This morning, we ventured off to the Legacy Flight Museum for their Father's Day weekend celebration. They invited the community for a morning of a free hotcake breakfast and entrance to the museum. It was cool to see the old planes and to watch planes take off and land. Hyram has been a little under the weather the past day or two, with a little fever, but I think he enjoyed getting out and watching all the loud planes.
I remember sitting in front of our huge tube TV when I was in elementary school at 5:00 in the morning, reading the minuscule marquee print at the bottom of the news channel waiting for my school to report that it would be cancelled for the day. Those days were as close to heaven-sent miracles as I knew possible at the age of 8. I was then free to play Sega or legos or pogs to my heart's content. This morning, we woke up at 6:00 to a pitch black, chilly house. No lights, no power, no heat. Lovely. David found all of my scented candles under the bathroom sink and had a lighting party. If not heated, at least aromatic. Around 8:00, we decided to take a little venture out to see what we could see. We wanted to know how far the power outages went and if there was anything open. David was not disappointed that school had been cancelled. I could see a bit of that 8-year-old in his eyes. While we were at the grocery store buying water (just in case), the power came back on, and we made our way home. In this three hours of power outage, we realized how truly unprepared we are if we were to be in the middle of a genuine emergency. The gas light was on in our car, we had no stored water, no cash, no way to cook anything, no flashlights, our lighter died on the first candle David lit...we would be goners!
So much for thinking we are doing alright in the self-sufficiency department! At least we are happy and warm. We have no shortage of blankets thanks to Hyram. We'll have to work on the other stuff.
I feel so lucky that my little dude has the coolest big dude to hang out with ever. David is such a great dad and the two of them love hanging out together. We're so glad when Daddy comes home!
At 9:00pm last night we went In to the hospital to see if Denae needed any preparations to be induced the next morning. The nurse told us we could leave because she would be ready to go. While the nurse was gone for a short time after, Denae had a few contractions, which I thought were normal.
But then, when the nurse came in, she told us to plan on staying because Denae had started labor. 10 to 1am was kind of rough, but once the epidural was in she was able to relax and feel a lot better. She's even laughed some, Im sure not because of the medicine, but because of my cheesy humor.
Though it hasn't been blissful for Denae, she's enjoyed the ice-chips and the hospitality of her nurse, Amber. I should note that Denae has two windows open, and a fan going... It's the 15th of October and its 42 degrees outside.
I'm really excited to have a son. It doesn't seem quite real yet, but I can't wait to meet him. After much talk with others more experienced than myself, I've realized that he might not be cute for the first few moments of his life. He might even kind of look like an alien, but that's okay, because he's my son.
I am getting more anxious and excited to meet our little guy every day. On Thursday, I went in for my regular check-up and my doctor decided to put me on bed rest until Monday to do some official testing for toxemia. So fun! The idea was kind of exciting for about an hour. I have had a hard time getting up in the mornings for school because I am tired and sore, and do EVERYTHING slowly these days. Being on my feet at school has been hard because my ankles had moved from cankles to thankles (as wide as my thighs rather than my calves) and no shoes that I could find would fit me...I thought about giving Shaq...or the circus a call. Maybe I still will. ;) So with those issues to deal with, bed rest sounded pretty sweet. Unfortunately, there are always other issues in life that make things worth the pain. For example, writing lesson plans is WAY more work than just going to school and doing things myself. I HATE writing lesson plans! Besides that, my class has been SO good this year, that I think they were really helping me to stay focused and happy. They were so responsive and helpful that I never really thought about how uncomfortable I was at school. I loved just being there and teaching.
Anyway, Thursday, he did a few tests on me and injected me with steroids to help Hyram's lungs develop more quickly and sent me home with a huge jug to collect...liquid specimens in...that was a fun 24 hour adventure. Friday I went back to turn in my jug and get another shot (which HURT! by the way). Monday I go in for another non-stress test on the baby, another ultrasound and the verdict on the remainder of my pregnancy. Hopefully my blood-pressure has gone down and I don't have to stay in bed for another month. I will be good, I promise! I will stay off my feet often! But, whatever is best for this little guy is what we will do. Crossing my fingers.
I am just really excited to meet him and have him join our family. David is doing really well trying to keep up with everything. I don't really know how he is doing it. He teaches seminary most of the day, then teaches piano lessons all afternoon. He tries his best to go to school and practice the piano to get ready for his senior recital (which is on October 13th at 6:00 pm if you want to come!) and takes his own piano lessons on Thursdays. On top of that, he has three online classes: accounting, economics, and statistics. I didn't think I would see standard deviation or opportunity cost again...but here we are. :) In addition, he is arranging various ensembles to perform his compositions at his recital and directing their rehearsals. He is also Elder's Quorum President and is always worried about someone, or arranging people to help move, or trying to fix a home-teaching assignment, or attending another meeting. Probably most stressful of all, he has this little wife of his to take care of..."Honey, I'm really thirsty, can you get me a drink?" or "DAVID, SPIDER!" or "I can't reach my feet, will you put my socks on?" or "Would you mind making dinner...again?" Throughout all of it, he is such a champ. He just keeps working and smiling and he is even getting A's in his classes! What a stud. :)
Lately, I've been imagining what it will be like to have a baby here. It still is such a strange idea to me. Even though I can feel him and know that he is growing and on his way, it is still so weird. It still just seems like I have been growing a tumor or an alien, not a real human that will look something like me. It does become more real to me however when I think of what he might look like or what he will be able to teach us. It is fun to think about what songs I will sing to him and the books we will read. I think about the walks we will go on and the adventures we will have. It's hard to imagine, but I am looking forward to it all.
This is one of the songs that I love to think about when I daydream of him:
It will be fun to have a little boy.
In other fun news, this weekend, my super cute visiting teachers, Karlee and Marianne threw me an adorable baby shower. I am so grateful for friends like them! Karlee took most of the pictures, so I will have to post those later. But, look at how great my friends are!
I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people around me all the time! :) Oh, and here is an update on our little nursery. I am getting so excited!
My dear David has reached a significant milestone. He has now been alive for a quarter century. We are so glad that he was born and blesses all of us each day! :)
My adorable husband who was sooooo embarrassed when I made him wear this hat :)
Birthday treats
So let me tell you about David Love...I got home from work on HIS birthday...and these lovelies were waiting for ME! When I asked him why, he just said, "I just wanted to serve someone else on my birthday." Isn't he the BEST EVER????!?!?!?!
Making waffle bowls to go with our ice cream sundaes :)
Blowing out the candles...
Jessica & JT Miller
Mike & Skyla Corrigan
Me, Hyram, & David :)
To end the night, all the boys set up our new rocking chair in the nursery! What great guys!
I hear stories sometimes about the tragedies sweeping families in the world. I meet a lot of these people too. I've read books and studied the impact our generation is experiencing with the neglect and abandonment of children and women by fathers and husbands. I've met women who have little to no available options, whether by poor choices of their own or irresponsible and selfish choices of their partners, because they are left as the sole caregiver of their children and have little education, money or life skills to rely upon. I've cried with many of these women and pondered often how people get themselves into messes like these and wondered why some men can be such idiots.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think all men are idiots. I am not a feminist by any means...at least not in the way we see it today. Some of my very greatest role models and mentors in life are men, and I believe women are just as capable, if not more so, as men to do most things this world demands of all of us. It just makes me so sad to see the choices that some people make which lead to such misery and suffering, especially when those choices belong to the man whose God-given role is to protect, provide, and preside over their families that they chose to create in the first place.
It had become somewhat of a cliche and degrading phrase for bitter or abandoned women to refer to the father of their child as "my baby's daddy" for lack of anything more endearing to call the man they usually can't stand. I wouldn't blame them if they used a less lovely term. As I've been thinking about this and preparing to have my first baby, I have simply been overwhelmed on many occasions by how truly lucky I am. I know my road to parenthood could be a lot harder. I've seen it. I can't help but wonder why I am so blessed to be able to live each day of this life with the man who stands by my side no matter what comes our way. He is valiant of character and selfless in service. I really don't know anyone more humble or happy to help. He works hard, treats other people with dignity, and always tries to do what is honest and kind. He cares about my swollen feet and listens to my rants about our broken education system. He understands the importance of validating me and does it often. He is responsible and trustworthy. He never yells or belittles. When I come up with some new problem to cry or whine about, he always responds with sympathy and relief. He is truly a man among a generation of boys posing as men. I love him dearly for all that he is and tries to become. I admire him and I couldn't be more grateful for him. While I feel deeply for those whose "baby's daddies" are not so admirable, I have to say that my baby's daddy is as good as they come and I can't wait for my son to turn out just like his dad.
Saturday night, David and I went to an organ recital on campus since he has to attend various performances throughout the semester. We were running a little close on time beforehand, so we called in a take-out order to our favorite:
When we arrived, we made our way quickly up to the front to pay for and pick up our order. To our astonishment, the girl at the counter informed us that a gentleman had recognized our name and paid for our order as he went through the line earlier. What a wonderful surprise! We were so excited to have such a fun random act of kindness befall us! To the kind mystery gentleman, THANK YOU!
Sunday brought many Priesthood meetings and the annual primary program. The kids did such a wonderful job. The theme this year was, "I know the scriptures are true." I could feel the testimony of these sweet little people. It was a privilege to work with them as the pianist.
Yes, we are nerds. Yes, we do often match for church.
