Graduation

Paul graduated with his Masters of Divinity. We are all so very proud of him and thankful for the hard work he has done these last couple of years.

This past year has been very "productive" for the women at the seminary. Pictured here are all the babies that have been born this year.

Grandparents

We've been so blessed to have Grandpa and Grandma Mourreale here for the weekend. Abby loves spending time with them and Silas is loving all the attention he is getting as well.

Birthday Fun

Saturday was my 32nd birthday. This first picture shows enough gifts to me, don't you think?

Our good friends had us over for dessert. Allison worked so hard on these cupcakes, aren't they cute? It does make it hard though to blow out ALL the candles at one time. Abby is fascinated with blowing out things so we let her blow one of them out.

Chris and Allison had their baby boy about 7 weeks before we had ours. It was so much fun going through pregnancy together and now having our newborns together. It always amazes me that now, the age difference is so huge but in a year, they will basically be the "same age".

Room Enough

Throughout my pregnancy, I struggled with how would I love this new child.  I loved Abby so much it didn't seem there would be room for another to have that same love.   I also don't "bond" with my baby in the womb like many other moms seem to do.  I am thankful for him but I don't feel a closeness with him.  When Silas was born, I immediately fell in love with him (and all of you moms told me that would happen).  The problem was, Abby wasn't there.  So I worried that I didn't love her as much and maybe my love just transferred.  What would I do when I got home to my little girl?  (These are the crazy thoughts I have in the middle of the night).

You probably already know the end of the story but it's still amazing to me.  I love BOTH of my children incredibly - to the moon and back!  There is no competition for my love but room enough for Abigail, Silas and whomever else God will grant us in the future.

Happy Tears

Ever since Silas was born, I have been a bit teary.  At first, it was tears of being overwhelmed, of wondering if I could handle all the things that I think I have to do.   I am learning that there are things that must be done and there are things that I just would like done.   I must not stress over the state of my house.   The last few days, I've had happy tears.  I become so overwhelmed at God's goodness to me and my family.  Last night, we were having our family devotion time.  I was holding Silas and Paul was holding Abby.  We ended by singing several songs including the "haha" song.  Abby tried singing along and at the end, Paul threw her up in the air to which Abby just giggled and giggled, wanting more and more.  I sat rocking Silas, tears rolling down my face, reflecting on what God has given me in just the past few years.   Paul and I are coming up on our third wedding anniversary.  He is such a wonderful, godly man that my Heavenly Father saw fit to give to me.   Within those three years, God has also seen fit to grant us the privelege of having two wonderful, healthy children.   This is especially incredible to me as I recall the struggles with endometriosis that I have had.   After one ultrasound to check for reoccurance, I was told that it would be very hard to have children because of all the scarring that I have.   Praise God!   He is the giver of life and loves to work wonders in His children.

So for those who see me on a daily basis, don't worry, my tears are happy tears!

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our family/friends, Jeff and Laura. They were coming to see us for Thanksgiving and we were so thrilled to get caught up with them. They were both in our wedding 3 years ago and actually, that was the last time we've seen them. Little did they know what they were getting into. The first morning here, I woke Jeff up with a call saying "Get ready, you need to come take care of Abby, we're going to the hospital". Of course, my contractions subsided for a bit so it wasn't until later that afternoon that we actually left.

Laura and Jeff ended up coming to the hospital with us and Laura was there in the delivery room with Paul and I. That night, she also stayed in the hospital with me. Paul wanted to make sure Abby had a familiar face that night so he went back home.

So a huge THANKYOU to Jeff and Laura for being here, for coming to the hospital with us, for taking care of Abby for over 24 hours, for helping us make a yummy delicious thanksgiving dinner, for hanging out with us, for playing Settlers of Catan, for praying with and for us.   We LOVE you!!!

Birth Story

Monday morning, the 23rd started with an early wake up call from Abby. I was feeling crampy and then had a bit of bleeding. My midwife told me to go to the hospital to get "checked out". Paul and I came on down (an hour and a half drive) and ended up being at the hospital for 7 hours. They did all kinds of tests, monitored heartbeat, contractions, etc. For a bit, I had contractions about 8-10 minutes apart but it didn't last. Just as they were going to discharge me, they checked and I had gone from a 1 to a 2. Not very significant but asked me to stay another couple hours to watch. Nothing else happened so they finally discharged me and told me to stay in town for 1-2 hours "just in case".

Poor Paul! This is the last three weeks of classes for him before he graduates and he has spent so much time driving and being here. Great husband :)

Tuesday, I continued having contractions in the early morning which subsided when I got up. I made banana bread and washed dishes. Then I sat down and finished a baby quilt for my cousin. My contractions were pretty much gone! My cousins Laura and Jeff were flying into Denver that evening so we left a little after noon to go fetch them (3 hour drive). I continued having contractions every now and then, but nothing regular or intense. We got home close to 10 pm and crashed.

Wednesday morning at 3am, I woke up because of painful contractions. I couldn't sleep anymore so finally just went to the living room where I skyped with my mom and sister. I found a cool contraction monitor online which would measure how long the contractions were and how far apart. For several hours, they were right at the 10 minute mark but without fail. Around 6:30 my contractions were 6-7 minutes apart. The hospital had told me to wait until we were 3-5 minutes but I wanted to make sure I could get there in time. We were making plans for people to watch Abby and get ourselves in gear when the contractions went back to 10 minutes apart and just stayed there. At this point, I was exhausted so I took a nap - well, in between contracions that is! Around 9:30, my mom skyped me again and wanted to know how things were going. She encouraged me to get up and do some housework!!!! At this point, we weren't trying to stop the process. So I started laundry and then Laura and I took a walk with Abby down to the barn. I was still having contractions but they really weren't very bad. At 11, we went to chapel. About halfway through chapel, I had such a long, painful contraction and couldn't stay. I went home with Abby where I could walk around and "do stuff". I was hungry so I started making potato soup. Peeling and chopping potatoes is a great way to get through contractions by the way. Through all this I was timing the contractions and all of a sudden, they started getting shorter and shorter apart. When Paul, Jeff and Laura came back from chapel, I was telling them we should probably go to the hospital soon but let me finish the soup. The guys packed and got everything together. Beth Ann came to get Abby for the afternoon. And I worked on my soup. Paul was ready before me but I really wanted this soup that I had been working on. We took a few more minutes to finish it up and pack it in containers to eat in the car. The funny thing is that I never had any. As soon as we started driving, my contractions were 3 minutes apart. Can I just say "not fun!" And how about getting to the hospital in record time?

I got to the L & D desk, telling them I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart. I was sent to the observation room where it was noted that I was already dilated at a 5, station 0. The head was already down pretty far! Since I had to have antibiotics for GRB, I had the IV put in and the penicillin started. As soon as that was finished, I was getting the jacuzii. Wahoo! I was so excited about that but my contractions started picking up in intensity. I was trying to ignore the fact that there was a lot of pressure and I kind of felt the need to push. I have a one track mind and wanted that jacuzzi. Thankfully the nurse saw what was happening and whisked me away to the delivery room. My penicillin was finished and so just before the jacuzzi she wanted to check me again. I was at a 8/9 --- too late for the jacuzzi. She also said the bag of waters was a huge bulge on babies' head and that as soon as they broke it, baby would be out. I did get to use the birthing ball and ladies, what a marvelous help that is. So much more comfortable than the bed or even standing up.

My midwife, Mary, was called, came over immediately - Praise God! As she checked me, I went to completely effaced. My water was broken and then we were pushing. With the second push, Mary said she could see the head and the hair. "He's almost here". With the third push, out he popped!!!!! So tiny but breathing well.  And this only an hour and a half since we arrived at the hospital....totally the way to go.

3:57 p.m. on November 25th!!! He weighed in at 4 pounds, 11.5 ounces and his length is 16 inches. His head diameter is a mere 12 inches. The most amazing thing to me is how well his vitals were. He has such big feet and big hands for being such a little guy.

Meanwhile, I was able to deliver the placenta and get just two stitches. Small babies = no tears.

I praise God for the wonderful timing in getting to the hospital. I praise God for great nurses who respected our birth plan and wanted us to have the best experience possible. I praise God for allowing me to go through this naturally and not to give up. I praise God that my midwife was working this day AND got there in time. I praise God that both Paul and Laura were able to be there for the birth.

We named our little guy Silas Anthony. The name Silas is after the Silas from the Bible. Anthony is a family name. Paul, his dad, grandpa and great-grandpa all have Anthony as a middle name.

Our family is a bit bigger now. We will have to put up a picture with Abby too, but that will have to wait just a little bit longer.

Thanks for all of you that prayed for us. Welcome Silas!!!!