Afton Irene McOmber

(So I never finished this post, so I'm just going to post it now. Better late than never)

Afton Irene McOmber was born on Saturday February 13th, 2016 at 7:44pm. This is the story of our week.

The week before Feb. 7th, I was going to be induced because my Dr. was working that Sunday. He let me know a few days before that he wasn't working now, and gave me the choice to go ahead and be induced or not. I chose not too. And I'm thankful I didn't because some of the kids came down with a bad cough on Monday. So I just waited. We set up an induction for Saturday the 13th if I didn't have her by that day. I was due on the 12th and my Dr. didn't want me going over too far because I've had large babies in the past. We didn't think she was that big, but he knew that I was struggling with my sciatic nerve and morning sickness and thought she was about 8lbs, so we went ahead to do it. All week long I worked my head off at trying to get the house ready and get on top of my laundry. My mom came to help me because I was sorting and going through clothes like crazy! It was a crazy week!

Friday came along and no baby. But I was busy getting Isaiah off to his camp out for scouts and trying to finish up last minute things. It was strange though, because I started having Braxton Hicks contractions at 22 weeks and had them the whole pregnancy until the last week. The last week absolutely nothing was happening.  I just didn't understand it. Oh well.

Saturday morning came along and we left at 6:30am. It's always a weird ride when you go to the hospital to have a baby. So many emotions! I always get nervous when I go to have a baby because you never know what's going to happen. And anticipating the pain is not fun at all! So we got to the hospital and it took forever to get admitted and everything. Finally at 10:30am they gave me the miso pill. We had to wait for 4 hours to see if it was going to work or not. In the meantime, I told Jason to leave to go get something to eat so I could get some sleep. He left and as I was falling asleep, a visitor came. Then Jason came back. At 2:30pm, they started me on pitocin. Oh pitocin.... blah! I started progressing pretty fast. And the pain started. Ohhh.... the pain! I usually do ok with the pain, but this time I was just kinda thrashing around and having a hard time just calming myself down and focusing. I was just tired! Then I was checked at about 6:30pm and I was a 6/7. At 7pm I got the epidural and everyone left the room. At that same moment, my mom and Maci and my friend Joalea showed up. Everyone waited out in the waiting room. I got the epidural and it took the edge off of the contractions, but I could still feel them a lot. I told the nurse I felt a lot of pressure and she checked me and I was at a 10. She said, "Let's have this baby." All of my family and friends were out in the lobby still. The nurses got the room set up. And everyone finally came back in. When they came in, I didn't really want to talk with any of them because I was still going through the contractions. Jason wasn't with them though and I was like... where the heck is he? Well, my mom forgot the plant that she got us in the lobby and he went back to get it. I remember when he walked in with the plant and had this smile on his face and I just was like... stop smiling. haha! It's amazing what pain can do to a person. Well, everyone was there that was supposed to be there. So they told me it was time to have the baby. It's been 3 years since I've had one and I didn't really remember what to do. But after 1 and a half pushes, Afton was born! It was the easiest pushing delivery I had ever had. I also instantly felt my sciatic nerve pain go away. But there was no tearing or anything... she just came out. Her little head was perfectly round, since she wasn't in the birth canal for very long. I saw her and thought she weighed about 6lbs. She looked so tiny. But she was 8lbs. 1oz. We were all shocked! 20 1/2 inches long. Born at 7:44 pm. She of course looked like Jason and the rest of the kids. She had such petite features with a ton of hair! She was just so perfect!

Afton Irene

This is Afton. I haven't even blogged about her yet. Ever since Uriah hit my laptop while playing swords and busted it. So I've had a hard time getting pictures on here. Afton though, is such a huge blessing to our family. She lightens up our life so much! In the picture above, shes watching Uriah playing with a balloon that she wants. She had just woken up. Her hair is crazy long! She's 8 months old, 23 pounds and wears 18 month clothes. She's a big girl. And she's always smiling. She seriously melts our heart and brings peace to our family.

She just has such a chill personality. She sleeps through the night. She likes playing with her siblings and other kids. She even likes to hang out with other adults! Gasp! She also has 2 bottom teeth and loves food! We are so thankful for Afton Irene!

Sadee

Its her first softball season, and she loves it!

Sadee is 9 years old. She is quite the spunky and feisty young lady. She's in the 4th grade and is very responsible in getting her homework done on her own. She plays soccer and softball. She is quite the cook and baker. She loves to do hair. Here are some pics of her.

She loves to make things.

She is silly and the selfie queen

She loves her younger siblings but doesn't like noise.

She loves fashion and friends

Maci

Maci is in the 6th grade and is 11 years old. She is a social butterfly. She gets embarrassed when her friends come over and our house is a mess. She's a great big sister to the younger kids. She's sarcastic. She's sweet and kind. She's an artist. She's determined and likes a challenge. She loves watching disney shows and Full House. She likes to run and loves soccer. She'll be doing track this spring. She loves to sew and create things. She likes to stay busy and be productive. She's a good girl!

And she loves her mama!

Her friend Libby was one of her very good friends that recently moved to Idaho. They are such great pen pals with one another.

Maci's 11th Birthday

Maci loves theater. She played Mary in the Stake Creche Exhibit. And yes, that is a real baby.

That same day, she played the spirit of Christmas Past in our ward Christmas play.

Even though she likes girly things and is very creative, she also likes fishing. She's not big on hunting though, because she loves the animals too much to shoot them.

Maci is the only girl in Jazz Band. She plays the trumpet. She's always up for a challenge.

Maci loves playing games. She's competitive like her Aunt Cami.

Maci has always been able to do some trippy things with her eyes.

Making their own lip gloss. Who does stuff like that? Maci and Sadee absolutely love things like that.

Isaiah

Isaiah is in the 8th grade this year. He went to Freshman Orientation last night, which is just weird! He's a good kid and growing up too fast. I'm definitely not ready for the transition of him being a teenager. He's the Deacon's Quorum President right now and is learning a lot. He's your typical teenager and thinks he knows more than mom and dad. Haha!  He hasn't hit his growth spurt yet, which is fine with me. I love how he still plays with his siblings like he's just one of them.  I love how he's still not cool enough for his family and says I love to you to me in public. He loves to snuggle. He's excited to have a new baby sister. His favorite genre is Big Band. He loves to learn. His favorite subjects in school are Math and Science. He's very analytical like his dad. He's not sure what he wants to do when he grows up, but he's thinking of a scientist or a Dr. I guess we shall see. Here are some pics of him and his likes.

Isaiah has a few very close friends. Here are two of them. Aaron and Dallin Nelson.

Oh fishing! Isaiah loves to go fishing! He and his friends will ride there bikes 2 miles to the river and just fish for hours from the bank. Now that's what being a boy is all about!

Scouts! Isaiah is very active in scouts and is working towards his Eagle. It's a lot of work, but good for him to do.

Bass Pro Shop Santa. Isaiah loves Bass Pro Shop. He loves hunting, fishing, anything outdoors.

Isaiah loves band! He plays the tenor sax in both regular band and jazz band. Two of his best friends are behind him in this pic... Austin Gaylord and Dallin Nelson.

Just being outside makes him happy. Even though half the time I have to force him to get off of an electronic to go outside. He loves riding bikes, playing basketball, playing frisbee, just anything.

Poor Isaiah always gets forced into doing things like this. Whether he likes it or not, it's good for him and I think he ends up enjoying it in the end. Here he is, playing Joseph in the Stake Creche Exhibit.

Halloween 2015

Elijah's pumpkin was solid in the middle. It was crazy! It also smelled like cucumbers.

It was a cool color though. It was a greenish white.

Uriah loved his little Mickey Mouse pumpkin head.

Cleaning and carving.

Ezra carved his all by himself. Thank goodness for pumpkin carving knives. 

The 4 Boys

Ezra the Power Ranger

Uriah the dinosaur

Elijah as Luke Skywalker

Isaiah the fisherman

Maci the mad hatter

Sadee as Little Red Riding Hood. And she and I made her costume, except for the cape.

All the kids

Ezra and his pumpkin

Sadee and her pumpkin

After trick or treating for 2 hours, the kids were exhausted. Uriah fell asleep on Brigham's legs.

The kids

The adults. Lisa and Dale Kerr. Jason and me. Brandy and Derrick Nelson

Sorting through the candy.

I loved this picture of Ezra. He was going through his candy and fell asleep right on top of it.

Labor Day

I really wanted to try to catch up and post a bunch of summer things we did, but I just haven't had a chance yet. So if I'm able too, I will.  I figure I might as well just do current things while I have a chance.  We didn't do too much on Labor Day weekend.  Saturday we ran errands around town. Sunday we went to church and then went to a friends house to celebrate their son's birthday.  Monday, I got to sleep in until 7am! Yahoo! But I didn't get out of bed until 9am.  Then we got chores done, had piano lessons and headed over to our friends house, the Nashs.  The Nashs lived here when we first moved here.  They moved about 5 years ago to Lincoln and then they ended up moving back! This family is awesome and bought a house with a pool, just to be able to invite people over for gatherings!  It was a lot of fun just hanging out and relaxing! I'm so thankful for good friends! i don't know what I'd do without them! Here are some pics from it.

 

 

#7

It's been forever since I've blogged! Mainly because I was sick and barely surviving.  My endometriosis came back after my miscarriage last year.  It was horrific!  I don't want to go into details and have a pity party, but I'm very thankful to have gotten through it alive!  I had a laparoscopy scheduled for Tuesday June 9th.  I was totally ready for it and so excited and relieved! The week before my surgery, I was supposed to be feeling my pain and sick.  And I wasn't.  It was the last week of school and I thought that maybe Heavenly Father was just helping me out because He knew I needed to be there for the kids.  The week continued, still, no pain.  I thought it was weird.  So the Thursday morning before my surgery, I decided to take a pregnancy test, just in case.  Even though I was going to be taking one the next day for my pre-op tests.  I took it and it was positive! What? I ran to Walgreens at 7am and bought 3 more.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but I have had false positives before. Well, the 3 others tests were positive!! Holy cow!  I couldn't believe it! I instantly let my Dr. know and he wanted me to go and get some hospital tests done to make sure before we cancel the surgery.  I couldn't that day due to Maci's graduation from 5th grade, but found out the next day that it was a definite positive!! We were both just so shocked.  I mean, for a whole week, I was without words, which never happens.  I only let a few people know in the beginning...  my parents, Jason's parents, and a few friends that were going to be taking care of my kids all week during my surgery.  We waited until we heard the heart beat at 9 weeks to make the announcement to everyone.  Unfortunately, my tummy had decided to show earlier than that.  I had received lots of strange looks.  So yes, I am now at 12 weeks and over my 1st Trimester! Yay! I didn't have a whole lot of morning sickness, just lots of nausea and I threw up a few times. I've been pretty tired.  And I've been sooo hormonal! But, that's just part of the game, right?  We will be finding out the gender, even though I don't want too.  We are due February 12th, on my cousin Michael's birthday. Our first Winter/Spring baby.  Now that I'm feeling better, I'm hoping to start blogging again. 

Overcoming the natural man

I've enrolled in some online classes at BYUI.  Yep, I'm a college student again! It's been such a great experience and I'm learning so much!! I'm able to dive into the scriptures like I never have before.  I've been able to work on projects that help me become a better person, to be more Christ like.  And I'm so thankful for these projects.  I am truly learning so much about myself and how to come even closer to Christ. 

One thing I've been learning about this week is the "natural man being an enemy to God." In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3:19 reads, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  So what does the natural man mean exactly? Does that mean that God doesn't like men that try to live all naturally off of the land? I thought that when I was younger. :-) The natural man can be any thought, feeling, or action that is not in accordance to Heavenly Father.

Examples of the natural man-
I have several things about me that are against the nature of God.  We all do.  One of them that I used to have is that I was quick to judge others.  Is this something that our Father in Heaven wants us to do?  No. He wants us to uplift, build up and love one another.

How about a person that is a great person, but let's the every whim and desire to be satisfied.  Whether it's eating too much, being too lazy, drinking alcohol and doing drugs, satisfying lustful desires with someone other than your spouse,  someone that is full of pride, someone that is all about earthly possesions, or one that is rude and crude in speech and manner.  There are many more, but there was just a few.

How do we overcome the natural man in us?
Robert L. Millet said," One does not put off the natural man by living longer. Nor does one change his nature simply by attending meetings. The transformation is accomplished only as one chooses to be changed through the mediation of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, by means of gospel ordinances. In the language of President Benson, "The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." The world can't make us better people, we can only accomplish overcoming anything through our Savior Jesus Christ.  He continues saying,

"We recognize that putting off the natural man is possible only through the grace and atonement of Christ. That is why the scriptures refer to the process as being born again. Having had our sins remitted, we die to the things of unrighteousness and are born of God to a new and higher spiritual life. We begin to enjoy what Paul called the "fruit of the Spirit," namely "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." (See Gal. 5:22–25.) We are humble and submissive; eager to know and carry out the will of the Savior, eager to have our own wishes swallowed up in the will of a Higher Being."  

Why do we want to overcome the natural man?

President Ezra Taft Benson has observed that "just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ."  No one really understands why they need Christ in their life until they really come to realize His lasting impact on our eternity!  Once we realize and know what this life is all about and what our Savior has done for us, we will have a desire to repent and come closer to our Savior.  We have this innate desire to stop doing things that are contrary to Him.  Because we love Him so much and appreciate beyond anything all the He has done, and continues to do for us.  I am thankful to know how I can come closer to our Father in Heaven and our Savior.  I love how I can become better each day and slowly overcome all of my weaknesses.  The more I'm able to overcome through the atonement of the Savior, the happier, more peaceful, and more strength I have during the ups and downs of life.