// About Us

This is the personal site for the Lein family – John, Miriam, Elise, Emma, Will and Seth. We started this blog shortly after Emma was born. It was a way to share with our family and friends what was going on with our second daughter’s many health problems. After Emma passed away in February of 2006, I continued to use the blog to process my grief and share our family’s adjustments to her loss. My current blog title – And Then There Was Joy – refers to the grief we endured and the joy that God fills us with each and every day.

John and Miriam

John is very busy these days working as a web designer for Acumen, keeping our store up and running (www.BabyVardo.com), and keeping up with Oddbeat, Inc. on the side. Thankfully he usually works from an office here in town, so he gets to walk to work most days. When he gets the chance for free time he enjoys reading, playing with the kids, and wood-working.
Miriam is also very busy these days.  She helps run Baby Vardo with John — developing new products, sewing products, and managing web sales.  She home-schools Elise, tries unsuccessfully to clean house, and takes care of the kids.

Elise

Elise is 8 years old and learning how to be a great big sister. She recently started gymnastics, and is finding that she enjoys this much more than ballet. She loves to read, and can get through several small chapter books in a week. She is doing 2nd grade at home, and her favorite subject is science. She also just started taking piano lessons.

Will

Will is now 3 years old.  He is teaching us every day how different boys are than girls.  His favorite things to do are copy Elise, play outside, and help Daddy.  He’s always raring to go, and is often in trouble.  But at the same time, he is sweet and loves to help carry and build. In preschool, which we also do at home, he is starting to learn his letters and numbers.

Seth

Seth is now 2 years old and tries to be the center of attention almost everywhere he goes. He loves to make faces, listen to books, and “help” mommy. He is almost always in the middle of whatever is going on. He loves scissors, my sewing machine, and cooking utensils. He is adding words to his vocabulary every day and can now carry on simple conversations.

Emma

Our daughter, Emma, was born July 14, 2005 and passed away February 22, 2006. She was only 7 months old. We continue to grieve for her, but also rejoice in her complete healing. If you want to know more about Emma, you can click on her category title to the right.

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Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.