Months to Catch Up

I obviously have months of catching up to do on this blog. Somehow, blogging wasn't as fun. I was still reading blogs almost daily but never found the interest to update my own!
Now as we are a family of three with a little one, I realize that blogging is beneficial. I started this blog to keep our family who was away on our lives and to be able to chronicle our adventures. It's entertaining at least to me to be able to look back at what was happening in our lives at a certain time. Now I realize that I don't want to forget these early days so look forward to more updating in the future and hopefully some back logging over what's been going on while I was gone!
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Amelia Grace's Birth Story

(Warning: this post is extremely long and detailed! I wrote this more for me so I could remember this :) 
Amelia Grace was due November 8. I had stopped working the week prior to give myself a break and prepare for this little one to arrive so needless to say we were anxiously awaiting her arrival. Joe and I had been taking regular walks on the walking trail in our neighborhood trying to get this baby moving in the right direction. The day before my due date, I even tried some Wii Just Dance but that only produced laughing fits from me instead of contractions. That night we went out for some Chinese food, just in case the Old Wive's Tale was true. I went to bed crampy.
The morning of my due date, I woke up having noticeable contractions every 15ish minutes. During the morning, they would wake me up from sleeping. I had my 40 week appointment right before lunch. I am not sure but I was really nervous about this appointment to begin with. My doctor was out of the office for the week so I was seeing someone completely new and I knew that I was going to have an ultrasound, which I had not had one since 20 weeks. My Blood Pressure was elevated when I got there, like 150's/90's. We had our ultrasound which confirmed she was head down and still definitely a girl. It also confirmed that she had no room and her face was smooshed. 
Then we go to the room where they hook me up to do a NST, which confirmed my contractions having every 5ish minutes, but still not more painful. But being a L&D nurse, I loved looking at the strip and seeing a happy healthy strip! :) We saw the doctor who checked me; I had made no change since last week.  He looked at my strip but made no mention of my contractions and was about to leave when he saw my BP. He tracked down a cuff and he got the same reading. He had me sit tight then rechecked it a few minutes later and decided to send me to L&D to get checked out. I snacked on some saltines on the way over and got to the hospital.
I was admitted and hooked up to the monitors. I was still having contractions that were getting more painful. After a couple of hour my BP had calmed down. The nurse checked me and I was still 1-2 cm. They decided to go ahead and keep me and induce me in the morning. Now previously I was against getting induced but at that point I was ready to meet my little girl. They let me eat dinner which I scarfed down, but continued to contract. My nurse gave me an Ambien to help me sleep. I have never taken anything like that before. It gave me crazy dreams. I woke up around 2:30 with pretty painful contractions. My nurse checked me and finally I was 3-4, finally in labor making change. The Ambien still made me a little loopy but I agreed to IV pain medicine and to go ahead and get my epidural. The IV med helped and I fell back asleep. 
I got my epidural around 5a. They made Joe leave, which I thought was really strange. I was really wondering how it felt to get an epidural. Being a L&D nurse, I see patient's getting epidurals or spinals almost every shift. Some patients act like its completely fine and some act like its the worst thing ever. I personally didn't think it was that bad at all. The nurse checked me afterwards and said I was 4-5. The epidural was great because I could still move my legs but completely numb. 
The doctor, Dr Hyde came and broke my water around 7ish and called me 5-6 cm. He said I should have my baby before lunch. The Ambien still made me pretty sleepy so I slept off and on all morning. Around 10:30a, I started feeling my contractions more and soon they became very painful. I was 8-9 cm. My nurse offered me to get redosed for my epidural. I got redosed twice and finally started getting relief. Around 12:15, I started feeling more and more pressure. I tried to hold off calling the nurse, but finally did and the charge nurse check me and said I was 10 cm and the baby was very low. Dr Hyde was called and we started pushing. Even though she was low, I heard him say that I was going to have some pushing to do. He told me that I may even need a vacuum to help since I was small.

With getting redosed, I could feel my contractions but now really feel pushing, the complete opposite of what I needed. I pushed for about 15 minutes before the doctoHr came back to check on me. We decided to go ahead with the vacuum. As I was about to deliver, Joe announced that he needed to sit down. The nurses quickly sat him down and got him a wet wash cloth. Joe told me later that he was trying to suck it up but started to get dizzy since he hadn't eaten anything. Finally at 1:19 pm on Novemeber 9, Amelia Grace was born crying. I got to hold her for a minute before they took her to clean her off. They announced she was 8 pounds and 2 ounces and 21 1/4". Interestingly, my whole pregnancy everyone thought I was small and would have a small baby. Ha!

 

The yucky part of delivery was I was a really bad tear. The doctor said it was a big baby through a small space. And interestingly, redheads tend to bleed more. It took almost an hour to get me all put back to together again. My epidural bag ran out while I was pushing and had to get numbing shots to get through   the repair. At this hospital, they try to give you an hour with your baby and then take her to the nursery for her assessment and first bath. Since my repair was taking so long, I said it was okay to go ahead and send her to the nursery. After the doctor was done, I was still out of it from the Ambien (I have no plans on taking that anytime soon!) The nurse finally got my bleeding under control after a few different medications and Joe and I slept.
My parents arrived around 4:30 and Amelia still was in the nursery. Finally around 5pm she came back to us and I really got to hold my little girl who I waited on. She was perfect and beautiful!

Thank you God for this precious gift of Amelia Grace!
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Happy Mother's Day

As you can see by the lack of updating, you would think I would have no news to share. When in fact much has happened since I last posted on my beloved blog.

When we moved here the house we were renting was for sale. The house did sale in March and we moved in with some friends. We don't have internet there so that is a main reason for the lack of updating.

Also our house in Indiana that we loved finally sold and closed this week! What a relief and blessing! 

We also found a great house here in Virginia and we close June 8th! Yay!

And the most exciting of all is that we are pregnant! We are due November 8 so I am over 13 weeks along! Praise God! We are very excited about this little blessing and our journey to get to where we are now.

So on this Mother's Day, I can with true smile on my face be thankful!
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Daisy

It is time to dedicate a post to the one and only.....
Daisy
Daisy is our black lab. Yes, she really is a lab. Although she may be short and stocky, she is really a lab. Daisy entered our lives almost a year ago. She is definitely they most well behaved of our three dogs, which sometimes means she gets the least amount of attention. And she can't just jump in our faces like the other two do. 
The Fun Facts of Daisy
She loves to carry things around. For instance, if you come home, she grabs the nearest shoe and meets you at the door. I'm not sure what she thinks we need it for. This makes it really fun when you swear you left your shoes there and you are trying to leave for work and can't find your shoes. 
She also loves to carry her food bowl. She is really good at acting like she hasn't been fed. She just looks up you pitifully. But as you can, Daisy doesn't miss a meal.
She is really laid back. Cooper being the boy he is (although he forgot that he is fixed) likes to do...what boy dogs like to do. I'm not sure if Daisy has just accepted her fate but it doesn't bother her. She also just lets Annie steal toys away from her and still wags her tail.
Daisy is almost 9 so getting back upstairs is hard for her but she just plugs along and trucks up the stairs. 
She gets so excited when you pet her that she can't sit still enough for you to pet her. 
And after not seeing her for three months, she was so excited to see us.
We love our little big Daisy!

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My Ministry Marriage Tips

Joe and I have been married for 3 years in May. I am by no means anyone qualified to give anyone marriage advice. We have our ups and downs along with all couples and we struggle. I have also learned along that way what this calling that God has placed on my life.

So without further ado, here are my tips for a ministry marriage.

1. Pray for Your Husband-This is obviously self-explanatory. But it is still the best thing we can do for our husbands, those who are in the ministry or not.
2. Support him in private and publicly-I am opinionated, probably to my fault. I have learned the hard way to support him. Joe gets very hurt if I disagree with him in public, even on unimportant things. In private Joe encourages and asks for my opinion on things. But we give a united front when although I did not totally agree with his decision in private, I try my hardest to not let any hint of things show. God has whispered to me several times that He did not call me to be the Pastor but He did call me to support my Pastor/Husband. Another facet to this is sometimes Joe just needs to vent and I can be listening ear.
3. Have fun with your husband-An important part of our marriage is doing things together, just be silly. It's important to carve out time for just the two of us. I also try to take those moments when he'll go to the store with me or go to the doggie park together.
4. Be Flexible-I try to be flexible with my time with him. There have been times when we are out doing things or have plans when Joe is called away. I could easily pout or try to make him feel guilty, but I have to realize that his call is a higher one.
5. Be Visible-let's be honest and say that people notice when the Pastor's wife is not present, justified excuse or not. I have not been at every church service by no means but I do try. But I do think it is an asset to a Pastor's ministry when his wife is seen in the church supporting the church.
6. Make your husband your ministry-This is something I am still learning. Last year I went to a Women's Conference at Southern Seminary where I went to a session about this. There was a Pastor's Wife that spoke to this, and I stood there amazed at all she does for her husband. It really made me think my most important thing I could do for our church is making him my ministry. I would be a terrible Pastor's Wife if I impacted so many girls but did it at the expense of our marriage. So that may mean that I will not go to every event or be involved in every ministry, but I am called to make him my priority.

Do any other PW have any more tips?




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What We Have Been Up To...

Last weekend we took our students to a Dare 2 Share conference outside of DC. It's a conference focusing on students sharing their faith with our friends. A highlight for me was Shane and Shane leading worship! I loved them since high school so it was neat to introduce them to our students! We had a great time learning how to practice our faith during the weekend. It was an eye-opener for me as the youth were learning about witnessing in how much I still needed to learn. Still very humbling in ministry...

For Valentine's Day, it was a gorgeous springy day. We took our dogs to the dog park. We went early in the afternoon and we were surprised by how many dogs were there. Since we are new to the dog park 'scene', we are starting to pick up when the dogs are ready to leave. When it gets to the point when they are just hanging out on our laps, we know its time to head home!  Joe also helped me make Boeuf Bourguignon and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. Yummy! We finished the night off with the romantic movie The Social Network :)

  

Then the highlight of the month was our trip to Ikea on Saturday. Joe had been hinting to take me to Ikea so I decided it was the day and off we went! The closest Ikea is about two hours away but still worth it. We came home with a new entertainment center that was on sale. Our TV was previously sitting on a goodwill find of Joe back in his bachelor days. We then spent a 'fun' evening putting together some furniture and we tried to watch Inception but I got confused...

 

That's what we've been up to....what have you been up to?



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Small Groups

Sunday nights, we have started small groups for our students. I am blessed to a be a part of the High School Girls small group. Each group is studying Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan. It is all about how this amazing God loves us and our response to that love. We have 30+ girls each night for hanging out, eating, and most of all good discussion and Bible study.

How awesome to hear girls talk about their stuggles and how they have been they have been praying for their friends. Even how they can talk to the classmates about the gospel



Can you say amazing?

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Weekend Recap: Skiing

I had an interesting weekend!

Friday Night, Joe and I went out on an afternoon date to Short Pump. We walked around and ate at California Pizza Kitchen. I am officially in love with their Oriental Chicken Salad! So good! I have been thinking of this for awhile so it was worth the drive.

 

We also got Apple TV for our bedroom. It allows you to easily see youtube videos and stream off of your iTunes. It was pretty cheap but our internet isn't the greatest there so there is a big lag in timing.

 

Saturday, we took 50+ students skiing.  This may be a shock to some people with my athletic ability...(note the sarcaism) but I have no skiing ability. I get going too fast and I freak out and make myself fall. So I went tubing! I have never been snow tubing before but it was a lot of fun! It feels like you are going 50mph on a tube down the hill and you can never go straight. Awesome!

 

 

We also went Zip-lining. 18 seconds of adrenaline! Look at me, a daredevil!

 

 

The casualty of the event was I woke up Sunday with horrible eye pain! I am not sure if I got ice in my eye or wore my contacts too long but my eye is blood shot and very sensitive to light.  I haven't had this in a long time! I had to miss church and everything which really bummed me out.

 

Sunday after church, Joe took the students to downtown Richmond and served a meal in the park and the students really tried to talk to the people and share the gospel with them. They had also been collecting winter gear to give out. I heard it was really amazing and I am really upset I missed it!

 

 

Today I have hung out in the dark, nursing my eye. I have some eyedrops that make them feel better for an hour so I took the opportunity to blog really quickly. I am really praying that I can put my contacts in and go to work tomorrow because it is my first day off of orientation.  I do okay if there are no lights on. Do you think I can manage that at work tomorrow?

 

 

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Thursday Thoughts

I decided to have rambling post about my random thoughts. Please contain your excitement!

 

My latest addiction is Joe's Play Station 3. Now I am not playing the video games...I love my Netflix streaming on my TV. But I am too embarrassed to say what I have been watching again.

 

I had my last shift yesterday of orientation with my preceptor. Tuesday, I start being a big girl nurse and will be completely responsible for my patients! What is really great about Labor and Delivery is that everyone works together and I have people I can run to for help! It's definitely different that I thought it would be but I am still very thankful for my job.

 

I really need to clean the kitchen. I won't say how many days the dishes have been sitting in the sink.

 

I was looking at groupon today for deals. Does anyone do groupon?

 

 

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Radical

Our church is studying the book Radical by David Platt on Sundays. One word....ah-mazing. It is all about how the American dream has tainted the gospel. Society tells you that you bigger and better while Jesus said to sell your possessions and follow Him. So very convicting.

This week we talked about the early church and how much they didn't need to accomplish God's mission and how little we expect of God. To experience this, we had no music. The Holy Spirit didn't need a worship band to draw 3,000 people to God's throne.

If you are looking for a convicting read, you need to read this book! Pin It Now!

Wish List

One of my hobbies is to 'window' shop online for things. This can be clothes, books, furniture, home decor. I even enjoy adding things to my cart, just never checking out!  It fulfilles my shopping need without costing anything. And I know if I always come back to look at it that I must really want it and will work out a way to get it. 

Here are some of the things on my wish list right now:

 
This camera strap cover for my camera 

This TV cabinet for the living room.

A Kinect Sensor for our Xbox

Reluctant Entertainer, The: Every Woman's Guide to Simple and Gracious Hospitality

And my extreme wish list

And a Macbook. yeah that's not happening soon!

What's on your wishlist?

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Girl's Sleepover

What happens when 70 girls get together and you 'sleep' at the church?

You play a lot of games. (And may have the police called on you if you are outside)

 You tie-dye shirts while I slightly freak out about a mess!

And you all dance to Just Dance 2 and I got quite a workout. I loved it so much that I ordered it just so I could make Joe play!

And you get to spend the night with some amazing girls whom we love!

 

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Elevate Worship Service

Tonight was our kick off worship night for the youth. It was a great night because a. I did not have to work and b I got to go to church!

We had 70+ students tonight and the student response was great! Lots of planning, praying, and effort went into starting this worship service. We really encouraged the students to bring their friends to church and Joe taught a great message in Genesis about the gospel in creation.

Joe showed this video to start




We love our students and so thankful God called us here!


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This Melts My Heart

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2010 Year in Review

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Whew! 2010 was a great year in many ways but also some hard things

In March we added Daisy to our family. She is the most well behaved of our family and definitely not very skinny. She loves to carry shoes around the house which makes it really fun in the morning when you are trying to leave.

In April we walked through our second miscarriage. We learned more about ourselves and I think it made Joe and I closer as we grieved together.

We also walked together through difficulty in ministry. There is no need to go through everything here but we also learned a lot about ourselves and our expectations. During this process we felt the call to follow God to another church.

Then in September we moved to Virginia! I experienced so many emotions about the move but we really feel at home here.

In October I started my job as a Labor and Delivery nurse. I still have so much to learn but it's really neat to be a part of births.

We also got back into full time youth ministry. That means all the fun trips, fun youth services, and investing in girls. We love it.

 I also met a lifetime goal again and rode a horse!

 

We also got to go to Indiana for Christmas. The trip out there, I had worked the night before and came home from work and we left. That was my favorite car trip because I was barely awake! We had lots of fun seeing our families and Joe got to preach at our home church.

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