Tales of Browns, young and old...

Halle's latest photoshoot and stats...

2011-07-01T08:46:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's already been a year. My little baby has become this beautiful little girl. Sigh. Thanks Hillary for the fabulous pictures!

Halle at one year:

24 lbs (87%), 30" (77%).

My beautiful BIG girl!

One year ago today...

2011-06-14T21:52:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday baby girl.

Halle at 12 months...

2011-06-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

- has been to Hawaii. She loved the beach, eating delicious fruit, and playing in the pool. Oh, and her hair developed a ringlet-curliness all over that surprisingly has not disappeared since we came back to our 0% humidity home. We love the curls!

- plays hard like a big girl. Halle progressed rapidly from standing to walking to running and climbing. Mommy is having a hard time keeping up! We also clap, dance (she boogies up and down and twirls like a ballerina), and say "Mama", "Dada", and "Bah Bah". Jim is convinced she says "Hi Dad" when she sees him!

- LOVES water. Did I mention that already? This girl has no fear in the pool (and has dived in face-first several times already!)

- still eats like a champ... sort of. We've entered that special toddler phase where eating < playing. That said, Halle never passes up fruit (with the exception of pineapple, which gives her a nasty rash). This picture is Halle enjoying her birthday cake!

- drinks proficiently from a straw. And has sampled (and enjoyed) soda and tea. Please don't turn me into CPS.

12-month stats to come. We are wearing 18-24 month clothing, so I'm guessing she hasn't suddenly dropped off the growth charts!

Look who's 10 months old today!

2011-04-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

9-month check-up!

2011-03-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Weight: 22.2 lbs (92%)

Height: 28.2 inches (68%)

In summary, we are getting shorter and fatter.

Maybe that's why the majority of my pictures lately feature Halle eating. Have I mentioned she is refusing baby food now? And being fed with a spoon? Yes, we are officially graduated to table foods!

Oh look - I found one picture where she isn't eating...

...sort-of.

Look who's 9 months old today!

2011-03-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Halle is nine months old today. Where has time gone? Only three more months and our little baby will be a year old!

What has Halle been up to? She became a full-fledged crawler last month (exactly a week after she turned eight months) and is pulling herself to standing and "cruising" along the furniture. In the past week she has even started to "free-stand" by herself. Halle is also babbling like crazy and we are certain her first words will be here soon.

Halle also was sick for the first time. She's been hit with two colds in a two week period (with Mommy sick in between). Needless to say, our house has become a giant pit of humidifiers and used Kleenex.

Even with being so sick, Halle still is eating well. She's learned how to drink from a sippy cup and has three teeth now (two lowers and one random upper). Halle has also moved up to 18-month-size clothes and now has a new car seat. Our little girl is growing so fast!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Halle spent her first Valentine's day with Grandma Brown while Daddy and Mommy went to work. Here's a peek at the special outfit Daddy picked out and dressed her in for Valentine's day!

Look who's 7... er 8 months today!

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Seriously, where did the time go? It feels like I was just writing about Halle hitting the 6-month mark and now she's already two-thirds the way through her first year. We've changed so much over the past two months - here's what we are up to these days!

We LOVE bathtime in the kitchen sink, especially splashing in the water and playing with our toys.

We are moving all over the place! We can pull ourselves up to standing, crawl backwards, roll, and go from hands-and-knees to sitting. We also recently figured out that we can do this in our crib (and yes, the mattress has moved down to a safer position since the below incident).

And here's the usual end result of all that backwards crawling:

And another example of pulling ourselves to standing on just about anything:

Halle still continues to possess her sunny disposition and loves to talk up a storm. Over the past month she's found some volume to all those cute squeaky noises. I'm sure we'll be teaching her about using her "indoor voice" sooner than later!

My new hobby these days...

2011-02-07T16:35:00.001-08:00

...is purging my house.

Here's a peek of my "to get rid of" closet.

OK, it may have crossed the "hobby" line over into the "obsession line" but can I tell you how easy it is to keep a house clean that has ~~nothing~~ less in it?

I am thrilled. Jim is concerned.

(and can't find anything thanks to my obsessive purging/re-organizing).

It's the beginning of efforts to make our house feel more like us. We're paring down in preparation for maybe some remodeling? Or maybe not. Regardless, less stuff = less stress = the minimalist inside me is happy.

I know it's been a long time since my last update. There are some potentially big changes coming this direction, least of which is the possibility of a new computer for me. Yes, Jim's '03 Toshiba is finally kicking the bucket (you mean it's NOT normal for a computer to require 10 minutes to boot?). I'm biting the bullet and going Mac - my dilemma is Macbook or iMac? I appreciate the flexibility of a laptop but drool over the capabilities of the iMac. Hmm...

Here's a picture of the almost-8-month-old bug to keep you coming back for more.

Stay tuned!

My favorite moment of 2010

2010-12-31T10:08:00.001-08:00

2010 brought us many exciting changes. What will 2011 bring?

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-25T22:53:00.001-08:00

We spent Halle's first Christmas at home. Both of our families were able to come over for Christmas morning as well. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and watched Halle open a ton of presents. Santa (aka the grandparents) was VERY good to Halle this year!

Here's a picture of our Christmas baby to enjoy. Merry Christmas!

6-month stats

2010-12-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

Halle had her 6-month well-check today. Here's the stats:

Weight: 18 lbs, 6 oz (88%)
Length: 27 inches (88%)

We seem to be tapering off in the growth area - but our pediatrician was very pleased with Halle's development! She is sitting well on her own and able to grasp small object (such as cheerios) with her pointer finger and thumb and bring them to her mouth. Halle still will only roll when she feels like it (less than 10 times so far) and she has made minimal effort in the crawling are, but she loves to stand and walk in her activity center!

We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas with the little bug!

Look who's 6 months old today!

2010-12-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Wow! We can not believe it's been six months since our little boobah joined our family. Here's a look at Halle at 6 months:

I sleep like an angel. 12 hours a night plus two naps.

I do the laundry. Just kidding - but I like to help!

I eat like a champ no matter how the food comes.

I'm a pro now at solids and will eat rice and oatmeal cereal, butternut squash, peaches, corn, bananas, mango and applesauce, as well as the occasional plate of french fries!

I sit up all by myself now and I get so frustrated when I can't move. I also love to play play play! I like peek-a-boo and chewing on my toys the best (but chewing on Mommy and Daddy's faces is also fun).

It's a Scentsy Christmas Party!

2010-11-29T15:03:00.000-08:00

Come enjoy a night of fun and delicious eateries!

Monday, December 6, 6:30 pm @ my house

(need directions? email or facebook me)

Please come enjoy good company, good food/beverage, and good scents!

(also appreciate the fact that my house is a: decorated in a pleasing Christmas-style and b: doesn't smell of dirty diapers!)

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T16:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving 2010. I went to work while Jim and Halle went to dinner at his parents' house. We weren't able to get many pictures of the little bug in her Thanksgiving outfit (we'll stage a picture for you once it's washed) but here are a few pictures of her interacting with her friend Calvin. Do you notice how well we pose for the camera?

Little Chubbie!

2010-11-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

This picture makes us laugh every time. We love our little chub-chub! Teehee!

Snow, snow and more snow!

2010-11-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

We have been seeing some awesome snowfall here this past week. Jim was especially excited to have snow for his birthday. Here's a picture Jim took measuring the snow on Tuesday (11/23) and our house in the winter wonderland. And yes, we've had our Christmas decorations up since the middle of November!

Of course no post would be complete without our little snowflake!

Happy 30th birthday Daddy!

2010-11-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

Jim turned 30 this year on November 24. We celebrated at home this year with friends and family. As many of you know, I love doing a big "birthday surprise" for Jim every year... and this year was no different. Jim and his friend Keith are off to Seattle this weekend to enjoy their first live NFL game (Seahawks vs KC Chiefs)! Jim is SO excited and I am glad to be able to do this for him (although I am slightly nervous about him traveling across the state in this weather).

As exciting as the game is, I've included some pictures of Jim's favorite 30th birthday gift below. We love you Daddy!

Snow!

2010-11-25T04:30:00.000-08:00

We had our first winter storm of the season hit on November 22 this year... which is uncharacteristically early for us. I think the final snowfall was somewhere around 7 inches. Now it is bitterly cold which means the streets have turned to ice-rinks. Needless to say, Jim, Halle and I have been pretty much home-bound the past few days. We feel very blessed to have a warm home to stay in!

This is a video from Jim's birthday looking into our backyard. The grill is lying on it's side like that from the wind storms prior to the snow. The gusts at our house were 60-80 mph and that old grill blew about 15 feet from it's original location.

5 Months Old!

2010-11-14T19:50:00.001-08:00

Miss Halle Arianne is 5 months old today! Here's what our little boobah is up to these days:

- Standing. Not rolling or crawling. That's for babies and I'm a big girl!

- Putting anything and everything on our mouth. We especially like to pull on Mommy and Daddy's hair while trying to eat their faces. We also really enjoy rubbing our hand over Daddy's facial hair!

- Giggling. We giggle all the time... especially at other people (babies and adults). We are extremely social and love to interact!

- Playing with our feet. If our thighs weren't so chunky we would have them in our mouth!

- Eating... sort-of. Rice cereal was an epic fail. Bananas were a little better. We still aren't sure about that whole spoon thing either!

- Drooling out our outfits... but still no teeth. Yet.

- Wearing 9-month-size clothes ad size-3 diapers. Yes, we are a big girl!

- Sleeping 12 solid hours a night. Be jealous.

- Talking up a storm. No real words but lots of sounds (and giggles!).

- Observing EVERYTHING! Daddy and Mommy put up the Christmas tree today and I'm fascinated! I also love o check out lights, fans, fire, and Daddy during worship.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

If I was really on the ball these would have been posted yesterday.

However, between church, taking Halle "trick-or-treating" at the grandparent's, and putting on a party at our house, blogging was the last thing on my mind when Jim and I took our collective sigh at the end of a VERY busy weekend.

So here are a few pictures from Halle's first Halloween. I wish I had been smart/thoughtful enough to get some of her at the 2nd annual youth bonfire night (Saturday) or at our Halloween party (Sunday) but I confess I was barely able to accomplish the bare minimum this weekend. Sadly, the next few weeks will not be any better.

Enough of the depressing thoughts... enjoy the world's cutest little kitty!

4-Month Stats

2010-10-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

We had our 4-month well-check today.

16 lbs, 8 ounces.
26" long.

Roughly 95% for height and weight.

And Mommy is pained to realize our 6-month onesies are tight. And to realize we may outgrow our infant carrier before we turn 1.

Of course that's not completely sad as Halle + infant carrier = 26 lbs. Did I mention I'm getting some nice biceps?

4 Months Old!

2010-10-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hi! My name is Halle and I'm 4 months old today! Here's what I do at 4 months:

- I roll from my tummy to my back and ALMOST from my back to my tummy.

- I LOVE to stand and will bounce from side-to-side (just like I do in my favorite toy - the jumperoo!).

- I eat a solid 8 ounces at every feeding. And I stare at Mommy and Daddy's food intently.

- I sleep 12 hours at night (unless I'm growing or didn't get good naps the day before!). When I wake up, I will smile A LOT at Mommy and Daddy. I love waking up to their faces!

- I am a drool-monster and put everything in my mouth! So far I find the taste of my teething toys lacking (and usually make the funniest face after chewing on one).

- I'm SO over those Baby Einstein videos. Now I enjoy watching the animals on Planet Earth and NFL with Daddy (I love staring at the bright colors and sounds those football games have!).

- I will only tolerate car rides if Mommy has "The Jesus Storybook Bible" on audio cd playing. It's my favorite!

- I love when Mommy and Daddy teach me about Jesus! I get to listen to Pastor Mark teach about Jesus with Mommy everyday. I don't yet sit still enough to read Bible stories but I certainly get excited when Mommy and Daddy talk about Jesus!

- I love watching Daddy worship every Sunday morning and I will bounce from side-to-side, shake my arms, and jabber excitedly the whole time. However, when Pastor Keith starts to talk I've been getting fussy and Mommy and I have spent the past few Sundays in the nursery.

- My favorite time of day is bedtime. I go from tired and fussy to happy and excited as soon as Mommy pulls my jammies out! I love to tell Mommy and Daddy about my day on the changing pad, then I snuggle in to feed while Mommy and Daddy pray and sing over me.

- I'm such a big girl! I celebrated my 4-month birthday with a new wardrobe... 6-month-sized clothes, 9-month-sized jammies, and size 3 diapers!

- Speaking of diapers, my favorite place to *ahem* do my business is my bouncer. Mommy and Daddy call it the "laxa-bouncer"!

- My favorite toys are my kitty and Sophie the giraffe. I love chewing on my kitty and can ALMOST get the paci attached into my mouth. When Mommy makes Sophie the giraffe squeak my whole face lights up!

- My favorite activity is watching Daddy when he makes silly sounds! I get very excited and giggle every time he does! I love my Daddy!

- When I don't feel very good there is nothing better than snuggling with my Mommy. I love to bury my face into her shoulder!

- Mommy and Daddy still call me "Littles" but they also have new nicknames for me! Daddy's is "Little bug" and Mommy's is "Boo-bah".

- I love posing for the camera. Every time one comes out I will look straight at it!

One year ago...

2010-10-06T18:03:00.001-07:00

... I opened my eyes to find this:

Today, I open my eyes to find this:

And this:

Doesn't that just make you smile?

How far we've come

2010-09-28T15:29:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken about six weeks ago. Jim was out of town and I was at home with Halle by myself. I was trying to convince myself and everyone around me that I was NOT dealing postpartum depression and that I had Mommy-hood down.

And that is when Halle stopped sleeping. Seriously. At her worst, she went 28. hours. straight without sleeping.

I thought I was going to kill her. Or myself.

I took this picture when she finally slept for a few hours and I remember cringing because she is sleeping face-down on my bed which means she was now 1,458% more likely to die of SIDS and the reason she was finally sleeping was because I shoved as much formula down her throat as she would take without choking. In the back of my head I heard the SIDS- and breast-feeding-Nazis lecturing me on my parenting abilities. Also, the laptop in the background reminds me that I was watching non-child-appropriate movies on Netflix while my daughter cried nonstop. The NEVER-expose-your-child-to-TV lecturers can feel free to crucify me for that one as well (The worst part is that prior to Halle I was the SIDS/breast-feeding/how-to-correctly-parent-your-child Nazi... and all the parents smile smugly here.)

I pretty much lost it that week. Between the depression and the crying and the not-sleeping and the being alone I turned into what one wonderful mother calls a "bonafide nutjob".

I wish I could say that I turned to Jesus during this time. But this post is all about honesty and repentance so I will tell the truth.

I became filled with anger.

Angry that I was a mother. Angry that God had chosen to give us this "little monster" when I was NOT ready for a child nor asking for one. Angry that I had given up my entire life for this child. Angry that I wouldn't be able to continue working full-time at the job I loved. Angry that the oneness I had once experienced with my husband turned into bitterness that his life continued while mine did not. Angry that I was unable to participate with him in his activities. Angry that he seemed completely oblivious to how I was feeling. Angry that this baby WOULD. NOT. STOP. CRYING. Angry that my milk supply was tanking and I couldn't even provide for my daughter's basic needs. Angry that I would not be able to sleep a consistent stretch EVER AGAIN. Angry that I was confined to my house. Angry that my body was not as resilient as I had hoped and I was pretty certain my stomach would never again be flat.

This anger led me to despise God, my husband, my daughter and my situation. I had my "escape plan" figured out - down to exactly when I would leave and what I would take. Thankfully I still possessed one small fragment of motherly instinct that kept me from abandoning my child (also the same fragment that kept me from throwing her down the stairs).

I am grateful Jesus still chose to take the cross for me.

So here is where I am at this moment: Mommy-hood is hard. It is especially hard because I am a selfish sinner with two capital S's. However, God is good. I have not yet allowed Jesus to be enough but I praying I will be able to soon say (honestly) that He is. I no longer despise my daughter and I am working on not despising my husband by choosing to love him daily and asking God to change my heart and attitude. God is teaching me to view being a wife and mother as a high calling and ministry and giving me small bits of grace throughout my days to remind me.

Mark Driscoll says that repentance is not sweeping sin under the rug and pretending it doesn't exist. I hope and pray to be the sort of wife and mom who can be transparent with her family and admit that she is a filthy selfish sinner capable of no good apart from Jesus. I pray that Halle will look to Him, and not me, as her example of how she should live and conduct herself.

The moral of my story? I am a selfish sinner. Left to myself I am capable of even more selfishness and sin. Fortunately, Jesus not only went to the cross to take the punishment for my sin but He also sought me at my worst and rescued me from myself. Thank you Jesus.

The BEST way to fall asleep!

2010-09-16T15:04:00.001-07:00

Today we were spending some quality time with our Aunt Jordan telling her all about our day and it was getting close to nap-time...

We love our Daddy!

2010-09-16T08:04:00.001-07:00

Attempting to make water fun!

2010-09-15T16:43:00.001-07:00

I bought Halle a "Tummy Tub" in hopes of improving bath time. This is a special round tub that is supposed to create a womb-like experience. All the reviews on Amazon reported that babies who HATED their baths all loved this tub. One mom even reported that her baby cries when they pull her out! I thought I'd give it a try.

Day 1? We played happily for five minutes before giving Mommy a terrified look and trying to push ourselves out of tub. This tub may not help us like water but it may help us learn to stand!

3 months!

2010-09-14T14:13:00.001-07:00

At 3 months, we are...

- playing all the time! We love to bat at the animals on our toy gym and stand with Mommy and Daddy's help. Our favorite animal is the ferocious lion. We have a lion on our crib mobile and one on our gray toy gym that we favor above all the other animals. We especially find it funny to watch lions roar and pounce on their prey! (Jim and I discovered this after letting her watch "Baby Einstein World Animals" and "Planet Earth". The octopus sock puppet on "Baby Neptune" is a close second. The other "Baby Einstein" videos seem to bore her!)

- sleeping VERY well. We love our schedule and accomplished sleeping 12 hours through the night last week (BTW here's how I did it: "The Baby Sleep Solution" by Suzy Giordano. Highly recommend it!). We take two naps during the day and everyone knows when it's close to naptime! Don't let our crankiness fool you - we go down easily and actually will go from tears to smiling when Mommy and Daddy start our bedtime routine.

- eating like a champ. We recently moved from taking 5-6 oz at a feed to taking a full 8 oz. Mommy was able to stop supplementing at 11 weeks and we are much happier on an exclusive-breastmilk diet.

- "talking" a lot! We love to coo at our animal friends and anyone who will talk back. Our favorite time to "talk" is to Mommy and Daddy while on our changing pad - especially when we are getting ready for bed. Sometime we try hard to mimic what Mommy and Daddy are saying and othertimes we just jibber-jabber! We also laughed for the first time at 11 weeks at Daddy.

- drooling a lot! Bibs are now our favorite accessory (and teething tablets are Mommy's new best friend). We love to chew on anything that we can get into our mouths - especially the thumb on our right hand.

Halle's day at 3 months:

8:00: Wake up, talk to animals on mobile, have "breakfast" bottle with Mommy and Daddy
8:30 - 9:30: Shower and get dressed
9:30 - 10:30: Morning nap
10:30 - Noon: Play with Mommy and our animal friends while listening to Pastor Mark (currently we are listening to his sermon series on Luke)
Noon: Lunchtime!
12:30 - 2:00: Play some more. We alternate between our gray toy gym, our blue toy gym, our bouncer and standing or staring at Mommy's shirt.
2:00 - 4:00: Afternoon nap
4:00: Dinner!
4:30 - 7:30: Play with Mommy and Daddy, sometimes take a quick power-nap around 6.
7:30: Bedtime routine (put on pajamas and nighttime diaper, talk about our day on the changing pad, say goodnight to Daddy, bedtime bottle)
8:00: Bedtime!

My favorite story of Halle at 3 months:

Last Sunday I was holding Halle during worship. We always sit in the front row right in front of Daddy so Halle can watch him. Daddy began reading from Psalms during the worship time and Halle instantly become very still and focused and started to "talk" excitedly when he would pause between words. I strongly believe she recognized the difference between when Jim was talking and when God's Word was being read and was encouraged to see her response - I will treasure that moment in my heart for a long time to come. May our precious daughter come to know and love you Jesus!

Daddy's girl

2010-09-12T20:30:00.001-07:00

We did it!

2010-09-06T07:10:00.001-07:00

Halle is 12 weeks today.

And just slept 12 hours through the night. No night feeding!

(Ok, so she did stir briefly at hour 11... Thanks super-loud garbage truck! We do appreciate you taking away our smelly diapers so I suppose you are forgiven.)

For everyone not on Facebook...

2010-08-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jim and I occasionally take video and post it. Here's my attempt to post a particularly cute one on the blog!

Did I mention my computer has been on the fritz now for months and I've been doing most of my blogging from my iPhone? Also the iPhone - for all it's wonderful features - does not interact well with Blogger. So if all you see on this post is text and no video you'll know why!

From this...

2010-08-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

... to this!

2-month check-up

2010-08-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here's the stats from our 2-month well check:

Weight: 13 lbs, 8 ounces (90th percentile)
Height: 23.5 inches (90th percentile)
Head circumference: 15.1 inches

Halle also received her first round of shots today. She was such a brave girl! We're a little sore and tired now, but no worse for the wear. Halle even was willing to still smile for the camera!

It's a trade-off...

2010-08-26T14:48:00.001-07:00

Halle has moved up to taking eight ounces per feeding. Great. Did I mention I'm still only pumping 4-6 ounces at a time? Thank God for those Enfamil coupons! (Speaking of, Jim discovered how much one of those little cans cost. I think he has a lot more respect for breastfeeding!)

However she did sleep until 6:30 this morning. No night feeding. And we are only 10.5 weeks old! We can do this!

Also we had our house sprayed for bugs today and the guys were able to remove the snake who has been living in our window-well for the past month. But then I went to the dentist and discovered I have two cavities - the first I've ever had. Like I said... it's a trade-off.

Warning: Cute-ness ahead!

2010-08-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

Friday night: Date-night!

2010-08-21T08:57:00.001-07:00

Last night we decided to do our date night in. We made grilled chicken, sauté veggies, rice and grilled pineapple! Yum! It's so nice to have time together after Halle goes to bed.

Speaking of, we had to pinch ourselves when a) she went right to sleep, no paci or fussing and b) slept 8 hours before her next feeding!

She's been starting to stretch out her sleep at night. Thursday night (while I was at work) she slept 7 hours before her next feeding.

I thought 12 hours by 12 weeks was ambitious... but can it be done? We'll find out!

Cute sidenote: Halle has discovered the little animals on the toy bar for her bouncer. She is mesmerized by them! Right now she is jabbering away at them... Jim and I call them her "little friends"!

Sleep training: one week later...

2010-08-20T12:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, so technically it's been a week and one day since we started our new schedule.

And it. is. AWESOME!

Getting Halle on a consistent schedule was the best thing! Here are some current stats:

- Halle is now exclusively bottle-feeding and I am exclusively pumping. When I began doing this I realized I was not making enough milk for baby girl! Halle requires 5-7 ounces per feeding and I was barely making 3. Mommy is working on boosting her milk supply. In the meantime we've had to start supplementing with a little formula. Halle is a champ, and is taking both well! Bottle-feeding has allowed others (mainly Daddy) to be part of the feeding and bedtime routines. Which has given Mommy a lot of flexibility!

- Halle is sleeping a solid 6-hour stretch at night and only requires two small feedings to make it 12 hours in her crib.

- Halle goes down easily in her crib with minimal interventions from us. Everyday is different and we've had several occasions of difficulty getting her to fall asleep in her crib, but only after a disruption in her normal routine (i.e. moving Aunt Teea to college).

- Halle is a much happier baby on the schedule. She has set awake times where she is very playful and social and is only fussy when it's close to naptime! Jim and I are both enjoying getting to play and interact with her more.

- I am loving the new schedule. I feel like I have a lot more freedom because her feeding and sleeping times are predictable and set. We've been able to venture out of the house more. Jim and I have gotten more quality time together since the establishment of bedtime. And I have down-time during the day when she naps. All-in-all a BIG improvement! I even worked my first 12-hour shift since coming back from maternity leave. Instead of intense relief at being out of the house, I found that I actually missed my little girl. I also feel that Jim and I are more of a team now when it comes to parenting. We've been getting up together at night for her feeds and he is able to take care of her by himself without any difficulty. Rarely do I feel overwhelmed or alone since starting the new schedule, and my perspective on motherhood is improving. Things are looking up, my friends!

We are a happier baby, Mommy and family!

Sleep Training 101

2010-08-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Baby boot camp.

After much thought and prayer, I recently came to some conclusions. First, I don't like the person I am becoming. I told Jim the other day that I feel more like a feeding- and diaper-changing machine than a human being (specifically "Daja"). My entire life revolves around Halle's eating and sleeping (or lack thereof). Activities and relationships I used to participate in have either fallen away or I've lost my desire to participate completely. I don't believe God created me with my unique talents and desires to become someone who is shut-up in the house, either too exhausted or too afraid of how Halle will handle the new situation.

Secondly, Halle is not a happy camper these days. My wonderful newborn has turned into a cranky baby and I've been too exhausted to deal with it properly. I've been developing bad habits with Halle out of desperation to get her to sleep. I want her to have the ability to sleep on her own and be a happy, sociable baby when she is awake. Frazzled Mommy definitely equals frazzled baby!

Finally, Jim and I need some structure back in our home and marriage where every moment together is not spent playing "Baby shuffle" so we can individually get sleep or run errands, etc. We've been blessed that our parents have willing to watch her and give us time out of the house together, but we are craving the ability to have alone-time together at home.

I was pouring out my problems to a dear friend the other day (which seems to be the only conversation I can contribute these days) and she suggested I put Halle on a schedule. I'm not sure why I haven't thought of this before! Currently I allow Halle to eat/sleep/play whenever she wants. This plan is obviously not working!

So here was a solution. I researched out different "baby-training" books and found one with excellent reviews. This book promises 12 hours sleep by 12 weeks of age. This I am not as optimistic about achieving, but I do appreciate how it sets up a day and night schedule and emphasizes teaching your baby to fall asleep on their own.

Needless to say, I bought the book (title of which I will share after my experience) and we are following the steps. And, in one day, we have already achieved several milestones including moving Halle to her crib, eating on a four-hour schedule, and only waking for two night feedings during the 12 hours she was in her crib!

This is already making a huge difference for our family. I feel empowered as a mother and hopeful, for the first time since we brought her home, that we will survive this. Halle is already sleeping more soundly, eating better, and much calmer during her awake hours. Jim and I have enjoyed quiet evening time together alone without having to leave the house.

We will keep you posted on our progress! In the meantime, we are looking forward to meeting our goals:

Happy, healthy baby.
Happy, healthy Mommy.
Happy, healthy family.

8 week stats...

2010-08-09T21:30:00.001-07:00

At 8 weeks, we are...

- wearing 3-month sized outfits and 6-month sized jammies. Yes folks, we are a LONG baby! Halle's 2-month appointment is next week, so we'll get the "official" height and weight stats then.

- able to hold our head up steady for quite a while and able to stand on Mommy's lap with minimal support!

- also able to push off with our legs from a squatting to standing position with minimal support. We are a strong little girl!

- very alert and able to stay awake and socialize for longer periods of time.

- able to suck on ANYTHING. The inside of Mommy's arm has multiple bruises to prove that fact. We also recently discovered our fist. Mommy is looking forward to developing our ability to self-soothe!

- showering with Mommy. We gave up on the silly bathtub. Halle loves standing in the shower with Mommy but HATES her head under the sprayer.

- still hating the car, bouncer, swing... we pretty much want to be held all. the. time. Yay.

- eating like a champ. Every 2-3 hours still plus occasional supplementing during growth spurts.

- NOT sleeping like a champ. To all you parents out there whose children slept 6-8 hours at 8 weeks... I hate you. Halle ranges from sleeping between feeds (every 2-3 hours) to taking 15-20 minute cat-naps during her growth spurts. For days at a time. Yay.

- cooing, growling, smiling and trying to mimic Mommy and Daddy's every facial expression. Today I laughed at her and she tried so hard to mimic my laugh. It was a pretty good attempt even though no sound came out!

- the prettiest little girl ever! We love our wild red hair and ability to look good in any color.

8 weeks...

2010-08-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

Halle is 8 weeks old today.

And I. am. EXHAUSTED.

Everyone else I know who's had a baby this year had written these cheery posts about THEIR babies sleeping through the night by 8-9 weeks. And, between the 13 of us at work and multiple friends and acquaintances who were expecting this year, that's a lot of babies.

Halle decided to stop sleeping altogether at eight weeks. Always different... and difficult!

Let's just say that in the past 31 hours, we've slept three. Add to that the fact that Jim has been out of town two of the past three weeks and I've been doing the up-straight-for-28 hours business alone. This mama is tired!

I never slept well in my pregnancy beyond the first trimester (in which I felt like Rip Van Winkle... I pretty much sleep-walked from the couch to the toilet for 12 weeks) so I figure in all I have not slept for 35 weeks. I'm pretty much starting to lose my mind from lack of sleep.

We have this wood plaque above our bed and in the past two days it has crossed my mind that if it were to fall on my head it would knock me unconscious... and I felt relief at the thought of being unaware of the incessant crying. I've also planned out my "escape route", or what I'd do if I could get in my car and leave town for a day. Or more.

Like I said, I'm losing it.

Here's to hoping for a little sleep soon!

(and yes, I will post the obligatory picture and 8-week stats later.)

(maybe.)

Smiley girl!

2010-07-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

4 weeks old!

2010-07-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

Halle is four weeks old today! I can hardly believe it's already been almost a month since she was born. She is growing so fast! At four weeks we are...

- Eating 4-6 ounces every three hours. Halle nurses and takes the bottle very well! I've been fortunate that Halle has not required any supplementing beyond my breastmilk.

- Still wearing newborn-size outfits and diapers, but has moved up to 0-3 month jammies. Halle is too long for her newborn-size jammies!

- Able to push ourselves up off our tummy and hold our head up for several minutes. I recently put Halle is her Bumbo (an infant seat) to see how she would do. She sat and held her head up by herself for 10 minutes! Halle loves to be upright (whether held or sitting) so she can look around.

- Making eye contact. When I come near Halle and talk to her, she turns her head, makes eye contact with me, and her eyes widen. Halle knows her Mommy! Halle also knows her Daddy's voice. I keep Halle with me during our church services, and when Jim starts to sing, Halle will look for him. His voice is also very soothing for her!

- Asserting our independence (already!). Halle has started to develop the nasty habit of fighting sleep. Halle will wear herself out trying to stay awake (especially during daylight and after her "bedtime" feeding at night). I'm not sure if it really is funny or I'm just terribly sleep-deprived, but watching her fight nodding-off can been hilarious at times!

- Still loving motion... of any kind. Halle loves car rides, the stroller, the swing and bouncer (but only on her terms!), and being walked around. She is quite the snuggle-bug as well and the only way I can get her to go down these days is on my chest. Halle also still loves to be all stretched out. If I try to wrap her arms up in her blanket, she will fuss until they are free.

- Now enjoying our bath slightly more. I tried her bath tub again and she is tolerating it... for now. Her hair still has quite a bit of red in it and has thickened since birth. It has started to stick up on top and looks very cute with a headband.

Now I will leave you with pictures of Halle from her very first bath four weeks ago... proof that at one time she did enjoy it!

What we've been up to...

2010-07-06T17:10:00.001-07:00

Miss Halle (or "Littles", as Jim calls her) is already three weeks old! We've been quite busy the past few weeks trying to get our lives on some-what of a schedule. Halle is still eating every 2-4 hours but sleeps well between her night feedings and is usually very alert in the mid-morning and evenings. She is growing like a weed and has already grown out of several of her newborn jammies (which makes her Momma sad!).

Halle gets a bath every other day and so far does not enjoy it at all! In fact, we are still doing sponge-baths as the two immersion-baths we attempted in her little tub failed miserably. She does love having her hair washed and being snuggled in her bath towel!

Halle has gained a lot of strength in her neck and loves to be held upright so she can hold her head up and look around. She loves light and the sun and being snuggled. Halle goes through phases with liking the swing and bouncer, but always enjoys walking around, being pushed in the stroller, or riding in the car.

We celebrated the Fourth with a party at our home. Halle slept in her nursery for most of the fireworks but looked so cute in her sundress!

Jim and I have started experimenting with leaving her for short periods of time with her eager grandparents. It's been great to get out of the house and we even managed to squeeze in a date night this week! As much as we love our "Little Tuddles", we've missed the time we used to get with each other.

Jim is gearing up for his summer trips. He is taking a group of youth to Spokane in two weeks for their annual World Changers trip. They will meet up with youth from all over the northwest to help low-income families by working on projects such as painting or re-roofing their homes. In August, Jim will be taking the youth to an adventure camp in Montana for a week. They will be doing all sorts of fun activities such as white water rafting and horseback riding that help them to understand God in new ways and grow closer together. I am excited for how God will reveal himself to the youth and those they interact with this summer, but I am nervous to be a "single mom" for those two weeks. I appreciate Jim's help at home so much, even on his busiest days when he is only able to be here for a quick dinner between commitments. Fortunately I am blessed to have family and friends who are more than willing to help out!

I have to admit, as someone who always has multiple plates spinning in the air at the same time, being at home 24/7 with Halle was very difficult at first. I worked full-time up until she was born and I've never spent this much time at home before. I love Halle and am enjoying my time with her, but being cooped up at home has been hard. I've braved a few trips out with her but usually by the time she is fed and we are both ready to go I have a limited amount of time left before her next feeding. Jim is great at anticipating when I need a break and watching her for a few hours so I can get out of the house.

As for work, I had almost six weeks of paid leave saved up when Halle was born. I am planning on returning to work after those six weeks at a per diem status, which means I won't have a set contract with the hospital and can pick as many or as few shifts as I want. I will also be able to set my own schedule, which means I'll be able to flex around Jim's schedule so one of us will always be home with Halle. I am planning on picking up one six-hour shift a week at first to see how it goes for all three of us. I am so thankful to be blessed with a job that I both enjoy so much and allows me so much flexibility to watch my daughter grow up.

I can't believe how fast this summer is going! I'm sure we'll be posting Halle's three-month pictures before we know it!

Halle's Newborn Photoshoot

2010-07-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

A sampling of the amazing pictures my friend and coworker Hillary was able to capture for us... Enjoy!

2 weeks old!

2010-06-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

We can't believe it's already been two weeks since Halle entered the world. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

Speaking of growing, we had our first appointment with the pediatrician today. Halle weighed in at 8 lbs, 2 oz and 21 inches long. That's a gain of almost a pound and 1.5 inches since birth. She's falling right in the middle on the growth charts (which are not very accurate at 2 weeks of age). We are obviously not starving!

Halle is also very alert. She can focus her eyes very well (especially on Mommy and Daddy's faces) and will track noise. She is usually awake during the mid-morning and evening and will sleep three- to four-hour stretches at night.

Halle can almost support her head by herself and loves to look around. She is usually pretty relaxed and only gets fussy when she's working on filling her britches!

Jim and I enjoy her so much - everything she does is fascinating to us. We are trying to capture as much of this time in her life as possible because we know it will be over too soon!

We love you "Little Snuggles"! Mommy and Daddy are so glad God decided to entrust you to us!

The many faces of Miss Halle

2010-06-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

... and it's only been a week!

What's in a name?

2010-06-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Choosing our daughter's name was something that did not come easily for us. At first, Jim and I circulated through each other's lists of potential names we liked, but neither of us liked each other's lists (go figure!). We did agree on the criteria we wanted for our daughter's name, which was a) it had to have a significant meaning and b) it had to be easy to spell and pronounce but not common.

We used a name book lent to us that focused on both the inherent meaning and spiritual connotations of names. I have to admit, neither Halle nor Arianne were names that I would have ever considered aside from this book, but they fit our criteria perfectly.

Halle

Language/Cultural Origin - Nigerian

Inherent Meaning - "Unexpected Gift"

Spiritual Connotation - Blessing

Arianne

Language/Cultural Origin - Greek

Inherent Meaning - "Holy"

Spiritual Connotation - Presented to God

As you already know from my MANY blog posts on the subject, our daughter's conception was unexpected (and quite a bit of a shock to us). It was apparent from Day 1 that her existence was completely God's plan and perfect timing. She is our "unexpected gift", and she is also an amazing blessing from God. We still can not believe that He would choose to entrust her precious life to us!

As much as our lives are about God's action and our response, so her name represents His action of blessing us and our response of presenting that blessing back to Him for His glory's sake. We pray that God would enable us to be parents who would raise our daughter in such as way that she would grow to know and love Jesus unhindered by us.

Halle, we are so grateful God chose to bless us with you!

June 14, 2010

2010-06-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 23rd birthday (June 14, 2009) in Hawaii and I distinctly remember thinking "I wonder if we'll ever be able to top this?" I'm pretty sure I even blogged something to that effect.

On October 6, 2009, we discovered we were unexpectedly pregnant. After 6 positive pregnancy tests and two blood tests later, we accepted it to be true (and we were utterly amazed that God would choose to bless us with a child!)

October 27, 2009 was the first day we saw our "little peanut", so named because she was precisely the size of a peanut on the ultrasound picture. It was amazing to imagine that such a tiny grouping of cells could (and would) become a baby in 33 weeks (and it was exactly 33 weeks to the day from that first ultrasound!).

On January 26, 2010 we learned that our little peanut had grown into a baby girl! Not just any baby girl either - the most perfectly formed (and beautiful) baby girl we could have prayed for.

June 14, 2010 promised to be a good day. Jim had taken the day off from work (in honor of my birthday) and we were going to celebrate with a lazy day. We went to breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants "Ripples". During the drive to the restaurant, I noticed I was contracting again (see previous pregnancy posts!) but these contractions felt different.

Halfway through breakfast I realized the contractions were VERY different and I lost all interest in eating (which was very sad because I had ordered my favorite french toast - yes, the leftovers are sitting in our fridge!). They were anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart and very irregular, but painful. Jim was concerned, but I stubbornly decided we should go grocery shopping. I was convinced that there was no way I could be in labor on my birthday (of every possible day this baby could be born!).

By the end of our grocery shopping (at Target and Costco), the contractions were between 2-5 minutes apart and growing more painful. Jim suggested we go home and relax, but instead I decided to clean our house. I also started sending text messages to my friend Shannon (who happened to be working as the lead nurse on the Birthcenter that day) about my day. She suggested I come in, but I was still in denial that this could be true labor.

Cleaning proved to be therapeutic, and my contractions spaced out to 5-7 minutes apart and grew less painful. I figured this meant we were in false labor, but just to test that theory, Jim and I went to the mall to walk around in air-conditioned comfort. By the time we made it across the mall, Jim was timing the contractions with his iPhone and we were anywhere from 2-4 minutes apart. Jim also recalls that I grew very flushed with each contraction and was radiating heat (and sweat - that part I do remember!)

We decided to leave the mall and head for the hospital. Once I got there, they took us to an exam room and left me to change. 30 seconds later they came back and instead decided I should just be admitted. I remember protesting this and pointing out that no one had checked me yet or even hooked me up to the monitor to see if I was really contracting. I remember Shannon coming in and saying "Daja, let's just have a baby"... but I was still in denial. This was my birthday, after all!

We were admitted around 5:00 PM. Jenny, a fellow nurse, started my IV and did my paperwork to prep for an epidural. The contractions weren't terrible, so I chose to wait on the epidural and Jim and I walked the halls for awhile. By 6:00 PM, Dr. H was in my room. I remember him sitting down and asking "What's the plan?" to which I responded "I want to go home". He laughed and decided to break my water instead. I don't think he realized I was serious!

I know I mentioned in previous blog posts that Baby girl had a lot of amniotic fluid (which is very good!) but I didn't realize exactly how much there was until Dr. H ruptured me. Baby girl's head was VERY low, so he had to push her head up to allow the fluid out. That part was *slightly* uncomfortable, but after Jenny cleaned up the original mess, I decided to sit up... and flooded the entire bed. It took three people to clean up the mess! I'm certain as well that I lost inches of my abdomen (and several pounds at least!) after the flood.

At 7:00 PM, I went ahead and got an epidural. The contractions still weren't as painful as I had anticipated they would be, but I was very fearful of a) being in labor for a long time and growing very tired and b) tearing badly. Bill was the anesthesiologist on and did a beautiful job on my epidural. I love getting my patients epidural because of how smoothly it makes their labor go afterwards, but I didn't realize until I had mine that after the epidural was the best I had felt the entire pregnancy! No pain, no nausea, no sore joints, no needing to pee every 5 seconds... just utter relaxation. Also I learned that a little Fentanyl goes a long way for me. I felt quite drunk the whole rest of the labor (turns out Bill may have hit a blood vessel on the way into the epidural space so a little Fentanyl was floating around my brain - and Dr. H pointed out that I was not drunk, but rather a little high!)

I was dilated 5/90%/0 after the epidural, which really wasn't much of a change from admit (4/90%/-1), so we started a little Pitocen to help. Apparently a small amount of Pitocen goes a long way, because exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes later I had progressed to 7/100%/+1. An hour after that, I started to notice the contractions again as dull pain in my tailbone. I remember telling Hilary and Rachel that I felt like a wuss, but "these contractions kinda hurt". They cleared everyone out of the room and sure enough, I was almost completely dilated and +2. The on-call anesthesiologist came in to give me a little extra medication in my epidural (which proceeded to make my legs completely numb but did nothing for the pain) and Dr. H came in.

Many of the details of that night were (and are) spotty, but I will never forget when Hilary said "Daja, it's time to have a baby!". I remember crying (not unusual these days!), holding Jim's hand and telling him "We're going to have a baby". I'm not sure if the reality of it sunk in then or not, but I remember being overwhelmed by the thought.

At 10:00 PM we started pushing. I never realized why my patients struggled with pushing despite my instructions to "push like you are having the largest bowel movement of your life" until I started to push. My legs were too numb for me to hold on my own so Hilary and Rachel each had one leg and Jim held my hand and rubbed my back. I was so numb that I had no idea if I was pushing correctly at all (or making any progress) but everyone in the room assured me that I was. And I must have been, because 27 minutes later Halle Arianne Brown entered the world.

Dr. H delivered her to her waist and then allowed me to reach down and pull her out the rest of the way myself. She immediately began crying (even before her chest had been delivered she was making trying to make noise!) but once I pulled her up to my chest her eyes met mine for the first time and she stopped crying. I remember telling Jim "She knows who I am!" in amazement.

I could not have been blessed with a better labor and delivery experience, and I am so grateful to each person who went out of their way to make it special for me. Hilary, Rachel, Nickole and Hailey all went out of their way as both my nurses and my friends to take the best care of Halle and me (from laboring me to working the cameras so Jim and I could enjoy the moment and even setting up a mini photo-shoot of Halle after her bath). Dr. H did a fabulous job - not only with putting up with me for the past nine months, but making my delivery a wonderful experience (he even will admit he had a great time at my delivery!).

Last year I thought I would never top spending my 23rd birthday in Hawaii. Thank you God, for proving me wrong... and blessing me with a daughter for my 24th.

Halle Arianne Brown
June 14, 2010 10:27 PM
7 lbs 3.4 oz, 19.5 in

Newborn Gallery

2010-06-16T06:20:00.001-07:00

Here is Halle's birth annoucement on Kadlec Regional Medical Center's
website. Enjoy!

http://www.kadlecfoundation.org/template.php?id=8585

Halle Arianne Brown

2010-06-15T15:32:00.001-07:00

Born June 14, 2010 at 10:27 pm.
7 lbs 3.4 oz, 19.5 in.
After 12 perfect hours of labor (and 27 short minutes of pushing!).

We are in love!

Stay tuned...

39 Weeks!

2010-06-12T18:38:00.001-07:00

Are we done yet?

An anniversary and single digits...

2010-06-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

Today marks the fifth anniversary of our first date and the fourth anniversary of Jim proposing. The above picture is us on this day last year... celebrating on a dinner cruise in Hawaii. Who would have guessed that exactly one year later we would be getting ready to welcome our firstborn into the world!

Today also marks the day that the baby widgit on our blog has graduated to single digits. We are down to less than 10 days until our due date! This week I am dilated to 3/60%/-2 (which means 3 cm, softening cervix, and a baby well-engaged into my pelvis). Every time Dr. H checks me we have progressed, and he always gives me the option to go in and "get the job done" (so to speak) but I have yet to be ready to do so. Part of me is MORE than ready to have this baby (especially when my back/pelvis/legs/whole body aches or I puke AGAIN in the shower or I finally get comfortable in bed only to have to pee or her foot gets lodged up under my rib and causes a horrible burning pain or I have to listen to my patients at work whine about their ailments - try all of that plus working a 12-hour shift!) but the other part of me isn't ready to give up our childless existence. To that end, Jim and I have been spending every possible day we can together enjoying the last few weeks of being "just us" - getting out of the house, going out to dinner, watching movies, going on trips, etc. We are more than excited to meet our little girl, but we will certainly miss this era of our marriage!

Speaking of work, tomorrow is my last scheduled day. I've been able to continue working full-time to this point and if Baby girl doesn't make her appearance before next week I'll have to continue picking up shifts. I have a very small amount of paid maternity leave that I am hoping to save for when Baby girl is here, but continuing to work 12-hour rotating shifts at the hospital is not fun when you are nine-months pregnant (especially when the majority of your patients are due AFTER you are!)

Here's to five wonderful years of being "just the two of us"... and to hoping we get to meet our beautiful little girl soon!

Mommy at 35.5 weeks (May 18, 2010)

2010-06-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

My friend and coworker Hillary did my maternity "photoshoot" and was able to capture some fabulous pictures of our rapidly-growing little family. Enjoy!

38 Weeks

2010-06-05T07:35:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of the raffle at work. I love that my coworkers are
so stressed about losing out on the $27 pot.

We are 38 weeks today. I am dilated to 2 cm and 30% effaced, which
means Baby girl could come today or in a month. We're hoping for
sooner rather than later.

Baby girl at 35.5 weeks (May 18, 2010)

2010-05-30T19:49:00.001-07:00

Here are the long-promised pictures from our ultrasound at 35.5 weeks.
Baby girl Brown weighed in at 6 lbs 5 oz in this ultrasound (which
puts her at the 70th percentile on the growth curve) with an amniotic
fluid index of 20 (which means she is VERY well hydrated!). Dr. H says
she has chubby cheeks and a chubby tummy and short little arms and
legs (maybe she'll take after Mommy in height) and a head full of
hair. And her head is well engaged in Mommy's pelvis (not that I
couldn't have told you that!).

I love these pictures of her chubby little face smashed into my
pelvis... Check out her "fish lips" look! She is obviously not starving!

In other news, we are 37+ weeks now and Baby girl can make her way
into the world anytime. Especially since I'm pretty certain my pelvis
has started to separate. And did I mention I'll be working full-time
(12 hour shifts on my feet delivering babies) until she gets here?

I'm sure I'll be writing a most-sad post at 40 weeks when she still
hasn't come. We already know how stubborn she can be!

Other news - Dave Ramsey would be proud! We officially paid off our
last debt and are now debt-free (except for our house)! What a
blessing to a) been able to pay off our debt in 2 years and b) bring
our daughter into a debt-free home. I am planning on returning to work
after Baby girl gets here, but being debt-free will allow me to be
able to work less and be at home with her more.

This is what I'm up to tomorrow...

2010-05-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

And yes, they did make me pose for that picture. I love my "work
family"!

They are also doing a raffle to guess the weight and birthdate of Baby
girl. Unfortunately she has already surpassed half the guesses on the
board...

We're getting ready!

2010-05-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Baby girl is 35.5 weeks today and we are getting ready for her
arrival! Jim did a test run of the car seat last weekend while I was
in Seattle, and I did a test run of the car seat adaptor in our
stroller this morning. And a test run of a particularly cute onesie!

We had an ultrasound yesterday as well as a maternity photoshoot. Baby
girl is currently weighing in at 6 lbs 5 oz with a head full of chubby
cheeks fully engaged into my pelvis (and when I say engaged, I mean
ENGAGED!) and plenty of fluid. Dr. H was able to get a pouty-face shot
with those chubby cheeks. We'll post those pictures along with our
maternity photoshoot soon!

On the contraction front, I can't seem to make it through a shift
without contracting 3-4 minutes apart by the end. The good news is her
lungs are mature, so if I do go into labor, Dr. H will go ahead and
deliver her. I'm hoping to make it a few more weeks (but I'm hoping to
avoid the contractions and pelvic pressure for those weeks!).

34 weeks!

2010-05-08T01:56:00.000-07:00

Baby girl is officially 34 weeks. I am officially uncomfortable.
Regular visits to the chiropractor are keeping me (somewhat) sane.
I've got Baby girl feet pushing my right ribs into my brain and my
right hip into the ground. Her elbow/hand regularly pushes my flat
belly button into an outie. Braxton hicks are now a part of my daily
life. On top of all that, we've had some really weird spring storms
passing through and Baby girl (and Mommy!) do not enjoy the increased
abdominal pressure.

On the other hand, I have to admit I am starting to freak out over how
fast this is all going. I can't believe we only have 6 short weeks
until Baby girl arrives. I do not feel ready to be a Mommy, and I'm
certainly not ready to give up having Jim all to myself!

The exciting event happening this week is our 34-week ultrasound. Jim
and I are both excited to see Baby girl's beautiful face again, and
I'm nervous to see what the ultrasound will tell us about our delivery
options. As you may remember, Baby girl is currently transverse and
seems very comfortable there. I'm curious to know why she is so
comfortable (placental placement, short cord, tangled cord, etc.).
This ultrasound will tell us which delivery option will be safest or
both Baby girl and me (and we'll get some cute new pictures to share!).

Nursery complete!

2010-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

We will be 34 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I'm happy to report the
nursery is finished! (Actually we are still waiting on a crib
mattress, but other than that the room is complete).

Baby girl's clothes and bedding are all washed and put away, ready to
be used when she gets here! Her bag is packed as well and ready to go
to the hospital.

Check out the adorable tutu hanging above the toybox. My wonderful
friend Jordan made it to match the purple flowered hat and booties I
received earlier. I'm excited to get pictures done of Baby girl in the
whole ensemble.

Tomorrow marks 6 weeks until her due date - and the realization is
starting to sink in that she is coming and SOON! Especially as many of
our pregnant friends are "popping". Last week my friend Larie broke
her water at 37.5 weeks pregnant (at my baby shower too!) and it
dawned on me that I'm only 3.5 weeks away from that point.

Instead of having a complete meltdown over the fact that our days as a
two-person family are numbered, I've kicked my nesting into overdrive
(thus the completed nursery, packed hospital bags, reorganized
bathroom and kitchen, etc.). I'm not sure which Jim would have
preferred!

Nursery in progress

2010-05-01T21:07:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the nursery (so far). The first picture is
of the toybox my Dad finished for me and now refinished for his
granddaughter. I think he did an amazing job! Mom made the cushion for
the top; it goes perfectly with Baby girl's bedding set. I'm still working on a crib mattress and a bookcase
to complete the furniture, and I have some shelves and pictures to
hang (as well as the sign).

Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures! I'll post some better ones
once the room is complete.

I had my first of three upcoming baby showers today. My wonderful
friend Jordan planned the event and it was so much fun! It was great
to see some old friends (and some new friends too!). Baby girl is
certainly blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life!

Of course she has to be difficult...

2010-04-30T11:39:00.001-07:00

... she's my child.

We are 33 weeks tomorrow and currently in transverse lie. This means
she is lying sideways/horizantal/perpendicular in my uterus. Currently
her head is on my left side and her feet can kick my right hip and
ribs at the same time. What talent!

In case you hadn't guessed, babies don't tend to come out easily in
this position (case in point: my poor labor patient the other night
who ended up getting a c-section after 15 hours of labor because her
little girl decided to be transverse). So, if she hasn't flipped by 36
weeks, I get to decide between a version (externally turning the baby
- as fun and pain-free as it sounds) or a scheduled c-section. Or
both, if the version is unsuccessful. My c-section-happy doctor is a
little perturbed that I won't consider a version at this point (which
surprises me) but he does do a beautiful version. And a beautiful c-
section, for that matter.

We have an ultrasound scheduled in two weeks and she has four weeks to
make her move. And I have four weeks to make my decision.

One project down...

2010-04-29T19:02:00.001-07:00

... a thousand more to go!

I am thrilled with how this turned out, thanks to A LOT of help from
Grandpa and Grandma Bunker and my friend Tami! Now if I could just get
Jim to hang it...

32 Weeks

2010-04-24T19:42:00.001-07:00

32 weeks down.

8 more to go until my due date; 6 more of work.

Normally I would post a picture of the growing belly to commemerate
reaching 32 weeks, but I realized this morning that reaching 32 weeks
means I have only 8 more to go. And a dozen half-finished baby
projects around the house that I started months ago.

So instead I spent the day working on refinishing furniture. I'm
fairly certain no one wants to see the belly covered in sawdust, wood
stain, and paint.

I've been having many of these realization moments lately. Like when I
realized the reason I'm crossed off the work schedule in 6 weeks is
because I'll be 38 weeks then and the scheduler doesn't want to factor
me into the core staffing in case this belly decides to pop. Or when
several of my pregnant friends and coworkers recently delivered their
babies and I realize they ARE that far along and therefore so am I. Or
when I filled out pre-admission paperwork at the hospital and signed
consents for my daughter and realized we are going to be parents soon.

32 weeks down, 8 more to go.

Nursery Updates

2010-04-06T20:36:00.001-07:00

It's official: Baby girl has nicer furniture than we do. And a nicer
ride.

In fact, Jim and I decided she has the nicest furniture in the house.

I went out this week to check pricing at a few local baby stores and
came across a crib and dresser set made by very well-rated furniture
company on sale. The set was nice, and deeply discounted off of online
prices, but what really caught my attention was the stroller.

This store had the exact Baby Jogger stroller model and color Jim and
I wanted discounted as well. Why? Because it was the 2009 model.
The only difference between this model and the 2010 model? Foam-
filled tires and different color options. For the price difference
between the two models, we could have the tires filled with foam at a
local bike shop many times over.

I had Jim come check out my "find" and left to go to work. That night
I came home to find the crib, dresser, and stroller in the nursury! My
wonderful husband managed to negotiate a deal with the store for all
three items for even less money.

I have to admit I am very excited about this. At 29.5 weeks of
pregnancy, my desire to nest has started to threaten my (and Jim's)
sanity. And folding the same little stack of clothes in an empty room
is only fun the first thousand times. I am looking forward to actually
getting to put those clothes away!

Right now Baby girl's room is in shambles. The crib, dresser, and
rocker are sitting amongst piles of random baby "stuff" and half-
finished projects. I am looking forward to posting a picture of the
final product!

Hawaii 2010

2010-04-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

Jim and I just returned from a wonderful week in Hawaii. It was a
bittersweet trip for us; this is likely the last time we will get a
chance to vacation before Baby girl arrives, but we are excited for
the new addition to our family.

We visited the Hilton property at Waikoloa on the Big Island and loved
every minute of it! The Big Island has a large diversity of climates
and terrains, from snow-capped mountain peaks to rainforest to active
volcanos and sunny beaches. We were able to do and see many different
things. Baby girl seemed to enjoy the island as well (although hiking
in the third trimester is NOT the most fun I ever had!)

Here are a few pictures from our last night in Hawaii. We are looking
forward to returning again in the future!

Baby girl's first sundresses!

2010-03-30T19:57:00.001-07:00

Grandma Bunker and I stumbled across a cute boutique here in Hawaii
and couldn't resist these cute sundresses for next summer.

I can't wait to see how cute she will be!

28 Weeks!

2010-03-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here's how I'm celebrating "officially" being in my third trimester...

For the record, Baby girl is LOVING Hawaii!

Purple is fun too!

2010-03-23T22:21:00.001-07:00

I had to post a picture of this fabulous gift for Baby girl from one
of my wonderful co-workers. She is so blessed to have Mommy's
spectacular work family in her life... and so is Mommy!

I'm thinking a very special newborn picture will have to be taken in
these. Perhaps with a little black tutu?

100 days to go!

2010-03-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

You may have already noticed: today, March 10, the pregnancy widgit on
this blog says I have exactly 100 days to go.

Or, if you prefer the countdown by weeks, I have 14 weeks and 3 days
to go.

No matter how you look at it, it's exciting. Now the plan is KEEPING
her in for most of that time...

Although I have to admit my new-found hobby of buying adorable baby
girl things hasn't caused me to contract!

The above picture is what I got to celebrate hitting 100 days on the countdown (because of course every newborn baby girl needs her own swimsuit and cover-up!)

I've been having some fun...

2010-03-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

25 weeks down... 15 more to go!

I (with a lot of help from Jim and Grandma Bunker) have started working on the nursery and Baby girl's little wardrobe. Jim and I finished our registry at Target and have settled on "Mocha Ladybug" by Tiddliwinks for her bedding. The colors are chocolate brown and blush pink with a cute ladybug and flower motif. We don't have any furniture yet except for a gliding rocker Grandma and Grandpa Brown got us for Christmas, so the room is still completely empty save the rocker and a basket with the few outfits and things I've been collecting.

I have to admit it's fun shopping for a little girl in the spring-time. I love the pink-and-brown combination for baby girl clothes and it's exciting to imagine how precious she will be in these little outfits. Here's a picture of one of the exceptionally cute baby girl items I have so far!

Contractions, part 2.

2010-03-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

What a super terrific week it's been already.

It started on my second night shift of the three I was scheduled to work this week. Somewhere between a crash c-section and a really horrible vaginal delivery, I didn't get a chance to eat or drink or take a break for 9 hours. Apparently my uterus did not appreciate that because by the end of my shift I was contracting painfully again (and in tears).

I monitored myself for an hour, saw I was contracting every 5 minutes, and decided to go home. I was exhausted and had to be back to work that night so I promised my co-workers I would drink plenty of water and it would all be ok.

It wasn't ok. Between painful contractions and having to pee every 45 minutes from all the water I drank, I didn't sleep at all. I returned to work early to monitor myself again, saw I was still contracting, and broke down sobbing (more or less from exhaustion than pain this time).

A few minutes later I was in an exam room with an IV and Dr. H was on his way. Two liters of fluid and dozing in and out of sleep for a few hours made my angry uterus calm down and they sent me home to sleep.

So all's well that ends well. Baby girl didn't seem to mind the contractions as much as I did. I'm just hoping "Contractions, part 3" will hold off for a good 13-15 more weeks.

We are viable!

2010-02-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

24 weeks... We are officially viable!

Baby girl officially has lung sacs now, and while they are not fully developed, if she were to be born today she'd have a 20-30% chance of survival. Not terrific, but better than the 0% chance she had previously.

We had a brief moment of pause yesterday when I began contracting painfully in the morning and didn't stop for most of the day. Baby girl did NOT enjoy all the activity at home and punished me by not moving for most of the day. Fortunately, after some water and rest, things settled down and she resumed her usual kick-boxing activity on my sore tummy that night.

Here's another picture to keep the public satisfied and coming back for more.

Where, oh where, has my belly button gone?

2010-02-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

Where, oh where, could it be?

For the record:

18 weeks - belly button went completely flat
22 weeks - belly button went from an "innie" to an "outie"

Just another subtle reminder that my body will never again be the same.

In other news, Baby Girl is the size of a papaya this week (1.2 lbs, 8 inches long). She has taken to using her body parts to push as hard as possible on my uterine wall and the structures immediately attached (such as my stretching ligaments and almost-continuously-full bladder). These body parts manage to visibly bulge their way out of my abdomen and I find myself either a) trying to hold her up off my spasming ligaments/bladder or b) poking her little butt/head until she pulls it back in and the rock-hard bulge in my side disappears.

Baby Girl also moves constantly. Jim can almost always feel her move and kick when he touches my abdomen. She dances and kicks and moves regardless of the time of day or the level of activity I am doing. This makes me think she might be a mover and a shaker, and not so much the calm, cuddly baby I am hoping for.

22 weeks also marks the official use of the term "cranky pregnant one" to describe me at work. I have been hard at work towards this title for the past 16 weeks, and finally succeeded today when my coworkers simultaneously voted to keep the students/nice patients/doctors we actually like away from me so I don't eat them.

Have I mentioned how fun pregnancy is?

20 weeks down...

2010-01-30T21:18:00.001-08:00

... 20 more to go.

Baby girl to-be-named and I have officially hit the halfway mark today. Here's a little visual of what 20 weeks looks like:

I am: 20 weeks

I feel: exhausted from walking across the room.

I can: only fit into 4 of my shirts.

Baby girl is: the size of a banana.

Baby girl feels: quite comfortable in her current home (which is growing tighter everyday).

Baby girl can: almost bring me to tears with a kick in the right place.

Dr. H is: scratching his head to figure out where I'm going to put the 7.5 lbs Baby girl is estimated to be at term.

Announcing...

2010-01-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

Baby Girl Brown!

Jim and I had our 19-week ultrasound yesterday and are happy to report that a) our baby is developing perfectly and b) our baby is a girl!

Here's a sampling of the nine fabulous ultrasound pictures Dr. H was able to capture for us. I have chosen to *not* post the picture verifying she is a girl (for the sake of her modesty), but we can assure you she is most definitely a girl.

What have we learned about our daughter from these pictures? 1) she is very flexible, 2) she is perfect from her head down to her toes, and 3) she did not particularly enjoy having her picture taken (as evidenced by the fourth picture down where she hides her face in protest). Enjoy!

18 weeks... blah.

2010-01-22T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a summary of the last four weeks:

Week 15 - I get the flu and vomit.
Week 16 - I get over the flu, start working nights, and vomit.
Week 17 - I vomit, start cramping, start medication, and vomit some more.
Week 18 - The baby kicks me in the gut and I vomit even more.

I've been getting a lot of questions about how second trimester has been going, and so far, it's not been super. I no longer have the overwhelming feeling of impending doom that I felt the entire first trimester, and I've had a lot more energy, but every time something changes in my life (i.e. going from working days to nights and back, getting the flu, getting a bladder infection, starting antibiotics, etc.) I'm thrown back into a few days of first-trimester-like activity. Which means being confined to the bed and the toilet. Yuck.

I'm now feeling the baby move all the time. It has also developed a very strong kick, which it likes to do at the worst possible times, like kicking me in the stomach when I'm queasy or in the bladder when I need to pee. And yes, I am certain it is a kick because you can watch my stomach move when it happens! Jim can put his hand on my stomach and feel the baby move when it really gets going, but he has yet to feel it kicking.

Speaking of my husband, he has been the one continual blessing through this whole experience. For the past four months I have given up on cleaning, cooking, buying groceries, and doing laundry, and he never complains about not having any food to eat or clean clothes to wear. He is always looking for ways to make my life a little easier, like holding my hair and rubbing my back while I vomit or dropping his very busy schedule to bring me food when I need it. I am very thankful for God's provision to me through Jim.

The next time I post will be to update everyone on the results of our ultrasound next week. I'm very anxious to find out if this baby is developing appropriately or not. The past two weeks I've taken care of patients with serious complications who are roughly as pregnant as I am. That, the cramping I experienced last week, and the two nightmares I've had about this pregnancy (both in which I died and the only dreams about this baby I've had to date) have reminded me how very fragile my condition is.

News from Haiti

2010-01-14T17:28:00.000-08:00

News from Haiti:

I'm posting news from an American family in Haiti close to my heart. Shelley and Byron Tlucek are missionaries to Haiti with their seven children. Shelley and Byron were in the US during the earthquake, but their five youngest children were in Haiti. Praise God their family, the other missionary families they work with, and the Haitian women and orphans they care for have survived. God continues to provide for their needs with food and shelter (Shelley reports their pantry and freezer were full before the earthquake hit, and 40+ people have been able to be sustained the past few days from those provisions).

Four of their five children in Haiti are currently at the US embassy awaiting evacuation, if possible. Their youngest daughter, Isabelle, age 3, is staying with close friend in Haiti. They do not yet have a passport for her to be able to leave Haiti. Shelley and Byron are in Florida trying to get a flight back to Haiti.

http://www.heartlineministires.org/

UPDATE FROM SHELLEY:

Byron believes that our children need to be evacuated, if at all possible. I confess to being resistant to this. Bodies are literally lining the streets, covered in sheets, many of them identified - but not all of them. As you know it is very warm in Haiti. This is a very bad combination, which will be made much worse if it begins to rain. The potential for spreading disease increases exponentially at this point. So, against my strongest desire, I am asking that you pray the embassy permits my children to be evacuated with Kelly Tobin.

FURTHER......please pray they issue an emergency visa so that Belle can fly with them. We do not have her passport as it was just turned into the Ministry of Immigration for the receipt of her new passport with our name. We have nothing. We are trying to work with the embassy - and have not been able to speak with a "real person" as of this moment.

JUST LEARNED that our tickets have been cancelled again. We do not know what to do.Isabelle is the biggest, BIGGEST piece of this very difficult puzzle. We cannot leave her. Oh, dear God, please do not make us leave her by herself.

At present we have run out of options - ONLY GOD CAN PROVIDE ANSWERS, DIRECTION, A CLEAR PATH.

We really need a clear path.

News on the home front:

While there was great seismic activity in Haiti, there was some smaller activity going on in my body.

I spent Monday horribly sick and returned to work my first night of three in a row cramping, of all things. I assumed it was dehydration, but after the cramping continued and worsened over three nights, I had some tests ran. It's looking like I have a small bladder infection causing all these problems, and a good course of antibiotics should return everything to normal.

The peanut is angry about all the seismic activity going on at home, but fine. In fact, when I tried to monitor the heartbeat for a minute at work, the peanut kicked the monitor violently. Twice. This child is going to give us a run for our money.

And yes, we have still not closed on our house. The underwriters are responsible for the continued hold-ups. We have no idea when we'll be able to get into our new home, but the good news is our loan officer is so frustrated by the underwriters that she lowered our interest rate again. We've decided that maybe all this waiting isn't such a bad thing.

In all these things, I continue to be grateful that God is in perfect control.

My, how we've grown!

2009-12-26T02:31:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2009:

7 weeks
The baby is the size of: a blueberry
I can: still lift my shirt without feeling self-conscious
Heartrate: 170 bpm by ultrasound

Christmas 2009:

15 weeks
The baby is the size of: a large naval orange
I am the size of: a small house
Heartrate: 140 bpm by doppler

Come celebrate a rockin' Christmas with us TONIGHT!

2009-12-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today...

2009-12-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

... I was here:
Today I find myself celebrating three years of marriage to an unselfish, Godly, loving, devoted man. He has stuck with me for better and for worse, in sickness and in health. He exemplifies what Paul meant when he called husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church.

Jim, the way you love me causes me to understand and value my Savior's love for me more and more each day. You seek to glorify God in our marriage by faithfully leading me and sacrificially giving. I do not understand how I am worthy of the privilege of being your wife (especially because I am not nearly as good at being a wife as you are at being a husband!)

Thank you for being such a fabulous example to me, to the people we have been called to serve, and to our child. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

2009 – What a year! As we wrap up the third year of our life together, we are looking forward to the exciting new changes right around the corner in 2010.

2009 was the year of travel. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to minister in East Asia, Haiti and Salt Lake City to the unreached, the orphans, and the less fortunate. We also feel very blessed to have afforded the time (and money, thanks to Dave Ramsey!) to take two amazing vacations to Hawaii and Whistler as well! Needless to say, traveling and experiencing new places, people, and cultures is something Jim and I enjoy very much and hope to continue in the future.

2009 was also the year for health issues. We started out the year with Jim’s digestive problems of the past three years culminating in needing his gallbladder removed, which he had done in March. We also managed to acquire two different parasites during our trip to Haiti that wreaked havoc on our bodies for awhile. I am happy to say we’ve taken care of our respective parasites successfully! And finally, shortly after getting rid of one parasite, I learned I had unexpectedly acquired another – but this one I wouldn’t be able to get rid of for nine months. We are thrilled to share that we are pregnant with our first child, due June 19, 2010. Pregnancy has not been kind to my body, and due to hyperemesis graviderum (or severe all-day sickness), I’m juggling three different medications to keep myself healthy enough to stay out of the hospital and continue working. I am almost through my first trimester and hoping better days are in sight!

Jim is also wrapping up his second year at Quinault Baptist Church as the Minister of Youth and Worship, and continues to love what he is doing. He is excited to see the youth and worship departments’ spiritual development, and is looking forward to taking youth on his third World Changers trip to repair homes for the less fortunate in northern Washington state this summer. I am still working as a Registered Nurse in Labor and Delivery at Kadlec Regional Medical Center and hoping to go part-time when I take on the full-time job of “Mommy” this June. I feel very grateful to work in the department I do with a wonderful group of nurses and doctors who have taken such good care of me already this pregnancy!

We have also been very fortunate (and thankful) to live with Jim’s parents this past year to finish paying off debt and save up for our own home. Thanks to the knowledge we’ve gained from Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, we’ve paid off an embarrassing amount of debt and have our finances in order, which we feel very blessed to have done prior to the birth of our first child. We have also been searching for our next home over the past few months and are currently in negotiations over one right now. Jim and I hope be able to be in settled in our new home just after the 1st of the year!

Of all the seasons of the year, Jim and I love this one the best. Every year during the Christmas season we are reminded of the great love God has for us in that He sent His Son to pay the payment for our sins so we might have relationship with that very loving Creator God. Our prayer is that you would be reminded of His great love for you this season as well.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Jim and Daja Brown

11 weeks... and starting to feel human again!

2009-11-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Maybe all it took was threatening my body with a Zofran pump. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm at 11 weeks now. Or maybe God decided to stop the torture. Either way, I am feeling more functional and human-like than I have this pregnancy!

Do I still experience nausea? Yes. Do I still throw up? Of course. Do smells and sights and sounds and movements still cause me to gag? Definitely. The difference now is it's on a more controllable schedule AND the extreme fatigue is subsiding. Last week I added Reglan on top of my Zofran/Phenergan schedule and am finding the nausea and vomiting can be (almost) controlled with rest, fluids and frequent eating. Here's to no more days of being unable to lift my head without throwing up!

I am so thankful to be feeling more functional, especially since I just started week 2 of labor training at work. I am LOVING labor training and feeling stretched and challenged again at work, but working in a more high-stress, fast-pace role isn't thrilling my baby has much as it's thrilling me. Thank God for the wonderful women I work with! They continue to anticipate my needs and notice when I need a break, even if I haven't figured it out yet.

11 weeks down... 29 to go.

Whistler 2009 (or reasons why we LOVE Canada!)

2009-11-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

We just returned from my surprise birthday/anniversary gift for Jim: a week at Whistler. This was a particularly special trip for us because a) we originally wanted to spend our honeymoon there but were not able to get a reservation the week of our wedding, b) Whistler is a world-class skiing spot, and c) the alpine events of the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held there.

Unfortunately, when I planned this trip in July, I did not plan on being pregnant and unable to do anything winter sport-sy at all. I sat in our condo and watched the snow fall all week while Jim was able to get out and snowboard a little. The weather was perfect; Whistler had a record month of snowfall this November, and it snowed at least a few more feet while we were there. We felt like we were in a Winter Wonderland!

I wish I had remembered to bring a camera to capture the gorgeous scenery, but it seems like these days whatever brain cells I haven't puked out the baby has stolen (or vice versa). So instead of browsing through some pictures, you get to enjoy my list of reasons why Jim and I love Canada.

1) The Food
We have yet to have a bad meal in Canada. Every restaurant we've gone to has been exceptional. There is nothing better than Canadian beef direct from the plains of Alberta. The best part? Canadian restaurants serve correct portion sizes.

2) The People
Canadians are genuinely friendly and courteous, and always willing to lend a hand. Anytime Jim and I looked confused in public, we were guaranteed to have a friendly face ask us if we needed help.

3) The Scenery
Jim and I have only ventured into two provinces, but we have been impressed with the beautiful country we've seen!

4) Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons is the Canadian McDonalds. There is literally one on every corner! They serve coffee, doughnuts, sandwiches, and soup, and they are extremely popular. Jim and I visit one every time we're in Canada... and so far we've always struck out. We think we must have "We're dumb Americans" plastered on our foreheads and the employees take that as their cue to torture us. They never get our order right and they can never except our plastic, forcing us to use American cash that they never exchange right. We always end up with the wrong food and losing out on a few bucks. But the food is always worth it, so we keep going back! Well, that and our goal is to have one experience at Tim Hortons that goes right.

There are many other reasons why we love Canada, but I've thrown up twice trying to write this blog entry so I'm going to just call it quits (the real reason is the limited number of brain cells I have left can't remember anything beyond what I've already written!). I will end my tribute to Canada with this: God bless you Canada, for being good to us every time we visit you. If Jim was offered a ministry position in your great country, we would be hard-pressed to turn it down!

In other news, we are now 10 weeks pregnant. Jim was excited to find that the virtual baby on this blog looks like "a real baby"! This week I will be acquiring a new body part: a pump that will continuously intravenously infuse medication and fluids into my body to (hopefully) allow me to be a functional human being again. This week I will also be starting intensive labor-training at work. I am officially out of sick-time, so even if I'm lying on the floor dying, I will still be at work! As for the sickness, I keep praying better days will come.

IV Fluids Round #1... and #2... and...

2009-11-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

It's official: the Zofran has stopped doing the trick.

I mean, it works better than nothing at all. Currently I'm taking 8mg of Zofran every 6 hours around the clock with a dose of Unisom and Benadryl at bedtime... and waking up every couple of hours to throw up through the night. And throwing up several times a day. And unable to keep most foods down. All of that and working 12 hour shifts do not mix well together.

The breaking point came yesterday at work when my MD promised to call me in a prescription for Reglan and instead called our lead nurse and told her to pin me down, put an IV in, and give me IV Phenergan and fluids. It's amazing what IV Phenergan, three liters of IV fluids, and a night of sleep only interrupted with one brief period of nausea can do for a person. I feel almost human again!

I still have my IV in and am managing it at home with an ample supply of IV fluids and IV medicine. I am also still working full-time, and my coworkers get a kick out of me sitting in report in the morning with an IV pole. Tomorrow I will stop the Zofran all together and start Reglan, the next step on the ladder of hyperemesis treatment.

In other news, I am 9 weeks pregnant tomorrow. Only 31 more weeks to go.

Oh, it only gets better?

2009-11-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

"Just you wait, Daja, it'll get better..."

Here's what I've got so far:

-Nausea
-Vomiting
-Indigestion
-Constipation
-Bloating
-Urinary incontinence
-Fatigue
-Insomnia
-Inability to control my emotions
-Back pain
-Leg pain
-Stomach pain
-Headaches
-The general feeling that my pelvis is being pulled apart like sticky buns
-Acne
-Loss of skin elasticity
-Dry hair

Add to that list the fact that Zofran is working only about 80% of the time and bringing with it some really *super* side effects. Here's my (recently) updated list of medications:

Zofran
Unisom
Benadryl
Dulcolax

And if this cocktail doesn't work, I will be dabbling with Reglan, Compazine, IV hydration, or even possibly a PICC line with a continuous Zofran pump.

Fortunately, I work with a fabulous group of labor and delivery nurses who are generally concerned about my welfare and completely willing to pester my MD for more medication and IV hydrate me while at work. Unfortunately, I have to work and need to save all my paid time-off for my Hawaii trip, maternity leave, and any other unforeseen pregnancy-related complications, so taking a sick day because you were up all night vomiting is out of the question. So, I have mastered the art of carrying little blue baggies around in my pocket and finding convenient corners to duck into when needed. Oh, and I have my MD's personal cell phone number and permission to bug him "whenever I want". My job definitely comes with some perks!

On that note, Jim and I are doing some traveling these next few weeks. First, we are heading to Tacoma for the Northwest Baptist Convention, which is three days of meetings for Southern Baptist pastors in the Northwest. Secondly, I surprised Jim for his birthday/our anniversary with a week at Whistler. This trip was planned prior to getting pregnant, so while I am disappointed to not be able to ski, I am looking forward to spending a cozy week in front of the fire in the middle of Winter Wonderland. That is, as long as the medication holds out...

Thank God for Zofran!

2009-11-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

I know I've said it before, but here it is again: Pregnancy sucks.

The act of vomiting has now become a sport. Normally, when I get sick to my stomach, throwing-up brings relief. These days, there is no relief. No matter how much or how many times I vomit, the awful nausea is still there. Beyond that, the sight and smell of the vomit causes me to keep throwing-up (and not just that smell, but the smell of almost anything/everything!).

And yes, I have tried every "remedy" out there: eating saltine crackers in bed, eating ginger, taking B6, taking more ginger, wearing a sea-band, taking Unisom, and even taking Phenergan (my usual favorite go-to drug for my sick patients!). Nothing worked, and it progressed to the point where I was unable to keep any of it down. In fact, I couldn't even keep water down.

This past Sunday was awful. I was vomiting every 30 minutes and my throat was raw from the constant barrage of stomach acid. Thankfully, my dear friend Jordan came to my rescue with her left-over Zofran from her pregnancy. She brought me snacks that helped her during her pregnancy and flowers, and cleaned my house and toilet. She even gave me a pedicure (something I was pretty sure wasn't going to happen for me anytime in the next 7 weeks)!

The Zofran is currently working magic on my stomach and I haven't thrown-up since Sunday... thank God! I've been able to work and eat and live only slightly less-normal than usual.

Thank you Jordan for coming to my rescue! You are a wonderful friend and I am very thankful for you!

Updated Due Date

2009-10-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

We had our first ultrasound today with Dr. H, and, while we were thrilled to see the peanut, we learned that he/she is only measuring at 6 weeks and 3 days. This puts my due date at June 19, 2010 (which also drags my first trimester out 2 more weeks).

Once I have time to scan the ultrasound picture, I'll post it. The peanut is measuring 0.65 cm long and has a strong heartbeat of 145 bpm. Dr. H is amazed at the large amounts of hormones the peanut seems to be producing, which bodes well for this pregnancy being carried out to full-term.

We also updated our pregnancy ticker on the blog to more accurately reflect where the peanut actually is in his/her development (aka less human, more alien)!

The Silver Lining

2009-10-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday, and the peanut has chosen to take the weekend off from making me vomit-ous-ly ill. Which is beneficial, because I'm on Day 2 of my weekend at work, and being able to think past the next vomit session comes in handy in my job.

Jim and I have officially scheduled our last "baby-less" vacation... to Hawaii! We had bought a condo package last June in hopes of using it this June for another trip. Once I found out I was pregnant (and tentatively due in June), we had to scramble to figure out if/when we could move the trip. Also, this trip is Teea's graduation gift, so we had to figure out how to schedule it so she could fit it into her busy senior year. We settled on her spring break, which is the last week of March. I will be 30-ish weeks at that point (and hoping to still be able to wear a swimsuit!).

Also, I bagged the previous pregnancy ticker I had (because the whole "you're only 7 weeks" thing was really bugging me) and downloaded a new widget that shows the baby at it's exact developmental stage. As my pregnancy progresses, the baby will "develop" just like the real peanut into a more human-looking creature, but for now, enjoy looking at the alien-like tadpole swimming around in it's virtual womb!

First Trimester = Pregnancy Sucks

2009-10-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick recap of the past few weeks:

-Wake up crippled by nausea but possessed by the overwhelming urge to pee.
-Attempt to force down yet ANOTHER disgusting saltine cracker.
-Vomit 3 times in the shower.
-Clean the shower.
-Vomit once more from the smell of the shower cleaner.
-Attempt to blow-dry hair while lying on the ground.
-Try to get off the floor only to realize every joint in my body has frozen in place.
-Get off the floor just in time to pee... yet again.
-Gag from the smell of the toilet water (yes, it does have a smell!).
-Gag again from the smell of the trash can I am holding in front of my face while I pee.
-Place the anti-nausea "sea band" on my wrist.
-Attempt to force down yet ANOTHER disgusting saltine cracker.
-Drive the 25-minute commute to work while eating the same disgusting saltine cracker.
-Readjust the anti-nausea "sea band" on my wrist so it no longer is cutting off the circulation to my hand.
-Listen to my co-workers say "You look AWFUL... are you sure you don't want another saltine? And what's with your hair?".
-Attempt to eat the first of six meals that day... and make it through three bites before the next wave of nausea hits.
-Gag over the nasty prenatal vitamins, DHA, folic acid, and vitamin B6 that my doctor "swears" will cure my morning sickness.
-Pee yet again.
-Gag over the smells in my patient's room.
-Duck into the patient's bathroom to attempt to gag without them noticing (this has yet to work).
-Convince my patient that I do not have the swine flu.
-Pee again.
-Attempt to force down yet ANOTHER disgusting saltine cracker.
-Repeat for another 8-10 hours.
-FINALLY feel hunger and attempt to eat.
-Unable to eat more than a few bites thanks to the incredible shrinking stomach (and aversion to all foods), but force down the entire meal anyway.
-Become the battleground on which nausea and indigestion duke it out for top-billing.
-Either a) vomit again or b) go to bed.
-Lie awake half the night with either a) nausea or b) indigestion.
-FINALLY fall asleep just in time to wake up and pee again.

The gestation wheel at work says I'm currently 8 weeks, the stupid pregnancy counter on my blog says I'm just past 7 weeks. I'm choosing to go by the gestation wheel at work, because 6 more weeks of this is depressing enough.

Shauna, your prayers have been answered.

2009-10-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

I should have figured something big was going to happen. Life had become too smooth, routine.

I should have guessed when certain doors closed rather sharply that God was up to something BIG.

And, if that wasn't enough, there were certainly physical and emotional cues. I won't go into details, but it was enough to make my husband wonder what was wrong with me.

Jim and I like to say that the moral of our story is when life become predictable, God turns it upside down... and He certainly did!

We are thrilled/terrified to announce we are pregnant with our first child.

Actually, those are two of the 47 different emotions currently circulating through our minds. We had not planned on being pregnant at this point in our marriage. In fact, we had a few things left on our "Before Kids" checklist to accomplish.

Yet, despite our selfish natures and our meticulous planning, God saw fit to have the last laugh and bless us with a child. Like everything else so far in our marriage, we aren't quite sure what He is thinking and why He has chosen this timing, but we are (slowly learning to be) content to roll with His plans. After all, He's proven over and over that His ways are best!

This does put a few things on hold for us. First and foremost, I had previously been contemplating going back to school for my Master's degree. This door was firmly shut prior to learning about the pregnancy. I didn't not qualify for any of the programs I wanted to apply for due to lack of experience, training, or certifications. Go figure.

Secondly, vacation plans are changing. While in Hawaii this past June, we bought another week to be used this coming summer. Obviously that won't be a viable option with a newborn, so we are tweaking those plans to utilize that trip prior to the point where I will be too pregnant to go.

Our current plan at this point is to continue living in the basement, finish paying off the last bit of debt we owe on our cars, reconfigure our budget to include diapers and figure out how to fit a crib into our bedroom. I will most likely cut back on my hours at work after the baby is born, so it will take us a little longer than expected to get into a house of our own. Not to mention the many (gulp) medical bills heading our way.

This is absolutely surreal for us. Jim took the news and immediately started working on our budget. I, on the other hand, have been too shocked to do anything except be clumsy. Which in turn made Jim research the safety ratings on my car.

My estimated due date (by my own estimations, mind you) is June 7, 2010. Other than the overwhelming clumsiness, general soreness, inability to sleep, mood swings and the incessant nausea and vomiting, I have yet to experience the majority of the symptoms of pregnancy, including weight gain. This makes me very happy, as I just bought three new pairs of smaller-sized jeans since I haven't been able to gain the weight back that I lost in Haiti and I was hoping to get some use out of them. Go figure!

I plan on using this blog to chronicle my pregnancy (since I've been assured soon enough I will no longer have the brain cells left to remember all these details) so stay tuned for periodic updates and the occasional "baby bump" picture!

DOXA

2009-09-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

DOXA... an evening of worship and praise!

This Saturday, September 26, 6:30 PM at First Baptist Church of Richland.

Please come join us for what I feel is a little taste of what heaven will be like: singing praises to our King!

(And yes, Jordan, "Sing to the King" made the set!)

Updates... finally!

2009-09-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

It's mid-September here in the Tri-Cities which means we are firmly on our way to fall. This is my favorite time of year. I love everything about fall: the crisp fall air, pot roast, the cooler temperatures, pie, the fabulous clothes, apples, back-to-school, Thanksgiving, football, sweaters... I could go on and on!

Fall also signifies the end of summer, which means Jim and I are getting back to a more normal routine. Jim has started practices for this year's Christmas program, which is tentatively set for the first weekend in December. He also already has most of the year's youth events planned, and is working through "Systematic Theology" with the youth group. We've both been pleased to see our youth grow closer to God and desire to know Him more these days. What an awesome group of youth we get to serve!

Jim and I have started the search for our next home. We've been actively looking with a realtor for some time now, and have pretty much made up our minds as to the type of house and location we want. We're still going back and forth between buying a resale versus building new construction, but we hope to make our final decision before next spring. It's been a wonderful blessing to be able to live with Jim's parents as we paid off our debt and built our savings, but we are looking forward to having our own home again.

We are in week 2 of the 2009-2010 Fantasy Football season. My team, the "Winning Wives", is returning as the defending champions while Jim is hoping to make a comeback after finishing second-to-last last year. Fantasy Football season is a wonderful time for Jim and I, as we spend hours watching football and reading up on commentaries. We also get to playfully "trash talk" our fellow friends in the league and enjoy watching games with them. Jim and I love football season!

Speaking of sports, my sister Teea is starting out her senior year of Varsity Soccer with a bang! In her game last Saturday versus Kamiakin High School, she scored 2 of the 4 goals and assisted on 1. Jim and I are looking forward to watching Teea finish out an awesome senior season and graduate next spring.

Mainly, Jim and I are enjoying a lot of quality time together after our long summer. We've been growing closer and enjoying each other more. I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing man! We are very much looking forward to celebrating three wonderful years together this December.

I hope that suffices for enough updating for now. This season has started out with much joy in our household, as we are amazed at how awesome our God is and the many blessings He has bestowed on us. We are so undeserving of His mercy!

I'll leave you with a picture of Jim's new 'do. He's growing his hair out... I have to admit it doesn't look that bad now, but there is a bet going on around church that he won't cut it until February. I believe the pool is up to $55. Now I just need to figure out how to get in on that action!

Please Pray for the Caynor Family!

2009-08-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

Rick and Lisa Caynor are ABWE missionaries to Thailand. Lisa grew up in the same church Jim and I grew up in, and her parents still attend that church. We've gotten to know this wonderful family while they've been able to be home the past few years, and we were stunned to come across urgent prayer request posting by ABWE tonight. Please join us in praying for Rick and Lisa, their children, their family, and that God will be glorified through this event.

ABWE URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

Thailand — An ABWE missionary family was in a car accident, August 27, in Thailand, resulting in multiple injuries.

Lisa, Kristen and Ricky Caynor, wife and children of ABWE missionary Rick Caynor, were in a single car accident that occurred on Thursday afternoon as Lisa and the kids were traveling to Huahin for work on a visa extension. Lisa had to swerve to avoid a motorcycle that abruptly slowed and turned. Her vehicle crashed into a concrete highway divider. First responders transported children Kristen and Ricky to a hospital in Petchaburi and Lisa to another hospital in Huahin.

Lisa is comatose (an examination of her injuries did not reveal any spinal or neck injuries; no cuts; no breaks). A CT scan revealed no bleeding on Lisa’s brain. The doctors have elicited some responsiveness from Lisa. Kristen suffered a broken ankle and a fractured tailbone. Ricky sustained cracked ribs and a bump on his head. He has a big seatbelt bruise across his chest and abdomen.

Please join us in thanking the Lord for delivering them through the serious accident and for providing emergency care at a provincial hospital. After being stabilized, Lisa was transported three hours north to the Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok where she will receive excellent medical care.

We praise the Lord for assembling an on-sight support system for the Caynor family prior to the accident. Ken & Alice Cole (our team leader is a medical doctor) returned to Thailand from a year of furlough ministry less than 24-hours before the accident. Lisa’s cousin, Lori together with her husband Tim and nephew Micah, are in Thailand visiting them. They are missionaries in Kuwait. They have been helping Rick cover the needs at the two hospitals where his wife and teenage kids are being treated. The Caynors’ Thai ministry partners in Cha-am have also been a comfort and help to Rick during the emergency.

Thanks for praying for Lisa’s parents too. The McNallys reside in Pasco, WA.

Please join us in praying for this family.

Haiti 2009: HE is the refiner.

2009-08-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

My father sent me a forward today that encouraged me very much. This surprises me for two reasons: a) my father never sends out forwards and b) I never read them. After the past month Jim and I have had, I shouldn't be surprised anymore at the lack of normal behavior I am exhibiting!

Malachi 3:3 says: "He is the refiner and purifier of silver". The forward my father sent me talked about the process of purifying silver, and how the silversmith must sit holding the silver in the hottest part of the flame, never taking his eyes off it until it is perfectly pure - when he can see his own reflection in it.

I love how God communicates to us through His creation. In everything from intricate design of a flower to the care of a potter handling clay to the intimacy of marriage we learn more about God's character and heart. In everything I do and see, God is present, revealing more of Himself to me; I simply have to remember to look for it.

I haven't yet been able to sit down and articulate the whole of my experience in Haiti, but to briefly summarize, it was a period of refining and purification in my life. Between the illness, the overwhelming heat, the challenges with our youth... let's just say this experience was the most challenging one Jim and I have had yet in youth ministry. I left the United States with the flu and returned with a parasite. I spent the first few days in Haiti sick in bed (which has to be one of the worst places in the world to be sick!), and last night I was sent home from work with abdominal cramping, nausea, and blacking-out every time I stand up. As for work, I had barely enough vacation time to take the time to go to Haiti, and I've had to take even more time off with being sick. The issues with our youth pushed both Jim and I to our limits as we were forced to spend the whole trip (including the final hours driving back to the Tri-Cities) policing behavior.

In spite of the many frustrations, illness, exhaustion, mental and emotional struggles we faced on this trip, we were privileged to see and experience God in a new way. One of the experiences that struck me was truly seeing God as our only hope through the eyes of the Haitian believers. Their country is devastated and corrupt, they have no money, no possessions and no hope of bettering their situation. Their life expectancy is mid-50's at best. They have no physical comforts to speak of, and can not even eat their own food or drink their own water. These people have nothing to look forward to in this world. For them, Jesus IS their one Treasure and their only Hope, and they truly know what it is to long for Heaven. Many times, as I was watching the wonder and beauty of this truth, the words Jesus spoke to the church at Laodicea came to mind as I thought of how unfortunate we in America are, in comparisons with these Haitians. We have our every need and desire met, and every creature comfort we can imagine, and yet spiritually we are poorer than the poorest Haitian believer. For the majority of us, we will never get the privilege of truly experiencing Jesus as our only hope because we have so many other things to place our hope in.

God has allowed me to see new facets of His character this trip, including His mercy, patience and grace, and He is still showing me new things about Himself even after returning to the States. What an awesome God we serve, that He has done so much for us and yet He continues to sit in front of the hot flames, never taking His eyes off of us, until we are made perfect in His image. Thank you, Jesus, for continuing to refine and purify me!

Jim and I would also like to extend our gratitude to everyone who supported us, both financially and through your prayers. We felt the full weight of those prayers in Haiti through the many trying experiences we faced, and it encouraged us both so much!

I promise this is not the last post about our trip to Haiti. I plan on posting more in-depth details of what we did, including pictures, in the near future. Stay tuned!

And He's Off Again... And So Am I!

2009-07-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, after being gone almost the entire month, Jim is preparing to leave again... but this time I get to go with him!

We are on our way to Haiti in two days! Jim and I are taking one other adult and seven youth on our first mission trip overseas together. Previously, I've spent time in Brazil and Jim has been to Asia and Mexico, but we've never been out of the country together (minus our honeymoon to Canada... that's a great story!). We have also never led seven youth out of the country either. This should be an interesting trip!

Why are we going to Haiti? We are going to be ministering along side the people at Heartline Ministries. Their goal is "endeavoring to be the hands of Christ to the people of Haiti", and they strive to achieve this through an orphanage, English camps, and women's programs. Please visit their website here to learn more about their work and how we will be helping.

Our team is leaving July 24 and will return August 4. I'm excited to see how God uses us in Haiti, and pray that we will be able to minister to both the Haitians and the team working tirelessly there!

On a side note, I managed to catch a bug that's been going around at work. Yesterday I was unable to get out of bed in the morning and have spent most of the past two days sleeping. I am hoping to regain my health before we leave, otherwise, the trip might be very interesting!

I appreciate your prayers and support for this trip. We will not have cell phone or email access while down in Haiti, but I will be sure to post about the trip when we return!

And He's Finally Coming Home!

2009-07-17T00:24:00.001-07:00

It is very late, and I have to get up in only four short hours for work, but I can not sleep. Jim is coming home tomorrow after a very LONG couple of weeks away and I am ecstatic! I have missed him so much this past month. He is my best friend and better half, and without him here I have felt very incomplete. And lonely, especially as I have not been able to communicate with him for the majority of the time he's been away. In fact, over the course of this past year we have spent over a month apart from each other. I'm pretty certain one of the reasons the idea of marriage was so appealing to me because I thought I wouldn't have to be alone, but here I am.

I've been thinking a lot over the past several weeks about where Jim and I have come in our time together. We met four years ago, in May of 2005. I had just wrapped up my first year at WSU Pullman, and Jim was living and working here. Looking back, it's amazing to us to remember where God had taken us in the six months prior to that first meeting. His plan in working in each of our hearts to prepare us for each other is so evident now. At the beginning of that summer we were both in love with our Savior, growing closer to Him every day, and completely content to be single.

Jim and I met at a Bible study for young adults. He and his friend Jason had been attending previously, but I showed up that night having just moved back from school. Jim and I did not speak much that night. Jason, however, talked my ear off as Jim sat awkwardly beside him. One week later, I arrived home from a trip to Portland to find a strange car parked across the street from my house. It turned out to be Jim and Jason, who were returning a book I had lent a mutual friend. What a lame excuse to sit outside my house for who knows how long! Once again, Jason monopolized the conversation and Jim said almost nothing. I remember thinking both encounters were odd, but thought nothing more about it.

A week later, I found myself alone at church as my family had been out of town for a soccer tournament. Jim came up to me after service and asked me to have lunch with his family. I had grown up with his sister, and knew his parents, so I agreed to go (although I have to admit the motivating factor was a free meal). He forgot to mention to me that it was his mother's 50th birthday until we were walking into Tony Roma's and he asked me to hide his mother's present in my purse. Oops! Thankfully his parents are very gracious people, and I had a great time at lunch.

After lunch, Jim and I went back to church. We ended up spending that afternoon talking about God... what He had been doing in our lives, where we were spiritually. I remember thinking that I had never met a man who loved God as earnestly and knew Him as intimately as this man did. At the end of our conversation, Jim asked for my phone number to use for "carpooling to Bible study". I was gullible enough to believe that line, and I gave him my number.

Not even 12 hours later, Jim called me. And kept calling me. And texting me. I did not have unlimited text messaging that first month, and I remember getting a $250 phone bill for all the text messages he sent! Five days later, he ended up inviting me to a BBQ with his parents, and we had the great "Defining the Relationship" talk afterwards, which began with my very blunt question: "Why do you keep calling me?" And the rest is history.

For me, our relationship did not begin with the big, romantic, falling-head-over-heels-in-love, emotional whirlwind that so many other relationships in the past had. More than anything, I loved sharing my relationship with God with Jim. He not only understood, but shared my passion and zeal for our Savior. I had very precious few people in my life at that point I could share with, especially at home, and I appreciated that I could share openly with Jim about what God was doing in my heart. Over time, I began to understand and appreciate why God had shaped and molded this man's heart and brought it into my life at that exact moment.

So here I am, four years later, having grown to love, appreciate, and respect this wonderful man. During the first month of our relationship, God gave me Colossians 2:2-3 "...that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" I believe with all my heart this is God's purpose for our relationship, and it is amazing to me to look back over the past four years and see clear examples of how this has been achieved in our life together so far. What amazing grace God has shown me, to raise me up of the many messes I made for myself and give me such a beautiful gift!

I love sharing our story with the young women in my life as a testimony to how amazing and wonderful our God is, and my hope for each of them is that they would allow God to refine their hearts and lives so He can prepare the perfect grounding on which to build a solid relationship born of a mutual desire to know Him more fully with the one He has prepared for them.

Jim, I am so privileged to be your wife! I am amazed and awed at what God has accomplished in our hearts and lives so far, and I look forward to where He is taking us. You are an amazing, selfless man who desires everyday to know and serve your Savior more fully. Thank you for listening and responding to the call of God in your life - you make it easy to follow your leadership! God has been far better than I deserve to prepare you for me, and I grow to love and respect you more with each day.

"Hawaii - Part 2"

2009-07-11T01:53:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post about our fabulous trip to Hawaii, July is a rough month for us. Jim is gone all but 5 days of the month between mission trips and youth camp, and I am working a lot of extra days in between there. You might ask, how has it been going so far? Somebody told me the other day that "absence makes the heart grow fonder"... but it's making me skinny and exhausted! Yes, my husband is the one who is responsible for making sure I eat and sleep, thus why I've lost five pounds since he left and I'm up blogging at 2:00 AM. I am so thankful for my Jim!

OK, enough with the "downer" part of this blog entry... here's what you really wanted: the rest of our Hawaii pictures. Enjoy!

We visited Waimea Valley, which is a nature preserve you can hike in. I was able to capture a shot of a fascinating creature in his "natural habitat"! Isn't he cute?

We hiked Diamond Head Crater on perhaps the most humid day in Hawaii. Between that, the hot sun, and the billion other sweaty people on the narrow steep trail, it wasn't the most fun time I ever had. The view was spectacular though!

I found another house for Jim and I to live in... we wish! The next pictures are from our trip to Lanakai, rated one of the top 10 beaches in the world. I wish we could have stayed there forever! The water was perfect, the sand felt like powdered sugar beneath our feet, and it was surprisingly not crowded (unlike Waikiki).

I was trying to capture how magnificent the sand was at Lanakai. Instead, I got a great shot of how torn up my feet were from wearing $4.00 sandals from Target the whole trip. Ouch!

I just had to get a picture of these two on the water. Hilarious!

One of the last things we did was head out to Kualoa Ranch for a day of adventure. This ranch is 250-acres of beautiful scenery used as the backdrop for many movies and television shows.

There was a fake horse on the property... which was funny because it was located 50 feet from the real horses you could ride. The Japanese tourists LOVED the fake horse! Jim must have snapped a dozen pictures for people in front of the fake horse. I figured I need a picture in front of the fake horse as well!

Here's us on a catamaran ride around the beach that "Lost" is filmed on. We loved the catamaran ride! The ocean was very choppy that morning, and Jim and I held on to the front of the boat and let the ocean waves spray in our face.

This is a shot of that famous beach! We also couldn't resist getting a picture in front of the catamaran.

We also took an ATV ride around the property. It was beautiful and we had so much fun!

Here's a list of the movies and television shows filmed at the ranch. We thought it was neat to see this setting in person!

We loved our trip to Hawaii, but most of all, we loved the time spent together. Each year we've been together seems to be busier than the last, and we have learned to treasure those uninterrupted times together because they have become fewer and father between. Our time in Hawaii allowed us to reconnect and refresh, and we've decided to continue this tradition in years to come.

Jim and I have experienced a lot in our first 2.5 years. We've been through nursing school, unemployment, financial difficulties, disappointments and heartache. Not only have we survived, we have grown closer and more in love. I could not imagine a better beginning to our marriage. Here's to the rest of our life together!

I must visit this place before I die:

2009-07-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

Idaho Fry Company.

I like the way they think.

June 2009 (+ 1 day in May)

2009-06-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I have posted any updates, and I apologize for that. Jim and I have both been swamped at work, and there hasn't been much to post. As you know from the last few posts, my job has been particularly eventful. Fortunately, every situation has ended well and I have learned a lot.

Three months ago, Jim and I were comparing our calendars through September and we realized we are REALLY busy. How busy? Let's take July, for example. Not only is it my least favorite month (see previous years' posts), but this one in particular requires Jim to be out of town all except five days. Which means I will see my husband for five days in the whole month of July. If you remember my posts from Jim's trip in January, you'll know I'm not looking forward to it!

Every year since we've been together we have taken a big trip in the summer-time. Jim took me to Lake Chelan right after we started dating, and last year we went to Florida and the Oregon Coast. I'm not sure where the idea for this year's vacation began, but somehow we ended up at our Hawaii trip. Jim's been to Hawaii twice before, but I have never been and have always wanted to go. I'm certain we looked at our busy schedules, looked at our bank account, realized we have no kids and no mortgage currently, and decided to go to Hawaii. After all, why not?

We planned a trip to Hawaii for nine days. We chose to go to the island of O'ahu, even though Jim had already been there twice, because it is the island with the most activities and Jim already knew what to do and what to avoid.

June is a big month for us. We began dating four years ago in June. Both mine and my mother-in-law's birthdays are in June. Jim and I scheduled our Hawaii trip to coincide with both the anniversary of when we began dating and my birthday, and we found creative ways to celebrate those occasions there.

Our vacation in Hawaii was a wonderful, relaxing time for us. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery, experienced many things, and ate delicious food. Most of all, we LOVED having nine uninterrupted days with each other, something Jim and I have not done since our honeymoon. This trip reminded us how important that time together is. With our busy schedules, we've allowed our marriage to take the back burner often, and this vacation confirmed to us the importance of taking time for just us, a tradition we plan to continue for the rest of our marriage.

I have to admit I was not a good photographer on this trip, and I apologize if you are disappointed. Jim and I were too busy enjoying each other and Hawaii apparently! Here are a few pictures from our trip, plus one day in May.

This first picture is us at Ryan and Melany's gorgeous (and HOT!) wedding on May 30.

Here starts our pictures from Hawaii! We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village at Waikiki. This is a picture of the tower we stayed in, the famous "Rainbow Tower". The mural on the side is the world's largest mural coming in at 226 feet tall and using over 8,000 hand-painted tiles.

This was the view from our room. When we arrived, we found out the room we had booked was unavailable, so they upgraded us to this "Deluxe Ocean view" room.

Here's us on the beach, right outside our hotel!

Jim LOVES the ocean! The next picture I snapped is of a wedding on the beach. We learned that the Hilton averages 2-3 weddings a day.

Here are some pictures from Pearl Harbor. This first picture is of an aircraft carrier docked in the harbor. Here's the memorial, which lays directly over the sunken USS Arizona.

Here is one of the gun turrets of the USS Arizona.

The USS Arizona was sunk with an estimated 150,000 tons of oil on board, and today they believe there is still 40,000 tons of oil on the ship. It is constantly slowly leaking out. The Navy has been ordered to deal with the oil issue, but refuses to touch the ship. The locals say the oil is the blood of the 1,500 who died when the USS Arizona sank.

This is us in front of the old courthouse building in Honolulu. The statue in front is of King Kamehameha the Great, who conquered and unified each of the Hawaiian islands. His birthday is celebrated every year in June across each of the Hawaiian islands. We were able to see a parade through Waikiki in his honor on June 13.

This is us in front of our new house! (OK, so maybe not... it's actually the last and only royal palace in the United States)

That night we took a sunset dinner cruise. We had such a great time!

This is a view of the sunset we saw on the cruise. I have to admit, Hawaiian sunsets are nice but do not hold a candle to Tri-City sunsets!

Look Ron Burgundy, we found diversity! (Note: this will only make sense to you if you've watched Anchorman)Here is a picture from the Luau we went to. The entertainment was good, but the food was awful.We took a day and went to the North Shore. On our way, we stopped at the Dole Plantation for some Pineapple ice cream!

Do you recognize these pineapples?

That's it for now! We have ~360 pictures from Hawaii that I am still trying to wade through while working and catching up at home. I will get "Hawaii Part 2" up soon!