Hello friends!  Thank you all so much for the warm congratulations, welcoming newborn Sarah into the world!  I’m so thankful for each one of you, for kindly praying for us during this exciting time.

I thought I would sit and type a little while, as Sarah naps peacefully by me in her playpen, and Rich has all the children outside with him, working and playing together in the garage.

Sarah was born on Sunday morning, after an easy labor.  I went into the hospital at about 1:30, after waking up at home feeling sick and starting to have contractions. 

I requested an epidural as soon as the doctor would let me have one, and it was put in place and working before the labor pains had gotten too intense.  Actually, the roughest part of the whole labor was when the first epidural was placed wrong and my pulse rate increased so much that it made me feel faint and scared.  The second one went in just fine, to my relief.

Rich was his typical quiet, supportive self during everything.  He does such a good job at keeping me calm, just by staying by my side and being there.  I’m so thankful for my husband.

We were both so excited when, in time, the nurses said we were ready to deliver, and the doctor came in.  All the baby-delivery things were brought out, the doctor put his scrubs on, the nurses were buzzing about getting the bed adjusted, all of which are such exciting moments, when you realize you are about to see your new baby.  The moment had finally arrived!

What a thrill it was to see Sarah’s little face as she was being born.  When I first saw her, I could not believe how much she looked like her brother Seth, and I wondered, just for a moment, if she was a boy!  The doctor delivered her so gently and as soon as she was born I looked and saw that she was for sure a girl.  Rich and I were so full of joy, I looked at him often, to see his smile and happy eyes.  After three(of the most wonderful) boys in a row, the joy was even greater, to have a daughter.

My sister and her husband watched the children for us on Sunday (and part of Monday, too), and they brought the kids all over to the hospital so they could meet their new sister.  Of course it was a very happy moment, when Grace met Sarah for the first time……….

Now we are nine…………

(the day she was born)

The hospital stay went well.  The nurses were so nice and thoughtful.  Rich went home to the children, to sleep at night, and during both of those nights, I had the nurses care for Sarah in the nursery so I could have a sleeping pill and try to sleep for a few hours at least.  As it was, I was very restless and didn’t get much sleep.  Sarah had to have one bottle, but it all worked out so that we only missed that one feeding together, during the night.

During the days, she was with me every moment, and I held her as much as I could. 

On Monday morning, when Rich came back to the hospital to us, he brought one of Sarah’s special blankets.  I didn’t tell him to do it, and I thought it was especially sweet that he thought of her.  This blanket was made by one of my friends that I met here on xanga, my dear friend Angie.

Rich left the hospital on Monday afternoon to go home to the children.  He ended up taking them out to dinner that night and I called him, lonely and crying a little, to ask him to please please stop by to see me.  I’ll tell you, it only took about 20 minutes of having all those busy children of mine around me before I was feeling back to normal again, and ready for them to leave.  Seth was running amuck, opening and shutting things, David was getting his sneakers all over my bed, etc, etc….it was so funny to send them away again, with a cheerful “Good luck!” to my slightly frazzled husband.

I did get this cute picture of Sethie, though.  He was impressed with his sister:

So, I got home Tuesday morning.  Today is Friday.  It’s been a pretty good couple of days.  Sarah’s first night was rough, I was up every hour of the night with her, she wasn’t crying a lot, but the two of us just couldn’t settle down.  I am having trouble sleeping, but I’m always like this with a new-newborn, the first weeks/month are somewhat nervewracking, especially the night hours.

Rich took this next picture.  I love how he adores her.

He also took this one:

I took this one Tuesday afternoon, right before I snipped off her arm band:

Did you notice the picture in the beginning of this post?  I love peonies, and that picture was the last one I took before having Sarah.  I had wondered this springtime, as I watched the flowers growing, if the peonies would be in bloom when she was born, and they were.  They are such big, feminine pink blooms and will always always remind me of the time she was born to us.

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday), Rich and I took Sarah to her first check up at the pediatrician’s office.  Everyone there was so encouraging and happy to see our new baby.  Doc said Rich and I were a winning combination of genetics, to have yet another healthy baby.  God gets the glory for all good things and I can’t express how humbled I feel, when I think of how GREAT God has been, so merciful and gentle with me, His daughter, and how He has blessed our family.

Sarah is 6 lbs, 9 oz, and she is actually measuring 19 1/2 inches, rather than the 21 inches.  I thought that was pretty interesting.  Apparently the hospital uses a tape measure and runs it down the back of the baby, curling it along…..the office uses a straight ruler type.

After the appointment, we came home just in time for an edible bouquet delivery, from Rich’s workplace.  We took this picture, to send along in a thank you email.

It sure hit the spot!

Rich has been home this whole week and it has been such a relief to let him take care of everything while I rest and concentrate on the baby.  Sarah has been eating and sleeping wonderfully, and the times we share, snuggled together, are precious and never to be forgotten.  There is something so tender and sweet about caring for a newborn.  I look at her….her tiny hands, ears, feet, and marvel.  I kiss her and feel her softness.  I smile at her little noises and savor the times when she is alert and trying to make her blinky little eyes work.

The rest of the children have been a delight.  They make me laugh; the laughter is healing, and feels so good.  Jacob, Ethan, and Grace get to go to a friend’s house today and I’m so happy for them.  It’s been such an exciting week for us all, and the older children have been especially helpful.  It will be fun for them to get out of the house for a while.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope each one of you has a wonderful day, and a happy weekend. 

Much much love~  Shanda

Our new baby has arrived, safe and sound!

Sarah Joy  was born on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 9:46 am.

She weighed 7 lbs, 1 oz and was 21 inches long and is perfectly healthy.

The birth went well and we are so thankful for the prayers and love of our family and friends.

I’ll share more details eventually, once I am able.  For now, we rest and get to know our precious daughter.

It’s been in the high 90’s for two days in a row, we don’t have a/c so it’s been rough by the end of the day!  I’m so thankful for my big bathtub, the cool water baths at night have been great.

We had a big thunderstorm in the night last night.  The nice rain broke the heat and this morning was nice and cool again, I drank my coffee on the porch with a book and my cat, listening to the birds.

My pink peonies have opened.  I picked some and put them on the table this morning. 

I stood in the quiet dark kitchen, with only Ethan and Caleb awake and eating their cereal, and cut up fresh strawberries, pineapple, and cantaloupe.  Caleb found an ant on the table from the flowers (why do ants crawl all over peonies?)

I had a doctors appointment yesterday and I am 3cms dilated and the baby is head down and low. 

I went out to the vehicle afterwards and called Rich to tell him (he is so excited) but I was weepy, thinking about my baby Seth and how things will be so different in a matter of a week, or even just a day or two.  Hubby was so understanding and said he had just been thinking the same thing that morning.  It was sweet.

The other day I sat on the porch and listened to some of my favorite songs on my ipod, and looked through magazines.  Of course I couldn’t keep my little buddy away.  He would curl up on my lap for a moment, then get down, go around to the side of the chair, climb up & on mama again, and flop himself down…over and over.  (it was not relaxing but I love this picture of my two babies)……….

We have a water table for Seth and I filled it up for him and as I was going in and out of the house with water pitchers, I found Seth IN his water table so I took off his diaper and let him play.  It was so hot outside and he loved being in the cool water.

We bought 2 hanging baskets for the front porch, I love them, they are huge and beautiful.

Seth’s favorite water toy is a plastic cup, to fill and dump.  He has a scrape on the bottom of his chin, from falling on a rock this weekend.

20 more little preparations, ’cause don’t ya know, these sorts of things do help the mindset!

Rich and the children treated me to a french manicure and pedicure, for mother’s day ~ and I went and got my nails done over the weekend.  It felt so nice to be pampered.  My poor feet ache a lot, and I am mostly wearing socks and sneakers during the day now.  I’m happy to have pretty toes for the delivery room, lol.

Seth has his favorite book that we read…..

Today I really must be thinking about packing my hospital bag.  The hospital is only five minutes away from our house, so I have been very laid back about being away.  It will be fun to get my things together, though.  Rich is at work, Davy is at school, Grace is playing the piano, we’ve all had breakfast and I think it’s gonna be a good day!

I hope yours is, too~

Love, Shanda

What would you do if you caught a turtle?  Would you run to the house to get a permanent marker so you could write it’s name on the bottom of it’s shell?

That’s what my boys do!  This particular turtle was caught by Davy.  It’s name is “Having a Good New Life” and he is an old friend.

Davy caught two other turtles recently.  He named them David (after himself) and Sharpie (after the permanent marker).

Someone please please freeze these days for me so they never end!

So I have my typical gazzilion photos to share after a weekend of family memories…but alas, after years of xanga blogging it seems I have reached the limit to my storage space which I think means I have to buy lifetime or start using photobucket.  At this moment I can’t be bothered to do either so I’ll just have to satisfy myself with the meager handful of photos that did load up this morning…………

Like little Sethers, wearing a lifejacket for the first time.  He went in the pond to “swim”, choked on some water, and then willingly stayed out for the rest of the day.  Seems like just yesterday I was posting little Caleb’s first pictures in the pond! 

This was a fun, rare treat:  we filled a cooler on the porch with usually forbidden sugar-laden beverages and let the kids have free reign.  Yes, the drinks are all gone today.  The diet Pepsi is Rich’s; the rest of us like sugar.

So we had little boys running around with stained mouths all weekend…stained red from the fruit punch.  Surprisingly, Caleb could still nap with all the sugar coursing through his veins.

Grace picked out flowers from Agway and planted them herself. 

And a milestone happened.  Our two older boys became Mowers.  People, useful people, who mow lawns.  Rich taught them how to use a push-mower and they worked hard mowing up the trim work and areas that Rich can’t mow himself with the big mower.  I am so proud of Jacob and Ethan. 

Ethan:

And here is Jacob, using a weed-eater type of machine.  I can’t remember what they were calling it.  Grass and bits fly everywhere so he has to wear safety glasses. 

The lawns look SO nice now!  It makes me happy to be outside and see everything trimmed so neatly and nicely.  I feel like a lady who employs landscapers, and the best thing is the boys acted like it was as fun as going to Chuck E Cheeses.  They loved it!

And this is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend, Davy-do reading a good book.

I’ll have to save the pictures of Ethan’s guitar recital, the beautiful moth, and the miscellaneous pictures of turtles, jam, and hair cuts for another time.  Bother!  Besides…..I cannot keep Seth off me as I type, he’s like a climbing monkey and will not sit still on my lap (what little lap I have left, he literally slides right off under the desk) for anything.  He wants badly to be a typer, like mama.

The pregnancy continues, and I am running on little sleep and raging hormones but we are all alive and well here at our home sweet home. 

Blessings to each one of you on this fine day!

~Shanda

PS, Happy Birthday to my wonderful brother David!  I love you, Dave!

I don’t want to ever forget that it was my Mom who taught me to read to my own children, by her example.  She was such a sweet young thing when my brother David and I were preschoolers….let’s see….yes, she was in her early twenties, and I remember her reading us all sorts of books, my favorite by far was Little House on the Prairie. What a safe and secure spot, to curl up by Mom, listening to her voice and soaking in the pictures of the books.  She read books out loud to all five of her children and put the love of books and stories in our hearts.

I read and read and read and read to my own youngsters, now.  I forget to soak in the pictures because I’m too busy being dramatic and theatrical as I read the stories.  But the children cuddle up to me so very close and they sit still and listen and look at every page, every detail.

I started collecting Little Golden Books a few years ago because they are so easy to find, identifiable by their golden binding, and there are lots of them.  The first 12 were originally published (in 1942) as a less expensive way to get children’s books into every household; they only cost 25 cents.  Because they were affordable, these books were meant to be loved and handled by the children themselves.

They were known from the beginning for their wonderful illustrations and simple stories but were not without controversy.  I was intrigued to learn that librarians were concerned about the books at first, believing that just because a book was inexpensive didn’t mean it was worth reading to children. 

There are serious collectors out there, but I am not a serious collector.  I get most of my books from library book sales for about 10 cents a piece.  I don’t care about condition, I buy them when I find a title I don’t have, and if it looks like a book I’ll actually read to the kids.

This is the latest find, and it’s so sweet! 

Here is a peek inside:

It was written and illustrated by Sharon Kane.

Another favorite writer and illustrator of mine is Eloise Wilkin. 

The Little Red Caboose is a practically perfect story to read out loud, it reads well and the story is wonderful.  The pictures are bright and detailed, there is lots to see as we turn the pages.  We also sing “Little Red Caboose” when we read this book, too.  “Tooot Toooooot!”

 This is my Davy’s favorite Little Golden Book:

When You Were a Baby (1949) is so sweet and quaint, it makes me laugh and get the urge to put on a dress, heels, and a frilly apron.

This is most of my collection, I’ve been gathering them up from all around the house, when I first had the idea last week to do this blog entry. 

Caleb went through a passionate BAMBI stage, and there is one Little Golden Book that had the cover loved off it, and we had to tape it back together with blue duct tape. 

These collector’s guides are fun to look through, especially the one listing all the titles.  It pictures all the covers of most of the books printed.

Caleb’s happy because there are even Little Golden books about Thomas!

Even 15 month old Sethie has some favorites, we have a few of the smaller, square Golden books and he loves the ones that are about animals and the sounds they make.  If you were to eavesdrop on us reading together, you would hear the most frightful sounds as he enthusiastically tries to imitate my best goat sounds, the piggy, the horse, the rooster, etc.  He loves his little books and throws them at us, to get his point across (“READ TO ME NOW!”)

It’s been a fun hobby for us to collect the Little Golden books, and we enjoy them so much as a family. 

Happy Reading!  (Thanks Mom!)

 Ahhhh, the simple pleasures of just a moment of time….like watching your little one eat a cupcake.

He even said, “hmmmmmmmmm” just like Mama does when she eats a treat.

All done!  He ate just the top and left the rest for someone else to eat.

We loved watching Sethie with his special cupcake…everyone else had one (or more), too.  They were a big hit~ a simple cake mix cake, decorated with whipped cream from a can, and a fresh strawberry on top.

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I read this quote just this morning, and thought I would share.  It’s from the book Belles on Their Toes, the sequal to Cheaper by the Dozen.  (wonderful books about a large, happy family with 12 children)

“Mother has a way of making each child know he means something very special to her.  Not just as one of the group, but as an individual person who has his own special claim on her heart.”

Saturday was such a beautiful day.  Rich was home with us, we were all together, and the weather was stunningly beautiful.  Everything is green now, and the wind was blowing through the trees.  (I love that sound.)

We had several things planned for Saturday.  Jacob, Ethan, and Grace each had a dress rehearsal from 10-12:30 and then Grace had a piano recital at the same concert hall, at 3:00.  I knew I could not do both, so I thought it would be nice to go out in the morning.  Rich and I dropped the three older children off and then we drove around talking and listening to music.  We found a library and stopped for a little while.  I was thrilled to be able to find a bunch of books off the reading list that I carry around with me (Honey for a Child’s Heart).  I got several for the little boys, and about 6 for the older ones to share back and forth, all lovely and good books.

Rich spent his library time looking up pizza places and so when I was done, we went out for a pizza lunch.

Rich took this picture while we were waiting for our pizza. 

We read one of our library books as we waited, too.  It was perfect for boys:  THE BRAVEST KNIGHT, by Mercer Mayer.

Well, we ate our pizza and then went to pick up the children and go home.

Rich was able to go running and then he left again to take Grace to her piano recital.

These are the books I picked out for Grace.  Have you read them?  She said that she had already read The Hundred Dresses.  I love picking out girly books for my daughter…the covers are even pretty.

While Grace was gone (and she did very well with her pieces.  She played “Castle Days” and the “Amen Corner” by memory), I took a couple of pictures of the boys.  It was such a beautiful day that I could not resist walking around with my camera.  I’m at a point in my pregnancy when I am supposed to be resting as much as possible, but it felt so good to be outside enjoying the nice day.

This is the stream by our house.  We were a little worried that Seth would fall off the rock, but he did just fine.

Jacob and I walked over to the chicken coop with Seth and found the chicken’s daily eggs and another chicken about to lay one.

Outside, Caleb started crying hysterically.  I don’t know what to do with that boy—any injury is cause (in his opinion) to howl and cry like he’s being killed.  He is like the boy who cried wolf.  I am trying to convince him to save the loud crying for serious injury, but so far it has not sunk in.  He is not tough.  He cried like his leg was mangled and this is what we found, a very tiny cut with a smear of blood. 

What was Davy doing during this time?  Getting ready to jump into the pond for the second time that day.  I made him strip his clothes off first, since he had already soaked one outfit earlier.

This picture says so much to me, and I am so thankful that the children get to grow up outdoors swallowing pond water.

David is a JOY.

I had to laugh later on, to find Seth like this.  I wondered if I should tell him that his wardrobe was malfunctioning?

Rich doesn’t get to play in the sunshine very often so as soon as he and Grace got home, they went right outside to play PIG.  Do you play PIG (I’ve heard some people call it HORSE)?  It’s a great game to play at the basketball hoop (the hoop was just given to us by one of Rich’s coworkers who has older boys)……Rich and the older children have played a lot and I can’t wait until I can play, too, in a few months. 

I sat in my chair and watched my family.

So that was Saturday.  I had happy tears in my eyes several times that day, it was a gift of a day, perfect!

THEN ON SUNDAY…………………….

Rich took the children to Sunday School while I stayed home as tired as a dog and tried to take care of Seth.

They came home with just enough time to eat lunch before going back to the concert hall for their LAST CHORAL CONCERT OF THE SEASON.  Rich tried to convince me to stay home because it was Seth’s nap time and I could rest….but after the whole school year of driving them to their singing group I felt that I just had to go.  It’s so rewarding to see the final performance.

It was not rewarding this year.

My poor son Jacob silently suffered during the last few songs, he was starting to get hot and starting to see white.  He decided to get through the very last song……and HE DID….but as we all clapped our final applause in the audience, to my horror, I saw Jacob sway,

AND FALL FLAT OFF THE VERY BACK OF THE RISERS.  They had all moved back a riser for the last song, and he was on the very uppermost riser and over he went.  I yelped, “Rich!  Jacob!  He fainted!”  Rich jumped up and ran to the stage (we were sitting in very back of the auditorium with the little boys) and I followed behind.

I was so so upset.  I got around the back of the bleachers and saw Jacob lying flat on his back, unconscious, and as pale as a ghost.  I yelped again, and started crying “Jacob!” and the director put her arm around me and quickly tried to reassure me, “This happens a lot, I’ve seen it happen all the time, he’s going to be okay, he’ll be fine!”  I couldn’t think or feel anything but shock and I got over to him and sat down, with Rich, and several other adults.  Jacob quickly woke up, and was sweating and so pale, but trying to laugh and be brave.  Someone asked him questions to make sure he knew where he was, how old he was, etc…and he answered everything fine.  Someone else brought cold water and an ice pack. 

Meanwhile the choir was dismissed, Grace came around to see Jacob, I was shaking like a leaf and on the verge of hysterics but keeping myself pulled together.  Rich was fine, cool and calm, and was never overly concerned.  I keep blaming my pregnancy hormones and over-tiredness for my reaction….honestly, Jacob was fine but it just hurt me as his mother to see him like that, you know?  I felt so sorry for him and kept seeing him fall in my mind.

Davy said, “I didn’t see anyone fall!  I just heard a BIG BOOM!”

People were so nice, I went back to the little boys and there was another mother there with them, and Ethan was there, too.  Ethan was sober and quiet and didn’t know what to think. 

We didn’t want to stay for cookies and punch…..we went home and Rich called the pediatrician.  We were concerned about a possible head injury.  Someone had reminded me of that woman who died after a head injury which did not help my fragile state of mind…..all I could think was that Jacob would all of a sudden get sick and start passing out again.

God is so merciful…he held Jacob in His hands as he fell, Jacob was fine all evening.  He had a little headache but that was it.  When I brought him a thermos of ice cold juice to the couch he said, “Thank you, Mama”……and when Ethan made him a sandwich he said, “Thank you, me lad.”  And we all sat together and watched old episodes of “Gomer Pyle” for the next two hours. 

Rich had to stay up and wake Jacob up in the night, to make sure he was okay.  And later on, it was my turn to wake him up.  He was fine both times and he is fine right now.  They are all playing monopoly together downstairs as I write for therapy up here in the office.  Seth is bothering them, and Caleb is watching “Little Bear”.

I had contractions ALL NIGHT LONG.  I had another night like that (last Wednesday, for two hours in the night) but last night was hard for me because the contractions lasted from 6:30-9:30pm.  I went to bed and fell asleep briefly and then woke back up at 1 with more contractions for several hours.  False labor?  I don’t know, I feel like any contraction is probably doing SOMETHING.  I had the light on briefly, Rich kept waking up and asking me how I was doing.  I had several painful ones, but all in all they did not steadily get more intense, they were just “there.”  I finally fell asleep toward morning and when I got up I had a few more and now I am feeling settled again. 

After hardly any sleep, I know I have to take it easy today but I also felt like I had to write everything out of my system….hopefully now that I’ve done so, my brain can rest somewhat.

I love my life, I love how God has us in His hands, I love my family……I’m so thankful for every day, even the crazy ones!