"The Endless Steppe"

Happy Holidays, dear readers!

It's been a while - just enjoying the holidays with my little family, getting some MUCH needed projects done, hanging with the kiddos, and trying to assist my hubby with our master bathroom renovation. It's great, but I sort of miss the daily routine of things. I'm a very routine oriented person so after a while, I crave that, "It's Wednesday so today we..." 

Anyway, if you read the earlier post on my birthday about my goals for the year, I mentioned that I'd like to read 30 books this year, which comes to about 2 1/2 books per month. So, to keep it easier, I'm going to try to read 3 books per month. Since you read this blog, I HOPE and PRAY that you are a lover of reading or at least force yourself to read! It's my lifelong passion and I wish I had more time to do it. I digress...

I thought I'd share with you the books I've read and just a bit of what it was about, if it was decent, etc... I know I'm always looking for new books to read and new authors and genres to discover so I hope you enjoy and maybe find some new reads yourself through these ""literature" posts!

I'm a little nervous that it's the 1st month of my goals, we are only 12 days away from month #2, and I just finished book #1 but upward and onward! I just finished reading a book entitled "The Endless Steppe" by Esther Hautzig.

I should probably explain that being a junior high reading teacher, high school "Literary Criticisms" electives teacher and having a minor in literature, I have a GREAT love of adolescent lit. This book would probably fall in that category simply because the main character of the book is a young girl - about age 9 at the beginning, I believe, and ends when she is a preteen/teenager... but it is also an autobiography and takes place during WWII. This (WWII) is my greatest historical fiction/autobiography "era" that I enjoy reading and have read COUNTLESS biographies/autobiographies/historical fiction on this topic. I find it fascinating, horrifying, moving, and insightful all wrapped in one time period. If you haven't read anything in that time period, please do so. May we never forget the horrors that occurred. I have some wonderful titles of autobiographies from that time period if you are interested.

Anyway, back to the book. I was a bit hesitant at first to read this book simply because it deals with some Polish Jews that were sent in exile to Siberia and the "Steppes" as they are called. I had never read anything dealing with Siberia or that particular area in Europe - my experience has always been with concentration camps and the Ghetto. This book is fantastic. Written by Esther Hautzig at a later time in her life, she records briefly what her young life was like in Vilna, Poland, at the outset of WWII and then how one day they were suddenly arrested by the German police, placed in cattle cars, and sent to Siberia for 5 years. It was greatly different from reading about barbed wire fences, soldiers with guns, and horrible cruelty. Yet, it also showed another side of the harsh treatment of the Jews. They were placed in a village that was basically impossible to escape merely b/c leaving the food and shelter in such a harsh climate would lead to inevitable death. The hard conditions, meager supplies and food, and incredibly hostile environment shows a whole other side of hardship during the war. It's about 243 pages, an easy read, and clean. While it isn't necessarily a "Christian autobiography", it is a wonderful read and gives some wonderful history tucked throughout the story line. I'm glad I read it and would recommend it to anyone! :-)

1 book down, 29 to go. :-)

One of THOSE days...

It's been a while since I last wrote - a sick child will do that for you. :-) My buddy Matthew is currently teething (I THINK!) and it's been, um, interesting. 

Yesterday was one of THOSE days. You know the ones - where you think at the beginning of the day, "I got so much done yesterday of the normal chores that today I can get a ton of things done that I've been pushing off!" I should know better. I know not to think these thoughts, but I stupidly did it anyway. Everything was going pretty well. Got up to work out, finished, showered, cleaned up the upstairs, and went to get Matthew changed and dressed for the day. That is when we hit poop city. ALL down his leg of his footie pjs. Gross. Poor kiddo has been like this since Sunday evening. I believe it is his teeth b/c he has the teething diaper rash, no fever, happy otherwise...but also no real appetite and only wants to drink from his cup. 

Anyway, got him all cleaned up and dressed for the day and disposed of the HORRENDOUS diaper (I've changed so many in the past few days I feel like it is permanently burned into my nostrils - I smell it all the time!). Got downstairs, got the kids their breakfasts, and then got mine and did my Bible reading. I was excitedly "mentally planning" (I swear, my brain is like a computer - it pulls up lists of "daily chores", "pending items", "reminders", etc... If only it wouldn't CRASH so often!!!) my whole morning when I walked in to the family room and saw my son's face. SOLID RED. That can only mean one thing, my friends...and if you've had kids, you know exactly what I'm talking about. By the time I ran and got the diaper and rag (we use baby rags instead of wipes b/c Cae was so allergic to them - saves money too)...it was too late. Within 30 seconds of "the movement", it had soaked through his diaper, onesie, and pants. I quickly realized that it was a "throw him in the tub, turn on the water, strip his clothes off, rinse in tub, rinse all nastiness down tub, hose child off, then run bath" type of situation. Matty, having had this already several other times this week, immediately started loudly shrieking. He HATES the sprayer detachment on our shower head. Very quickly "the dream" of that perfect morning was going down the drain with... well, other stuff. Got him all washed and dried and redressed and made a quick decision that with all of the other clothes since Sunday that had been messed on, it was time to do a bleach load of laundry. Great. One more thing to add now to my "new list" of chores for the day. Got downstairs, was about to go to the basement to throw in the load...and Caelynn has an accident. She's been potty trained for over a year now and we don't have accidents anymore. Super. Now SHE has to be dealt with. Get that done, throw in the wash, try to finish up and clean up from the other incidents...and now it's almost 11. What HAPPENED to my PERFECT PLANS?????

What am I trying to prove through this? It's amazing how quickly I went from this happy, euphoric woman to grumpy, frazzled, complaining, "I HATE TODAY!" excuse of a Christian. And really...it's sort of humorous. I was letting myself get COMPLETELY bent out of shape over a small "hiccup" in my "planned day". And as I was chastising myself and trying to get back on track...it happened again. Another outfit totally messed up and needing to be replaced (as my current bleach load is spinning out at the end of the wash cycle)...it's all good. 

After his nap he wanted to be held. I sat with him on my lap for over an hour as we watched Sesame Street. And while he watched it, I was kissing his head and just enjoying SNUGGLING him (and deeply inhaling the lovely after-scents of Baby Magic, which I don't think I will EVER get sick of smelling, no matter how long I live!). In a few years, he won't even want to be seen with me let alone letting me hug him! I don't do it often enough. I don't sit with him and just hold him and have that time with my kids. I always have "something else" that "needs" to be done. While it's great to be busy and be active and conscientious about needs, whether at work, home, church, etc..., sometimes we just need to SIT and be STILL and SAVOR the moment! I SOOOO needed that reminder! After all, isn't that why we've made the sacrifice for me to stay home with my kids right now at this age?

Are plans good to have? Yes. Should we try to have a goal of things we'd like to accomplish? Yes. But should we (okay, I mean "I"!) allow ourselves to get completely befuddled by an unexpected hiccup in our day? No. It's hard for a Type A personality to "roll with the punches" and "go with the flow", but it can be done and NEEDS to be done. Because what am I showing to my kids? Am I showing them that Mommy is annoyed by these things that can't be helped? Am I letting God set my day up for me? I have to ask myself, "What does it take to stop you, Melissa? What does it take to get you off track and angry, upset, annoyed, unraveled?" Apparently, sometimes, it's poop. :-) 

One more thing to work on...but work on it we shall! :-) Today I told myself to not set anything in stone and to "expect the unexpected"...and I STILL got so much done! ;-)

Another birthday down...a year in review

Sorry for the delay in posting - my 31st birthday was this past Thursday, and we continued the celebration into Friday! Then the weekend happened with final Christmas shopping and lots of church responsibilities so I lost track of time! :-) 

I'm one of those people that hates doing what everyone else is doing. I love to set goals and makes charts and plans, but I hated doing "New Year's Resolutions" like everyone else. If that is your thing, I am NOT bashing you at all. I'm just saying that I'm the type of person that says, "If everyone else is doing it, I'm out." So, some years ago I decided to start setting yearly goals on my birthday. Some time during the "big day", I sit down and write out things I'd like to accomplish that year. Life is such a precious gift that I don't want to waste a minute of it! I try to divide up my goals into categories of: physical, spiritual, mental, emotional. (Can you see my "Type A" personality coming out yet?) I try to keep the goals limited so that I can actually attain them. :-) I've had problems before of setting too many goals and then getting so frustrated at my lack of ability to keep them that I give up. This past year, I broke up my goals then into monthly increments. However, I left all of that in my journal and, erm, forgot about them. I'm sad to say that out of 10 goals, I only fully accomplished TWO of them. However, they were two of the more important goals out of all I had set. 

One was to have a consistent devotional life. For those that may not be familiar with this term - devotions is simply a word that means I spend a set amount of time in prayer and in studying/reading God's Word. I'm embarrassed to say that although I've been saved now for over 25 years, I struggled the most with being consistent daily in God's Word after I had Caelynn. I had SUCH a hard time staying in a daily pattern. I got incredibly frustrated with myself and my life, and discontentment started to creep in. This past year, on my 30th birthday, I set a goal to read my Bible DAILY. By the grace of God alone...to the best of my knowledge I was in His Word every day. And it's amazing how that habit so quickly came back. Within a few weeks, there were very few times that I came to the end of the day and thought, "Shoot - haven't read yet today!" It took some tweaking but in the end I reverted back to my trusty "do it in the morning" routine that I always had during high school, college, and teaching. Although I love to sleep in, I function best in the morning so that is when I exercise, do my chores, and also do my devotions. I was also very blessed to be introduced to the ministry of Beth Moore (Living Proof Ministries) while I was pregnant with Matthew. I so enjoyed her Bible study that I have found that I am most consistent and learn best when I'm doing her studies. It is one of my only "special treats" I allow myself to spend money on. Well worth it. If you want some recommendations on her studies or more info, comment below and I"ll try to help! Her Bible studies are geared towards women, are easy to read, chocked full of awesome information, and have a very easy "5 day a week" homework layout to them. Whether you have been doing daily devotions for years or need something to help you grow, challenge you, or help you stay more dedicated to weekly Bible study, I HIGHLY recommend her! :-)

The other goal was to running 5 miles a day. For those of you who many not know me - I.HATE.RUNNING. I was the kid in school that prayed for the rapture every time we had to do the Presidential Fitness Testing with the mile run. I'm not a runner. I did it to get by in basketball but I HATED it. I'm short, I'm slow, and I saw no purpose to it. But after years of power walking, tae bo, yoga, etc... my body was in a slump. I had started running to take off the weight after I had Caelynn and was up to about 2 miles a day on the treadmill when I got pregnant with Matthew. After having Matthew, my awesome aunt came out to help me - she runs 5 miles a day. If she can do it, so can I. So I set the goal. I was a bit doubtful but thought, "Let's aim high." By May, I had hit my mark. However, a month or so earlier, I did something that REALLY challenged me. In a moment of insanity, I signed up with my friend Cheryl to run a half marathon. She used words like, "fun" and "awesome" and I got sucked in. I'm SO THANKFUL I did it. It took me totally out of my comfort zone and made me say, "Age is just a number - push your body to what it CAN do!" I got up to 5 miles a day on the treadmill in May, started training more extensively in June, completed my first "10 mile outdoor run" in July, and ran a half marathon in August. My goal was to finish in 2 hours, 30 minutes. I finished in 2 hours, 31 minutes. I was a bit bummed I had missed it by only a minute, but still...wahoo! It was one of the hardest things I've done (more for the mental challenge than anything else) but so worth it! We started out in a small town called Georgetown about 13,000 ft above sea level. We ran to Idaho Springs on winding roads, dirt trails, some gravel, and GORGEOUS scenery. I was in pain a lot of the way - I should have replaced my running shoes LONG before that race due to how many miles per week I was logging on my shoes but oh well. :-) I DID IT! :-) I was so proud! While I can't say I'm now "addicted" to running or addicted to races (I barely slept the night before b/c I was SO NERVOUS!), I'm happy I did it. One more thing to check off the bucket list! ;-) The most important lesson I learned from it, though, was that so often we have these mental blocks about something. "I can't do this because I have ____ wrong with me." "I can't do this because I'm ____ old." "I can't do this because I'm ____ pounds overweight." Challenge yourself with something you don't think you can do and then DO IT! Use it as a stepping stone of faith! You'll be amazed at what God can teach you through it! There - motivational speech over. ;-) 

I'm bummed about not accomplishing more but it's a NEW goal to work on! ;-) here are just a few that I've set for this coming year - and hopefully if I share them that will give me more incentive to DO them! :-)

1. Spend time in the Word daily.

2. Read 30 books (when I turned 29 my goal was 25 and I BLEW through that - but I only had ONE child then! Last year I was like, "Let's bump it up and do 50!" Sadly, I think I hit MAYBE 10 - life with two kids is much harder but definitely something I need to work on. Reading is my passion and NEEDS to be more of a priority!)

3. Log 800 miles in exercise (seems like a lot but that's really only about 66 miles per month/ 16.5 per week)

4. Write a children's book. (My dream, besides owning my own bookstore, has been to be a writer. I figure I'll start small. :-) 

5. Write 24 "just because I appreciate you" cards. Card writing is a dying art form today - in the age of instant communication and social media, I think we sometimes forget the power of the hand written word. 

6. Dare I share my weight goal???? DO I DARE??? That might be for another day. :-) And the weight goal might get messed up anyway - we are praying about the Lord giving us a third baby this year - whatever His will is for our lives and family is good with us! :-)

Getting ready to head out for a free birthday supper at Red Robin!

More soon, dear friends! I hope this post didn't bore you - and I pray, ABOVE ALL ELSE, that this post did not come off in any way as prideful or "check me out" b/c that is never my intent. If it encourages you, fantastic. If it inspires you, great. But most importantly, I hope it again shows the goodness of God in my life - I am so very blessed! May this next year be one that brings total glory to Him!

And Then 3 became 4...continued

Last blog post we were JUST getting to the good part! Here is the continuation and conclusion of Matty's birth!

Enjoying some computer time before they realized my blood pressure was too high and forced me to lay flat for the next 11 hours or so. :-) I was on facebook updating everyone! ;-)

It was Monday, June 28th, as I went to my 39 week doctor's appointment. I had been HOPING to talk them into letting me be induced on my due date since my mom would be here to watch Caelynn. I also had been having some severe pelvic pain from Matty due to an excess of the hormone "Relaxin" (couldn't remember that from my last blog post) - my joints were separating a bit too much and causing severe pain. Secretly, my mom was praying that they would induce me immediately so that I'd already have had the baby by the time she got there so she'd be there to help me when I came home from the hospital. Her prayers were answered. My blood pressure had been continually climbing the past several months with Monday's being 140/95. I called my husband to get home from work and alerted our dear friends from church that they'd be getting Cae for the night. Let me just say - while I didn't believe that they would induce me that day, I had slept horribly the night before - waking with butterflies and a nervous stomach like I did the night before I was induced with Cae. Eerie.

My husband came home, I quickly vacuumed through the downstairs. Yes, I'm that ridiculous. :-) It was partly nerves (I clean when I'm really nervous, aggitated, angry, or worked up about things), but also because I realized that my mom would be seeing my house for the very 1st time in about 2 days so I wanted it to look good before I left. My mom has a medical condition that makes flying very difficult for her. When Caelynn was born she was told she absolutely COULD NOT fly out to Hawaii with her condition. Thankfully, she and her doctor had been working since the time I announced I was pregnant with Matty on getting her condition under control in attemps to fly out. Anyway, I vacuumed, emptied the trash, packed my bags and Cae's, and got ready to go. After seeing Cae off (can't even tell you how hard I was crying while vacuuming through the house at the thought of being away from my baby girl for the first time in her entire life), we left for the hospital and arrived around 1:30. By 3:30 I had FINALLY had all of the preliminary paper work finished, the I.V. inserted (done by a resident and the anesthesiologist, which took two tries after much bruising - OW!!!), and the cervadil in place to help soften my cervix. This time I was determined to get my epidural A.S.A.P. I tried the "brave" route with Cae - and I realized that there is no special trophy at the end for going "natural" versus "comfortable". Plus, I already knew it would be a long haul before Matty would make an appearance, although my day nurse assured me he would be delivered before the day shift would start over again. If it took 25 hours to have Cae a week LATE how long would it take to have Matty a week EARLY? I wasn't thrilled at that thought. I also realized that I am identical to two of my aunts that also had to be induced. Because you go from about ZERO contractions to hard and fast ones so quickly, your body doesn't adjust well and thus we tense our bodies during contractions instead of letting them do their job of bringing the body to a state of readiness for delivery. So, with the epidural in place, it allows our bodies to relax and deliver faster. Wish I would have known that BEFORE I had Caelynn. :-)

Things went well for a few hours. I had some mild contractions, which apparently I'd been having for several days. Who knew? :-) I started to progress nicely and began dilating on my own - hoping not to have to go the "pitocin route". As the contractions and discomfort mounted, I decided to get my epidural. This time hurt WAYYYYYYYYYYYY more than it did with Cae - the sting just from the numbing agent felt like 10 wasps stung in the same place. That should have been my sign that things were about to get worse. For a while the epidural worked wonderfully, and they decided to start me on pitocin. Thankfully I felt nothing. The only bummer was that due to my high blood pressure, I had to stay completely flat in bed, which made it almost impossible to read the awesome book I had brought with me to keep me occupied. Around midnight or so I stopped dilating and became stuck at 4 1/2 cm (can I even EXPRESS how excited I had been to go from a 0 to 4 1/2 in just a few hours? I was like, "This is it! I can be NORMAL this time!!!" It was pretty discouraging. They decided to up my pitocin in an attempt to get me into the 2nd phase of labor. Around this time I started to feel more and more pain/pressure and called for the anesthesiologist. I started to get a bit worried - the epidural surely couldn't have worn off that fast! The anesthesiologist came in several times to give me a "boost", coming back 10 minutes later to find out that it wasn't taking, and I was almost writhing in pain. After about 3 "boost" attempts and me almost in tears in pain, he determined that my epidural would have to be redone. I was dreading getting stuck again but the pain, at this point, was unbearable. I could literally feel Matthew's head stuck on my pelvic bone and not descending. Sitting up and trying to be still through such painful contractions was incredibly difficult. Thankfully, the anesthesiologist determined that the epidural had slipped out and would be able to be replaced without having to "restick" me. During this time my blood pressure spiked to 200/120 (apparently very dangerous) so they tried to get me back down A.S.A.P. Monitors were going off and I remember my nurse saying, "She needs to LAY DOWN!" Rich remembers none of this. :-) I love my man to pieces, but between about 11 p.m. - 5 a.m., he gets pretty cranky and is completely out of it. He snored/slept through most of the night while I watched a "Cake Boss" marathon b/c that was the only thing on besides soccer. Don't even get me started. Thankfully the epidural took AGAIN, and I was pain free...for a time.

After about an hour or two the pelvic pain came back and increased with each contraction. I started sobbing and asked the nurse to please bring the doctor in (whom I had never met. Our medical insurance company is awesome but because they have so many facilities in the area, their ob/gyns all take rounds in the hospital so you can almost guarantee that you won't have ever met the one who delivers your baby. At the point of delivery, ladies...do you really care? I don't care if it's my pastor, mailman, president of the U.S...just get the kid OUT!)

They determined that I wasn't dilating b/c Matthew was face up instead of face down and was stuck. They upped the pitocin again and the doctor left. The pain kept getting worse and worse, and I didn't think I could make it any longer - I couldn't even lay still in the bed. I called in the nurse and literally started BEGGING for an emergency c-section. I'm not bragging - but I have a pretty high tolerance for pain so to get that point of almost being hysterical, it's not good. It felt like Matthew was literally pushing my bones apart. She kept saying, "I'm so sorry, sweetie, but we just have to bear through this." (I should mention that she looked to be about 19 years old and never had a kid - so this whole "we" and "bear through this" jargon was ANNOYING!!!) I have never wanted to slap somebody as hard as I wanted to slap her. I called out to the front desk and said, "I NEED A DOCTOR NOW!!!!!!!!!" Of course they send dippity-do-dah back in to me and she decides to check me. Low and behold I was at 10 cm and "ready to push". I didn't think it was physically possible but kept thinking, "The harder you push, the sooner you are done." My doctor (a female this time around and that made SUCH a difference) was INCREDIBLE! Soft spoken, sweet, and so incredibly encouraging. I'm so thankful for her...even though I can't for the life of me remember her name. She had me do short, fast pushes to avoid tearing. Thankfully Matty turned during the first pushes and was able to be delivered in about 10 minutes. I wanted to die. Sometime during this period I muttered to my husband, "I am NEVER having children with you EVER AGAIN!!!" That was my only "Real Housewives of Denver" moment. I know some women scream at, curse at, or try to physically assault their husbands. :-) That was the first time I ever was mean to him during labor/delivery. He just doesn't know what to do and thinks the typical man mindset of, "There isn't anything I can actually do to take her pain away so I'll stand over here." My tip to male readers either going on this journey or may ever go on this journey of child bearing...if she asks you to hold her hand, hold it. If she asks you to stroke her hair, do it. If she wants ice chips, get them. If she wants you to leave the room, leave the room. We don't care if you are hungry, tired, or have to go to the bathroom. This time is NOT.ABOUT.YOU. There, I'm done. You're welcome.

My beloved Matty just seconds after he was born!

Anyway, Matthew David Paul McConnell was born on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 5:51 a.m. mountain time. During the end of my pregnancy I had wagered that he'd weight a pound more than Caelynn. I was just OUNCES away from being 100% right! Cae (born a week late, remember) was 6 lb 15.9 oz.   Matthew (a week EARLY) was 7 lbs 11oz. Both of my kids came exactly one week before or after the due date. Both kids were induced and both were induced on a Monday and born on a Tuesday. Easy to remember. And THAT is extreme planning. ;-) Just kidding. But it DOES make it easy to remember!

One awesome thing about Matty's birth...after having such a scary time during Caelynn's delivery and then having her rushed away immediately, I was praying over and over throughout my pregnancy that I'd be able to hold him and see him right away. As soon as Matthew as born, they placed him directly on me, and I was able to have a few special moments with him (and notice that my baby was a blondie!). That was such a blessing. And that concludes our journey on the fun road of the arrival of Matty. :-)

And Then 3 Became 4

Last time we met, I spoke how we moved to Colorado. We arrived at the end of August, bought our "fixer upper" of a house in December, and moved in the last day of February. (Our 6 month lease wasn't up until then and that was such a blessing in disguise because we found out that there was mold all in the main bathroom. So, my husband had to totally gut it down to studs and redo it while also working 10-12 hour days. He finished our shower the night before we moved in!)

Anyway, we quickly settled in and continued on our renovation projects, but that spare bedroom was calling to us. We had talked and decided that we'd love to have our kids about two years apart. We figured #2 would be on the way pretty quickly since we got pregnant with Caelynn so fast. That wasn't the case.

Sometimes I wonder why God allows us to go through different trials and circumstances. But later, when we meet someone who is going through the same thing, it makes more sense. Like going through a miscarriage as a first time mom. That is something that can be used as a greater good in another woman's life going through the same thing. This time around, we struggled with infertility a bit. As time went on and still no baby, I began to worry. I hadn't been feeling like I did before I had Caelynn. I was more tired, I was having a difficult time losing weight, and there was no baby on the way. I went to my doctor and asked what was wrong. Her advice was "lose some weight, and that should solve the problem." I wasn't massive, I wasn't obese - just about 40-50 pounds over what I wanted to be (like pre-marriage weight, the lowest I had ever been). But, it's hard to lose weight when you've been working out and dieting and still not able to take the pounds off. I shared this struggle privately with a few friends and heard the same advice over and over. "Get checked for PCOS - PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome." After researching it extensively (b/c that is the nerdy O.C.D. in me), I went BACK to the doctor and said, "I think I have this. Please can we check this?" She granted me the blood tests and they came back positive. I was started on medication that would help rebalance my hormones and get me back into a normal cycle again. Looking back, it was most likely due to having SO many HUGE changes in our lives so soon after Caelynn was born that my body was totally out of whack. However, I truly believe this was just one more opportunity to both rely on the Lord and to also experience what so many other women go through. I have friends who have had infertility issues for years - and now I know a taste of that pain and heart ache. 

We continued to pray for a little one. In the summer of 2009 I had another miscarriage very early on. We were excited that my medicine seemed to be working, but saddened again at the loss. A few months later, in October I believe, the morning sickness started. This time - I was 6 weeks along and already vomiting. But, when you've waited so long and prayed so hard for that little one, that morning sickness session was a daily reminder that our prayers had been answered. We were SO excited! :-) My due date was at the beginning of July, which would put our two little ones almost EXACTLY two years apart. We were thrilled! :-) I went for my first ultrasound at about 8 weeks along - they told me I was just 6 weeks along. I was like, "That isn't right." Mama knows best - 2 weeks later they took another ultrasound and realized I was right. :-) 

However, a few weeks later, I started to spot and bleed a bit. My heart SANK. I tried to keep it together, I tried to not lose faith, but I was quickly telling myself, "Well, that is that. It's okay. It's okay!" I immediately called our on-call nurse and she put my fears to rest. Spotting sometimes occurs during the 1st trimester as the baby embeds further into the placenta. This had happened to my aunt with her 2nd child. We joke now - that child is definitely a MAMA'S GIRL so we kid around that it was just Kelly getting closer to her Mama. :-) Matty is the same - definitely a Mama's boy!

This pregnancy was about 10-20 times WORSE than Caelynn's. My morning sickness was more severe.  I threw up constantly, it started at 6 weeks and just kept going. One morning, I almost passed out on our treadmill. I started to have bouts of nearly blacking out, which isn't really conducive when you are home alone and chasing after an active one-year-old. My doctor quickly put me on anti-vomit meds 4 times a day, which helped the day time sickness, but did NOTHING for my morning sickness. If I took a nap, I threw up immediately afterwards. If I didn't nap, I was exhausted. My joints and bones ached so horribly I'd cry walking around the house. By evening, I could hardly move.

My aunt (my mom has 4 younger sisters, so lots of aunts!) heard of my joint issues and immediately put in a call to her physician. My Aunt Jo had the same problem when pregnant with my cousin. She almost died during delivery. Joint pain to that extent can be a sign of placenta issues. I was petrified. I also discovered that at certain times, due to Matty's size and position, he'd lay across one of my central nerves and cause that feeling of "I'm going to black out!" so a dear nurse friend advised me to get on my hands and knees and just rock back and forth, which would relieve the pressure on my nerve. Caelynn thought I was a horse - and sometimes would try to climb on! ;-) It looked strange, but it worked!

Since I was having these symptoms similar to Cae's but worse, I figured we were having a girl. Every night, however, Rich prayed SPECIFICALLY for "our son". He was totally convinced...and he was right. :-) I was nervous - I knew nothing of baby boys! And admittedly - girls have the WAY CUTER CLOTHES! Now I'm SO THANKFUL that when we were having Caelynn, I picked out all NEUTRAL items for the "big ticket" stuff like stroller, beginner crib settings, car seat, swing, pack-n-play...

We were pumped to meet our little man, and even at 20 weeks I was QUITE READY to be DONE being pregnant!

Around that time - 20 weeks or so - my blood pressure began to rise. I was still faithfully power walking 5 days a week for at least 1 1/2-2 miles. My weight gain was moderate (kept it at 40 pounds or under for each child) - but the blood pressure began to rise, and they began to monitor me more closely. Once again, the water weight and swelling began. Looking back at the pics of me going from 20,24,28,32,36 weeks - you can see the water start to fill my face until I was SO SWOLLEN. 

36 weeks pregnant. Look how SWOLLEN my face was! Eesh! I look like I was having some kind of allergic reaction!

By 36 weeks, they were really starting to watch me. The blood pressure was NOT in a healthy/safe range so they were constantly monitoring my protein levels, did many fetal stress tests, and would hook me up to monitors. Not the best time to do it when you have an almost two-year-old by yourself at every appointment. :-) Thankfully, they had a small tv/dvd player in the monitoring room so they'd put on a little video for her while I had to sit still and let them test Matty's heart rate during movements.

By 38 weeks, the mid-wife at our practice said, "Next week you come back and you make sure you see the head ob/gyn. You need to have this baby, but I can't authorize that." I went to my 39 week appointment thinking, "this could be it - I could actually NOT go over my due date this time."

After the nurse took my blood pressure and remarked how high it was, my beloved ob/gyn came in, took one look at me, said, "I don't like how you look. You need to go today. Do you have childcare so you can go to the hospital? You need this baby out NOW!" 

IT WAS GO TIME!!!!

...to be continued...

Public Service Announcement

My post on Matty's pregnancy and birth are coming soon (for those just BREATHLESS with anticipation! ;-))...but wanted to let you know that if you'd like to make it easier to get the blog posts, with the help of my DARLING friend Laurel, who is something of a blog genius, I've added a "subscribe" feature to my blog. If you'd like to be emailed each time there is a new blog post, put your email in the "subscribe" feature on the right hand side of my blog. Each time I write a new post, you will be emailed with the link to the blog to see the most recent posting.

No obligation - just wanted to offer an easier way besides linking the posts on facebook for those that don't want to have to dig through fb to find any posts! ;-) God bless!

Melissa

P.S. - once you sign up, you will receive an email from Feedburner (the site that controls the subscription thing). You just need to open it and click on the link to confirm the subscription!

The Great Transition

I will try to QUICKLY outline how we went from Caelynn's birth in Hawaii to moving to Colorado in 5 weeks time. You heard me right - 5 weeks time.

The day after I had Caelynn, Rich received a phone call while we were still at the hospital about a job offer in Colorado. Out of all the skills Rich had, the biggest plus was his Top Secret Security Clearance he had received through the military. This is a very marketable thing, since the testing to receive such a clearance is usually priced at about $50,000. So, the jobs he was looking for all required a TSSC. We went home with Caelynn on July 16th, and Rich had to return to night shift duty (he worked for a security company that was contracted through the Army) on the Army base the following evening. Without having any family there to help, being a new mom, and having my husband gone for 10 -12 hours after that first night, I was so scared. I was recovering from severe edema, stitches, and just overall fatigue. Our first night in the hospital with Caelynn, she screamed and cried over and over until around 1 a.m. when the nurses told me they'd just take her to the nursery for a few hours. Turns out, she was famished. Most newborns aren't that hungry but Cae was over a week overdue - I wasn't producing enough for her. Thus we started on THAT rocky road but that is a story for another time. Rich's job interview in Colorado was set for about a week after Caelynn's birth. So, we all headed to the airport and dropped off Daddy, and Cae and I spent our first few "girls only" weekend together. Rich flew back from Colorado about 4 days later, feeling the interview went well but wasn't sure if they were going to offer him the job. Time was running out. My yearly salary would end August 15th and at that point, we could no longer afford to pay our rent and our other bills on just Rich's paycheck alone. We were praying fervently for the Lord to show us what to do. We had a free military move due us which would get us out of Hawaii and to wherever we were relocating - but we needed that relocation address before we could schedule the move. 

Rich applied at a few more places - one very serious offer in Washington D.C., which is my 2nd favorite city in the U.S. because I'm a history nut and I love that city! It would have also put us about a 4 hour drive from my family in PA. You know which direction I was praying. :-) A few weeks later, in the beginning of August, I believe, Rich got the call from Colorado that they had chosen him and would like him to come work there, effective the day after Labor Day. Time to SCRAMBLE! He set up the military move, we rapidly began packing and sorting, gathering, donating, discarding, and tying up loose ends. During this time I got VERY VERY sick - with what I later found out was mastitis. I could hardly move. It was awful but God healed me before we left! We said our goodbyes, one of the hardest things to do for me since I had lived there for 5 years and made some incredible friends and "second family". The movers came, and about 3 hours later, every single thing we owned was gone. Our car was dropped off at the docks to be shipped to L.A. via huge cargo carrier and we were "homeless". We spent the night at a hotel in Waikiki and took some pics of Caelynn at the places Rich and I had frequented during our dating time and marriage B.C. (before children). It was so bittersweet. The next day, we were killing time driving around until we would need to go to the airport, drop off the rental car, and fly to L.A. That afternoon, as we were sitting at a beach park,  Rich got the call from Washington, D.C. They wanted him too. My heart sunk - just a few weeks too late that phone call came! But does God know all things? Yes. Do I believe His plan for our family was Colorado? Yes. His way is perfect.

The night before we flew out - on our balcony in our hotel in Waikiki, overlooking the ocean!

Caelynn's feet in the sands of Waikiki! We did this in Cali, too, and then when Cae was one, I went home to PA and we went to the Jersey shore - so she has been in the Pacific and Atlantic coast line and waters! ;-)

That night, at just 5 weeks old, Caelynn, Daddy, and Mommy left the Hawaiian islands and flew through the night to L.A. I sobbed as the plane took off, banked left, and the entire Waikiki/Honolulu side of the island filled the window as we flew away. A piece of my heart will forever be there. 

We landed in L.A. (Cae slept almost the whole time!) around 5 a.m., completely exhausted. We got a rental car, packed our suitcases and Cae's pack-n-play in the trunk, and drove to a hotel. We had to wait almost a week for our car to come off the ship (it docked like the day after we arrived in L.A. but it took THAT LONG to get it unloaded from the massive ship and moved to the lot!) so we toured around L.A. and had a little "vacation" of sorts. We got our car FINALLY, drove to Colorado, and arrived on the last day of the Democratic National Convention, where Barrack Obama was so popular that we got one of the last hotel rooms in the entire city. We personally aren't fans of Obama and that didn't help. We first drove up and down the roads, found out where Rich's work would be, and then started apartment hunting. That's right - we arrived in town with only the clothes on our back, Cae's pack-n-play, 4 suitcases, and a stroller. We didn't know where we'd live and our belongings wouldn't be arriving for another 2 months or so. We quickly found an apartment, signed the lease, got the keys...but had to wait until the following morning for our credit to be approved. We then went to our hotel to spend our LAST NIGHT in a hotel for a while. 

Long story short...we moved in, went out and bought some furniture (we actually didn't own any b/c in Hawaii we had always stayed in furnished apartments so we only owned a futon Rich had bought before he even joined the military), settled in, and tried to adjust to the dry temps, high altitude, and SNOW! Rich had grown up in Colorado so this was like, "coming home". I struggled GREATLY that first year or two with homesickness for Hawaii, homesickness for family, and just adjusting to motherhood after being a full time teacher/career woman for so long. God taught us so much through it all and blessed us with an amazing little girl that was able to brighten the most bummed out days. :-) 6 months after we moved to Colorado, we bought a house, started fixing it up, moved there 2 months after we bought it, and...that leads me to introducing Matthew, which will have to wait until tomorrow. :-)

Good night, dear friends!

When 2 became 3...the continued post on Caelynn Rose

I was pretty blessed throughout my pregnancy. I was sick but I could still work through it all. Some days I barely made it and sometimes I thought for sure I'd be sick all over the place but God was so good in allowing me to be able to work the whole time, because we wouldn't have financially survived otherwise. Looking back now - while Caelynn's pregnancy was difficult, if Matty would have come first, I would have had to quit teaching b/c his was about 10 times worse! 

Anyway, as we neared the end of the school year, I was HUGE. I had horrible edema (that went undiagnosed, I might add) and I'd get home at night and my feet wouldn't be able to fit into any shoes or slippers (Hawaiian term for flip flops). I'd have to sit with my feet up. At the same time, Rich had a job that constantly changed his schedule. He'd work a week of days, then a week of afternoon/evenings, and then a week or two of night shift so there were times that we didn't see each other until the weekend or the next week. It was difficult but okay. I made it into the very end of the pregnancy. School ended, the grades were turned in, the annual awards banquet happened, and graduation occurred. I was so sad b/c I knew that was my last year of teaching. We weren't sure what God had in store for us next, but we knew that it would most likely involve moving. Being pregnant and emotional didn't help the situation. I was excited for the arrival of our baby girl, but sad to see that chapter of my life closing. 

The week after school ended and I had my classroom packed up, I threw myself into writing thank you notes for the awesome baby shower my church ohana threw me, washed all of the clothing, put the swing and pack-n-play together, and got her "room" ready. We lived in a one bedroom TINY apartment so we dedicated one wall of our living room to Caelynn and had it all set up, the diapers in the side pouch of the bassinet, everything ready to go. We were set. Then the waiting game began. I started to not be able to sleep, I read every baby book or blog or website I could, I asked a billion questions to my friends with kids, and waited. And waited. And waited. I played endless games of solitaire on the computer when I couldn't sleep, watched tv at random times, researched the whole "going into labor" thing a billion times, packed and repacked our bag...nothing. Then my friend, Aimee, that I went to elementary and high school with and who was due AFTER me...went into labor. I was devastated. Rich and I would go for walks for hours - nothing. July 4th came, and it was HOT! We didn't have any air conditioning so we went to Sam's Club (my first time EVER!) and walked around for hours. Nothing. My due date came and went. I went for my appointments, which became every two days after my due date - nothing. No dilation, NOTHING. I was going from cranky to just downright MAD! "Let's GO, kid!" 

I woke up one morning and didn't vomit - my first time since like 10 weeks pregnant. I called my mom - "THIS IS IT!" Nothing. Next morning, threw up. Crap. Next morning...no vomiting. Again - "THIS IS IT!" Nothing. The day I hit one week overdue, I told Rich, "Pack the bag in the car. I am NOT leaving his office until he TAKES ME TO THE HOSPITAL!" I was up at 6:30 a.m., washed the last loads of laundry, revacuumed the apartment, took out the trash, did the dishes...cause apparently I thought Caelynn would be able to comprehend "cleanliness" and would judge me if it was messy. We headed to the appointment, and my family was waiting for the news of induction.

Turns out I didn't need to use my whole "I'm not leaving this office until you induce me!" speech b/c I was about 2 cm dilated and I had lost a bunch of my amniotic fluid so it was GO TIME!

Proud Daddy with his baby girl, all of one day old!

Or so I thought. We walked over to the hospital (our ob/gyn's office was next to the hospital, and coincidentally, our apartment was a 3 minute drive from there!), giddy as gumdrops b/c we both thought, "in just a few hours, we'll meet her and hold her!" We were idiots. I was excited about getting Pitocin, which any woman who has had it knows it is the Devil's Drug. We got into the room, settled, I got hooked up to the IVs, and we were off. Rich decided to quickly run out and get a bite to eat before all the action happened. The hospital cafeteria only served vegan foods to non patients so he had to drive into town. Soon after he left, my water broke all over the place. The nurses were like, "This is it! By 7 p.m. you'll be holding her!" The pitocin was going strong and the contractions started from NOTHING to hard core VERY fast. I was determined (another stupid, naive rookie mistake) that I would go "all natural" b/c I thought maybe there was a bonus medal for that. Nope. There isn't. Very quickly I was struggling with hard contractions that were topping the charts and coming hard and fast. The nurses asked me repeatedly, "Sweetie, are you sure you don't want the epidural?" "NOPE - I'M FINE! We should be close!" I asked them to check me. I was at 2 cm. I'm sorry - didn't I COME IN HERE at 2 cm???? It had been hours and I was DONE. My friend Colleen, who is a PICU nurse, came by and stayed with me for a while, just talking with me, swaying with me, keeping my mind off of things. She brought Rich some more food and said she'd come back in a few hours. By around 9 or so, I had HAD IT! GET THE EPIDURAL MAN IN HERE NOW!!!!! Oh sweet blessed relief! Later that night, as we realized we would NOT be having a July 14th baby, Cae's heart rate began to dip too low between contractions. They turned off the pitocin to give her a break and put me on an oxygen mask. So now I was not only not progressing at all, I was also worried for my baby girl. They had me on a special blood pressure cuff that went off every 15 minutes. Rich was sound asleep but the baby monitor kept going off. I was scared to death and kept praying, "Please help my baby. Please let her be okay. Please help my baby." One of the scariest moments moms can face. The nurse that came in that night looked like my Aunt Sue. She talked like her, looked like her, even smelled like her. 

Keep in mind - I had no family there. No one. I truly believe even to this day that God especially sent her to me to give me a little piece of home. I almost called out, "Aunt Sue? Is that you?" What a comfort to me!

By around 4 a.m. or so, Cae's heart rate had become steady again and the pitocin was turned back on but I had to keep my oxygen mask on. I was at...4 cm. Some progress for almost 20 hours of labor so far! The sun came up over the Koolau Mountains, which I had an awesome view of from my room. Soon, things progressed quickly and I could feel the epidural wearing off and delivery coming fast. I had an intern there (named Melissa, of all things) that was learning how to check for dilation. My nurse checked me and said, "Wow - you are at about a 9! When you feel the urge to push, let me know!" Okay, couple of things, lady...how does a woman who has NEVER had a child know that that "urge" is? She left the room and maybe 2 minutes later, I was like, "Um, something is happening here - Rich GET HER NOW!" He got her, she came back, checked me, said, "We are at a 10! Melissa, go call Dr. Battacharrya!" I swear that girl child walked out of there in slow motion. "Please, don't hurry. I've only been in labor for 25 hours. You jsut take your time, sweetie." They began to prep me for delivery and started to coach me through pushing. My doctor arrived probably within 10 minutes or so - Cae was already crowning. Some genius had turned off my epidural so THAT was all natural, baby. It was a VERY fast delivery - I think maybe 10 minutes of pushing? However, upon Caelynn being born, there were no cries. I was waiting and I heard my dr start barking codes and orders. Oh - forgot to mention that as I was about to push, my dear friend Colleen came into our room with flowers and balloons, thinking I'd had Cae. She was like, "Wait, what? You didn't HAVE her yet?" I begged Colleen to stay so she came up to my head and coached me and wiped my forehead and stroked my hair - I'll never EVER forget that. I'll be forever grateful to her for being there for me. Rich followed Caelynn as soon as she was born. She was totally gray. The cord had been wrapped around her neck and it took her a bit to start breathing. Longest seconds of my life. I knew something was wrong with my baby - I didn't even get to see her. Most of the nurses left me and I had no clue what was happening to my baby girl. I could hear Colleen's voice shaking too. She knew the codes they were calling - she knew something was up. Thankfully, a bit later we heard Caelynn start crying (that child has her mother's set of lungs on her!) and Colleen assured me that everything was okay. It was traumatic to be sure but once again just reaffirms that the whole process of childbirth, from conception to birth is such a God-orchestrated ordeal. 

Have I bored you yet? Are you all still there and reading? ;-) I'll sum it up quickly for you. :-) Caelynn Rose McConnell was born on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. Hawaiian time. :-) What a blessing!

When 2 became 3...the arrival of Caelynn Rose

Last post I discussed how Rich and I met and married. Tonight I will fast forward to when Caelynn came into our lives. :-)

We officially married in January, had our ceremony in April, and in May we moved into a bigger apartment. The one we had been in was literally just one room with two walls semi-enclosing a sink, toilet, and shower (with no door). We were paying $1,000 per month in rent! Welcome to Hawaii! We moved to a larger apartment for $1400 a month that was on a jungle-type road and overlooked a barn of horses. :-) Things were great. That August, the school year began, and I had the heaviest teaching load I'd ever had. I was teaching every single period out of every single day - which for an elementary teacher sounds like a normal day. But for a jr/sr high teacher - that is a lot due to the amount of prep work and higher level of grading involved. In September I began to feel sick to my stomach and just off. Took a pregnancy test - and it was positive. Being a "mommy newbie", I told a bunch of people. About two days later, I started to bleed and miscarried at about 5 1/2 weeks along. I know that some women always share IMMEDIATELY as soon as the stick turns "positive". I learned a valuable lesson - I wait. I'm not a very public person when it comes to personal pain, and while some women (and I'm not judging at all - just stating that I"m different) need or want that extra attention, I hate it. It was a blow to Rich and I, and we were pretty devastated. I'll never forget when it happened - during the school day and trying to phone my ob/gyn and answers questions on my breaks while trying to keep teaching the rest of the day knowing that I was losing my baby. It was difficult but I'm thankful to have gone through it. God knows best, He is good ALL THE TIME, and His plan is always perfect. 

Less than a month later, all of the same symptoms came back, only more intensified. Took another test, not believing it could be true...and it was positive. That's right - less than 4 weeks after losing our baby, another was on the way. Just one month's difference - and yet that pushed my due date to the very beginning of July, which meant that I could teach my entire year, still participate (albeit waddling by then) in graduation and awards banquets for the kids, and have enough time to close out the year, finalize the grades, pack up my classroom, and get in a few days of rest before Caelynn came. 

This time we were VERY careful. We waited to tell anyone and my first ultrasound was at 8 weeks. It was just a few days after my birthday and a few days before we were flying home to Pennsylvania to spend Christmas with my family. I was already starting to show a bit. I'm not a tiny girl by any stretch of the imagination but at 5 foot 4 inches and a short torso, we had no place to go but out! I remember meeting my dear friend, Colleen, for lunch after my first ultrasound (Rich couldn't make it b/c he had just started a new job after getting out of the military but he came to almost every appointment after that). I was SO EXCITED!!!

We flew home and shared the news, although it was VERY obvious, and I was already in maternity clothes and had a noticeable bump. While I was at home, the morning sickness started. So - about 10 weeks along. And whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" was an idiot. I got sick throughout the whole day. One day I could keep food down, the next day just the smell of that food made me hurl. I won't go into detail but the 3 flights we had to take back home to Hawaii were HORRIBLE, and I actually vomited as we landed in Hawaii. We then started telling people, since I was about 12 weeks along, that a baby was on the way. 

We found out we were due July 4th. I impatiently waited to find out boy or girl, but I was convinced it was a boy b/c of the way I was carrying (all out in front). WRONG! I was SHOCKED when our ob/gyn told me we were having a girl! Being my OCD self, I already had a full name picked out for either gender. We were still thrilled, nonetheless. 

Time marched on. I continued to be sick morning and evening until 5 months, but I went the entire 41 weeks throwing up faithfully EVERY SINGLE MORNING. Must be in the genes - my mom went through the same thing with my brother and I. Thanks, Mom!

9 months pregnant with Caelynn and ready to bust!

...to be continued...

Welcome to our family!

Greetings from the McConnell household! I (Melissa) am so excited to start this new endeavor of keeping in touch with friends and family about our family! This idea was born about two years ago but at the time I wasn't sure what I was doing (well, I guess I don't really know much more now). I started a blog but didn't really do anything with it. However, we are BACK in business again! :-) There are so many times that I think, "I need to share this but I don't have time to email 30 different people about this!" that I figure this is the best way to keep in touch and share the happenings in the McConnell household! :-)

I guess the best way to start is to briefly introduce the family to you and then we can progress from there!

Rich and I met in Hawaii in 2005 when he was stationed at the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps base. He began to attend our church, Koolau Baptist Church, where I was a full time junior high teacher. THAT was not the beginning of our story, though. :-) We would talk very briefly but he was quiet and shy, I was busy and outspoken, and we didn't really click. Time marched on. In the summer of 2006 I spent my summer in Nairobi, Kenya, with a dear friend I had grown up with. We traveled around Nairobi and the outlying areas, working and teaching in orphanages and public schools. It was an extremely memorable summer, and I thought that within a few years, I'd be back there to live. The following summer, I decided to stay in Hawaii instead of traveling home for the duration of the summer like I always had. I picked up extra work as a janitor for our small Christian school and church. The rest of the teachers all went home. I actually loved it. I'd work from 7 a.m. to around 3 p.m., tutor a few kids in between, but spent the day stripping old wax off of floors, resurfacing floors, cleaning carpets, and blaring my classical music and Broadway tunes. A familiar quiet, shy man began to show up unexpectedly...with Starbucks in hand. Enter Rich. :-) Apparently he had an interest in me and had approached my boss/principal about how to best get to know me. He said, "Talk to her, work with her, and bring her Starbucks." Worked like a charm. I honestly didn't know what to do with him at first. I'm the OPPOSITE of most flirty girls. I don't play those games so I just stand back and think, "Impress me. Bring it. I dare you." We began to talk about just anything, then began to share our family backgrounds, what we wanted to do in life, etc... Rich, while proud to be a Marine, hated life on base and couldn't stand the guys he worked with and bunked with. So, as a means of escape from his 24 on/48 off duty schedule, he'd come to the church and do odd jobs just to be off base and busy. I found my cleaning buddy. :-) Our first date...after an EIGHT HOUR PHONE CONVERSATION that lasted ALL NIGHT (took him that long to ask me out!) was on Labor Day and I still remember sitting outside of Cold Stone Creamery in Kaneohe, Hawaii, looking at pictures of his family reunion on his laptop.

Things progressed quickly. In December, he flew home to meet my family and ask for my hand in marriage. He proposed the day after Christmas, at sunset, in NYC at Rockefeller Center. One thing you need to know about me - I love NYC more than any other city in the U.S. If I had my pick, I'd live there right now. So to be asked to be married in my most favorite place - brownie points. ;-) It was PACKED that night and I could tell he was really nervous being around that many people. As he proposed, everyone around us stopped and stared, then clapped when I said yes and started snapping pictures. :-) Our engagement photo was taken by a complete stranger. :-) The awesome part - as soon as he proposed and I said, "Yes!" the Christmas music, which played on the hour, started up with "Carol of the Bells" and the light show began. Pretty awesome! :-)

Rich had to leave soon after to get back to Hawaii and back to his duties as a weather man near the airstrip on base. I arrived back on the island on January 1st. We decided, as a spur of the moment thing, to get married January 2nd. So, he picked me up on his motorcycle (my first time riding one for that long of a period of time!), we drove to Honolulu, got the paperwork filled out, ran over to a photo shop that serves as a Justice of the Peace on their lunch hour (no joke!), got married by a judge...and that was it! :-) We thought FOR SURE that it wouldn't be that easy but since it all worked out, we went with it! We had planned on getting the legal marriage so that Rich could start earning more benefits as a married marine, as well as get him off base and into off-base housing. But, as time went on (we kept it a secret to almost everyone), we decided that we really DIDN'T want a big fancy wedding. I'm not one of those girls that dreamed of her wedding all of her life. I hate that kind of stuff. We were advised (not wisely, I might add) to keep our wedding a secret by our pastor and then have a ceremony a few months later. We had our ceremony on the beach on April 13th of that year. Looking back - the only thing I would have changed, to be honest, is that we would have just told everyone right away, "We got married." Keeping it a secret wasn't wise, and I would have preferred to just move on with life, but that was the counsel we received and I was afraid that I'd somehow lose my job. It is what it is and it makes for a unique story, I guess. :-) So - THAT is our wedding story! ;-)

We postponed our honeymoon until the summer when I'd be off of school, and we'd have more time to go somewhere. We decided to take a 7 day cruise of the Hawaiian islands. HIGHLY recommend it - it's too hard to just island hop and it gets expensive. The cruise was great, we got an AWESOME discount for booking at the last minute, and we got to see every island. It was truly wonderful. :-)

May 2007, taken at one of my senior's graduation parties

Next blog post - I'll cover Caelynn and her arrival into our lives. 

Coming soon - the McConnell family!