It's been a long time...

Hi Everyone...It's been so long since I've shared...I have an abundance of cute pictures and things now to catch up on!

Well, Asher our baby is now ONE. He's officially a toddler I guess, but to me I think they're babies until two. Anyway, here's a few pictures from his party.

Today Asher went to visit Ella. He can now say her name - it comes out like this: Ehya. It's cute. Anyway, here's some pictures and a great video from their visit!

Yesterday I put Asher in some summer clothes he got for his birthday...the shorts are little big but here's some cute ones!

And, of course, we need a diaper pic!

Steve Green

Hi Everyone! We just got back from a Steve Green concert, which is always more like a worship service than a concert. So my spirit is uplifted, having lifted up Jesus Christ!

An exciting thing I want to share with you is something that occurred tonight. A former third grade student of mine, Brenten Megee studies vocal music with Tom Ford, music pastor at Grace Baptist Church (the host of the tonight's concert). Though only 15, Brenten has become an excellent vocalist, and he loves using his voice for the Lord. Tonight Tom surprised Brenten by asking Steve to sing a duet with him. What an opportunity for this young singer! And I was so pleased to be there to see it. Here's a video of their duet.

Cousins

This isn't the pic I was thinking of, but it will do. (I don't have the other one in digital form). Anyway, Abby used to make the same silly squinty-eye smile and they kinda resemble each other! Here's Abby in her silly sunglasses and the pic of Asher's silly smile too:

Too Cute

I just have to share...

Isn't this the sweetest smile?


This is the smile he flashes whenever he KNOWS he's doing something wrong! Oooh that little ornery boy!


How precious...the only time he's still...


The other day he was walking around with his pictures of Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop and Grandma and Grandpa. For the longest time, every picture he saw was was "Emma" because her picture is on the desktop of our computer. Now though, he is starting to recognize Daddy and Grandpa too. For Grandpa and Pop-Pop they come out the same- Bah-Bah. It's so cute! He can say Grandma too but that's the same as me, "Mah-Mah" and he can say Mom-Mom pretty well, when he wants to. We're working on it all!

April Fool!

I got a call from my long time friend, Leah McKelvey today.

This is Leah and her daughter, Elise, holding Asher when he was 2 weeks old!

We've been friends since third grade! Anyway, when she called I was a little alarmed, knowing that she doesn't usually call on a Sunday afternoon. Especially knowing she's pregnant, due April 1st! Well, when I asked what's going on, she said, a lot! I had the baby! Now get this...the little April Fool baby really pulled a stunt...he was born not only a month early, but on February 29th! Leap Day! So, technically he won't have another birthday until 2012! Anyway, despite being early everything went well. They arrived at the hospital at 6:30 and he was born at 8:30! I'm so glad when people have deliveries that were not like mine! Little Timmy, 6 lbs, 8 oz. Leah came home but he's still in the NICU for a few days, but doing well.

So, happy news! Yea!

Good Morning to You

Mornings are not my favorite. But, this morning is a little different, and better. First of all, we'll be going to Marcia's to help Julie with her scrapbook, that way her mom can help with the boys. It's exciting to have some plans today! It's always fun to get together with Julie.

The thing that's different is I haven't nursed Asher before bed the last two nights. And this morning I decided to give him a milk cup instead of nursing him. That means I'm really weaning him. Ah. How bittersweet. While I'm ready to be free of that for a few months before I start over again, I'll never have that special time with my little Asher. With him being such a mover, I don't get to cuddle him other than those times. My little boy....he's almost one! I can't believe it.

I'm also feeling really achy this morning...in my neck and shoulders and it's giving me a headache. I haven't been sleeping well in that area and I keep having all this pain. Jeremy had time to massage me a little before he left and that felt so good.

So sorry, I didn't mean to complain...

I hope you have/had a terriffic day!

Quite a Day

Today was the most busy I've had in a long time! I had two appointments at the OB, one with a nurse (preliminary pregnancy stuff) at 11, and then with the doctor at 1:30. I took Asher to my mom's this morning; we got there around 10 am. Anyway, in between the nurse and doctor visit I ended up walking up to the hospital's lab (my doc's office is in the same building as the hospital) and getting my bloodwork done. Then I stopped at the cafe and had some AMAZING Mac and Cheese! Yum! It reminded me of the GREAT food at the hospital and I can't wait to stay there again and eat it! Anyway, at my doc appointment they couldn't hear a heartbeat, just like with Asher, so they scheduled a STAT Ultrasound at the hospital at 3:30. With 1 1/2 hours to kill, I went to Party City and shopped for Asher's birthday. Then it was back to the cafe (I was hungry again!) for some soup and salad, and then back to the lab area for the ultrasound! It was so cool to see the baby on the screen and see that he/she is really there...and there is only one baby! That's good, (I'm pretty sure it's good!). Anyway, it was so cool because you can see all the body parts but the baby's just so tiny. He/she was in there jumping around! Everything looked fine so that was good news. I have a picture. I hope to scan it so I can put it on here.

Something I'm thinking a lot about lately is whether to attempt a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Section). I was all ready to try it, but then I heard a statistic. They studied women who got to the pushing stage and then ended up having a C-Section. These women were significantly less successful at a VBAC than women who did not get to pushing. As you may or may not know, I pushed for 3 hours before having a C-Section. I don't want to do that all over again, only to have another C-Section delivery. Chances are I could have another big baby and that could significantly affect things. However, we'll be watching for that this time.

Anyway, to some people it's hard to understand why I want to attempt a VBAC and go through all the pain of labor and pushing again - Not to mention the (very low 1-2%) risk of uterine rupture). But part of me feels like I want another chance at it! Another chance to be able to hold my baby upon his coming into the world. For him to stay with me, where he should be, not in the nursery while I recover! To have that first moment to remember and to hold him right away, not merely look at him while I lay unable to move on an operating table.

I know ultimately the important thing is to have a healthy baby. Of course I won't jeopardize that. I haven't made up my mind yet, but these are the struggles I feel inside over the issue. If you think of it, say a prayer that I'd have peace in this area, and can trust God to lead us.

Well it's been quite a day. Good night, ALL!