November 22, 2022

the day that archie was born

while not everything was the same this time around, because i am evidently skilled at coming up with new and different ways to create drama in the delivery room, our second birth experience had some notable similarities to the first. to start off, we were once again caught off guard at a routine appointment where we expected to discuss an induction date that was still a few days away, but due to some extra amniotic fluid that showed up on the ultrasound that morning, ended up being induced the same evening.

we settled into our room, which happened to be the same one jack had been born in, and things moved along pretty much as expected, aside from the three tries it took for the epidural. once that was finally in place they broke my water, but the progress after was slower than expected. around this time i started getting the shakes which ended up lasting through the whole ordeal. when my doctor arrived early the next morning she was a little perplexed about the slow progress and ended up breaking my water for a second time, and this time it really worked [i was a bit oblivious, but donald describes this part as "epic"]. it was still slow going for awhile, but once it was finally time to push i did three sets and on the fourth set the contractions came back to back and the baby popped right out! the nurse put him on my chest while my doctor and a resident worked on repairing a relatively small tear. everything was calm and i think i actually said out loud, "is that it?"

spoiler: that was not it.

after about twenty minutes my doctor asked if i still had my epidural button and suggested i push it again, which seemed strange since i was under the impression we were pretty much done. i asked why and she said "i just think it's a good idea." and this is where things got interesting.

my placenta was not delivering, which i later learned is an uncommon and potentially quite serious condition called a retained placenta. when this happens someone has to manually go in and get it, which involves a glove that i previously thought was reserved for livestock, and my doctor digging around in what felt like my ribcage. during this process the shakes i had been experiencing basically the whole time became more like spasms, my speech became slurred, and the room filled up real quick. at one point there were five doctors and more nurses and techs than i could keep track of. i was once again hemorrhaging and it was another hollywood-esque scene as doctors shouted orders and various people ran around sticking needles into my legs and pills into my mouth. 

an ultrasound machine was brought in to monitor the progress of the placenta removal, and after all the bits and pieces were eventually extracted the room cleared out a bit, but i still had another couple hours of the shakes and just generally feeling bad. at some point my nurse asked me to sit up so she could get an accurate blood pressure reading and it was as if a switch flipped and i suddenly felt fine [and also very, very hungry]. soon after we moved over to mother baby for a short stay, and while we were there we officially decided on a name and introduced archie michael to the world.



October 18, 2022

pep pep


we lost our beloved pep pep suddenly and unexpectedly. he was the quiet and humble leader of our family, who lived his life with an obvious awareness that everything he had was a gift from God, and he was grateful for each and every blessing. 

his favorite thing was Jesus, but his family was a very close second. he enjoyed the simple pleasures in life, and there was no earthly thing that gave him more joy than having his whole family together in one place. no matter the holiday or occasion, it was never a question of how he wanted to celebrate...with all his kids and grandkids coming over, and most likely some bar-b-que and a slice of pie.

he was intentional in our time together and often prepared a devotional to share with us. on multiple occasions he went around the room and talked about each person individually. it was obvious how much he valued each one of us as he took time to prepare, thinking of and praying for each child and grandchild, caring deeply what each of our lives looked like.

jack won't have many tangible memories of his grandpa, but he loved taking him donuts during the week just for fun, and racing dad to be the first one to give pep a hug when it was time to head home from dyer dinner. 

there are so many things we will miss and remember about him. he made the best mashed potatoes i have ever had, and his don dyer tacos are legendary. he gave me the big family i always wanted, and he knew how much i valued that. but the thing i admired most about him was his unshakeable faith. he always had complete trust in God, and an unwavering expectation that God would provide for him and his family. he was a great man of faith, and we are so blessed to have called him ours.

August 20, 2022

things jack says

it is still so fun to hear jack talk and to giggle at the funny things he says. here are some entries in the dictionary according to jack: 

  • pecutor = computer 
  • noculars/super owl eyes = binoculars/hand binoculars 
  • no please = no thank you 
  • sticky splat = when dad throws the tay-tay blanket at him 
  • mean flamingos = the swans at gaga dub's house 
  • swimming pool costume = swimsuit 
  • clipper nails = finger nail clippers 
  • purple thing = yogurt tube 
  • birdie leaf = feather 
  • coconuts = acorns 
  • spider room = the basement [harsh, but fair.] 
  • last sunday morning = referencing anything that happened in the past 
  • 14 degrees in the morning = his answer to "what time is it?" 


and some other quotes we love: 

  • "dad, can you hear me in my ears?" 
  • "ding dang commercials" [he picked this one up from gaga dubs] 
  • "oh! of course!" [his go-to affirmative answer] 
  • "i. am. FRUSTRATED!" 
  • "mom, you will always be in my heart" [i don't even know where he got this, but it melts me every time] 
  • "dad, you are the best dad ever" [true.] 
  • "look at my face" [what he says when he wants our attention] 
  • "mom, do you happen to have an apple bar in your bag?" [not sure where he picked this one up either, but it's adorably polite] 
  • "would you be so kind as to read me this book?" [again with the politeness] 
  • "mom, i need some 'orant' because my hiccups are coming" [he loves putting on deodorant] 
  • "something is wrong with my clock, it's going like this 'beep! beep! beep!'" [when the alarm accidentally got set on his okay to wake clock] 
  • "that's when i was a working man!" [looking at a picture of himself playing at a kids workbench with a hammer and nail] 
  • "maybe i'm not an outside playing guy" [because a bug crawled on him and he wanted to go back inside...but also because he was apparently channeling his dad] 
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