I'm sitting here looking at a little piece of paper... its a little note from the doctor that says I'm scheduled to be induced 1 week from today at 6am. :) I'm a happy camper.
Had my 38 week checkup today and I'm STILL 1 cm and 60%. No changes. And let me tell you that I've gone through two boxes of red raspberry leaf tea and have walked two miles every morning for the last 4 days! Yet no contractions. Well, nothing worth counting. My body gave up, I think, lol! Its saying, I'm tired of contracting, you do it.
So I'm a little disappointed that I didn't go into labor on my own... and granted, I still have one week... I still could (though I HIGHLY doubt it). But it is nice to be able to plan for the kids and to know the end is in sight. And the thought of meeting my little baby girl makes me tear up instantaneously. I'm gonna tell Ashley and Emily together tonight and I know they'll love the thought of being able to count down days. They live for stuff like that.
What a surreal feeling. One week from right now I'll either be in labor or already holding my girl. I'm not sure I'll believe it until I'm in that bed!
7 days and counting!!!
As promised... video of the squirrel
And for those of you who haven't heard this story yet... check out what we found. :)
I was in the house one afternoon and Jake knocks on the window for me to come outside and this is what I find....
The squirrel ended up sleeping in a crate in our kitchen that night because I'm too much of a sap to let the little thing fend for its self and worry that it wouldn't make it through the night. Then we took it to church the next morning where our good friend Nicole (animal whisperer extrodinaire) took it home to take care of it. After doing some research, she found out that it was about 5 weeks old which means he was still nursing and probably lost his mother. So she took good care of it and gave him everything he needed, thinking he might just become a forever pet. But after about a week, he kind of got a "cold" more or less and passed away. :( The girls were VERY sad. But at least we all tried to give this little guy a chance.
And I feel that I should address the way my children are clothed... this is pretty typical on a Saturday at our house- Ashley wearing too many layers (usually layers of dresses), Emily wearing too few layers (she says she gets hot), Micah not wearing pants (easier to change pull-ups) and Abby in her jammies all day (because, hey, why not?) :)
Anyway, we all got a good kick out seeing this little baby squirrel. We'll never know why he came up to Jake this way or what might have happened to his mother. But I'm sure my kids will never forget him.
I was in the house one afternoon and Jake knocks on the window for me to come outside and this is what I find....
The squirrel ended up sleeping in a crate in our kitchen that night because I'm too much of a sap to let the little thing fend for its self and worry that it wouldn't make it through the night. Then we took it to church the next morning where our good friend Nicole (animal whisperer extrodinaire) took it home to take care of it. After doing some research, she found out that it was about 5 weeks old which means he was still nursing and probably lost his mother. So she took good care of it and gave him everything he needed, thinking he might just become a forever pet. But after about a week, he kind of got a "cold" more or less and passed away. :( The girls were VERY sad. But at least we all tried to give this little guy a chance.
And I feel that I should address the way my children are clothed... this is pretty typical on a Saturday at our house- Ashley wearing too many layers (usually layers of dresses), Emily wearing too few layers (she says she gets hot), Micah not wearing pants (easier to change pull-ups) and Abby in her jammies all day (because, hey, why not?) :)
Anyway, we all got a good kick out seeing this little baby squirrel. We'll never know why he came up to Jake this way or what might have happened to his mother. But I'm sure my kids will never forget him.
Ashley in Chapel
Ashley is doing so well going to Kindergarten this year. She really loves her school, her teacher and her classmates. I'm so thankful that it was a smooth transition for her. And I LOVE that her daddy is in the same building all day. :)
Every Wednesday is chapel and the different classes have been taking turns leading it. Well this week was the K's turn to lead so I packed up all the kids and we went to watch Ashley's class.
Every Wednesday is chapel and the different classes have been taking turns leading it. Well this week was the K's turn to lead so I packed up all the kids and we went to watch Ashley's class.
(Singing "Jesus loves the little children" holding red, yellow, black and white sheets of paper)
I knew that she was going to be a part of the skit, but I was so surprised to see that she was the one LEADING the whole school in prayer that morning! You can tell she was just a little bit nervous, but I thought she did GREAT! SO proud of my girl. Then for the skit, she was supposed to do her part with her friend Becca, but Becca ended up being on vacation this week, so Ashley did it alone. Its kind of hard to hear but her line is "I can be honest when I'm talking to God." (She asked her teacher and Jake all week if Emily could do the part with her instead. :) I thought that was so sweet... they had to explain to her that it was just going to be Kindergarteners.)
Way to go GCA Kindergarten class!!!
Spencer Baby Watch 2009 (Update #2)
You could say we had kind of a close call yesterday.
Let me first give some background... with all of my pregnancies, I have been a "contract-er" by nature. My body starts contracting sometime around 33 weeks and kinda doesn't stop until either my water breaks, the baby comes, or I'm induced. But nonetheless, my body has always really "liked" to contract. But not this time. This time I have had hardly any contractions at all. Which is totally weird to me, but oh well, every pregnancy is different, right? And the Drs keep telling me, "Well since you haven't had any, once they start they probably won't stop." (I think I may have already said some of this in a previous post, but I can't remember. Sorry if I have. :))
Which brings me to yesterday at about 5:30am. I woke up having some contractions. Hm. Then a few more. Then I though, I should start writing these down and see how far apart they are. So to make a long story short, I was having them every 5-8 minutes all morning. And of course started thinking "Yep, this is it. She's coming today." And I already had an appointment set for 3:20, so I figured if I could just hang in there until then, I could go to the Drs office and go in that way instead of making a big ER visit.
But around 1pm they started slowing down to a stop. :( By the time I got to my appointment, it was all pretty much over and the doctor checked me... still only 1 cm. *BIG FROWN*
So oh well, it wasn't time yet. I have had just a few contractions today but nothing to get excited about. So we'll see when Mabry decides its time to make her big appearance. Stay tuned!
(PS. We never did get a chance to take the prego picture shoot either... all this dang rain has made it so overcast and we need a sunny day to take pics. Oh well.)
Let me first give some background... with all of my pregnancies, I have been a "contract-er" by nature. My body starts contracting sometime around 33 weeks and kinda doesn't stop until either my water breaks, the baby comes, or I'm induced. But nonetheless, my body has always really "liked" to contract. But not this time. This time I have had hardly any contractions at all. Which is totally weird to me, but oh well, every pregnancy is different, right? And the Drs keep telling me, "Well since you haven't had any, once they start they probably won't stop." (I think I may have already said some of this in a previous post, but I can't remember. Sorry if I have. :))
Which brings me to yesterday at about 5:30am. I woke up having some contractions. Hm. Then a few more. Then I though, I should start writing these down and see how far apart they are. So to make a long story short, I was having them every 5-8 minutes all morning. And of course started thinking "Yep, this is it. She's coming today." And I already had an appointment set for 3:20, so I figured if I could just hang in there until then, I could go to the Drs office and go in that way instead of making a big ER visit.
But around 1pm they started slowing down to a stop. :( By the time I got to my appointment, it was all pretty much over and the doctor checked me... still only 1 cm. *BIG FROWN*
So oh well, it wasn't time yet. I have had just a few contractions today but nothing to get excited about. So we'll see when Mabry decides its time to make her big appearance. Stay tuned!
(PS. We never did get a chance to take the prego picture shoot either... all this dang rain has made it so overcast and we need a sunny day to take pics. Oh well.)
Football player with Down Syndrome
My husband just forwarded me this article and I thought it was too cool not to share. Love the awareness that its raising for Down syndrome... I hope our kids are able to participate in sports and community activities like this and that some cool coach and sweet teammates let the kids make a great play when the opportunity presents its self! So cool.
Special play: boy with Down syndrome runs for TD in HS game
Special play: boy with Down syndrome runs for TD in HS game
Puddle jumping
Yesterday on our way home from getting Ashley from school, Emily from school and Abby from therapy, we decided it would be no fun to go sit at home and wait til Daddy got off work, so we decided to go walk a lap around the walking trail on our street. I love this trail, its safe and beautiful and makes me so happy that I live in Tennessee. :)
But apparently when it rains for days at a time the way it has been, its gets massive puddles.
It started with, "Yes, Emily, since you have flipflops on, you can tiptoe through the puddle... but be sure to lift up your pants so they don't get wet"
Then, "Ok Ashley, you can take your socks and shoes off and tiptoe through it too."
Then, "Alright Micah, you can get out of the stroller and run through like the girls."
Finally, "Since everyone is soaking wet, Abby might as well get out of the stroller too."
Before I knew it, all of my kids were practically swimming in this huge puddle, I was sitting back laughing and taking pictures with my phone. But as the sun started to go down, I realized it was time to call someone to bring us some towels! So Papaw to the rescue! And of course he had to join in the fun before we could dry them off and head home.
We never did make it even a fifth of the way around the trail (its 1 mile) but it was an unexpected little experience that all the kids very thoroughly enjoyed. Sometimes you just gotta stop, let kids be kids, and enjoy a good puddle. :)
But apparently when it rains for days at a time the way it has been, its gets massive puddles.
It started with, "Yes, Emily, since you have flipflops on, you can tiptoe through the puddle... but be sure to lift up your pants so they don't get wet"
Then, "Ok Ashley, you can take your socks and shoes off and tiptoe through it too."
Then, "Alright Micah, you can get out of the stroller and run through like the girls."
Finally, "Since everyone is soaking wet, Abby might as well get out of the stroller too."
Before I knew it, all of my kids were practically swimming in this huge puddle, I was sitting back laughing and taking pictures with my phone. But as the sun started to go down, I realized it was time to call someone to bring us some towels! So Papaw to the rescue! And of course he had to join in the fun before we could dry them off and head home.
We never did make it even a fifth of the way around the trail (its 1 mile) but it was an unexpected little experience that all the kids very thoroughly enjoyed. Sometimes you just gotta stop, let kids be kids, and enjoy a good puddle. :)
Spencer Baby Watch 2009
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I feel like its been a little while since I've given a baby update. And there really isn't too much to report. Besides the heavy duty pressure, the baby kicking my ribs, the heartburn, the nausea (yes, its back), the dizziness (probably still from the anemia), the irritability and the psycho dreams... everything is pretty good. :)
I'm 36 1/2 weeks... almost to that point of being considered full term and as of my doctors appointment last week I'm 1 cm and 60%. Not too shabby. :)
The really funny thing this week has been that I have these bouts of energy and then near narcolepsy the very next minute. Like I just have all of this energy and rush around the house cleaning up and organizing all morning long and then I'll lay the kids down and BOOM: its a good thing they're asleep because I'm as dead as a doornail. Then as soon as I wake up (and I don't usually sleep for long) its like my heart starts racing again and I'm completely compelled to start running around cleaning again! Its nuts! lol But at least I'm getting things done and can still say that I'm "resting". :)
Despite the utter lack of room in this house for another child, its actually coming together pretty good. I've rearranged both of the kids' rooms, making more room in Micah and Abby's for toys and play space, and room in Ashley and Emily's room for the crib as well as toy space. In our bedroom the pack n play/bassinet is all set up, the changing table has been cleaned, stocked, and is ready to go. (Thats where most of Mabry's stuff "lives" for now.) My only real task left is to go through the bins of baby clothes in the attic and pull out whatever will fit her for this season... and then wash it so its fresh. :) I've already even packed my bag for the hospital and packed everything but outfits in hers.
I have such amazing friends and family. Yesterday one friend came over and cleaned bathrooms, vacuumed and did dishes for me. Tomorrow another friend is coming over to help me organize (we'll probably work on the clothing task). My sister-in-law is organizing meals for after Mabry's born (and a few before!). Two of them are going to help get Emily to and from school, and another family at church has offered to pick Abby up and bring her home from therapy on Wednesdays! I'm so blessed. And so grateful. I'm definitely NOT the person who's too proud to accept some help! I gladly welcome it! And hope that I'm able to bless others back by scrubbing a toilet and folding clothes before someone's baby comes. Because I know how much it means.
The picture above is one that my friend Audra took a few weeks ago. (This was the same day as all the others of my family on the sidebar.) I never really got any good prego pictures with my other pregnancies, so its really fun to have these. And also a new friend of mine at church (our little girls are in Kindergarten together) is a photographer and has offered to take more pictures (she took the picture that is on my profile last week), so I'm supposed to go to her house Saturday for that. Its so fun to have pictures taken... makes you actually feel pretty even though almost every part of you is swollen and hurting. :) Just kidding.
As my doctor says, I'll update more "if anything magical happens"! :)
As my doctor says, I'll update more "if anything magical happens"! :)
Dinner and a show... for the whole family!
AND its supporting the adoption of a little girl with Down Syndrome! Whoo hoo!! It doesn't get any better than that right? :) Jake and I are planning to go and take the two bigger girls. Anybody wanna join us???
Click here for details!
Click here for details!
My life as a...
vacationing tourist in Chattanooga, Tennessee. :)
A couple of weeks ago our family (as in just the SIX of us, which is still crazy to think about) had our last little pow-wow before Mabry is born. We drove down to Chattanooga for a long weekend and had SO much fun. We went to the Aquarium (of course), the Adventure Science Museum, saw an IMAX movie, and did a hike down through Ruby Falls. The kids loved every bit of it. And if it weren't for the fact that Jake and I didn't sleep a wink all weekend because all six of us played musical beds all night, we would have really enjoyed it too! :)
The highlights were Ashley posing for 4 bzillion pictures so she could show her class at school, Emily trying to "hug" all of the fish flying by her face at the IMAX and Micah and Abby running as fast as their fat little unstable legs would take them, LAUGHING, through the caves at Ruby Falls! Oh if I had just captured those two on video!
So here are some pics from our trip. I couldn't condense it down to just a few, so here's the whole sha-bam. Its long but enjoy! (Be sure to hit the little speaker in the top left hand corner of the slide!)
A couple of weeks ago our family (as in just the SIX of us, which is still crazy to think about) had our last little pow-wow before Mabry is born. We drove down to Chattanooga for a long weekend and had SO much fun. We went to the Aquarium (of course), the Adventure Science Museum, saw an IMAX movie, and did a hike down through Ruby Falls. The kids loved every bit of it. And if it weren't for the fact that Jake and I didn't sleep a wink all weekend because all six of us played musical beds all night, we would have really enjoyed it too! :)
The highlights were Ashley posing for 4 bzillion pictures so she could show her class at school, Emily trying to "hug" all of the fish flying by her face at the IMAX and Micah and Abby running as fast as their fat little unstable legs would take them, LAUGHING, through the caves at Ruby Falls! Oh if I had just captured those two on video!
So here are some pics from our trip. I couldn't condense it down to just a few, so here's the whole sha-bam. Its long but enjoy! (Be sure to hit the little speaker in the top left hand corner of the slide!)
Adoption post and Giveaway!
My fellow RR friend Christine is doing a giveaway for an Adoption decal on her blog and this post is my entry to win! :)
And as stated in her rules, I'm going to reference one of my favorite posts from her blog. And hands down (so far :)), its this one:
You can fall in love
For some background, the Reeds are an amazing family with 12 kids... some biological and some adopted. (Their youngest two were "other" angels from RR... also from Ukraine.) She is a wealth of wisdom about adoption, disruption, attachment, parenting, cooking and whatever else comes into her head that day! Christine isn't afraid to say it like it is and that is absolutely what I love about her blog. Her life isn't always perfect but she's a real woman walking out real faith. I'm proud to have "met" her online and walked a part of our adoption journey's together!
In this post, she addresses attachment issues after adoption... and I have found myself going back to it again and again since Micah came home. We haven't had any major issues adjusting by any means, but in all honesty- it hasn't been the easiest thing we've ever done either. I think so many people believe that when you adopt that it will just be heavenly... that parent and child will bond instantly because why not?... child needs a parent and parent has love to give. But sometimes it takes a little time. This is the reality of adoption. But it can and will happen if you hang in there. Thanks for the advice, hands-on tips, and encouragement Christine! Keep those posts comin!
And as stated in her rules, I'm going to reference one of my favorite posts from her blog. And hands down (so far :)), its this one:
You can fall in love
For some background, the Reeds are an amazing family with 12 kids... some biological and some adopted. (Their youngest two were "other" angels from RR... also from Ukraine.) She is a wealth of wisdom about adoption, disruption, attachment, parenting, cooking and whatever else comes into her head that day! Christine isn't afraid to say it like it is and that is absolutely what I love about her blog. Her life isn't always perfect but she's a real woman walking out real faith. I'm proud to have "met" her online and walked a part of our adoption journey's together!
In this post, she addresses attachment issues after adoption... and I have found myself going back to it again and again since Micah came home. We haven't had any major issues adjusting by any means, but in all honesty- it hasn't been the easiest thing we've ever done either. I think so many people believe that when you adopt that it will just be heavenly... that parent and child will bond instantly because why not?... child needs a parent and parent has love to give. But sometimes it takes a little time. This is the reality of adoption. But it can and will happen if you hang in there. Thanks for the advice, hands-on tips, and encouragement Christine! Keep those posts comin!
More from Emily
Emily: "I asked my teacher at school today if I could have a drink. And she said, 'How do you ask?' and I said... 'Chick-fil-a?'"
Me: "Why did you say Chick-fil-a?!"
Emily: "Haha, I don't know. And then Lily said "Um, Emily, its 'May-I-please'. And I said, 'OH YEAH!"
If you're reading this and are thinking "I don't get it"... I don't get it either!!!! This is just Emily!!! I'm not sure I'll EVER understand the way her brain works!!!
Me: "Why did you say Chick-fil-a?!"
Emily: "Haha, I don't know. And then Lily said "Um, Emily, its 'May-I-please'. And I said, 'OH YEAH!"
If you're reading this and are thinking "I don't get it"... I don't get it either!!!! This is just Emily!!! I'm not sure I'll EVER understand the way her brain works!!!
Random thought
If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that periodically I just need to vent. This is one of those times. :)
Why is it so annoying to me when total strangers say to me: "You sure have your hands full!" UGH. IT. DRIVES. ME. CRAZY. And as un-Christlike as all of these thoughts are (which is why I try to never let them come out of my mouth), these are some of my instinctive reactions:
"Really, you think so? I think its a BREEZE juggling 4 kids between the ages of 2 and 6, two of which having special needs, and being 8 months pregnant. Its EASY! And FUN!!!"
or: "Wow, I'm sure glad I have YOU to tell me that my hands are full! What a shock... thank you so much for making me aware! No one else would have ever told me!"
and when I'm feeling really hormonal this one comes to mind: "Congratulations, you're the NINTH person to tell me that today! Ashley, tell her what she's won!"
I mean, what do people think they are accomplishing by telling me this? Do they seriously think this is news to me? Do they think its complimentary? Does it not cross their minds that I hear that at LEAST once every time I leave the house? Do they think its encouraging? Or are they just trying to strike up conversation? Because I can think of about a hundred diffent ways to strike up a conversation that would be way less likely to drive me nuts or be less offensive.
And sometimes it doesn't stop there. Sometimes it's "OH MY, you're pregnant TOO?!" or "Are those two TWINS?!" or "Do you have any HELP at home?!" All of which I just LOVE to hear. (Note my sarcasm.) And I mean, am I really that much of a freak? Just because I don't have 1.8 kids???
And yes, I'm completely aware that I'm taking it way too personally. And I know that most people don't mean any harm at all by saying it. I just wish people would think before they speak. "Hey maybe this chick hears this all the time and doesn't need ME, a COMPLETE stranger, to tell her that she's busy."
Ok, thats my venting for the day. :)
Why is it so annoying to me when total strangers say to me: "You sure have your hands full!" UGH. IT. DRIVES. ME. CRAZY. And as un-Christlike as all of these thoughts are (which is why I try to never let them come out of my mouth), these are some of my instinctive reactions:
"Really, you think so? I think its a BREEZE juggling 4 kids between the ages of 2 and 6, two of which having special needs, and being 8 months pregnant. Its EASY! And FUN!!!"
or: "Wow, I'm sure glad I have YOU to tell me that my hands are full! What a shock... thank you so much for making me aware! No one else would have ever told me!"
and when I'm feeling really hormonal this one comes to mind: "Congratulations, you're the NINTH person to tell me that today! Ashley, tell her what she's won!"
I mean, what do people think they are accomplishing by telling me this? Do they seriously think this is news to me? Do they think its complimentary? Does it not cross their minds that I hear that at LEAST once every time I leave the house? Do they think its encouraging? Or are they just trying to strike up conversation? Because I can think of about a hundred diffent ways to strike up a conversation that would be way less likely to drive me nuts or be less offensive.
And sometimes it doesn't stop there. Sometimes it's "OH MY, you're pregnant TOO?!" or "Are those two TWINS?!" or "Do you have any HELP at home?!" All of which I just LOVE to hear. (Note my sarcasm.) And I mean, am I really that much of a freak? Just because I don't have 1.8 kids???
And yes, I'm completely aware that I'm taking it way too personally. And I know that most people don't mean any harm at all by saying it. I just wish people would think before they speak. "Hey maybe this chick hears this all the time and doesn't need ME, a COMPLETE stranger, to tell her that she's busy."
Ok, thats my venting for the day. :)
Oh Emily :)
I'm pretty sure that Emily asked her teacher at MDO this week why there isn't a Caroline flag.
Our very good friends Wes and D'Arcy have 4 kids: Christian (who's Ashley's age), Caroline (who's close to Emily's age) and baby twins. You can check out her blog here.
This week after MDO, Emily randomly asked me if there was a Caroline flag. At first I was a bit confused and then she told me that they say the pledge to the Christian flag at school... I would have loved to see the confused look on her teachers face... ! Ashley is really just now coming to the understanding that though she has a friend named Christian, we can all be Christians if we have Jesus in our hearts. Looks like its time to explain that concept to Emily as well. :)
And no, Emily, I'm sorry to say there isn't a Benjamin or Peyton flag either.
Our very good friends Wes and D'Arcy have 4 kids: Christian (who's Ashley's age), Caroline (who's close to Emily's age) and baby twins. You can check out her blog here.
This week after MDO, Emily randomly asked me if there was a Caroline flag. At first I was a bit confused and then she told me that they say the pledge to the Christian flag at school... I would have loved to see the confused look on her teachers face... ! Ashley is really just now coming to the understanding that though she has a friend named Christian, we can all be Christians if we have Jesus in our hearts. Looks like its time to explain that concept to Emily as well. :)
And no, Emily, I'm sorry to say there isn't a Benjamin or Peyton flag either.
Set your TiVo *or* mark your calendar! :)
My dear RR friend Renee (who is actually a Nashville "area" resident as well) and her family are going to be featured on a show on TLC! I would tell you what its about but you can read for yourself by clicking on her post here. I'm so excited to watch and I hope you don't miss it either!
The Show:
Truth Be Told: I have a child with Special Needs
Network: TLC
Date: September 16, 2009
Time: 9/8pm central
The Show:
Truth Be Told: I have a child with Special Needs
Network: TLC
Date: September 16, 2009
Time: 9/8pm central
Our Adoption Video!!!
I FINALLY was able to put the finishing touches on our adoption video. And it feels so good to have it done. :) I have to admit that since its been done, I've watched it a bzillion times and I STILL tear up when I watch it. I guess I always will. This is the *re*birth story of my baby. My boy. Its forever engraved in my mind and my heart. This video is just a small clip of everything our family went through to bring this boy home. Thanks to those who walked this road with us in so many different ways. I hope you enjoy.
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