Wednesday, August 30

and the blessings come down

Just a few minutes to post, but I'd like to share some blessings...

God recently provided a substantial sum to help with our roof project. We hope to start this project before the snow flies...we are praying that God would provide the rest of the money needed so that we can begin this soon (our specific prayer request is that the rest of the money would be here in the next week or so). Praise the Lord for His provision!

Aaron has had the following nighttime sleep pattern:
Thursday: 6 hours
Friday: 7 hours
Saturday: 7 hours
Sunday: 8 hours
Monday: 8 hours
Tuesday: 7 hours
Needless to say, we greatly GREATLY rejoice.

And for those of you following the development of Young Muth, another rolling over incident has occurred, this time when Michael changed him. He has also rolled himself over in his sleep. We are in Trouble. (notice the capital T)

We are praising the Lord for His wonderful blessings and rejoicing in His All-The-Time Goodness!

This weekend we are looking forward to a visit from Tim, Sarah Dawn, and Rennah St. Clair! We're planning to cook out with mom & dad Forbes sometime as well. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!!

Monday, August 21

tell me the child doesn't look like a stopped up old man

family pic

self-portrait of family (uncooperative child)

screaming kiddo

Ah, yes...and one for the memory book.

blessings galore

well the limited internet access is about ready to drive me nuts! It's so hard to keep in touch - I guess I got spoiled with access at work...

Mom & Dad have several pics of Aaron on their blog, as well as of our new house, which we moved into this weekend. (insert gasps for air here)

We are amazed and astounded at the blessings of God. Here are some of our most recent happenings:

- I realized that being a mother of boys will mean that I have an extra shirt in the diaper bag at all times.
- We are now in our new house!!! (amidst many boxes) and we can live there!!!
- My ankles have finally made their re-appearance after several months of swelling, much to my amazement, and I can wear my wedding rings and toe ring again. HURRAY!
- I am married to the world's BEST DADDY ever.
- I love being a mom.
- I have a great kiddo.

Allow me to praise God for this: we've had several nights of 5-hour sleep sessions followed by a 4-hour session. I don't have any illusions of it continuing for an extended period, but I DO take every night like that as a precious gift. Sleep is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Okay, I need some opinions. The other day, I was changing Aaron and talking to my mom when all of a sudden, he started to move a little more than usual. The child rolled over onto his tummy. I looked down in disbelief and quickly flipped him back on his back. I said, "yeah, buddy, try that again." And the child promptly turned himself over again, and lifted up his head. The little man was 18 days old. This is unusual, yes? Honestly, I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. And I wasn't hallucinating; Mom is my witness. However, I didn't think they were supposed to get to that rolling over accomplishment for several months. I'm praying it is a fluke. Early mobility doesn't settle well with me.

I need to get going so I can wake the young child for his feeding. First, I shall attempt to post pictures. Thanks for the prayers and for keeping up with our family!!

Thursday, August 10

the story

This c-section stuff really cramps my style. No driving, no energy, an incision...

But I am glad that God gives grace and that I am finally starting to feel better!!! Hurray!

Here's the story:
Monday, July 31, 8pm
Cervadil administered at the hospital. I had to be on a continuous monitor, and of course the little guy kept moving around and setting off the alarm...so needless to say I did not get a good night's sleep.

Tuesday, August 1, 8:42am
It was determined that the Cervadil did it's thing and that my cervix was effectively ripened. Oh, how I wanted to go home. Alas, I could not. Pitocin started.

I will interject here that the stories of horror and pain of laboring by way of Pitocin are, in my opinion, exaggerated. I did not find labor to be all that bad. Shoot me if you must, but it was really pretty tolerable for me. I am thankful.

6:08pm
My water broke, and I made quick progress from 4 to 7 centimeters

7:10pm
I was dilated to 9cm, and very ready to start pushing, so in order to help me relax through the premature urge to push, I was given some Nubain. Help me relax, it did indeed. Let's just say I was a little loopy. Aaron was put on an internal fetal monitor, another thing I swore I'd never do...ah, well. Better safe than sorry.

7:20pm
Dilated to 10 cm, and pushing began. What a relief. Aaron was still at a -2 station, and Dr. Jordahl thought I'd have about 2 more hours of pushing to do. He was concerned b/c each time I would push, Aaron's heart rate slowed considerably and he wasn't sure the baby could handle the stress of 2 more hours of labor. A C-section was recommended.

Let me just say that at this point it was a very good thing that I was on Nubain. I was so loopy that I didn't really know what was going on and thereby made it through surgery without having to think about all that was going on. I'm certain if I'd had to contemplate with an unaltered mind, it would have been much harder on me.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I am married to the most amazing man in the entire world. He is absolutely my perfect match. He stayed with me through surgery and watched the whole process (what a brave soul!) I remember him singing "trust in the Lord with all your heart..." and telling me everything was going to be all right, that no matter what happens, God is good. His calmness and confidence in God were better than any calming drugs, that is for sure!!!

8:55
I remember saying, "be sure to tell us what it is because we don't know" and then "Here comes a baby" from the doctor. I heard Michael's voice saying "It's a boy! It's a boy" and then the sweet sound of our little man's first cries. My wonderful husband stayed with me while they put everything back together and sewed me up, and Dr. Jordahl took care of little Aaron for us, cleaning him up and weighing him, and showing him to Grandma through the nursery window.

Praise God for his all sufficient Grace and His plan for our lives!!

Recovery has not been easy; but God has provided for our needs through my mom staying with me while Michael goes to work (I still can't drive). Meals are coming from friends at church. I'm slowly regaining strength and am grateful to have a healthy, happy baby boy!

Thank you so much for your prayers and comments, and for the great e-cards we got at the hospital. It's awesome to know that friends from all over are lifting our family to God in prayer. PLEASE CONTINUE!! We are hoping to move into our new house a week from Saturday. MUCH progress has been made, but we are still needing to set up our kitchen and connect our showerhead & tub faucet before we can move in.

Thursday, August 3

Aaron Carter Muth


Aaron arrived Tuesday night, August 1st at 8:55 p.m. He was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. We praise God for His protection and thank Him for our brand new baby boy! We will soon post the complete story. Keep praying. We hope to come home from the hospital on Friday.