And the woman bare a son... Judges 13:24

Happy Birthday Marcus. Miracle #1

22 years ago (yesterday) I had a baby boy! It was the start of motherhood!
Who knew it would be such a wild ride.

When I got pregnant with Marcus I wasn't "trying" but we weren't avoiding it either.
Earl was 27 when we got married, and all though I was just a baby he wasn't getting any younger. :o)

Needless to say Marcus was a honeymoon baby. We started out marriage with me tossing my cookies and passing out. I am sure Earl wondered what he had gotten himself into.
Toast, cooking eggs, car exhaust, cologne just about anything I could smell would cause me to lose it.

side note We were married in August and I found out at the end of october that I was pregnant. We were so excited. I only ever wanted to be a mom!

I remember going to the doctor and being terrified. (please note that from the time I was 15 til I got married I could probably count all my "cycles" on one hand, so using that as a judge was not an option for me)
I remember my doctor (he was new to me, His nme was Dr Nelson, but we have come to call him Dr. John) asking me when my last cycle was. I said I think it was April but it could have been March and he said... YOU ARE JUST NOW COMING TO THE DOCTOR?!!
The Dr left, the nurse came in, gave me the CUP, and pointed to the "room".
20 minutes later they came in and said yep your pregnant. (I had done an in home and had a good idea) They listened for a heart beat, measured my belly and told me I was probably do late April or May. I remember saying um can that be right, I didn't get married until August! The nurse said "you don't have to be married to get pregnant".
I remember being angry and thinking I am never coming back here, I said to her... I DO! I remember Dr John getting a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, and he said what day did you get married. I told him and he said ok, lets set your due date for June 12th. That was 9 months and 2 weeks to the day I got married.

In November we were at the Tabernacle for Region conference. I had a horrible back ache (not hard to get on those benches) and needed to go to th girls room. The closest restroom was in another building. I told Earl I would try to be back before the conference started. (please understand Earl is early for EVERYTHING, so we had been sitting for a long time). When I reached the restroom there was the ususal "line". When it was my turn I was not prepared for what happened next.
I had started spotting and I had no idea what to do. I wanted my mom and big sisters. I remember starting to sob, and since there was a line.... someone finally asked me if I was ok and I explained. She had me come lay on the couch that was provided for nursing mothers... then she went to get help. Pres Hunter called my husband out of the meeting (which had started) and told him to meet his wife at the visitor center. Meanwhile some of the biggest MALE security guys were invading the ladies room. An ambulance was called and my first ambulance trip followed. Earl reached the visitor center as they were wheeling me out. He had to go get the car and meet us at the hospital. We found out that day that my placenta had attached near the bottom of the uterus, a condition they called placenta previa. They told me it could be worse and that I just needed to be more careful than most pregnant moms.
No lifting, no long walks, no sitting on hard benches for hours to get the good seats :o) and working was to be shorter shifts. I was so bummed I had just gotten a new fulltime job at a cute card shop. It required heavy lifting and long hours standing.
I had a couple more spotting episodes and passed out a few more times and threw up a lot more times, but we were so excited.
Then on June 11th my sister Paula and here family were at my mom and dad's painting. They were trying to get it done before my Mom got home from youth conference. I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bath tub and my sister says to me... "are you in labor?" I looked at her like she was crazy. I said no, and she said "why are you scrubbing the tub then?" duh it needed to be done. an hour or so later I was talking to a friend on the phone and she said are you in labor. I said NO! and she said are ya sure every 7 minutes you breathe funny! I thought everyone was stupid! I had a horrible backache, and I was crabby but I was not having contractions. I was the pregnant one, I think I would know if I was in labor. After another hour of people discussing me, I finally agreed to go to the hospital just to be checked. I knew I would be coming home. I wouldn't even let Earl bring the bag into the hospital. I was ticked. I complained about everyone and everyting all the way there. I kept telling the nurse how my family forced me to come in, she just smiled and said lets check things out. At about 3 o'clock she said. I think we are going to have a baby today! I remember rolling my eyes.
At about 5 o clock all my mom's showed up at the hospital (that's another post).
At 6 I got an epidural and everyone decided to go get some dinner. At 7 the doctor came and checked in on me. He said you are only at a 6. I am going to join my family for dinner, my daughter graduated yesterday, then I will be back. At 7:30 I said I need to push, the nurse oh you probably just need to go to the bathroom. At 8 I said um no I need to push. She said (in that ok, you have no idea what you are talking about, but i will humor you voice) ok i will just check and see how you are doing, I am sure where you were only a 6 an hour ago it will be a while before you can push. She checked, then went to the door and said to someone else could you call Dr. Nelson and the on call doc. She came back and showed Earl what to do to help me, and then said can you wait a few til the doctor gets here. At 8:30 Dr John was back. At 9:30 Dr John said this isn't working we are going to need some help. Your hips are this big and he shows his hands hip width apart, your baby's head is this big and he stretched his arms as far as they could go. He came back with another doctor and what Earl calls the salad spoons.
At 10:19 pm a screaming baby boy who looked just like a little man was born. weighing in at 8 lbs 2 oz and 22 inches long. He was long and skinny and perfect, and worth all the effort.

Marcus, I love you! You are an amazing young man. You have a lot of people who love and admire you. You are a lucky young man. I love your sense of humor and your big mushy heart.
Thanks for letting me be The Mom!

For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: 1 Sam 1:27

I am a bit late on this post but you know me (see previous post)

June 6th is a BIG day at our house. It is the day I had twins 3 years apart. (that was a phrase my dad and grandpa used to describe them and it has stuck)

I decided this year to honor them by sharing the stories of how they came to be.

Since Daniel accused Katee of hijacking his birthday, I will tell his story first.

Daniel would be my hardest pregnancy EVER. I had a hard time getting pregnant with him (we had lost a baby after Marcus and the doctor thought trying again would help)
So after months of daily temperature taking and pill popping I finally got pregnant. then came the daily puking and passing out and dehydrating and IV therapy. Oh yeah pregancy was a JOY (i was never listening to a doctor AGAIN, I should have been smart enough to know that is how they make their money! One day Earl took me to Madison Memorial for IV therapy (for those who don't know what that is they hook you up to an IV to rehydrate you, I laid there for hours while they pumped fluids in me so i could go home and pee and puke all night and do it all over the next day)
On this particular morning we had a hard time finding a sitter for Marcus, we had had a problem with the car and then to top it off the heplock (i think that is what it is called) needed to be moved. (Remember I am dehydrated, pregant and sleep deprived) It took 4 nurses and 2 doctors before they finally found a vein. Earl was a couple hours late for work and frustrated. Instead of going to work he called his folks to come move us home. Earl packed while his parents traveled. He was late coming to pick me up from the hospital and I was an emotional mess (I know when haven't I been). When he picked me up his parents were already on the road with our stuff. I was attending Ricks College at the time and he never even withdrew me from school (he figured it was no big deal since I had been to sick to attend class for quite a while, but most my teachers were pretty sympathetic and tried to help).
We moved home to Salt Lake and although I still threw up almost every day it finally got some what better. Then March hit. I started having these horrible headaches. I couldn't stand sound or light or touch or smell. All things that are hard to avoid when you already have a preschooler in the house. My doctor was quite worried he could see the stress I was under physically but what wasn't really known was the stress it was causing the baby. I was having ultrasounds weekly. Dan wasn't due until June 21st. We still had a long way to go. Dr John told me if I cold endure it until May they would see if the baby was developed enough to deliver early. In May we had an amnio done (that is where they insert a LARGE needle into the the uterus and take some of the amniotic fluid and analyze it, i don't know if they even still do it) the news was not good. Dr John said no way was he ready to be delivered. There would be too many complications. He said we would try again in a couple weeks.
Meanwhile they still kept soing ultrasounds and other tests. I showed no signs of high blood pressure or any other known pregnancy complications. On June 1st we had another amnio done. It was a friday, the answer still no. On June 4th we had another done, they didn't normally do one that soon but he had a feeling.It was late on the 4th when the test was done and we knew we would not get results back until the next after noon. On June 5th Dr John cancelled his appointments and spent the day in the temple. He knew at that time that his choices were the mom or the baby. When he finished a couple sessions at the temple he called for the results. He called us and said that the baby could be delivered at any time and may have a few complications but nothing serious. He scheduled me a room at the hospital and asked us to come right now! We got to the hospital at 6:30 in the evening. He did not feel I was physically able to handle major surgery and felt that inducing labor was the best bet. For the next 8 hours we would live mostly in the dark again puking my guts out. At 3 am on wednesday June 6th Dr John came in and said lets get this baby out. (I am sure the nurse was GRATEFUL, I know she hated me, I had given her too much to clean up) at 3:15 at LDS hospital, with one light at the end of the bed set up so the doctor could see what he was doing, I was given the ok to push. I of course had an epidural and pushing isn't so easy when you are numb, so my irritated nurse gave one good push on my belly and no lie there he was. An 8 lbs 8 oz, 21 inch long screaming mad baby boy who looked just like his grandma Reed was plopped on my belly... and you guessed it I threw up yet again! I am grateful to say the puking has stopped and for the most part the headaches ;o)

Dan is and always has been mischievous. He has always had a mind and a will of his own. He has always been a happy helper. He has always been a tease! He has always been determined. He is smart and talented and a JOY to have in our family.

Katee's turn....

Katee is our miracle baby number 4!

After Krysta was born I was told that I had too many babies to close together and my falopian tubes were too scarred to be able to get pregnant again... silly me I believed them (I didn't have Dr John for Krysta's pregnacy cause we had a different insurance)

I was about 4 months along when I found out I was pregnant with Katee. (don't judge me without knowing my medical history, if I counted "cycles" I had since I was 15 I probably wouldn't use all my fingers) I was so excited. I wanted Krysta to have a sister, but didn't think it was possible without lots of medical intervention ( I had forgotten who was really in charge). Her pregnancy was smooth sailing (if I ever threw up with her I must have thought it was the flu, it was the passing out that made me go to the doctor, and I only did it twice, not so with my other pregnancies)
Then February hit (pun intended). On February 17th we were headed to my brother in laws military graduation thingy. I had just taken my seat belt off to turn around and give a screaming toddler back her blankie, as I was turning back around I saw a yellow light and another car turning right into us! We were going about 40 mph and the person turning was just in the perfect place to hit right into us. I remember Krysta's car seat flying forward and slamming into the back of my seat. (btw i was a passenger not a driver) When we stopped I jumped out to see if Krys was ok. As I did I realized I was not! I had slammed tummy first into the dash board, I remember hitting my head on the front windshield but didn't worry about me, until I reached down to flip the seat forward to get to Krysta (the car was a 2 door) I had never felt a contraction like the one I experienced. I don't ever remember getting to Krysta, I just remember hitting the curb and then passing out. Next thing I knew people from the bank on the corner were putting pillows from their couch under me, then my parents showed up and the paramedics. My parents lived just around the corner, and the people from the bank had called them to come get the kids. They were fine and so was Earl other than having a few sore ribs from hitting the steering wheel.and a few cuts from broken glass. I remember the paramedics having a discussion about the safest way to transport me, and then being taken away in an ambulance. I was terrified, contractions while being strapped to a board are not easy to endure. I remember the look on the paremedics face everytime I had a contraction, I am pretty sure he had not delivered a baby and was certain he did not want to do it then either. when we reached the nearest hospital and they were certain nothing was broken (water included) they called my Dr John (we were so grateful to have insurance that we could see him with again) They explained to him that everything was intact EXCEPT I had a HUGE hematoma on my uterus (i know now that hematoma is a fancy way of saying bloodblister or bruise, mine was more like a blood blister). Dr John wanted me at a hospital where he could see me. My contractions had slowed but I was for sure still in premature labor!
So back in the ambulance I went, feet first, strapped to a board and traveling up the hills in Salt Lake's avenues. You guessed it ... I tossed my morning cheerios all over me and the paramedic. Dr John met the ambulance at the ER (isn't he the best Dr. EVER) I was strapped and/or plugged into every monitoring device LDS hospital could provide! After a few minutes they had the contractions almost gone, they had determined that the baby was fine and they had a new teaching case. Every med student in town was there. People, phones and books were everywhere (remember this was pre-full blown intenet) they were all trying to find information on similar cases. They knew both patients were stable, they knew Katee was too early to deliver but they didn't know what would happen if that blood blister were to burst.
After a couple days in the hospital they let me go home, with strict instructions that if the contractions started up again, I would get to the closest ER.
Dr John's goal was to not let me go into labor alone. So every week for the next 3 months I saw him, I saw the ultra sound techs and sat thru many hours of stress tests. Finally on June 4th Dr John said lets have a baby, she is developed enough to not have too many complications. I was given the choice of being induced that night, but it was my big brothers birthday and Sunday was Dano's birthday, so could we wait until Monday? No one knew what was going to happen when I actually went into labor so they wanted to be prepared for everything so Dr John agreed that monday would be the day. He would have the OR prepped and the Peds on call there (just in case) and well monday gave us all time to prepare. On sunday morning I woke up and got ready for church and started getting the kids ready. It was fast sunday and I was so excited to be going to church, I had so much to be grateful for. It was Dano's 3rd birthday and I had scored the toys he really wanted. Then the mother of all contractions hit! Oh my! My gut told me this was for real. We had 3 more weeks until she was due, but I knew this was it! We had no plans for the kids, the plans were for the next day. We quickly made calls to friends who came to get the kids and Dano's birthday cake and presents. Dano was mad. His grandpa was supposed to being coming for birthday cake, Grandpa Fillmore was his favorite.

Earl had called the ER at LDS hospital and let them know we were on our way, they took care of paging Dr John. We knew there could be complications and we had an amazing peditrician. He was an intern at a different hospital, but had another Dr who would come with him that had privileges at LDS so we felt ready, we just needed my dad for a blessing. When we reached the hospital and knew this was the real thing, no drugs to stop it this time, we called Dr. Bill (the pediatrician, so he would know things were getting started).
They decided to break my water so that they could get things moving faster (I guess it's safer for the baby to have some real labor rather then just go in for the C section). When they broke my water they found that Katee had already had a bowel movement and decided there was really no time to wait. Every possible scenario had been explored prior to my ever going into labor and it was as if everyone knew their job. One tech was just to monitor the blood blister, another was to monitor the condition of the uterus, another for the placenta, one just for the baby. I was kind of used to all the monitors by now but not all the people, talk about loss of dignity. After lots of cosultations it was decided to let me try to deliver naturally, and only do a C section if something started to go wrong. I think every person that worked in the hospital came in to see how things were going. It seemed like an endless stream.
Finally after several hours of labor Katelynn made her debut. Her heart rate was low, her breathing labored and her apgar score was I think only a 4. She was wisked away. No cry, no peeks, nothing! I was terrified. There was a flurry of people at the opposite end of the room with her, and then a flurry of activity at my end as the after birth was tearing from the same side of my uterus as the blood blister. I remember being just terrified. I remember shutting everyone and everything out as I prayed my most fervent prayer for everything to be ok! For her for me for everyone!

Here we are today, with a beautiful daughter who completes us all! She is Earl's competition, Daniel's birthday present, Marcus' fashion consultant and Krysta's sister. No longer 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long she is a delight to have in our family!

Dano and Katee I love you!
I know this year there were lots of jokes and teasing about birthdays being hijacked... but I hope one day you truly embrace this unique gift.
Thanks for letting me be your Mom! I truly prayed to be able to have both of you, and I continue to pray for you.

I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance... Alma 34:33

I REPENT!
In March of 2009 I posted a challenge on here...
I was to make a gift for the first 5 "commenters". DeAnn, Jessi, Denalee, Kandace and Sheri were the winners. For Jessi I knew what I wanted to do, for DeAnn I had an idea but needed to fine tune it. Kandace and Sheri are 2 of my adorable nieces who both were living far from home and I wanted to do something special but I didn't know what. Denalee, my sweet, amazing, inspirational, adorable and beautiful to the core cousin I had know idea what to do for her.
Well then life happened and I forgot. This last week at work I got thinking about it!
I still want to do this... so i hope you will forgive a forgetful mom and give me a few more months to do this. I have to rethink all my ideas. Jessi has graduated from high school so the idea I had for her wont work. DeAnn has a new calling so the idea so I must rethink her's too. Sheri has moved back home and Kandace will be home for the summer so they won't be needing a "don't miss home gift" and well Denalee is more my hero than ever... so hers has to be extra special. Especially since in all my forgetfullness I didn't help with the wig, that I REALLY wanted to help with.

an inspirational gift for you all... check out Denalee's new blog