Below is an excerpt from my cousin Chad's monthly prayer letter. This excerpt, written by Eva, is about her first experiences as a mom. I thought it was beautiful.
"Nine days after the official due date, we FINALLY went into labor - late Friday night. I was a little bit nervous, but mostly excited because I knew that the next time we’d be home there would be THREE of us! Around 8 Saturday morning my doctor came into our delivery room and said that we needed to do a C-section. Every time I had a contraction the baby's heart rate would drop real low (it is normally between 120 and 140 - it would drop all the way down to 60). I was disappointed that we weren’t able to have a “normal” birth and pretty scared about what was to come next – but I wanted to do whatever it took to deliver a healthy baby.
So, we ended up having an emergency C-section. Minus throwing up the chocolate ice cream I had earlier that night all over Chad, the surgery was a success and at 8:41am, Brooklynn Taylor Frank was born. She was perfectly healthy, weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces, and was 20 inches long. (Afterward the doctor said it was a good thing he did the C-section - her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck AND the cord was real thin. If she would have been born normally her cord might have torn on her way out...)
It’s crazy how quickly Brooklynn stole my heart. When I was in the operating room all strapped down to the table, I couldn't see what was going on during the surgery because there was this huge hospital sheet in the way. But since I was awake for the whole thing (they just numb you from the stomach down), I could still at least hear everything. I will never forget the instant that I heard her first cry – I started to cry myself because I was so immediately and overwhelmingly in love. It makes me tear up just thinking about it now. I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much - all in that very first second (without even seeing her!). I was nervous about being a mom. I didn't know if I'd know what to do...or how to feel...but, it turns out that this is by far the greatest thing I have ever done! I love being a mom...and I'm absolutely crazy about Brooklynn....
I’ve always heard people say that being a parent allows you to relate to God on a whole new level. Now, just a couple weeks into it, I’m beginning to see what they mean. I would do ANYTHING for that little girl. But, what really blows my mind is that these feelings are still just a fraction of the way that God feels about us. He loves us more than I can ever really know. I’m so thankful that He’s given me the opportunity to have a baby and experience Him in a whole new way."
First Christmas in our new house!
Plumbers crack
Aster the pup - who has gotten tired of our bathroom project, which is distracting us from spending quality time playing catch and cuddling on the couch, has taken to doing his business in the living room and eating my shoes to show us how unhappy he is.
Zac being silly again while applying the second coat (and second color) of paint.
Last night, Zac and I, along with some friends, went to the One Republic concert at EJ Thomas Hall. They played with three other bands and the show was really good. Most notable to me was the base player for One Republic. The scrawny, emo rocker kid started the concert playing the base guitar. A few songs into the set, he busts out a cello. Yes, a cello - the classical string instrument you see old ladies playing in an orchestra. The way the band incorporated the classical instrument into their overall sound was really cool. Props to the cello kid (Brent Kutzle), he was awesome.
Thank goodness Aster isn't a wuss about the snow like he is when it rains. So far he loves to go out side and push the snow around with his face, getting a big wet beard. It will be funny to see what happens when it gets high enough to touch his belly where he has no hair. brrr!
This weekend, we went to our friend Jackson's 4th birthday party. One of his presents was a box full of costumes and dress up stuff. Like 4-year-olds, Zac and I had fun acting like pirates. You know what pirates do? They get tattoos...more on that later.
After living in our house for a little over 7 months, Zac and I have decided to embark on our first big renovation. Of course, when we moved in, we (meaning Zac) painted, we had the floors done, we cleaned and raked the leaves, but nothing major.
And he loves to eat sticks....seriously eat them, not just chew. He's crazy.
Leaves. Lots, and lots of leaves. This is just the first dump. Yikes!
Well, you know
The Birthday boy
Uncle Wendell, the master planner.
