comparison: who is who?

mercy & mama

the cuteness is just toooooo much..it's explosive! :)

Julia is so so so so so so so happy. She held Mercy for the first half hour that we were home. and would have done so the rest of the night... if possible!!
Aunt Tash and Uncle Jeff came for a visit from afar!!!!
Cynthia came for a visit when we first got home from the hospital, i love midwives!!!!
MY BEAUTIFUL PRECIOUS CHILDREN!!!!!!! God has given us three beautiful blessings. and they are SO SO happy to be together!! heeheehee.

Daddy with his two princesses. :)

we now have a royal court: king and queen, two princesses, and the court Jester.... yep, that's Sam. :)

And then there were 5....

So, not everything in life happens just the way we plan it. In fact, hardly any part of life happens the way we plan for it to, and over and over again we are reminded that God is in control and that He is making us more like himself by changing us through our circumstances. (pleasant or not)

I just made that lovely tutorial about 'home birthing' and now i get to tell you how it REALLY happened. hahaha.

Where do i begin??? hmm.... oh yes, the park.

There is a lovely park we have been meaning to explore, so off we went . The 4 of us went about the pathways at Blackwell park, only to reach the farthest corner of the park and discover a leak. not in the park, of course, but in me! i was leaking amniotic fluid and we slowly trudged (dripping) back to the van and headed for home.


At home Karli picked up the kids and drove them to ma and pa 's house for the night so that dave and i could begin calling all the people we needed to be informed: Midwives, Doula, and parents.

Nothing was happening with my body - i mean, besides the occasional puddle, but that isn't really 'exciting labor news'. So, by 10 pm we made the decision to sleep until:
a)Labor began
or
b) i would be induced at the hospital around 7am.

Unfortunately i didn't sleep well due to a little baby kicking me and tossing more water out into the big bright world.... but morning eventually arrived with NOTHING to report as far as contractions are concerned.

Off to the Hospital we went.

Here i interject: Heather is an awesome Doula. if you are having a baby, i HIGHLY recommend her services. She is skilled, knowledgeable and supportive in a lovely straightforward-gentle kind of way. :) she only does what you want and need. i had TONS OF FUN just hanging out with her, she even slept over just to be near at hand! heehee.

At the hospital things were pretty routine:
sit and wait.
dress in gown.
sit and wait.
admire lovely gown.
sit and wait.
ask where they find such attire, and if they are available to the public.
Sit and wait.

1) I was induced at 730am.
2) contractions began a little closer to 830am, if i remember right.
3) by 153pm Mercy was born.
After two-ish pushes and about 7 minutes time.
Weigh in: 9lb 3 oz
length: 57 cm!!!! (julia was 54, sam was 55) i am wondering if they measured her wrong... but anyway...
head Circumferance: 14.5 inches

Dave and Heather and Cynthia can tell the rest. it was labor. you know the drill... pain, tiredness, strategy, pain... ooooooooo one fun thing was that i tried some pain relief this time!! i figured after two natural labors with no kind of drugs or intervention i could probably try it with something just for fun. (and that is what i told them as well... just for fun) What they gave me didn't take the pain away (i don't know if there is anything that can do that...) but it surely made my muscles relax, which helped in the long run, since it takes a LOT of concentration to relax your muscles from head to toe while they are all rebelling and screaming- asking you to freak out.

I was so happy to have Mercy on my chest, crying and a beautiful shade of purple. (i know that isn't preferable. but she is very healthy) :) PRAISE THE LORD. as soon as she was born, the psalm i had been trying to memorize earlier came to mind and was running through my head: "You turned my mourning into dancing again, You lifted my sorrows"

anyway. i'll let dave put in his story now. love to all. thank you for the prayers, meals, thoughts, smiles, gifts and hugs. i ask for prayer specifically that :
a) Mercy will learn to nurse really well.
b) Our home will be a calm and peaceful place for Mercy to learn about the world
c) we will all get the rest we need to survive.

-mama su

How To Prepare for a Home Birth

Bed: check. have one set of sheets to labor on, and one set to rest on after your baby is born. when in labor, make the bed. First put on the lovely sheets you want to rest on with baby, then cover them with plastic sheets and then the sheets to labor on.simple eh?
Flashlight: check. just in case the power goes out.
Bright lights: check.
lots of pillows: check.
Gatorade: check. for those good ol' electrolites! can't get enough of them! :)
Hydrogen peroxide: check.
paper towels: check.
Tylenol/Arnika: check. for constant relief after baby comes. :)
hot water bottle: to keep baby blankets pre-warmed. check.
Bag full of Pre-laundered baby blankets, wash cloths, and other linens: check.
Sea Salts: check. for that LOVELY bath the midwives make for baby and mama after birth!! aaaaahhhh. i can't wait!!
This may look messy, but it is all necessary 'stuff':
a bag of home birth supplies, supplied by the midwives. check.
A bag of pre-laundered sheets, dried on 'hot' and stored in a sealed bag until needed. check.
My bag of clothes, baby clothes, and after birth 'stuff'. you know... all the goods.
Ah, yes, and the birthing ball. thanks to my Doula, Heather!! :) this will save my legs from getting tired when i am laboring....

anyway. i thought a wee little tutorial would be fun as i await the event. hope you all enjoyed it! (and that it wasn't too much info for some of you!! haha)

su

DUE DATE. happy due date to me happy due date to me

okay, so this is the 'big day' but i don't have my hopes up... since 5% of women actually have their babies ON THEIR due date, i don't presume to be among the lucky 5!!

But.... who knows!

Julia and Sam came home from their weekend visit with Oma and Opa, the eldest of which was quite disappointed to see my belly looming before me STILL. HOwever, she does understand that God is in control. soooooo hopefully the next post will be BABY news.... as for now: NOTHING is happening. sorry!!

NEW DOO.

Julia took my photo for me. the new do. as of an hour ago! :) i'm happy with it. i like the newness. i look forward to losing the face-fat after baby is born.. because boy, it sure does show up in the last weeks of pregnancy!! eeek. i always seem to get face fat at the end of my preg's. lovely, isn't it? ha!
my sweet heart.
Pink girls together! :)

sick day(s)

Our little man. isn't he sweet? he is very excited that he can 'cruise' around the living room, slowly figuring out what furniture needs to be where so that he can make it as far around the room as possible. i think it's hilarious that my son, at 17 (almost 18) months old is just mastering the 'cruising' stage of development! haha.
yep. sick sick sick. bla. i DON'T recommend being due just after school begins... if anyone recalls, the first couple weeks of school usually get all the germs out and passed around. sooooo there is a great many of us sick and taking care of sick kids these days. Fortunately: the kids have not been sicksick.... sam threw up once, julia complained about a tummy ache and a head ache.... Unfortunately: i threw up every hour for a whole night. bla. and Now, dave is coming down with some of this nasty sickness..... boo. The picture shows my kids loving me and taking care of me. Julia gave me a foot massage, brought me water, and helped a lot... sam just cuddled with feet... and then my tummy. what a sweet bunch of kids i have!!!! my hubby took such good good care of mee too! :) i couldn't have made it through without him!
isn't it interesting that these things happen a week before being due?
a week before sam was due.... julia had her first ear infection... and now this... interesting. it's like... "murphy's law"... ha! oh well. at least i'm in better physical condition now.. in case i go into labor.
Dave caught this moment. i call it a moment because this MASSIVE web reached from this small circle out to the porch, and the tree, and the toy chest on the ground 4 feet below... There were long strands precariously stretched for miles-upon-spider-miles, just waiting to be torn, or blown away.
neat eh?

well, in other news: Julia is LOVING SCHOOL. and i have to say that i am as well. I love her teacher, the way the school runs, the other kids in her class (that i know) and hanging out with the other moms when we pick our kids up in the afternoon at the playground. i am truly excited to (one day soon) have time to volunteer, or find out more about the school and how i can be involved-- because it is a really great place for kids to grow and learn. anyway: that's my happy brain moment for now.

More News: no baby yet. no progress. but that's normal for me. i don't get any pre-labor signals, i just... go into labor. Sam is enjoying his 'mama' days, he gets really chatty when it is just he and i at home. Although, perhaps he is always this chatty, but gets eclipsed by his sisters' overly chattiness. some of his latest words: "mo" for more (although he still prefers to just use his sign language for that one) "Cracky" for cracker. "owl" for owl. (i think he learned this due to a recent Owl in the Family, that Opa rescued) "gogurk" or "gogi" for yogurt. and there are always new ones!! i LOVE language development!!! :)

that's all for now. FOLKS.

window-cuddling

These two love to look out the window (always hoping for the neighbors to be out so they can chat with them), and while they look out the window... they snuggle.
....or look goofy.
...or snuggle with teddy....

Julia was a Rabbit today. hence the tail... and she does have feather ears stuck straight up from her headband, but you can't really see them here.

First Day of Preschool Combination Class....

But first... a cute picture of my cuddlers. :) heehee. Sam is big on 'cuddling' up to people if they are next to him on the couch. But watch out!! if you don't know that he just drops his head into you to nuzzle - it can be painful! haha. he makes this adorable cuddling sound while he nuzzles ... "awwwwwwwwwww" you just have to sit on the couch next to him and experience it... i can't do the sound justice with a keyboard. haha. He has also started scooting up to Julia when she is standing, and he'll scooch his little bum backwards up to her, and just sit against her legs, leaning back and making the cuddling noise. hahahaha. He is a clown. seriously. His 'new' entertainment is finding a lid large enough to sit on, and then scooting around the house on it !!! ??? then he'll find the big ol' heartshaped-gigantic-spoof- sunglasses and put them on and continue to scoot around the house on his "lid sled". :)
FIRST DAY OF DANCE CLASS!!! waaahoooo!! here is the 'standard' outfit, they all have to wear the same thing: black long sleeve leotard and pink danskin tights. The first half of her class is spent on ballet, the last half is tap. :) she loved it. of course. i am excited because now we can watch whenever we like to, last year we only could observe once every 8 weeks (since the group was a bunch of 3 year olds and apparently with parents in the room some of them don't participate very well). soooooooooooooo i get to sit and watch the little fairies dancing. heehee.
clips, elastics and fancy ponytail work: all in an effort to keep those stray hairs from popping out. slick back those tresses ladies, dance time!! :) I love that Julia is in this class with her best buddies. Two girls from church attend the same class, and they are sweet sweet friends.

well, that was yesterday. today is rainy and cozy and quiet. i love waking up to the sound of rain outside my window. mmmm. and this tea is sooooo much nicer since it is needed to warm up my body (i can't remember the last time i needed warming!!!) . well, maybe i'll have to wake up the kids so we aren't late for church... hmmm.... have a jolly good sunday folks!!

pray for this BABY TO COME SOON PLEASE!!

another day another out of town visitor...

Aunti Bonita came to visit!!! horray! it is always a special treat to see this lady.


okay... again neglecting pictures of pregnancy number 3 - here i am this morning, bright and early, i am half way through week 37. wahoo! come on baby, any time now. :)

ANN'S BDAY!! :)

mmmmmmm.............. cake! A BIG THANKS GOES OUT TO ANN for having a birthday so that we could celebrate it! :) Ann, you are a sweet sister-in-law and i am happy to know you.

I showed up at the lake early so that the kids and i could search for nature-items to decorate the area. After collecting some fallen pine cones, sticks and rocks, we tied them to tree branches and arranged them on the tables. :)

we had a lovely time.

and now, now i am TOTALLY EXHAUSTED AND READY TO CRASH!

GOODNIGHT!

surprise and first day of school

WOW WHAT A SURPRISE!! THESE TWO WONDERFUL PEOPLE STOPPED BY FOR DINNER rather unexpectedly, what a great surprise!! hahaha. I got a call from a crackling cell phone and an hour later these two love birds were on our doorstep!! yippeeeee, pretty exciting for us since they live 3 hours away!!! :) A and R it was great to see your smiling faces!!! Next time we'll come to you for a night to visit k???
And today.... IS THE FIRST DAY OF JK (junior kindergarten) so here is miss J ready to run.... she is very very VERY excited. in fact, i am having trouble holding her off... she has been ready to go, backpack on, shoes on, etc since we finished breaky.... and we still had half an hour to go! haha. oh well, anticipation is good for the heart.
photo shoot for J's first day....
The styling princess backpack we found at a second hand store in primo condition - $5. :)

the styling black dress with pink accents - also thrifted - $6 (i think...), oh the jacket was too, but it isn't part of the outfit... it was just on to keep her warm until the sun came over the housetops. :)
She has a lovely pink poncho in the car awaiting her, to finish off the outfit properly (according to her, not me. i am not her wardrobe coordinator... i handed that task over to her long ago... haha)

anyway. we are soon to be off, so i should go get my lists of errands and other such things ready for MY day. :)

yippee a new phase in life... how fun!