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lucy is here and 1 week old today!

One big happy exhausted family of five!

Laura Beth and baby Lucy...she's got the magic touch already!

Uncle Matt is learning the ropes.

Aunt Janell, isn't she beautiful?

Happy to be a big brother now!!

Shelby is a pro-big sister!

lucy arrived on nov. 13 at 2:11 pm. i cannot believe it has been a week. this is the first time i have had any time to even get on the computer. it has been a whirlwind of activity and recovery and i am so glad she is here!
my labor didn't go exactly smoothly with several stops and starts for almost a week, but it was not extremely painful until the last 30 minutes. we went to the hospital around 11:30 monday night and i was only a 3. dr. h gave me stadol and had me sleep all night to see what happened. i told him up front that i didn't want to go home, b/c i couldn't function on as little sleep as i was getting. by morning i was past a 4 and he tried to break my water. he only got a pin sized hole, so it didn't help much. my mom came up to be with us and take care of me. i was comfortable, too comfortable and around 10 or so i was at a 5 or 6 and he really broke my water so we thought it would go really fast. i got to an 8 really fast, and stayed there until 1. then he wanted to give me a little pitocin to get me over the hum, b/c i tried walking with jenn and carrie and moving around and it still didn't move me past 8. so, they gave me pitocin sometime after 1 and hold on tight...it was rough for maybe 20 minutes at which point i called for the nurse to come back in. by the time dr. h got back i was ready to push. i think i pushed 4 times and she arrived. even though it was less painful than my others overall, i wouldn't call it easy. the last 20 minutes was overwhelming since i hadn't had any time to work up to it. it was still amazing and beautiful and one of the best days of my life. crazy to say, but it was fun!
i am so thankful to james, my mom, my sister, jenn, mary, carrie and allyson for being there and helping me through it in each of their own unique ways. even though there were so many people, james was really involved and helped me to be strong. jenn challenged and pushed me to have strength beyond what i thought i could. she loved me enough to be tough on me, just like i asked her to. (even though i was not wanting to be tough at the time) mary was my nurse and took awesome care of me through the night. she treated us like royalty. my mom calms me and her presence helps me to know that i am going to be okay no matter how hard it gets. having her there always helps me feel safe. my sister was such a servant rubbing my feet and calves through every contraction. it is a blessing to know she witnessed lucy's arrival...her first birth experience. allyson loved me enough to come even though she and jenn had figured out that i was going to try to go into a cave and not have anyone there afterall. she came and took amazing pictures and made me feel loved by knowing me well enough to anticipate what i would feel and what i would want later. carrie brought tenderness an laughter into the room when she came. she lightened the atmosphere and helped me to lighten up as well. it was her first birth to witness too and she was overwhelmed with emotion. i am so glad he was there to see her namesake arrive into the world. lucy "caron" is named after carrie, since that is her given name. i am so thankful to my mom and sherri for taking are of the kids while we were at the hospital so we could bond with lucy and know the kids were being loved on by their grandmas. my dad came this weekend and went crazy buying us food and getting ready for thanksgiving. he is such a giver. matt and laura beth arrived on friday and were a lot of fun and a huge help through the weekend. the kids adore them! i wish laura beth could have stayed longer, but she had to go home for the holiday.
there is so much more i want to write but i don't have time. my family is here all week for thanksgiving. i am so BLESSED!!

my mom's on her way & i'm praying for rene's baby, evan

it is 3:04 am and my mom is on her way here. she should be here around 4:30. i will feel terrible if i am not in labor or don't go into labor today. i started having really strong consistent contractions during small group around 6:45 and they lasted till 9, then slowed. so i tried to sleep and they picked up again from 10-12:30 at 3-5 min apart and pretty hard. i was starting to have to breathe thru them, so i called mom. i was sure we'd be leaving for the hospital soon. then they started slowing again to 7 min...10 min...now they are 15 or more min apart again. this is the craziest labor. anje was telling me that she did this with izzy for 7 days. i don't think i am strong enough to make it 7 days like this without sleep. i will call dr. h today and ask him what my options are if things don't pick up.

in the morning around 10 am rene's baby, evan michael, is having surgery on his little heart. the dr. says there is a 95% chance it will be successful. those are excellent stats considering only 15 years ago they couldn't do anything for babies born with this condition. being awake all night has given me more chances to pray for him. i wish there was something else i could do to help their sweet family, but prayers are the strongest, best thing anyone can do. he has hundreds, possibly thousands of people praying for him. they have a blog for him http://evansheart.blogspot.com/ if anyone reads this today, please pray for his surgery and recovery and for peace and strength for rene', jason, tatum, and alexis.

i love you momma...

for the past few weeks shelby has been telling me she loves me about 20-30 times a day. i think it probably has something to do with anticipating lucy's arrival, but i love it. she just says,"i love you momma." and then 30 minutes or so later again, "i love you momma." i won't mind if this continues forever. there are no sweeter words to hear. i think God also places it on her heart to tell me b/c he knows that i need a little encouragement right now. he is so faithful at working thru people, circumstances, prayer and his word to remind us how special we are to him and that he is keenly aware of our every need. i am so thankful for that.
we had carrie and deland's annual fall frolic last night. it was great to hang out with her and with her cousin joe who i used to work with. carrie has been having this party every year for 9 or 10 years, i think, and i have only missed one. james has missed the last 4 b/c of church commitments but he was able to make it last night. he got starbucks right b4 the party and wasn't able to sleep till 2 am. i went to bed in the guest room and slept pretty well. i think i only woke up 3 times. thank you! i just might be rested up for lucy after all. shelby says she is coming tomorrow. we'll see if she is truly a prophet or not.
james is going out to dinner with matt k. and to watch the osu-ku game tonight. watch...lucy will interrupt it. fine by me!
i went to breakfast this morning with jeka at my favorite place, first watch. we both had the tri-fecta with floridian topping. i am still full and it is 3:45. she gave me her old phone b/c jason got her an awesome deal with a brand new crazy high-tech sprint phone. i am so excited to have it! i wish i had more time with my sister. i love that girl so much. she amazes me. i probably learn more from her than she does from me. oh, that i would have been as strong and spiritually mature as she is when i was her age! she is loving her internship at advice and aid and really making an impact there. i don't know how she does it. i am so proud of her!
my brother came in town last night with group of guys to see the garth brooks concert. i didn't get to see him, though, b/c they had to get back last night b/c of some commitments this morning. bummer. i can't want to see him and laura beth again. hopefully lucy will come soon and they can come b4 thanksgiving.
uncle rick came over this morning while i was at breakfast. he always brings us a literal trunk load of gifts. this time he bought us all "Lichtenberger University" sweatshirts and he bought lucy a onesie. pretty impressive. his gifts are getting better. he also brought plenty of dried cherries and canned goods along with old stuffed animals and other misc. stuff. the kids love him and think his voice is hilarious. he seems to be in better health and spirits lately.
that about covers the day. lucy has major hiccups right now and my whole belly is shaking. both of my girls have had tons of hiccups in utero. what does that mean? big mouths, like their mom? we shall see.

not today...

i just have to document all of this so that when #4 comes around i will remember what the last few weeks are like. even though this is #3 and i should be an old pro, i mistakenly thought i was in labor last night and this morning. i slept maybe 2 hours. i went to sleep at 11 and woke up at 12 with hard contractions and diarrhea. my whole world was spinning just like when i went into labor with jesse. my contractions weren't hard enough to have to breathe thru, but hard enough to wake me up, even after taking a benedryl and 1/2 tylenol 3. i didn't fall back to sleep until 3 or so and then it was for 45 min. then i fell asleep again from like 5:30 to 6:15. when i got up, i continued to have contractions every 5 -10 minutes all morning. so, i went to the dr. to get checked and try to avoid a wasted trip to the hospital. thank goodness i did, b/c i was still 1.5 cm. dilated. i about lost my mind. it is so discouraging. i am not wanting her to come this early necessarily, but if i am not going to sleep until she does i want her to come now. i can't imagine my birth plan working out on no sleep for a week. dr. herick told me to take 2 tylenol with codine every 4 hours and try to sleep and call him tomorrow if i have another sleepless night. i am going to try something else instead, b/c that stuff makes me sick in high doses. i will probably take 2 tylenol pm and a muscle relaxor. we shall see...
it is also really stressful to try to figure out when to have my mom drive up. she already has her bags packed and is living out of them and she has to work, so when she comes she will also have to pack all of her computer stuff. today she spent an hour loading it all up, just to unload it. i wish we all lived in the same place so i wouldn't feel the added pressure of orchestrating arrivals and stuff. i will be really disappointed if my mom can't be there b/c she has been there with both of my other two. i just really love having her there with me. i have to be okay with the possibility that she might not be able to though. i am trying to stay positive and look forward to lucy's arrival with anticipation and not anxiety. i did get a 1.5 hour nap today and it felt great. i hope i can still sleep tonight. the kids went down for an early nap, so i think i can trick them into going down early tonight. hopefully, james and i are going to watch blades of glory..a ridiculously stupid looking movie with the guy from napoleon dynomite and will ferrall. he is supposed to have worship band practice b/c he is on for sunday, but he was going to try to find a replacement since lucy seems to be getting close. if she comes, he won't be able to play anyway.
this is a really depressing entry, but i really do want to remember it so that if it happens again next time i will know it is normal.
the bright side of no sleep is plenty of prayer time. i covered every person in my family and prayer list in prayer last night. God even brought to mind some people who i wouldn't have thought of on my own to pray for. i love it when he does that. in my prayer life that is the true essence of praying in the Spirit.
another thing i am thankful for is that i have not gained all of that weight back. as of now, i have only gained 20 lbs. that is less than both shelby and jesse. amazing, since i ate so much more of what i craved this time.
if anyone happens to read all of this, please say a little prayer for me. i am a wee bit emotional right now and feeling really stressed and discouraged. hard for me to admit, but true. it will all be worth it, though, when i look into her beautiful eyes for the first time. oh little lucy...

just an ordinary day

we are still in our pjs at 4:08 p.m. after having an uneventful ordinary day. how nice is that? we did have extended school-time to make up for some of our sick time. we are studying the 5 senses this week and the kids love it. yesterday morning i blindfolded them and had them taste several things to guess what they were...sugar, salt, bacon bits, cinnamon sugar, m&m, skittle, etc. today we did the same with smells. jesse kept guessing "mustard" almost every time and laughing. shelby got most of the right the first time. we did ranch dressing, mustard, peanut butter, strawberry jelly, etc. shelby also read her toughest book yet, after bribing her with half a cookie to persevere. we also went on a long walk with daddy b4 he had to go to work. i put away all of the halloween decorations and started getting some Christmas decorations out. early, i know, but who knows when lucy will arrive so every little bit helps.
i did miss mops and it was make-over day. emily said it was so much fun and the other moms looked hot. carrie has her hair done and allison and allyson had make-up. (like any of them actually need a make-over!) i am jealous! i wasn't feeling hot or in the mood for a make-over this morning and i really needed to catch up on school anyway. maybe one of them will make me over after lucy comes.
james starts a new series tonight on the fruit of the Spirit. i am so excited for the kids to learn about the life-changing power of the Spirit. they will have extended small group time too, so it should be really impacting. i am praying for all of the small group leaders as they start this new adventure.

lotsa food

today, jenn and i got together to cook lots of food to freeze for the fall. we were thinking it ended up being 11 meals, but some of the containers had more than one meal worth, so i bet there were at least 15. it amazed me how great our kids were for the bulk of the day. the last 30 minutes were a little rough b/c it was 2:30 and past all of their naptimes, but other than that they were so good. it made our job a ton easier. there is only one meal that i am iffy about b/c it didn't smell so great, but i am sure james will love it! he loves just about anything. he is very easy to please and i am thankful for that. shelby and jesse are not so easy to please, especially when it comes to casseroles. they take after their uncle matt on that one. they love dinners that have a meat, veggie, and bread...all separate. they don't understand or care that those meals rarely fit into our budget. ; )

yesterday, carrie and her 4 babies came over for a few hours to play. i can't believe how much ainsley is talking and mercy is growing. time is speeding by. i wish i had more time to spend with carrie. i miss our long talks and walks so much. we just have to get it back on the calendar.

today is another one of those days where i thought for sure i might be in labor. i almost didn't go over to jenn's b/c i had diarrhea, lots of contractions, and i actually vomited. after laying on the couch for 20 minutes i felt a lot better and made it fine thru the day. since i have been home i have had a lot of contractions again. i guess it is just going to be this way tll she comes...stop, start, stop, start...every night i feel like i could be in labor and then i fall back to sleep. i just keep reminding myself that no matter what she will be here in 2 weeks. james and i have been praying that i will go into labor during the day so that everyone who is involved will be able to make it here. i'd also like to experience labor with some sleep behind me. with both shelby and jesse i labored thru the night and was exhausted when they came. adrenaline helps with that, but it would be nice to see the difference. oh, that labor would go just as we hope and plan. it will still be one of the best experiences of my life, no matter what. i can't wait!!

37 weeks = full term

finally, i have made it to 37 weeks and dr. herrick says any time now would be fine. i don't want lucy to come this early b/c i want her to be as healthy and big as possible, but it is a relief that she wasn't a premie! i just got home from the dr. and i am dilated to 1.5 and 70% effaced. that doesn't really mean a thing since i was dilated that early with jesse and shelby too, but he thinks i will deliver b/t 1 and 2 weeks early like with the others. the last 2 nights i have been woken up with contractions...nothing regular, but enough to have to breathe thru. it is nice to know that they at least have been a little productive. i am planning on taking it easy to try to keep her in there at least another week. if she doesn't come by the friday b4 thanksgiving, dr. herrick said he'd do the same thing he did with jesse and strip my membranes tosee if we can get things moving. that is as much intervention as i want. i want to avoid pitocin at all costs. it was a roller coaster ride to you know where when i had to have it with shelby's birth.
jenn leaves in a few hours to take the girls to ozark christian college. i wish i could go with her b/c it is always so much fun, but it isn't quite as much fun when you are pregnant and trying to sleep on the floor. she is so close to her girls and this is going to be a bonding trip that will strengthen their relationships even more. i have been praying for them all week. ( i hope lucy at least waits till tomorrow night for sure, b/c i don't want to have her without jenn here!)

trick or treat

shelby was laura ingalls again this year and jesse was 1st spiderman, then a clown. he threw up on his spiderman costume a hour b4 trick-or-treating. i thought for sure he caught the bug, but he hasn't thrown up again since. he might just have a weak stomach. the kids went door to door with skylee, taven and some of their church friends from heartland k10. they had a blast.

it doesn't seem like they got as much candy as we used to, but maybe we went out longer. i am only interested in the chocolate mini candy bars. i ate 5 last night. this has been a busy crazy week. i wanted things to be slow and get some rest b4 lucy comes, but we have a full weekend too. i have the dr. in the morning...we have tiffany's reception tomorrow night...we have brandeis' b-day in the am and jesse walden's bday in the pm if we can ever find a babysitter. it is getting harder and harder to find babysitters. my theory is that johnson county kids don't need the money as much as we used to.

my good friend kristy had her baby today at 2. another girl, delaney hope...that makes 4 girls and 1 boy. she is such an amazing mom...and homeschooler too. we will go see her tonight after james gets home. i can't wait to hear the story. her husband scott told me that aside from the pitocin she did it totally naturally! my kind of gal.

gonna go get some walking in...