2012 ~ My Year in Review

I'm obviously not cut out to be a real "blogger"... hence the couple of posts for the entire past year. I will, however, write a summary of this past year. Probably more so for my own way to remember, to look back and get a glimpse of 2012 in the future.

January always brings us two birthday celebrations: Jerell turned 11 on 1/4

                                             
                                                Then, on the 16th, Jaden turned 5!

Soon after, Rob and I were off on a wonderful vacation to Barbados! We were there for 8 days along with my parents and sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandparents.
                                                      We enjoyed touring the island

                                        Swimming in the Caribbean and laying out on the beach.

                            And just hanging out with family (this was at a little karaoke place)

However, I don't recommend that kind of trip while 32 weeks pregnant. I wasn't able to do a whole lot while we were there (I even asked my doctor beforehand if I could jet ski, to which he replied "um, no.") And by the time we made it to the Dallas airport my feet were so swollen I couldn't even walk and had to be wheel chaired through the airport - which did have an upside as we went to the front of the very long customs line!

In February my firstborn turned 13! Davon didn't really do too much for his birthday but we did have a cake here with just our family. Hard to believe I am the mother of a teenager!

I also was given a baby shower (I hadn't had one since baby #1) which I was very thankful for!

The first part of March was spent preparing for our baby to arrive... and with me hobbling around, not sleeping and pretty much being miserable. *Summed up here in this lovely pic 2 days before the big day...

But it was worth the pain and hugeness (I suppose!) when we welcomed a healthy baby boy on the 12th!                                                           Isaiah Michael :)

 

Then Rob turned 34...

 And we also celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 28th (well, we didn't actually 'celebrate' since we were now the parents of FIVE, but it was noted. haha)!

 

In April my beautiful Grandma came to visit! I was able to get out of the house baby-free to have lunch and shop with her :) We then had Isaiah dedicated at our church on Easter Sunday!

Later that month I officially closed the "baby factory" (yes, this is important to remember!)

 

In May Jaden graduated from preschool at Josiah's Playground. We are happy that Jaden is growing up but were sad to say goodbye to all his wonderful teachers there. That place was truly a blessing!

That day I left with my mom, sister, 2 oldest boys, nephew and the baby on a 15 hour journey to North Dakota to see my Great Grandma. She's not been doing well and we wanted to see her "one last time". However, it's now December and she's still the same... who knew. Anyway, it was sure nice to spend time with my aunts and cousins that we don't see very often. The drive was less than fun with a 2 month old - I did take him out of his carseat to feed, change and get him to sleep (and to get him to stop crying periodically)... please don't shoot me!

 

The spring was also filled with lots of baseball. Davon played on a new team (Heat) and I enjoyed going to the games whenever possible. Grandpa and Grandma didn't miss even one, of course!

 I figured Jaden (5) and Dathan (3) were ready to start playing sports as well. So I signed Jaden up for soccer and Dathan for t-ball.

 

 Um ya, that didn't work out too well. They each made it through about 2.5 practices - the .5 is for the time during practice that I spent trying to get them back to where they were suppose to be!

June was spent hanging out at home, a few days at the pool, the annual family picnic at my mother-in law's home and Davon went to the state baseball tournament in Des Moines. Jerell got to experience flying in a small plane through the Junior Eagles in Iowa City. He thought that was awesome!

 

In July it was more of the same, except for Davon (again) who was able to go on a week-long camping trip in Minnesota with his friend. He had a blast and we're thankful for the friends who took him along!

Unfortunately we couldn't spend as much time at the pool as I would've liked since we had one of the hottest summers on record :/  Too dangerous (and unbearable) for small kids, especially a baby. This also kept us from taking the kids to a theme park (or anywhere really) where we'd be stuck outside for the whole day. But we still enjoyed our summer with eachother.

In August Rob took the older boys and my dad to "Fish O Rama" which they've done the last few years. Jaden even got to go out for a few hours. They always enjoy that time together, even if they come home bummed that they didn't win any prizes. Later on, my mom and I took Jerell, Jaden and Isaiah to the Sweet Corn Festival (small, local fair/carnival) - I went on one crazy ride with Jaden and then remembered I can't handle that anymore! But we had fun.

Time flew by and before we knew it school was starting back up! Yes, that's an exclamation point because mama is very ready for that day by the middle of August :) And this was a big year as Jaden was starting Kindergarten and Jerell was starting middle school!

About a week into school is a time we'll never forget - Davon was in a "fight", not a fair fight, but that's what we'll call it. That left his nose and wrist broken which led to a long night at the ER, surgery on the arm a week later and far too many doctor appointments. Hopefully this was a big lesson learned!

 

 

September is another big birthday month - it's my dad's birthday on the 10th (I usually bake him a cake or some other treat). My stepdad's and my birthday is on the same day! I did have a cake but that's as much of a celebration as you get at this age with this many kids :) And then 5 days later it's Dathan's birthday and he turned 4 this year!

 

Nothing too exciting happened in October. But in November we decided to start Dathan in preschool.

                 He's ornery, so this was the picture I got - I take what I can get from that boy :)

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' and then again at my mother in law's a few days later. We finally got to take a little trip at the end of the month - an overnighter at a hotel with an indoor waterpark. The kids all enjoyed it and I'm glad we were able to do that, even if it was only one night.

 

And.... December. This month has been filled with the normal busy-ness - school break, shopping, baking, playing in the snow, a power outage, multiple illnesses and Christmas celebrations.

 

 We have had a wonderful few weeks (minus the sickness) but it's nice to be unwinding from all of that and getting back to a normal schedule. And yes, I look forward to school starting back up in a few days!

 

It's been a crazy year, mostly due to the addition of my sweet boy Isaiah, but I'm thankful for yet another year here on Earth, happy and healthy. God has truly blessed my family and I'm so amazed by his love and provision. We may not understand why certain things happen, why other things don't happen or what tomorrow might bring. But I do know that He has a plan for my life and looking back on this year was a great way to see how far He's brought me. I may not have a big, fancy house, a high-paying career or a ton of fascinating, exciting things I've done to write about - but I DO have a wonderful, beautiful family who shared a great year together and a God who loves me no matter how underserving I am! I am more excited for 2013 than before I started writing this (4 days ago, btw! lol) to see what God has in store for us! I hope you all have a wonderful year as well :)

Mom! ~ Happy Mother's Day :)

I've heard many people say they have the best mom in the world... and I am blessed to be one of those people. Is she perfect? No... but has she always done everything she could to make my life the best it could be? Absolutely!

I'll always remember crawling in bed with my mom when I was little and snuggling up with her (she let us take turns sleeping with our head rested on her arm, and I didn't realize until I was a mom just how uncomfortable that can be after awhile!).

My mom probably struggled as a single parent, providing for two little girls with no outside help, but I had no idea because our home was filled with love. I never felt like I was missing out on anything, though I'm sure there were times she wished she could "do more". There's nothing else I could have wanted.

She took us to church and taught us about Jesus. When we got hurt, she'd pray. The only music I remember hearing in our home was worship music. We SAW her reading her Bible. These things are probably the most important - and I'm thankful to have had that foundation.

As I got older, I gave my mom more trouble and heartache than I'm sure she ever imagined. I was defiant, I lied, I gave up on school, I was terribly disrespectful and downright mean to her at times. But no matter what, she never gave up on me. She always showed me love, even when I was unlovable. I never doubted her love for me. Still to this day I have guilt and regret for all those years of rebellion, but mostly for the way I treated my mom. I'm so glad she kept praying for me and always welcomed me back with open arms.

I made her a grandma at an early age, but she fell into that role as naturally as anyone could. She didn't look down on me, the 17 year old mom, or judge me as so many others did. She didn't make me think I was a "less than" mother, she helped and encouraged me to become the mom that I did. I wasn't the best, but she was always there for my kids and I know she's a big reason they have turned into the great young men they are now. As I've given her more and more grandkids :) - she's loved each one like it was the first. Always as excited as I was when they were born (sometimes maybe even moreso!)

She has done more for my family and I than we deserve. It would take me a year to write down all the things she's done, given, sacrificed. I'd love to say I'll pay her back someday, somehow... but I just don't think it's even possible!

I thank the Lord for choosing her to be MY mom. She's my best friend - the first person I want to call when something good happens, and the first person I call when things aren't so good and I need a shoulder. I can't imagine living life without her.

Mom,
I love you so very, very much. I don't tell you or show you as much as I should, but don't ever think it's because I don't feel it! You are my rock. You are more than I could ask for in a grandma - my kids are also very blessed that they get to have you in their lives. If I am doing a good job with my own kids it's because I had a wonderful example. I hope you know just how much you mean to me. I wish I had more eloquent words to describe my love and appreciation for you. THANK YOU for being my mom!

Pregnancy Woes

When I would see a pregnant woman I would sometimes have feelings of wishing I was pregnant too. I would think how I missed the whole experience and how "fun" it was to be expecting - the growing belly, feeling the baby move, the excitement of waiting for the birth of a new baby. And I would tell people how pregnancy wasn't bad for me, that I really enjoyed it. I've now realized that I must've blocked out the memories of how pregnancy really feels!

*I'm about to do some complaining, so if you'd rather not read it, here is your warning! :)

It's not all bad, of course. It was still exciting to find out we'd be adding to our family, still amazing to feel the baby start to move inside me and still neat to watch my body change (up to a certain point anyway)! However, I need to just have a few minutes to whine. For the last month it's been difficult to sleep (to say the least) with the multiple trips to the bathroom all night and having only 2 positions that I can sleep in - left side or right side, alternating between the two every 20-30 minutes. I have horrible heartburn, which I've never dealt with before, even though I take medicine for it twice a day. Many times it's hard to walk as it feels like I'm carrying a bowling ball between my legs that's trying to work its way out. I have back "spasms" throughout the day that feel like I'm being electricuted up and down my spine. My hip sometimes feels like it might break with one wrong move... *I was born with hip displasyia which left my legs different lengths and one messed up hip, which I think makes the back and hip issues more prevalent in my case. And the headaches that have been going on almost the whole 8 months are about enough to drive me insane.

So maybe I forgot about how miserable it can be (in the end) or maybe it's because this is my 5th time and my body just doesn't handle it as well as it did 13 years ago. Probably a little of both. I am getting my tubes tied when this baby is 6 weeks old and will put the pregnancy era behind me, forever! And part of the reason for this post is so I can come back and read it when those feelings of wanting to be pregnant creep up again in the future! Also, if anyone hears me saying that I love being pregnant you can kindly tell me to go read my own blog and come back to reality :)

Today's Birthday Boy is JADEN! ~ Birth Story

It's been 5 years and I really can't say it's too hard to believe, as it seems Jaden has been around for even longer than that! haha

The morning of January 16th I had an appointment for my 4th non stress test within a week. He hadn't been doing as well as they would like during the tests so I had to keep going in every other day. I was now 38 weeks pregnant. I went to the hospital by myself as I assumed they would just do the test and send me home again like all the other times. But this time was different - the doctor came in after about 1/2 hour and said "That's it, I think it's time to take this baby". Before I knew it I was admitted and being moved to a labor/delivery room, during which time I was trying over and over again to get ahold of Rob. It was about 1:00 and he was apparently taking a nap at home and couldn't hear his phone! I got ahold of my mom and Rob's mom who in turn finally got ahold of him.

Once I was in the room I thought the doctor was just checking me but she actually broke my water! I was a little upset about this because I wasn't told what was going to happen and didn't realize she was going to start already (I was still alone and hadn't gotten ahold of daddy). But it didn't take long for him to get there with my mom following closely behind. As the day went on I remember my mom saying she hoped I was done by 7 because American Idol was on! HA Oh, Grandma :) While I was getting closer to delivery and in more and more pain, my "support team" did, in fact, watch American Idol. And just as that got over it was time to start pushing. My little Jader Buddy was born at 8:32 pm - 7 hours later, not too bad for an induction. We now had 3 little boys!

Jaden was such a good, sweet, quiet baby... if only we had known how different he'd be as a toddler! He's been a difficult child, to say the least; definitely giving me a run for my money, er, sanity! But he also is so fun and can be so sweet - very much a blessing to our family. He's very excited to be 5 years old and is looking forward to starting Kindergarten in the fall - now that does sound crazy! I hope the school is prepared for this little ball of energy!

Happy birthday, JJ! We love you soooo much!

My baby is 11! - A Birth Story

December 13th, 2000... 33 weeks pregnant with baby #2 - I woke up from an afternoon nap feeling that something wasn't right. So I called into work (I was suppose to go in at 4) and headed to the hospital to get checked out. Sure enough, the doctor told me that my water had started to leak. I was 19 years old and tired of being pregnant so was excited for a moment thinking that meant my baby would be born soon. Of course, it was too early to have him and I soon realized things were not going to be so simple afterall. The doctor said I would be admitted immediately to be on complete bedrest. Ugh!

I spent the next 21 days laying in a small hospital room (this was before all the fancy birth suites were built). I missed Christmas with my family, including my 22 month old son who was at home with Grandma and Poppy. I rang in the new year in that hospital bed as well. That was a difficult time, and quite boring I might add!

The doctors had decided to induce me at 36 weeks and end the torturous bedrest. Finally, the day came - January 3rd 2001. I woke up super early as I had been counting down the days and was so excited to meet my lil guy. However, the labor and delivery unit was extra busy that day so I had to wait, and wait... and wait. About 4:30 pm they said I could finally head down to the delivery room to get started. 12 hours later I gave birth to my second son, Jerell Solomon, on January 4th. Even though he was still almost a month early he was completely healthy and able to come home after the normal 2 days, and so was I after 24 days in the hospital!

Jerell was a very difficult newborn, crying most of the day and night for a couple months. I was so young and living on my own with 2 kids 2 and under. I believe it was the grace of God that got me through those times (along with lots of help from Grandma!). But after those rough few months Jerell became one of the sweetest babies ever! And he's continued to be that way over the last 11 years. He's compassionate, loving, smart (testing at the very top of his class year after year) and just such a blessing to us.

I'm so thankful for all my boys, but today I'm especially thankful for my sweet Jerell! Happy Birthday, Jelly :)

Jerell @ 9 years old