Home.

Day Five, and Samuel has left behind the idyllic surrounds of Club Mater where the service was one to one...

Mummy and Sam at the Mater. Note the pink that Emma has started wearing - we suspect it may be a statement of defiance.

...and has made the transition to the real world and life in the Warburton family. It's not that bad though - he has a stretch vehicle at his disposal (some sharing required):


The first voyage of the Warburton Gang. Family is considering renaming the car the Testostarago.

Plus anywhere else he wants to go, someone is happy to carry him:


Coming home with Dad

And you cannot say the welcome has not been warm from the rest of the Gang:







Welcome home, Samuel.

And, lets face it, at the end of the day, milk heaven is always just around the corner:



Ah, that life was always this easy.

Day Two Update - Including world first photos of the Warburton Gang

Even though Sam doubled his lifespan today, not much has changed. He is still as cute as ever, and adored by his Mummy:

However, today was significant in that we were finally able to get the first ever shot of the Band of Brothers, aka The Warburton Gang:

And we even managed a complete family shot:

It's going to be a lot of fun.

Thank you for all the emails, calls and sms messages - it has been wonderful. We truly appreciate all the excitement and joy that people have shown to Sam and the entire family, and we are looking forward to the fun times ahead.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The only thing better than three boys...

...is FOUR boys of course!

Today we are rejoicing at the safe arrival of SAMUEL MAX EGERTON-WARBURTON.

Samuel Max

Samuel (Sam to his brothers) arrived into the world at 2.45pm on Tuesday February 20. His safe and relatively quick arrival led to universal acclaim that this was the easiest and best birth yet (and yes, I got Emma's approval before I published this). Weighing in at 3.9kg (8 lbs 9 oz), with a length of 52cm, he fits in the middle of his brothers' efforts.

Launch plus one minute. Em was heard to remark at the end that 'if this was so easy, maybe we should do five' - though both of us have since agreed that she was hallucinating.

Proud mum and dad with Dr Vijay Roach.
(Interesting note - Vijay has four boys...and one girl.)

For those interested in the name, Samuel comes from the Hebrew "God has heard"; Samuel was the last of the Old Testament judges, and he anointed King David. As for Max, it is a name that we loved (but not enough for it to go at the front!).

Family is delighted and the Band of Brothers seem to approve of the new arrival...with varying degrees of enthusiasm (note absence of family shot as yet).

Jem and Granny Bradshaw introducing themselves

Daddy's Boy

Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers and excitement with us. We are thankful to God for His goodness to us in once again blessing us with a healthy boy. We look forward to introducing Samuel to you, wherever possible!

"...you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:13-14)

This is it.

Finally, today is to be the day.

Nope. Nothing yet.

Yeah, we're still waiting. Not even a hint of 4's POSSIBLE arrival.

For a number of reasons this is not a good thing:
- Em is over this pregnancy thing (see previous post, then times 2)
- the delay has reopened the name debate (sheesh)
- grandmothers having to rearrange schedules for us
- we don't get to meet 4 just yet

All in God's good time, of course.

(You know, it does leave me wondering again whether 4 may be a girl. Look at the signs: making everyone wait, world revolving around them, unable to read their intentions. Plus, each of the Band came out when asked...Nah....What am I thinking? Warburtons = Boys.)

OK, so we're all ready

Certainly, Emma is ready. Reaaaaaally ready. You have NO idea how ready she is. No, much more ready than even that.

Even the Band are giving the thumbs up for launch.

Turns out though, that 4 is definitely not ready. Not even close. And so, although we were supposed to be meeting 4 on Friday, it's now been called off. Seems like 4 is simply happy enough where 4 is, thanks very much.

So the waiting continues. It must be a girl.

Then again, it might not be.

You know things are getting serious when...

The Subaru gets traded in for:



This is getting VERY real.

The Story So Far...

Boy...

...meets girl.

They fall in love and get married.

In time, they are blessed by the arrival of Benjamin Connor



Followed a little while later by the wonderful gift of Thomas Henry



And so began the Band of Brothers.



God's blessings continued with the arrival of Jeremy Luke, otherwise known as Jem.



He is instantly made a life member of the Warburton Gang,



...as they set off on their many adventures.





All very exhausting really...



And so this is Constellation Warburtonalis as we embark on the next stage of our amazing adventure: