The Great Flood of '08

I have realized that God enjoys teaching me lessons in dramatic ways. I suppose that's because that's the way I learn the best. But I sure wish I would learn some things a little faster. Life is definitely different now that we have James. I knew it would be, but I didn't really understand how until he got here. I guess in my mind I thought we would just go from being Mandy and Brandon to being Mandy and Brandon and James. Things would be pretty much the same, only we'd have a beautiful, happy baby along for the ride. It's a little different from that picture. Our life now pretty much revolves around our new son. Which is the way it should be, and of course we love him to pieces. It's just that now we always have to take into account when he needs to eat, if we have enough diapers, if he'll be happy playing in his crib long enough for his mommy to take a bathroom break. Things like that.

Which brings me to the learning of my lesson. When we came home from the hospital I thought things would go pretty much back to normal. I would still have energy and time to keep up with email, things like that. But, our computer is in the basement, and since I had a C-section I couldn't do stairs for the first week or so. So I couldn't even get to the computer even if I had the time. When my in-laws came to visit they gave me the time and I was starting to feel more normal, like I could conquer the stairs and get back into some sort of routine. Well, the day after they left to go home, the day I thought we'd start getting back to living like before we had James, our basement flooded. Not a huge, multi-feet of water flood, but a sewer back-up that soaked through much of our fairly newly laid carpet, through our storage closet and into our guest bedroom. All of which required calling our insurance company at 10:00 at night, and then calling a plumber who arrived around midnight, ringing the doorbell and waking the baby who had finally gone to sleep. The next day was filled with workers who cut out huge sections of carpet and filled our basement with dehumidifiers and huge fans. In the days that followed contractors had to come to make bids on the cost of fixing the basement. And in a few short weeks I knew my sister-in-law was coming to visit and at the moment there were several drawers on the guest bed and no sink in the guest bathroom. Needless to say the whole experience threw our already chaotic world upside down. And would you like to know what I think God was teaching me? That I am not in control, but He is. He's taken care of us before and He'll take care of us through the Great Flood of '08. Although it's taken a while, the insurance company has finally put a "check in the mail," and things should be getting back to "normal" in the basement soon. But even when they do, I'll still remember that things are basically out of my hands, but that's ok, because I'd much rather they be in God's hands anyway :)

Mandy <><

Home Finally

Home Finally

Well it is Sunday the 18th and we finally got to come home. It was great to be here again. The hospital is only fun for so long...if you want to call it fun. We are really blessed to have such a healthy baby and for Mandy to be doing so well. Her feet a still swollen but other then that she is doing wonderful. Little James is doing very well, we are trying to figure out a routine so hopefully that will come soon. We are both sleeping when ever we can but are both wiped out from the C-section and the hospital stay. Thats all I have for now, thanks for you prayers and calls.
Brandon, Mandy and James.

Baby James Has Arrived!!

James Smith

May 15, 2008

5:00pm, 8lbs 8oz, 21inches

Here are a few cute pictures of sweet little James. Since Mandy and Brandon are still in the hospital, and I KNOW people are dying to see pictures of this little man, I thought I would "guest blog" for them. (This is Steph, Mandy's sister) Everyone is doing well, and they should be out of the hospital sometime tomorrow! I'm sure they will post more in the next few days after everyone is settled. Enjoy!

Pregnant Belly

Hello! I think this is the April pregnancy picture. I'm thinking I was 32 weeks along at the time. However, I am having a hard time remembering things these days... We'll try to take another picture at 36 weeks, which will be a week from tomorrow. We're getting really close :)
Mandy <><

Baby Shower By Mail

Brandon trying to figure out which kind of candy was melted in the diaper to create the delightful "poop"




Matching bellies!! Well, kind of :)

On March 2nd our friends and family threw us a baby shower by mail! It was a lot of fun and a total surprise to me. Everyone was in on it, and they managed to keep it a total secret, which is impressive because I can be a little nosy :) This shower was for family who don't live close by and friends from Kansas and Missouri. Instead of coming to a shower, they sent gifts and surprised me with a shower. It was so sweet to see how many people are so excited for us and for our new addition. We are certainly blessed!!
Mandy <><

Any Excuse for a "Free" Meal

As you probably all know, Brandon and I like to find good deals, the cheaper the better, and we like to eat. So, when the opportunity presented itself to sample the food at the hospital we'll be delivering at, we couldn't resist.

"What is she talking about?" I'm sure that's what you're asking yourself right now, so I guess I should explain. On March 6th we went to the doctor for our regular appointment. We thought we'd be in and out, and then we were planning on having a date night. Something really extravagant, like a trip to a Chinese food buffet!! Soon after arriving at the doctor's office, however, our plans changed. My blood pressure has been a bit high over the course of this pregnancy, and it spiked at the doctor's office that day. It was high enough that my doctor was concerned I might have pre-eclampsia. Which can be a pretty serious condition, and if it got out of control, could lead to early delivery. Since I had a few other symptoms besides the high blood pressure, she decided to admit me to the hospital for the night. Just to monitor my blood pressure, make sure the baby was doing ok, and check my urine for protein (another sign of pre-eclampsia). So, Brandon and I settled in for an exciting night at the hospital. It was a little bit scary, because if my blood pressure kept going up, or if my lab tests came back as abnormal, they were thinking they would have to deliver our son that night. This was particularly concerning, as we were only 28 weeks along. Well, the stay in the hospital went well, the baby was doing fine, my blood pressure went down, the labwork all came back ok, and we were able to come home with strict orders for me to take it easy for a while. I went back to the doctor the following Tuesday, and she put me on modified bedrest. So, I can either lay around or sit for a little while at a time. I'm not supposed to be standing for too long, and I'm not supposed to be doing housework. (I was really disappointed about that, since I love doing housework.) But since then my labs have been coming back really good and my blood pressure's been doing ok. My doctor thinks it's gestational hypertension, which is a much safer problem to have. They're still keeping a close eye on me, but we're optimistic I might make it to full term, or at least close. So I guess all this relaxing is doing the job!! I also know that tons of people have been praying for us, and I know that's making a huge difference!! If you're one of the people who're praying for us - thanks so much!!

Now I'm sure you're wondering what all this has to do with a cheap meal. Well, we'd heard great things about the food at our hospital (I'm being totally serious, I know how weird that sounds, but it's true.) So, we were accused of going in the hospital simply to have the opportunity to sample the cuisine. And while I can't say that was our original intention, it was a particularly fantastic added bonus :)
Mandy <><

There's no secret snacking in pregnancy

In case you were wondering, and why wouldn't you be, there is no secret snacking in pregnancy. There's no, "I'll just take a quick bite of that cookie while no one's looking and no one will ever know." And do you want to know why? Because even if you can be really quick, and even if you can shove a whole cookie in your mouth in 2 seconds, the evidence will be on your belly. Pre-pregnancy you didn't have to worry about those crumbs making an appearance. They would drift innocently to the floor and blend in with the carpet. But now, now they fall right onto the shelf that is your belly and stick there, just waiting to tattle on you for your 2nd, or 3rd, midday snack. It's really kind of embarrassing. I'm sure it's just preparing us mother's-to-be for all the other embarrassing things our kids will say and do once they're out of the womb :)
Mandy <><