Family Update, Halloween, Florida with the Tharps

Brooklyn is now 5.5 weeks old! I can hardly believe it! She has become an integral part of our little family and we love her dearly. It is so funny how you can love your children so much, but love them in different ways. So far, Marquette is my laid back go-with-the-flow little boy. Brooklyn will tell you how she feels. She is quick to get bored and does not sleep as much as Marquette did as a newborn. She loves to be held and talked to. She tends to get a fussy period at night. But if I put her in the Baby Bjorn carrier and let her come around the house with me while I do chores she is happy as a clam. She hates the pacifier. I have pretty much given up trying to get her to take it. I assume she will find her thumb to pacify herself one of these days. Right now she will just try to suck on her hands. She would use me as a pacifier if she could, but I don’t want to encourage that nasty habit. She is a killer good sleeper. She is only 5 weeks old and goes 3-4 hour stretches at night. I am LOVING that. I love how she is attentive. I love how everyone comments how alert she is (people did that with Marquette too. I guess all my babies look very alert and awake. They are extremely intelligent, you know. Hehe). I love all the faces she makes. I love that she is feisty…although I wonder if we will have power struggles in the future as we have already had a few already in her short life. I love how her mommy is sometimes the only one that knows how to calm her down (without nursing). I think she is going to be a go-get-her. I’m so excited to see what the future brings!!

            Marquette is still the sweetest little boy. He is doing better about loving his little baby sister. Recently, he has wanted his stuffed animals to give Brooklyn kisses. He will also come up and pat her back when I am burping her. He will also give her kisses and hugs when asked to do so. He has become quite the busy-bee. He runs around the house all day and only rarely gets into trouble. He has drawn on my walls with crayons three times, but I can’t fault him because I left him alone for extended periods of time when he did it. All children will get into trouble when left alone too long. He’s a toddler. Marquette loves to tell people “Bye bye” and after saying it, he’ll follow up with a “SEE YA!!” It’s so cute. He is always obedient to go to bed, although sometimes he cries when told to do so. However, once you tuck him in he will always give you a kiss and stop crying long enough to tell you “Night night, bye bye, SEE YA!!” It’s the sweetest thing ever. He never cries. The other day, he fell down our concrete stairs in our driveway and his face literally broke his fall. He cried for maybe 60 seconds but had blood pouring out his nose and face. He had road-rash for weeks after that. Poor boy. Marquette also loves his shoes. He HAS to be fully dressed and have shoes on at all times. The only time I can get them off is for baths, bedtime, or if he wants to get on the bed. I made a rule and so far he has not challenged me on taking shoes off before getting on the bed. He is a picky eater. That is our main struggle. He will not eat any meat or vegetables. We are working on that. He also loves balls, any sport, and games. We go to our friends the Tharps house every Sunday and play games. He always likes to sit on Derek’s or my lap and roll the dice. He will even blow on them, knock them on the table, and then throw them like Doug Tharp does. It is HILARIOUS. We have such a good time at their house.

            I am adjusting to being the parent of two fairly well. The hardest time is definitely when you go out of the house by yourself. When it’s just us at home, it’s really not too much more difficult. But last night was our ward’s trunk or treat and Derek was in charge of it (he volunteered…of course he would. He loves to keep us busy) so he was running around like crazy which left me running around with the kids like crazy. It wasn’t too bad once Brooklyn fell asleep because then I could just hold her and take Mr. around trick o’ treating. She woke up as soon as we were done trick or treating (about 30 minutes out of the entire 2.5 hours we were there) of course. It is definitely an adjustment.

            I am happy with all of the various projects I have completed right before she was born and since. I have finished a quilt, done some scrapbooking, (graduated with my MSN, taken and passed my boards), working on getting all my licensing done, converted VHS home videos to DVD, backed up all my photos on an external hard drive and put on CDs, made DVDs of our digital family home videos, decorated Brooklyn’s room, and am currently refinishing my table and chairs. I also want to make Mr. some ties and do some more scrapbooking before I go back to work…we’ll see if I can get it all done. The table and chairs have proven to be a HUGE project!! Yikes!

            Probably the biggest thing I have done since having Brooklyn is go to Florida with our great friends the Tharps. It was literally a last minute decision. We go to their house every Sunday afternoon/evening and play Settlers. Well, Sunday night around 9pm they mentioned they would not be home the following Sunday because they would be in FL. Derek said “Well, what am I supposed to do this weekend then? (jokingly)” and Sherree said, “well, when you get off work Friday you can drive to FL and we can play settlers.” Derek said it was so tempting but he was going out of town on business this week and he had a Scout Training camp out that weekend. But then he said, “but Gina could go.” Sherree said that they had room for me. I was totally taken back. All these thoughts started running through my head. How do I drive down there with a baby and toddler? Will we be a burden? What activities were they doing? Could we participate? Derek kept insisting I go and the Tharps seemed genuinely ok with me going. So I told them I would consider it. I had to leave the following morning to GA because I had an OB postpartum appointment and would not be back until Tuesday night and would have to leave Wednesday morning for florida. So, at 11pm that night I decided that I would most likely go and began packing for FL that following morning at 6am. I decided to just stay in GA and meet up with the Tharps Wednesday morning instead of driving back. Jaycee and Sherree took turns driving the car for me so I could nurse Brooklyn. So, last week, when Brooklyn was barely 4 weeks old, I took her, myself, and Marquette to Florida. We had the best time!

            Wednesday was purely driving, arriving at the resort, and unpacking. The Tharps actually went swimming and did stuff, but I decided to go to bed early. I’m glad I did because that night sucked sleep-wise (luckily all the rest of the nights were wonderful).

Thursday, the Tharps went to Universal studios and then Halloween Horrors night. We stayed and went on a walk and went swimming that afternoon. It was nice to just relax and have a day to recover from the drive and a poor night’s sleep.

Friday, we slept in and then went to the beach. We had a WONDERFUL time at the beach. The Tharps were so good to play with Marquette and Brooklyn slept nearly the entire time so I was able to enjoy it as well. Marquette was not too fond of the sand, but as long as he had his croc shoes on he was fine. He loved to play in the sand with a shovel and bucket. While there, we were also entertained by Seagulls that would literally steal food out of your hand while you were eating it. Poor Mylee and Doug both were stolen from. We found it amusing and had some fun with it. Marquette LOVED the birds. He wasn’t at all intimidated by the fact that they were swarming him because he was eating and carrying around a Cheetos bag. We had a great time. I loved seeing Marquette happy and just really relaxing.

            Saturday, we went to Typhoon Lagoon. I was really hesitant to go because I didn’t know how much Marquette would enjoy it, nor how many water slides he could go on. I was also fearful of having Brooklyn in the sun all day and her being awake and high maintenance. Well, I should have remembered how awesome the Tharps are because they scooped up Marquette and drug him on some rides (which he hated…we later realized he was starving and exhausted tired). We later ended up letting him eat, sleep, and play in the sand by our stuff the entire day and he was happy as a clam. Brooklyn slept all day besides nursing. Jaycee and Sherree took turns letting me go do stuff and I swear I spent MAYBE an hour and a half out of the entire 6 hours we were there actually sitting with my kids. The rest of the day I was riding rides and swimming. I had so much fun. I seriously was in heaven. I am so grateful to the Tharps for helping me drive to FL, allowing us to stay in their condo, playing with my children, and helping me take care of them, AND making sure I had a good time too! I seriously had a blast and I am so grateful for their generosity. It was a completely unplanned and AWESOME vacation for me. I’m so grateful I could spend time with my kids and them before starting work in December.

            Sunday we drove home. Marquette choked on a gummy on the way home and threw up ALL over himself when we were less than an hour away. We stopped and cleaned him up and luckily Derek was good give him a bath and unload the car as soon as we got home so that I could clean the car seat. In all honesty, I felt like if that was the biggest thing I had to deal with for the entire trip, that was small potatoes. Marquette is the BEST travel companion. He never whines, he watch the iPad the entire way, and sleeps a good portion too. And Brooklyn slept most of the car rides too. So I was able to sit and socialize. We just had the best time.

            Well, today is Halloween, so we are going to go trick or treating with our neighbor friends the Kniefels. They are such good neighbors. They have a little boy named Max that is almost exactly 1 year older than Marquette. They play perfectly together. It’s so nice. I am excited to spend some time with them. Other than that, I am just trying to get things done around the house, spend time with my kids, and enjoy myself before I go back to work December 3^rd. We are going to Florida again, but this time with Derek, with my family for Thanksgiving. I’m really excited. I think it’ll be a great time and now I have a better idea about what Marquette will enjoy and how best to keep him entertained, etc.

            I love my life. If I didn’t have thousands upon thousands of dollars of school loans to pay off I’d be totally content just being a stay-at-home mom. But I have to get us out of the debt I put us in. It’s ok…it’ll be worth it in the end. My children are young, they won’t remember me working (I plan to go part time after 2 years and then only work a few days a month in another couple years). At least that’s what I tell myself to make myself feel better (although the working plan is legit. I refuse to work more than 2 years part time unless Derek loses his job or something). Anyway, life is good. The gospel is true. The end. 

Brooklyn Linda Shumway

September 28, 2013

            The following is a recount of Ms. Brooklyn Linda Shumway’s birthday. Let’s see…I went to stay with my mom on September 16^th after my doctor appointment when I learned that I was 2cm dilated. While there, I spent time converting tape family home videos to DVD family home videos, crocheting a bear hat for some newborn pictures, finishing a quilt I made for Brooklyn (that I started over 2 years ago), writing thank you cards for baby shower gifts, etc. Well, by Friday I pretty much had all of that done (minus one video tape that I never finished…oops). By Saturday I was dying for my baby to get here. I was really really uncomfortable and could hardly sleep at night. Luckily, I was taking a nap every day whenever Marquette took a nap so I stayed pretty rested. On Monday, September 23^rd, 2013 I had a doctor appointment at 10:10am. While there the doctor checked me (I think he may have stripped my membranes a little) and said I was still at 2cm dilated (I asked how effaced but he forgot to tell me). I went home, felt no different, took a nap, and woke up around 3:30.

            A little after 4pm, I had a few contractions that were a little different in nature from my normal Braxton Hicks. At first I just shrugged them off as I had resigned myself to be pregnant forever. After I had a few close together, I decided to time them and send Derek a warning “OK don’t freak out but I have had about 5 contractions in the past 25 minutes. Still not sure it’s labor. So don’t hop on your motorcycle yet.” So I began to time them… 8 minutes, 6 minutes, 4 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, OUCH!! I slammed my hand on the counter because it hurt. My mom looked at me (she had been watching me closely for the past little while, I think I was going into denial/realization I was in labor at the same time) and said “I think you need to call your husband.” So I called Derek, told him he needed to start heading to the hospital, grabbed my hospital bag, and we left right at about 5:55pm. Almost as soon as we got into the car my contractions got a lot worse. By the time we got to the hospital at about 6:30pm I was banging my hand against the hood of the car and starting to writhe in pain. My mom dropped me off right at the entrance of labor and delivery where I could not make it to the front desk due to a horrible contraction. They brought me a wheelchair. It took about 10 minutes to check in…the longest wait ever. I was really uncomfortable then, barely able to sit still. The receptionist could tell I was in a lot of pain and paged the nurse multiple times. Finally, the receptionist wheeled me into my room herself. I was in room B5.

            Mom helped me go to the bathroom (I really needed to go. Labor always causes me to have diarrhea as my contractions seem to squeeze my entire insides and force everything out) and get into my hospital gown. After the next contraction was over, I got into my bed. By this point it was 6:53 and I had not seen my nurse. I told my mom I REALLY needed my nurse. My mom was really anxious (anyone would be, I was pretty intense) and went to find a nurse. Meanwhile, I paged the nurses’ station stating I was in excruciating pain and needed my nurse RIGHT NOW. Within a couple minutes a nurse came in (I’ll call her Nurse A). I tell her I’m in a lot of pain, I’m not opposed to an epidural, and I need one immediately. She tells me there are four things that needs to be done before that can happen. 1) I need an IV and 1 Liter of IV fluids 2) I need blood work done and resulted. 3) I needed an order from the midwife 4)I had to sign paperwork I then said “Well, then it sounds like I won’t be getting an IV.” Sadly, I was just throwing an attitude when I said that, but when I did…I had a feeling what I said was true. She checked me and told me I was at 4cm dilated. This was around 7pm. My water broke when she checked me…or maybe she broke it…I’m not sure. As soon as that happened, I thought I was going to die. My back labor was so bad I felt like someone was going to break me in two. Then I lost it, I started screaming. Every time a contraction would hit my body would contort in crazy ways. Meanwhile, the lady is putting an IV in, hanging fluids, and trying to get me to sign paperwork. I know at one point, I was signing a piece of paper (I was only able to do this because I told myself if I signed the paperwork I was that much closer to getting an epidural) and a contraction hit and I dropped the pen. Nurse A said “don’t throw the pen down! You aren’t even having a contraction!” I remember thinking both “I’m sorry!! Please forgive me, but it hurts!” and “If I could physically move enough to punch you in the face right now I would…” I started crying and moaning “Please! I need an epidural. It hurts! I can’t do this!” I looked down and my IV was almost out. I started crying that “My IV it’s almost out! Please fix it! Please help me!” They had to re-tape it multiple times because I was so diaphoretic nothing would stick to me. At 7:20pm I started feeling like my intestines were coming out of my rectum. I literally hurt so badly and the contractions were so strong I thought my rectum was coming out. I also remember thinking “OH NO! My intestines are going to come out and they are going to tell me I need an emergency C-section!” Suddenly, I started grunting. It was like an out of body experience. I had this overwhelming urge to push. Nurse B had entered the room a little before that and checked me. I watched her face change and she was on the phone in 2 seconds saying “I need baby blankets, and a midwife in here right now. I have a patient who is complete and complete and station +2.”

            I start panicking. Derek’s not here! “Where’s my husband? Where’s Derek?” My mom said he was on his way. She’s on the phone with him and he’s like at the hospital but trying to find my room. Mom’s telling me not to push. I can’t help it. The staff is telling me not to push so that the midwife can get her gloves on. I remember looking around and there was suddenly like 6 different staff members in the room. They told me I could push and so I did. It’s the most ironic thing ever. First you’re in the worst pain of your life, yet you have this intense urge to push even though it is going to cause you more pain. It’s like it feels good and bad all at the same time. Anyway, her head came out on the first push. I was in shock. I had heard that your second time pushing goes faster, but I didn’t think it would be that fast. They had me wait and then push again at the next contraction. And she was out! They set her on my stomach and said “her you go mama! Here’s your baby!” I looked at her, felt a huge flood of relief, and then put my head back in exhaustion. I was happy to hold her, but so weak I felt like I couldn’t. She was born at 7:25pm. Just 37 minutes after I had been checked into the hospital. No one was gowned, they were barely gloved. My doctor/midwife never even made it. Somebody else’s midwife had to deliver my baby. I had no pain medicine, no epidural, my fluids never even finished. I went from 4cm to baby arrived in about 25 minutes.

            Derek walked in the room RIGHT after they lifted her off my chest and put her in the warmer. He had been misdirected and told to go to the 5^th floor. He missed her delivery by maybe 2 minutes. Luckily, it didn’t affect his mood too badly. He was still there to hold her almost immediately, got to see her first bath, and sat by me and held my hand. I think I was more devastated he wasn’t there. I felt really badly. I wanted to wait, but I just couldn’t.

            She weighed in at 6pounds 7 ounces, 19inches long, and a 13 inch head. I was 38 weeks 5 days along. She did not cry immediately, until they put her in the warmer. When they gave her to me and let me do skin to skin, she immediately stopped crying and went to sleep. I was in love. I didn’t cry…I cried with Marquette. I think I was too physically exhausted. I thought I had experienced pain with Marquette, that wasn’t half of what I went through this time. Anyway, as the midwives and nurses delivered the placenta and sutured me, they made lots of jokes, told me how beautiful my baby was, and were just a real delight. They all told me how impressed they were with me and that I did an amazing job. I apologized multiple times for my crying, screaming, writhing in pain, etc. They told me that any woman who would deliver a baby as fast as me would have done the same. I felt better after that.

            The rest of the night was mostly a blur. I was hungry. It took forever to get food. I couldn’t sleep ALL night. I had too much endorphins and adrenaline coursing through my body. It was ridiculous. I was able to get Brooklyn to nurse a few times though. She did a really, REALLY good job. Her latch was perfect, suck strong. I am so grateful for that because Marquette had a very difficult time nursing. I really enjoyed holding her and spending time with her, but I did send her to the nursery a lot so that I could sleep. I was exhausted and I didn’t want to come home to Marquette exhausted. I’m so glad I made that choice. I feel so much better this time around than I did with Marquette. I’m grateful for that blessing.

            Derek’s mom, my parents, and Marquette came the following morning to meet Brooklyn. Derek’s mom brought flowers, a stuffed cow for Marquette, and a bear for Brooklyn to the hospital. When Marquette saw me, he started crying. You could tell he really missed his mommy and daddy. It had probably been a long week for him being away from home for so long and then having me leave randomly without any warning for an entire day. I was so excited to see Marquette. It was so nice to finally have our little family together. I really enjoyed watching all of my family hold Brooklyn and get so excited to meet her and love on her. It just melted my heart. We went home Wednesday afternoon and made the drive back to Chattanooga. Mom drove the Toyota and Derek was on his motorcycle. We had to make one stop so I could nurse Brooklyn and mom got a few things at Costco. That night we had dinner and went to bed early. It was a horrible night, Brooklyn was up almost all night. Since then, she has slept like a champ and woken up only every 2.5-3 hours to feed. I’m so grateful for that. I value and need sleep like I think few other people need sleep. I had a lot of anxiety about whether or not I would be able to function with 2 kids on such little sleep, especially when I go to work. But I think I will manage. I know Heavenly Father will bless me. He always has.

            We have had 2 major scares since Brooklyn came into our home. On Friday morning we went to the pediatrician and were told that Brooklyn was doing very well. She had already gained weight since leaving the hospital, and was doing great. I was so pleased. We came home after running a few errands and were just about to settle down for a nap when I got a call from the pediatric nurse practitioner at the hospital. She told me that Brooklyn had a critical lab value on her metabolic newborn screening exam and that she needed very specific genetic testing done immediately (as in that day) at either a hospital in Chattanooga or at Scottish Rite in Atlanta. She had a low MCAD level which means that she would lack the enzyme that breaks down fat to be used for energy by the cell. She would always have to have a steady, monitored diet as well as never fast or have her metabolism or immune system greatly stressed. I was immediately distraught and devastated. I called Derek, got my bags packed, and was waiting to hear back from the NP about where exactly to go.

The NP called back about 30 minutes after her first call and said that she had some good news. She said that she had gotten everything coordinated for us to go to Scottish Rite when she had this feeling that she needed to call the newborn screening clinic at Emory and confirm what tests she needed to have prior to sending us. Apparently when she called the newborn screening place, they told her that Brooklyn’s MCAD level was out of the normal range, but only slightly low and that she was put in the “Low Risk” category. They said she merely needed to have another newborn screening test done. This could be done at my pediatrician’s office. So, I left and went back to the place we had just been 2 hours ago. *Sigh* They said that no news is good news. I told the NP and my pediatrician that I was going to get this screening done and then pretend that this never happened and that my child is fine. They both said that is what I should do, because she almost certainly did not have MCAD deficiency disorder. I immediately fell to my knees after getting off the phone with the NP and thanked Heavenly Father for the health of my children.

That experienced helped me to truly realize how much I love my children, especially Brooklyn. I have a difficult time adjusting with no sleep and it can be very difficult for me. But even the idea of something small being wrong with my child devastated me. I realized that I love her with all my heart, that I would do anything for her and that I should and am grateful to be her mother. I will lose countless hours of sleep, change thousands of diapers, and work full-time/part-time for years to provide for a better life for them. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a mother.

The second scare, was when I woke up yesterday (Saturday the 28^th) and could not find my camera. Forget the fact that it’s a really expensive one, the idea of losing all my pictures of Brooklyn at the hospital devastated me. I literally ransacked my house looking for it. Derek went on a scout campout Friday night and so I called his cell phone…turned off. I called Doug’s cell phone…no answer. I started balling. I was not doing well. Luckily, Derek called back on Doug’s cell phone a few minutes later and he told me where to find it…in his closet under his clothes. You know…the logical spot. Haha. Anyway, since then we have not had any major freak out moments.

Brooklyn is the best baby. She has already started going 3 hours between feedings at night. Last night she actually made it just below 4 hours (don’t worry, my pediatrician gave me approval to let her go 4 hours since she is already gaining weight and just about back to birth weight which usually takes 2 weeks). She never fusses unless hungry. She loves to be held, but doesn’t have to be. She is just perfect in every way. We are really grateful to have her in her little family!

Oh, I should also post that Marquette has been a good boy as usual. He has been having a slightly hard time dealing with sharing the attention, but he has never shown any anger or resentment to the baby, just a little more fussy and clingy to me. I know he will adjust soon and be the best big brother. He always likes to sit by me when I am nursing her and likes to observe Brooklyn when she is in her bouncer etc. He is learning new words every day and amazes us with his intelligence, observations then mimicking, and sweetness. He always tells everyone goodnight when he goes to bed and will give anyone a kiss if asked for one. He is very attached to his two blankets, monkey, and teddy bear. He is my sweet angel boy and I love him dearly!

 What a relief!

 Derek melted when he saw her. So sweet

 Grandma Hiatt was so happy to hold her. 

 She was so quick to say "I'll hold her!" when she was born. I love to see my family love on my

children 

 Grandpa Hiatt holding his first granddaughter! 

 I LOVE this picture. He is still my sweet baby boy!

 My children and me! Isn't that crazy? But I love it!

 Little show off!

 The Shumway Family (minus Baxter)

 Uncle Joel and Aunt Laurel

 

 Daddy being silly

 Papa loves his baby girl

Uncle Joel with his cute niece

Pinning/Graduation, Baby Shower, Found a Job!!!!

August 25, 2013

            I am embarrassed that it has taken me this long to update my journal. You would think after graduating that I would have all this time on my hands to catch up on projects I want to do like scrapbooking, burning home videos to DVD, major deep cleaning, etc. but in all honesty I have just been trying to get ready for the baby to come. According to my menstrual cycle, she is due September 20^th. According to the first ultrasound measurement she is due October 2^nd. However, Marquette came 2 weeks 1 day early, so I really feel like it could be anytime from the middle of September and on. So in reality, I feel like I only have a little over two weeks left until the baby arrives. Luckily, I finished painting the room last week, have all the furniture ready, and am just fine tuning my decorations. My baby shower was yesterday and was a total blast (more on that later).  

            Let’s rewind the clock back to July. I worked extremely hard the entire semester and was able to actually finish all of my course work about 2 weeks early. So I did take that time to relax a lot, be with Marquette, and play with friends. I am so grateful for the time I have had to be with friends because I realize now that when I start working, it will take so much time from my children that I probably won’t want to socialize as much as before. I graduated/had my pinning on August 4, 2013. My parents and Joel, Derek’s parents, Derek and Marquette came to support me. Saturday night we all got together and went out to dinner together. We spent the night socializing until it was time to go to bed. Sunday we pretty much relaxed (I took a nap), and then my pinning was at 2pm. When it was my turn to walk across the stage and my name was called, Joel stood up and started shouting and screaming so loud. Then my dad yelled “WE LOVE YOU!” I immediately got extremely embarrassed, but it was really nice to feel so much love. There was a reception afterwards, but it was so crowded we pretty much stayed just to take pictures and then left. I had a good time and enjoyed visiting as a family, but I honestly was glad to just have it over. I think I slept for like 10 hours the next day (I napped with Marquette).

            I should be studying diligently for my test, but that has honestly been extremely difficult. I have so many things that I need to do to prepare for baby etc., that I haven’t spent as much time as I should. But since I am pretty much ready for baby, I will now devote 2 hours every morning to study for the exam. I did take a class the two days before pinning that REALLY helped and I listen to his CDs that were included in the class too. I think I will pass…I pray I will…hehe.

            So here is a story that I should fill you in on. After graduating, I had not had a single interview for a job in Chattanooga and I was growing worried if I would find one. Attending Vanderbilt has put us in an extensive amount of debt and we would not even be able to afford the minimum payment if I did not find employment. Well, two Sundays ago, on the 11^th of August, I gave a lesson on “Obedience Brings Blessings.” In my lesson, I shared how Derek had been pursued by a company in Dallas, TX and even accepted a position, but that we did not feel right about moving even though I had received multiple phone interviews for positions there. But I stated that we had received an answer that we were supposed to remain in Chattanooga, TN and I bore my testimony that I knew the Lord would provide a way for me to pay those bills. I stated that I had faith that God would find me a job, maybe not in my time, but in his time. I promised the sisters that I would return and report to them when that occurred (that is the short story, I will not share the rest of it because it is too personal and sacred). Well, little did I know that a Spanish sister in my ward was there that day, and she is a manager for a clinic in Dalton, GA that has a satellite office in Chattanooga, TN. She said she needed to speak to me after church.

      When I approached her after church she had the biggest smile on her face. She said that her clinic had been looking for an NP since March and had been unsuccessful. She asked me if I was willing to learn Spanish. I smiled very big and switched to speaking Spanish. I told her that I had learned Spanish in high school and that I had had a friend from Venezuela who I spoke to exclusively in Spanish when I was 18 years old. She was extremely impressed and became very excited. The next thing I knew, she told me that I had a job and that I just needed to interview with the doctor. I went in Monday at 11am and interviewed with Dr. Perez. He is the sweetest man ever. Everyone in the office is bilingual and almost all of them their native tongue is Spanish. I am SO excited for this opportunity because I am going to become truly bilingual and that is so precious to me. Derek and I have also decided that when I become confident in Spanish (where I don’t have to think about every word I say) we are going to switch our home into a Spanish speaking home so that our children can grow up learning Spanish and English. I know that my children will learn English just fine outside of our home when they are at their daycare (my friend’s house), so I need to make sure they are immersed in Spanish at home. I think this will be a huge blessing to them. Anyway, my official start date is December 3^rd and I am VERY excited. I will be working Monday-Friday 8-5 at the Dalton clinic until I am confident enough to move to the Chattanooga clinic. Once there, I will be able to change the hours somewhat to better fit my schedule as well as the Hispanic people (they prefer later appointments, so I think I will pull a few longer days and then have a day off or a shorter day or something). I am nervous about being away from my children so much. Will they remember me? Will my daughter even know that I am her mom? It just makes me nervous and sad that I have to be away so much. But it is not for forever. Once we are out of debt and have a good nest egg I will switch to part time (hopefully about 3 years from now). I am doing this to better their lives and help us become more financially stable. And in all honesty, I am doing this because I felt that heavenly father wanted me to.

            I painted the baby’s room. It took me over a week. The room is a lime green with a pink border and red, green, pink turquoise, and light blue circles of all shapes and sizes inside the border. It looks adorable I promise. It took FOREVER, but I am very pleased with it. I am working on the decorations and am SO excited! Marquette’s room now looks a little bland…I think I will try to paint his room sometime soon. I just want to do some big red star border around the room to give it some personality. I am just so grateful to soon be having two children and for all the Lord has blessed me with.

            My baby shower was this past Saturday. My best friends Sherree and Sarah threw it for me. The theme was “Gina’s about to pop!” and all the food was centered around that. There was popcorn shrimp, popcorn chicken, 6 different flavors of popcorn, lollipops, and these “mounds” brownie things that were to DIE for. All the food looked crazy phenomenal. The decorations were balloons that we popped to find out which games we had to play. There was a balloon race game, charades game, “feed the baby” game, and guessing the mystery ointments/creams game. They were all SO hilarious and fun! We all just died laughing. Then I opened my presents. I got a swing, double stroller, diapers, wipes, receiving blankets, head bands, lavender bath stuff, burp clothes, hand crocheted hats, and a ton of clothes! This girl is going to be SPOILED and stylin’! After it was over I seriously felt so loved and blessed that I got teary-eyed as I hugged everyone. I have an amazing ward and group of friends. I cannot even tell you the immense love and support I felt from them. Our family has truly been given many priceless treasures on this earth that money could never buy.

            As far as the pregnancy goes, I am almost 35 weeks… maybe a little farther. I feel huge, but am only a 24 pounds gained. Which I honestly feel really good about. I think with Marquette, by this time I was at 30 pounds gained. I am ready for her to be here, but I am not ready for the labor part yet…oh well. I don’t think anyone is ever truly ready for that.

            Marquette is getting really big. I cannot even tell you all the words he says now. It’s a lot. Let’s see...some that come to mind are “All done, all gone, eat, cracker (cacker), juice, water (wah-der), shoe, socks (sauce), pants, shirt (shuuht), choo-choo, please (peace), thank you (tank-tu), love you (wuv-tu), bye-bye, night-night, amen, no, mine, I want, dog, doggie, blankey (preesy…don’t know where that came from), show, ball, my dice, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten (still working on counting though)” and a WHOLE bunch more I just cannot recall. If you tell him to say something now, he actually gets pretty close. It’s just a matter of him knowing what he is actually saying. We are working on counting and colors. His favorite colors are yellow, orange, and blue. I only know this because he gravitates toward these colors all the time. He loves to mimic. He is very smart. He observes everything anyone does and will then imitate it. He has gotten himself into trouble this way. He likes to stick the key into the ignition of the car before he gets into his car seat. He loves his blankey. He loves his mommy and looks to be around me whenever possible. Although he is very confident and not afraid to explore and get into trouble haha. He loves watching his “shows” on my iPad when I will let him. He mostly watches baby Einstein and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He really doesn’t care for any other shows and will never watch the actual TV. He will give kisses any second of the day if you ask for one. Sometimes, when he’s in trouble, he will try to give you a kiss to butter you up. It works like a charm. I also transitioned him to his big-boy bed and have had NO problems. He goes to sleep when I put him in it and sleeps through the night. He has only fallen out once. He is just the best and sweetest little boy. I love him with all my heart!!

            Derek’s job is going well. They are getting some huge major projects which is great (hopefully we will see some of the profits J). He is so excited for his new calling as Young Men’s President. He says it’s the best ever because he gets to do all the “cool stuff” for free. AKA camping, rock climbing, paintballing, white-water rafting etc. The young men just love him too. It’s really sweet to watch. Derek has truly flourished in this ward and it is so fun to watch him.

            I think I have pretty much covered me. I just wish I had more time. I’d love to scrapbook for hours and be able to catch up on the projects and stuff I like to do…oh well…maybe one day (like when my kids are grown haha).

            The Shumway family has been very blessed and we attribute all of that to the love of our Savior. We can testify that obedience to his commandments brings blessings and his gospel brings all the happiness we can possess in this life and in the life to come. 

Family Update

June 4, 2013

Well, I am actually sitting here at clinical and we don’t have any trauma patients in the bay and we have rounded on all our patients, so I actually have a little time on my hands. Considering it has been so long since I have updated, I thought it would be beneficial for me to blog a little. Nothing extremely special has happened except I had the ultrasound at 20 weeks to confirm that we are indeed having a baby GIRL. I am really excited. No name yet, we cannot seem to really connect with any names yet. We have one, but we don’t want to reveal it until we are sure. We also went camping over Memorial Day weekend with some of our good friends. I will have to post some pictures of that when I can. We camped for 4 days and 3 nights. It was truly a blast, but very relaxing. So wonderful. Other than that, our life has revolved around Derek’s work, my school, and our sweet little boy!

Marquette: Just turned 18 months May 12, 2013, and was able to go to nursery for the first time! The best part: he loves it! The first day I brought him in he immediately went to play with the toys and was like “mama who?” So, I just happily left him and he has been fine since. He now gets tended by my good friend Sherree’s daughter Mylee. He has become the little son/brother they never had. He is COMPLETELY spoiled there. They have a pool which he gets to swim in every day, he gets one on one (or multiple people with him) attention a day. He still cries most days when I leave and pick him up, but they say he stops almost immediately after I leave and is a happy camper during the days.

He is the sweetest little boy ever! He is constantly on the go, except sometimes at night when I get home he just wants to snuggle with his mommy (which I eat up). He is starting to really talk and express himself. So far he can say: Hi, hey, Mommy, Daddy, Doggie, Apple, Ball, Bye bye, choo choo, juice, shoe, bite, Mylee (My-ee), Jaycee (say-see), Doug, Cort, No (he’s really good at that one)” I know there are more but I can’t think of anyone right now. He is learning to say prayer and will fold his arms when told. After we say "Amen" he starts clapping his hands and saying "Yea!" If you ask him for a kiss he will always pucker up and gladly give you one. Especially his mommy. He is a mama's boy. He is my little man, heart, and everything. I melt when I see him and miss him to pieces when I’m away. I’m honestly wondering how I am going to love another baby as much as I love him, but everyone reassures me that it will be natural. Anyway, he’s my Mister Bright Eyes.

Derek: Crazy busy. Currently he works crazy hours, is in the Young Men/Scouting program at church, is involved with two different softball teams (which play two games each per week), and trying to help me with school and being a daddy. He even manages to serve others while he’s at it. Crazy. I have to admit that I’ll be SO excited when softball gets over in a little over a week. Derek is still his fun-loving, outgoing self. We are always playing games or hanging out with friends. The kids are always so excited to see him because they know he will play/wrestle/tease them. We tend to be a work-hard, play-hard family. But we love it that way and don’t plan on changing!

Me: Limping along for my last 2 months of school. In some ways I cannot believe I have less than 2 months left, and in other ways I am DYING to be done and the time will never get here fast enough. My pregnancy definitely makes things harder and I have really been feeling the burn and fatigue the past few weeks. Which is really bad, considering I have two crazy weeks of clinical coming up…The funny thing though, I was so stressed about keeping my grades up while being pregnant, yet I got all A’s last semester and the previous semester I had 3 B’s and 2 A’s. Funny how that works. I really cannot complain about this pregnancy though. My nausea went away at 17 weeks and has rarely been back since. I am still a teacher in the Relief Society and somehow manage to maintain a social life as well. Derek and I have something planned like EVERY weekend. In fact, we have something going on every weekend into July already. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. But August 4 (my graduation date) will be here before I know it. I am also hoping to hear back from someone with a possible job opportunity that would seriously be AWESOME. So, we’ll see about that. Finger’s crossed!

Baby's Gender, Tough Mudder, School,

 Life is still crazy busy, but I really want to continue updating
my blog and not fall so far behind. I also find that it is
semi-therapeutic for me to be able to write/type out my various
feelings etc. I doubt there are many people that even read my blog, so
I'm not really nervous about the entire world hearing my inner-most
secrets...I'm pretty much an open book as it is...unless I hold
something sacred. Then no one really gets to hear it except my husband
and a few others if I feel prompted.

    Let's see...I'm 3 weeks away from the end of the semester and the
stress has really hit me. I'm doing 30 hours of clinical a week on top
of my school work in order to take away 50 clinical hours from next
semester. I would rather do more clinical hours now than next semester
when I'm 7-8 months pregnant! YIKES! I have to admit, I'm starting to
feel the burn out coming....so ready to be done! only 4 months left!

    My pregnancy is going better. I'm starting to not feel as
nauseated...although I'm always exhausted. I go to bed about 9:00pm
every night and still feel like I didn't get enough sleep. I am 15
weeks along and DYING to know the gender of the baby. I'm hoping to
find someone in the hospital to tell me what I'm having soon. If not,
I won't know until the middle of May! I don't know if I can wait that
long.

PS...I wrote this like...a week ago. I did get an ultrasound done the following day and was told it was 95% likely to be a girl. It's just early, so a penis COULD develop...but the OB resident was pretty confident. 

    Derek is doing great. This weekend he ran tough mudder, which is
an 11 mile obstacle course filled with physically tasking obstacles
and the track you run is almost entirely mud (to make it even more
challenging). EVERYONE had a difficult time, but Derek's team made
great time! I think they completed it in 2 hours 45 minutes...which if
you include time waiting in line to do the obstacles, doing the
obstacles, etc. that's pretty good! It's not like just running 11
straight miles. Derek was on cloud nine the entire time. Although he
was exhausted afterwards, he was smiling from ear to ear and COVERED
in mud. I did not race. I was the spectator who took all the pictures
and videos of them. It was SO FUN!! My friend Sarah and I said that we
are going to run it together next year! WAHOO!!

PS I will try to upload some photos soon. 

    Marquette is doing well. He is teething right now, so he has been
pretty fussy...well...for Marquette standards. Everyone else always
tells me how perfect/cute/mild-mannered my child is. And he really is.
He is very independent though. If he's going to eat or drink, he has
to feed himself. He LOVES the outdoors and is constantly trying to get
out of the house. And when he does get out, he high-tails it out onto
the street as fast as possible...talk about SCARY!! He still doesn't
really talk a lot, but he sure jabbers away constantly. And he lets
you know when he does or does not want something, that's for sure.

    We also really enjoyed General Conference this weekend and were
uplifted by listening to all the wonderful leaders of the church. We
did miss 2 sessions due to Derek running tough mudder, so we need to
watch those, but I really enjoyed what I did hear. I'm so grateful for
the gospel in my life and for the power of the atonement that I am
able to use every day if I choose. I am horribly imperfect, but I try
to be a little better every day.

Baby 2.0, Update, Personal Thoughts

  I know it has been such a long time since I have updated. Once again, sorry. I feel badly that I have not taken the time to record my thoughts, feelings, and activities. I know in the future I will forget many of these things and regret it. So, I will try to make a quick note of things I don’t want to forget.

First, I found out I am pregnant on February 2, 2013 with our second child. I had been feeling nauseated for about a week and mentioned to Derek that I felt sick, “like I did when I was pregnant with Marquette.” Derek told me that I should take a pregnancy test, which I felt was unnecessary as there was no way I could be pregnant (we had been using preventative measures). However, I decided to take it to appease him as well as get that nagging feeling out of my head. I thought for sure it would be negative. When it turned positive within seconds, I freaked out. I yelled Derek’s name, and practically fainted. Derek started jumping for joy and did the “happy dance.” Marquette danced right along with Derek, laughing the entire time.

          I had a hard time with my pregnancy at first, to which I am sad to admit. I begged and pleaded with Heavenly Father to get pregnant with Marquette, but now that it was inconvenient for me, I was mad about it. I realize now how selfish I was being. I know there are many women who truly fight not to despise women who get angry or upset over being pregnant. I know because I was once one of them. I have been sick, I just started feeling better the past few days (which has been WONDERFUL). Luckily, Derek has been such a major help and school has not been as difficult for me as the previous semester. I know now that Heavenly Father has a plan, and knew that now would be the best time for the baby to come. I am now trying to think with my head on straight and am excited for this baby…I still feel slightly overwhelmed for this fall when I’m going to be trying to graduate, have a baby a few weeks later, take my boards, and start working with an 8 week old. Oh well, I went back to work when Marquette was 8 weeks…I can do it again. Heavenly Father will strengthen me. And with Derek by my side, of course I can!

         

Next, School is good. It’s school. Amazingly enough, my grades are better this semester than last! HA!

Derek’s work is going amazingly well. His boss reported a couple days ago that their company is growing like a weed and the profits are better than expected. We are very happy and very blessed. He is also still training for tough mudder and running like a champ. I’m so proud of him!

Marquette. That boy makes me smile. He constantly has a smile on his face (or is whining…that’s a new and not-so-loved development. But I hear it’s normal). He now says “Hi” “Dadda” “Dog” “Sit-sit (when trying to get Baxter to sit)” “Dis (this)” “Bite (meaning “I want a bite” and “Buh “bye-bye”. He really doesn’t say mamma anymore…he just comes to me and says “uh” whenever he wants me to pick him up. Although I do get all the snuggles and kisses. He’s a momma’s boy and I eat it up! He has recently started giving kisses on the mouth with puckered lips and I LOVE IT! If I ask for a kiss he’ll run up and plant one. So sweet! He has also turned into a little snuggler which I cherish as well. I love him so much sometimes it’s hard for me to fathom that I’m going to have another baby. I wonder how it’s possible to love multiple children as much as I love Marquette! I’m sure it is…I just…don’t understand it yet.

Baxter is still alive and kickin. I love that dog. He’s a begger and sissy, but I love him!

I am grateful for this life that I live! I’m grateful for all the many blessings I have been given. I know I do not deserve many of them, but I also know that when we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God will bless us more than we have room to receive. Derek and I have had miracles occur in our lives that we cannot explain. I went from being unable to get pregnant to getting pregnant while using protection religiously. We didn’t know how we would be able to pay for the new bills of this baby, and then we found out we are getting a rather large tax return…another blessing from our heavenly father and testimony of paying your tithing. God loves us. He wants to bless us as long as we live worthily and ask.

With Easter just around the corner, I have been reflecting on my Savior a lot. I am so grateful for the atonement in my life. That through it I can repent and strive to live better. I’m grateful for the temple, that I can be sealed to my wonderful husband for time and all eternity. I’m grateful that because he died I can be resurrected and become perfected. When I am down and struggling, he can take away my burdens to make them light. I forget at times that I don’t need to worry because of him. I can place my burdens on him because he has already paid the price. Who am I to deny that selfless gift?

Which leads me to my next topic that is weighing heavily on my mind. I don’t know if anyone will read this. I somewhat hope so, I somewhat don’t. Today I saw all of the “Equal Rights” red equal sign pictures that were placed on facebook as a symbolism for standing up to Congress in a fight against proposition 8. First I saw a few of my friends post the symbol to show their support for gay marriage. I knew they would. I know where they stand and it did not surprise me. But then I saw more symbols from people I would not have thought. And in all honesty, I was overcome with sadness. Two quotes kept coming to my mind:

“The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing is all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which TEAM’S JERSEY we want to wear!”

and

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

It saddens me that this world has turned into such a Godless world. God has been removed from our buildings, from our schools, and from many people’s homes. We live in a world that demands tolerance of liberalism and “progressivism,” but intolerant of Christian believers. People want me to be “open-minded” and believe what they believe. In fact, they will riot, boycott, and persecute me into accepting their ideas…even if it means trying to force me to change MY beliefs. You can call me old-fashioned, close-minded, or a hater. But I work to fashion my life after Christ. I strive to keep my mind and eye single to the will of the Lord. And I do not hate, I love. But I cannot deny what I believe and I will not vote or ally for things that I know to be contradictory to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Marriage is ordained of God.  Marriage is not between two people. It is a three-way promise between God, a woman, and a man. Together, we create a family and work to multiple and replenish the earth as God commanded.

          I have had many friends who have said they don’t know if they want to have kids or any more kids because they do not want them to grow up in this world. I admit to having these same feelings myself. However, a friend of mine posted on her blog today that she will be having children and she will be teaching her children “equal marriage rights for all.” So I realized, who will stand if not I? Who will raise a righteous generation to be an example? What kind of example am I if I am not willing to fulfill my role as a woman and mother on this earth? I will have (more) children. And I will raise them up in truth, so that they will stand as witnesses of God wherever they will go. And if we are persecuted, then so be it.

          I have gay friends. And I love them. They are wonderful people. I truly wish them happiness in this life. If you want to live, sleep, and share you life with someone of the same sex, that is your choice and I will not get in the way of that. However, I cannot change my views on marriage. I will not support anything that is contrary to the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe everyone has challenges in this life. I have many. I believe that some have unhealthy attractions to alcohol, illicit drugs, pornography, and for some, they have attractions to the opposite sex (yes…I do believe that this is a trial, and people genetically have some variance that make them attracted to the same gender just like some people are more prone to becoming alcoholics). Before I was married, I struggled with sexual desires for guys before marriage. Now that I am married, that is luckily something I don’t have to fight anymore.

But I’m not going to tell an alcoholic I support them, nor am I going to support pornography distribution and viewing. I understand this means that I am telling homosexuals that they can never engage in sexual relations with each other. I understand this may hurt them, offend them, and make them angry. I understand I make appear intolerant. I guess to an extent…I am. I cannot tolerate something I know to be wrong. And yes, it is possible to love someone and not approve of their actions. So please, stop telling me I don’t love gay people. I have multiple homosexual friends. One I can think of in particular, was one of my best friends in high school. I love him. He knows I love him. So please, don’t tell me I don’t. I don’t presume to ever tell you how you do or do not feel. I am not a cold-hearted person. It is not always easy standing for what I believe. It is rather lonely at times. Which is why I love the end of Robert Frost’s poem:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

 

I will continue to take the road less traveled.