Good Times!!

We had such a fantastic weekend!!! The weather was so nice Saturday. It was a little chilly Saturday morning (I mowed the yard, and had to wear my jacket the whole time!) but by that afternoon it had warmed up just enough that we could play out without getting hot or cold. It was so perfect. My children absolutely love going outside. Avery has now started walking around saying "outside, outside"...it really is cute!!!! I took some pics of the flowers in my flower bed. I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I tried. I think they turned out ok. I'll let Ginny (my mother-in-law) be the judge. She is a fantastic photographer!!! Enjoy the pics!! I hope you all had a great weekend and I hope you have a great week!!!

Love you all!!!!

The dark places on Avery's face are bruises. He is so boy!! He falls off everything, and then starts climbing again. He is so fearless, it scares me.
I think my kids have the most beautiful eyes. I am, of course, a bit biased. But, I have always been an eye person (Adam has beautiful blue eyes too [one of the first things that I noticed about him]). I love this picture. It captures the essence of Lily!!

Ok, I am awaiting critisism. I think they turned out pretty good! I really like the tulip pictures!!

The kids love, love, love the sandbox. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time Avery has gotten to play in it. He was of course to little last year. I think when we build our house I am going to have Adam put in a large sandbox, for the kids!!! They really love it. Avery has discovered, though, that when you eat sand it has to come back out, and it isn't so comfortable (or very easy to clean up!!).

We have 2 dogs. They are both miniture dachshunds. Hunter is the one in the pictures. He absolutely loves the kids and playing with them. The kids love him too. Oscar is our other one. He is not fond of playing with the kids. He isn't mean to them, but he definately keeps his distance. We got Hunter as a puppy, but we didn't get Oscar until he was 18 months or so. Unfortunately, he was picked on by a child where he lived before, and he has just never gotten over it. You can tell that he love the kids and would protect them from anything. But he is more of a silent observer, than a player. It was so funny, when I was pregnant, he would lay his head on my belly all the time. Then when the kids would move he would jump. But he would lay his head right back down on my belly...I think he knew, and he was bonding in his own way!!!

Holding Hands

Avery has started grabbing our hands and dragging us around wherever he wants to go. It is so precious!! I love it! His little hand reaches for mine and he has the grip of death, so I won't let go. He has also started saying "Sissy" constantly. He will walk around the house, "Sissy, Sissy". If she isn't here, he is just lost. I hope that they are always as close as they are right now!!!
You can tell by this picture the grip that he has on Lily's hand. I just love this stage he is going through. Such a lovey dovey little boy!!!!

My beautiful kids amaze me evey day!! I love them so much, and watching them grow and learn new things every day is truly a testament to God's Awesome Power!!!!!

Lily's Birth Story

I have seen some blog posts that have been on a child's birth. I love the idea, so I decided to do it. I'm starting with Lily and will do Avery's one day next week!!!

Lillian Marie Hulsey was born on January 28, 2004 at 6:25 a.m. Here is how her journey to this world began...

I had a very clear idea of how I wanted to give birth (as do most first time mom's). I wanted NO Drugs, NO C-Section, as little medical intervention as possible. My birth was going to be ALL-NATURAL!!!! At around 33 weeks, I went to the doctor for one of those normal check-ups and discovered that Lily was completely breech. Her little bottom was sitting on my cervix. And her head was under one of my ribs (totally painful!!). So the doctor had me start doing these exercises that were designed to turn a breech baby. I did them faithfully for the next 4-5 weeks religiously (they were very uncomfortable!) but they did not work. Lily would not budge. So on January 27, the doc scheduled the C-Section for Thursday January 29. At around midnight, I went into labor, so what was going to be a nice relaxed scheduled C-Section, turned into an emergency C-Section. I was terrified!! I had my mind around not getting a GIANT shot in my back, so I was scared of the whole concept! For those of you who have had C-Sections, I'm sure you share my feelings that getting ready for the C-Section is a lot harder than the actual procedure. First, you have to get the IV (ouch!), then you get completely shaved (they do not want to see ANY hair [the regrowth is interesting]), then they move you to the Operating Room. The make you sit on the table in the very COLD room, and they say, "now try not to move while we are giving you this shot" Nothing like putting pressure on the mother who is scared to death of the whole spinal thing in the first place. So the first shots were just to numb the skin so that the mother of all shots wouldn't hurt as bad. But there is nothing that can describe the feeling of that needle rubbing against your backbone. Once the spinal was in they made me lay down (quickly while I still had some feeling) and they propped me up sideways with this wedge thing, put in the catheter and started rubbing the iodine all over my belly. They were all talking amongst themselves and I was like "I can feel that". I could feel them rubbing the iodine on, and I was scared they were starting without telling me. But they weren't. I was so glad when they let Adam come back in...just having him there helped ease my anxiety. So it seemed like within seconds they said "I can see her"...what a feeling "Finally my baby is here"! And then I heard "My Goodness...that is one BIG baby". And my doctor was like, "Ummm, Heather, I might have guessed the weight wrong (her guess was 8 pounds max)", and then I heard my precious little girl start crying!!!! What an incredible feeling, the flood of emotions is so totally unexplainable!!! I was laughing and crying at the same time!! They put her over the little barrier thing and I saw her for the first time. She was a chubby, beautiful baby, and I was instantly in love!!! They cleaned her up, and then let me hold her for a few minutes and took her (and Adam) off to the nursery!!! They put a little bit of something in my IV, and slept for the next 45 minutes or so until they were done. I was still partially awake when they poked their heads in to say that she weighed 9lbs 13 ozs and she was 19 inches long. I smiled and went to sleep. Apparently they had some problems while I was sleeping. They took her blood sugar, and it was 33 (norm for a baby is around 45), so they gave her some sugar water, and took it again right when I was getting out of surgery and into recovery. So I was in recovery holding my new baby, nursing her for the first time, and a nurse comes in and rips her off my breast and says, "I have to take her". Talk about scaring me. So the nurse that was in there taking care of me went to go and see what the deal was. Her blood sugar had dropped to 13, very very low. So they were putting an IV in her head, and they were giving her a certain type of high calorie formula to bring her blood sugar up. I was upset about them giving her formula (I was not wanting her to have ANY formula) but it was going to be the best fastest way to get her blood sugar back up. So I just made sure that they didn't give her a bottle nipple to avoid any nipple confusion. They just gave it to her in a medicine cup...it was kinda cute to watch her drink it. She had the IV for the first 24 hours. And because they were forcing that formula down her throat she wasn't hungry so she wouldn't nurse. That night was horrible. I cried and cried cause I couldn't get her to latch on. I was already upset that I didn't have the birth experience that I wanted and my hopes of strictly breastfeeding were being squashed before my eyes. But thankfully, once her blood sugar went back up to normal, and I was able to stop giving her that formula...she started nursing like a pro!!! We went home on Friday, January 30. The trip home was awful. I was sore, the car was stuffed with flowers, and stuffed toys, and such like...and we had a brand new baby in the car!! We had to stop at the pharmacy to pick up my pain medicine before going home. Unfortunately, the pharmacy did not have my meds ready. So, Lily and I were stuck in the car for about 20 minutes while Adam was in the pharmacy getting my medicine. She started crying, and there was no way for me to get to her without having to move a whole lot of stuff...so I moved it and sat with her and we both cried.

I could continue with this story, but I think I will end it here. I love my daughter, and no matter how awful getting her here was, I wouldn't trade it for a thing.

Adam wore this outfit home from the hospital when he was born. Lily's little face was so chubby that we couldn't button the top button on any of her sleepers for the first few weeks of her life. I love pictures like this!! They just look so comfortable.
Lily was jaundice. Thankfully it wasn't bad enough to have to be under a light. I was ready to go home, and once we got there, I wanted to stay.

Mommy and Lily!! I was so in love with my beautiful baby!! I still am!!!!!!

Lily had an hemangioma under her left nostril. Because of where it was and the fact that hemangiomas can grow quickly we had to keep a close eye on it for the first year. For those of you who don't know, hemangiomas are considered benign tumors. They are a collection of blood vessels, and like I said they can grow quickly and cover an area!! It was a concern that it might grow into her nose and cut off air supply. But it never got worse than this, and now you can hardly even see it. I am VERY glad that it is gone.

Lily slept for the first 3 months of her life. Even when she was a newborn she would sleep for 6-8 hours straight, not even waking up to eat or get a clean diaper. I was worried about her sleeping so much!! She got

where she would hardly eat, and she was losing weight (thankfully she had some extra to lose!). So, afte a visit to the doctor, we had to start waking her up every 4 hours to eat. Waking her up was impossible!! We would jostle her, then tickle, then undress her and wipe her with a wet washcloth...none of this worked!!! So we would have to put her in a warm tub and that would eventually wake her up, though sometimes even that wouldn't work. She still sleeps hard like that. Once she gets to sleep, nothing will wake her up!!! I have to say that I am glad about that. When Avery was tiny he would scream, ALOT, and she never woke up!! She gets that from her Daddy. Unfortunately, I do not sleep that well, at all!!!

"Ahh, I can FINALLY stretch out. I am so Comfy!!!!!!"

Look at that cubby face!!! What a cutie!!!

They had to tie her arm down. She kept trying to rip out her IV. I have to say that she is still VERY, VERY bull headed. I guess in the long run that will be a good thing, but I dread the teenage years!!!!

Happy Family!!!!!

I forgot to put in here that Lily had a complete knot in her cord. Hence why she was breech and wouldn't move (it didn't help that she weighed almost 10 pounds and had NO room to move). The doctor said that out of the hundreds of babies she had delivered this was only the 3rd or 4th time she had seen this. If Lily had moved it would have pulled the knot, and cut off her oxygen and she would have died. The whole thing is truly a mircle!! It is really amazing that God knew what was best, and even though a C-Section was the last thing I wanted, it turned out to be the best thing I've ever gone through - it brought my baby to me safe and sound!!!!

The Virtuous Woman

• Proverbs 31:10-31
• 10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
  11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
  12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
  13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
  14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
  15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
  16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
  17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
  18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
  19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
  20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
  21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
  22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
  23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
  24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
  25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
  26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
  27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
  28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
  29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
  30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
  31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate

This is one of my most favorite passages in the Bible. I do not know a single woman who wouldn't want to be this woman. I think we all are able to do this. Unfortunately, our society (and I am definately including myself) is way to lazy to rise in the morning when everyone is still sleeping, and then not let our lamps go out at night. I need to read this passage often. It kinda keeps me in check. It is a constant struggle for me, but how wonderful would it be if, when I die, my headstone read, "Hear Lies A Virtuous Woman"!!!

Now, I posted that because I have been thinking about it all day. Yesterday was one of those days that pushed me to my limit (with everyone). I felt like exploding on everyone. We had a great fun day planned. All except having to get the kids shots. I thought that if I got there early we would get right in and out, and I could take them to the Dollar Store to get some sort of prize before the library. So we got there at 8:25. Of course, I had to tell Lily that we were getting her shots, and she had thrown a fit on the way there. About every 10 minutes or so she would ask if it was her turn yet, and then she would say "I don't want to get shots" and cry more. Finally at 10:15, they called us back there. Yeah that's right, 2 hours later. I don't know what those people think. It's way easier to wait with a baby that has no idea what it coming. But a 4 year old, that just had some shots a few months ago, and KNOWS what is coming - AHHHHH!!!! I felt sorry for her, cause I know how agonizing that wait must have been. To say that I was pushed to my limit is an understatement. Then we get back there and she throws such a fit that another nurse had to come in and help me hold her down, so the first nurse could give her her shots. It didn't help that as soon as we walked in the room, all 5 needles were laying on the table as if to say, "Look at me!!!" And she had to get 5 shots. Yeah, that's right, FIVE!!! 2 in one arm and 3 in the other. So by the time that we got done and got to the library, it was 10:45 and storytime was over. We didn't even go in, cause we were meeting Lily's cousin Kendra at the park. So that was another meltdown. It wasn't fair that she had to get shots (it really wasn't, but I couldn't let her know that I thought that, too!!!!) and she had to miss storytime at the library. So we went to the park, and had a picnic lunch. Things were starting to look up. She loves to have picnics. So after we ate, the kids went and played (Lily, Kendra, and Avery). After playing for only about 15 minutes, it started sprinkling, so we had to pack it up and head home. That created the monster of all meltdowns!! I was mean, life wasn't fair, and so on!! I even had to spank her in the middle of the park. That just doesn't happen. She is usually pretty well behaved in public, and just giving her the mom look and threatning is enough, but not yesterday. You would think after all that she would have taken a decent nap, but alas, only 30 minutes or so. Which really only made things worse. I have to say that my favorite part of yesterday was when they were both in bed asleep for the night!! I am also glad that I will not have to do the shot thing again for a couple of years!! Adam has somehow gotten out of doing the kids shots. He has NEVER taken them. So, I think when it is Avery's turn to get 5 shots in the arms, I will give the job to Adam!!! I hope that I am not the only mother out there who feels like running away from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my family, but days like yesterday make me want to pull out every hair on my head, or even better screaming at the top of my lungs, and then curling up in the fetal position and sleeping for 24 hours!!!! Thankfully, today has been the exact opposite of yesterday. We have had a fantastic day!! I am so glad!!!

Thanks to all for listening to me rant!! Sometimes it just feels good to get all of that off your chest!! I love you all!!!

Lily's Recital

Tagged

I have been tagged. My friend from high school Nikki (Nicole McIntyre) tagged me the other day. So here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules in your blog entry.
Share 7 random, or weird, facts about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of the post, linking to them.
Leave a comment on their blog so that they know they’ve been tagged.

1. I was a really sneaky child. My poor mom thought I was an angel. The sneakiness was REALLY bad in high school. I, unfortunately, made a lot of mistakes. And, my mom found out that I wasn't the angel that she thought I was. Lily is EXACTLY like me, so I know what to look forward to!!!
2. God blesses us all with a talent. Mine happens to be music. I was in band and choir in high school. I loved it, and really loved the competition. I made it to All-Region Choir as a senior. It was a big deal, because no females from our school had made it in a long while. I would say that they had never made it, but that school has been around for a long time, so I just know it had been a long time.
3. I have a broken tailbone. I don't know how long it has been broken. It started hurting after I had Avery, and so now I take an anti-inflamatory med 2 times a day. They won't do surgery to remove the broken piece because of all the nerve endings, and so on....
4. I absolutely HATE laundry. Not so much the washing and drying, but the folding and putting away. It is not at all uncommon for 3 or 4 loads of laundry to sit on my couch for a few days before I MAKE myself fold it and put it away.
5. I LOVE cats. Unfortunately, I am severly allergic. If it wasn't for the severe allergy I would probably be one of those crazy cat ladies.
6. I have a secret desire to be on Big Brother. I absolutely love that show!! I know I could make it to the end. I have the scenario all planned out in my head. If it wasn't for the fact that I would have to leave my family for 3 months, I would totally try out!!!!
7. If I have another girl, I will name her a flower. My mom's name is RoseMarie (Rose is a flower, for those of you who didn't know!!!!), my name - Heather (again, a flower), my daughter - Lily (a flower). Her name is actually Lillian but we call her Lily.

Okay, those are my 7 Weird and Random facts. Now I am tagging

Tracy

Jennifer

Shelly

Katie

I only have 4. I don't really know that many bloggers yet. Have fun!!!!

Running Away

This is what just went down here...

I was in my room changing the sheets and I hollered for Lily a few times and she didn't answer so I came into the living room to check on her. She heard me and opened the gate and started downstairs. That is a BIG No-No in our house. So here is the conversation that transpired after.

Me: "Lily, what do you think you're doing. You know you can't go downstairs without asking me first!!"

Lily: (starts crying) "I'm leaving!!"

Me: "What?!?!?" (My heart just stopped)

Lily: (crying harder) "I'm leaving!!!"

Me: "Why, sweetheart, what's wrong??"

Lily: "You don't love me anymore"

Me: (knife to the heart) "Lily, why would you say that? Why do you think that??"

Lily: "Because you were yelling at me"

Me: (at this point I believe she took the knife out of my heart, sharpened it, stabbed me again and started twisting it) "Lily, you weren't listening to me. I had to yell at you to get you to listen to me."

Lily: "Yeah, but why did you make me stand in the corner?"

Me: "Because you lied to me, and you know better than to lie to me."

Me: "Lily, I love you very VERY much...You are my most favorite little girl in the whole wide world. I don't ever, EVER want you to run away from home. If you're upset about something, then you need to come and talk to me about it. I don't want you to ever be scared to talk to me about something. I really love talking to you about stuff, and I want you to love talking to me, too. Ok??"

Lily: "Ok, Mom. Can I pick out a movie to watch??"

Me: (shocked at just how quickly she got over this) "Ok, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Lily: (happily, like she has not a care in the world) "No, I just want to pick out a movie"

It took me about 15 minutes to quit crying. But apparently she has all but forgotten about it. I don't know if she was just trying to get my attention or not, but what a way to knock me down. I really thought that my heart was breaking in two. I just don't know where she even got the idea. It's not like she watches anything where running away would even be an option. Actually, now that I think about it, I think she has a book called "I was just so Mad" and he "runs away" in it. I bet that's where that came from. Don't you love it when I type out my thoughts!!! I just needed to put this down so I would have a record of the first time she broke my heart - I mean the first time she tried to run away!!!!

I Think It's Time???

Warning: Some of you may find my bluntness offending, but it is part of the story of "Our Family", so I am posting it anyway...Sorry if it offends you!!!

We have always been a very open family. I feel like if you are open and honest with your children from the beginning, then there won't be as many questions, and more importantly, as much curiousity later on. For instance, the kids take baths with us. It has been about 6 months or so since Lily has taken a bath with Adam, but they both take baths with me pretty regularly. If they are not in the tub with me, then they are standing at the side of it "helping" me take my bath. When they look at me, they don't see a "naked woman", they see mommy. It doesn't really matter if I have clothes on or not. Well, let me rephrase. Avery sees Mommy with her 2 food sources, and Lily sees Mommy with Avery's 2 food sources. (Please no negative comments about me still nursing him...I have researched and read enough material on breastfeeding to know what is best for me and my child!) Lily has never said anything about the fact that her and Avery's privates are different. She has never asked questions about the differences in my body and hers...except that she knows when she has a baby her boobs will get milk in them so that she can feed her babies. She hasn't said anything or asked any questions, that is, until today!!! She asked me this morning why I had hair and she didn't. Talk about blindsiding me. So, like always, I answered as honestly as I could. Well, tonight during their bathes (they still bathe together) she "noticed" Avery's privates. She, of course, asked why there was a difference. I guess that I knew this day was coming. She couldn't remain my innocent, naive, little girl forever. Though, I really wish she could! I feel like now, I need to sit down and tell her more about how things work. That God doesn't just put a baby in a Mommy's belly when the Mommy and Daddy want one and pray really hard for it (as we have told her up till now). But, to be honest, I don't know if I am ready for that. I feel like by having this talk, I would be losing my baby. Does that sound stupid??? How do I tell her that the world isn't all fairy's and princesses?? I want her to live in her princess world forever. I don't EVER want to expose her to the darkness of this world. It makes me tremble to think about the things that could happen to my children. How do I tell her about child molestation??? How do I tell her that not EVERYONE wants to be her friend??? How do I tell her that some people only want to hurt others??? I just don't know how to do this, and I don't know if I'm ready. Hopefully, if I pray about this for the next few days, I will come up with a way to approach this that will work for me and Lily!!! Pray for me, PLEASE!!!!

New Pics

We took the kids a couple of weeks ago to have their pictures taken. Avery's 18 month and Lily's 4 year. They turned out so cute. I am probably going to have them redo a couple of the ones I ordered, though. The "FOUR" pictures are so cute, but there is background in both of them. For their year pictures I usually order what they call a delight picture. It's a 4 x 10 with 3 pictures in it. Well, Lily's is probably going to end up with that background stuff in it. So, I will probably just have them blow it up and re-print it. We'll see...I pick them up on Friday, so I guess I will see how bad it is then. I am feeling somewhat better today, though, I have this awful cough. I am fixing to call the Dr and see if they will give me an antibiotic without having to go in. It is really miserable to have to wait for hours with 2 stir crazy kids!!!
Enjoy the pictures!!!

Family Fun Night!!!!!

We decided yesterday that we wanted to go and do something together as a family. It doesn't seem like we do that enough. Unfortunately for us, there is almost NOTHING to do in this town. Our options were - bowling, skating, or watching a movie. The only child's movie playing was Horton hears a Who...which Lily and I have already seen!!! So that left skating or bowling. My kids are nowhere near big enough to take skating on a Saturday night (could you imagine - with all the crazy kids that would be there). So we decided to go bowling. It turned out to be really fun. The kids had a blast. Avery started getting tired of it around the 5th set or so. But when it was his turn again...he always loved it. Lily beat us all. Granted the kids were using a ramp, but still. Lily's score was 96, mine was 72, Avery's was 69, and Adams was 61. I guess I should say that she stomped all over us. Adam and I both felt like such heals!! But, the score doesn't matter. What matters is that we had such a GREAT time.

I started feeling a little sick yesterday morning. I didn't think to much about it. Adam and Avery have both been sick, so I figured it was just my turn. By the time we got home last night, I was SICK. My whole body hurt, my throat hurt, my head hurt, and I couldn't breathe through my nose. I took some medicine, but had a very VERY difficult time sleeping. I got up this morning to help Adam get the kids ready for church, and felt worse. And, if it's possible, as the day has worn on, I have felt worse and worse. I'm sure it's just the same thing that Adam and Avery had. I'm calling the doctor first thing in the morning for some drugs!!!!!

I have attached bowling pictures below!! Enjoy!!!

If Adam or I hadn't held down the ramp, Avery would have scooted it all over the bowling alley. We had to just about hold him the entire time, because he thought it looked like a good place to go exploring!!
Imagine that!! One of Avery's favorite parts was playing with the "computer"!

They both thought that the computer was cool. Lily would watch it to see how many pins everyone knocked down. She thought that it was very cool!!

No, I'm not pregnant...it's just the way this shirt is made. I kept expecting someone to come up and ask me when I was due, but thankfully that didn't happen.

Avery's favorite part - pushing the ball down the ramp!!! He would say, "Ball, Ball" and then "Yeah" and clap his hands. It was so cute!!!

Lily was a champion bowler. I was amazed at how well she did!! And she LOVED it!!

We had such a fantastic time last night!! I am so glad that we went. Even if we did get stomped on by our 4 year old daughter!!!

On a side note...Today was the annual Spagetti Supper at church. It is something that the youth does. They prepare the meal (Spaghetti, Bread, Salad, and some sort of veggie) and serve to the adults. It is always a huge success. The kids love, love, LOVE to do it and, of course, the adults love being served. Unfortunately, I was not able to go and help out. I felt bad, since it is a youth activity, and I am a youth teacher (7th - 12th grade girls). I really wanted to go and have fun with the kids. I love them all, and always have a great time with them. But, I figured that other people wouldn't want me hacking, and snotting in their food, so I decided to stay home. (I'm sure they are all thanking me). I still feel bad about it though. For those of you reading this that were there...I hope you all had a GREAT time, and I am sorry I wasn't there to help!!! I love all of you dearly!!!

We hope you all have a Fantastic week!!!!!