In the tenth year...Jeremiah 32:1

Happy Birthday, J!

(Yes, I'm adjusting the date stamp again so the date will say it is J's birthday.) Ten years (and a few days) ago J was born.

I was sitting in church, June 21, 1997, quite uncomfortable, in spite of still being 4 days from the best guesstimate due date. Even though the clock said 12, the pastor wasn't ending his sermon. I decided to alleviate my discomfort by getting up and walking around. Before I reached the door I realized something was strange...the back of my dress was wet! Hmmm. This complicated things.

The Man, M, and I had been invited, along with a few others, to the pastor's house near a lake. He was going to take us out that afternoon on his boat. Not wanting to disappoint M, we decided to go along anyway, taking necessary items with us "just in case."

A few contractions during the afternoon adventure, but nothing major. I ate lightly for supper, anticipating that I might not want to deal with a full stomach later. We made it back home without incident. We put M to bed and went to bed wondering...

About 1:30 the next morning I awoke. This was not unusual since I had been plagued by insomnia for the past several weeks. A few more contractions, but I wasn't sure it was time to wake The Man. I tried to relax, but the contractions were more intense, and actually painful, as I tried to go back to sleep. I finally woke up The Man and told him we needed to go the hospital NOW. The contractions weren't that close together but they were painful. We dropped M with The Man's step-sister and proceeded on to the hospital. On the way I discovered that life was much better when I was sitting up.

We made it to the hospital about 4:30 a.m. I spent the next few hours fighting with the nurses over the controls for the bed. I wanted to sit up, they wanted me to lie down. They would come in to check on things and lower the bed. When they left the room and I would raise it back up. Down, up, down, up, down, up...

I had a discussion with my doctor in her office regarding the fact I wanted a natural childbirth. She said that was great. No problem. I discovered early in the morning of June 22 that it was not a problem unless she wanted me to do something that I didn't want to do. So after arguing over an IV, the reason she was holding a pair of scissors in her hand (I yelled over that one), and various other things (Sometimes I'm sure this is why J is my most obstinate child), he finally arrived. Quick and easy.

Not long after he arrived my breakfast was delivered. Since I had my full night's sleep and a meal, I was ready to go home. After all, the church had a baby shower planned that very afternoon for several new babies in the church. Nope. My doctor was cranky from being called from her bed so early on a Sunday morning and was in no mood for anymore of my arguing. Pbbttt.

A little while later The Man went and got M so he could meet his new brother. They walked in the room and came over to the bed. M looked longingly...out the window.

"Where is the cherry picker truck?" the 3 year old, truck-obsessed boy wanted to know. Ha! The last time M had been in the hospital was six months previous when his cousin was born. That day workmen were busy repairing lines outside the hospital that had been downed by massive storms.

M soon noticed his new brother, and life hasn't been the same for him since.
J continued to grow, and grow. I loved those chubby little cheeks. Both sets.We got him a box of rocks for his birthday, just like M. Also, he got a book and a squirt gun.


He couldn't make up his mind what kind of cake he wanted. We finally settled on a 2 layer white cake with each layer topped with whipped cream and berries.It was messy, but good. Kind of like J.

Here is J's "birth minute" picture. He is still chewing his breakfast, which is why his face is the way it is.From those jars in the background you can see that life has been busy here. More on that later.