Christmas 2013

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We did at our house.  

This year Bella is 4 and Lucy is 2 and I can't imagine Christmas much better than this!

Happy Birthday, baby Jesus ~ our Savior, our King.

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I couldn't stop the tears from flowing

My Papaw was a tinker-er, a pittler.  always busy.  He had a frame shop in his basement.  Mamaw painted, he framed.  He loved a nice looking yard and didn't mind cutting it twice a week.  The only time he sat still for long was when Auburn was playing football or a golf match was on.

His heart gave up on him 6 years ago & he went to be with the Lord.  I miss him like crazy and think of him often.  Miss him and his hugs {around my neck and a bushel and a peck}.  So many of my childhood memories have him in them.

Mamaw had a tree cut out from in front of her yard.  She has some decorative stones that she wanted out of her yard.  Daddy wants them to build a fire pit in his back yard.  I met him this morning to help load the bricks.  While looking for one of Papaw's shovels, I wondered into a corner of his garage that he created in the latter part of his life.  As he got older and weaker, he created this tiny room in his garage to tinker in.  I pulled the string hanging from the fluorescent light that he hung, stood in the middle of that tiny area and felt his presence.  I huge lump welled up in the back of my throat and I couldn't stop the tears from flowing.  I breathed in slowly and deeply as I imagined him sitting out there with me.  I noticed a single photo hanging...

that little girl is me.

Mamaw caught me.  She saw my tears, felt my sorrow and she couldn't stop her tears from flowing.  She misses him so.  She stated how wonderful of a husband he was and how blessed she is to have such a wonderful family.  Her boys, her grandchildren, her great-grand children.  We talked about how some family members go to the cemetery for hours, how some might think of what he saying about us from heaven.  We talk of him often.  Today, he spoke back to me and reminded me how much he has always loved me.  Maybe he's sending a message, HANDLE WITH CARE...

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Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 7

I'm linking up with Brynn during these 7 days of Life's Little Blessings.  Her post from today was so sweet!  She talked of our sweet friendship.

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:2-12

Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 7

I am a little stumped as to what to write about today.  It's almost 10:00pm and I'm still wondering what words I'll type.  I know it's kinda sad when I think about all the blessings in my life and I'm having a hard time with the final day.  

Maybe the best thing to do it discuss my day and all of life's little blessings throughout my day.  This morning I went to an Autism 5K in my town.  I helped pass out a few frisbees representing Coosa Valley Pediatrics.  I took the girls and they had fun riding the wagon, playing with friends, jumping in the bouncy house and getting their face's painted.  Some of my friends ran, one winning overall female!  Finishing the 5K in 26:30!  Way to go Jennifer Kissic!  But all my friends did a great job!  Dr Sawyer even ran with all 3 of her kids, pushing her youngest 2 and her 8-year old running with them!  I'm ready to do another one.  I know paying to run outside is crazy to some people...but it's fun, especially when your friends are their with you, encouraging you and cheering you on.  

 

This morning's blessings:

Running friends that inspire you to constantly be better.

Community that coordinates events to raise money for good causes.

Friends that are nice enough to play with and watch after your kids while you "help at your booth"

Blessed that no one stole my children during those few seconds they got out of my eye sight.

Perfect weather. 

Lucy was getting super cranky because she was tired.  We decided it was time to go, but Bella and 2 of her friends were having so much fun...so we brought the party to our house.  Lucy was happy to see her bed and was more than happy to "party" in her crib.  We had to be quiet since Jacob has been working night shift and he was still sleeping.  We hung out in the driveway/yard.  It was such a beautiful and warm day that we were all happy to be outside.  I even got a little sun.  However the amount of pollen was unbelievable!  EVERYTHING is yellow! We could actually see yellow waves of it when the wind blew.  We went on a neighborhood walk.  We are crazy-excited about some new neighbors who are prepping their land for building.  Even though it'll be a while before they actually move in, we are still excited!  We tatted our kids up with Scooby-Do tats.  Ate cookies.  Laughed, talked about frustrations and life.  Jacob and Lucy woke up, Jennifer and the girls went home.  We visited Bobo & Cassi as they are forming up for their new driveway.  Ate some chocolate and drank a bottle of water in one gulp.  Jacob got me a gun (for protection when he's away...just in case the boogie monster comes visiting).

This afternoon's blessings:

Nap time that does a 180 to a fussy toddler.

Good friends.

New neighbors. 

Exciting beginnings.

Girly giggles.

Safe Neighborhood.

Perfect weather.

A husband who wants me to protect myself & children in unsafe situations.

Jacob, the girls and I ate a yummy dinner together before he had to go into work.  Then I went grocery shopping with the girls.  Lucy loudly said "MMAAMMAA" and giggled throughout the entire store...getting louder and louder and louder.  She was cute the 1st time saying it...and VERY annoying the 50th time.  At the end of my shopping list I had one more item to check off my list that I was having a hard time finding.  As I was circling around and around...Lucy was getting louder and louder. I looked down, at these very dirty girls (from a fun day of playing outside), Lucy's hair was a total mess because she had pulled her little pony tail out, she was now screaming "MMAAMMAA"...I realized that we were THAT annoying family that everyone was wondering 'when are they leaving?'  Finally I knew it was time to wave that white flag and GO!  I checkout, load up, get home, unload, instruct the dirty girls to get in the bath, put them the bath while I put away the groceries.  I go into the bathroom to find this...

that would be Bella crawling up and around the tub because Lucy POOPED in the tub!  Ugh.  As if I weren't tired, with a pollen-induced-headache.  They immediately were evacuated to another tub where I quickly bathed them and put them to bed.  I texted Jacob all the "fun" I was having.  His response..."LOL".  I was scrubbing going...ha.  ha.  ha. Then I threw away every single toy you see in that tub, clorox scrubbed it, washed my hands, sat on the couch in the silence and ate an ice cream. It's now almost 11pm.  I'm going to tackle a large laundry basket full of warm, tiny, kid clothes.  When I'm folding their clothes, I swear it feels like there are 400 article of clothing in that one basket.  Why can't every load be like towels?  Anyways, then I'm showering and hitting the sack!

Tonight's blessings:

Family dinners.

Kisses in the parking lot.

The fact that we aren't on the 'People of Walmart' website.

Lysol and clorox

My super comfy couch, silence and ice cream

The fact that I only do laundry one day/week

A hot, cleansing shower

My bed (which is loudly calling my name right now)

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Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 6

I'm linking up with Brynn during these 7 days of Life's Little Blessings.  Go check her out!

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:2-12

Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 6

When I think of the blessings in my life, I immediately think of my family!  God has surrounded me with an amazing group of loving individuals.  Of course, I have my crazy, dysfunctional family members, but I also have some members of my family that love me for who I am.  Each of them have helped mold me into who I am today....and for that I will always be grateful for my family.  My grandparents mean so much to me and are so very valuable to me.  

My Papaw

This is Mamaw's scrapbook with her and Papaw's Love Story.  

My parents, sisters, BIL, niece, Mamaw.  I adore my family!!!

My beautiful mother and sisters.  I am closest to these sweet ladies.  VERY SPECIAL BOND!

I was just trying to get Lucy to cooperate for a picture when Daddy made this one....perfect!
As crazy as he looks....I'm bless that God chose me to be one of his daughters!

I am blessed to have a MIL & FIL that love and support all that we do.

This is my sweet SIL & BIL.  If I've ever wanted a brother...Bobo would be it.  I'm blessed to have him as a brother.  I know that I can lean on him for anything.

All that history leads to our precious family....

And these 2 precious baby blessings...

 When I look at the faces of my family, I'm reminded of how richly blessed I am.

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Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 5

I'm linking up with Brynn during these 7 days of Life's Little Blessings.  Go check her out!

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:2-12

Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 5

Brynn's post from yesterday prompted what I want to talk about today....Blessings in Disguise.  She talked about how life doesn't always turn out the way you plan it!  She has had many more "surprises" in her life than me.  I am a planner and so far most of mine and Jacob's "plan" has panned out.  But I sometimes wonder if there aren't surprises waiting on us.  Which makes me VERY NERVOUS because change makes us all uncomfortable.  But sometimes these surprises are simply blessings in disguise.  Blessings that push us out of our comfort zone, but also bring happiness, joy and sometimes great love.  I have often wondered why specific things have in the past or are currently happening in my life.  I beg God for a clue to show me how to handle the situation.  Sometimes He shares with me why this or that happens...and somethings are still a mystery.  Sometimes I wonder why we must feel heartache and experience losses?  Or be forced to do things that we DO NOT want to do?

I do believe with all my heart that the things happening today were long ago written on the pages of our lives by God.  We can try all day long to rationalize things and understand them.  However, I think that sometimes we just have to accept them as blessings in disguise and be thankful.  

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Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 3

I'm linking up with Brynn during these 7 days of Life's Little Blessings.  Go check her out!

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:2-12

Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 3

Yesterday, I talked about the blessing of the ever changing seasons of our lives.  Today I am thankful for the literal changes of seasons, throughout the year.  If I had to rank my favorite seasons, it would be a 3-way tie for 1st place...

1st place...Spring, Fall, Summer (in that order, but they are all my favorite-if that makes sense at all)

2nd place...winter. 

I love the special holidays that come with each season.  If I had to rank those:

1st place...Christmas

2nd...July 4th (mostly because of the wonderful family time and fun times we have each year)

3rd...Easter

I love that as soon as I start desiring for warmer or cooler weather...the Lord gives it to me.  I love that each spring we are blessed with a beautiful, colorful masterpiece in the sky and landscapes.  And the remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice God made to save us from our sins. 

I love that in the summer we are blessed with the warm sun that takes us closer to the water to cool off. We crave those sweet fruits and the grill hardly ever stops.  We gather for fun times.  We rock on porches more, swing on swings, feel the wind in our hair, close our eyes and face up to the sun.  Oh, that feeling of the warm sun is a blessing!

The blessings that fall bring are some of my very favorites!  Again, this brings families together for a time of thanksgiving.  My family has began traditions each fall of going to the pumpkin patch and a beach vacation.  Again, these are some of my best memories in the recent years is during this wonderful season.  I love the smells and the cool crisp air.

 The thing that I love about winter is that it brings Christmas to us and every year there are wonderful memories made.  I am blessed every Christmas with the reminder of the tiny baby Jesus who came to save us.  It also reminds me of the baby blessings in our lives.  In the past 4 years, I've held 2 newborns (2009, 2011) in my arms as we rocked near a Christmas tree.  I've spent many a nights up with cranky newborns with nothing but those twinkling little lights as I tried to shush them back to sleep.  But even those sleepless nights are blessings.  

Again with each passing day, there are blessings to enjoy for all ~ some in the bright days of summer, some in the dreary days of winter~and every day in between.

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Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 2

I'm linking up with Brynn during these 7 days of Life's Little Blessings.  Go check her out!

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:2-12

Life's Little Blessings ~ Day 2

The ever changing seasons of our lives are blessings.  

We are able to experience so much.  Throughout this life from infancy, childhood, young adulthood, older adulthood....I know that my life will always be evolving, growing and changing.  Nothing will ever stay the same for long. When I am reminded of this I try my best to savor the moment, knowing that tomorrow will not be the same as yesterday.  I watch my grandparents, my parents, my younger sisters, my children and notice how these phases of life are all so different. What is important to them is all different.  How they perceive these things are different.  With each experience, each trial, each joyful event ~ we grow wiser.  I could dwell on the sadness knowing that my babies won't be babies for long. {And sometimes I do.}  But I remind myself to look forward to what the Lord has in store for my life.  One of my favorite things to do is listen to the stories that my grandparents tell, as they reminisce over a lifetime of memories and experiences.  I know they've experiences tragedy & hard times as well, but there is always bad mixed with the good.  What we focus on during each phase of this life is most important; enjoying the good or dwelling on the bad?  

With each new season of our lives, comes blessings and those blessings are also coming and going, passing more quickly then we want sometimes.  The daily challenge that everyone faces is that we forget to be thankful for today and the experiences of yesterday as we focus only on what we have to accomplish tomorrow.

My mind is constantly split on this topic.  Part of me says, 'nothing will ever be as memorable and wonderful as my past, such as my wedding day or the birth of my children or other exciting memories that I hold very dear to my heart'.  Then the other part of me says, 'the best is yet to come.'

Whichever way I sit facing on that fence today~I'm thankful for the blessing of the ever changing seasons of our lives and all the amazing things we have experiences in the past, the experiences in these current moments in our lives and all the the future holds. 

Me at the age of probably 3, happy & carefree

The night Jacob proposed

Carrying a tiny baby blessing 

Holding a tiny baby blessing

The day our family when from 3 to a family of 4.

My grandparents with a lifetime of stories, heartaches, love and blessings.  

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Easter Memories.

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the sweet memories made on this special day...

Here are links to Easter pasts....

Easter 2012

Easter 2008-2011

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened.

Mark 16:6

And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 

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trusting in the Lord, hoping for the best

I don't believe anything happens by coincident.  I believe in the divine plan that our Lord has set for us. I whole-heartily believe that the people in our lives mold us into the person we are.  The people surrounding us are preparing us for our future.  I am confident that the Lord allows doors to be open at a precise time and opportunities are given to us.  What we choose to do with those opportunities are on us.  How hard we are willing to work for what we want to achieve is up to us.  In this life we will have to make decisions.  Some small, some life changing.  Some easy, some extremely difficult.  I don't know how people who don't put their faith in the Lord endures such decisions.  When I am at a crossroad in my life, I pray intensely.  Trusting in the Lord that all will work out.

When you say your prayers, mention me.  I am at that crossroad ~ trusting in the Lord, hoping for the best.

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To my lovely Lucy on your 1st birthday~

My dear lovely Lucy,

I am sad that you are no longer my tiny baby.  You will always be my baby, but to see you already celebrating your 1st birthday is hard to grasp.  What a wonderful year we've had together as a family.  When you already have one child and another one comes into your life, some parents may ask "how can I love the 2nd one as much?".  I was never worried about this, because my dear friend, Dani (who has 4 children) explained that when you have children, your love doesn't divide, it multiplies.  I knew that I would love you dearly, whole-heartedly, unconditionally.  And I do...with all that I am.  I love you, Lucy Lee!  One thing in this world that is certain is that your daddy and your sister loves you just as much, just as completely as I do.  So, in this big, busy, crazy world, do not ever think that you are alone.  You will always have a crowd behind you cheering you on.  Dream big, my little one.  Then work hard to achieve your goals, but never be unfair or dishonest to get to where you want to be.  Pray a lot.  Talk to God when you are scared or worried...He will comfort you.  Pray when you are uncertain or at a cross road...trust Him and He will direct your paths.  Praise Him when good things happen.  Praise Him when bad things happen, even if you don't understand why.  God knows.  He has a grand plan for all of us and we must trust in Him.  Savor the small things in life~like the warm sun on your face, when the moon dances on the water, when you watch someone do a random act of kindness, genuine smiles, when the leaves create a beautiful portrait in the fall and the fresh flowers bud in the spring.  Savor those little moments. Those are what matter. Do not be greedy.  Always give, for there will always be some less fortunate.  Be kind to everyone.  All the time.

I am so grateful for each day, for each moment that the Lord has given us together. I'm excited to watch you grow. I know the years ahead of us will be ones of sweet joy.
I love you,
Mommy

11/3/11~Lucy's Day

1 month

2 months*

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months 

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

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I AM SECOND

If you've never heard of the I AM SECOND movement, I'm happy to introduce you to it today.  

It is a movement to inspire people to live for God.  I think it's pretty awesome.  On the website, I found it interesting to hear the testimony from some famous people: MLB player Josh Hamilton, Super Bowl coach Tony Dungy, NFL players Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy, former Korn guitarist Brian Welch, American Idol's Jason Castro, actress Bailee Madison, UFC fighter Vitor Belfort, model Kathy Ireland, country music singer Josh Turner, NASCAR drivers, Soul Surfer & shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, songwriter Micheal W Smith and many others.

I am taking the 22-Day Challenge and invite you to do it as well.  We all need a little  a lot more God in our lives.  He's waiting on us to seek Him.  The devil is working hard to win us over and we have to fight to be closer to God as the devil is working to keep us from God.  Challenge yourselves to be more Christ-like in all we do.   I want God to work miracles in my life.  My desire is for others to see Christ when they see me.  Pray for me as I take this challenge, and I'll be praying that someone will see this and be encouraged to make changes in their life to be more committed to God.

Update:  As I was typing this the girls were playing next to me.  About a minute after I hit the "Publish" button, I heard Bella saying "Thank you God for Mama and Daddy and Nana and Papa and Pops and Mimi and Dora and Ryeee."  I snapped my head around to see the most precious sight...her little hands were folded and her eyes were closed.  It brought tears to my eyes and proved that God is tapping on my heart...if nothing else, to show Christ to our girls.  To show them the peace and saving grace that only our Lord can provide.  (While we do pray together at night, Bella usually doesn't even close her eyes or bow her head. This is the 1st time I've ever seen her pray on her own.)  Thank you, Lord, I can feel You!

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Baby Gavin and Natalie

I believe that everything happens for a {divine} reason.  I believe that the people in your life and the experiences that you live shape you into the person that you are, which is why we are always evolving, growing, becoming wiser.

I believe the day I was surfing the internet, while my first newborn was sleeping on my maternity leave back in January of 2010 was a planned day by none other than our wonderful Lord.  I remember I was searching photographer information for a friend who was, well not important...moving on...and I clicked on a photographer Natalie (I've always thought that was a pretty name), blog who lives in Hawaii (I want to go to Hawaii).   What I read changed me...as a new mother, as a nurse, as a christian, how I perceived blogs and death.

I want to share this wonderful soul and how she impacted me by sharing her world.

She has 4 sons and lost her baby, Gavin, January 7, 2010 to Pertussis (whooping cough).  You can read her old blog here where she told of us her new baby, how he got sick, then got much sicker, that he ascended to heaven, that she struggled to heal and live her life without her son, begging people to get vaccinated, and how she began to heal and actually live and enjoy her life again.

Like I said, at the time I found her, I was on maternity leave with Bella, she was just a couple of months younger that Gavin.  There were many times when I felt like I was holding my baby and across the country there was a broken Natalie longing to do nothing more that hold her Gavin.  It absolutely made me hold my daughter tighter, longer, stare at her more and praise God louder for each day I had with her.  As I would check my computer almost daily to see how my "friend" was doing, I prayed for her, daily.  She was mere a stranger, but she was more.  So much more to me.

As a nurse, there was 1 post that touch me down to my core.  I cannot read it or talk about it without tearing up.  I tried yesterday to tell a friend who is transferring from L&D to NICU, I couldn't complete the story without being a blubbering mess right there at work.  Click below to read the touching post that she wrote 8 months after her son passed away.

(I'm sorry if I have you crying now.)  It was the simple act of that "angel nurse", that prompted the lasting impression on Natalie.  As a healthcare provider, I've seen all too many times, that we can't always "heal" everyone and tragedy will happen, but tiny moments and simple acts can make a positive lasting impression on parent's and families.  That story pierced my heart...it still does.

So, I'd like for each person to read this know that Whooping Cough (pertussis) is a vaccine-preventable disease. Infants are scheduled to be vaccinated at 2, 4, 6 and 15mo. Boosters are given at 4-5 years and then at 11 years. Adults should have a booster as well if they are in contact with infants who are not fully vaccinated (<15mo) and especially infants who are <2mo and haven't started their vaccinations. Parents and family members are the most common source of Pertussis for infants.Whooping cough is on a dangerous rise in our country.  GET VACCINATED at your doctor or local health department.

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11/3/11~~~Lucy's Day

Thursday, November 3, 2011
We arrived at the hospital a little after 5am for a scheduled induction at 39 weeks.  The ride to the hospital was pretty quiet.  We were tired.  We both had worked the day before and we got up that morning at 3:30am.  I had lots of excitement and fears rolled into one big belly of butterflies.  For some reason, I was really nervous this time.  I had such an easy labor and delivery with Bella, I thought, 'You just don't get that 2 times in a row!'  I prayed, almost a continuous 1-hour prayer the whole way to the hospital.  We got settled into room 333.  I answered all the admission questions and signed our consents.  My IV was started and the doctor came in shortly afterwards to break my water.  So at 5:53am, my water was broken and I was 3cm.  I was a little nervous because she was pretty high.  She was going the wrong way!!!  At 6:10am, they started the pitocin to get my contractions stronger.  At 8am, my doctor, Dr Mckee came in.  I was 4cm, but her head was still high.  I was stressing.

My sweet nurses (and friends), Dani & Lindsay

By 8:40, I was hurting badly.  At 9am, I got my epidural.  Contractions hurt!  They really do!  It would take my breath away, I had to remind myself to 'Breathe'.  I would feel one coming on & say, "Oh no, not again".  But I know...it's a necessary part of labor.  I would just like to say a BIG "Way-to-Go" to all you natural moms!  That must take some major inner strength.  This 'ol gal, had had enough.  At 9:45, I was 5cm, but still not much relief from the epidural.  So at 10:00, I got a epidural boost...still NO RELIEF!   Finally at 10:40, I accepted the fact that the epidural wasn't going to work and it needed to be replaced.  So I sat up for epidural #2 and prayed the entire time he was putting it in.  It was slow getting relief, but it helped.  Dr McKee came in at 11:00.  I was 6 cm and she was FINALLY well applied to my cervix & in the correct position.  I was so happy because I knew at that point, things would go smoothly.  

 Lindsay & Dani went to eat lunch.  I sat up tall because I had a little hot spot, but sitting up helped that.  Then I felt TONS of pressure and knew that she was ready.  I was patient & let them finish eating lunch.  (I know how it feels to miss lunch because your patient is ready to deliver...I wanted to at least let my friends eat)!  Sure enough at 12:00, they came in to find that I was 10cm dilated and she was VERY low and ready to make her grand entrance.

 While they quickly set the room up, Jacob and I were in a state of disbelief that the pregnancy was actually about to be over and I was going to deliver our 2nd daughter.

At 12:15, I pushed with 3 contractions...and at 12:23pm a healthy, beautiful baby girl was born.  

 She weighed 7 pounds even.  I was shocked by her size.  Bella weighed almost 2 pounds more and I just knew that she would at least weigh 8 pounds...well I was wrong!  She was 21 inches long.

 This picture reminds me a lot of Bella.  Their lips are the same when they cry.

 Jacob & Lucy's 1st touch...precious!

 The 1st time Jacob gets to hold his 2nd daughter.  Look at the joy on his face!

 Oh, I think she's just beautiful!

 We wanted to get Bella's unbiased reaction, so Jacob went to the waiting room & brought her in before anyone else.  She was so excited.  Jacob had his hand on her chest & said that he could feel her heart pounding fast.  I know that Bella fell in love with her little sister at this moment.  She hugged, kissed and wanted to hold Lucy.  It was so precious.  This is the video of her reaction.

Bella cut her eyes at me and said "Be easy".  She heard us say that many times that day!

 This was Bella's reaction to Lucy's umbilical cord, "Ewww!"

 Jacob looking down on all of his girls.

Lucy's birthday was a perfect day.  I feel completely blessed and honored to be this little girl's mother!

Lucy's 1st week was amazing too!  We settled in and enjoying getting to know our newest angel.

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