Catching Up, Part 3

These are the last of the photos I had formatted, but I'd better get busy. I have some sweet footage of my sister in a dinosaur costume and my dad in a wig. (That's how my side of the family rolls at Christmas.)

Kevin had a great birthday, complete with a blackberry cobbler (thanks for the recipe, Ms. Teri!) and an Andrew Peterson "Behold the Lamb of God" CD (if you do not own this you MUST get it for next Christmas!!!) Katie and I serenaded him with some "opera" to end his evening. (Okay, so it was "Amarilli, mia bella," which is technically an art song, but Katie thinks she's singing opera. LOL!)



We always make a trip to the Munford Christmas Parade. This year we ran into our friends and neighbors Lisa (the fantastic beautician) and Anthony, which made the evening even better!



And since Lisa and family went out of town for Christmas this year, we "cat sat." Here are my kids with Santa Screech and his brother, Nosey:



Merry Christmas to all my blog-reading friends!

One Year Ago Today...

Here is an excerpt from Audrey's birth story. I'll get the rest copied at some point, when the rest of my journal is moved:

At first lots of people were in the room - Kevin, Mom, Daddy, Mama, and Abby. Somewhere around 1:00 and 4 ccs of Pitocin, Tom, Stacy, and both of their kids came in. Daddy decided there were too many people in the room and took the kids and Tommy out. I really didn't know what was going on. Just like with Owen, I started out by meditating on scripture or hymn lines or just praying through contractions, focusing and breathing to the rhythm of the words. But Pitocin is EVIL and things got really hard and out of control fast! I lost my reputation of being a peaceful, quiet laborer and started crying out. First I told Kevin, "I can't pray!" Meaning I couldn't focus enough to pray through the contractions. The two Moms thought I said "I can't cry!" and started saying "Go ahead and cry!" Mom Hinton was even suggesting the epidural because she knew how high my pain threshold is and it was so odd for me to be that loud. I spoke quieter to Kevin between contractions, "No, I can't pray anymore, it hurts too bad! Pray FOR me."

Kevin was incredible. First he was stroking my hair and face so I could focus on that. Then he was whispering to me between contractions and encouraging me during them:

"I am praying for you and I am not the only one....everyone at Unity just got out of church and they all know you are in labor. They are all praying."

"That was a good one! I bet you are already in transition, at least 6 cm by now."

"You are doing a great job. I love you."

"God is with you. He will get you through this."

"It can't be much longer now."

The nurse checked me at some point after I was up to 6 ccs of Pitocin. I had gone from an unmoveable 4 cm. to 6 in just minutes. Only a bit later I told them I felt like pushing. She checked and I was 8-9 cm. Seconds passed and I told her the baby was COMING OUT without me trying to push at all!!! Everyone started moving fast. A nurse I hadn't seen before stood just inside the door but left when the doctor arrived - I think she would have delivered. I had to wait 20 minutes on the doctor and the nurses all encouraged me to blow through, just like with Owen, but it was MUCH more difficult! My body was just doing it involuntarily. Finally the nurse got the brains to turn the Pitocin drip off - LOL! That made it a bit easier to wait.

The nurse came in and I started barking commands! HA! "Don't touch my ankle when I push, it hurts." Etc.

I pushed ONE TIME. Two if you count that I took a quick breath between head and shoulders! She was small and I was DONE, shaking and hurting..........

They put her on my stomach just like they had done with my first two babies, but this time I took my time rubbing her down and talking to her. They had to ask me if they could have her! She was just beautiful, so tiny, with a little dark hair. She cried some but not as loudly or insistantly as Owen.

I nursed her a little when they were done with her, but then she had to go visit everyone - she had about 25 visitors that first day! That's what happens when you have a baby on the weekend. It was like that with Katie, who was born on Sunday. Owen was born on a Thursday and hardly anyone came. Although I love company, I was thankful when everyone was gone because I hadn't slept a wink in over 36 hours and had been laboring for about 12 of that.

Katie and Owen came up for a bit that evening. It was really sweet to see them with their new sister. Katie was in love and couldn't stop smiling. Owen didn't seem to get it, but since then he has become quite a protective, loving big brother.

When everyone was gone, Kevin and I just about collapsed from exhaustion. But we had our sweet baby, and I felt so much better I was in tears - not to mention the fact that I ate two dinners within about three hours...plus frozen yogurt AND ice cream!!! LOL! We sent Audrey to the nursery for a few hours, and when I had gotten my nap, I was ready to snuggle and kiss her. I am so thankful that God has entrusted us one more little life, and I pray that we will bring glory to Him in her training and care.

Happy Birthday, Little One.

Audrey Rebecca is now my big one-year-old! She is such a joy. She is trying to walk and talk, and occasionally has Katie and Owen cracking up with her special sense of humor. It is difficult to make myself believe it has been a year since I held her in that hospital room, surrounded by...half the church! LOL! This year has really flown by.

Our birthday custom is for Kevin to take off work. Then we spend special one-on-one time with the birthday child, followed by cake and ice cream - and presents, of course!

When Audrey woke up this morning, Kevin brought her to our bed so we could all snuggle together. Audrey crawled in and out of the sheets, babbling and pointing. After breakfast and morning nap, Katie and Owen went to Grandma's house. Then just the three of us headed to McDonald's and the park. Audrey loved the slide and the pea gravel, but HATED the swings! It was a beautiful day, a bit cooler than last week, with such a blue sky. I also will remember this as the dragonfly year, as they are everywhere! Such a blessing as this means fewer mosquitos.

Back home, Audrey had her second nap while Kevin wrapped gifts and I finished her cake. I always make cakes for the kids. This time, Katie designed Audrey's cake! It is a "Patty Cake," marked with a "B" and decorated with frosting cherries and smiley faces.

Audrey got to ride in a front-facing car seat to Grandma's house, where we had dinner and a very small party. (I've learned from experience that one-year-olds don't care so much for HUGE parties that mommy and daddy tend to throw for them). Audrey seemed to enjoy her cake and presents.

Audrey, you are such a blessing to us. Your daddy and I pray every day that you will learn to know and love God, to enjoy Him forever, and to bring glory to Him in everything you do. We love you!

Happy Birthday, Boy!

For Owen's third birthday he chose a trip to the zoo. Even a big three-year-old boy can still fall asleep in the van, but it didn't take him long to wake up when we got there!



We had lots of fun seeing all the animals and riding the train. One special treat was the pandas. Every other time we have been to the zoo, they have been asleep. But for Owen's birthday, they got up and paced around, even coming up to the glass to say hello!



Of course, Memphis is super hot in early July, and we were baking on all that pavement. So the zoo workers let all of the children swim in the pool at the entrance. Obviously, Owen loved this! Here he is with a mouthful of nasty zoo water - ICK!!!! I hate to think of what was in it!



The day ended with a party at Grandma and Grandpa's house....and of course, a Spiderman cake. The boy had never seen Spiderman before so I have no idea why he asked for this, but he certainly was happy to see that cake! I'll never forget his breathless, "Oh, THANK YOU!" when he walked into the room.



Owen, you are my favorite boy. I love you so much!

Birthday Journal

My birthday present to ME is to start this journal!

First, I want to have a place to post some pictures of my Katie girl. She is growing up too fast!

I also want to have a place to keep up with my exercise schedule. I certainly don't want to rupture another disk when my belly gets really big - that was 10 times worse than laboring for 12 hours with no epidural! And I don't really want to gain 55 lbs. this time, either.

So I will probably start the exercising tomorrow. No, really, it is rainy and cold outside, and I will mostly be walking to keep in shape. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice.

I also like Pilates, but my regular DVD is too hard on me at 5 1/2 months, and the pregnancy Pilates DVD is like doing NOTHING. Maybe I will try it again; it has to be better than doing nothing on those days that the sun isn't out.

I just finished sewing an Easter dress for Katie. Kevin's mom cross-stitched cute duckies on the collar. Katie was not too happy when I tried to take a picture because she wanted to leave for church NOW, not wait on me to take a picture! She loves her teachers and of course, Grandma will be there...