Well Hello Mr. President

" If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Voting is very important. But that is not the most important thing that we can do today:

 Our phones have been ringing at ridiculous times of the day. Our streets are littered with people waving signs in our face. We have listened to debates, commentaries on debates, and friends' opinions on why "their" guy is the best.  Now, our minds are made up. Our votes have been cast, or will be soon. So, what do we do now?  Rant and rave about who votes, why they are voting, or who they are voting? No,  what we do now is pray.

We pray for both of these men. Barak Obama and Mitt Romney are exhausted; and their jobs haven't even started yet. I cannot imagine leaving a bunch of opinonated people in charge of my future. But that is what they have done.  So we pray for them BEFORE we know the results. I am praying that each man will find rest in a very stressful day. I pray that Jesus will give them a peace that only he can, a calmness that allows them to know God is with them. We should pray for their wives. As a wife myself, I know that when my husband is stressed and work keeps him away from home too often, it takes its toll on everyone. It makes me want to carry some of his burden. And I just plain miss him. So, we pray that these women will give their burdens to Christ, that they will find a way to lift their husband up even when they may not have seen him in several days. Both men have children, albeit at varying chapters in life. All of the kids will forever be changed by the last year.  They have heard people say terrible things about their daddy. And they have also missed him being at their school functions, family get togethers, various other events.  Let's pray that they will learn forgiveness for those who didn't take into consideration that this "candidate" is also their hero no matter what.

We also need to pray for our new president, whoever that may be. We know, as Christians, that God has determined the right man for the job. It is not up to us to doubt his decision. We need to pray that "Mr. President" will pray and seek God's will for our country (I know that God's Will will prevail regardless, but it goes so much smoother if we just do it His way from the beginning) I pray that the president will seek direction through God's word. I pray that this man feels the support of a country. Romans 13:1 says "everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities for there is no authority except that which God has established"   This doesn't mean only if "our" guy wins.

We need to pray for each other-as fellow Americans and fellow Christians. I have seen, and sadly been guilty of, very unChristianlike behavior during the election process.  First and formost, we need to search ourselves. Is their anger in our hearts? Are we living the life of Christ?  Usually, once we look upward and inward, others don't seem so bad.

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" Proverbs 15:1

 

So, Congratulations Mr. President! I support you and commit to pray for you throughout your presidential term.

Bennett turns 4

I cannot believe that my sweet Bennett is already 4 years old! This year is the first year that his birthday party was actually on his birthday. Saturday June 2, 2012 we woke Bennett up and had his favorite breakfast-doughnuts.  His birthday party was at 10:00 so we didn't have a ton of time to spend time at home before we left for his "cowboy" party.  We did let him open his gift from us first. We like to keep our gift seperate so it doesn't get lost in all the other gifts. It was so funny: we have a rule in our house that you cannot sit/stand/etc on the kitchen table (with boys, things you once thought were common sense become "rules") but I let him open his gift while sitting on the table so I could get a good picture. So now, he says the rule is that you can only sit on the table on your birthday.

Bennett loves animals.  I mean, he really loves animals. He has millions of toys and all he wants to do is build farms and jungles. So he really wanted a party with animals. I could not find a petting zoo for anything, so I started looking into pony rides. We checked everywhere in Valdosta and decided to have his party at JustAMere Farm in Hahira.  It was the cheapest and had the nicest facility. So a Cowboy theme it became. 

Where the Wild Things Are

Quinn had a Young Farmer Conference to attend in Atlanta. He needed daddy to go with him to serve as a delegate, so we decided to make it a family affair. Mama, daddy and the four of us set off to Stone Mountain for some fun fun fun!

We left on Friday morning. A mistake on my part was not to wake up Levi early. I was not as prepared as I like to be so I let him sleep in order to finish getting the house clean and stuff packed into the car. That meant he was only up for an hour before we strapped him in the car seat.  Not a good idea.  He cried almost the whole way.  Bennett, on the other hand, was  a trooper. He didn't sleep either but alternated between watching a movie, playing his leappad (mimi and papa suprised him with it for the trip), and playing travel games with me.

When we finally made it to our hotel, all of us were glad to be out of the truck and so happy to see Mimi and Papa.  Quinn and Daddy didn't have much time before their first meeting, so we grabbed a quick bite and went our seperate ways.  Mimi, the boys, and I went exploring. We checked out every square inch of that resort. Since it is on the State Park, there are LOTS of walking trails.  We made it back from our journey about the time the fellas finished the meeting and headed out to dinner. After dinner, Bennett was dying to get into the pool. So, that's what we did!  It was an indoor heated pool so it was really nice. Quinn needed to work on school work, and Levi needed to go to bed, so Bennett and I had some quality time together splashing around.  I sure do love that boy.

Saturday morning, we headed to Stone Mountain. Everything was closed-except Snow Mountain, and it was sold out. I am pretty glad thought because it was almost $20 a person and the boys were too small to do most of it.  We made an impulsive decision (something I RARELY do) to go to the zoo.  I am so glad we did. I didn't know if I would like it because I was visualizing a bigger scale Wild Adventures, but it was so nice. They have lots of baby animals and Bennett loved looking at them. My favorite was the tiger exhibit.  It had a mom and 2 cubs. I am sure the cubs were brothers because they were so rough with each other. I loved watching them run and wrestle, and when one would get tired, he ran to his mama for protection. Levi loved the petting zoo area. We had a hard time keeping him from kissing the goats.  We had to get back to hotel by 5:00 so Quinn and Daddy could get to their meeting, but I still feel like we had plenty of time to see everything (about 4 hours.) While the men did business stuff, the rest of us had a grand ole time. We ate at the hotel resturaunt which Bennett loved because they had a dessert buffet. Then we headed to the "game room" which consisted of about 3 video games and one of those claw things. Bennett had no idea what he was doing, but had fun anyway. Levi enjoyed watching big brother. The guys met up with us when they were done, and we all hit the pool for a quick swim before bedtime.

When we woke up Sunday, we packed it up and headed back home. But we had one stop waiting on us-the aquarium.  I wish I could have gotten Bennett's picture when we first walked in and he saw the huge tank of fish. It was priceless. We went to the dolphin show first. I really didn't know what to expect, but this was not it. Don't get me wrong; it was awesome. But it wasn't your ordinary dolphin show.  It was an actual performance with actors and dolphins. I wish I had know a little more about it so I could have better prepared the boys. There were cannons and some "fight" scenes so they got scared a few times, but overall they both loved it.  Levi was sad that he couldn't get in the tank with the dolphins.  As we made our way through the aquarium, both boys were awestruck with the fish tanks. We crawled in the tunnels, did the touch tank, and saw the hundreds of frogs. Then they were done. We didn't go through the "swamp" exhibit because we see alligators all the time. They were were so over all the crowds and stimulation that we decided to call it a day.

Bennett and Levi both slept most of the way home.  Overall, it was a great trip.

January= a month of smiles

Last month was so much fun!! It also went by so fast. But in that quick month, I had so much to be proud of. 

We started the year out by going to church.  What better way to bring in the New Year than praising God, right? After church, the four of us headed to Smoking Pig so Quinn could get his fix on all that country cooking.  Then we went home to let the boys nap before the real fun began-going to Wild Adventures with my parents. It was really a great trip. 

Bennett had a great month. It was almost as if he became a boy in the course of a couple of weeks. On March 16, he woke up and told me "mama, I can dress my self now." Of course, I said ok and helped him pick out what to wear. And he did it! He dressed himself from his underwear to buttoning his jeans.  He needed a little help getting his belt on and still asked if "these were the right feet" but other than that, he's a pro! That very same week, he helped me bring in the groceries AND put them away. I think it was just as much to see what all I bought as it was to help me, but it was still super cool to see him putting things where they went.  He continues to melt my heart with how sweet he is-to me, to his brother, to everybody.  We are so blessed.

Levi just keeps getting cuter and cuter. He took his first steps right before Christmas, but only walked occasionally. I think he knew he wouldn't be carried as much if he walked. That boy is so lazy! He still loves to be held, even wants me to feed him or hold his sippie cup. I have to say that I don't really mind. He could be my last one, so I am savoring every moment.  Finally, he decided this month that he is a walker!  He went from walking to running in about 5 minutes, but loves getting around by himself.  His hair is getting curlier and curlier. He hasn't had a haircut yet and I am afraid to cut it. I don't want to lose those curls!!

Quinn started his PhD at Auburn this month. It's a long road ahead, but I just know he is going to do great. He also had the coolest thing ever happen! His research from his thesis was PUBLISHED! He absolutely hated writing essays when he was working on his undergraduate degree. And now, something he wrote has been published in an agriculture research magazine. I could not be more proud of my man!

We had a great month as a family. From the very first day of the month till the last, my boys have made me smile this month!

The Beginning of Something Amazing...

One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was pregnant with Levi was to have someone else hold him when Bennett came into the hospital room. That way it wasn't like he was looking in on his family, seeing Levi as a replacement. Since mama was already in there (she doesn't do any of the coaching-that's Quinn's job, but only takes pictures) we had her hold Levi when he came in.  He crawled up in the bed with me and got some one on one love. He checked out my IV and saw that I was ok. Then we asked him if he was ready to meet his brother. Of course he said yes.

That moment is one I hope I never forget. Bennett was in the bed with me when mama handed over Levi.  We unswaddled Levi and let big bro take it all in.  He first asked "that's my brother?" When we answered yes, he proceeded with checking him out.  As he touched every part of Levi, he said "I like his hands. I like his feet, etc" And then the sweetest moment of my life happened. Bennett looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said "Mama, I love him"  Ahhh. A mama can't get much happier than that.'

For anybody that has boys, you know it doesn't stay sappy for long. Because right after that sweet little moment, Levi pooped in his blanket. If he hadn't already won Bennett's heart, I am sure he would have at that moment.  Bennett was so amazed and maybe even a little proud that his brother pooped in the blanket.  From then on, anytime anybody asked him what he thought of his brother, he would reply "He poops"

Another funny experience was Bennett seeing Levi nurse for the first time. I nursed Bennett for 10 months, but of course he doesn't remember it. So, when I took my boob out and latched Levi on, Bennett looked at me puzzled and said "Mama, he eats your booby?" We just smiled and said "yes, that's how he eats buddy" He was fine with that answer.

I can honestly say that from the very beginning, we have been so blessed with how much our boys love each other. There (so far) has never been any hint of jealousy or sibling rivalry. Bennett is very quick to tell Levi when it is his turn for mommy's attention, but never in a mean way.  I pray that the beginning of their relationship is an indication of what they will be like for the rest of their lives.

Levi's Birth Story

(I wasnt into blogging when Bennett was born, but I will post about him soon as well)

So, after eating our delicious breakfast on the way to the hospital, I calmed down a little bit. The emotions about leaving Bennett subsided but the emotions of having a baby set in. I am such a planner, so I had to come up with a new plan on the way to the hospital.  I knew I would be getting pitocin so I wouldn't have the freedom I had the first time. I was also 8 centimeters when I finally got into a room with Bennett so things went VERY fast. I had to psyc myself that this time around could be much longer. I still didn't want a epidural, but tried not to focus too much on that and deal with what I HAD to have.

We got to the hospital about 11:30. The good thing about me having the baby that day was that Debbie was on call, so she would be delivering another Hadsock baby! Well, I have no idea why we bothered to preregister because it took forever to get to the room.  When we finally did, I had another blessing: my sweet friend Christine was working so she could be my nurse. I started to feel the anxiety subside and got my self pumped up for the "game"

When Debbie came in a broke my water, there was meconium (baby's first poop) A small concern, but not too much to worry about. It just meant that the nurses would have to suction Levi out really well to be sure he didn't swallor/inhale any of it.  They put the monitor on my belly and waited. Well, remember in my last post, I said Stacy was a little concerned with his heart rate? I hadn't even thought about it with all the excitement, but apparently it was still a concern.  Debbie didn't start the pitocin right away because we needed Levi's heart rate to regulate. I tried several positions, but nothing seemed to be helping. Finally, it was decided that we needed to monitor his heart rate internally (against my original birth plan, but when something could be wrong with your baby that stuff doesn't matter!) The monitor went in, I was positioned on my left side, and his rate rate stabilized. Pitocin was administered. 

Then, his heart rate started fluctuating again. If it was a big deal, Christine was awesome about staying calm and that helped me stay calmish.  A few times the machine alarm went off, and Christine would come in, adjust me, the machines and reassure me that everything was ok.  By this point, I had had quite a bit of fluids, and had to pee, A LOT! I couldn't get up because of the machine and pitocin so I had to call Christine to give me a bed pan everytime-EMBARRASING! I bet I apoligized a thousand times and she was so cool about the whole thing.  Debbie would radomly show up but I think everybody in Valdosta was having C sections that day and she was helping with those.

Up until this point, I had been handling the pain relatively well, but I told Quinn I wanted an epidural. I just told him, I knew I could handle the pain (I did it before with a 10lb baby, duh) but I couldn't deal with focusing on getting him here safely and the pain. I haven't mentioned before that there was alsoa potential problem with his kidneys. We had to have ultrasounds every two weeks during the pregnacy because his kidneys weren't draining just right. We knew he would have to have some tests after delivery to be sure that it fixed itself. He didn't try to talk me out of it. I think he was secretly freaking out too. So I told Christine I wanted an epidural and she said she would make it happen. By this time, it was around 4:00 an I was only 5 cm.  Well, the epidural was not quite what I expected. I mean, I've seen enough "A Baby Stories" to know how its done, but it was very uncomfortable. Kinda like, well like stabbing a nerve.  I knew it didn't feel quite right and I told the CRNA that I felt a sharp pain on my right side. I think he knew at that moment that it didn't work but he didn't say a word. It worked for about a second, and then I could feel everything on my right side. I think that it was worse feeling only on one side but didn't need to worry about that for too long because then I could feel on both sides. I didn't even need a catheter because I could feel everything!

I was really hurting and having a hard time relaxing through the contractions because I couldn't move for all the wires,etc.  About that time, Debbie and Christine came in together. It was around 5:30. I could tell that something was up. I looked at Debbie (who was eating a cracker) and very quietly said "I don't think I can do it anymore" and she very calmly said "well, let's see what's happening" Now the last time they checked, I was like 6cm.  When Debbie looked she said "oh well, there is his head" The weird thing is that I could feel the pain but not the urge to push like last time. Everybody went in turbo mode. I KNOW that they were coming in to tell me I was going to have to have a C-section but praise God he had other plans! I started pushing and they made me stop! They had not even lowered the table or called the nursery they were so excited.

I only pushed for about 15 minutes, about the same as Bennett, when I felt that most awesome feeling in the world. But I didn't hear that most awesome sound in the world. I remember kind of whispering "cry" and Mrs. Debbie telling me that they didn't want him to cry just yet because he was "playing with his cord.  He finally cried. I think all the worry and emotion finally caught up with Quinn. He almost passed out, not like him at all.  He actually had to sit down and drink some of my orange juice before he could cut the cord.

It was definately a more rocky road getting Levi here, but when he finally got here, he was perfect. He was born at 5:40 and weighed 8lbs 10 0z and was 21 1/2 inches long.

(more to come on the introductions)

On the day Levi was born...

I started this blog on Levi's birthday, but never finished it, so I guess it's just as good a time as any to reflect.

My pregnancy with Levi was so different than with Bennett. I was mega uncomfortable almost the entire pregnancy.  He was soo low the whole time, I felt like he was going to fall out. I'm not sure how much of it had to do with me chasing a 2 year old, but I am sure that didn't help. Anyway, Quinn and I planned to have natural childbirth using techniques we learned in our Bradley classes (just like we did with Bennett) but I was overly concerned about my water breaking this time around. I asked Stacy about 100 times what to expect, and if the discomfort I was feeling could be from my bag of waters.  She always reassured me things were ok, and we kept trucking along.  Now I know that was God preparing me! 

The Saturday before delivery (39 weeks), I took Bennett to the character breakfast at Merry Marketplace. Quinn was off at a cow show, so it was just me and my boy.  Things did not go well. He saw Elmo and darted through the crowd, and I ran after him as fast as a 9 month pregnant girl could go. It was so crowded and hard to manuever a stroller through the chaos. So by the end of the morning, Bennett and I both had major meltdowns and left in tears.  When we got in the car, I prayed that God would either give me the strength to deal with my circumstances or make me not pregnant anymore.

Monday Morning, November 22, I went to see Stacy for my weekly check up. Again, I asked a million questions about my water breaking and she reassured me.  I told her that the night before I felt something weird when I got up to to the bathroom. I don't really know how to explain it, but it was kind of like a "pop" She said she would take a swab just to be sure but could see the bag in tact. I was 3 centimeters, but not really feeling any contractions.  Levi's heart rate was a little bit of a concern, so she told me I needed to go on the monitor for a half hour and she would bring me the results of the swab.  I never even made it to the waiting room when she and Mrs. Debbie called me into the hallway to tell me that my water was in fact leaking and I needed to go to the hospital.  I freaked. First this was NOT my play (rarely is, right?) Secondly, it hit me that I would be leaving Bennett for the last time as an only child.

I could not stop crying. I actually still get teary-am right now. Thinking about that moment. Of course nobody else quite understood. I mean I knew all along that this was coming, but I still just couldn't get it together. For two and a half years, it's been me and Bennett. We were a team; a pair. Did everything together, went everywhere together. He didn't ask for a sibling. What if it changed is sweet disposition?. What if he was mad at me? Quinn was very supportive even though he did not share my emotions. He was pumped! He kept comparing it to "game day."

I finally got it together enough to get my things together. Mrs. Marilyn came to hang out with Bennett.  By this time it was around 10:30 and we had no idea how long it would take to get me settled in and the dreaded pitocin started.  We made the phone calls we needed to make, I gave Bennett one last hug (more tears) and we headed to the hospital-after we stopped for a chicken biscuit at Hardee's:)

Ways Bennett makes me smile

I don't even know how to write this one, but I want to have a record of the funny things that Bennett is up to so, here goes:

1.  Bennett calls sweeping brooming and raking scraping. He calls the broom the broomer. 

2.  He loves to play hide and seek, but doesn't quite understand that he is not suppose to come out of hiding to chase me around.

3.  He likes to play golf with his golfer thinger.

4. He reminds me so much of his grandma because he is cold all the time.  He can be sweating and still say he needs a blanket.

5. When He gets mad at his daddy, he hurts his feelings by saying "I'll break all your coffee cups"

6. He is selectively modest. He loves to be naked, but then he freaks if someone sees his penis.

7.  He scratches my back- one of my favorite things.

8. He LOVES to read. He reads to himself, to his brother, but best of all he crawls up in my lap with as many books as he can hold and lets me read to him.

9.  He is so tender hearted.  He doesn't like to see others sad and wants to "wipe their tears"

10.  He has an amazing imagination. I can't even count how many deer he has killed and how often he goes in to the woods (yesterday)

11.  When he was little, we read a first words book that had lots of animals in it. I made the sound of each animal as we looked at them, but had  no idea what the zebra said. So, I would pinch his knees when we saw a zebra. Now, any time we see a  "beejah" he waits for me to do the same thing.

12.  He likes mo-ca-cyles.(motorcyles)

13. He is fascinated with pantyhose. Mimi wears them to work all the time and he things they are the coolest things ever. Grandma actually gave him a pair and he loves wearing them around the house. I am VERY surprised that Quinn didn't freak out, but he was cool about it.

14.  We were at dinner one night talking about how much hair Levi has as opposed to when Bennett was his age. Quinn made the comment that one day he would lose his hair like his daddy and he cried! He did not want to think about losing his hair.

15. Bennett is so much like his daddy in so many ways, but he definately gets his sleep habits from me.  He naturally stays up late and wants to sleep late (by late, I mean 8:30ish) and if he has to be woken up he is VERY grumpy. It is not wonderful when you are trying to be on a schedule, but it still makes me smile to think that he "got that from me"

16.  He loves Levi. I mean really loves him. He always wants to include his little brother in everything we do.  I actually took Levi to school one day so Bennett and I could have a date and Bennett cried when we left Levi there. 

17.  He prays about everything. And usually that prayer is some form of praise. Even if he is praying for someone to get better, he says "Dear Jesus, Thank you for helping mommy feel better"

18.  I can tell that he has a tiny bit of my OCD tendencies. Now, he is a mess and loves to dump things out of any container. But he also loves to line up his toys, books, etc.  I love it when I find a line of animals through the house. He is also a mega rule follower. He definately tests the limits at home but anywhere else he does exactly as told.

19. He tells me I am his best friend. Nevermind that he tells everyone that they are his best friend. It still warms my heart. 

20.  He looks at me like I am the coolest, most beautiful mommy in the whole world.  Being a woman that has always struggled with self image, this is a very big deal.