Meet My New Blessing...Carter

Carter arrived Friday, July 11th at 3:08 pm. He is the most precious little boy I have ever laid my eyes on! He weighed 7lbs 13.6 oz and he was 20 inches long. The delivery went well and I was very blessed to have lots of family and a very dear friend there the entire time. I will post again soon with more pictures and lots more details so keep checking back.

For Olivia Grace...

One of my intentions for this blog was to save memories for my children, so I thought I would write notes to them at special times in their life. Since this is the last day that Olivia Grace will be the baby and the only child, I thought this would be one of those "special times".

To My Special Miracle...
Today is the day before your baby brother will arrive and you seem to be clueless as to how your world is about to change. While you run around feeding your dolls and strolling them back and forth to the store (your bedroom), I can't help but tear up thinking about how special you are to me and daddy. We went through a lot and waited a long time for the Lord to bless us with the special miracle that is you! But we would go through all of that again because that is just how much you mean to us. Everyone assures me that there will be enough love for both you and Carter. I know there will be but I want you to know that when he is crying and I can't help you change your doll, I still love you. When he needs to eat and you have to wait for your lunch, I still love you. When he needs my attention and you feel like momma is always too busy with the baby, I still love you! It may seem like things will never get back to normal but actually, "our normal" will change to include your new baby brother. You will now have a new friend to play with, take care of, and love. I pray that the two of you will have a special relationship unlike all others. When you asked me this morning if I remembered that lullaby that I used to sing to you when you were little, my heart broke because I thought that was the first sign that you weren't the baby anymore. Instead, I have decided that was your way of saying "include me, momma". So I promise to include you when Carter is crying, when he needs to eat and when he is requiring a lot of my attention. You will be my "big girl" helper. When I sing your lullaby to Carter, I will be sure you are there to help me remember the words that I used to make up as I went along. Even though things are going to change a great deal around our house tomorrow, I want you to remember that daddy and I love you very much. But the Lord loves you even more and I know you will make Him very proud when you become a big sister!

Love,
Momma

The Nursery is Finally Ready for the Big Day!

It is official...Carter's birthday will be July 11th! Can you believe it? He will finally be here Friday - that is if he continues to go along with the plan and doesn't decide to come earlier. :) If you know Craig, he always has to have a plan. So much so that our friends, Claire and Daniel, can hardly stand making dinner dates with us because Craig complains if "the plan" is off by 10 minutes. So for daddy's sake, I hope that Carter can wait it out until Friday. I am so excited to see him and count his fingers and toes but, honestly, I am a little nervous. I think when I had Olivia Grace, I thought I knew what to expect but actually I had no idea. But this time...wow...I really know what is going to happen and how life is going to change. I think that is why I am a little more nervous. I just pray that everything goes smoothly - the baby's heart rate is perfect the entire time (Olivia Grace's kept decelerating), I progress well, there is never a talk of a cesarean and the biggest thing - the epidural works great!! So please, when you are saying your prayers this week, remember these things for me - especially the part about the epidural. :)

Since we know the baby will be here in a few days we have really been putting the finishing touches on the nursery.

We still need a floor lamp for behind the rocking chair and a table lamp for the dresser. Not only the lamp but we also need just the right colored green shades (that has been really hard to find) but other than that, we can pretty much say we are finished.

Well, it is hard for me to say I am finished because there are so many other "little" things that I could add or do but you have to stop somewhere.

I remember finishing up Olivia Grace's nursery just before she was born. I finally had the feeling that I was ready. I don't know if I have that "ready feeling" this time (because I am not ready for the lack of sleep...I didn't know about that the first time) but I am excited to be able change a diaper, to rock a baby and to hum a lullaby again. It seems like it has been so long since Olivia Grace was a tiny baby. I didn't realize until recently how much I missed being able to do everything for her. Don't get me wrong - she will always be my baby but she doesn't want me to do things for her anymore. She is a little like me. She wants to be in control and doing things her way. Except, of course, when it is time to pick up toys or put her clothes away...then she wants me to help her. Oh the fun of being mom. I can hardly even remember my life before I was a mother and I wouldn't have it any other way!!