my story, part 3

*brief disclaimer*

before i start part 3 i feel i need to explain something. my hubby has asked that i not divulge the details regarding his employment or what he does for a living. trust me, i tried to convince him that it's not THAT big a deal but he has insisted on anonymity and being the submissive wife i am (ok, well i TRY to be. sometimes... lol) i have to honor his request. so if i seem like i am being a little vague it's because i am being a little vague. :) here's part 3...

so he begins the application process. remember, we didn't tell anyone what we were doing - this was just for funsies. to see how far he'd go. for the experience of interviewing, all that fun stuff. well, he got called back for a 2nd interview! and a 3rd and a 4th... and we start thinking, my goodness... this MIGHT actually happen. :) all the while, we are nearing my due date, trying to prepare for that as well (ha! can you ever REALLY prepare for your firstborn?? hardly.), lining up child care (cause there was no way i couldn't work if david didn't get this job) and making our little apartment as cozy as could be...

do you girls love birth stories? i just love watching "a baby story" and "bringing home baby" on TLC - it's always interesting to me to see how God chooses to bring each little miracle into the world :) so if you don't like them, you may want to skip this paragraph. my due date was april 16th so i was counting down the days with excitement and a little trepidation. april 8th we spent the day with my parents and came home late afternoon. i was feeling decent and started up some dinner. went to sit on the couch while the oven was heating and when i sat i thought "hmmm. that felt weird." :) my water broke! (ok, if you are a guy who happens to be reading this, don't worry - i'm not gonna get all gory and graphic on ya. but i did warn you this was a birth story. lol) so we hopped in the truck and drove to the hospital. upon arrival, i was almost hit in the head with a flying soda can because there was a fight in the ER waiting room. what are the odds? lol thankfully i made it to my room unscathed and got the process rolling... i hadn't started any contractions yet so they got some pitocin into me. i remember the nurse saying "would you like me to call the anesthesiologist for you?" and me saying "oh no. i'm fine. these aren't too bad." hello. ladies. a little tip here - if they start you on the pitocin, call the anesthesiologist, like, YESTERDAY. i will never forget david's sweet aunt judy standing by my bedside, chatting with me, when all of a sudden judy went a little fuzzy and started talking in slow motion. :) judy: "are you ok?" me: "umm hi, nurse? could you call that anesthesiologist now? thanks hun." thankfully, he made haste and all was right with the world again. we had TONS of friends and family members at the hospital and we were all really excited. i was progressing rather quickly when finally those blessed words were said "you're a ten!" yes! let's do this thing! i didn't have to push for long but i do remember at one point telling my doctor that i felt like my eyes were going to pop out. she says, quite calmly "well, i've never had that happen before..." ok phew. and then, at 3:36 am, april 9th, my entire world changed. my precious firstborn, a perfectly healthy baby girl was placed in my arms and i was a different person, a new woman, a MOM. i had always wanted to be a mom. when people asked me what i wanted to be when i grew up i would say "a singer or a mom" :) i loved kids, loved babysitting, loved being a camp counselor, i was MADE for this. i knew that there were 2 things referred to in the Bible as being gifts from God. one is salvation, the other being children. and now i was so blessed to have been the recipient of both. i was overjoyed.

i couldn't sleep the rest of the night and was so excited to spend time with my sweet girl. she seemed to be nursing well and we snuggled and napped for the next couple days. i remember when the nurses would come in at night to wake me up to nurse my baby i would be giddy with excitement, i could not get enough of her! her perfect little fingers and toes, her gorgeous little face, i was in awe and in love. :) after our daughter was born, hubby called the office of the agency to which he had applied to let them know that she was here. they offered congratulations and well-wishes and asked if we would be available for an in-home interview on tuesday. mind you, i had my baby in the wee hours of saturday morning. tuesday was only 3 days away! so we said "sure!" oh boy...

one of the things i most remember about preparing to go home was putting on, or should i say unsuccessfully attempting to put on, my going home outfit. i had bought some "really big" clothes prior to the delivery so i would be ready to go home in something different and cute. oh. my. word. SO NOT CUTE. i honestly have no idea WHAT i was thinking. that the 54 lbs i had gained were mostly baby weight?? that i was about to give birth to a 27 pound infant?? ugh. so i got to put on the same dadgum clothes i showed up at the hospital in. (listen, i know that sentence isn't grammatically correct and that bugs me but i'm too tired to figure it out right now. lol) we made it home and i distinctly remember setting down my daughter's car seat, with her in it, and just looking at her thinking "what the heck do i do now?" :)

and so, since this is getting long, my head hurts and i have lost all function in my olfactory system, i will draw this to a close. and while i'm thinking about it, i hope it's okay with you girls that i don't have some major spiritual epiphany to share with you every day :) just know that you are doing an amazing job, mom. those endless piles of laundry, snotty noses, and uneaten, unappreciated meals will all pay off some day. and if today wasn't a good one for you, rest assured tomorrow is a whole new beginning.

"let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for i have put my trust in You.
show me the way i should go,
for to you i lift up my soul." psalm 143:8

hugs,
jen

and the winner is....

ALISHA HUGHES!!! :) i am just thrilled that you get to experience a little bit of texas homecooking in the midst of our yucky midwestern winter :/

our results were tabulated by the website www.random.org - i put in the total number of comments and it chose one quite randomly for me :) no favorites here, my friends! (no offense, alisha. you might be my favorite. don't tell the others...) :)

enjoy your saturday! my sweet family and i are taking a field trip to chick-fil-a (the closest one is an HOUR away - i know right?! it's a travesty i tell ya...) and our monthly jaunt to trader joe's! love that place!! i look forward to settling in later today to get "part 3" on the blog. love you girls!

hugs,
jen

jen's favorite things friday!!!!

oh my gravy, i am sooo excited about this! my first big giveaway! :) you will absolutely LOVE today's favorite thing. when hubby and i were first married i worked for a fabulous little cafe in round top, tx named "Royer's Cafe". it is located between houston and austin and only seats about 40 people at a time but it attracts folks from all over texas and the country with their incredible food, fabulous atmosphere, and most delicious PIES. they've been featured on the food network and in numerous magazines and publications and LUCKY YOU, if you are randomly chosen from the list of people who leave me a comment today you will get to enjoy your very own Royer's pie, delivered to your front door! they are famous for bud's chocolate chip pie which is best served warm with blue bell vanilla ice cream (those of you not from texas aren't aware of the power of the blue bell. it is awesome.) special thanks to my sweet friend, tara royer steele, for helping me out with this! love you mama! :)

so get after it girls! leave me your comment (yes "hi" counts as a comment. lol) there is nothing like putting the kiddie kats down for a nap and indulging in a nice warm piece of pie. chocolate chip pie, no less. with ice cream... mmmmmmmmmm... that's it, i'm commenting on my own post, darn it. check back in tomorrow for the winner's name! and then we will figure out how to get it to you. i will probably have you email me at the blog email address. ok, now i'm just thinking out loud and typing what i'm thinking... :)

have a fabulous friday!! love you girls!! can't wait to see who gets the prize!! and check out royer's website - they've got all kinds of fun stuff and maybe you can order your own pie if you don't win this time :) www.royersroundtopcafe.com

hugs!
jen