Happy Birthday, Little Man!!

The Story of Daniel

It was a dark and stormy night.
No, really. It was.
It was Sunday, June 10^th.
We had gone to church that morning, though I was extremely uncomfortable. I had been contracting regularly since the Wednesday before.
There was a baby shower that afternoon for a friend who was about to have her first baby – also a boy.
After the shower, we went to gram and gramp’s house to decide what to do.
Should I go into the hospital to get checked? Contractions were five minutes apart.
Or should I wait till the next morning to see my doctor.
We decided to go to the hospital. I knew I wanted an epidural, and I did not want to wait until it was too late to have one.
No rush, though.
We went to Wal-mart and ran some errands.
All the while we were doing that, the skies were getting darker and darker.
We made plans by phone for Patty to care for the boys at our house so mom could be at the hospital.
While Joe was in the store, the sky opened up and a torrential downpour released from the heavens.
No exaggeration.
By the time we made it home, the tornado sirens were going off, so we grabbed the bottled water, flashlights, a radio, the kids and the dog and huddled in the basement until the wailing sirens were quiet once more.
Patty would be on her way, but the storm had her stuck at home, and mom watched the boys until she arrived.
Joe and I went on ahead to get there and get settled, or be told to go home and wait – we didn’t know for sure which it would be.
On the way to the hospital, we were detoured by a flood, and we had to go way out of the way to get to the hospital.
When we got there, I was put in a very small room and hooked up to monitors.
Let me tell you about this room. I’ve been in some closets that were bigger!
The rain continued to pour out of the sky.
I was comfortable, and Joe and I talked, easy, light conversation
I was dilated to a 4, but since I move along quickly, and I wanted the pain relief, they admitted me.
“You’ll leave here with your baby boy!” the nurse said.
Did I mention it was raining?
So hard, in fact, that a part of the ceiling tile in the room I was laboring in crashed to the ground and rain water went splattering everywhere!
I told you I wasn’t exaggerating.
Apparently, the roof was leaking, and the top floor of the hospital was flooded, and the rain water was running down to the floors below.
Mom arrived, and after surveying the room and the soggy mess of ceiling tiles on the floor, asked if I would be moved to another room or if I would have to stay there.
I was moved to a very nice room. It looked more like a hotel than a hospital room. If I wasn’t in labor and having pain, I could have easily mistaken it for a vacation.
Ah, yes. The pain.
I know, you’re thinking . . . "But I thought she was going to have an epidural."
Yes.
I was.
I had been saying that from the moment I walked onto the unit. I made no bones about the fact that I was not going to buck up and take it like a woman; I wanted my pain meds, thank you very much.
Well, before they called the anesthesiologist (what took them so long, I’ll never know) a stab wound victim came in and she was busy working on him. That’s right. One anesthesiologist in the whole hospital. Of course, it was about 12:45 a.m. at this point. But still.
I was moving so quickly at this point, the nurse informed me I would not have time for the epidural.
This, I explained, was never an option.
They gave me staidall, which makes you really tired, but does not lessen the pain at all, in my opinion.
I was getting ready to push, and the nurse told me they would do the epidural at that time if I really wanted one since the “make-me-feel-good” doctor was done with the stab victim.
Now, generally, this is not done. Once you reach a certain point, that’s it. No meds.
But I kept saying, between contractions and silent tears, “This was never an option for me!” I think the nurses took pity. Or wanted me to stop whining.
So there I was, dilated to a 9, almost 10, and getting ready to push, and I was getting poked in the back.
Boy, did I love that!
After it was over, I was ready to go.
About 15 minutes later, at around 2:46 a.m., Daniel was born!
He was so wet and slimy and absolutely gorgeous!
I got to hold him for a while, but he wasn’t breathing right, so they took him to the nursery.
I got cleaned up and settled, and went to sleep.
The next morning, I was told that Daniel was not breathing well on his own, and would have to stay in an isolette until he could breathe room air unassisted.
He was about five weeks early, which is par for the course, as far as my births go. Isaac was six and a half weeks early and Josiah was three.
The nurse didn’t think it was serious, so he was not transported to the NICU at another nearby hospital.
It brought back so many memories of when Isaac was born. More on that at the end of the month!
I went to see him in the nursery.
There he was – so much hair and it was sticking up all over. His eyes were open and he was just lying there, peaceful and content. He was looking around. I held his hand. It was so tiny. I loved him more and more every minute I looked at him.
Fifteen hours after being kept in an isolette, Daniel was wheeled into our room in a bassinet.
Two day later, on Wednesday, June 13, we brought him home.
Grandma and grandpa were there waiting for us.
Grandma was catching us up on laundry, and was so anxious to hold the baby, which she did for hours.
I miss her so much.
Especially today.
She loved those boys!
Daniel was born between two very big losses for our family. His little life has already brought so much healing and happiness. And while I know he was given as a gift at a very difficult time, I know there is so much more to it than that. God has a plan for him that goes beyond all my conceptions, hopes and dreams.
It has been the greatest joy, the hardest test, the most fulfilling job, the most incredible fun, and the most absolutely tiring all rolled together, raising three energetic boys.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!!
Happy Birthday, little man!

How we celebrated

We went to the park today, and Daniel loved the slide.
He kept wanting to climb up it.
Boys!

Strange photographs of Josiah are afoot! (Pun definitely intended.)

After running some errands, we headed to grandpa’s for a family birthday meal together.

The boys played outside some.
Is this one handsome little monkey, or what?

Apparently, one of my sons is Christopher Robin.

Dinner was so good! Lemon pepper chicken with whole wheat egg noodles and a fresh green bean side dish I found on this amazing website called www.thepioneerwoman.com.
There was cake and pudding.

What's that up there?

It's a bird! It's a plane!
It's . . . birthday balloons!

And there were gifts.

He even got his own John Deere, so he can be just like Daddy.

We also had a home-group party for him this evening, but I did not get many shots of that for various reasons.
In fact, I didn’t get a shot of the cake until it was almost half eaten. It said “Happy 1^st Birthday Daniel.”

He had no idea what today was all about, but he loved all the festivities.
We will have another party for him Sunday afternoon with friends from church.
I kept looking at him today, remembering one year ago.
Not wanting him to be one yet; yet loving the little man he is, and is becoming.

A day in the life

Today was a pretty busy day.
We are watching a friend's kid for the week, and he was here at 8 a.m.
The boys had haircuts at 10:30.
Then we picked up Aunt Kathy and went to Wal-Mart. I had some shopping to do for DANIEL'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!
Which is tomorrow, by the way.
Rachel called and said this afternoon would be best for horse riding lessons, so after eating lunch at grandpa's, cleaning and vacuuming the truck, and dropping some groceries off at mom's, we headed to the ranch for our 3:00 lessons.
The boys had a good lesson. Rachel quizzed them, and they did well.
I was snapping pictures left and right. The sunlight was perfect, the sky was so blue and the photo ops were popping all around me.
It was after about the 50th snap that I realized I had forgotten to put the photo card back in the camera last night.
So, there are no pics for this post (boo, hiss!).
After lessons, we went back to Rachel's and met the new kittens. The boys fell in love with them. Who wouldn't? They were so tiny and soft and beautiful.
"This would have been the perfect time to have your camera to take pictures of the kittens," Isaac chided. "Dad would let us have them if he could see them."
Well . . . I don't know about that . . .
Josiah decided that Velcro is a good name for a kitten, since they cling to you for dear life.
We also got to visit with the dogs, the bunny, the calf and the goats.
Fun, fun, fun!!!
Stepping in goat poops, not so fun.
We got home at 5:30, and pulled up just as our ward's dad came to pick him up.
We had a hodge-podge of leftovers for dinner, but we were all together, so what we were eating wasn't what we were thinking about. We were all talking about the day, and the things we had seen and done.
Tomorrow, we will celebrate Daniel's first birthday.
We talked about that at dinner a bit too -- what kind of day it was when he was born, remembering.
That led to conversations about each of the boy's births -- what kind of day it was, what time of day they were born, etc.
I can't believe he has been here for a year.
It feels like he has been a part of my heart forever.
Perhaps he has been.
Tomorrow, he will not know why he is getting so much attention (not that he won't love it . . .please!)
But we will. We will remember, we will tell stories, we will bless God for the gift of our third son.
Tomorrow, I will make sure the photo card is in the camera!!!

Life is good

Part I

Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.
Okay.
So it hasn’t been strange, exactly.
But it has been a busy interlude.
Thus, the lapse in blogging these past few days.
I have worked at the new house quite a bit this weekend.
There’s nothing like getting in there and getting your hands dirty to make you feel better about a project. That’s how I lovingly refer to our remodel now – our project. Somehow it sounds less monstrous that way. Almost cute in fact, really. Almost.
Seriously, we are making progress and hope to be in by the beginning of July.
My enthusiasm has in no way been curbed by the facts that Joe found a black snake in the house yesterday, and just today we witnessed a bold little mouse scampering across the new laminate floor.
It was so adorable, the way his feet slid out from under him as he was racing for the closet.
NOT.
All I could think about was the movie Mouse Hunt, which I happened to watch with the boys recently. It was not a comfort to me, even though in the movie the mouse is nice to the humans in the end.
Joe chased him with a broom, I suppose to sweep him away. Be gone, little mouse. You have no power here.
But alas, he was too quick, laminate floor and all.
Anyway, in the past few days I missed blogging about Daniel’s first foray into a baby pool and an afternoon spent with Isaac and Jo’s good friend Ben.

Daniel loved it. All my kids are part fish, it seems.

That was Friday afternoon.
Friday night was family night at VBS, and the week came to a close with a presentation for the parents and a meal for the families who participated.
I want to thank everyone who put this on. My boys loved it! Thank you for laying down your lives for the next generation. I know it is something my little “agents” will remember for a long time to come.

Here are two of God’s Kids.

Here’s another one.

Saturday, I spent a lot of time at the house, gettin’er done.
I actually used a drill. I don’t know if this impresses anyone else, but the house is still standing!!
Sunday, after church, we had lots of people over at gramp’s. Fourteen adults and three kids!
It was the first time in a long time that the house was full and bursting at the seems with not only people, but laughter and conversation and brotherhood.
After dinner, we were back at the house.
Today, after some necessary errands, we found ourselves at the house yet again.
The boys are so tired of being there, and sometimes they whine a bit, when they find it is where we are heading, “Do we have to go there again?”
I keep reminding them that since we will live there one day very soon (fingers crossed) they might as well get used to it.
Generally, they are a big help. We can always find something for them to do.
And when we are not keeping them busy, they wander out into the landscape and find toads and bunnies and animal tracks of all kinds. Yesterday they found coyote and deer tracks.
Joe and I surveyed the land later and discovered an apple tree and a couple of mulberry trees. Almost the entire property is lined with thick blackberry bushes. Very exciting.

Part II

The other day, as I was going back and forth from the new house to various other locations for cleaning supplies and lunches and such, I got behind a jeep with a tire cover that read “Life is Good."

"

Now, if I’m being honest (and I am) life wasn’t seeming very “good” to me at that moment.
For many reasons, I had had a bad week full of wrong attitudes and stinking thinking and fear and frustration.
I thought about that saying.
I stared at the people driving and riding in that jeep, respectively.
How did they know?
Sure, their hair was blowing in the wind on a God-kissed beauty of a day and their smiles were visible from my windshield, but were they happy?
I thought about myself.
I missed my dad so badly this last week, I could literally taste the sorrow of the loss of him.
Who was going to tell him that life was good?, I humphed.
Immediately, God said, not unkindly, but knowingly, “Um, eternal life is great. I’m sure Bill would agree . . . “
“Okay,” I challenged, “Let’s play this!”
One by one I went down the litany of things that had been bothering me all week, whining, “But, but what about . . . “
And one by one, he turned it around, gently, showing me the good in each situation.
It’s not that the bad doesn’t happen, doesn’t exist.
Of course it does.
God never promised that life would be easy.
But he did promise comfort and hope and joy to those who love him and keep his commands.
As I drove on, wind blowing my hair through the open window, voice of God whispering in my ear all His benefits, all the wonderful things that I have to be thankful for, my perspective began to change.
As I listened to Him, I remembered . . . small hands raised in worship of Him; small faces lifted for a kiss; friend’s hands, held while making plans for coffee; husband’s smile widening when I look at him; mother’s voice on the other end of the line, saying “hello” from down the street; grandfather, still sitting on porches to watch the sunset; tomatoes warm from the vine, bites of sunshine; cups of coffee, steaming; berries washed and sweet; sunset blazing; cool twilight hues melting into night; horses running; prairie grass blowing in the wind; crisp of autumn; chill of winter; fresh of spring; laze of summer; children’s laughter; child’s prayer; a child dancing.
Sacrifice of life so I can live.
Yeah.
Life is good.

A day out on God's big playground

It's been a full day, and as I sit typing this, we are under severe weather watches.
We went to visit grandpa at his house this morning.
The sky was blue, the sun was shinning and the clouds -- perfect, fluffy, white dreams -- were sailing over the landscape. It was soooo windy!
The boys loved it, though, and we sat out in the whipping wind, letting it blow through our hair, over and around us.
They sat for some time and watched Grandpa's neighbor, Jim, cut down some bushes by the pond that had rumored nests of water moccasins under them.
I just want to say for the record, no water moccasins were discovered. However, we are now one blackberry bush poorer.
It didn't take long, though, for the boys to be up and at it, playing all over the yard.
Josiah was running and jumping and catching hold of the lower branches of the trees. Then he would hang suspended and swing there for a moment before dropping off.
"Look, mom. It's like a playground. A nature playground. Like God just made a playground out of trees and stuff."
"Yeah, the trees are like the jungle gyms!" Isaac added.
What a child-like take on the world my young sons have.
I love it.
Daniel enjoyed playing outside too, and spent most of the time discovering the many joys and uses of rocks.
Grandpa is up to his old tricks again, tooling around in the tool shed.


I took these pics at gramp's ( your comments about my photography --haha-- have gone to my head, I'm afraid.).

The boys had riding lessons today.
Their dad was able to come along to see the action.
We met Andre the Giant, a good little pup that was abandoned out on the ranch, and who has adopted Kevin and Rachel.
Daniel was particularly taken with him. Ya know, being a puppy and all. Daniel loves him some puppies.
Isaac and Jo rode Bounder again. He is a good horse.
It was neat to see the boys lead the horse and groom the horse -- all the things they have been learning.
Rachel is a good and patient teacher.

They had a friend, Aaron, with them, and he even got to get up on the horse today.
We got home in time to eat dinner (thank you, Joe, for cooking a wonderful meal!) and head out the door to VBS.
We are coming to the end of VBS. Tomorrow night is Family Night, the last night of VBS, and we will have a cookout and fun activities to wrap up our week together.
The boys have had such a good time with it. They love all the spy gear they have been making, and the stories pull them in and teach them important principles.
Isaac was sad that tomorrow evening will be the last night . . . "until next time," I said.
Well, I think we are in the clear as far as the weather is concerned, so I am going to get some rest.
Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.

Psalm 139

In Psalm 139, David talks about how God knows us completely; how before a word is even on our lips, He knows it in its entirety.
To me, that means He does not only hear it and know the literal meaning that is spoken, but he knows the intentions, motives and secret life behind every word that is uttered.
The secret life of words. The secret life of a word. Hmmmm. I think this is interesting. I will need to explore this idea a little, but not right now.
Back to David. He talks about how God knows us, and there is nowhere we can go to get away from Him.
Even if we make our bed in Hell, or we move to the other side of the world, He is there.
The dark is as light to Him, and when we feel like we can’t see Him, He sees us.
He hems us in, before and behind. I love that. We are surrounded by Him. This is so comforting to me.
Our days are ordained by Him. This also is comforting to me. He has plans and purposes, and they are so much higher than ours. Knowing this helps me rest in Him. I need to read this verse everyday!
David goes on to praise his maker. This is where we find that well-known passage, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
He acknowledges the vastness of God’s countless thoughts.
He recognizes that God is not just a dream, but that “When I awake, I am still with you.”
At the end of the Psalm, David makes a strange request.
He asks, “Search me o God and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
David is asking God to search him, not for God’s benefit.
He established earlier in the Psalm that God knows us inside and out already, from the time our frame was being formed in our mother’s body, no matter if we are trying to hide from him or not.
He is asking God to search him so that he will know himself; so that he can change and be close to God.
He knows that the only way to be led in “the way everlasting” is to know what God knows about him.
So, I make my prayer today like David’s. Search me, O God.
What is in my heart? What are my anxious thoughts? What in me offends?
I need to know what God knows about me.
I need to know how to change.
I want to be found in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, ^[a] you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Okay, I'll call this one "And much cattle. . ."

First, let me make an announcement.
Josiah learned how to tie his shoes the other day!!! He is doing it every chance he gets, and he is gaining pro status!!
Another thing I wanted to say last night, but it slipped my mind when I was writing -- my mind being the sieve it is and all, is that after VBS, Isaac and Josiah were so pumped up about it that they had me stop at a ball field to hand an invitation to a family playing ball there.
Josiah also had me stop in at my mom's neighbor's to invite her and her children and the kids she watches at her daycare.
I am so proud of them!
That's the big news.
We took a trip out to the ranch where Rachel works this morning.
They were having another cattle round-up. It was a smaller herd this time.
This meant it was a bit quieter than the last time.
However, no words or photos can adequately capture the smell!
After being there for a while, though, we didn't even notice it.

This time, we were able to see them work the calves. They gave them vaccinations and clipped their ears, among other things.
It was a beautiful day! The sun was shinning and the breeze was blowing, sometimes hardily! It was almost cool in the shade. Almost.
Rachel and her boss's son, Jeff, got a run for their money from some of the calves, but for the most part, the baby cows went through the chutes with little incident.
Towards the end of their time with the cattle, Rachel and Jeff let the boys into the pens so they could help with the chutes and see what was happening up close and personal.
The boys were thrilled!
At one point, they needed to take a break, and Rachel let the boys see Bounder.
He, apparently, is a fool for peppermints, and was doing tricks and showing off in hopes of minty-sweet rewards.
He really is a beautiful animal.
After the last cow was worked (well, actually, one got away and ran off into the field; I don't think they ever did get the little rascal), we packed up and thanked Jeff and Rachel and headed home.
I have mentioned before that I am an ocean girl. I grew up with the sound of the waves pounding the shore, the smell of salt water, the deep blues and lighter hues -- sky touching water.
As we drove down the dirt road away from the ranch, "Look, mom. It looks like waves of water," Isaac commented to me about the fields of grass and wheat blowing in the wind.
I pulled my head together from thinking about the million things I had yet to do to notice what he was talking about.
It did indeed look like waves.
I got out of the truck to take some pics, and as I did so, I thought, "fields of wheat and grass will be Isaac's ocean."
We looked at it as long as we could, in silent awe that something so simple could be so beautiful.
But then we had to go.
Isaac and Josiah had a Settlers of Catan date to keep with David Grey and his friend Samuel (now our friend, too), who are visiting.
Catan is a game in which you settle a continent and develop your colonies. The most developed colony wins. You develop by buying and trading commodities and resources.
Isaac loves it!
Josiah gave it a try, but in the end, he is still too tenderhearted for such an uncivilized task as developing a settlement.
He ended up helping me make Rice Krispy treats for VBS.
I bought a box of the berry Rice Krispies and made treats out of them for home. They are delicious!
VBS continues to be a great time for the kids.
Tonight was about being united, and they learned about Queen Esther and how she united her people in prayer so they would be saved from Haman's wicked plot.
We've had some long days, but they have been good days.
Here are some other nice images of the day.