Here we are at December 20th again. One year ago I went to what was to be a quick prenatal checkup, and because of Noelle's sustained rapid heartbeat, we walked over to the hospital to be induced right away. There ended up being nothing wrong with her heart; her heart rate fell back into the normal range at some point during the labor and stayed there. When asked what could have caused the rapid heart rate earlier in the day, the neonatologist joked that she just must have been ready to be born.
My dad came to the hospital as soon as he heard I was in labor, and stayed the whole time (when it was time to push, he went to the family waiting room). If you knew my dad, you know we had great conversations throughout the day - perhaps what made the labor go so well.
We still had not decided on a name, although Noelle was at the top of our list. My labor nurse was named - - Noel; the first one we had ever met. So, I guess that sealed our decision.
I had the best labor ever, and with the help of the pitocin drip and epidural, it was relatively quick and painless. I still can't believe what our bodies go through to have a baby!
I was so hungry by the time it was all over, and they weren't serving dinner any longer, that my dad went to Panera and brought me back a sandwich. I will forever hold dear the memories of my dad on that wonderful December 20th day.
Happy First Birthday my dear little Noelle. I love you so much.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Good news and bad news
Yesterday was difficult for me, because I received both good news and bad.
The good: Trevor was accepted to UTK, which is is first and only choice. He's been checking his status online every day after school, and yesterday it said he was accepted! Yea!! I'm so proud of him.
The bad: Our friend Crystal was told she has an aggressive cancer. She is a wonderful, Christian, home-schooling mom of seven great kids, the youngest of whom is only 6 months old. Please join me in praying for her, that the treatment she'll start today will be successful. Pray for her husband, children, and the rest of her family. She's in for a hard fight, but if anyone can beat this, she can.
The good: Trevor was accepted to UTK, which is is first and only choice. He's been checking his status online every day after school, and yesterday it said he was accepted! Yea!! I'm so proud of him.
The bad: Our friend Crystal was told she has an aggressive cancer. She is a wonderful, Christian, home-schooling mom of seven great kids, the youngest of whom is only 6 months old. Please join me in praying for her, that the treatment she'll start today will be successful. Pray for her husband, children, and the rest of her family. She's in for a hard fight, but if anyone can beat this, she can.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
First Steps
Noelle took her first steps tonight! She took one step at church, and then later at home she took two full steps before falling. I suppose she's not officially a walker until she can really walk around, but we hit a big milestone tonight!
She has started drinking whole milk from a baby sippy cup, but still nurses pretty much the same as before the cup. Maybe she needs more? Her favorite foods are yogurt, crackers, Eggos, and Chic-fil-A soup. Oh, and my chicken & brown rice was a big hit with her the other night.
I can't believe she's almost one year old!
She has started drinking whole milk from a baby sippy cup, but still nurses pretty much the same as before the cup. Maybe she needs more? Her favorite foods are yogurt, crackers, Eggos, and Chic-fil-A soup. Oh, and my chicken & brown rice was a big hit with her the other night.
I can't believe she's almost one year old!
Friday, December 7, 2007
More on The Golden Compass...
As I was surfing some mommy blogs, I came across one recommending we read something that Albert Mohler wrote about The Golden Compass. I didn't really know much about Albert Mohler (from reading his bio on the site I see he is Southern Baptist), but I do agree with most of what he says here:
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1065
Particularly this exert:
"The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books.
"This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas.
"We should recognize that the Christian Church has some very embarrassing moments in its history - moments when it has failed to represent the truth of the Gospel and the love of Christ. Authors like Philip Pullman take advantage of these failures in order to paint the entire Christian Church as a conspiracy against human happiness and freedom."
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=1065
Particularly this exert:
"The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books.
"This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas.
"We should recognize that the Christian Church has some very embarrassing moments in its history - moments when it has failed to represent the truth of the Gospel and the love of Christ. Authors like Philip Pullman take advantage of these failures in order to paint the entire Christian Church as a conspiracy against human happiness and freedom."
Monday, December 3, 2007
What Dreams May Come
Last night I had such a nice dream -
I was seated in a restaurant, and the waiter brought me a paper bag of candy and said it was from Lance, and that Lance said it was a clue meant to help me find him. Lance wanted me to go find him right then. Immediately, I had such a wonderful feeling, one of excitement and anticipation. So, I rushed away, and somehow knew that I was supposed to go in the mall and find Lance in front of a candy store. I was rushing through this really large, maze-like mall, looking every which way as I went. As I rounded a corner, I glimpsed Lance out of the corner of my eye, and I knew he had seen me at exactly the same moment. He was wearing this really cool shirt that I had never seen before, but I knew was perfect for him. I was so happy to see him, and he was so happy to see me. We rushed towards each other and hugged & kissed.
I was awakened right then by Noelle, but still retained that amazingly happy feeling. I just felt so much love and thankfulness for Lance. I've felt that way all morning. I'm glad I had that dream, but I don't know why I don't feel this way every day.
A few years ago I had another dream, which was quite different, but had a similar effect. I was in my parents' pool with Connor, who was about a year old. All my family, Lance, and his family were there, too. Somehow it became known to me that Lance & I were not married, and Lance was actually married to a lady named Anne (she was also there, sitting by the pool, looking very unhappy). I said that can't be, because Lance & I have a baby - Connor. I wanted to raise Connor with him; I wanted to be married to him. Lance's sister tried to explain to me that I could never be married to Lance. I was so sad; I was in anguish. When I woke up and realized it was a dream, I was so happy & thankful to be married to Lance. I just wanted to hold him and never let go.
Have you ever had a dream that made you thankful?
I was seated in a restaurant, and the waiter brought me a paper bag of candy and said it was from Lance, and that Lance said it was a clue meant to help me find him. Lance wanted me to go find him right then. Immediately, I had such a wonderful feeling, one of excitement and anticipation. So, I rushed away, and somehow knew that I was supposed to go in the mall and find Lance in front of a candy store. I was rushing through this really large, maze-like mall, looking every which way as I went. As I rounded a corner, I glimpsed Lance out of the corner of my eye, and I knew he had seen me at exactly the same moment. He was wearing this really cool shirt that I had never seen before, but I knew was perfect for him. I was so happy to see him, and he was so happy to see me. We rushed towards each other and hugged & kissed.
I was awakened right then by Noelle, but still retained that amazingly happy feeling. I just felt so much love and thankfulness for Lance. I've felt that way all morning. I'm glad I had that dream, but I don't know why I don't feel this way every day.
A few years ago I had another dream, which was quite different, but had a similar effect. I was in my parents' pool with Connor, who was about a year old. All my family, Lance, and his family were there, too. Somehow it became known to me that Lance & I were not married, and Lance was actually married to a lady named Anne (she was also there, sitting by the pool, looking very unhappy). I said that can't be, because Lance & I have a baby - Connor. I wanted to raise Connor with him; I wanted to be married to him. Lance's sister tried to explain to me that I could never be married to Lance. I was so sad; I was in anguish. When I woke up and realized it was a dream, I was so happy & thankful to be married to Lance. I just wanted to hold him and never let go.
Have you ever had a dream that made you thankful?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
10 Year Anniversary!
Wow - today is our 10 year wedding anniversary. Yeah!! We seem to be too busy with little kids to do much to celebrate. I did get Lance some candy yesterday, and tonight we're going to watch a Netflix movie together after the kids are asleep. The day wasn't too special, as I pretty much just kept up with Connor, Noelle, and April (she spent the day here). But, there are many couples who cannot be together on their anniversary, so I am very thankful that we are together today.
There was a little excitement, though. While I was upstairs nursing Noelle, Connor came bursting in (he knows he's not supposed to do that, but I guess he couldn't restrain himself) to tell me I got flowers! After I got Noelle down for her nap (yeah!!!), I came downstairs expecting to see these flowers I heard about, but there weren't any. I asked Lance about it, and told him what Connor said, but Lance said that there were flowers delivered to our neighbor and Connor saw them out the window. (Lance was very convincing, because although it is our anniversary, I believed him.) But, poor Lance, April didn't quite understand what he was trying to do, and she started asking him, right there in front of me, "can't we show them to her now?" Lance was like, "what?" trying to act confused, because there weren't any flowers in our house, you know. But April persisted, so Lance gave in and had me close my eyes while he led me to my computer desk where he had the flowers waiting for me. There was the little note on the bouquet that said "Happy 10th Anniversary!" and a very sweet card from Lance that started "For the Love Of My Life..."
Poor Lance. The one time during the day I was unable to come to the door was exactly when the flowers were delivered, so that part didn't go as he planned. But, you know what? I will probably remember it better the way it actually happened.
I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. He is gentle, loving, and strong in a way that is perfect for me. He always lifts me up. He is a great father. He also keeps me laughing. I could go on, but I'll leave it at that. I hope for many, many more years with him.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
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