The Arrival of Harvey James

It's A Boy!!!

Harvey James

It was a very long last month of pregnancy with daily contractions keeping me on my toes. I was feeling like this little baby could come any day. However he decided to stay cozy until his due date, when we had planned an induction. 

This baby is proving that he will not be the forgotten child and has called for plenty attention his last month in the womb and with his dramatic entry. 

Harvey's birth story:

The night before our induction, big brother Clyde went to the hotel to stay with Nana and Papa. We took advantage and went out for dinner. Before we left, I was having contractions. This was my normal, so I wasn't even counting them. I did decide to throw our hospital bags in the car, just in case. As we were driving I felt the contractions getting closer so I started timing them. By the time we got to the restaurant, I was debating going to the hospital. I walked around a little, and decided it was just my nerves and I needed to sit down and relax and eat. 

As soon as we ordered our food, I decided it was time to go to the hospital. I asked Kyle to cancel our food order. So he told the hostess that he was very sorry but we needed to cancel our order and leave because his wife is going into labor. 

Well. They all got in an excited tizzy and the manager flew out of the back and told us he would pack up our food for us no charge. We insisted on paying but they obviously didn't want a baby to be born in their business. They refused and shuffled us out the door with congratulations. 

We ended up with both of our meals and drinks for free.  We drove to the hospital and knowing that they wouldn't let me eat once we got inside, we just scarfed our free food down in the car. 

We got checked in and sure enough my contractions were getting closer and they kept me. Once I got into my room, the contractions leveled out and they told me to sleep and if they didn't pick back up they would give me medicine in the am to get things going. Kyle slept all night. I slept about an hour. Typical.

In the morning I was given pitocin, but the Dr couldn't break my water because of the baby's position. They raised my pitocin to see if that would turn the baby,  that made the contractions super painful so I got my epidural.  When the Dr. came back to check the baby's position, my water broke as she was checking. After barely any time at all, I was feeling pressure and the nurse checked and here comes the baby! I could tell Harvey was on his way out whether we were ready or not. 

And we were not. The nurse told Kyle to sit down in the chair (because he almost fainted with Clyde) Then she called for the Dr. right away and told me to relax and try not to push, but don't worry if the baby came before the Dr was in, everything would be fine. I said "just someone please catch this baby!"  The Dr. came in and didn't even have time to gown. She threw gloves on  and while she was catching, the nurses were still adjusting my bed and putting the towels out. In 1 1/2 pushes our little Harvey was here. Kyle couldn't even announce IT'S A BOY because he was so choked up and speechless. (He's a big softie!) 

Harvey was perfect! 

Big brother loved him right away, shared his Mickey Mouse and patted his head. 

This time around, I did not have any blood pressure issues. I healed a lot faster, felt so much better, and everyone was very relieved when we went home after 48 hours this time! It is definitely different, but we are settling into our family of four. 

Spreading Kindness

    Last night was a little stressful. I saw a mouse in our kitchen. (Eek!!) For me, that meant in a trembling, full body sweat, I grabbed the toddler and my giant 39+ week pregnant self. We vacated the house until Kyle came home to rescue us and take care of the situation. So we went out for supper and went late night shopping. I thought about calling the hospital to see if I could just check in a few days early!

But, this isn't a mouse story. This is a post of kindness.

We decided to kill some time at a department store. This particular store only has a few carts where toddlers can ride in the carts. The rest are only small mesh carts. I am waddling in, carrying a tired toddler and my giant purse (why do I carry such a thing?).  I scour the area and see only one cart in the corner blocked in by 2 wheelchairs. So I start wheeling the chairs out of the way and find out the cart is stuck to another cart somehow and the wheels are not coming undone. I'm struggling and shaking the carts, trying to keep my purse and toddler in check and hoping my water doesn't break in front of everyone. A man comes over and says his wife is almost finished with their cart and he'll bring it right over to me.
Bean sees him coming with the cart and yells "Alright, go ride!"  I thank the man profusely as his family is walking out the door.   I just couldn't get this gesture out of my mind. To him, it was probably nothing, but to me-it made my night. We get all settled in and had the best time browsing the store for Christmas ideas.
This time of the year the crowds and traffic increase to the point of frustration. It's so easy to get caught up in my own lists and rushing around. I took this night as a reminder to be aware of my surroundings and look for ways to show God's kindness to others. Even if it's just letting an elderly woman take the closer parking spot or giving my cart to another struggling momma. You never know what kind of blessing that will spread. I challenge you to make a point to look around this season and do the same.


2 Timothy 1:3-11 (The Message) 

3-4 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

10-11 So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

   

A Vision in Waiting

A few years ago before we had Bean, I had a vision during church one Sunday. I saw very clearly a teenage girl, who was our daughter. She was standing in the row in front of me singing with arms raised in a worship service. Kyle was by my side and it was an amazing glimpse of what I believe in some way could be God's design for our family. 

The last two weeks of my pregnancy have been a little rough for me. I have had steady, daily contractions anywhere from 5 minutes-15 minutes apart. They start in the morning and last into the evening. There were two days I made it through the day with few contractions and those nights I was up the entire night with them. The contractions themselves range from annoying to painful, but it's draining me emotionally. I'm having to count and constantly wonder if this is the real thing or just more false labor. It feels like the longest wait ever. 

Last Sunday I went to church.  I was tired, having contractions, and just trying to get through another day. During worship we sang a song by Plumb called "Need You Now (How Many Times)"

If you haven't heard it, you should definitely look it up. 

As we were singing the song and I was pouring out to God my exhaustion and the anxieties of waiting. I saw the same vision that I had completely forgotten about from a few years ago. There was our teenage daughter, hands raised and Kyle and I standing together right behind her. It was like God just sent me a reminder that this time, these pains, these worries are only temporary. He has so much more in store for our family. 

I do not know if this baby is that daughter. I do not know if we will even have a daughter, or if maybe the vision will come true in a different manner. But I do know that God has a plan in store for each of us. Sometimes I forget and can only see and feel my big struggle in front of me. God knows that, and when I finally just give in and grab for Him, He is right there beside me to drag me through and see past my right now.  

I asked for prayers on Facebook on Thursday after a really horrible night of painful contractions. Thank you all for prayers and thoughts!  This weekend has been much, much better. I even made it through one night without even one contraction. I'm hoping that the rest of the time up until arrival continues the same. 

Here we are! 38 weeks and counting. Can't wait to meet our little boy or girl! Bean is super excited. He is constantly hugging my belly and talking about the baby. He's going to be a really great big brother. 

New Adventure With An Old Hat

The end of the year is my favorite time.  I love looking back at how God has worked in my life through the past months. This has been such a happy year for us. We've embarked on a incredulous journey of parenting our precious little Bean. I knew that we would love being parents and growing our family, but I didn't know how much FUN it would be! (Or how many times we would Google search baby poop. Truth.)

We have fully embraced our family of 3 and can't thank God enough for the opportunities we have been given. 

As we head into next year, we are looking into the unknown with certainty that God will guide us through our next adventure.

We have made a decision that will most definitely change our family in the coming year. 

Kyle has re-enlisted in the National Guard. He previously served 9 years in IL but we have been out of "army life" for almost 3 years now.  So here we are.  Back in the military family life.

I know family & friends have questions so I thought I would clarify here: 

 Why?

There are several different reasons he has chosen this path, but I will give you a few of mine.

He has an incredible (and largely untapped) skill for leadership. It is a gift that I think he will excel with in the army. 

When he talks about his brothers whom he has served with, he has a laugh and a love, that goes into the depths of something that I cannot understand. I would not deny him that important part of his life.

 He is our family leader and I trust him, plus the money & benefits is helpful.

His job?

He will continue at the police department, and they will allow him to take the time off he needs for training and drill weekends. However, the few weekends he gets off now will likely fall on drill weekends so family weekends might be rare. 

What now?

He will continue with the same rank he left with and will drill one weekend a month until he starts OCS- Officer Candidate School. This will be around 4 months long and when he is finished he will go through IBOLC - Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course. This will be another 17 weeks. It sounds like we will start this all in the summer and he will be in GA. But we don't know for sure quite yet.  Long term after that will be the "one weekend a month plus 2 weeks a year." 

Deployment again?

Not likely, but  9/11 changed our lives in a second. Anything is possible when our countries are not at rest. Every soldier signs the blank check, no matter what your job and expectations.

We are excited to see where this new road takes us. However, there is a lot of anxiety since he will be away from home for a large portion of next year for training. I am not looking forward to cross-country parenting or to going to every event solo. But Bean and I have great friends and church family here in IN and I know we will be well taken care of!

* And, yes I know, my blog has been non-existent for several months!  :(  Our laptop is old and slow and I haven't taken the time to sit down and write. I am hoping to get a new laptop soon and get back to sharing my thoughts. (And updates on Bean of course!) 

Five Months

I feel like I live in a whirlwind and the strong winds are just sweeping me through the days. Those days turn into weeks and here I am in the middle of summer wondering if I will ever have both feet on the ground again. I guess that's parenthood, or maybe it's just me.

I do want to post a little about my little Beanie since this is the closest thing to a baby book this poor babe will have. I could write things down for him, but I don't even know where to locate paper in this house anymore unless it's his daily sheets from daycare telling us when he ate and pooped.

5 Months:

-We finally got him to gain some weight-  15 lbs
-He is very close to sitting on his own. He can sit by himself for about 5 minutes but if he gets excited and waves his hands he topples right over.
-He is fascinated with our dogs. He reaches for Lola and giggles when he sees Archer.
-He is already a Mommy's boy. Big time.
-He gave Daddy a  present in his diaper which resulting in him using 30 wipes and shop towels for
     clean-up. I'm not sure why "bath time" didn't cross Daddy's mind but oh well. We both have our ways.
-He is still spitting up like crazy. Some days he does fine and the next day everything is covered in puke.
-He LOVES splashing in the water, his jumparoo, and any toy he can get his hands on.
-He does not like to roll over. He can get 5/6 of the way over from his back to belly and then gives up.
-He picks his pacifier up and puts it in by himself.
-When he's tired he nuzzles in to your neck and chest and sighs. He's such a sweet and happy little boy!

My love/hate with Pinterest

I should really cook for our family more.
What was that recipe I saw on Pinterest?
Oh look what Mary pinned. So cute!
That is the best idea if I had a preteen daughter.
That cat picture is hilarious.
I"ll screenshot that and show Kyle later.
If I was a stay at home mom, I could really plan out our day and do some of these cute educational ideas.
Who am I kidding? I'd be one of those moms that only change out of pajamas to go to the Dr.
I love sweat pants.
Ooh that outfit is cute!
I used to like dressing up. When did I wear heels last? Last year? Two years ago?
Heels are stupid anyway. If you're short, you're short. No need to hide it.
Emailing girls about a girls night right now.....
I wonder what they have been up to.
Ashley has been pinning bathroom ideas. Is she remodeling?
Gosh I'm a horrible friend.
Oh look that dog pin looks like mine.
Man, we need to get our dogs groomed.
I wonder how much fur the baby has eaten so far.
He loves those fur balls.
I wonder what people who don't have dogs do.
What do they snuggle with?
Each other?
I guess I would snuggle with my husband if he was ever home.
I should look up some date nights on Pinterest.
Second shift stinks.
But listen how quiet it is in here without him!
It's so peaceful I can finally get some time to just relax and not think about anything.
Ah this is great.
Wait, why isn't the dryer banging?
Still need to do laundry, vacuuming, dishes....
Ugh, we need a new dishwasher.
Then I can actually cook without worrying about dishes.
Oh yeah, what was that recipe I was looking for again?


**I wrote this post while searching for a recipe and realizing I"d been all over the place in Pinterest. Now seriously, I should really get back and find that recipe!

Backyard Photos Spring 2014

It's our first official backyard photos with Bean (Take 2). We attempted once a few weeks ago but K and Bean were both fussy and there was spit up everywhere. Yuck. So we gave it another shot today, I think they turned out great and bonus...we actually had fun.  Bean loves it outside! 

Here's our sweet little family photo shoot with our 4 month old son.