Marshall'sBirth Story....1 Year Later

Oh how I have neglected this blog! I've been meaning to write about Marshall's birth story for a long time..and thought well today is his first birthday..it's now or never! :) I did capture everything in my personal journal..but thought  would share with my fellow blogging friends and family..since I did not share it anywhere else.

Friday, June 24th I went to my 39 week prenatal visit. Normal routine visit..but the most exciting part was that they were going to check me to see how much I had progressed. I looked forward to this ever week..because everyone who has ever been pregnant can relate that those last few weeks...you are READY. I was 2.5 cm and 70% effaced. We went ahead and scheduled my next appt. on my due date, which made me sad because I thought..surely the baby will be here before then!

I went home to meet my Dad and grandparents because we were going to head out to get a bite to eat. When I went to the bathroom my mucus plug had come out. I was nervous and didn't know what I needed to do..so I called my mom and she said to call the Dr. office. When I called they of course made it sound like it was no big deal but I just had a feeling that something was going to happen soon. We were supposed to go up to my parents house for dinner that evening..but I asked everyone if we could stay at our house..since we live less than 5 minutes from the hospital.

So we ordered pizza for dinner..and while everyone was sitting in the living room I had my first contraction. It wasnt super intense..but uncomfortable. Once it was over a few minutes later another one came...I quietly went to our bedroom and stood in the corner swaying back and forth with my head pressed against the cold wall. A few minutes later my mom and husband found me and said...."are you alright?" I said oh yea..doing fine..just having some contractions :)

After that my mom never took her eyes off me and I could see her and Andy making faces at each other as to say..is that another one? (contraction) They kept coming pretty frequently so Mom asked if I wanted to go outside to walk. So out we went...and walked for a while. It was about 8pm. Mom had a pen, piece of paper, and her phone so she could time each contraction. Andy was inside getting everything together. Walking made my contractions come quicker...Mom and I would talk..and I would stop and sway back and forth during a contraction...once it was over..we would continue walking. Dad eventually joined us and he became my physical support during the contractions. He would sway with me :) I told Mom at 10pm we would call the hospital and tell them what was going on.

I didn't quite make it until 10..but I called and told them what was going on and at first the lady said..well can I have a nurse call you back? There isn't one at the desk. I was thinking what! I dont' want to wait any longer...So we packed up anyway and off we went. Andy and I in our car..and Mom and Dad in their car. We made it to the ER around 10:30..they wheele me up to L&D Triage at 11...monitered me for about an hour. I was 3 cm and 100% effaced. Contractions were 4.5 minutes apart. I was aditted at midnight.

Once I got all settled in my room one of the nurses said they were going to give me somthing to ease the pain..I said sounds wonderful! She hooked up my iv and also gave me the medicine. Little did I know that it would completely knock me out. The rest of my labor I only remember bits and pieces..I was in and out of consciousness..waking up everytime I had a contraction..but was so medicated that I could barely talk. My water broke at some point...I receivd my epidural aroud 5 or 6cm dilated...and before we knew it I wasready to push. When I first received my epidural it only took on my right side. I remember I kept saying, "I can still feel my left side". But..by the time I was ready to push I was completely numb. Andy had one leg, my mom had the other..and my Dad sat over on the couch. I pushed for over an hour..and felt like the entire room was cheering me on. Marshall's heart rate dropped once..so they had me turn  on my side and gave me some oxygen. For that short instant I was so scared I was going to have a c-section. It came back up and we were ready for more pushing. At 4:32a.m., June 25th he was here...weighing 7lbs. 2 oz. and 19 inches long. He was perfect. He screamed the entire time they were cleaning him up and didn't stop until he was all bundled up and placed in my arms. Andy didn't leave my side..I kept telling him he could go over and check on the baby (where my parents were snapping pictures left and right) ..but he stayed with me. I think he was really proud of me for giving birth to our son. It was a sweet moment :)

So that it's..that's how our sweet baby boy arrived in our arms. I can't believe he is now 1 year old. He has brought so much laughter and joy in our lives. He is such a blessing to our family. Happy Birthday Marshall...we love you oh so much!!

We're going to be Parents!

It's offical we are pregnant! :) I'm not sure where to start, but all I can say is I'm so happy to finally talk about it. It's hard keeping a secret so big and exciting! We've been wanting a baby for a while now, I still feel like I'm dreaming...what a wonderful dream! All summer I started preparing myself and couldn't wait until September because that was our "go" month. I am so excited and feel very blessed to have gotten pregnant in October. It's kind of a funny story..because how I thought I would feel physically is definitely not how I ended up feeling which totally threw me off.

I kept telling myself that I would just "know" when I was pregnant..that I would instantly feel different. Well I didn't...I was one day late and Andy and I were at the grocery store and we walked past the section where the pregnancy tests are and I stopped...didn't touch anything just kinda looked. I wanted to get one but I was scared if I did I was jinx it ..(I was totally playing mind games with myself!) Finally I think Andy got impatient and picked a box and put it in the cart..lol I took everything else we had already put in the cart and did my best to hide it. I was scared we would run into someone and I didn't want rumors spreading yet. (We did end up running into someone from church but I was pretty sure the coast was clear and they didnt' see it) So home we went and I put the test under the sink in the bathroom. The next day came and went, day 2 of being late. I was still scared to test. I finally got the courage to test the next day right before church. I had to do a double take because I couldn't believe that it was positive. Then the tears started flowing and I ran out of the bathroom to Andy and said "We're Pregnant!"  Then we had a sweet little moment realizing we were going to be parents and then off to church we went! :)

I was about 4 1/2 weeks pregnant and my only indicator was a missed period. For the next week and a half or so..I felt pretty great. I was tired...like super duper tired, but didnt' feel sick at all. Food was still my friend at this point. :) Then came week 6 and it started with a bang. Thats when the nausea started and what an experience that was! I wont gross you out with the gory details but let's just say my least favorite thing about being pregnant so far. On a positive note, it started to get better around week 10, not great, but more tolerable. I thought..YES! We are on the downhill of this nausea business. Today I'm 12 1/2 weeks and it's still not completely gone. I'm still trying to figure out a good eating schedule. I don't think I'm eating often enough and I think that is triggering the nausea. I'm also super picky about food right now too. I can't eat pizza...holy heartburn! However, my great wonderful lifesaver friend Ashley got me the Magic Bullet for Christmas so I am making smoothies everyday!! It has been great. It's the perfect snack and it's healthy.  The other awful thing that triggers getting sick is brushing my teeth. The lowest of lows everyday for me is brushing my teeth! Who would have thought something so simple would be such an issue during pregnancy!

This past Friday we had our 12 week visit and got to have to an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat. My mom works just down the road from our doctors office so she joined us for the visit. She wanted to hear the heartbeat too :)  Here is my little bambino at 12 weeks!

It's hard to tell and I know there is a glare right in the middle from the flash. The baby was waving it's left hand and had it's right hand back kind of behind it's head. It looked like it was just lounging on the beach saying Hi Mom, Dad and Nana! I'm just chillin :)  It was so sweet!

Announcement

I've added a new gadget to my blog...do you see it? :)

Neglect

I titled this post "Neglect" because I have neglected this blog so terribly! Lots has gone on since the last time I've posted..and I have not made the time to get on here and blog about it. I guess I always tell myself..well we don't have kids yet..so no one is interested in what we are doing! ha :) I always get on here and check my friends blogs..Alicia..if you are reading this, you never let me down! I love reading your entry's..they are so sweet and creative. I'm going to try and get better at this..and hopefully once we do have children I will do even better! :)

The summer came and went...and I can't believe we are already almost through September. Where does the time go? Let's see...I will try to sum up all the fun exciting things that happened this summer. The first thing on my to-do list for the summer was to get a teaching job for the fall. I think that is the only thing that made the summer feel too long. Fortunately, I did get a teaching job and I found out about it the Thursday before school started! Nothing like Heavenly Father coming through at the last minute ;) I was offered an interim position at an elementary school in Gatlinburg teaching 3rd grade. It was only temporary (until Christmas) and the major bummer was that it was sub pay. I took it, knowing I didn't have anything else at the time, and the pay decrease was worth the sacrifice of getting my foot in the door. I was only there for a week and 2 days when another job opportunity came knocking. I was offered a part time teaching position at New Center School, teaching 4th grade reading. This position is my very own and I even have my own classroom! The big big excitement, is that it is for the entire school year..and has the potential of becoming full time next year. SUCCESS! :) I'm taking baby steps..but grateful to be taking any steps at all.

I officially became a Biker Chick! My dad has had different motorcycles since I was in middle school and I have never ever ridden on it with him. I'm not really sure why..I guess I was always too scared of what could happen. So we finally set a time to get together and he drove me through the beautiful Smoky Mountains! It turned out to be a gorgeous day and we even stopped in Cades Cove and got an ice cream at the Camp Store. (They have the BEST ice cream!) My dad and I have always been close..it was nice to have a day where it was just me and him.

I went ZIP LINING!! For those of you who were able to witness my horrible meltdown at Youth Conference in 2003 at the YMCA Ropes Course...you know that I am terribly afraid of heights. We have friends that moved into the ward in December who just opened their own Canopy Tour in Gatlinburg over the summer. She has become a great friend of mine and is also my counselor in YW's. So for an activity one night we took the girls zip lining. Well I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do this or not..so Ashley and I decided it would be best if I came out before we went with the girls..so I would know what to expect and get my meltdowns out before then. :)  I ended up LOVING IT! I was a little nervous at first..but it was an awesome experience and I felt super safe. If you are ever coming to East TN to visit..you must make Climb Works Canopy part of your destination.

Every July brings Girls Camp..and this was my second year going as a leader. I was lucky to be working with the same sister I worked with last year (who is in my ward, and her daugther is in YW). Her and I were over 2nd years this year. We stayed at Camp Tanasi, which isa Girl Scout Camp in TN. It was a beautiful location, but staying in cabins with no air condition in the peak of summer was extremely HOT. I was lucky to have my entire YW Presidency there with me, and we were lucky to be able to all bunk together. I love girls camp...I'm not much of an "out-doorsy", bug liking, getting dirty kind of girl..but I love how girls camp brings everyone together. We always come back feeling so refreshed in the gospel and so strong as a YW group. I LOVE IT. I love watching the girls grow and mingle with other girls that all believe the same thing. Working with them, and watching them grow has magnified my testimony so much. My calling has been such a blessing. 

The week after girls camp was Youth Conference. This year was unlike any other year since I've been working with the youth, and I have to say it's been the best by far. We were combined with 4 other stakes. They all bunked at Maryville College and has Sis. Dalton come and speak!!! How amazing!! I dropped off my girls and felt like a mom taking her child to summer camp. I walked them up to their dorm, excitedly asked them if they wanted me to help them un-pack..I think I might have been more excited then they were. :) I couldn't wait to pick them up and find out how it went.

August is always a special time in our family. It's our anniversary month, Andy's birthday, and the month we rescued Wilbur. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary on August 9th. We drove over to Nashville and spent the day at the Temple. We sealed my grandparents (my dads parents)..what an awesome way to spend our anniversary! I can't believe it has already been 3 years. In my opinion, I think marriage gets so much better as time goes on. I feel closer to him now than I ever have..and I don't think I can pin-point exactly when or how it happened..but I've been reflecting on it a lot lately. Andy was my life-saver..and I feel so lucky that he never gave up on me.  I'm so happy that he is mine for eternity! :)

The Journey Continues

Today is my last day at Caton's Chapel Elementary. I can't believe how fast 10 weeks went by.  It feels like I have been here longer though.  Not in a bad way..just that everyone made me feel welcomed and comfortable. I'm going to miss everyone and my students :)  However, my journey continues and after Spring Break I will be going back to New Center teaching 2nd grade. I am so so so excited!  I'm excited because 2nd grade is the grade I wanted..and I really love New Center. I will be at New Center until the end of the school year..which is also another great plus. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I've been given these past 4 months and I really feel that hard work and dedication pay off because things are happening!

On another note...today is a 1/2 day, and the start to our very much needed Spring Break. I'm very excited because Andy and I are headed down to Charleston for a few days to visit with his younger brother Mikey and his wife and little girl.  We have never been to Charleston and have heard that it's beautiful so we are very anxious. I'm also looking forward to seeing our neice. (I can never spell that word..it always looks wrong..  i before e except atfer c..right?) She is such a cutie patootie!

On a sadder note :(   Since we are going out of town..my parents are watching Wilbur for us.  He is in wonderful hands and he loves my parents..but I've been dreading it all week. I took him over there last night with all of his stuff. He will have fun..but I worry that he won't want to come home with us when we get home. I know thats silly..and Andy makes fun of me for it..but he is my puppy :) I had to sneak out the back door because when I went to go out the front door he followed me like "ok I'm ready!"  lol I called after I pulled out of the driveway and my Dad said he was looking for me. :(  It just makes me so sad.  I guess this is a small taste of what it will be like the first time we have to leave our children when we go somewhere. Wow..I am definitely not looking forward to that...leaving Wilbur is hard enough! 

Birthday

So before I start I just have to say how much I love my new blog layout! It took me forever to figure it out..and I honestly think I was making it way to harder than it really was. So thank you Courtney and Alicia for taking the time to explain it to me! :)

My 24th Birthday is next week...which is so weird to me...24!!! When did that happen? Where did all the time between 18 and 24 go?  I know 24 isn't OLD..but it's really starting to scare me that the next birthday is 25! Then that means 5 years before I'm 30..whew..the numbers just get scarrier. The reason for bringing this up is because I was on the phone with my Dad this morning and he asked me what I wanted for my birthday.  I really hadn't put too much thought into it...I knew I could come up with some little things that I would like or want..but when I really sat down and thought about it...the things that I want no one can give me except for Heavenly Father...which isn't necessarily a total bummer..but I'm thinking that he isn't going to bless me all those wants and wishes by next Thursday. :)

These are the things that I really want though..I want for Andy to get the job that he wants..the one that he has been trying to get for 3 years now. The job that will offer medical coverage with maternity so that we can have a baby.  I want a baby...so bad that it hurts sometimes. I want to get a full time teaching job so that if Andy doesn't get his job we will still be ok.

These are the things that I want for my birthday..this would make my 24th Birthday the best  birthday ever. However, I know it's far fetched..and I know that it's not on my time it's on Heavenly Father's time..but boy waiting is so hard. So I guess from my friends and family..all I want are prayers. Prayers that our prayers will be answered..that things will work out the way they are supposed to. :)

Help Wanted

This is to all my blogging friends. I need your help! I am really wanting to give my blog a face lift..but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to do everything. I know I don't update my blog as often as I should...but I keep telling myself that if I update it just a little that I might enjoy it a little better :)  These are some things that I had in mind. I really like the 3 column layout. I have tried downloading this but for some reason I cannot get it to work.  I also like how you can see the title of the most recent blog and when it was posted on your friends list. How do I do that? I'm debating on whether I want to leave the music on there..I'm thinking of taking it off. I have to admit..Alicia, I love how you make certain words bigger and some words link to other pages. I also follow a few blogs and I made a link list for me to click on..but is there a better way to do that or no? Also, do you guys receive e-mails everytime your friends update their blog..or do you just check it periodically? I just check mine randomly and go down my friend list to see who has updated..since I don't have that neat post where it just tells you. So I am asking/begging :) for your help is this matter. Thanks in advance..and I look forward to your feedback!