before. And that is OK, how can we go back to before our sweet son Samuel. He is our son and he will forever be a part of our family and who we are. God gave him to us and this Thanksgiving we are grateful for the precious 9 months we had with him.

We are off to Wisconsin for a week to be with family. Being here for Thanksgiving would have just been too hard. I may try to post while we are up there. Otherwise I pray you all are blessed with a wonderful Thanksgiving. Even amidst the sadness we have much to be thankful for.

SWEET BABY FEET

Even Samuel's precious little feet were perfect. Wow, I look at that picture and just see the handiwork of God our creator. He doesn't make any mistakes... that is what I keep telling myself. God is sovereign and nothing takes Him by surprise. He knew the number of Samuel's days before they came to pass.

When we were in hospital already knowing Samuel was gone, the doctor did an ultrasound. While he was looking at Samuel his body had moved from a head down position to a transverse position, meaning he was laying side to side in my uterus. The doctor had hoped to induce me and start labor, but that wasn't possible if the baby wasn't head down. He spoke with another Dr. and they decided the best thing was to send me home until the baby was head down and then at that time they could induce me. (Since I have had 4 previous uncomplicated births this would be safer than doing a c-section) He said that it was safe to wait up to 3 weeks. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, were they serious? I just knew that there was no way I could go home with my 4 kids and function knowing that the child I loved and was carrying was no longer alive.

I asked the Dr. if he could try to move the baby into a head down position. He said he would try. He turned on the ultrasound machine to locate the placenta and that was when we saw the first of many little miracles of Samuel's birth. He was head down again and they could induce me right away. I labored all that night. Greg was so strong, I was an obvious wreck. The next morning when the Dr. said I could push, I felt so weak and full of fear, I just didn't think I was ready to meet my son knowing I was going to have to say goodbye to him so much sooner than I anticipated. I asked Greg to pray for me and he did as all of the Dr.s and nurses prepared for the delivery. I only pushed 3 times and out came all 9 lbs. 2oz. of Samuel.

I had cried all night. Then the strangest thing happened. Once he was out everyone else cried. For Greg this was when it became real to him that his son was gone, the Dr., the nurses, my midwife were all crying... but not me. The minute they put him on my chest all I could do was admire him. Samuel was so perfect and completely beautiful. I was utterly in awe of this wonderful creation that God had knit together inside of me. What a miracle Samuel was. Wow, I just loved looking over every inch of him. Getting to hold, snuggle and love on him was such a blessing. How I wish I could do that right now.

And that brings me to his feet. I knew this son of ours was conceived in love and was so precious to Greg and I. He is part Greg, part me, and all God. As we were looking him over, I just laughed, he had Greg's little toes. I will spare you all of the details, but they are uniquely curved to the outside and Samuel's were just like his papa's. He was precious and beautifully created even down to his little toes.

Wow, these days are difficult, so much harder than I ever imagined. I never knew such kind of pain was even possible. There are moments that I feel a hope for the future and then there are times that all I can utter is just a plea for help from our Lord. We covet your prayers as we continue day by day... sometimes moment by moment on this journey. We know that the prayers of many are what have helped sustain us over these last 3 weeks.

NOT AT ALL WHAT WE PLANNED BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL

Dear Friends and Family,

We honestly can't believe how much our lives have changed in the last 2 weeks. We know that we are forever changed by what we have gone through.

Our sweet son Samuel Mark Hintz was taken to be the Lord before he had a chance to be born here on earth. We are devastated by this loss and just miss him so much. But we do see God's fingerprints all over our experiences over the last 10 days.

I was due on the 28th and the day passed like any other. In fact I remember sitting on the couch just laughing at how much wiggling the baby was doing that night. The next morning I woke up, got the kids breakfast and vacuumed the house. It was then that I thought I wasn't sure if I had felt him move that morning. After seeing the Dr. where we all thought we heard the heartbeat (which was mine... beating really fast) and going to the hospital we realized that he was already gone. We told the kids and then they went to stay with dear friends from the seminary while they induced labor. Samuel was born the next morning the 30th at 9:41. He was absolutely beautiful and perfect. The doctor thinks that it was a cord accident, the cord was around his neck and must have just gotten too tight. Our friends brought the kids back up and we were all so blessed to be able to hold him and kiss him and just inspect all of his perfect parts. He was so precious and such a cutie. There is a national organization that offers their photography services when an infant dies. They are called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep and they came in to take pictures of us with Samuel. I am so grateful. I know that these are pictures that we will treasure forever.

God was so good to send just the right people to be with us during the labor and delivery. My midwife was such an encouragement reminding us that God would give us the grace to handle each little step one at a time. I still cling to this as we go through each day. There was a nurse that God sent to pray over me when I was completely overcome with grief. He was faithful and continues to be as the Body of Christ lifts us up in prayer. I know that is the only reason we have made it through this time. There are many other details that maybe I will share with time. I wanted you all to see our precious boy Samuel. Below the pictures is what we shared on the back of the church bulletin for his memorial service that we had last Monday. We really wanted everyone to see that we treasured and valued the life that God gave to Samuel. We loved every minute of the 9 months that we had with him.

This is what we had printed on the bulletin for Samuel's memorial service:

We thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of our sweet son Samuel. When we found out we were expecting him, our family rejoiced. We had already been praying for this baby. We are so thankful and feel so blessed that God chose us to be his family and that we had the time that we had with him. Some may think that he never had a chance to live… we know these were the days God had ordained and planned for him. We celebrate all Samuel did with us, his time with us at the seminary, going on family walks, packing and unpacking many boxes, moving here to Oklahoma, trips to Wisconsin and Texas and so much more. Our whole family loved feeling him kick, move and hiccup. We all loved talking and singing to him and the kids and Greg kissing him goodnight. We treasured and enjoyed the 9 months God gave us with Samuel. Though it was so much shorter than we ever would have thought or desired, we just praise God for the special, wonderful life of our son Samuel.


Samuel was prayed for, loved, and much anticipated by
Parents: Greg and Sara Hintz
Brothers and sister: Louis, Caleb, Anna and Elijah Hintz
Grandparents: Gary and Beverly Hintz & Wally and Ann Neumann
Aunts and Uncles: Mark and Jane Neumann, John and Katy Neumann, Josh and Lyndsey Neumann, Theron and Beth Dodson, and Lisa and Dale Quickel
Cousins: Leah, Hannah, Lindsay, Callie, Sophia, Ella, Grace, Will, Sara Beth, Isabella, Titus, Tobias, Ezra, Meaghan and Madison.
And many other dear friends

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my Salvation.
The Lord God is my strength.
Habakkuk 3:17-19

TOOTHLESS WONDER AND WAITING:)

So not too much has been new as of late. We have been busy with soccer and church mostly. Today Anna lost another tooth, her fourth since moving to Oklahoma. We were laughing saying she looks like one of our pumpkins one tooth in, the next out, the next in and so on. It is pretty funny. Greg and the boys continue to be hard at work on the tree fort in back, it is coming along slowly but surely! Who know what it will end up looking or being like, but they are having lots of fun together so that is the important part.

Mostly we are just waiting for this precious little one to join us. The due date is actually this Tuesday... but we shall see. I am usually late so we are all just trying to be patient. We all can't wait to know if it will be a little brother or sister joining us. The big boys have been so sweet, they tell me before bed to wake them up if the baby is coming so they can pray for me and help me if I need it at all. Caleb is a real baby lover and Louis is just a tender hearted kid for the most part. It is fun to see them so excited and such a part of this pregnancy just being older and more aware. We are just waiting on God's perfect timing now for when he/she will arrive:) I put a recent picture up... but I am sparing you all from the belly shots:)

PUPPY FUN!

Anna and Baby Girl

Jo and Toe Jam

Caleb and Crazy

This was definitely against my better judgement...YUCK!

Louis and Bear

One of the neighbors dogs had 5 puppies, and no we did not name them. The kids have been having a ball with them. They are trying to convince us to get one. I keep telling them lets get a baby first, then we will talk about a pet of some kind. There are lots of roaming dogs around this neighborhood. I am not a dog person...at all... so to me we kind of have the best of both worlds. Doofus, is a great dog, he loves to play with the kids, is very sweet and yet we don't have to do anything to take care of him:) (Besides clean up the occasional treat he leaves in our yard:(

THE GIRLFRIENDS WERE IN TOWN

I was so blessed this weekend to have 4 of my girlfriends from the seminary come down for a visit. AHHHH... time with the ladies. We had so much fun, hanging out and talking, watching a chick flick, laughing, shopping in little downtown Coweta, and just being together. I have missed these ladies so much and it was so refreshing to be with friends. All of the kids were so excited to have them here, they would have just hung out with the ladies all weekend, had I not shooed them away. They were also very disappointed that none of them brought their kids with them. They miss all of their seminary friends too. Maybe next time they can. I am so thankful that they took the time to drive down to see us, it was such a blessing and treat for me.

Basically we have about 2 weeks till the due date. We are all so excited to meet this little precious gift from God. Now we just wait on HIS perfect timing for when this baby will arrive. Waiting is always the hardest:)

SOCCER BOYS

CALEB PLAYING DEFENSE

LOUIS ON A THROW IN... IN THE BLUE

JOJO ENJOYING THE GAME:)

There is not too much new going on here. We have been busy with the new fall schedule with the boys playing soccer and church activities. The boys actually had their first tie... the rest have been losses. Caleb had the tying goal on a penalty kick. They are having a lot of fun, so that is the main goal.

The church had a baby shower for us yesterday. That was a real blessing. We got LOTS of diapers and wipes. YEAH!!! We also got a jogging stroller (I can't wait to be able to exercise again:) , some really cute little clothes, and some beautiful hand made blankets. We feel so blessed and are always amazed at how God continues to provide for us.

We have company coming in this weekend. Four of my dear seminary girlfriends are making the trip down. We can't wait to just hang out and visit. I have missed them all and it is going to be such a special time to be together. Besides that... we are basically just waiting for baby. AHHH! Sometimes I feel really ready and other times I feel I could use the time to get ready. The baby will arrive in God's perfect time. We just can't wait to meet this little guy/girl. We are praying for God's hand of protection to be on him/her until that time comes. Oh, I did let the kids finger paint on my belly... they had a blast... definitely not pictures for everyone to see...it is beyond BIG at this point:) I am enjoying every little kick and movement and feel so blessed by God to be awaiting this little gift from HIM.