Memories

I thought this was neat...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot-- or just from blogland-- anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Jude's Birth

Jude's birth story starts on Monday, July 19, 2004. I was having some pretty powerful contractions Monday night. They were timable and I was having to breath through them. I called the doctor on call who told me to try to take a bath and lie down and see if they would stop. If not, come on in. Well, they stopped. So I went to sleep and actually slept really well. So, Tuesday morning, we got up and went on to work at Park Structures. I didn't mention to Adam that the contractions had started up again. I didn't want to send off any false alarms. So we dropped Zoe and Sebastian off at daycare and headed to work. We both worked downtown so we rode together. I dropped him off at his office and went to mine. While I did my work, I continued to time the contractions. I kept track of them on a purple steno pad on my desk. Around lunch time, I decided they were regular enough and I was uncomfortable enough to call the doctor. I called her and she said I could come by and she would check me. I called Adam and we headed to the doctor. I told my immediate supervisor where I was going and that I would probably not be back for awhile. We got to the doctor about 12 noon and she confirmed that I was indeed almost 5 cm and that I should go home and get my stuff and meet her at the hospital. We got home and, since Adam was suffering from a sinus infection, he had a fever. So, he took a nap while I labored along, periodically stopping to breath through contractions. He took about an hour before I woke him up and told him to come on! He still felt terrible, but we headed to the hospital. I called my friend, Janice, who was going to pick up Zoe and Sebastian, our moms and Kim and Christine. My Mom headed this way (she lived in Memphis) to relieve Janice when she got here. Adam's family would come the next morning. Kim and Christine came to the hospital and walked the halls with me while Adam tried to sleep off his fever. Finally, we were left to labor on our own. Around 10:30 pm, I was seriously deep into transition and Adam's fever broke finally! It was perfect timing because that's when I needed him. The nurse came in and I told her that I wanted an epidural. While she was in the room, my water broke. The nurse left the room to go get the epidural and call the doctor. While she was gone, I felt an incredible urge to push and I couldn't stop it. The nurse came back in as I was pushing Jude out! She scooped him up off the bed! Then she called the doctor, who arrived about 20 minutes later to stitch a tiny tear I had. By the time the doctor got there, Jude had been cleaned and I was holding him. The Nurse Practitioner, who went to our church, had already checked him out and given him apgars of 9 and 9. He weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. My sweet little man, Jude-a-licious!

Annabelle's Birth

I am going to post all my birth stories eventually, but I'm going to go in reverse order.
Annabelle's pregnancy was pretty routine, with very little morning sickness in the beginning and really no problems. I started having some mild, completely inconsistent contractions around 36 weeks, which is very routine for me. So, the next week, on Wednesday night, I started having them about 30-45 minutes apart, but pretty strong. So, the next morning, Zoe went to school and we took the boys to Moms Day Out and I headed to the doctor. She told me I was a little over four cm and since I was having regular contractions, I could go on to the hospital. I called Adam, who had just started his job on Monday and this was Thursday. He met me at the house and then we went and ate at Plaza del Sol, a mexican restaurant in between our house and the hospital. I was still having good contractions the whole time. We got to the hospital and got checked in and hooked to the monitors and, sure enough, I was having really good contractions in a good, regular pattern. I was getting to stay! We were very excited. Made all the necessary phone calls to family and friends and prepared for her arrival. Well, the contractions started to space out and, while they never stopped, everything slowed way down. My OB said if it stopped, she would send us home since I was still just 37 weeks...she didn't want to augment labor unnecessarily. My friends, Kim and Christine, came and visited and walked the halls with me. Then, they left to go have dinner and promised to come back. At this point, I was about 5 1/2 cm, so the nurse had mercy on me and brought me some hospital chicken tenders, which are some of the best chicken tenders! They tasted so good. Then, Kim and Christine came back at which point the nurse told me I was between 6 and 7 cm, which was good news because at least my OB wasn't going to send me home. Kim and Christine left around 11 pm, leaving behind a very tired and frustrated woman in labor. I couldn't believe how long it was taking! This was my third baby in three years - shouldn't she just fall out?? Anyway, labor began to pick up around 1 am and by four am I was having to vocalize through the contractions. My previous two births had been natural and I was hoping to have Annabelle naturally, too, but at four am, I was exhausted and asked for the epidural. She put the epidural in and I think she put a very low dose in, because I could still feel the contractions, but I was able to sleep in between, which was perfect. I hate to be out of control, which is why I was a little nervous about getting the epidural. Right before 6 am, I woke Adam up because I was feeling an incredible urge to push. My nurse came running in to check me. I had previously told my nurse that if my water breaks, she should not leave the room because there is usually a baby coming immediately. Right before she checked me, my water broke. She used the phone in her pocket to call the doctor on call. His name was Dr. Bolton and I had never met him before. I didn't care at this point. He came into the room, put on one glove and caught Annabelle. I pushed her out in one push! I pushed a second time, which I thought was the rest of her, but it was actually my placenta. I didn't tear at all, so Dr. Bolton left a few minutes later. She was born at 6:04 am, she weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. She didn't get squeezed enough coming out, so she sounded a little "wet". So she spent about four hours in the Special Care Nursery, which is not NICU. We could visit her anytime we wanted to and bring anyone back there. She came back to our room about 10:30 or so and was great!
I loved her birth, even with the epidural. I started labor around 9 am and she was born at 6 am the next day - 21 hours of labor. I couldn't believe it! My longest labor up till then had been about 11 hours, so she surprised me. The only thing I will do different the next time is to wait at home a little longer, but since I had two babies and Zoe to worry about, I chose to go a little earlier than necessary. But, it was great!

Counting Steps

Every now and then, certain things come to my attention of weird habits I have or quirky things I do. One of those things is that I tend to count the steps any time I have to climb or descend a flight of stairs. Why do I do this? It all started when I was pregnant with Annabelle and I was having to climb stairs usually carrying at least one other child. In our other house, there were ten stairs from downstairs to upstairs. It was not unusual for me to be coming down the stairs with at least one other toddler in tow and since I couldn't see the stairs because of my ever expanding belly, I would count them so I knew when I got to the bottom. I would also count the steps in the church where I worked (there are seven steps from the preschool building to the gym area) or my mother's house in Memphis (this one had fifteen steps). And, now, even though I am two and a half years removed from being pregnant, I still finding myself doing it. (There are fifteen steps in my house now and four steps from the front porch to the front walk)
Other quirky things about me...let's see...I cannot stand to put syrup on anything. I don't like the soggy mess it makes! So, if I am eating waffles, pancakes, or french toast, I always have a separate bowl for the syrup and dip it in there. Yes, it dirties another dish, but it has to be done. Still along the food lines, I also do not like ketchup at all. On anything! I will not eat a burger if it accidentally has ketchup on it. Since having kids, I'm at least not nauseated by the smell of it anymore, but still...
Let's see...anything else? I can't think of anything else...but, I'm sure there's more.

Today=much better

Yes, I'm in a much better mood today and much less frustrated. God is so good to me and I am so thankful for everything he has blessed me with! It's very amazing and humbling to think about Him sending His Son to die for me. Not just for me, but for everyone everywhere. Even people who He knew would reject Him and not ever thank Him. Not just not thank Him but basically spit in His face and choose other things to believe in. He died for me, for my family, for my extended family, for celebrities, for world leaders, for everyone! If I really stop to think about, it really blows my mind. How can you reject someone who has already done it? Our sins have already been paid for, whether you choose to accept the gift or not. How amazing is that?! He paid the price for the sins that you hadn't even committed yet, before we could even say thank you. "While we were sinners, Christ died for us." That is just amazing. I might have enough mercy to forgive someone if they asked for the forgiveness, but I know I could never pay the price for someone who would never thank me, knowing that they would never thank me and eventually reject me. I think about people who are scientologists and buddhists and other religions whose premise is based on there not being a Jesus Christ who was the Messiah. He knew they would believe other things and yet He still died for them. It's amazing! I am so privileged to have the opportunity to worship such a loving and powerful God!

Contentment

Okay, so recently someone told me that people need to be real on their blogs and not just a laundry list of what they did. So, here's a real post. I titled this one contentment because this is probably my biggest area of struggle in my life. And it interferes with everything! Discontent robs me of my joy so many times. Why do I let it? I don't know. When I say things out loud like, I have four very healthy children, a wonderful house that I love, a husband who loves me more everyday and who prays for me and helps me in so many ways...well, when I list them like that, it makes me sound so selfish and crazy. But, Satan always manages to creep in and point out all the things that I don't have. So frustrating...The other day, I took Sebastian to the doctor and the doctor asked me if he was allergic to any antibiotics. I had to tell him I didn't know because my three youngest have never been on any antibiotics! They are five, four and almost three years old! And, I am not a homebody, so I don't keep them at home or anything like that. That's amazing! God is so good to us. Why can't I just be thankful? Actually, the longer I type this, the more thankful I am and the more content I am. What is it that I want that I can't have? What do I need that God has not provided for me? I seriously need to just get over myself and be genuinely grateful. Make a list everyday of things God does for me...That will relieve my discontent and restore my joy. Actually, I am feeling way better now! God is so awesome and loves me so much! What more do I need???

Texas pictures

Me and Adam at the rehearsal dinner

Me and Adam at the wedding

Adam's dad, sister, Nicole and Jacob