Longing

i was reminded a couple of weeks ago of my love and adoration of swings. i don't know how i had forgotten! seriously, ever since i was a little girl i wanted a swing. didn't matter what kind: tree swing, swing set, tire swing, porch swing...

back in the fall i took an amazing vacation to the OBX in NC. right outside my already luxurious bedroom was a massive front porch. and what do ya know? a precious porch swing. i snuck out to that swing so many times in that one week alone! i'd bring my music (as pictured above, my mom snuck up on me!) and swing blissfully through the air. heavenly.

i've been thinking a lot about my love for swings lately. and some day, i'll have my swing...

No One Left Behind!

so i've spent an enormous part of my day working on this thing! it's a bit silly, but i was LOVING every minute of it! just so you all know- i love you, my blogging world friends! how can i not?! i adore writing.... and having people read it? it rocks!

so anyway! i lost my links earlier today, due to the new template (beware those of you who are thinking about a new template! it's a major pain in the booty!). if you do not see your name on my side bar, and think it should be, or would like it to be, please let me know! i have only added the names i could find, or that people emailed me. i don't want any one feeling left out!

i love you all equally. :)

Home Sweet Home!

luke, trisha, and chail are all home! yeah! praise our powerful Jesus!! they actually all got home a few days ago, but my life has been quite...different...so i haven't been able to blog until today.

normally the hospital does not allow babies to go home before they are 36 weeks, and they let chail leave at 34 1/2 weeks! hello- God is awesome!!

these pictures just absolutely BLOW my mind! makes me wanna cry. how is there a new person in our family?! (ok dorks, i know HOW...you know what i mean!) it's just incredible. every body is doing well! philly is adjusting nicely, too! most of you know that i either despise, or fear most dogs, but most of you do not know that philly has the most special, strange spot in my heart! haha! it's super weird how much i love this dog! anyway, i miss my family. i can NOT wait to meet my baby! my parents are finally there right now...and that makes me wanna cry to think how HAPPY they are. what a monumental moment in their lives....for all of us, really...

Ben

"Who is rich? He that is content."

~Benjamin Franklin

thanks ben! i can't get over this today...

jinner news

(not gonna lie! this picture creeps me out knowing what's behind the curtain!!)

i called sista this morning, and ended up talking to jinner for a while. trisha is still completely exhausted! she finally gets to hold chail, feed him, and they're in the process of doing the breast feeding deal.

trisha leaves on tuesday, but still has to go back many times a day to feed, and be tested herself about 4 times a day due to her blood pressure issues. she's only had one night where she really slept, and her strength is pretty low. it's gonna be a really hard week going back and forth all the time, plus recovering from surgery on top of it all.

they are amazed that chail weighs 5 lbs and is so young! trisha still had 6 weeks to go!

this is ONE of my favorites!!! he's just perfect and adorable.

my heart feels some thing it's never felt before. this overwhelming LOVE and loyalty and pride and adoration for this little new person that i haven't even met yet. i love him so much!!

My Babes!!!!

he totally has the amos nose!!!! :0)

My Cutey

whoa! you people are fierce! haha! sorry about the lack of info last night. i had to work late, then got up wicked early this morning and worked all day again! not that my life really matters right now, i'm just saying! :)

yes! trisha delivered by c-section! she said the doctors and nurses were all really cool. she felt them taking the baby, but no pain! (this completely creeps me out) they heard him crying- and of course luke was crying and trisha was crying...heck! we're all crying! :) happy tears rock!! luke said when they pulled him out the song "wonderful world" was playing!! how awesome is that?!

they brought chail right up to trisha's face...she kissed him and then they took him away (luke went with him) and she hasn't seen him since!!! :( luke gets to go to the NICU to feed him and hold him, but trisha can't go up there until she passes several medical tests. HUGE bummer. pray that she passes those tests today so she can see her precious baby tonight!!

when luke called me last night he said "ab...he's such a doll!!" i almost melted right there. my brother is a father and he has a sound to his voice i've never heard before. it just makes my heart wanna burst! i'm gonna DIE when i finally get to hold him!! both luke and trisha can't stop saying "he's so cute, he's so cute, he's so cute!!" :) he's exaclty 5 little pounds. my lil pack a sugar. ;)

i feel bad for trisha that she hasn't held him yet! she's definately still in pain from the surgery, and they're still monitoring her blood pressure, etc. very carefully.

thanks a MILLION for keeping up the love and care!! thanks a MILLION for praying!! we all appreciate it more then we can even begin to express!!!!

I AM AN AUNTIE TO THEE CUTEST BABY EVER!!!!!!

Chail Francis

little chail is here! :) praise God!!!!

today stuff

my mom talked to jinner this morning...they are all completely exhausted! (trisha, luke, 'n jinner) things did not go well last night, and it has been a difficult morning already. like i said already, if baby doesn't come "naturally" today, then they will have to take him by c-section today. sigh. i feel super sad for them...my poor, poor, sista...oh may this be over soon...

ugh...

writers are supposed to have special, deliberate, articulate and helpful words to use in situations like this. i came up with "ugh..." highly genius, i know.

i'm sitting here in my warm, cozy little apartment having just slept on and off for a couple hours because i don't "feel good". i have taken loads of advil and alieve today due to the typical women cramps. let me pause and apologize to any male readers, but it has to be said due to what i'm feeling right now. i have these little cramps, and i lay on the couch, pumped up on anti-inflamatories, veg out to a movie, and fall asleep...

my poor sister-in-law, on the other hand, is facing the most horrific pain of her entire life! she lays in a hospital bed for the 4th night in a row now having just spent the last entire night and entire day being subjected to all sorts of rather "inhumane" (in my opinion!) treatments to try and bring her precious baby into this earth.

i just spoke with my mom and the dr.'s are starting this whole process over with trisha again tonight. the cervic softening stuff, and again with the potasin tomorrow morning. i am just CRINGING and squirming and feeling so sick to my stomach picturing the agony she is in. if the baby doesn't come tomorrow, they are delivering him by c-section. either way, he will be here tomorrow...

luke said he's never seen trisha is so much horror and pain before and it's just killing him. he doesn't even know what to do.

i just ache for my sista. as silly as it sounds my weeny cramps are reminding me that she needs help- and that help can only come from our great and powerful God...

thanks for praying and please keep it up....

us

sista 'n me...

me, sista (ween Jr. was there, too! we just didn't know it yet!!), brother, johnny cakes

more...

i just talked with luke for awhile.

the way he described trisha's condition just breaks my heart!! obviously she is going through the worst of it, but his pain in watching her in pain is just super sad, too! since trisha's blood pressure has been super high, they have her on "magnesium". this causes her to have horrible, mirgrain headaches, and her face is super hot. she's got the cervix softner stuff out(which was horribly painful!), and they started her on patosin. that is causing really bad cramps/contractions. luke says she just lays in bed with tears running down her face.

jinner is with them at the hospital, too. my mom is dying to be there, but doesn't have a ride since my dad just left for seattle yesterday. if nothing happens today, they will start it all over again tomorrow morning....dreaded thought...

i'll keep ya posted!!

small report

thanks a million from my whole family- and esp. luke 'n trisha for praying!! right now, trisha is on patosin...and deff. feeling pain (obviously!) they are both quite tired to say the least. she is having contractions... sorry that i don't have much else to report!!! i promise to keep you informed as i hear things! thanks again for praying!!

oh pray!

trisha (my sister-in-law) has been in the hospital since monday, but previous to that has been on "minor" bedrest for about a week. her blood pressure has been dangerously high. today they checked her protein levels- they are supposed to be around 200 and her's were over 2,000! she's been put on magnesium (which causes a lot of pain), as there's a chance she could have siezures. tonight they start the process of inducing her. her body is not ready to give birth at all. she is not dialated. their baby weighs less then 5lbs and is at least 6 weeks early. needless to say, luke (my brother) 'n trisha are pretty scared, and feeling quite over-whelmed. they start patosen (sp?) tomorrow morning. if he (the babe) doesn't come within 24 hours, trisha starts having more problems, or the baby has issues, they will have to do a c-section. (which, of course, trisha does not want) then, the little guy will have to be in the NICU. they were meeting with the NICU dr. today to hear all the possible things that could happen. i guess that was pretty hard to hear. when i talked to trisha ealier, she just burst into tears...which if course, made me burst into tears. i know my brother is struggling, too.

please pray!! and thank you...

fav date

i got my ticket today! hallelujah! my fav date didn't get much love in my previous post, so i thought i'd share this blast from the past! i'm sooooooooooooo excited!!!!!!! :0)

a movie...

some times you just watch a movie that so perfectly depicts your very life, it's scary.

the movie? stange, but true. it was my life. and it really makes me wonder...

dance the night away...

there are just certain moments in life that i get so blasted excited about i can hardly contain myself! one of my BFF's from college is getting married soon (i think we voted her last to tie the knot, but she has now surpassed half of us!). i am imagining myself going to the wedding (a bunch of stuff still has to fall into place, but that's besides the point at this time...) and i can't even handle it!

there were five of us that were super close in college: shared rooms, shared beds, shared bathrooms, shared clothes (i'm still bitter about the time that ONE of them- who shall remain nameless- took my favorite jeans without asking and spilled mustard, of all things, all over them!), shared sorrows, shared joys, shared boys (woops! that wasn't always fun!), shared laughs, shared music, shared notes (actually, one of them- who shall also remain nameless- liked to do my homework FOR me. what can i say? i despise academia.), shared tears, shared inside jokes, shared food...we lived 2 feet apart from each other (some times less then that!) at all times. we lived life together, and literally had the time of our lives!

well, in just a few short weeks, we will all be together again for the first time in YEARS! just the five of us. sharing again...it has been too, TOO long. these are "my girls" and the thought of us all being in the same room at one time is almost more excitment than i can stand!!!

we will watch our dearly beloved girl #3 walk down the aisle to the man she loves! and then we will all dance the night away together. oh how i love to dance! and to top it all off, i get to go with my most favorite date in all the world! it's been too, TOO long since i've seen him, as well.

what can i say? my heart is BEAMING!!!!

K-2 'n 3 baby! (L-R) M, B, Roomie, moi, Jen-i-a (the bride!)

i love you girlies! let the good times roll...

fire

i caught on fire tonight. there is a HOLE in my favorite red fleece to prove it.

TRICIA!

pray for tricia! she is getting new lungs (praise our miraculous God!) right now! (it's 1am on wednesday...er...thursday morning) she'll be in surgery for several more hours. nathan's blog carries the details.

i am praying, tricia!!

p.s. this is NOT my sister-in-law.

p.s.s. i have reached 200 posts!! holy cow.

book!

i spent a massive chunk of my morning revising a massive chunk of my book! (ok, the chunk of my book wasn't as massive as the chunk of time, but it sounded better to word it that way! it takes more time then words when revising.) i am just elated! needing to work on my book has been weighing on me heavily for awhile, and this morning proved the perfect time. a relief sets on my heart, the kind of relief that only comes when a portion of my book is completed. i am happy. working on a dream, making it a reality...makes me really hungry. i just realized i haven't eaten a thing and it's past noon!

also pray for tricia lawrenson! she may get lungs today!!! (check out nathan's blog for details!) i am praying tricia!

fools fun?!

maybe it's just me, but april fool's day makes me paranoid. i've already been tricked once today and it's only 9:30 am. swz and i were listening to the radio and they were announcing that 2,000 sharks were being released into 3 MN lakes for testing. we were both horrified and shared a variety of nasty complaining comments about the situation. to swz's credit she did say, "maybe they're making this up..." i completely believed the radio. neither one of us remembered the date. low and behold later i was flipping through the stations again, and OH! april fool's. ick. i am not going to believe any thing that happens to me for the rest of the day!