the appearance of Cala Grace

I feel like I've lost most of November.  We thought we were going to have an October baby, so we spent weeks preparing and waiting for our second little girl to make her appearance.  But she decided she wanted to do things on her own time table, so we kept waiting.  At a week past her due date, we had a non-stress test to make sure she was still doing pretty well.  Everything looked good, so we went home to wait a little longer.  I'd been having steady contractions 10 minutes apart for 5 long days, so I was growing pretty weary of the waiting.  Shortly after we got home that afternoon, the contractions let up for the first time in days.  Since I was pretty sure that wouldn't last, I decided to take advantage of the reprieve so I went to bed at about 7 o'clock Saturday night, Nov 5. 

I woke up with a pretty strong contraction shortly after 1 (or was it 2? I can't figure out how the whole daylight savings time change thing works) Sunday morning.  Glad I had gotten some rest, I tried to get comfortable for another long night of contractions.  The next one came about 10 minutes later, just like before, but PAINFUL! And then I was wet.  At that time of night, I wasn't thinking too clearly and I wasn't that wet, so  I figured I must have peed my pants.  Crazy, right?  So I changed and got back into bed only to find myself wet again.  The next contraction came just a couple minutes later, and I suddenly realized my water had probably broken and these contractions had gone from 10 minutes apart to 3 or 4 minutes.  I yelled for Kevin to call his mom so she could come stay with the kids, and it is time to go NOW!

We called the midwife on the way in to town so she could meet us at the hospital.  Since it was the middle of the night, we had to be triaged in the ER.  The nurse asked if my water had broken and I thought so, but I wasn't sure.  She kind of scoffed at me and said I would know if it had.  Apparently, this little girl wanted to be different, because I was now completely dry, but it was definitely time for her to show up.  We finally got up to labor and delivery at about 2:30.  The nurses asked me a bunch of questions while Amy put in my IV and then they ushered me into the tub.  I really didn't want to mess with any drugs because my pattern seems to be that I labor so fast, they never even get a chance to work before the baby comes. 

The tub was wonderful!  The contractions were coming pretty quickly, but I still had a minute or so to rest between them for a while.  But then, out of the blue, I was hot and I wanted out of that tub! Amy kinda shoved me back down and told me to wait for that contraction to pass when here comes another one!

I have to push!

Somebody called for Kevin to come in before he missed his baby being born.

Reach down and feel your baby's head.  Here she is.  Cala Grace.

The tub was great.  The waterbirth was totally unintended.  It's not actually allowed at that hospital and it was the first time in 20 years our nurse had ever seen a baby born in the water.  But I think it was awesome.  No ring of fire, the pain was there and gone so fast.  And like I said before, this little one had to be different.

She was born so fast, we were there less than an hour.  Kevin said he was pacing around the room so the nurse had just told him to sit down and turn on the tv when they all jumped into action.  He did get to see her born, but just from the back of the room.  Poor guy can't remember what hospital our other kids were born in, but he won't soon forget little Cala's birth. 

I'm so thankful she's finally here, and I can't believe it's been a month already.  My sweet girl, my unexpected blessing. The little one I didn't know I longed for. 

My life as a Circus

Life has a way of spiralling out of control every once in a while.  Take this week for example: my husband, a banker worked 16 hours yesterday.  SIXTEEN!! With hours like that, no one should ever make comments about him working "banker's hours." Anyway, this post is supposed to be about my circus life.  We're a little crazy around here.  Homeschooling, sick kids having chest xrays, Mom2Mom on Fridays, plus all the prep time, and redefining the term "banker's hours." So isn't it appropriate that this year our family Halloween theme was the Circus!

We even made a "Rodies' Big Top" trunk for Trunk or Treat this year.

My dear scruffy husband is certainly the ringleader for this crew.

Chloe kept reminding everyone that she was a "male" lion, because the females do not have manes.

Micah is definitely our "class clown" so I thought the costume was appropriate.

Jadon loved the elephant costume that we borrowed.  I heard a trumpetting elephant all week after this.

And, yes, that is my sick little man out in the cold.  Don't worry, we didn't stay long.  And he still managed to get well, despite the cold weather and all the sugar the other kids kept sneaking him.

Eleven Years

Tonight my hubby and I get to go out to celebrate our eleventh anniversary (we had other obligations on Saturday, the actual day). I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.  So much has happened in the last 11 years.

Now, it seems like we were just babies when we got married! I was 18 and Kevin was 20; why on earth did our parents let us get married so young?! I suppose they didn't have much choice, but it really seems crazy looking back.

Even though it seems crazy now, I wouldn't change a thing. God has really blessed our little family.  We've got 4 great kids and a cute little house.  And I'm so thankful for all the other Rodies around here and my family too.  Life isn't always easy, but it's lots of fun!

My Awesome Little Brother

My brother, Brian, came by today for most likely the last time for more than 2 years. He's off to Malawi next week with the Peace Corps.  While I'm sad to miss him, and a little jealous of the adventure, I'm mostly excited and proud of him! So Kevin took the day off of work to visit and we spent a great morning together before he left this afternoon. 

Of course, it's beautiful outside today, so we had to walk up to a local café for lunch.  The kids thought that was a real novelty and had a hard time not running in the street. 

We had to get a few last photos together, kinda fun.

And Chloe is really going to miss Uncle Brian.

We're all going to miss him.

If you want to know more about why he's going or what he's doing while he's in Malawi, click here.

Fun on the Lake and a Little, Big River

When all was said and done, and we were on our ridiculously long drive home, Kevin and I asked the kids what they thought about our vacation in Minnesota.  We asked for their 3 favorite things that they did.  Their responses varied of course.  Jadon loved tubing with Daddy

and swimming in the lake.

Micah had a great time fishing

and doing the boys vs girls photo scavenger hunt.

Chloe asked to have her birthday on vacation every year, it was obvious she loved being the center of attention.

But the one thing they all said was that they LOVED going to the headwaters of the Mississippi!

It was drissly and dreary that day, but we decided to go anyway.  All the kids ended up soaked, falling into the river at one time or another (sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident). We all had such a great time and the kids really thought the idea of walking across such a HUGE river was awesome!
Jadon got to cross with Kevin.

And even Lydia made it across with Mark, although convincing her to let Daddy help was quite a trick.

Even Mommy and Zac got a picture taken on the rocks, although we did cheat and cross the little bridge.

(something about slipping on the rocks with a baby strapped to me didn't sound all that appealing)
What great memories we made! And I love that most of the fun was just enjoying God's world!

One Week

some of our kids at Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River

1200 + miles
18 children
28 adults (give or take)
1 lake
4 boats
2 kayaks
7? cabins
800 + photos
1 river
2 birthdays
1 fish fry
1 campfire
3 potlucks
TONS of fun

Daddy's are the BEST!

A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit a different park with the whole family.  We had a great time together running around and exploring new things. 

For some reason, parks are always more fun when Daddy comes along.  I'm thinking it may be the crazy ideas he comes up with, like putting 3 kids together on one swing. 

Or just the simple fact that he plays on the equipment with the kids.

Divide and conquer.  Daddy plays on the equipment while Mommy mans the baby and the camera.

A Recap: Spring!

Spring has arrived, and full force I might add. And along with the warm weather comes lots of playing outside and the abandonment of the computer.  So we'll do a brief overview of the last month to make up for my absence from this blog.

Isaac turned 7 months old: he's adorable for sure, and rolling and squirming to get wherever he can go

He's also learned to sit all on his own which makes life much easier on this Momma, since he's happy to play alone or with the other kids for good stretches now

Jadon learned to pump his legs on the swing.  Our regular babysitter dropped by the yard to play with the kids a couple weeks ago and taught him how.  Awesome! (this Momma is thrilled to not hafta push too!)

Chloe is nearing her 8th birthday.

She's such a HUGE help around the house, I don't know what I'd do without her.  There are days that I have to remind myself to let her be a kid. Since she likes to help out, I sometimes take advantage without realizing it. But the help with Zac is awesome! I can even get supper fixed on time most nights with her help.

Micah hasn't changed much.  He's still a baseball fanatic, and he loves playing outside.

I spent last Friday repairing every bike we own so they can ride in this awesome weather we've had.  Micah asked to go out and ride at 8:00 this morning!  No wonder he's so stinkin' skinny!

Jody and I spent a day last week preparing meals for the freezer, along with another friend.  Together, the 3 of us made 36 meals: that's right, 12 full meals for each of us!  Now my freezer is stocked for those days I just can't get dinner ready, or nights when I've got something else going. 

Kevin shot his second turkey ever on Saturday. 

Oh, and the Rodies won their first tournament of the year!

                      (dodgeball tournament that is)

So that's what has been happening around here.  Tonight marks the start of softball season, so we'll be busy, busy.  Hopefully, I'll find some time to post updates on here, but if not, you'll know what we're doing... watching softball of course!

Yeah, I know it's been a while...

But instead of writing about my life, I've been out living it.  So I hope you'll forgive me for my absense.  In the meantime, lots has been happening around here so here's a little update.

You missed Isaac turning 4 months, so here's a shot of that.

                   

He started getting really smiley and happy about this time, but he wasn't really fond of Mommy's big black growth *read: camera* on her face.  But sleeping baby photos are fun anyway, right?

Also, Zac has lost quite a bit of hair and is now sporting this cool mohawk look.

Someday, he's gonna use this shot as an arguement for a real mohawk, I just know it.

What else...  oh yeah, we got a Nintendo Wii a few weeks ago.  The kids love it, and I'll confess, I do too.  We do try to limit screen time, but at least this encourages a lot of activity.  Jadon has the most innocent face begging for the Wii don't you think?

Oh yeah, this guy got a new job!

Kevin is now officially a financial consultant and he's loving every minute of it!  I don't think I tell him enough how proud I am of him.  Love you honey!

So that little recap brings us to now.  Zac actually turned 5 months old yesterday so we had another little photo shoot last night.  I leave you with my favorite shot from that one.  I just love this little guy!

The Real Meaning

I absolutely love Christmas, but for some reason, I haven't been able to get into it this year.  I've had fun shopping and baking and planning out our holiday, but I've been a little grinchy.  I'm sure part of it is being exhausted by the baby, but it seems like something more.

After we got the tree set up, I decided that was the only decorating I was going to do.  I couldn't find the nativity where it was supposed to be and I didn't really want to search. Besides, that would mean clearing a place for it, so I never got it out.

Until today.  Getting ready for company, Kevin asked what he could do and I told him he could go find the nativity set.  I really was kind of missing it.  He found it right away, and soon the kids were begging to help put it up.

So they carefully unpacked all the pieces. 

Then they wanted to arrange the characters. So I asked them what should they put out first.  As they started putting the pieces together, they were all telling the nativity story together.

They put out Mary and Joseph and the donkey who had travelled a long way.  They told us how they came to the inn and there was no room and how they had to go to the stable and stay with the animals. 

They added animals to the scene and told us how it was crowded and noisy and probably smelled quite a bit.

Then they told us that baby Jesus was born, so they added him to the company.

And then the angel told the shepherd about the birth, so the shepherds came to visit with their sheep.

Then the wise men saw a star and travelled very far to visit Jesus, so they added the wise men to the figures.  Soon all the people and animals were gathered close around the tiny baby. 

The kids were so excited about what they were doing I finally realized why I've been feeling so Grinchy lately.  I've been so tired and busy, I haven't been remembering the real reason for Christmas at all.  I'm so glad my kids could remind me that this tiny baby is the reason for our celebrations!

The presents and the family gatherings and the food are all great.  But we can't let them get in the way of celebrating how much God loves us to send us His Son.  Merry Christmas everybody and don't forget the real reason we celebrate.  God loves us and He is AWESOME!!