LIFE

This past Friday we participated in the Right to Life / Together for Life Memorial Walk on the steps of the state capital with Georgia Right to Life. This was our 3rd year to participate, and every year it hits me to my core. Abortion is real. It happens everyday...several times a day. It is so prevalent in our society, yet so secret at the same time. Many women choose abortion because it is an easy answer to a situation they didn't plan for; however, in its aftermath it brings destruction through heartache, fear, guilt, shame, unworth, disappointment, and judgment. I long to see the day when abortion is illegal, but more importantly I long for the day when women choose LIFE over an easy out whether it is legal or not. I pray that the Lord will raise up families to adopt children that were given the chance to live. I pray that the Lord will change the heart of our nation and political leaders to see that abortion an ugly reality. I pray that the Lord would send revival upon us and end abortion forever. Until that day comes, I ask you to join me in prayer that the Lord will bring an end to abortion in America, and raise up people to be His hands and feet in this battle against evil. May His will be accomplished and His glory reign.

For more information you can visit the Georgia Right to Life website.

God, End Abortion and Send Revial to America!

wrestling with poppy + bed frame = big black eye

Help!

I've been a blogger for a while now, but I need some editing help for those who know how to manipulate blogger. I haven't always had this problem, but lately when I post my paragraphs all run together. When I'm writing them they look just like I want them, but when I publish the post blogger doesn't read any of it. My last post is the perfect example. I wrote the paragraph, but there is supposed to be a space between the paragraph and the stats, and then each date is supposed to be on a separate line. Anyone know how to help me??

Naomi Update

Naomi is doing very well - actually we all are. Our home has adjusted quite nicely going from a family of 3 to a family of 4, and Levi absolutely adores her. She is sleeping great at night going from 9:30pm to 3:30am and then til about 7am or so. She is also eating well which was proven at her 2 week check up where she gained 18 ounces! We are just smitten with her and so blessed to have her as part of our family.

Stats:
Birth: 8 lbs. 15 oz., 20 1/4 in.
1/4/11: 8 lbs. 5.5 oz., 20 1/4 in.
1/18/11: 9 lbs. 7.5 oz., 21 1/4 in.

Eating My Words...

I told you that if this winter storm heading our way didn't knock my power out and leave me miserably cold and bored that I would happily eat my words...well, here I am admitting I was wrong. Although the storm was quite bad leaving several inches of snow and ice on the ground and roads and cancelling school for most of the week, it wasn't near as bad as I expected. In fact it actually was pretty great. First and foremost we did not lose power! That alone is enough to celebrate because if I have to be home all day it helps to have TV and Internet to entertain ourselves. The best part however is that Aaron was able to stay home a few extra days. He took off all last week to be home after Naomi was born and the extra days at home have been quite nice allowing me to rest and heal a little more before I take care of both kids on my own (which I'm doing for the first time right now). So I'm eating my words - happily though. Here are some pictures from our venture into the ice covered snow. We had a pretty awesome time.

He Knows Every Word

Levi knows every word to this CD, and if theres going to be a CD that he knows word for word then I couldn't pick a better one. I'm honestly blessed each time I hear him singing praises to his heavenly father.

Last night as Levi was saying his prayers before bed he and Aaron had this conversation. Levi: "Does Jesus talk to me?" Aaron: "He sure does. He talks directly to you. Will you listen to Him when He speaks to you?" Levi: "Please!" (Please is Levi's way of saying yes). This ministered so much to my heart. We work really hard to teach our kids about God, and to see that my two year old is listening to what we are teaching encourages me to continue doing what we are doing.

Winter Weather On the Way

A winter storm is headed our way and I am not thrilled at all. Why you may ask? This is why... ICE. They are predicting nearly 4 inches of snow where we live and a quarter inch of ice which translates into power outages. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure playing in the snow with Levi will be fun for an hour or so. Its the other 23 hours where I sit in my cold house with no lights, heat, or means to cook that I'm dreading - oh and did I mention the newborn baby I want to keep warm and healthy. With the storm covering much of the state I'm assuming that power outages will last longer than usual. I would LOVE to be wrong. I will happily eat my words if we maintain power, but I've spent one too many nights camped out in my living room trying to stay warm by a fire that I have little faith. Guess we'll see.

Week One

Don't stress out. I promise I'm not planning on documenting every week in our life from here on out just because we have a new baby girl in the house. However, I wanted to document this week for several reasons. You don't need to know them all, but I just want to include it. Again, you can stop reading if you so desire.

• Friday, Dec. 31 - Our sweet baby girl is born. We enjoy visits from friends, but Levi is sick with a stomach bug and can't come to the hospital to meet his sister. I am sad and bummed since I had wanted to celebrate her birthday with our little family. Aaron & I celebrate New Year's in the hospital. It was a small but peaceful celebration.
• Saturday, Jan. 1 - We really want to go home today. Naomi has to have her hearing and PKU tests done at 24 hours of birth, so we aren't able to leave until early evening. We pick up Levi who is better now and he finally gets to meet his sister. He is in love and we are thrilled that he is so happy. We get home late. I'm worn out and getting anxious about being home with two little ones.
• Sunday, Jan. 2 - We decided to stay home from church since we got in so late. We have a little church service at home with just the four of us. I find out that dad, Beth, and Amy are all sick (like Levi) and now we are paranoid that the rest of us will get it. We spend the afternoon watching football and resting.
• Monday, Jan. 3 - Aaron's mom and Cara come and visit. They bring us lunch and help with Levi and Naomi. Aaron begins to feel bad in the morning and quarantines himself in our bedroom. Aaron's mom leaves. I have 2 kids by myself. I physically hurt, and I'm completely overwhelmed at taking care of both kids on my own. As the day goes on it gets worse. My friend Stephanie brings me dinner (thank you!). Naomi and I sleep in the living room since Aaron is so sick. It is a rough night to say the least, but I manage to get a few hours of sleep.
• Tuesday, Jan. 4 - I get up early to take Naomi for her first doctor's appointment. Her bilirubin count was elevated when we left the hospital so it has to be checked. My wonderful sister Amy meets me at the doctor to help out with both kids since Aaron is still recovering and couldn't come with me as planned. After the appointment Levi goes home with Amy to give me a break and I head to outpatient at the hospital for her bilirubin test. Once I arrive home I find Aaron moving around the house - a great improvement from his earlier state. I get a call from the doctor that her numbers are still high and we'll have to go again the next morning to another blood draw. We spend the rest of the day resting, napping, and waiting on Levi to return home.
• Wednesday, Jan. 5 - We get ready and head to outpatient for Naomi's second blood draw (we later get the call that her levels are going down and there is no need for us to have it tested again). The rest of the day is spent at home. Resting and taking care of a few chores. Aaron is doing much better and that makes me feel better as well. We have a family movie night and watch 101 Dalmatians. Our friend Ashley brings us dinner and gives us a few ideas to help Naomi sleep at night (she's been sleeping good, but only if she is in the Boppy pillow in our bed - which we hate, but we give in to get our sleep). We try her tricks that night and they work a for a little while, but she still ends up sleeping with us later in the night.
• Thursday, Jan. 6 - This is our first "great" day. We have nowhere we need to be and we take it easy all day. We rest and take care of a few chores. Late afternoon we head to the park, but Levi has a melt down and we leave early. That night we try Ashley's suggestions again and it works wonders. She slept in her bassinet from 11:15pm to 3:30am and then 4:30am to 8:30am. We were amazed and got some good sleep.
• Friday, Jan. 7 - Another great day. I'm finally feeling better both physically and emotionally. Aaron and Levi play outside, Naomi rests and sleeps on her own leaving me some time to myself. We go to the park after lunch and enjoy some time in the sun. That evening Pastor Alan brings us dinner and we enjoy another family movie night watching Horton Hears A Who. Naomi has another awesome night sleeping from 11pm to 4:50am!

If you bothered to read my ramblings you can tell our week started out pretty crappy. Sickness and worry overtook our home and it made life pretty difficult. The end of our week has been much better, and I'm much more relaxed with the idea of Aaron going back to work. I actually think I may be able to do this "mom of 2" thing. Here's to the new adventures in our lives.

The Birth Story

I really want to document Naomi's birth (for memory sake) and since this is practically my life's scrapbook I figure there is no place better than here. (You may stop reading here if you like). The Birth: I was scheduled to be induced on December 30th at 6:30am. Aaron & I both woke early, took showers, and prepared to go to the hospital only to get a call at 5:30am saying we had been bumped back a few hours. I was told to call at 9am and hopefully they'd give the go ahead for us to come to the hospital. At 9am I call and I'm told that we can come in for the induction. We head that way and when we get there my very apologetic midwife tells me that chaos has broken loose and we've been pushed back even further. She tells me to go shop, grab lunch, and hopefully they'll get me in before 1pm. If not we are postponed until possibly the 31st or after the weekend :( Aaron & I head out to Wal-Mart to do some walking and waste a little time before we catch lunch. As we are about to order lunch we get the call the the induction is a no-go and that we have been scheduled for the 31st at 6am. We are disappointed, but make the most of it by spending the day with Levi before baby sister arrives. The next morning we wake even earlier, get showers, and head to the hospital. When we arrive they take us straight back and get us set up. After answering tons of questions about everything under the sun I'm finally checked and I'm still only a 2 (I've been a 2 since Dec. 20th). I was pretty bummed because that meant I haven't progressed at all since my last appointment. We finally get the petocin drip going around 7:45am. The contractions aren't bad at all. I can see them on the monitor, but they are very mild. My midwife comes in to break my water at 9:50am and checks me. Only at 3cm. I feel I'm hardly progressing and this is going to be a long day. I start having flashbacks to Levi's birth - 19 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing - horrible memories. Around 10:20am my contractions pick up and get stronger. I'm having 2 every 5 minutes. Some are more painful than others. The ones in my back are the worse - again like Levi's birth. I finally get comfortable on the bed where I think I can handle the contractions and her heart rate drops so I have to lay back in the bed which makes the contractions harder to handle. From Levi's birth I had already decided that I didn't want any pain medications except for an epidural. The medications from his birth made me so out of it that I hardly remember any of the actual birth. I feel like I missed out on so much of his birth that I really wanted to be coherent for Naomi's birth. Around 11:30am my nurse tells me that the anesthesiologist will be available at noon for an epidural. Knowing that I was only 3cm a little more than an hour ago I decided to have the epidural fearing a long labor. At 12:15pm I get the epidural and life is much better. I'm able to relax, watch a little tv, and bond with Aaron (more about his amazing support later). The check me after the epidural and I'm 5cm. At that moment I was glad I decided to go ahead with the epidural since I was progressing somewhat slowly. Two hours later my nurse checks me again and I'm 9.5cm!!! Aaron and I were both surprised that I had progressed so quickly since the epidural, especially since they sometimes make labor longer. The nurse tells me we'll probably start pushing in 30 minutes. Honestly I have a little moment of panic right then realizing that my daughter will be here soon and I will be responsible for another child in this world. Just ten minutes later my nurse returns and tells me that the doctor is at the hospital and if I can push we are going to go ahead and deliver the baby. I push once, she says I'm ready. The doctor comes in, everything is ready and I start pushing at 2:40pm. I twice and her head is out. Five minutes and she is here!!! Everything went so smoothly. The fact that our induction had been postponed ended up being a blessing in disguise because on the 31st we were the only ones in labor and delivery, so nothing was rushed and everyone was available to take care of us. We had the most amazing nurses. Everyone was so kind and helpful. It was actally a pretty enjoyable stay at the hospital. We had lots of family and frinds visit us and the fellowship was so nice. We left on Saturday, Jan.1 around 5pm. Levi was sick on the 31st and wasn't able to come to the hospital to meet his new sister. On the way home we picked him up and he was more than thrilled to finally meet Naomi. His reaction to her has been an answer to prayer. He absolutely adores her and wants to hold, kiss, and touch her constantly. We are absolutely in love with our daughter. She has already wrapped herself around our hearts and the joy we have is indescribable. We are more than blessed in every way imaginable, which is exactly why our blog is entitle "Blessed."

She's Here!!

Naomi Elizabeth

December 31, 2010

2:50 p.m.

8 lbs. 15 oz.

20 1/4 in.

We are so very blessed to welcome our new daughter into the world. We are all doing wonderfully and constantly thanking and praising the Lord for His provision and favor over us. We are home and will post more pictures once things settle down.