Thankful List ~ November 2016

I have been so very thankful this month for how God has blessed out family.  My husband is more amazing than I can ever describe.  We have four healthy, smart, and beautiful children.  Addi, Josiah, and Eli all have welcomed Aubri and showered her with affection.  They actually have been very helpful!  Eli was not too aware of her the first week or two but by the end of the month he started saying “baby” or “Ahhh-beee” while gently patting her head.  It’s been very sweet to see how much they love her already!  She is doing great.  She sleeps a ton and eats really well.  I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Despite having a newborn we’ve still had a lot going on.  Between school, church, visitors, and other random events, life has been quite busy.  We’ve been so incredibly blessed by many different people bringing us meals or offering to help entertain the “big kids.”    So, yet again, another month that we have a TON to be thankful for.

Aubrielle Elyse Kelly

Four or five days before Aubri was born I began having Braxton Hicks each evening.  The contractions would last 5-6 hours but never get closer than 7-8 minutes apart. Sunday our whole family, including my mom, went to Calvary’s fall festival.  I began having contractions while we were there but they were inconsistent.

Around 9:00 pm I started timing the contractions because they got a bit stronger.  However, I was very skeptical that true labor was beginning because of the Braxton Hicks I’d had every other night.  Around 10:30 Josh went and got our toiletry bag and told me to “get in the van.”  He was very adamant that he had one job, to get me to the hospital without having the baby in the van and he wanted to do his part well.

We arrived at Rex at 11:45 p.m. and checked into triage.  Upon the initial check the doctor said I was only 3.5cm dilated and that I could not be admitted yet.  The same thing happened with Eli so I asked permission to start walking.  The doctor said that after one hour he would check me again.

At 12:30 a.m. I started speed walking the halls of the hospital.  I’m so thankful for my husband because although I was in pain from the contractions and uncomfortability, he was being his normal self and making me smile and laugh.  At one point he started making fun of me because my 2^nd hospital gown (the one that covered my bottom) was flying like a cape behind me because we were walking so fast.  He pulled out his phone and started trying to video me.  I was laughing so hard that I could not tell if I had peed on myself or if my water had broken.  At another point, one of the women on the cleaning crew stopped to tell us she’d seen a lot of pregnant women walking the halls trying to induce labor but we were by far the fastest walkers she’d ever seen.  We just laughed and kept going.

At 1:30 a.m. the nurse ran a test and confirmed that my water was slowly leaking (and that I hadn’t just peed on myself). The doctor came in, checked me and was surprised that I had progressed to 5cm.

At 1:50 a.m. we were admitted to room 240.  I took a quick shower because I literally had been sweating we were walking so quickly.  The nurse went ahead and prepped me for an IV.

By 3:00 a.m. my contractions were 3 minutes apart.  At 3:30 a.m. the doctor confirmed I was 7cm dilated.  We were excited things were progressing pretty quickly.  In comparison to other labors this one was going really well.  The contractions we not as horribly strong as they had been in the past but I certainly had to concentrate a lot more.  The nurse recommended that if I wanted to get an epidural, now was the time.

At 3:45 a.m. I requested Staidol.  It always amazes me how quickly that stuff takes effect.  All I remember is Josh and the nurse making fun of me.   Soon after I got good and loopy, the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural.  He was an extremely young looking guy but he did an amazing job.   It was as painless as it can be and it took effect quickly in the exact right spots.   Funny enough I always have more anxiety over the epidural than any other part of labor and delivery so I was glad that everything went well.  By this point I was very relaxed.  We turned out the lights and I tried to rest as much as I could.  I was thankful Josh was able to get a couple hours of sleep.

Around 5:45 I told the nurse that I thought labor would progress quicker if the doctor would go ahead and break my water.  So, around 6:00 a.m. the doctor came in, told me I was still only at 7 cm, and then broke my water.  She left but the nurse stayed with me.  She sat down and we chitchatted for about 25 minutes until she said she had to go complete her paper work before getting off at 7:00 a.m. 

Not two minutes after she left I started to feel the urge to push.  So, around 6:30 I woke up Josh, paged the nurse, and asked her to get the doctor.  The nurse came in and began prepping the room for delivery; however, the doctor had just gone in with another woman who was delivering at the same time.  She tried to tell Josh to keep my legs closed and to not allow me to push.  I told her “That’s not how it works.”  LOL Fortunately, our nurse was able to find another doctor who had happened to show up early for his 7:00 shift.  The second he walked in the room and put on his scrubs I announced to everyone I was pushing on the next contraction.

At 6:46 a.m. on October 31^st 2016 sweet baby Aubrielle Elyse Kelly was born!  I was thrilled to finally have her in my arms.  There is nothing like holding your newborn in your arms.  I can’t believe the Lord has given me that blessing and joy four times now!  How amazing.  Soon after Josh cut the umbilical cord and she was wiped off, I was able to try nursing her.  She didn’t latch immediately but I just enjoyed taking in her beautiful chubby cheeks.  She looked so tiny and yet so big for a newborn.  We were amazed at all of her long black hair!

At 7:45 a.m. she was given a bath and her initial shots.  We were told that she weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces and was 21 inches long.  We began sending out text messages to friends and family announcing our great news!

Around 9:30 am we were moved to room 211.  Once we got settled I tried nursing again and she took quickly.  I was so encouraged.   We ordered breakfast and made arrangements for my mom to bring Addilyn, Josiah, and Eli to come visit. 

Others that came to visit during out hospital stay included, Becca, Rion and Kristen, Joy and her kids, Sarah, Mara, and Susu.

We got to take Aubri home the morning of Wednesday, November 2^nd!!!

Thankful List ~ October 2016

October Thankful List

Addilyn and Josiah are growing up too fast.  They are doing really well in school.  Addilyn is great with math, her phonics rules, and spelling.  She has started reading really well and I’m delighted that she is gaining confidence.  Josiah is also doing great with reading.  He is starting to sound out all sorts of stuff!  They have really gotten into a routine with schoolwork and many times can work independently.  Both of them did amazing in soccer this season too.  We were blessed to have two really great coaches.

Eli is growing and changing so much.  He has started saying all sorts of new words and phrases.  He’s become quite the parrot and will repeat just about anything.  My favorite things he’s said this month is, “yee haw” when he was rocking on his horse.  I also see him using his imagination much more; making sounds when he is playing with cars and trucks as well as making action figures interact with one another.  More than anything, he has made it apparent how rough and tough he is.  He loves wrestling, jumping or doing flips on the trampoline, swinging on the big boy swing, and jumping off of stuff (namely the couch).  He climbs on everything especially the shoe shelf, kitchen counters, and I even found him on top of the stove at one point.

I was very excited to start a new medicine to increase my iron.  It helped my energy level so much.  This allowed me to get a few big projects finished that I had hoped to get done before baby girl arrived.  These included switching the kid’s bedrooms around, finish making the t-shirt quilt for a family friend, and making our family Halloween costumes (Mario Kart).  In addition, my mom came up for a little over a week and helped out around the house and with the kids.  She was such a blessing.

Hurricane Matthew hit the east coast this month and flooded much of Rocky Mount.  We were so thankful that our home/property did not receive any damage.  In fact, we never even lost power.  In a weird sort of way it was a blessing to have several of our normal commitments get cancelled so that we had more time to rest and prepare for the arrival of baby girl.

We saw a lot of grace this month in establishing deeper friendships with people in Rocky Mount.  I was able to have lunch/dinner/coffee with a couple different women.  We had a family from our small group come cheer on the kids at a soccer game.  My Sunday school class through us a baby shower.  And we were able to celebrate several different friend’s birthdays by going to different parties.  It has been a blessing to feel more connected!

Calvary hosted its annual fall festival but this year they decided to do a trunk or treat.  It went really well and the gospel was shared with several hundred parents and children! Our kids had a great time!

And, the most exciting news and greatest blessing of the month is the birth of our sweet Aubrielle Elyse Kelly!  Born on October 31^st at 6:46 a.m.  It was a quick labor.  She was perfectly healthy and we were overjoyed to finally hold her in our arms!

Thankful List ~ September 2016

September Thankful List

College football season started.  It’s always a lot of fun to watch the UGA games together.  We love hearing the kids get excited even if they have no clue what’s actually going on.  Even Eli throws his hands up to symbolize a touchdown..

Josh was off work on Labor Day and we were able to go as a family to the Carolina Mudcats minor league baseball game.  It was a beautiful day and we all had a good time.  The kids loved running the bases after the game was over.

Our “normal” school year routine started back up this month with our Classical Conversations community day on Tuesdays, our co-op book club on Wednesdays, and once a month field trips.  Addi and Josiah are in different classrooms for CC and we have enjoyed both of their tutors.  Book club started with Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library which has been my very favorite read aloud we’ve done so far.  It was a lot of fun!  For our field trip, our co-op had a tour of the NC State Library where we toured lots of historical documents and records rooms.  It was neat to point out things we’d been learning through our book about the Dewey Decimal system, call numbers, and how to find resources.  The kids also thought microfilm was amazing.  Ha ha!

Addi and Josiah’s soccer season started again.  This year they are on different teams but fortunately they both ended up with great coaches!

Home groups started back this month and although we lost two families who moved we gained a couple new families.  It’s already been a great time of discussion, fellowship, confession, and prayer.  I’m very thankful for our small group!

Josh’s grandpa passed away this month, which was very sad. Fortunately, Josh got to spend some time with him in good discussion as they were packing him up to move back to GA.

The baby is continuing to grow and everything looks healthy.  I’ve been struggling with extremely low iron that has resulted in a lot of difficulties over the past month but I am so thankful for having such an amazing husband who does anything he can to help.

The thing I’m most thankful for this month is our family vacation.  We decided to take a couple days for just us and go to the beach.  On the way there we made a pit stop at the aquarium.  This was a fun new experience for all of us.  Eli liked the turtles a lot.  I’m convinced that going to the beach for the weekend was the most enjoyable, fun, relaxing, and rejuvenating thing we’ve done since Eli was born.  I found so much joy in watching the kids jump waves, dig holes in the sand, play games in the pool, and search for seashells.  The kids were very excited to stay in the hotel and to celebrate Josh’s birthday with a cookie cake while we were there.

The kids continue to make me laugh and smile with the things they say and do.  We were in the van at one point and Josiah randomly says, “You can say that again!” It made all of us immediately start laughing.  Eli started talking more this month as well.  He also has grown to love bath time.  He loves pouring water on his own head and splashing in running water.  Addilyn, on many occasions has offered to help or volunteered to help around the house.  It has been so evident to Josh and I this month how much she is maturing and becoming a little lady.

Thankful List ~ August 2016

August 1^st we started our official 2016-2017 homeschool year! We had been doing lessons pretty much all summer but it was nice to have an official day where we transitioned from summer lessons and into our new routine.

Josiah turned FIVE!  On his actual birthday the kids and I went to the Sylvan Heights Bird Park.  It was great.  My favorite part was feeding the parakeets but Josiah hated it because he felt like the birds were biting him.  Overall the kids had a blast.  A few days later we had a big birthday party for Josiah.  He had wanted a Big Hero Six theme, which was fun to decorate for.  The highlight of the party was when Josh dressed up as Baymax!  All the kids LOVED it, especially Josiah.

We also loved watching the Olympics together as a family!  The kids stayed up WAY past their bedtime to watch the Opening Ceremonies.  We enjoyed all sorts of events.  It was great to see the kids learning about the different sports, recognizing the better-known athletes, and even identifying the flags of different nations.

Josh was very gracious to give me a late birthday present, a night completely by myself at a hotel so I could sleep as late as I wanted without kids waking me.  It was very nice and relaxing and I was so grateful for the time to recharge!

After 8 months we were finally able to get people in to fix our master bath shower.  I am thrilled to have this big project finally taken care of.