Family Visit

Jim's parents came to stay with us when Owen was two weeks old.  I know they loved getting to spend time with us.  (But ESPECIALLY Owen! :)   Owen also got his first visit from Uncle Andrew and Aunt Stephanie during that time.  Here are a few shots from their days with us.  (Somehow we forgot to take a picture of Andrew holding Owen... but it did happen!:) 

Owen is One Month Old!

Today Owen is one month old!  It's hard to believe that he has survived four whole weeks with us! :)  I've been inspired by my clever friends to take a picture of him each month, but I couldn't think of what to use to show his age... until I was feeding him in his nursery and looked around and saw his block train.  I thought I would use it each time and add one block for every month.  Trust me... in my sleep deprived state this is as good as it's going to get! :)  Of course, we had to use Aunt JuJu's dog too!  What better way to mark his growth?  In this first picture I think he's wondering what in the world his mom is doing!

Then he realizes the camera is out and decides to just go with it!

One month old!

I just had to include this picture as well!  Daddy and his little man!

Yes, this shirt was a gift from Aunt JuJu and at this age it might be considered brain washing ... but when she comes over and washes your dishes, your bottles, and your baby... you KNOW she is awesome and you love her forever! :)  Thanks Jules!

Owen's Birth

Well, here is the story of Owen Cole's birth.  We were scheduled for an induction at 6:00 in the morning on Wednesday, November the 17th, but ended up going in at 4:00ish.  It seems nature had already decided it was time for Owen to arrive.  We started feeling out all the fun paperwork and got our bracelets.  (Turns out that two of my nurses were my sister's former students.  My sister reassured me that they were good nursing students. :) They hooked Owen up to the monitor and his heart rate dropped below where they like it, so they gave me an oxygen mask to bring up his heartbeat.  Then we waited for Dr. McGuinn.  She came and said his heart rate was looking better and she broke my water.  Then, an hour later we started the pitocin.  The contractions were bad, but not horrible yet.  I labored for a few hours and then the nurse came in and said that his heart rate was dropping after the contractions and they didn't like to see that so Dr. McGuinn came in and talked to me about a c-section.  We had already talked a lot about a c-section because of his projected large size and that he was facing head up, so we were not shocked to be going down this road.  Agreeing that we wanted Owen to be safe and not take risks, we agreed to the c-section.  The nurse assured me that he was not in immediate danger and that if he was they would have him out in 2 minutes.  I thought she was kidding, but now I know she was serious. Those people move fast, even when it's not an emergency! :)  All at once, four or five people were in my room all doing something.  When the lady who was going to do my spinal,  told me what she would do once we got to the OR, she told me that there would be a time where it might feel like I couldn't breathe, but to NOT panic, it would just make things worse.  Well, that's when I started to panic! :)  I mean, I did not want to have this surgery, but how was I going to get this baby out?  It was a scary few minutes.  All these people are working around me and on me, and finally I say, "I'm scared."  Everyone keeps working, so I say it again... "I'm scared."  I don't know how many times I said it before some sweet nurse leaned down in my face and reassured me that everything was going to be fine.  I didn't feel that way, but I knew I had to be strong for Owen, so I prayed.  And like always, God provided.  He answered.  I was scared to death ... I mean anyone who knows me knows I pass out just talking about blood, how was I going to do this surgery?  But the Lord is SO MUCH bigger than our fears and once I got to the OR room He provided such peace.  I can't praise Him enough for the safe arrival of Owen and my good recovery.  I can't thank Him enough for the AMAZING nurses, doctors, techs, etc. that were SO good to me during the entire hospital stay.  I can't imagine doing their job and yet they handled themselves with such sweetness and kindness.  At 10:00 AM our sweet Owen was born.  It was so amazing and reassuring to hear his cry.  He did well on his Apgar ( 8 and 9) and we were surprised to see his weight was 8 pounds and 14 ounces.  He was 19.5 inches long.  They did their routine with him and then gave him to Jim.  Jim was amazing during the whole process.  We were in the OR for a while and then recovery for two hours and Jim took care of him the whole time.  We were then wheeled up to a room where he was showered with love and visitors.  It's all still kinda a blur, but I'm just so thankful! 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him."

1 Samuel 1:27

                                                          Owen and sweet Dr. McGuinn

                                                                

                                                                 Our first family photo

Owen Cole

Tomorrow is Owen's Birthday!

Well, we got a call from the Dr.'s office this morning that we had been scheduled for an induction at 6:30 AM on Wednesday, November the 17th.  We are super excited and super anxious at the same time! :)  I can't wait to see him ... to count his ten toes and ten fingers and see if he has hair.  I can't wait to see if he is really as big as they say, etc.  I know that this is the last day before our lives will forever be changed, and it's a strange feeling... knowing something so amazing is about to happen, but yet not able to comprehend the depth and width of it all.  Of course, we request everyone's prayers for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby boy!  We are blessed beyond measure and marvel at God's goodness!   We rest in His care today, knowing He will see us through whatever tomorrow (and the next 18+ years :) brings us.  Thanks for all your love and support through these last 41 weeks!  Wow... I've almost forgotten what it's like to not be pregnant! :)

Waiting

November 10th came and went and we are past our due date... we went to the doctor today and there are no changes.  We go back Monday for an ultrasound, to check the fluid levels, his breathing, etc.  If everything continues to be fine, we will schedule an induction for later that week.  Even though she's letting us try induction, she is also wanting us to be aware that if I don't follow the normal labor curve, it probably means he is too big and therefore we will have to do a c-section.  Basically, everything is up in the air right now.  We are just waiting.  Waiting is hard.  I love this quote by Beth Moore... "God is rarely early, but He is never late."  I think we learn so much by waiting, but it's not always easy.  We are clinging to God's promises and faithfulness and trying to learn those all important lessons that God is in control and our job is to trust Him.  I love the words of the song, "While I'm Waiting," by John Waller.  I hope the words encourage you as they have me tonight.



" I'm waiting, I'm waiting on you Lord, and I am hopeful,
I'm waiting on you Lord, though it is painful, but patiently, I will wait.
I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in obedience.
While I'm waiting, I will serve You, while I'm waiting, I will worship, while
I'm waiting, I will not fail, I'll be running the race, even while I wait.

I'm waiting, I'm waiting on you Lord, and I am peaceful, I'm waiting on
you Lord, though it's not easy, no, but thankfully I will wait, yes, I will wait.
I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in obedience.
While I'm waiting, I will serve You, while I'm waiting, I will worship, while
I'm waiting, I will not fail, I'll be running the race, even while I wait."

Welcome to the Jungle!

Well, here are some pictures of Owen's nursery... we still have a few more things to add, but I wanted to go ahead and get these posted.  We went with the Jungle theme!  We couldn't have done this without my family's help, so a big shout of thanks to them!  It was worth the two coats of paint, right Dad?? :)

Our bags are packed ... we are just waiting on our little monkey to get here!

Just the Two of Us

As we finally got our camera a new battery and all charged up to go for Owen, I found these pictures on the memory card... they're from our honeymoon to Disney World.  It made me smile.  We had such a fabulous time and I realized that we would probably never be at Disney World again... just the two of us, that is, so I wanted to post these so we could remember life before kids!

Here is us on a day of downpour rain ... we ran into this shop and got our pictures made with these hats, hoping the rain would let up.

What we found when we checked in!

We decided to play putt-putt one day, but had no idea that we had picked a professional course... it was like playing golf and both Jim and I were horrible!  We had a blast anyway!

Shower, Part 2

A few Saturday afternoons ago, my good high school friends threw a terrific shower!  We learned to drive together, spent countless nights at each other's houses, and grew up with each other... and the amazing part is we're still friends! :)   Thanks girls for a fabulous afternoon!

Maternity Pics

Our good friend, Kacie, took some maternity photos for us last week.  We took them in Owen's nursery.  I hope to post pictures of the nursery soon... but tomorrow is when the curtain and bedskirt go up, so until then... enjoy these!