True Love

Zachary Wayne was born on Wednesday, December 5th, at 7:22 pm. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces; and was 20 1/2 inches long. He is perfectly healthy, and we are just enjoying him so much! Of course, he keeps us up at night, but that's his job, and he's pretty good at it. :) He will be a week old tonight, and I can already see him changing! I cried yesterday because he already looks different, more filled out than when he was born...my tiny boy is already growing up! :( My labor was long and painful...and not what I expected in the least, but it's over, and I'm recovering very well, and, yes, I'm already willing to do it all again for another baby...in a few years... :)

I have always loved kids, and I've been waiting my whole life to be a mommy, so I knew I would love it. I also knew that Joel was looking forward to being a daddy, and that he would do a great job at it. But what I didn't expect was how completely adorable he would be as he held and interacted with Zachary, and how patient and sweet he would be with me during even these rough, sleepless first few days, and I never expected the experience of watching him be a daddy to make me totally fall head over heels in love with him all over again, and add a whole new dimension to our relationship. So in the midst of new parenting challenges and joys, here is an ode to the Hubby & Daddy of the year.

True Love is...

-letting your wife hold your hands during 22 hours of labor and hardly complaining when they lose circulation because she's squeezing them so hard.

-changing all of the baby's diapers the whole time you're in the hospital

-going out to get your wife milkshakes and iced coffee in the middle of the night

-getting up for every feeding for a week just to help out with some feeding difficulties

-holding your emotional post-partum wife as she bawls for no reason...more than once...!

-trying your best to figure out how to dress the baby in the riduculously complicated (but cute) outfits his mother picks out for him...all those snaps!!!

-letting your wife sit in the backseat with the baby so you both know he's okay, even though it means she doesn't get to sit up front with you.

-spending plenty of time each day just relaxing with your wife and admiring your son together, even though there are lots of other things you need to do.

-spending an entire afternoon driving around town looking for some baby supplies that will make your wife's life easier.

Joel, in the last week, you've become an expert in diapers, onesies, swaddling, feeding, and burping, to mention just a few things. You have always been an amazing husband, and I am so blessed to have you by my side and watch you as you fulfill the role of daddy in such sweet ways that I never could've imagined. I love you, and I'm so thankful for you and little Z.

Overdue and Unhappy

Well, in case you're wondering... YES, it is my due date today. NO, we do not have a baby yet. Please don't ask. I am officially overdue. Somehow I had sort of convinced myself that since little Jr. was measuring big, he would be early...but in fact, he is just big. Or else he's just too comfortable. I've been walking and trying every 'natural labor-inducing remedy' I can find on the internet...but no baby yet! I have been feeling so horribly grouchy about the whole thing...and then I feel terrible for feeling grouchy... I mean, I'm SO thankful for this baby, shouldn't I just be grateful & not grouchy that he's not here yet? But seriously, I cried for about a half hour last night because I wasn't in labor!!!

We saw the doctor today, and she scheduled an ultrasound and non-stress test for Friday, and if the baby looks okay, she will let me go home and keep waiting...and if there's no baby by next Monday night, December 10th, she will be inducing me with Cervidil. SO...at the VERY latest, Jr. should be here in the next week! :) Hubby is doing a great job being patient, keeping me stocked up with ice cream, and keeping my attitude positive while we WAIT! (and holding me while I cry...)

We have had some gorgeous snow here today and yesterday...I love the snow...the way it looks, going out walking in it...I'm sure I won't love it as much by March, but for now, it is beautiful! Hope everyone else is enjoying your winter! :) Hopefully we'll have some news here soon!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! (a day late, but shouldn't every day be Thanksgiving, really?) :) Well, that's my excuse, anyway...

I'm so thankful today for everything that God has given me...He has blessed me immensely...I guess the best way I can think of to thank Him for all He's done is through a list of 'thankful things'.

1. Bringing me to Himself and keeping me from wandering too far from Him.
2. Bringing Hubby and I together and growing us into the couple we are today.
3. Giving us our little Jr. in His own perfect timing.
4. Even when we can't be with our extended families for the holidays, this post reminded me to thank Him that our families are healthy and for the most part, living for the Lord.
5. Providing us with countless opportunities to serve Him, at camps, churches, and in our communities.
6. Providing for us financially each day, including mountains of baby things!
7. Leading us to a wonderful, supportive church family and strong Biblical teaching at our church.
8. All the 'little extras' that He gives us, just to enjoy- like Christmas music & decorations! :)

Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving & day after! :) We enjoyed a yummy turkey dinner at our neighbors with some of their extended family, and then came home to relax! I made a 'crustless' pumpkin pie, which was actually delicious, so we've been enjoying that! Today, we slept in late again, and then went to town to search for Hubby's Christmas present...which we finally found at Sam's Club, thankfully...of course, to Hubby's chagrin, I had to find something to buy at almost every store we went to...you know, since we're there...may as well grab some _____ :) Oh, he loves it when I do that. Then we went to Wegman's cafe for lunch, and I had a calzone (yummy!). When we came home, I worked on Christmas decorations and got the tree all put up...just a couple more things to finish tomorrow! I've been playing Bing Crosby & Mannheim Steamroller all day- I love Christmas music! :)

In baby news...not much new...he has 'dropped' partway, which basically just means I'm super- uncomfortable now if I walk too much... everything is on track... 11 days until my due date, but he could really be here any time...and my doctor will only let me go about a week over due since she thinks he's so big...so for sure in the next 18 days, he will be here! How exciting is that??? Yay! I have had two more showers- one at church, and one at TOPS, a weight-loss group that I go to- such sweet ladies! :) They surprised me with a shower on Wednesday morning! I feel like we're all ready! We've got everything we need...(I think, but really how would I know??? I've never done this before!!!) And I have another shower on Sunday night at one of the camp's supporting churches...God is so good!

Note To Self

Hey, Self?

Remember when, oh, four months ago or so... you were about four months pregnant... not quite showing yet... and you COULDN'T WAIT?

You were so excited when you finally got to wear maternity clothes, and that you were finally showing.

Well, I just have one thing to say to you now. Now that I'm 8 months pregnant, and I resemble a Beluga whale and visit the bathroom every 15 minutes. Now that everyone asks me if by some chance I could possibly be having twins. Or a 15-pound Monster Baby.

Self, what were you thinking???

Minor Breakdown

I haven't updated in forever...guess I haven't really felt like blogging...or maybe I've just had so much else going on... Well, we are painting the baby's room. First I painted all the walls a yellow marbled with cream...it was SO utterly bright. I love yellow, but, really, with the sunlight, it was blinding... so then I painted one wall cream, and it's much better. We're also going to be stamping some blue bees around the top of the room, which will add a nice non-yellow touch. Joel sanded and painted the dresser I bought this spring, and then we'll stamp some bees on it, too... when I bought it the guy told me that it had 3 drawers, and the bottom 'drawer' was a false front. Well, when Joel was working on it, he started tugging on it and got it open, and it turns out it's really a big drawer! It was so stuck that the guy who sold it to me didn't even think it was a drawer! So the dresser is HUGE! :) It will be SO nice!

I had a minor breakdown at Home Depot yesterday...pregnancy hormones are such fun...aren't they? We went to look for the bee stamp that we NEEDED for the baby's room, and Home Depot was out of it. The saleslady was not concerned at all. I guess she's never been pregnant, otherwise she would know not to say with a shrug, "Oh, well, guess we're out of 'em" to a 7-month pregnant lady who NEEDS the Pooh Bee Stamp that NOONE else carries and if she doesn't get it, her baby's room will be RUINED, and her child will NEVER be well-adjusted...anyway...I did say minor breakdown, and it happened mostly in the parking lot and was taken out mostly on Joel...poor guy :( Well, anyway...nobody else carries foam stamps for painting...not Walmart, not JoAnn's, NOBODY. So don't bother looking. We called Joel's mom because she had seen them in her Home Depot in Iowa, and she went and looked, and they were out, too! But then she went to Menard's, and they had a set with some Pooh stencils and 3 stamps- a bee, honey pot, and sun/flower! When she got up to the cash register, the whole set was only $1!!! How amazing! Then tonight my parents called and said they were at Menard's tonight and saw this (same) Pooh set for only $1 and picked it up for us! :) So now we have two sets! :) How funny is that? Oh me of little faith, right??? W

Well, I'm off...gotta pick out some kind of outfit for church...I got some new fall maternity clothes a couple weeks ago when I went shopping with a friend! She has some great secondhand stores in her area! I can't wait to wear my new stuff!! :)

Your Man...

1. Who is your man? Joel Hart
2. How long have you been together? We met the third week of our freshman year of
college, 8 years ago. We’ve been dating ever since!
3. How long did you date? We dated for 3 years and 4 months before we got married.
4. How old is your man? 27
5. Who eats more? Usually Joel…although when I’m pregnant I can give him a run for
his money. :)
6. Who said "I love you" first? Me. But he probably says it more often now.
7. Who is taller? Um, Joel. By a foot and an inch.
8. Who sings better? I don’t know…we both like to sing together…
9. Who is smarter? Probably Joel.
10. Whose temper is worse? Possibly me. :)
11. Who does the laundry? Me, if I want the loads sorted… ;)
12. Who takes out the garbage? Both of us, really…not a big deal since the dumpster’s
about 40 feet from our house.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? This question is confusing…is it when
you’re looking at the bed or laying in the bed? Anyway…I sleep on the side closest
to the bathroom. Whichever side that is. Always.
14. Who pays the bills? He pays them all online.
15. Who is better with the computer? Definitely Joel.
16. Who mows the lawn? Joel. Or Greg. Or the Grounds Staff…
17. Who cooks dinner? Usually me.
18. Who drives when you are together? Joel. Always. Thankfully.
19. Who pays when you go out? Joel. I’m so spoiled. I hardly ever bring my purse when
we’re together, he pays everywhere.
20. Who is most stubborn? Tee hee…we’re both firstborns…makes for an even
stubbornness match…
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Depends…. :)
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mostly his.
23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me…in his Ford Ranger…on the highway…
24. Who asked who out? He asked me.
25. Who proposed? Joel, obviously. With a ring box inside a giant talking Pooh bear.
26. Who is more sensitive? Definitely me- I cry a lot, especially when I’m pregnant!!!
27. Who has more friends? I’d say it’s about even…
28. Who has more siblings? Joel- two brothers. I only have one sister.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Joel, thankfully. Otherwise we’d never get
anything done. :)

Love ya, Joel! :)

Before & After

The following are sad but true pictures of my hall rug.



In case you can't really tell on the top picture, here's another one:



See how the left half of the picture is all clean and beautiful???? The right side is covered with yuck- fuzzies and hair and all???? I have had these rugs in my house for about 2 years now, and I could NOT get them clean other than by sticking duct tape to them and ripping it off. My old vacuum was broken, but with my birthday money, I bought a new one.
The difference is amazing. My old vacuum didn't have attachments either, so the new one is MUCH easier to clean with. And it's bagless, which is amazing, but I'm not telling ANYONE how many times I had to empty the little dust container part on my first round through the house! Just thought I'd let everyone know what I've been up to!

Aichmophobia: fear of needles or pointed objects

Apparently, I am aichmophobic. I went to the hospital lab today to have a routine blood glucose test done. You drink the orange glucose drink, wait one hour, get your blood drawn. Simple, right?

Well, first of all, I went to the lab at the busiest time possible, and had to wait an hour before I even got my orange drink. Then I had to wait another hour, and I went back in to get my blood drawn, so I could be on my way. At this point it was about 1:30, and I hadn't eaten anything other than an orange drink since 8 am. As I always do, I informed the lady drawing my blood that I have issues with having blood drawn, and I have passed out in the past. So the poor girl was kind of nervous to begin with. Then she couldn't find a vein in either arm...so she moved on to the back of my hand. She poked around in there for a minute, and I told her that it hurt and I was getting dizzy. She asked me if I could walk over to a cot and lay down, and I said,"NO".

The next thing I remember is about 5 nurses crowded around me, using something smelly to bring me back to life, and someone running out the door, yelling, "We've got a pregnant lady passed out in here! Somebody get some juice!" Praise the Lord that I didn't fall out of my chair, though, I just kind of slumped backwards, so I was very thankful for that! As if every shred of my dignity wasn't already gone, I practically choked on the apple juice, and was sitting there coughing like an idiot. Then, after I recovered, it was too late to do the blood glucose test, and I had just drank apple juice, so they called my doctor, and she said we would talk about it next week at my appt. So, to make a long story, well, a little shorter, I spent 3 hours at the lab today, and did not get a single test done.

I haven't blogged for a LONG time! I just haven't felt like it for some reason...who knows? Well, updates, then... we had an ultrasound in August, and found out that we're definitely having a boy! Everything is healthy with him (and with me, until today! ) He measured a little big, so hopefully that means he'll come early and not just be big! I have a picture to put up when I get my new scanner hooked up...soon . We went on vacation with Joel's family, to Arkansas, and that was really fun. We relaxed, watched Food Network, and swam a ton. I had my birthday last week, which Joel made really special for me. He took me to Chinese for lunch, took me to Walmart to get groceries, and bought me the afore-mentioned printer/scanner combo. Then he cooked me supper (pasta, Texas Toast and salad- delicious!) and let me relax! It was a great day! I have been working part-time at camp, and also working on getting the house organized and getting everything non-baby out of the baby room so we can paint it! I've even picked out a paint color- Banana Peel Yellow.

"I Got Blogged"

Well, here I am, almost to the end of our summer camp season, ready to pick back up with my normal life...which does occasionally include blogging...

Everything with Junior is going really well- I'm five months along, feeling pretty great (a little swollen some days), and being kicked constantly. I read somewhere that how active your baby is in the womb is some kind of indication of how active they'll be as toddlers. If that's true, then look out, world. Here comes the next Tasmanian devil! We have an ultrasound scheduled for next week, and hopefully we'll be able to see great pictures of Junior and figure out whether it's a girl or a boy!!!

Camp has gone well this summer, too. We had 3 weeks of youth camp, and about 20 kids accepted Christ during those three weeks. When you hear of those decisions, then all the hard work and rough days are just totally worth it. We're in our last week of family camp right now. Last week we had a BIG family camp, and Joel's parents were here for it. It was really fun to spend the week with them. This week is going well so far!

This weekend we had a lot of people from our church here for a 'church retreat'. Some of them stayed over Saturday night, and some just came for Sunday. One of the new attractions at camp this year is called The Blob, and it's basically a giant 30-foot long air pillow in the pond. The concept that one person jumps on one end, crawls to the other end, and then another, preferrably bigger, person jumps on and launches the other person off the end. Well, for some reason, the older members of our church could not get the hang of the name of the activity, and they kept thinking that it was called being "blogged". So as one man was crawling to the end, his wife's aunt is sitting at the top of the swimming hill yelling, "Are you ready to get blogged?" Another older man was confused, too, and he said, "Blogged? Why would they call it that? Doesn't that mean saying something bad about someone on the computer?"

A Chipmunk Day

Sorry it's been SO long since I've posted! I have been SUPER-busy between camp and my other job that I'm finishing up...only 7 working days to go... I don't remember the last time I had a day off, but I'm making it...looking forward to just being full-time at camp!

Well, today was quite the eventful day in the area of rodents. Joel called me at work to tell me that when he went home for lunch, he found a dead chipmunk on the floor next to our bed. My side of the bed, of course. So he took care of it, which I am very thankful for. Then, I came home from work, and was petting my outside cat, Pepper, and I noticed a little chipmunk on our porch, not three feet away from me! It was just sitting there- I think it's little back feet were injured or something....well anyway, Pepper was not through with it...when I came home from camp tonight, all that was left was the tail. Just a tail. Just a lonely chipmunk tail sitting there in front of the door. I had Joel take care of that, too. And I'm thankful for my cats- if it weren't for them, I'd have met a LIVE chipmunk running around in my house, I'm sure! That would not have been pretty.

Grilled

Well, we had a great week with Joel's parents here. I had to work Monday and Tuesday, so I didn't get to spend all my time with them, but we had an especially great time relaxing last night and playing games before they left this morning.

For supper last night, we grilled out. We knew that our gas grill was not exactly in the best shape of it's life, actually the top part of the grill is so rusty that's it's technically not even connected to the bottom half anymore...but we figured we could just put charcoal in the bottom of it and cook our steaks with that. So Joel and his dad went outside to conquer the grilling, since that's what men do, you know, and Joel's mom and I made the French fries and the veggie pizza.

Their grilling time was pretty uneventful, and the steaks were cooking fine, until towards the end... When sparks started to fly towards our porch, the guys thought about getting a little concerned. Then, while Mom and I stepped outside to see how they were coming, a couple of hot coals fell out of the grill... and so us ladies were immediately enlisted to fill buckets and pitchers with water to extinguish the coals before our grilling episode burned our house down.

Thankfully that was the end of the excitement, and the guys were happy since they got to save the day and pretend to be firemen, too. I think we'll be shopping for a new grill sometime soon. :)

Fun Times, New Car...

Joel's parents are here visiting this week, which is always nice. We're actually closer to his parents than we are to mine, really. His dad has been a pastor for about 23 years, 22 of that in Ohio, and then last fall he was called to Iowa (near Des Moines), and they're very happy out there. But now they live like 13 hours away from us, and they used to only be 7. Anyway, since his parents have always been in ministry, they understand the things that we go though, frustrations, budget issues, etc. and they're the type of people that we would like to be 'when we grow up'. Which hopefully should be soon, since, you know, we're going to be parents and all. They also enjoy the same things we do like playing games and stuff...so that makes for a fun visit.

On Thursday we had to drive two hours to trade the used SUV we just bought a month ago for another one. The one we had was nice, but it kept having maintenance problems. Which the dealership would fix for free. Problem: The dealership is 100 miles away. So we had to drive up there umpteen times to get the problem fixed. So we talked them into giving us all of our money back for the car, since it was sort of a lemon. And they did- praise the Lord! We were able to trade it in for another Explorer, blue this time (which is the original color that we wanted, but couldn't find the first time), and a year newer, with less miles on it! So we came out ahead or at least even in the end! :) It is amazing how God provides for us and we don't even know all the details!

Happy Mother's Day To Me!

On Saturday morning, as I was dragging my weary self out of bed to get ready for a day of work at the nursing home (only another month to go!!), I found this cutest note (or series of notes) stuck on my bathroom mirror! :) It was such a nice surprise, and actually a great start to my day. Thanks, Joel! :)

I had some kind of virus all weekend....started really feeling better yesterday, and I'm fine today, but it was yucky. Even yuckier than morning sickness. :(

Mother's Day was great. It was my first mother's day as an actual mother, and the last couple years, when we've been trying to have a baby, Mother's Day has been the most difficult day of the year. Joel was very relieved that I was not going to have my annual Mother's Day emotional breakdown this year. He gave me two cards, one was funny, and one was so adorable that it made me cry...what a great guy! :) Tonight we are going shopping for my Mother's Day present- a Snackster! Because, really, what else celebrates motherhood like a grilled cheese sandwich maker? ;)

Nothing's Coming To Me...

Well, I've been waiting a few days for something witty or clever to come to me for my first post on this blog. Or else at least for something hilarious to happen to me so I can write about it. Obviously, neither has happened. So I'll just share something mildly funny and the pressure of the first post will be over and we'll just get on with the blogging.

I am ten weeks pregnant this week! My baby is no longer considered an 'embryo', but actually a 'fetus' now! I feel like I should hold an embryo graduation with a tiny grape-sized cap and gown.... but really, I'm actually feeling much less sick since my hero, the Placenta, has taken over feeding Junior. I told Joel on Tuesday that I should be feeling less sick, and also less hormonal (!) this week since the placenta was taking over some things, and he was pretty excited. He led us in three cheers for the placenta- hip hip hooray! :)

Also, my Grandma called the other day, to ask me what my size was so she could buy me some maternity clothes. Being that this is my first pregnancy, I need all the maternity clothes I can get, so I'm thankful for the thought...but it's not very comforting to know that the last thing that this Grandma sent me, knowing I would Just Love It, was a huge umbrella with these life-size photos of cats on it. Kind of frightening, actually. So I'm sure when those clothes come in the mail, they will be a post of their own. :)