February 2, 2006, 1:42 pm

Um, yeah. I was thinking that Andy would just be flying non-stop. But he was stuck in Kuwait for a while and should get to Dallas in the morning. So we should see him sometime tomorrow. This day is CRAWLING!!!! LOL I would clean more, but the house is spotless already. When I wasn't sure when
Andy would get here (Tuesday), my friend Rhonda, from church, came over and helped me get the house squeaky clean. Maybe I'll update my blog for February when we get back from the store.

The kids and I went to see Nanny McFee last night. It was cute. (We were trying to pass the time). The movie was better than I thought it would be, and the kids liked it. And there wasn't really anything bad in it either. So, if you have kids, take them to see it - they'll like it. :)

My hair is shedding big time! It always does this after pregnancy (since it doesn't shed during). So there is hair everywhere. Oh well. Oh yes, and I'm down to a size 4 now. Woo hoo! Hopefully it won't be too much longer before my size 1s and 2s are fitting me. :) I can't wait to be able to wear all my cute clothes again!!!

A couple of photos...

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January 31, 2006, 12:35 pm

Andy is on his way home!!!! Please pray he has a safe trip - it should be anywhere from 12 to 24 hours from now (because it would be too convenient for the military to give me an exact time?). :) *I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

back to cleaning... ;)

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January 27, 2006, 9;25 pm

Photos. Ramblings on Jacob, diabetes, and children behaving.

I got a few more photos developed today. Here's a cute one of Jacob sleeping, and one of Darby holding Jacob (their hair looks dark in the photo - I can't wait to get my digital camera :)).

Not only am I feeling better today, I have some ENERGY! Praise the Lord!!! :) This is especially good since I had a lot I needed to do today (and I managed to get almost all of it done). I have been eating properly (back on the diabetes diet) for about two days, maybe three, and it's working. My blood sugar was much closer to the normal range tonight (still a little high, but not near what it was the last couple of days).

Jacob had his two week appt. today - the doctor said "he is perfect" (which I already knew). :) He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, so he has regained his birth weight and a little more (he was 6 lbs. 3 oz. when he came home from the hospital). And he was 19.7 inches (which makes me think he was longer than 18.5 inches at birth - but as the pediatrician said, 9 times out of 10 they are wrong about the birth length because they don't take the time to be accurate). The only thing wrong was a blocked tear duct, and she prescribed some ointment, but uh, I forgot to stop by the clinic pharmacy on the way out and get that? I'm hoping they are open tomorrow so I can go back down there. LOL I asked the pediatrician what she thought about the diabetes and she seemed to think that gestational diabetes goes away within days of giving birth, which is what I had thought too. So most likely, this is just something I'm going to have to deal with for good. Well, at least it will force me to eat right, huh? Gotta' find the bright side somewhere!!! :)

Brittany went to a church youth group thing, so we won't see her until church on Sunday morning. She was very excited about going - she loves to get away - and she deserves a break. She works very hard and is so helpful around here.

I took the kids to the food court on base today, and while we were eating, a lady came over to the table (she worked in the Baskin Robbins there) and said "I don't know you, but I have to tell you that you have the most well-behaved children I have ever seen. Kids just don't act like yours anymore." It's always nice to hear that. Makes me think I might be doing something right. I definitely feel very blessed to have wonderful, well-behaved children. :)

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January 26, 2005, 2:47 pm

Diabetes, Sugar, My kids...

So, yeah, I haven't updated my blog for a few days. I was feeling good last weekend, but then Sunday I kind of crashed... and stayed crashed... and kept crashing further. I was feeling so raunchy yesterday that I decided to check my blood sugar and sure enough - it was pretty high. So I'm back on the diabetes diet. I go to the dr. on the 8th so I'll see if they want to test me again or if I need to go to another doc about it. I hit a low yesterday, feeling sorry for myself, having a pity party, but I'm much better today. :) I'm sure all the pregnancy hormones leaving my body weren't helpful. I don't care much for being emotional and hormonal - so I'm glad that just lasted a day. I'm bummed that I still have the diabetes, but we suspected that it wasn't just a pregnancy thing. Before this pregnancy, we though I had LOW blood sugar (the symptoms are similar to that of diabetes), and I had started to adjust my diet accordingly then. I have been on a health roller coaster for several years. At least now I can start to figure it all out. I think I'm too young to have diabetes, but God has a reason for everything, and now that I have an idea what is wrong, I can take action and start to get healthy! Hopefully I can control it with diet and exercise (I already feel a little better today after being back on the diet just a short while).

If any of you know me at all, then you know how much I HATE to be hassled with diets! I want to eat WHAT I want WHEN I want. I want to drink a glass of sweet tea from time to time, have some candy when I want it, some cake, some pie... I'm definitely a fan of the sugar! (I could actually eat sweets all day if my body would allow it). And I do NOT like to have to count how many grams of carbs and protein I'm eating at each meal (food should not be a hassle!). And I don't like having to eat something every two or three hours. I'm going to have to have more discipline in this area. So pray for me. :)

On a much lighter note, Jacob is still perfect! I will get some more photos developed this weekend and post some on here. He is such a cutie. We discovered he has one dimple - on his right cheek. Just like Jarvis. And he still keeps his mouth open all the time - eyes wide, mouth open, just staring at the world in awe. :) The other kids are madly in love with him and are still fighting over who gets to hold him.

Brittany is going on a youth group thing all weekend. I still can't believe I have a child old enough to be in the church youth group! She'll be 13 this year. CRAZY! I'm not having a birthday this year, it's the big 3-0 and I refuse to acknowledge it! I think I'll just stay 29 for a few more years. I'm too young to be 30! ;)

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January 22, 2006, 11:00 pm

Pacifier, Trish, Mom & Dad, Andy, and taxes...

Jacob hates his pacifier. He doesn't just spit it out, he screams if it comes near him. So I improvised. Since I can't just nurse him 24/7 (which I think he would prefer), if he gets to be too grumpy (and does not need to eat), he uses my finger as a pacifier. It works for now. :) My friend Donna took this picture at her baby shower on Saturday:

Here is another cute one that she took:

Trish left on Friday morning - she was such a HUGE help while she was here. She took two months out of her life to come stay with us and she homeschooled the kids for me, cooked us breakfast every morning (along with lots of dinners), kept all the laundry up (there are a lot of us and we produce many dirty clothes and towels), watched the kids when I needed to go to the doctor or store, and a million other things. We really appreciate her coming to stay.

My parents were going to come this weekend, stay until Andy came, then hang out somewhere around until Andy left so that me and the kids could follow them back to TN. Well, instead of them trying to occupy themselves for two weeks while Andy is here (the kids and I want Andy all to ourselves since we won't see him again until the end of the year), we decided (my mom and I) that it would be best for my parents to just wait until after Andy leaves and come then. I know mom is dying to hold Jacob, but he'll still be tiny in a few weeks. :)

So, it's just me and the kids for a little while. I'm feeling so much better though. I feel like a real person for the first time in what seems like forever! I'm counting the days until Andrew gets here for mid-tour leave... just ten more days. I can't WAIT! I'm glad he had to wait until after Jacob came, because I'll be semi-recovered by then and we will be able to enjoy one anothers company much more. I'm excited that he will be here for Valentine's Day. Not that we ever wait until V-Day to celebrate our love for each other. ;)

I have already filed our 2005 taxes! Am I on the ball or what?! I went ahead and did it last night since we got Andy's W2 yesterday. And in a couple weeks, we will be getting a nice little refund. Woo hoo! I'm hoping I can get a decent digital camera with some of it - then I will REALLY start bombarding everyone with photos of Jacob!!! :)

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January 18, 2006, 10:06 pm

Well, Jacob is six days old and he is perfect. In every way. I cannot get enough of him. I'm holding him as I type (not as difficult as it sounds - I have lots of children and having more than two arms comes with the territory). :)

Big, long labor story (for those who are interested)...

For those of you who hadn't heard the details yet, Jacob was born on Friday the 13th (just like his big sister, Darby) at 7:47 pm. He weighed 6 pounds, 8.2 ounces and was 18.5 inches long.

The labor wasn't too bad I guess (I mean, it was LABOR - how GOOD can it be?!). haha. I went to the doctor last Friday morning and was 3 cm dilated, so he said "let's have a baby today" so I said "SWEET!" I headed to the hospital to check in, and Trish (Andy's mom) called the babysitter, etc. and met me there. It would have gone fairly quickly (I was in the bed and getting hooked to the IV about noon), but about an hour after they started the Pitocin (the drug that brings on labor), the doctor had two emergencies he had to deal with, so the Pitocin was stopped and I was put on hold. Meanwhile, I was still contracting on my own, but I ended up getting the epidural before it got too strong. There was an episode after that where I felt nauseous and light-headed; then I sent Trish for the nurse because I was blacking out. I was apparently rather white when they came in and my blood pressure had dropped very low - so they gave me oxygen, laid me down, and gave me some medicine to up my blood pressure. All was good after that. Although I had to stay on the oxygen through most of the labor.

I was able to talk with Andy a lot on the phone during and after labor (praise God he was off patrols that day!!!), and some of the time on the phone was through the oxygen mask. Ever the comedian, he asked me to do him a favor, so per his request, while breathing deeply I said "Luke, I am your father". :)

Around 6:30 pm, they put me back on the Pitocin and the doc broke my water. Around 7:30, I was 6cm. I told the nurse "it will go very fast now", and I don't know that she really believed me (hello, I have done this before?). She said she'd check me after a while, and that the dr. wanted to be called when I was 8cm. I figured the dr. would miss the birth (that happened with Jarvis). My heartrate was going up into the 130s every time I had a contraction, so they turned me onto my side and that helped - apparently Jacob was putting pressure on my aorta (which explained why I had been having chest pains throughout labor - and all I had to do was roll over - who knew?). A few minutes later , I told the nurse she better check me again because I was feeling lots of pressure. I was 7cm. I think she started to believe how fast I said it would go. Then just a couple minutes later, I was 8cm so they called the dr. I believe the doc arrived about 6:38 - 9 minutes before Jacob was born. When he got there, I was dilated all the way so they got me ready to push (the fun part). My epidural had started to wear off earlier and at 6cm they saw I was in pain and said they would have the anesthesiologist come top me off - but he never came, he was with someone else. Turns out that was a good thing (God knows what he's doing) because I needed to be able to feel the delivery. I had to stop pushing twice and control how fast Jacob came out - I wouldn't have been able to do that if the epidural medicine had been replenished. First time I had to stop was when I was pushing the head out, and I scooted back on the bed and pushed my legs out straight - the dr. and nurses didn't care for that and yelled at me (oh well). They were yelling that I was going to tear, so with the nurses help I bent my legs up again and they were yelling for me to scoot back to the end of the bed - uh yeah right, I couldn't MOVE (my brain was telling my butt to scoot, but the signal was NOT making it's way down) - so I managed to grunt "scoot me" to the nurses - so they did. Then once Jacob's head was out, the dr. told me to stop pushing, the cord was around Jacob's neck. I was in so much pain at this point, it was all I could do to not push, but I could see the intense look of concentration and worry on the doctor's face, so I knew it was serious. So my out-loud chantings of "God help me" turned into "God help Jacob". Apparently the cord was wrapped three times tight, but the dr. was very competent and did a great job removing it. I forgot about the pain then and just focused on Jacob, and when he came out - it was a very long couple of minutes, or maybe even just a few seconds, I don't know - I just looked for his face and then I saw him take a breath and heard him cry and all was well.

I asked the nurse if I had torn and she said I had. I never tore with the other four and never had an episiotomy, therefore no stitches with any of them. I had been praying through this pregnancy that I wouldn't have stitches with Jacob either. When the doctor was cleaning me up after delivering the placenta, he said "I thought you'd have to have stitches, but I have no repairs to make - it's just a little irritated like a rug burn, but no tears". Thank God!

So all in all, a good labor/delivery experience. A few little scares, but nothing major, and nothing that turned into anything major. God is good. He answered ALL my prayers about labor, delivery, and Jacob being perfectly healthy. All the glory goes to Him!

About ten minutes after birth, just after they handed Jacob to me, Andy called and we were able to talk a little while. Perfect timing (because no one would have been able to answer any phones during delivery)!

I am totally in love with my new son. He was worth every single second of that miserable pregnancy! I'd do it all over again ten times if I had to... for him.

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January 16, 2006, 4:25 pm

Jacob is here (as seen on the comments page). :) I will fill in more details later, just wanted to post a quick picture and let everyone know that Jacob and I are back home and doing well. He is perfect in every way. I am exhausted, but ecstatic. :)

the little cutie (i will take some 'at home' photos and post them soon) :)

my five beautiful children (my hair is wet - please excuse) :)

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January 12, 2006, 11:46 pm

What year is it?, bouncy Darby, birthday greetings, and another list...

Okay, I just realized that I think I've still been putting 2005 on everything (even my dates on the blog - why has no one pointed this out to me?). Well, I do realize that it is now 2006, but for some reason I always have trouble with this at the beginning of each new year. :)

Oh my goodness, Darby got a birthday party invitation in the mail today from a little girl at church. On the front of the invitation are the Disney Princesses (which is totally Darby's "thing"), and it turns out the party will be at a gymnastics place. Darby has been DYING to start "flip school" (as she calls gymnastics), so this little girl just became numero uno in Darby's book. We got home late (after shopping this evening) and it was around 11:00 pm when the kids were going to bed. Darby came downstairs a few minutes later in bouncy mode and said "I can't sleep because I'm just SO happy to be going to Catia's party at the flip school", and she hugged me as she bounced and grinned from ear to ear. She is SO excited. It's so cute. She's never been invited to a party for a friend before, so this is a first in her little world (and she is VERY social). I don't know when I've seen her so elated. This party is not for another NINE days... I'm sure it will be a long nine days because I will be hearing LOTS about this party until then. :)

Before I go on, I need to say...

HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY CHARMAINE!!! :)

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January 10, 2005, 7:14 pm

Bible study, and the wife of a soldier...

This morning, I was able to make it to the winter/spring kickoff of the ladies' Bible Study I was going to in the fall. It's at one of the base chapels and they offer around twelve different Bible Study sessions in the fall, winter/spring, and summer. None of the studies this time really JUMPED out at me as one that I really need or something I have been dying to take, but the fellowship with 138 other Christian, military wives is wonderful! I chose a study about life management (getting priorities straight and learning how to be organized and manage time more wisely - I didn't feel up for a deep study with lots of homework this time and I think this class will be right up my alley).

Usually the kickoff is very upbeat and everyone is all excited, but this morning it was rather somber. Trish and I wondered why they had chosen to do this, and instead of the female speaker that had been on the list to talk to the group (the kickoff is a general assembly with a speaker and a lunch, the individual studies will start next Tuesday), the chaplain got up and gave a talk about finding peace with God. What he had to say was very good, but then we found out why... a girl I know (the teacher of my Bible Study last time) found out that her husband was killed on Thursday in Baghdad. He was one of the five that was killed in a roadside bomb. I had talked to Andy this weekend and he found the names of the guys who were killed and said he didn't know any of them, so I just assumed I didn't know them either - so I wasn't aware that her husband had been killed until this morning. So please be in prayer for Richelle Hecker and her two elementary school age children. I can't imagine what she must be going through right now. I know many soldiers have been killed during this war, but this is the closest "to home" that it's been for me. I didn't know her husband, but I know Richelle, and she is so sweet and loving, and her world has just been turned upside down. I know she has a great support system down here (you'd be amazed at how these ladies pull together - when I was just on bedrest, they brought me and my family two meals a week for about two months!), but if you would, take a minute and say a prayer for her to be comforted - her and her children. Thanks.

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January 9, 2005, 5:51 pm

Carrying Darby, postage, and Andy...

Okay, let me get the picture in your head... Darby running down the sidewalk in her teal leotard, white tights, purple ballet shoes, and frilly pink tutu... me waddling about a block behind in my pajama pants, flip flops, and tank top that is too small so my enormous belly hangs out. We already were getting looks (we were going to check the mail - the mailbox is 3 blocks away). Then Darby tripped on the curb and hurt her knees. She convinced me with her screams that she couldn't walk, so... I carried her. I'm sure we were quite the site. :) Not that we care what others think (or obviously we wouldn't have been outside in those outfits to begin with). lol Darby is recovering on the couch (with Aladdin), and now I am having contractions and when I went to the bathroom a few minutes ago, some more yucky stuff came out (tmi? well, when you are this far along, there is no such thing as too much information!) haha. But Jacob could just be crying wolf again, but maybe hiking her back 2 1/2 blocks was enough to get something going. Trish suggested that I carry her again tomorrow if nothing has happened by then. :D I'm 37 weeks and 4 days. I've never gone more than 38 weeks and 5 days (Brittany). I go back to the doc on Friday and he should set up an induction date for the following week if Jacob isn't here yet. I'm ready! :)

Did you know that the price of a stamp went up by two cents on the 1st of January? I wouldn't have known if the lady at the post office hadn't told Trish a couple weeks ago when she tried to buy a roll of stamps for me. I had forgotten when I received the letter I tried to send to Andy this morning back in my mailbox with writing that said "postage due 2 cents". Oh well. At least that was my last 37 cent stamp and I needed to go get more anyway.

Andy will be out on patrols again starting in a few hours, so we won't hear from him for a few days. It was good to get to talk to him so much these last few days though. I talk to other wives around here and their husbands don't seem to put forth the effort to wait in the phone and internet lines in order to talk to them. I'm glad Andy loves me enough to do that. I love to talk to him! He is my best friend (always has been, even when we were having our problems). I'm so thankful for our close relationship. He is awesome! :) I love him! :)

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January 8, 2005, 7:38 pm

I got to talk to Andy four times this weekend - yay! But it looks like he may not get his mid-tour leave until February - of course, this being the military, it could change several times before he is actually on a plane headed this way. Whenever he does get to come home, we'll have a wonderful time, and I can't wait. :)

I made it to Sunday School and church this morning, and church again this evening! It had been so long that I was on bedrest or not feeling well, I had forgotten how good it feels to make it to church. I love our church too. The people there are so real and loving, and the pastor and his family are awesome. It's good to be going again. (The kids have been going regularly, as Andy was taking them before he left and Trish has been nice enough to take them since she's been here - I've just been the one that has had to miss out).

Well, I decided Jacob is the boy who cried wolf. I have been having contractions since 14 weeks, he "dropped" several weeks ago, I lost my plug two weeks ago, when I walk around I feel as though labor is imminent... yet he still is not here. So, once labor starts, I'll probably just be like "yeah this isn't the real thing" and go on my merry way only to give birth in my living room, the car, or maybe a store because I won't go to the hospital when it's really time... like I said, the boy who cried wolf! LOL Actually, we'll hope and pray for better things, but I am tired of being TEASED and I'm ready for him to just come out already. But we all knew that, didn't we?!?! :) I'll keep ya' posted... but I'm of the mindset that it'll be another week and a half (that's when the dr. said he would induce, so I know it won't be longer than that). :)

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January 6, 2005, 2:39 pm

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TITUS!!!

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January 5, 2005, 2:43 pm

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THOR TODAY!!!

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January 2, 2005, 11:54 pm

Just found out today that Andy will most likely get his mid-tour leave in a couple of weeks. YAY! So he may end up being here for Jacob's birth!!!

I have had SUCH energy the last few days... I'm getting so much cleaning and organizing done that I've had to put off for months - it is awesome. I guess the diabetes diet is working! :)

I do feel better, but I'm absolutely enormous! Much larger than I have ever been. I guess I should have someone take some photos to document this, but then, do I really WANT documentation of looking like a large penguin?!?! LOL

Jacob kept acting like he was going to be a preemie, but now I think he is in there for the long haul - who'd have thought? Certainly not me. And who knows - I may end up being more pregnant with him when he delivers than I was with any of the others! (Brittany was the latest and she was 10 days early - my doctor won't induce until Jacob is just 7 days early). Just goes to show - you never know what's going to happen. :) God has certainly blessed this pregnancy though (I say that even with all my "misery" I've had throughout the whole thing)... Jacob looks super healthy on the ultrasound, all the times we thought I could miscarry - God kept him safe... I'm just so thankful to be having another child! I know some think I'm crazy for having a fifth child, but I do NOT see having many children as a burden or any type of inconvenience. Each and every child is a blessing from God... and I cherish each one. I hope and pray that God chooses to bless Andy and I with more. Yes, that's right - I'm 36 1/2 weeks into a VERY hard pregnancy where I've felt terrible MOST of the time, and I said "more". LOL It's because I know that every second of this trial-filled pregnancy will be worth it when I see that adorable little face on the day of Jacob's birth. I am so excited. And I haven't forgotten how tired new moms are, or how many diapers I'll have to change, or how many sleepless nights there will be... I'll cherish every moment of it... I'm looking forward to every moment of it. So yeah, some may think I'm crazy (like I said a minute ago), but you know what? I think those that do NOT cherish little babies and pregnancy and lots of children... they are the ones that are crazy! :) :) :)

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January 1, 2005, 2:30 pm

Okay, so I am updating the January blog (still need to update my side-bars), and decided that snow might be a good theme to use. However, it is 85 degrees here today, and it is supposed to be around 78 the rest of the week - so we'll just PRETEND it's typical January weather.

Update to care package list for Andy... I got to hear from him yesterday and today (woo hoo!), and he said he found out there are already a lot of books there, so he doesn't need more books (some people have sent some, and the guys that were there before just left the books they had already read). So here is the updated list (and if you've sent something that's been taken off the list - that's good too - lots of trading goes on over there). :)

1. baby wipes (fragrance free)
2. snacks: Beef Jerky/Slim Jims, Sunflower seeds, Peanuts or Cashews, hard candy, cookies, fudge
3. toiletries: soap, q-tips
4. zip-Lock style plastic storage bags - assorted sizes, heavier freezer style are better
5. movies on DVD
6. packing tape
7. shooting glasses (from walmart or anywhere)
8. flip flops - size 11
9. multi-vitamins
10. magazine subscriptions - ‘Outside', ‘Men's Journal', ‘Backpacker'
11. pens
12. fisher space pens
13. stormstaff waterproof note pads
14. envelopes
15. paper for writing letters
16. power cord strip
17. blank cds and dvds
18. Febreeze
19. spray disinfectant
20. air freshener
21. any sort of sunglasses would be helpful
22. computer :)
23. blank journals
24. pencils

Thank you SO much to everyone that is sending stuff - Andy really appreciates it, and so do I!!! :)

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January 1, 2006, 12:44 am

Happy New Year everyone! I had an extra energy spurt today (after sleeping rather late - but I had an excuse, contractions kept me awake late, then Darby's ear hurt so she kept getting up (she's feeling better today), and *yay* Andy called and woke me - so sleeping late was okay after all that). It was so good to hear from Andy!!! He had been on patrols all week so I hadn't heard anything since last weekend. I love him!!! Also, he said he doesn't need phone cards - they aren't charging them to use the phone there (they just have a time limit), so I took that off the list from yesterday's post.

So, my energy spurt today - I got a little cleaning done, then went out to the shed to go through some of Andy's military stuff that he needs me to send, and I brought in the storage containers for all the Christmas stuff (we'll take that down tomorrow). I then (after dinner) took all the kids (Trish wasn't feeling well, so she stayed here and rested) to Target and we all spent our Christmas gift certificates we got from Andy's sister, Theresa and her family, then the kids and I went to see "Cheaper by the Dozen 2". It was cute - for the boys' sake they could have left out the scenes with the teenage girls in bikinis!!! But other than that (and those scenes weren't really that bad), it was a good movie. :) We got home about 30 minutes before midnight (late movie), and Brittany and Justice were still awake enough to watch some fireworks through the upstairs window with me at midnight. (The boys' bedroom window looks out onto the city of Killeen). So... I'm HOPING this energy spurt is my *last* nesting energy before I go into LABOR!!! I'll keep you posted! :)

On a more serious note...
Two guys from Andy's battalion were killed this week. They weren't in Andy's company so he didn't know them, but he had met one of them (Andy is in B Company - these guys were in the Scout company). Say a prayer for their families, and also the soldiers that are close to them - Andy said some of them are pretty shaken up about it (as you can well imagine). Their names:

• Pvt. Joshua M. Morbert of Sparks, Nevada (age 20)
• Spc. Lance S. Sage of Hempstead, New York (age 26)

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