Bluebonnets

Last Saturday we decided to venture out and find some of the beautiful Texas bluebonnets and take some sweet pictures. We headed out there with our friends, the Hendersons, and actually the majority of these pictures were taken by Celisa. She is very talented. The kids had a great time playing in the field, especially Isaac and Kacy! I love the genuine joy that is captured in the pictures of the two of them. Hannah slept soundly while we were out there, she enjoyed the heat. Luke had a good time, too, but did not want to be bothered with the camera.

Hannah's birth

Daddy and Hannah shortly after coming into the world.

The boys first time to see Hannah...the smile never left Isaac's face.

Mama and her girl.

She's home!

Isaac is always by her side.

Such big boys!!!

6 days old

Hee hee, this one makes me laugh!

Our precious Hannah is now a week old! I cannot believe that it was already a week ago that we were in the hospital with her! I need to savor every minute with her because I think her infant days are going to fly by! I didn't get a chance to write an update about her birth, so I want to take a minute to share that now.

Tuesday, March 6, I was feeling pretty run down, okay maybe I said that I was miserable on that day.

8:00 pm - I was laying on the couch watching TV and texting with a friend. I told her that I was feeling pretty miserable and there were no signs of labor. Carl and I talked about when we thought she might be born, my guess was Thursday and Carl's was Friday night. I did not like his guess, it was too far away.

9:00 pm - I had gotten up from the couch, moved around a bit, and then realized that I didn't feel quite normal. I told Carl that maybe something was starting, but probably not.

10:00 pm - I still wasn't feeling right, so we decided to go to bed just in case it turned out to be a long day on Wednesday.

11:00 pm - I started waking up due to contractions, so I began timing them and around 12:15 I decided to wake up Carl.

12:15 am - I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and felt a little something that made me think my water was broken, but it wasn't a gush, so I wasn't really sure.

12:30 am - I called my parents and told them their grand daughter was getting ready to make her arrival, so they needed to head over to be with the boys.

1:30 am - Carl and I left our house to head to the hospital! My contractions were 10 minutes apart, some coming sooner, but not too painful yet.

2:15 am - We arrived in Triage, but my contractions had spaced apart a bit and I was nervous about whether or not it was really time to be there. They took us to a room, went through all the information, and finally checked my status...4 cm and my water was indeed broken, which meant they would check us in...whew! I immediately started requesting my epidural, I didn't need it yet, but I wanted to make sure I got it in time. :-)

4:00 am - We were settled in our labor room, and my favorite person came through the door...it was epidural time! I was freezing and nervous, so I was shaking like crazy, I am amazed he was able to get that needle in my back. Shortly after that I was feeling good, just relaxing, waiting for baby girl.

5:00 - 6:00 am - This was pretty much a quiet time, Carl and I were able to rest some with only a few checks by the nurse.

6:00 am - Hannah's heart rate started dropping, so for the next 30 minutes or so the nurse was in and out of the room often and had me switch positions many times.

6:19 am - The nurse checked me again, I was at 8 cm, but she wanted me to lay on my right side to see if it would help her move down a bit more. After a few minutes her heart rate continued to drop. She adjusted me often and kept a close watch on the baby's heart rate during each contraction.

6:34 am - The nurse had me flip to the other side due to her heart rate, and decided to check me again...10 cm and ready to go!!! I could tell by the nurse's reaction that she was ready to be delivered, she gave me oxygen and told me whatever I did do not push. She got on the phone to get a doctor immediately. Well, of course, the on call doctor was there until 7:00 and then my doctor would come in at 7:00. The on call doctor called my doctor and asked what she wanted to do. They decided we would wait for my doctor. This made me happy, except that my doctor is ALWAYS late...and I was about to the point where I didn't care who was there, I just wanted to meet my baby girl. The nurses started coming in and setting everything up for the delivery. Everytime the door opened I was hoping to see my doctor, but no, a nurse every time.

7:15 am - My doctor finally came in, and things started to move quickly. Here we go...one contraction, three sets of pushing, and at

7:20 am we got to meet our sweet Hannah Grace! She came out with the cutest pouty face, she looked just like Luke when he makes that face. They put her on my stomach and immediately she captured my heart. What a blessing to have our sweet girl in our arms!

Hannah cried some, of course, but calmed down pretty quickly and began looking around the room. She reminded us so much of Isaac after he was born, the same observant look. It was amazing to see that when she did get upset, if one of us talked to her she immediately calmed down and listened to our words. It was an incredible night/morning, one I will not soon forget. I am thankful for the Lord's hand being on us, everything went so smoothly and perfectly.

We've had a great week with Hannah! We've had lots of visitors over to see her and love on our family. The boys are doing great with her! Isaac is all about her, he cannot stay away. He wants to know where she is and what she is doing at all times. Luke's love grows for her daily, it's so sweet to watch. His face lights up when he looks at her, and he wants to be by her when he can. Today he gave her a toy, multiple times, and at one point he sat down on the floor next to her and read some books...maybe reading to her? Carl and I are tired, but so in love! She is spunky, but also very calm at times, she's sweet, and loves to cuddle.

We took her in for her one week appointment today...she checked out well! There are no signs of jaundice and her weight is good...she's back up to her discharge weight of 6 lbs 7 oz.

Hannah Grace

I don't have much time to write, as life is pretty hectic at the moment, but I couldn't let another day go by without posting about our sweet Hannah Grace. She joined us on March 7 at 7:20 am. She weighed in at 6 lbs 10 ounces and 19.5 inches. She is just perfect! The boys are in love with her...we can hardly keep Isaac away from her, he constantly wants to hold her, hug and kiss her. Luke's face lights up when he looks at her, he gives her a big smile, points and says his version of Hannah...then he runs off to play again. As I said, life is a bit hectic, but I wouldn't have it any other way, we are so thankful she is now a part of our family!

Isaac funnies...

As most of you know, Isaac is a talker, he talks nonstop and talks about everything! I sometimes cannot believe the things that come out of his mouth, his vocabulary is exploding, and his thoughts are mind blowing to me sometimes. I am so surprised by the way his mind works, I mean gosh, he's only 3! Some things are so serious and smart, and then other things are so silly and goofy. I try to remember the big things that stand out, but if I don't write them down immediately I forget, especially these days. But I have a few things I want to remember and share...I hope you enjoy them, too.

• Months ago we found a John Deere Gator (kids ride on toy) by a neighbor's trash can. They said it was broken and it was trash, but I could not let it get thrown out, so I put it in the truck and brought it home. Carl was able to fix it, all it needed was a new battery, so we took it over to Carl's parents house and left it there for Isaac and his cousins to play with. Gumby brought it here one day for the kids to play with and it has stayed here since. Isaac drives it ALL the time! However, to go in reverse you have to hold the shifter down, which makes it hard because he can't watch behind him very well. I can tell that bothers him....well the other day, completely randomly he said to us, "I think I know why the Gator was at the trash when we got it, it's because you have to hold the shifter down. I don't like that. We need to give it back to Gumby."


• Sometimes Luke does not want to go to bed when we put them down. He sometimes needs us to come back in to hold him one more time, so he fusses. Well, last night, he started to fuss, but we told him to go to sleep as we walked out. He stood up and continued to fuss, Isaac took over for us, he was telling him, "Stop it, Luke, go to sleep." "Luke, be quiet, lay down." We giggled over it as we listened over the monitor. Tonight, Luke started the fussing again, as soon as we walked out. Isaac immediately said, "Luke, we're not doing that tonight!" Hee hee, Carl and I laughed so hard when we heard him say that. Luke listened though, he stopped fussing.


• Isaac is currently very into watching "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." He's funny, he's not a big TV watcher and will really only watch that or Chuggington, and he has to be in the right mood to watch at all. Well, he quotes and talks about Jake all the time! He even calls us each characters from the show.


• Isaac is so ready for baby girl to come out, he asks me constantly, "When is that baby coming out!?!" The other day he tried to lift up my shirt after asking that, and I asked what he was doing. He said, "I'm trying to lift the lid off your tummy."


• He loves to sing, he drives around the yard in his Gator or Jeep singing praise songs...it is precious!


• Sometimes in the car we listen to a CD of kids songs, which include educational type songs. The other day he said to me, "Mama I learn things from this music. So I don't need to go to school any more because I learn from this music." I said, "Yes, you do learn from this music, but you learn more at school. You love school, why don't you want to go?" His response is so boy..."I don't like school, it takes too long until we get to play."

March 5

Today is my baby girl's due date, March 5, but she's not here yet, and according to the doctor's exam today, she's not quite ready. We decided to continue to wait, we want her to make her appearance on her own time, we trust that God is in control and knows how long she needs to "cook." We have scheduled an induction for Monday, March 12, but are hoping and praying she comes sooner.

Carl told me tonight that I'm such a nerd, I have to take every pregnancy to full term, I can't break the rules, I have to do it all by the book. :-) Oh my silly husband, I love the way he thinks. I guess he is kind of right, I am a by the book, goody goody in most areas of my life.

An Amazing Blessing

As I reflect on the last few years I cannot help but feel the presence and power of God in our lives. There was a time 5 years ago when we weren't sure we'd have any children of our own; we wondered what God's plan was for us and our family. We went through a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences before getting pregnant with Isaac. What a miracle he was to us and still is. Then a short 15 months later He blessed us with another pregnancy...needless to say we were thrilled and so thankful for His blessings. Now, here we are pregnant for a third time awaiting the arrival of our sweet baby girl. This pregnancy definitely caught us by surprise more than the first two, but we cannot help, but feel His amazing hand working in our family. I praise God daily for His blessings. We are now ready for our new rollercoaster, the rollercoaster of living with three kids ages 4 and under.

I am almost 39 weeks pregnant we have gotten the room all together, we don't have a name yet, but we are all so anxious for her arrival. I had another appointment today and unfortunately there is not much progress yet. I guess it's time to start walking around the block a lot and eating spicy foods...come on baby girl we want to meet you!

I sit here so anxious to meet her, I have to record some thoughts. There is nothing like the anticipation of a baby. There are so many questions, some fears, and of course so much excitement. I am growing impatient, but I am also trying to enjoy this time because I do love the anticipation and uncertainty of when she will come and how it will all happen. I am so excited for the sounds of her first cry holding her for the first time and all the joy that comes with that amazing time. I am anxious for it, but also a little sad knowing this will be the last time I experience those feelings. So as I grow impatient I am reminding myself to savor these moments and to thank God for letting me have this experience one more time.

Family Day

Firefighters

Fishing!

This was Isaac's favorite thing...a real cab of a truck that he could play in! They even had a clear hood so you can see the entire engine...it was hard to tear him away from this one.

Train table

Yesterday we decided to make it a special day for the boys, as a last big day before baby sister comes. We had big plans to go to Houston to the zoo, but there was a terrible storm the night before and the rain continued throughout the morning. So after lots of thinking and changing plans a few times we decided to stay close and try to The Woodlands Children's Museum. It was a great place! The boys loved it and did not want to leave. There were many fun activities for them to do and they had a lot of freedom. Isaac's favorite thing was definitely the truck cab that he could play in...he was able to shift, do the blinker, even turn the key! Luke's favorite was the rubber mulch pit, it was perfect!

After we left there we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant next door. Then it was time to head home for Luke's nap. Luke was not in agreement, he did not want to nap, so instead we played upstairs and watched Cars 2. I think Luke enjoyed it the most, but Isaac enjoyed the racing scenes.

It was a fabulous family day...I love these sweet times with my boys!