Taking time off from the net-

Randall's plant is cutting back some hours, due to the economy. Things will be tough, but I know the Lord will bless us. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We will be shutting off the internet in order to save money. I will *try* to update often from my sister's house, but no promises. I don't know how often I will have time.

He's here!

We are thrilled to announce Randall Dale III is here! The good news- he picked his own birthday! He was born on April 14th, at 8:32 am, weighing in at 8 lbs, 10.9 oz, and measuring 22 inches! He's handsome and we are all adoring every moment with him. I will post the birth story I have shared with others, along with some photos.

I will try to update more later. Things are tough right now b/c Randall's plant is cutting back hours, so more than likely the internet will be shut off. :( We just need to watch what we are doing. I will *try* to update often from my sister's, but I can't make too many promises.

Birth of Randall Dale III

Turns out, my body CAN do it all on it’s own!

Monday I was feeling pretty crappy. I was super crampy and just all around tired. I had contractions all day long, but there were not consistent. Around 2 pm, they started getting more and more consistent, anywhere from 10-15 minutes apart. I still didn’t think they were hard enough or close enough together. When I got home from work, I told Randall we need to get things around just in case. We got everything ready and set everything by the door. My Grandma passed away about 2 pm that day, and my mom was the person who was supposed to get Ruthie. So, I called my sister to get back up, just in case.

My contractions were about 10 minutes apart until about 11 pm. They were anywhere from 7-10 minutes apart. About 12 am, I told Randall I think it’s time to go. They were about 4.5 minutes apart. We woke up Ruthie, called my sister, and headed to the hospital. I had about 3 contractions on the way, which meant they were still about 5 minutes apart. I end up calling my sister back, b/c I wanted to get checked before she did take Ruthie. I didn’t want her to pick her up, and nothing happen. Also, I wanted Ruthie to be there waiting, and I knew my sister couldn’t wait, so I just told her I would call her when I knew something more. Turns out, I was 5 cm!!! I told that nurse she made my day! I was guessing maybe 1cm, if that. So, we call Randall’s mom & dad, b/c they live the furthest away. They end up keeping Ruthie during the birth. We were all super exhausted, but I was so ready and excited to meet this little man!

Well, she kept checking me, and I was only progressing about a cm per hour or so. (I kept up with the times, but I don’t know what I did with the notes.) They decided to give me a small dose of pitocin just to get things moving more along. My doc was there, so I was happy to know he’d be delivering him too. At about 7 cm, they asked me if I wanted anything for pain. I really wasn’t in that bad of pain; they were hurting, but nothing like they were with Ruthie at 4cm on pitocin. So, I just told them I would take some stadol. I had two doses before I hit 9 cm, and it made me sleepy and took the edge off. They broke my water at 9 cm, and that helped move things along. The only problem was, it was more behind him, so all of it didn’t make it out.

I started pushing, and boy did it hurt! I pushed a little bit for about an hour. It wasn’t major pushing, just more of my body doing it. I didn’t have the complete urge just yet. When I did, it took about another hour for him to come out. They had some problems finding the heartbeat, so I was super scared. They had to give me some oxygen b/c I started getting upset and worrying. Turns out, he pooped inside me, so they were worried about him as well. When the head finally came out, they started suctioning him and that was even worse. He wasn’t crying, so I was flipping out, and I kept asking if he was okay. They got him all suctioned out, and he was just fine. Randy was born at 8:32 am, weighing in at 8lbs, 10.9 oz; seven ounces more than his big sister. He was 22 inches long. I tore twice, but only one needed stitches. I was super proud of myself for not taking the epi. I wanted to do what my body told me to do, and I did. I can’t say I would do it all again though…next time I WILL take the epi!

Big sister Ruthie was the first one to meet him. She was in love, just smiling at him. It melted my heart into a million pieces. There has been no sweeter moment in my life, than that one.

They had to keep us one extra night b/c his blood type made it a possibility for him to get jaundice, so they just wanted to keep him; turns out, he’s just fine.

Recovery has been a lot harder on me. My tear hurts like I can’t even explain, and I am still exhausted. Randy is nursing really well, and my milk is in. I was so happy to get a good nursing relationship with him so early on. I had some blisters popping up, but they are gone now.

Big sister Ruthie is doing really well with him. She is having a hard time understanding why she can’t lean on him, so that’s been our major problem. She loves to kiss him, and talk to him. He adores her too b/c he’ll just stare at her. It’s such a beautiful thing. Randall is doing just as great as I figured he would. He makes such an amazing father. I am so grateful for him. He's so ready for me to pump, so he can feed him and help at night.


My handsome lil man!
Snuggling with Daddy
Meeting Mommy
Meeting big sister Ruthie! Look at that precious grin!
Going home as 4!

Yes, I am still alive and kicking!

It's been a loooooong time since I have updated this blog. I suck big time. I have tried to keep up with everyone, but I am not doing too well at that either. It's just been a struggle finding time to do anything. My house was suffering from it too. Holy cow was it a mess. But, I think it's okay now. It's not perfectly clean, but clean enough.

So, life is good. My job is great, still enjoying it. Randall is still hard at work. Ruthie is growing like a weed and letting us know all about everything. Lil Randy is growing well too, and we only have 8 days left, YES 8 DAYS!!! Where did the time go???

We had an amazing month of March. It's Marching for the Master at our church, and we got to hear some amazing sermons from different pastors. We all really enjoyed that. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE our pastor, it was just nice to hear others preach the Word, and watch them get all worked up! Also in the month of March, was the 1 year passing of my beloved Grandma. It was hard, but there's also peace inside me knowing she's happy and loving every minute of everyday where she's at.

Everything at home is great. Ruthie got settled into a new room. She transitioned so well. I was completely amazed. The room we moved her into was in DESPERATE need of re-modeling. So, we did it all as fast as we could b/c it was for her b-day. I ordered her some new bedding (which I got an awesome deal on!), moved her into a bigger bed, painted the walls, laid down new flooring, and made over the closet. The pics I am posting are from that day, so it looks better now. ;) The room looks and feels so much better than it ever did. I can't get over it. It's smaller than her old room, but we knew we would want Randy closer to us, so that's why we moved her. Plus, we thought she'd enjoy it.

We received so many gifts for Randy; we feel so blessed. We got 3 baby showers: one at school, one at church, and a family one. They were all amazing and packing up took forever! I couldn't get over how much stuff we received! I have some amazing people in my life, that's for sure. I just can't wait to meet this little man. He's moving so much and reminding me that he's in there. I can't wait to hold him in my arms!

I do have a favor to ask of all of you. Randall is heading out on a mission trip to Honduras in June/July. Honestly, I am scared. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Lil Randy will be about 8 weeks old or so. It's going to be a hard time for all of us. We were so worried about money, but the Lord has blessed us greatly, and I am so thankful we are able to go. Money will still be an issue b/c I will be off work for 6 weeks, but I know He will help us. Randall is super excited to help others learn about God. This will be his first time in an airplane too. Just please keep our family, and this mission trip in your prayers!

Ok, now for pics!



Lil Randy's crib. We used Ruthie's old bedding, so it was bittersweet putting it all back together.
Just one of my favorite pics of her. She's such a goof!
Another one of my favorite pics. Can you tell she loves her Daddy? Randall is in the green kayak, and she is yelling, "GO DADDY GO!" I LOVE this pick! Look at her little pigtails!
Me at 33 weeks....I know....huge.
On her b-day just as happy as can be!

Ruthie on her b-day. She really wanted to be a ballerina. Crazy to me b/c I wanted nothing to do with anything girly, even at her age!

Waking up after her first night in her new room!

After pic!
My old bed and her new bed set!
Randall and I being goofy re-modeling!