Times and Seasons

Sixteen Years Ago (With my family)

I've been all kinds of contemplative lately. It feels like our family is standing at the threshold of so many changes coming all too quickly.

See those babies in the photo above? The baby girl turns 19 years old just two days after Christmas this year. And she has decided to put in her mission papers.

Morganne at age 18

And the fuzzy-haired little boy can send in his mission papers at the end of March 2013.

Brennan at age 17

*sniff*

Yes, I am getting all kinds of emotional that I am "losing" my babies, one by one, starting NOW.

Where has the time gone? I could have sworn that the picture above was taken yesterday-- wasn't it?

Nope.

But I AM thankful that my babies are growing up to be such wonderful people. They amaze me! They are making really great choices, and are doing the things I've tried to raise them to do.

Now, if I can just get my brain in line to figure out how to be a mother of adults and babies at the same time...

Love, Mama Rachel

Davydd's Birth Story

They kept two IV's in me until just before I left the hospital, so they wouldn't have to stick me again...

 Things I want to remember:

• The hours of praying through the night that baby's heartbeat would stay good so there would be no C-section needed.
• The divine intervention that kept me in pain in just the right spots to help move baby's head into the right place. (Even though I was frustrated beyond belief that I was still in pain WITH an epidural.)
• The sweet spirits I felt enter the room right when I thought I would burst with worry and overwhelm due to the oxygen I was on and the hyperventilating I was doing in an attempt to get baby all the oxygen he needed.
• The 9 attempts at getting my IV in that left me bruised and  nervous-- and the sweet nurse who was so upset about it saying "This is all you're going to remember, when all you wanted was a nice home birth!"
• The calm and kind nurse-midwife who was willing to wait patiently for our boys arrival-- more patiently than I was willing to wait through most of the experience!
• My midwife, Sue, who showed up JUST when I needed her to put cool cloths on my forehead and give me words of encouragement. (I don't know how I would have survived the nurse change right as things got hairy!)
• How I pushed for less than 10 minutes, determined to get baby out and in my arms at last!
• How scary it was afterward to realize how LITTLE ambiotic fluid my poor little guy was trying to swim in!
• How bad I felt when I realized that I was birthing without pain, but that my little one had to do a lot of work on his own WITHOUT pain relief.
• How I felt EVERYTHING while pushing-- the epidural blocked nothing.
• The lesson I learned about facing fears with faith. The Lord's plans are ALWAYS better than our own! If only I had trusted Him...

And now for some pictures:

Me on oxygen-- trying to stay positive!

First Davydd picture, covered in green vernix-- poor guy!

Meeting the whole family!

Alls well that ends well.

Love, Mama Rachel