Home for Christmas

We welcomed our little Monkey into the world on December 22nd at 2:23 AM. He came fast and furious with no meds. He weighs 9 lbs 8.9 oz and is 22 in long, with light brown hair and blue eyes (so no one won the contest). After spending a couple of days at the hospital, we arrived home today, just before the snow started and just in time for Christmas! Monkey is nursing well and is a very laid back, easy-going baby so far.

With all of our children, we have chosen Biblical first names based on the meaning of the name, and family names for their middle names. Monkey's first name means "all heart" or "whole-hearted," and his middle name is my Daddy's first name.

We are so thrilled to have him here. He is precious to us. We can't wait to see how he adds to our family!

Warning!!!! Birth Story follows:

I've been having contractions for a couple of weeks now. They would start, hang around for a couple of hours and then mysteriously disappear. The contractions were accomplishing something though. On Monday morning at my doctor's appointment, I was almost 5 cm. I had contractions Monday afternoon and evening, all between 4 and 6 minutes apart, but not consistent in intensity. I went to bed around 11 PM. At 1:19 AM, I was awakened by a very hard contraction, followed by others about 2-3 minutes apart. I woke up Hubs and we headed to the hospital. We signed in at 1:49 AM and the nurse checked me. The quote of the night at 1:55 AM: "Delivery is not imminent" because I was still 5 cm. My water broke while I was in the exam room, so I was moved to a Labor and Delivery room. Once I got in the L&D room, things progressed at an incredible speed. I remember saying "Something's happening!" I pushed twice and he was here at 2:23 AM. The nurses hustled him off to make sure he was alright. He was a little bit blue due to the bruising from such a fast delivery. Also, the fluid was a little greenish, so they wanted to be sure that he was ok. Within 30 minutes of his birth, he was latched on and nursing like a pro already. So this kiddo has his own dramatic entry story, just like his big brothers!

Things I've learned...

1. It takes at least 7 minutes per child to get a hat, gloves and a winter coat on my kids in the morning, and approximately 15 minutes for the van to get warm.

2. I don't think that it's fair that women who begin their pregnancies in sundresses and flip flops have to end their pregnancies in sweaters, jeans and boots. Can we get a 5 pound deduction from our weight for the clothes factor?

3. Monkey must be growing because he is slowing down in his movements...please, Lord, let him come early!

4. Winter time in a cold climate produces a great deal of dirty laundry.

5. I am deeply disturbed by the way Ruby treats her younger brother Max (Max and Ruby). I'd like to publicly apologize to my younger sister if I ever treated her that way (and I'm fairly certain that I did). Love you, sis!

6. I am also deeply disturbed by Paw Pilot (the floating purple head) on Special Agent Oso. My kids don't watch either of these shows anymore.

7. Even though he acts tough sometimes, I still have a sweet little boy in Gator. He recently asked me for four kisses (he meant Hershey's). So, I held him down and gave him four real kisses and he still giggled!


8. I am really enjoying sewing lately. It's a lot of fun to create Christmas presents instead of just going to a store and buying them (though there's something to be said for that too!).

9. Bull is still a great daytime hanging out buddy, even if he has started referring to himself in the third person. I'm not sure where that is coming from.

10. There are few things more beautiful than watching snow fall by the glow of the Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate.

Faith or Fear - Part 2

36 weeks with Monkey! (There's a contest at the end!)

Remember this post? I have once again been battling with a teeny tiny bit of fear regarding Monkey's delivery. First, a bit of background...

I went into labor with Gator at 35 weeks 5 days and delivered him at 35 weeks 6 days. I checked with my midwife earlier that week to be sure that I could still travel that weekend, and she gave me the green light. We went to my husband's hometown for a massive baby shower. On Friday night, my water broke. Just about the time I would have been opening presents at my shower on Saturday, I was having my baby. While Gator's delivery had the potential to be very harrowing, it really wasn't. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared though. However, he was healthy! His only complication was jaundice.

My pregnancy with Bull was hard on me physically. I was very sick, and Hubs was out to sea for the first part. I'm so glad that I was living with my parents and sister at the time. I don't know how I would have done it without their help. We moved to Louisiana and Hurricane Katrina took all of our possesions. Then, we moved to Tennessee 6 weeks prior to Bull's birth. It's not easy to move when you're that pregnant, especially considering the circumstances under which we made the transition. Medically speaking though, Bull's birth was very easy and very fast and only 5 days early.

This week last year, I found out I was pregnant with #3. Four days later, I miscarried.

Of course, this pregnancy has had its ups and downs. I was very sick again and we had to deal with the possibility of having a child with special needs. But we had the joy of finding out that Monkey is healthy and will make us a three-of-a-kind family (actually, this is the first time that we found out the sex of the baby before birth).

I had been anxious that Monkey would come while Hubs was gone to Fort Hood and Arlington. Because the hospital here on post doesn't have a NICU, if you go into labor before 36 weeks, you are automatically moved to the closest big city which is an hour away (or 18 minutes by helicopter - so I've heard). I am breathing easier now that I am 36 weeks. I am officially in the clear!

So, to celebrate...it's time for another contest!
Whoever can guess the birthday, birth weight and length of Monkey will win a fun prize! I'll allow anonymous comments on this one post only so that everyone can participate! You have until the 28th to enter. Happy guessing!

October wrap-up

What a full month we've had!
My big monkeys:

Hubs visited Spring Canyon over this past weekend. There was 3-4 feet of snow on the ground! He got to go sledding for the first time too.

I had two Red Rangers for Halloween.

And I have less than 4 weeks to go with Monkey if he comes when Gator came! Yikes!

Top Ten Reasons...

...that I know Fall is here:

10. I just went through all of the winter clothes. Gator had ONE pair of pants that fit him. So, I hit oldnavy.com and the amazing sales. I got lots of clothes for significantly less than full price (including 4 pairs of pants for Gator)! Bull is set with the hand-me-downs from Gator, and Monkey is set with the hand-me-downs from Bull (worn almost four years ago!).

9. Gator and Bull will celebrate birthdays soon (see #10!).

8. The temperature has been 50* every morning this week. We have left the house with jackets on every morning, and needed the heater and defroster in the van on the way to school. Have I mentioned that there are 6 boys (all in car seats/booster seats) in my van on Tuesdays and Thursdays?!
Proof:

7. The leaves are just barely beginning to turn, but it's happening. Little hints of red and gold are peeking through - which I love because these are some of my most favorite colors.

6. I went to Hobby Lobby (more amazing sales right now). I got a grapevine wreath for $2 and some floral stuff for about $5 and made my own wreath. The best thing is that I can change out the floral stuff according to the season.

5. Call it hormones or nesting, but I have been very artsy/creative lately. Some of my other creative endeavors: baby quilts, fabric beach balls, pentagon balls and wool felt blocks (wool purchased here) with jingle bells inside,

decorating Monkey's room, and plans for and execution of new artwork for our home. This book, this book, and this lady have inspired many of these little projects. Monkey and I at 27.5 weeks (I got a new haircut too!):

4. Apple Days (annual Fall Festival on our post) was this past weekend. I bought 4 frozen, homemade apple pies. I can't wait to taste them!

3. I bought Gator's costume, and figured out Bull's costume.

2. Gator football! Oh, how I long to be in The Swamp (on the Alumni side though - I'm pregnant!). It's a good thing that we're doing so well this year. That means major networks carry the games, and that means that we get to watch the Gators 1,260 miles away.

1. The inside of my house is really dirty/messy because I have not wanted to spend any time inside! I'm cleaning this weekend though!

25 weeks

Monkey and Mommy at 24.5 weeks


Monkey is about 13 inches long and weighs about 1.5 pounds.

I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions and they hurt! They are NOT painless!

Baby boy is keeping me awake at night with somersaults and high kicks. Those kicks of his can be felt and seen outside my belly by other people.

He moves ALL THE TIME.

I still have some queasiness in the mornings. I had been able to switch to prescription prenatal vitamins, but then realized that those weren't helping my mornings. So I am back to my kids' gummy vitamins. The switch helped with the ickiness a bit.

My belly is getting in the way now. I can't slip past people anymore. My belly bumps things before the rest of me gets there. I always have a drip of something on my shirt or a wet spot from leaning over the sink.

Meeting my niece this past weekend was an excellent reminder of life with a newborn - and she's a really good baby. Whew! I'm so glad that I have family and friends willing to help me once Monkey arrives!

While we were visiting my sister and her family, I was able to visit a Babies R Us and get some great ideas for the nursery. I had to chuckle at all the first-time parents wandering around the store trying to register. That place is SO overwhelming. And you have no idea what stuff you'll actually use! Still, if you are able to get past the sheer magnitude of the place, you really can get some good ideas!

So, 25 down...only 15 to go!

Happy Birthday!

Today was Baby #3's due date.
We still grieve the loss of that precious little one.
But we are so thankful for the healthy, precious new life that is growing within me now!
I look forward to the day that I can meet my third child!

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. I Thessalonians 4:13

And the winner is...

Carrie!

There is no ally yet...we are having another boy! I actually figured it out before the sonographer got a chance to tell us. Hubs didn't know what we were looking at exactly. So, I got to tell him!

My new due date is December 23rd. I am actually only 17 weeks now. I thought I would be 19 weeks. Monkey was measuring exactly 16w 5d on Monday. If I stay true to form (seeing how I have delivered early both times), perhaps Monkey's birthday won't fall during the week of Christmas!

Again, we are thrilled that the baby is healthy at this point, and have no reason to believe that it will change.
My sister better watch out though...lots of pink things may be coming her way!
Once we're a little closer to the due date, I will do another contest for those of you who couldn't participate in this one!

Great news and a contest!

In honor of Tuesdays Unwrapped over at Chatting at the Sky, here's my update from the ultrasound yesterday (click here for the background information).

The short story is that lil' bit is healthy - everything looks good! My due date was wrong and had to be shifted a full two weeks. The measurements are right on track for the new gestational age. Because of the shift, the quad screen had to be retaken so the results could be recalculated. One thing is for sure though, lil' bit was moving and shaking in there- so much so that the sonographer was beginning to get frustrated!

Hubs and I are so thankful that we have another healthy baby on the way. Thanks to those of you who prayed for us. Our attitudes were great the entire time and fear was nowhere around!

So, here's the contest.

In the comments, answer these questions:

What is my new due date (month and day) - will we have a little turkey or a Christmas baby?

Are we expanding our man-herd or will I finally have an ally in this house?

Be sure that I have a way to get in touch with you! I'm putting together a little prize package for the person who gets both answers correct.

If you're one of the handful of people who already know the answers, please be fair and don't guess. Feel free to leave a comment though!

Fear or Faith?

Fear can be paralyzing: a constant companion, a debilitating force in a person’s life. I have never been a fearful person. Of course, I have been scared before – a nightmare, a movie, a dark street, forgetting to lock the front door while Hubs was deployed. But fear has been fleeting and never a nagging presence. I have always been able to shake it off.

That is until this pregnancy.

When I found out I was pregnant, I had just miscarried a few months before. So I spent the first couple of weeks worried about miscarrying again. Then, I got very sick - a blessing in disguise, because I didn’t have the energy to think about anything besides getting better. A few weeks later, I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, relieving some of the anxious energy I had been having.
On Wednesday, my midwife called and told me that my quad screen came back with an increased risk for Down Syndrome. I have been scheduled for a Level 2 ultrasound at a hospital an hour away on Monday morning. Quite frankly, the thought of having a child with special needs doesn’t scare me or make me nervous. The thing that I have been thinking about the most is the health risks associated with DS.

I’m just curious why this temptation to give into fear keeps coming up for me. Please understand that I am not being captivated or debilitated by this fear. It just keeps rearing its ugly head more than I like. I decided at the beginning that the only way to deal with it was to take those thoughts captive and replace them with Scripture. This was the only way I survived post-partum depression after Bull was born. Thus far it has worked and has kept the fear at bay on some days and completely defeated on other days.

Hubs and I are choosing faith over fear. The beauty is that we can choose how we will respond to the circumstance laid before us. We are praying that the baby is healthy. If the baby is diagnosed with Down Syndrome, that he/she would have no health problems. Would you pray with us?

Are you facing a similar circumstance in your life? I pray that the scriptures that I have relied on over the last few months will encourage you to choose faith over fear!

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

(Definitely not) Wordless Wednesday

Some of the birds that have been visiting every day (these were taken through the screen, so forgive the blurriness):

Lots of things, listed in an orderly format, for your convenience:

1. I have been thinking that I've been feeling lil' bit swimming for about a week now, but I wasn't sure. I definitely felt him/her move while I was sitting in Church on Sunday (at 16.5 weeks)! I am now 17 weeks, and the baby is the size of my hand spread open wide. My next appointment and my sonogram are at the end of July.

2. My house is FINALLY clean. While I was sick, we were doing just the bare minimum to keep things hygienic around here. This past weekend, we all worked very hard to get the house up to my standard of cleanliness (which isn't too terribly high).

3. My sewing machine has been very busy as well. I've made curtains (out of old bedskirts!), and tablecloths (out of sheets!). I'm also working on a couple of other projects that can't be shared just yet.

4. I have seen an incredible increase in my boys' creativity of late. Truly, this is one of the most wonderful joys of parenthood! Their imagination is amazing! Also, we are seeing marked improvement in Bull's potty training. Yippee!

5. Kristy asked me recently if Kansas is feeling like home yet. At the time, the answer would have been "kind of." I am beyond thrilled to report that now we do feel at home. Life is normal again, full of routine with a healthy dose of flexibility. I am able to do what I love the most - take care of my family. And that makes it feel like home.

6. We have a very busy two weeks ahead of us. We are hosting the first round of visitors to our new it-really-feels-like-it-now home. First, my parents are coming today and leave on Sunday. Then, some friends from our Navy days are arriving Sunday night and staying through Tuesday morning. Finally, the Hubs' parents arrive on Thursday and go home on Tuesday. Whew! I know we will have lots of fun, in spite of the busy-ness.

7. I will be taking pictures of our home very soon to show you where we live (now that it looks and feels like home).

8. Hubs had the incredible privilege of leading a soldier to Christ last week. The next day, he was able to pray at the soldier's deployment ceremony before he left for Iraq for a year. We are so excited and so humbled that God allowed Hubs to be witness to his salvation. Please pray for the soldier to be discipled by someone while he is deployed!

That's all for now! Chores and errands await.

Three on Thursday

1. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again yesterday. Every time I hear it, I laugh. The first time Hubs heard Gator's heartbeat, he said that it sounded like a merchant ship on sonar. (He used to be a submariner.)

2. Here are a couple more blurry background shots. I have such cute kids!


3. We're fixin' to make some cookies. Yumm-O!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday - Part 2

16 weeks

I'm back (kinda')...

This is how I have spent the majority of the last 5 weeks.



That's because I have hyperemesis gravidarum. That's right...I'm pregnant! I am now at 14 weeks and due at the beginning of December. The baby is the size of a softball now. I have survived because of Zofran and Phenergan, and an incredibly patient husband. I have lost 16 pounds over the last few weeks. I've finally started to gain some of it back, though not quickly (I hope). I had this with Bull, though much worse. This time we saw it coming and got some meds before it got really bad. Hubs has been a trooper and has really kept us going. Yay for great husbands!


Therefore, my house is still a wreck, and very dirty. So, no pictures of the new place yet!
However, lots of other things have occurred.

We went to a Strong Bonds event and laughed a great deal. It was so much fun!


We also got to visit Spring Canyon for a long weekend to attend the Council meeting. We went to a local farm and fed baby goats! Gator loved it. Bull wanted nothing to do with it!



Gator graduated from Kindergarten. Not a great picture, but it's what I've got. This is his sweet teacher, Mrs. D. She retired this year, so the graduation was bitter sweet for her.



We went to this hotel this past week for Chaplain Annual Sustainment Training. It was a lot of fun! I was actually feeling well enough to play in the pool with the boys.


Gator started indoor soccer yesterday. Bull is growing so quickly and says the funniest things. I think we are going to re-start potty training him this weekend. Last summer was not a happy time, so we dropped the potty training. This time we'll call it Potty Training 301. When the baby comes, he WILL be trained!



So, I think that this catches us up. We've got lots of fun stuff planned for this summer. I look forward to getting started. I think I will be posting on a more regular basis now that I'm out of the first trimester, but I reserve the right to not post if I don't feel good!