Bullets-because its easier than writing paragraphs.

-Wes is nearly six weeks old. He is a good baby. He seems to be a little more fussy than his perfect brother was as an infant, but overall he is pretty easy and low maintenance.

- I have laundry coming out of my ears. I can't keep up. If I thought it was bad with when we were a family of three, I was kidding myself. Its insane. I have to come up with a schedule. I'll do that...soon. :-)

- I'm sick. Again. I have a terrible cold. The same one that I had right after Wes was born. I have no voice. It is super frustrating and super hard to take care of a three year old when you can't talk.

- I sleep. Some. Some days (nights) are better than others. I started putting Wes to bed in his crib about two weeks ago. I didn't do this with Owen until he was like three months old. I have no idea why. It makes a world of difference for me to sleep in my own bed without a baby in the room. I usually get up with him around 3 or 4 and then he goes back to sleep until 6 or 7. Usually. Sometimes it doesn't quite work this way. That's ok.

- Wes loves me. Actually he is obsessed with me. Its flattering and sweet and maybe its because he is breastfeeding and I bring the food...but I didn't experience this with Owen. Owen loved everyone. However, Wes's affections are reserved mostly for me. He starts to hyperventilate when I enter his presence :-) Its really sweet....and I continue to stand on my stance that there is no kind of love like the love of a boy for his mother. I am blessed.

-I'm watching the Pioneer Woman on the food network right now. I love her. I missing cooking and baking so much. I haven't done much lately...but I can't wait to get back at it. I have all these things I want to try for Thanksgiving and Christmas...but I have to get my laundry under control before I start baking non-essential foods. :-)

-Owen is doing great with Wes. He loves him. He is sweet to him. He isn't jealous and he isn't too rough. It was a great age difference for us.

-Wes is going to be a big boy. Or at least normal sized. This is also different from Owen. Owen didn't like to eat. Wes does. He is already 10 lbs , out of his newborn clothes (so sad) and into size one diapers. Sheesh.

-Josh is my life saver. He has stepped up to the plate big time. I'm still mostly responsible for the domestic duties, but he does a great job at helping out with Owen and doing the (occasional) chore for me. I don't know how single parents do it!

That's all for now :-) I'll post pictures soon!

Wesley's Birth Story-LONG!

Disclaimer:

This is a birth story :-) I will not write intensely personal details in this entry, but there are some terms like "dilated" and "effaced", etc that will be used...so if the idea of childbirth and the technicalities turn you off, don't read this! I've had several people ask me to write it out...so I'm just putting it on here and linking to it. It doesn't bother me to post it...but if it bothers you to read it...don't! :-) Okie dokie. Glad we have that settled!

So. I met with my OB (Dr. Ball) for my 40 week check up on Friday, Oct. 8. She checked me....and told me that nothing had changed from the week before...which was...I was 50 % effaced, but my cervix was still closed and high. Sigh. I was so sad. I was really, really hoping to be a little dilated. Just a smidgen! I wasn't. Dr. Ball wasn't optimistic. She wanted to schedule an induction date. She agreed that I could wait until 41 weeks until she officially evicted the little person in my belly, but she was more comfortable with 40.5 weeks. I reluctantly agreed and scheduled my induction date for Wednesday, Oct. 13.

I was sad. I knew from stories and experiences of other friends that I could be nothing one day and boom...in labor and completely progressing the next day...but I just didn't believe it was going to happen for me. I had started to have significant swelling in my hands and feet and I was beyond miserable. I had been in pain really for weeks. I'm just good at faking it. The end of this pregnancy was not joyful for me...sadly...and I wanted more than anything to go into labor like any normal person and BE DONE! I couldn't understand why my body wasn't groovin'!

Anyways. Friday evening....Josh came home from soccer and we all just stayed in. We had talked about going out to dinner...but decided to make hot dogs and mac and cheese and just stay in that night. Looking back...it was a pretty good decision. It was our last night as a family of three! :-) I was pretty irritable and tried a few..." things "to try and get things going....I had done them before, but I thought...what the heck. Didn't really feel like anything was working for me though!

Early Saturday morning around 1:00 AM I started having what I thought were contractions. I wasn't sure. They weren't contractions like I had felt before. They were low in my uterus and...honestly...kind of felt like gas. :-) I didn't have normal labor/contractions with Owen because I was induced and had an epidural...so I really wasn't sure what I was dealing with. Also, I mostly had back labor with Owen...so I was kind of clueless as to what real contractions would feel like. So...I dozed off and on between 1:30 and 5:30 AM. At 5:30 I woke up to my pain being more intense, stronger and closer together. I got out my cell phone, set up my stopwatch and tried to figure out what I was dealing with. I decided that my contractions were lasting around 45 seconds and were about 2-3 minutes apart at that time. I stayed in bed for awhile longer, then got up and walked around the house. Josh came to see what the heck I was doing and I explained that I wasn't sure if I was having contractions or....gas :-) He went back to bed (after all...this was the morning of his big sectional game!)

At 7:30 AM I called my OB office and had the switchboard page whomever was on call so I could to them. It happened to be Dr. Johnson...not my OB, but I like her probably a tad bit more than my OB because she is a little bit more open to natural childbirth/not inducing, etc. :-) I was happy that she was on call! I explained to her what was going on...she asked me a series of questions (like: how long was your first labor A. LONG!, etc!). She told me that I definitely needed to go in and to be checked. I sent Josh's parents a text....explaining that I wasn't sure what was going on with me...if it was labor or...false labor, I wasn't sure...but could they come and stay with Owen so I could go get it checked out :-) Josh's big game was at 10:00 and he had needed to leave to get down to school to meet his team around 7:30. I told him to go...that I would hate for him to miss his game if this wasn't real! So...he went! I was fine with it...REALLY! I promise! I called my mom and she agreed to come pick me up and take me to the hospital. I cleaned up around the house a little bit and paid a few bills :-) My mom arrived around 8:30 and I got to Clarian North around 9:00. I got hooked up in labor in delivery and was finally told (after being checked and on the monitor for what seemed like forever!) that I WAS in real labor and that I was dilated three centimeters and 80 % effaced! I was staying to have a baby TODAY on my actual due date and on the day of Josh's big sectional game(s)! Craziness!

So, I called Josh...told him that we were probably having a baby TODAY...but...I was only at 3 cm. I told him to stay for his game (against Ben Davis) and then head to the hospital :-) My mom had to leave to get to a breast cancer awareness banquet :-)...and really...really...believe me when I say that I was FINE with being alone. I was in the zone. :-) I didn't really want to talk to anyone! I walked for about an hour...then came back to my room and a nurse met me to set me up with a port (in case I emergently needed an IV). My nurse was awesome. She walked in and said something like..."hey, I hear you are trying to do natural childbirth. That's great. You just let me know if you need anything or something changes and we'll go from there, otherwise you won't hear anything from me". Score. That is EXACTLY what I wanted. She brought me in a birthing ball and I sat and rocked around on that for awhile. She told me that it would really help the baby drop and open up my pelvis. At this point...I was about 4 cm and my contractions were hard. They were about 45 seconds apart. I switched to the rocker for an our and rocked. During every contraction I would lean forward...drink water...and BREATHE/MOAN really hard. I was kind of animalistic. Lovely! Still...it was nice and quiet in my room and I felt like I was in the zone :-) It quickly got harder. My contractions started coming faster...and I decided that I needed a little help. I called my nurse and asked her to remind me what would happen if I tried nubain ( I had done it with Owen and loved it...but mostly because things were so long and drawn out that it put me to sleep!) She told me that it would take the edge off, but I would still be able to be mobile. Good. That's what I wanted to hear. So, she put the nubain in my port and I was zombie like immediately :-) It didn't take away the pain. The only thing it really did was make my down time in between contractions longer. I didn't feel the beginning of the contraction...only the middle to the end. The nubain worked for about 2 hours. Josh arrived in that time span...I had sent him a text and told him that things were really hard for me, and that I likely wouldn't be able to talk to him very well especially during a contraction. He was great. He just came in and sat...watched football...and ate a hamburger. My OB came around 3:30ish and broke my water...I was at 5-6 cm. She told me that my baby was still high and that I really ought to think about an epidural to get me to relax during contractions or she could give me pitocin. UM. NO. :-) I told her as much and she left me alone. My nurse said I did the right thing. Ya. Thanks!!

SO ...after my water was broken, it got bad. The pain during my contractions was really, really terrible...at one point I know I was crying. I don't think I ever yelled or screamed (I was doing all of that in my head)...but I was holding Josh's hand and moaning/crying...I don't know. It was really hard. About an hour after my water had been broken I thought that I had reached my breaking point. There was SO MUCH pressure and I was really outside of my body with pain at that point. I called my nurse and had decided in my head that if I wasn't close then I was done and ready for the epidural. Lucky for me...she checked me and I was at NINE! YAY! She told me that she thought I would be ready to push in about 5-10 minutes so she called my OB and wanted me to BLOW THROUGH the next couple of contractions without pushing even though I was pretty much complete. Let me tell ya...that was about impossible. At the end I didn't really have any control. My OB arrived about 10-15 later and I was so ready to push. The magical part of not having an epidural is that I didn't need anyone to tell me it was time to push...I just knew it. My body took over. It was insane...and painful and intense and kind of awful....but I pushed through three contractions...and HE WAS HERE! Praise Jesus! As soon as he was born, the pain was gone and everything was fine. The NICU had to come down because when my OB broke my water they found merconium (meaning Wes had had a bowel movement)....and the NICU team had to check him out to make sure he was ok...so that took awhile....but Josh went over to be with him while my OB cleaned me up ;-) With Owen, I had terrible tearing and an episiotomy. This time, my OB only had to cut a little old scar tissue so it really wasn't bad at all. She told me that because I hadn't had anesthesia that the stitches would be really painful...but they weren't. Nothing compared to those crazy contractions! :-)

Anyways, Wes was fine...they brought him to me and I about died when I saw him and saw how much he looked like Owen....he nursed WONDERFULLY right away...and then...I GOT UP and went to the bathroom! AMAZING!

So. In a really long nutshell...that is the birth story of Wesley Jameson Brown. We are all doing well and I would elaborate and post more pictures...but its time for my little guy to eat! Hope those of you who wanted to read all about this really enjoyed it...and for those who didn't want to know me this well...didn't read and are still really happy! Ha ha!

I'll be back with more pictures soon :-)

Wesley Jameson Brown

Born 10.9.10 at 4:56 pm

7 lbs 10 oz

20 inches long

Gorgeous...looks just like his big brother.

We are all doing well.....somehow I avoided induction by the skin of my teeth and made it through the birth without an epidural (it was crazy hard and I almost caved at 9 cm....but then all the sudden.... I didn't! Whoa! No judgement on the Mama's that get the epidural though....hands down the hardest thing I've ever done!)

More later!

No News!

Really no news to report! I'm closing in on 39 weeks and while I feel like I'm knocking on the door of miserable(in a happy and blessed kind of way :-)),my OB confirmed Friday that nothing is really going on. OK! I've been walking....and walking.....and walking....and doing other interesting things that have been said to help your body get into the groove for labor....and...I'm just concentrating on NOT stressing about it! Babies are born when babies are ready to be born. (barring medical emergencies/complications in which other measures should be taken OF COURSE). You could pray with me that I don't make it to 41 weeks and find myself STILL pregnant in which case.... its office policy for my Dr. to schedule an induction. I'm not up for a fight! But I'm also still very not excited about using pitocin again. It just wasn't good for ME. (others have different/wonderful experiences and I'm glad for them!)

Outside of baby news, we have been busy, busy, busy with soccer stuff for Josh, church stuff and this past weekend we celebrated my brother's (Curt) completion of his masters degree by going out to dinner as a family at Fogo De Chao (Brazillian Steakhouse). Here is a picture! So proud of my baby brother...he is pretty awesome.

I've been working half days at the office (on my scheduled days to work) since the middle of last week...and tomorrow is officially my last day! WOW! I can't believe that I'm really going to be out of the working world for awhile. Its very surreal. And weird. And usually a good feeling, but sometimes I worry about how its going to fit me...being home all the time. :-) I know its good, it just feels strange! I'll need to be a bit more disciplined on having intentional scheduled time every day (after we survive the newborn stage, that is!)

Well, thats about it....my next post will have baby news! I can't imagine that I will have anything interesting to say in between now and then!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2,11a There is an appointed time for everything- and there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what has been planted....v.11 He has made everything beautiful in HIS time.

A little bit of cuteness....

Oh baby....we are excited to meet you. Last Sunday at our small groups my sweet girl friends prayed for you. And me. They prayed that it would be easy :-) They prayed you would be a good sleeper, a good nurser, healthy and happy. I'm on board with all of that! But more than anything I'm just happy that you are coming and that I get to do this all at least one more time. If you are my last baby, then I am more blessed than many, many people. I do not deserve you, I am not entitled to you...but I am blessed to take care of you for a few years and I promise to do my best to do not wish away the hard days, because the days are so, so short.

I just got done reading Marissa Sharbaugh's blog and she really encouraged me. Oh boy...do I want it easy. I identify a lot with a recent entry she wrote titled "Idols of the Heart." But I've come to know that easy doesn't cause me to grow, to change or to be pushed to follow any harder after my Savior...it causes me to be smug, and confident and arrogant in who I am in myself. So...God...give me whatever it is you need to give me to grow me into a mother who is nothing but a complete failure apart from Your grace. I trust You enough to say that! Thanks one more time...for the chance to do pregnancy, in all of its glory and not so glorious days...its such a sweet thing. Thank you. We can't wait to see who you have waiting to meet us.

Good times :-)

We went to a John Mayer concert at Verizon for our 7th anniversary. It was great. :-) I think Josh and I might have been the only sober ones there, but still...lots of fun. Who says you can't have some fun when you are eight months pregnant!? :-)

34 weeks and other stuff

Nothing big to report. The only thing of note is that I haven't gained any weight in the last six weeks. My OB hadn't brought it up, so I decided to ask if she was ok with that and she asked me if I was eating...ha ha....I said yes and she said..."Great, you'll have less weight to loose!" Ok :-) I was hoping to get an extra ultrasound or something to check measurements/growth. Oh well. My blood pressure continues to look good (yay!) and my sugars are also well under control. I'm pretty happy because all of this means less interventions from my OB and definitely less pressure to induce. (although I was given the paperwork on induction at this visit...and I smiled an evil smile and told reminded my OB that I'd be avoiding induction like the plague this time around! She just laughed at me! he he :-)) So, I go back in two weeks and then I start going every week. Crazy, craziness.

On non-related baby news....soccer is going really well and I'm loving being busy going to games again. Josh's high school team is 2-0 right now....and we spent the weekend at a tournament in Cincinnati for his U-13's (13 year old boys) club team and they did pretty well too. Although watching junior high soccer is much different than high school soccer :-) We also started back to a consistent schedule with youth group. We are senior class sponsors this year...so that is fun!

Other than that...I am in my final countdown with work. With about 6.5 weeks until my due date I am definitely counting down the days until I am done. I will miss my work, but being done is the right decision. I've almost hit my goal of having 10 piano students (I have 7) so teaching will truly take over as my part time job. I'm good with that :-)

Owen is happy and smart and sweet and CRAZY! Three is harder than two FOR SURE! We somehow JUST came to the conclusion that we just have to be super consistent about asking for obedience. He just has to start obeying the first time, every time ALL the time! No more 5-6 warnings! He knows better! Unfortunately discipline is no more fun for me than it is for him and I end up crying with him after spankings! UGH! I have to continually tell myself that this will pay off! Anyways. Prayers. Please. He really is a GOOD boy with such a tender heart, but he's old enough to be continually held accountable for obedience. We can't miss our window of opportunity or I'm really going to want to cry when he's pushing it and I'm sleep deprived because we have a newborn!

Well, time to go! The kitchen won't clean itself! (though I really wish it would!)

Happy Monday! :-)

The thing about pictures

Here is the thing:

Uploading and organizing pictures on blogger is a bit of a pain. Facebook though.....its super easy. I don't think I know a single person who doesn't have a facebook or at least access their spouses facebook :-) (even my sweet Grandma's are on facebook for crying out loud! :-))So....guys...the pictures...they are on facebook. And I have 112 of them from this summer. So...go...enjoy....be happy....and don't hate me because I'm not posting them on blogger :-)

www.facebook.com/kimberlybrown5

Eight Weeks and counting.....

That's right. I hit 32 weeks this week. Unbelievable! My last check up was good. I had lost a pound (don't ask, I really have no idea), my blood pressure was GREAT (yay!) and I had spent the last two weeks checking my sugars on a glucometer because I hit the cutoff number for passing the one hour glucose test, but didn't want to do the three hour test...for a few reasons. I'll explain. (briefly....maybe :-))

Because I have a few reasons to think that I'm at risk for developing diabetes (the number one reason being that my mother was a type I diabetic and her brother-my uncle-is also a type 1 diabetic....so its in the genes), I wanted to take this opportunity to not just take another three hour glucose test (that I passed easily with my pregnancy with Owen)...but to really take a look at how my body was dealing with sugars. I knew that my ketones had looked good. Every time I visit the OB I leave a urine sample and they test it to see if I'm passing any sugar....and I hadn't been. That was a good sign. So, the cut off for the one hour glucose test was 140...and my number was...yep...140. I told my OB that I'd rather "pretend" for the time being that I was a gestational diabetic and check my blood sugar four times a day. "Lucky" for me, a co-worker had an extra glucometer and I've been able to easily check and record my sugars for the past two weeks. This is what I've found: I'm not diabetic. :-) My sugars (both fasting and after meals) have almost ALWAYS been waaaaay below the cutoff (fasting is 90---I'm usually at 68-72 and post meal cut off is 120...I'm usually between 99-109). I took this log to my last OB appointment and she happily agreed with me that I'm not at risk. Personally, this was a good decision for me. I wanted to know how borderline I really was...and for now, it looks good. I'll continue to check my sugars on my own 3-4 times a week to make sure nothing is going crazy wrong...but I'm relieved to know where I'm at and move on from here :-)

So, I have bittersweet feelings about this pregnancy coming to a close. I LOVE being pregnant. Even though this pregnancy has been much more difficult than Owen's I love every little movement (and every BIG kick too :-)) and just LOVE knowing that our baby is growing in my belly. I even love maternity clothes and HAVING a belly. Weird. Its also very hard for me to think about this possibly being my last pregnancy. Josh and I haven't decided for sure, but we think that two might be the right number of kiddos for our family....of course we can't exactly know what GOD thinks about all that...so we'll see. I refuse to take drastic measures until I'm at the age where they consider you high risk (which is 35) so we'll spend the next couple of years trying to figure out if we are done adding to our family (or not). I'm NOT going to miss waking up multiple times during the night trying to decide if I really have to pee bad enough to get out of bed...or to just wait it out until morning :-) I also won't miss waddling, heart burn, CRAZY lower back pain....and gagging. Yep. I'm still gagging. It just won't leave me. I weigh all of this against the sweet time that pregnancy truly is and its definitely worth it. Just some days are harder than others. I can't really fit behind my desk at work without my belly being scrunched...and I'm about to make a declaration that if ONE MORE THING falls on the floor...that's it. Its over for me. I'm NOT picking it up. Still...I will MISS THIS.

All that being said....I just cannot wait to meet this little person. Sometimes I wonder if there is any way that I can love another child as much as I love Owen. I admit, it hurts my brain. Sometimes I think....this baby is for him. So he can have a sibling and not be alone. I already have the love of my life and there is no way I'll feel the same about another baby....but I know that my heart will grow and God will give me grace to feel the same amount of good feelings for this one as I do for my sweet, love-y first-born.

Owen is doing great. I'm not sure how much he gets that his life really is about to change...but I know he will be happy to stuff pacifiers in the baby's mouth, and bring me diapers, and...he really wants to give the baby a bath. Like right away. He says that will be the best thing he can do. Ha! We've been talking about how our baby will be born at a hospital and that mommy will have to be gone for a few days...but he can come and visit me while I'm there. We've also addressed the concept of breastfeeding :-) ha ha...I think he'll do fine with it, but he's used to seeing MOSTLY bottle fed babies around here and I didn't want to freak him out by not giving him an introduction at all about how some babies are fed by their mommies bodies.... He seemed ok with the overall idea :-) We'll see!

So, Josh's first official day with students was TODAY. Craziness. His first soccer game is next Monday, and his travel team has their first tournament the weekend of Aug. 21. Yesterday I made a spreadsheet schedule and...wow. Its a bit overwhelming. :-) We could definitely use prayers as we navigate this crazy time.

I have a few new pictures to put up, so I'll get back on and do that soon. Know that we are doing well...keeping busy and looking forward to meeting our new baby! Soon enough I'll be putting pictures up of that! We are blessed :-) Enjoy what is left of your summer....I know that I am ready for FALL!

Some summer-ish pictures...for your viewing pleasure :-)

Summer is a magical sort of time for kids....I appreciate it, but we all know I'm a fall-ish kind of girl :-). Seeing it through the eyes of my child makes me savor it so much more. Playing at the park, playing in the sprinkler/pool, popsicles, bike rides, hot dogs :-).......its all pretty great...especially in the eyes of a three year old. We've been pretty negligent in taking pictures this summer....but here are some of the best so far. Enjoy!

Late Post: 26 Week Check Up and what I have learned

BB2 and I are doing just fine. We had a check up on Monday, June 28 and I am happy to report that all is well. My blood pressure still looks good (which is great because this is the point in my pregnancy with Owen where I had to go on procardia to help lower my blood pressure) and I've put on a total of three lbs so far. I'm so, so happy that I've been able to gain slowly like I did with Owen. Since this is "probably" our last baby (don't ask me, ask Josh!) I was hoping that I wouldn't be faced with a gigantic amount of weight to loose. It came off easily enough after Owen was born thanks to breastfeeding...and honestly, I'm really looking forward to getting that jump start again and being healthier all around now that my thyroid is under control! YAY! Anyways, nothing real exciting to report on that end...just everything is good and my next visit is my glucose test. Oh...please, please keep your fingers crossed that I will pass. :-) Thanks!

I've been thinking a lot about natural childbirth and how I can have a less interventions with the birth of this baby than I did with Owen. Obviously, a healthy baby and a healthy Momma are the most important thing, so I'm not willing to compromise on that, but I do think there are some ways to avoid the snowball of interventions that I had to have with Owen. I've come to the conclusion that it all starts with induction. If I can get my body into labor on its own, I THINK I can avoid a lot of other interventions that became necessary at Owen's birth. Praying that because this is my second baby my body will get into the groove easier and I won't need to use any drugs for induction. Josh and I took a natural child birth class last week and it was pretty entertaining. I DID get my back rubbed for about a half an hour (nice!) and learned some interesting things about breathing and moving around that will help labor progress.

Ah. :-) So. We will see. P.S. A friend asked me for some natural induction advice a few days ago because she had passed her due date on Friday, she tried some of the things I had read up on...her water broke that night and her baby was born the next evening! There is SOME truth to these remedies FOR SURE! :-)

Because before we know it, Josh will be back at soccer practice and school again, we got all of our baby stuff out of the attic today. The cradle is down, infant car seat, papasan seat, etc. All in all, our stuff is in pretty good shape. I'm thankful for that! We decided to toss our old diaper genie---because really---who wants to clean THAT?! :-) Owen has been having fun playing around with all the stuff we got down and is asking me if the baby is coming out soon. Well. No. Soon enough, but not really SOON. :-)

Lastly, I've been thinking about a whole bunch of stuff...life...mothering...relationships....my expectations on what my life will look like and God has really been showing me how little control I have over anything! Shocking, yes?! We were talking in small groups last night about what kind of things God uses in our lives to rebuke us and reform us...and I have to say that I've learned a lot about being obedient because God has removed things from my life. More than anything, I've learned that happiness doesn't come from my fulfilled expectations. I am not entitled to anything, nor I am I promised a single thing. God HAS promised to give me everything I need to live a life of godliness, but this does not always include giving me exactly what I think I want. Thank goodness, because I am a selfish wretch! :-) Sometimes I feel like we are rocking the boat....asking God to give us another healthy child....but I come back to the knowledge that these babies are not mine, they belong to God and He will use them and do what He wants with our lives in spite of my wants and expectations. Although it is a sobering thought, I find a lot of grace and comfort in knowing that the lives of my babies are completely dependent on God's perfect plan for our lives. I'm so thankful that I don't have to stress and worry about what is best for me (for us), because God already knows and has known the number of our days before we even took our first breath. I'm praying for contentment, because so many things take my eyes off the prize of knowing Jesus and being complete in him---there is always something to have and be had: better cars, bigger/nicer houses, stuff for the house, clothes, etc, etc! I made it my goal long ago to live simply and to love well....and I'm praying that God will show me how to do this...not easy in this world! Sorry for the rambling run on sentences and thoughts. Its one of those days. I've been way too introspective!

Owen and I are going to go play in the sprinkler...so I'll catch up with some pictures on blogspot later. Happy July everyone!

Seven Years

May 17, 2003

Ok, so this is a little late...like over a month late, but worth mentioning anyways. Josh and I celebrated seven years of marriage last month. Wow. I'm starting to feel like a grown up (I guess a mortgage, car payments, two kids and GRAY HAIR will do that to you!) God has brought us to and THROUGH a lot. Loosing Josh to Mexico (on a missions trip) for eight days put a lot in perspective for me...I'm so glad that I don't have to do life alone! We've seen each other at our worst, and counted on one another for strength when one of us couldn't stand alone. We've both made our share of mistakes (and many more to come, I'm sure) and I'm hopeful that we are learning and growing from each one of them. So...happy seven years to us! Eight years will bring the birth of our second child and almost as equally exciting....the end of college and graduate school loans! WHOO HOO! Thankful to God for His grace to make it thus far....and counting on His mercy to continue on the journey.... loving Him, each other and our family!

May, 2010

Am I not blessed?

Its 95 degrees with a thousand percent humidity here in Indianapolis today. My fingers are swollen. My feet are swollen. I'm finding new varicose/spider veins every day. My belly is as big as it ever was when I was pregnant with Owen....and I have more than three months to go! I can't sleep for more than three hours at a time and I feel like I'm turning into an insomniac! I'm currently doing the single parent thing because Josh is gone to Mexico until next Wednesday with kids from youth group. My cell phone (my only phone) has died forever. I'm waging war between Verizon Wireless because the phone that I paid to have shipped to me over night hasn't been delivered. They seem helpless to HELP ME. (thankfully a good friend has an extra cell phone that she has let me borrow in the time being!) I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all life is offering me at the moment. Insurance issues to figure out. Discipline to be consistent with. An every growing belly, leg cramps, heartburn and sugars to watch and be disciplined about....just feeling like its all a little much!

Today Owen and I ran into the grocery store to pick up a few things. It was late in the afternoon, nap time was approaching and Owen was on his last leg. I needed about four items, so I opted not to get a cart. About 30 seconds into the grocery store Owen started whining for him to carry him. I did so for about a minute but it became too much for me to juggle a pregnant belly, a 3 year old and the groceries I was picking up. By the time we had checked out, I had a crying little boy, four groceries bags in my hand and I was....sweating. As we exited the grocery store, we passed a sweet looking elderly woman sitting on a bench near the exited. She looked at me with sympathy, patted my back on the way out and said these words...."are you not blessed?!". Geesh. Indeed I am. If I stopped to count the ways God has blessed me and covered my life in grace and blessing....I would spend hours.....and probably more.

My child(ren) are my greatest joy. And, tonight I mourn for some church friends who were waiting to take home their newly adopted daughter when the birth mother changed her mind. Praying that Jesus will be close to them right now!

I love it that it seems like God puts just the right people in my path to turn my pity party around and remind me of what a wonderful life I have. Just wanted to share. If I never do anything big with my life..if I only manage to live a small, simple life...I know that I have everything I ever dreamed of. I am a wife and I am a mother. And for this, I thank God and ask him to keep me mindful of all that I have.

Thank you for this:

BB2 Week 21 Pictures

A sweet, precious little foot. Can't wait to kiss those toes!


And a rather blurry profile shot of our youngest child. We caught BB2 during his/her active time and the tech had to freeze the shot and blow it up. Still precious! We love you baby!

20 week check up and ultrasound

BB2 is looking good! We got to take a look at our peanut (who is not really a peanut anymore, I suppose) yesterday...and our ultrasound revealed that everything checked out great! Josh and I both thought that we caught the gender (obviously if we thought we saw it, we thought we saw "boy parts" ) but after talking to the technician and thinking about what we saw, we are convinced that what we saw isn't conclusive :-) It could have been the cord or a hand. We didn't do an in between the legs shot and the ultrasound tech said that while she caught the gender, she thought it would have been next to impossible for us to tell. Ok. So...I'll try to act surprised when I give birth to another beautiful boy in October! ha ha! OR, I'll be really really surprised when my baby is proclaimed a girl! Really, I supposed its still a mystery, its just hard to believe that something in between the legs is not...um....boy parts :-)

We got to see all four chambers of the heart, all of the vital organs, the spine and a QUICK side profile shot...this little one was moving around SO MUCH that it was really hard to get measurements! And...I will post the ultrasound pictures eventually (we are having a little computer trouble at home), but the profile pic is blown up and very blurry because its the best the tech could get with all of the movement! I was a little dissapointed in that, but mostly just very relieved that our baby is lookin' fine :-)

My blood pressure was GREAT (better than the last two visits even), I'm finally up one pound and my sugars continue to look good (last time I failed my glucose test but passed my three hour test, so they are monitoring me more closely this time...obviously type one diabetes run in my family so I need to be watched).

Have we shared our names yet? I don't think officially.
The deal is that Josh gets to pick the boy name. We've decided on two: Benjamin Aaron or Wesley Jameson. I like them both equally! What do you think?
Our girl name is set in stone: Clare Elizabeth

Feeling really blessed and grateful to so far have to two healthy kiddos. 19 weeks to go! (I'm 21 weeks today and really am fine to stop gagging ANY DAY NOW :-))

Puggles End of the Year Program

Oh goodness....these pictures are too much :-) This is what happens when you get a bunch of 2-3 year olds up on stage in front of parents, grandparents, friends....We actually took a video of this too, and its probably super annoying because I am laughing and snickering in the background the whole time!
With that said...Owen loved Puggles! Puggles is part of the AWANA program...for toddlers! It was great! They learned a verse ("God saw it was good"!) and sang two songs: "The Wiseman built his House Upon the ROCK"! and "Father Abraham". I cannot express my joy when I see my child growing in knowledge and truth at such a young age...we are so blessed by our church, College Park, and by the amazing people that take care of our little ones. Owen will be a Cubbie next year! Fun times! Enjoy the pics...have a few smiles and giggles!



"The rains came down and the floods came up"!

"And the wiseman's house stood FIRM" (Owen really liked the FIRM action! :-))

Hi Papaw!

Hi Daddy!

My personal fav... :-)

"Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, so lets just praise the Lord, RIGHT ARM, LEFT ARM"! :-)

Still waving.... :-)

More waving...

Certificate of completion! Cool! Hopefully the first of many! ( ha ha :-))

BB2 Update

BB2 (Baby Brown 2) and I had a great check up last week (4 26.10). I was measuring right at 16.5 weeks (they wanted to change my due date again, I said...not necessary :-) I get it. I'm due AROUND 10.10.10!) No weight gain for Momma yet, blood pressure still looking acceptable (good in my opinion, but what do I know!?) and the only fun thing we got to do this time was hear the heart beat, which was found RIGHT away this time....and was beating right at 150 beats per minute. I also had the opportunity to undergo the genetic testing at this appt....but we declined, as we did with Owen.
So...everything is lookin' good! I (FOR SURE) started feeling this little one move around at 15 weeks. Its like little butterflies...or a goldfish swiming around in my belly :-) I moved into maternity pants at about 15 weeks and...lets just be honest, its a much more comfortable way to do life. I'm happy, baby must be happy...good feelings all around. Our next appt is at the end of May and we'll get to have our ultrasound! So excited to take a look at this sweet pea! (but not the in between the legs area. I am unwavering I tell ya! :-)
Ok. That's about it for BB2 and I. Feeling pretty good....much less vomiting and while I still fall asleep by 10:00 PM on the couch, I'll be honest. I did that before I was pregnant, so I can't say that anything is much different. :-)

Toy Story Party!

So, I'm a little behind on blogging. (and laundry, but lets stay focused!) Facebook is a bit more user friendly, so pictures get uploaded there right away. Its just easy :-) However, in the spirit of keeping a journal, I need to get caught up over here on blogger. So, here we go!

Owen had a wonderful birthday party! We packed our house out (again, when will I learn?! 1600 sq. ft=NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR FORTY PEOPLE! I'm clearly in denial!) with dear family and friends and celebrated in true Woody and Buzz Lightyear style. My child might actually think that he IS Buzz Lightyear. I'm not sure. I'm neither encouraging nor discouraging it. How many times in adulthood do you get to entertain the idea that you are a superhero anyways?! Not many for me! I'm pretty sure most of my days are filled with bill paying, cleaning, working, child training and ....well, I'm not totally miserable. We do have a date night here and there....and I do get the occassional trip to California with the girls, he he :-) Anyways. I'm just sayin'. If he wants to think he's Buzz Lightyear, its probably ok. Chances are, he'll grow up and have to do life just like the rest of us boring old adults! Whew! Rabbit trail! Here are the pictures! Enjoy! I can't believe my BABY is THREE!!!!