Introducing Julia Ann Hvidsten!

On June 8th, 2010 at 8am, we arrived at Altru Hospital to induce the labor of our baby.  I was nervous, wondering how things would go.  I knew there were many people praying and that did give me a sense of peace.  We were off and running by 9:15 am.  I decided to "rest"  and Jay decided to visit a friend who was in the hospital; after all it was simply time to wait.
The checks came every two hours with my water being broken at 1:45pm and contractions becoming more regular by 2pm.  However, by 3:30 pm not much had happened.  The nurse was reassuring that it could start progressing fast at anytime.  I thought, "yeah, right".  But by 4:30 things were definitely picking up pace.  I could almost feel myself progressing by the moment no matter how weird that seems.  And by 5:15pm, things were getting intense.  My dream for a delivery with no epidural or episiotomy was fading.  My contractions were tolerable at times with decent breaks in between and completely overwhelming at other times with me saying, "no, I really cannot do this anymore".  That was said at least three times until at about 5:50pm, Jay and I knew it would last much longer.  He was running out of suggestions and reassuring words and I was positive the baby was making it's way out into the world.  The nurse quickly had everyone in the room helping in every way but the Dr. Brown was On His Way... his presence wasn't needed as far as I was concerned.  After being told not to push through 2 contractions, he arrived and things were looking up.  I actually did scream during the delivery which is completely embarrassing but I think it helped me push better (at least it made me feel better).  He was ready and with the next contraction I pushed 4 times and SHE was out!  I had done it with the Lords strength.  I remember close to delivery time that Jay pray for the Lord to give me strength and that was so encouraging!  He had thought of the most helpful way to assist... pray.
My world changed the moment I saw her head and shoulders.  It was like I was back, in the world with others and not just inside myself anymore. ( I thought about Eve and Jesus a lot toward the end of my labor.  No matter how ridiculous this sounds, I was mad at Eve and then remembered that I am a sinner just like her.  Then to Jesus whose pain was nothing that I could even ever try to imagine.  I knew the Lord was with me, Jay and the baby and things would be ok.)  Once she made her appearance, I could communicated with everyone and I even cut the umbilical cord!  We didn't know she was a girl for a while as the resident just stood there with her.  It took a few asking, "what is it"  before the nurses doing the assessment made the announcement.  I thought it would be so nice for Jack to have a brother, but when they said, "it's a girl", I knew our Julia was always meant to be with us, teach us something and just enrich our lives.  She is an answer to our prayers!
The last few days have been good and hard.  She is such a blessing but does not like sleeping alone at night.  But this too shall pass.  I'm sure I will have more to say but I just wanted to share a piece of the beginning of Julia's life so you could all start to enjoy her too!

Playtime and summery weather

What a blessing it is to have this playset and warm weather.  It's so nice to have a place for the kids to play without loading them in the car and driving 5-20 miles away.  I am so glad to have this time with the kids before the baby comes.  I think it will be quite a summer but we will have to be creative.  The girls love to climb and slide almost as much as Jack and he is doing quite well with sharing slide time.

The baby is due to arrive in about 6 weeks but Lord willing, it will be delivered healthy and safely the week before I'm due.  We have some post baby plans in process but the push to get ahead of the game or least catch up is underway.  The one main plan is the finishing of the play area outside and possibly inside.  My aunt and uncle are planning to come mid-May to help with all of that.  The rain this weekend has been such a blessing too.  Jay has been home, it should benefit the planted crops and has enable me to get a few things gone through and ready for the rummage sale!

 

Springtime weekend.

This has been a tiring weekend but we have had some fun in the process.  The kids had fun outside despite bumps, bruises and a runny nose.  The calves are almost all born; 1 to go.  We also started working on the playset that is an answer to prayer.  Jack loves the slide and the girls like the climbing and sliding too.  I cannot believe how well they climb; the only problem will be to make sure they come down the right way safely.  I'm excited for the week ahead and hope that it will be a good one; Lord willing.    

Weekend with friend, family and photoshoot

We started off our weekend with pizza.  I think it should be a "tradition" to have pizza on Friday or Saturday night.  My friend, Alesha, came to visit from Fargo and it is always so fun to have her here.  She met us at my parents house for supper and she brought us pizzas from Papa Murphy's!  We started the next morning by taking pictures with different lenses and camera settings to see what we could come up with.  We liked the results of the girls' pictures with their new dresses.  Both girls love to put on their dresses so they had a lot of fun too.

On Sunday, we went to church and also did some work on the girls' scrapbook.  She did the major stuff and I picked out pictures, arranged other pictures and worked on the shadow boxes.  That evening after naps we went to Warren to play and have a treat.  Daddy worked on Friday and Saturday so we were glad he could join us for some fun on Sunday; Grandpa and Grandma joined us at the park too.  Alesha headed back to Fargo this morning and we hope to see her again in May!

Professional wedding pictures

http://www.soulcamphotography.com/

Here's one of the first professional pictures I've seen from my brother's wedding.  Soul Cam is the name of their friends' photography business and I think they did a great job.  I'm pretty sure this is one of the best family photos we have ever taken and that is including pre grandchildren days; however, Jay and Leanna are great additions but I think it's mostly due to Kevin not being a goof ball.  Oh the things my mother has had to put up with having kids like us.  But now she was able to make nice Easter cards so I'm sure she is pleased.

Traveling

We have done a little traveling lately and it has been fun.  A couple of weekends ago we were able to go to Minneapolis and be a part of my brother and and sister-in-laws's wedding gift opening.  The kids have done so well traveling.  They were entertained by books, toys and movies and did pretty well with napping too.  We stop along the way and usually get to spend time with our good friend Alesha.  She's always up for having lunch with us and having us as house guests.  In Minneapolis, as I mentioned, we stayed with my cousins' family.  They are so hospitable.  We have our own rooms, wonderful meals and Sylvia who loves to play with and read to Jack, Hannah and Rebekah.  We also spent some time with Kevin and Leanna which is so nice.    I love that he is married!  I'm sure he does too.  

Jay's time was spent a little differently.  He brought our dog Ava to the breeders.  Yes, we are excited to finally be able to make the trip down to have her bred.  This has been our intention all along and to be finally feeling like we are starting to accomplish our goal for her is such a good feeling.  Jay did join us for one night in St Paul and we were able to travel home with him.  Now we hope that she has a safe pregnancy and a nice litter of puppies come late April or early May.  I wish I could say that she was as excited (she was excited, I guess, but in a way that scared some of the male dogs).  

On the way home, my mom and I decided to stay with the kids in Fargo Monday night so we could shop.  Jay had to get home to the cows who were possibly due to have their calves.  I did find a few good deals while shopping so it was a worth while stay plus we actually got to spend a little more time with Alesha.

Last weekend we needed to return to Wisconsin to pick Ava up.  Jay, me and Jack took a road trip through Duluth.  It was nice to have a time with just Jack.  He loved picking Ava up and of course swimming at the hotel.  We hope to be able to spend time in Duluth this summer when we return with the litter of puppies.  My mom and dad were willing to stay with the girls at our home.  It was so nice to just leave them and know they were comfortable at home.  My dad was also excited to be part of farm life for a while.  They are such a blessing to us!

It was nice to be away for a while.  Even though they are short trips, it's nice to have new scenery and be with friends and family.

Just in case you need one too!

Udder Covers - For Nursing Mothers

Attention all nursing or soon to be nursing moms... or if you know one of these women (you could buy them a great gift).  The cover is perfect for use when nursing while others are around.  A friend of mine posted this on facebook and I am so excited to use it this time around.  I also have another friend who used this at a parade while nursing her baby and it was wonderful.  Use promo code "cushy2" and only pay shipping and get the cover for free!