Joshua 24:15

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Love Letter of Sorts

My primary purpose for this blog is to document my life now as a wife and mommy of two kids. However, I also want to use this "space" to blog about different things from my past from time to time as I feel inspired. I would like to do posts about different childhood memories that are dear to my heart, how Jordan and I met, etc.
For now, I wanted to share this "love letter"/poem that I wrote about Jordan back on January 19, 2009 when we were still engaged. There were many times during our "courtship" and engagement (and even still today sometimes) where I would get very emotional just thinking about how much I loved Jordan and how thankful and blessed I felt to be the girl he was in love with and wanted to share his life with. I wrote this "piece" on one such evening. It's amazing to read over it today and see how far we've come in the short two-and-a-half years we've been married. God has truly blessed us, and I can't wait to see what He has in store for our future.



"Sometimes, When You're Not Watching, I Study You"


Sometimes, when you're not watching, I study you...

and I wonder what I'd do if I ever lost you.

Would I be able to close my eyes and still see your face?...

every freckle...

every line...

every whisker...

your eyes...

your smile...

I wonder, if I was quiet enough, would I still be able to hear your voice?...

to hear you whisper “I love you”...

to hear you laugh...

to hear you sing.

I wonder, if I was still enough, would I be able to feel your warm lips softly brush against mine, just like they did the first time you ever kissed me?

Would I still be able to feel your arms around me, holding me close?

I wonder if you would know how much you mean to me.

I wonder if you would know that I think about you every waking moment of every day.

I wonder if you would know how I count down the days until I can share your last name.

I wonder if you would know how badly I long to have a little boy someday who will look just like you.

I wonder if you would really know how much I love you.

I would wonder what things I could've done better...

Could I have tried harder?

Could I have made you happier?

Sometimes, when you're not watching, I study you...

and all these thoughts run through my head.

But then you turn to me...

and you smile.

And I know how much you love me...

and I don't wonder so much anymore.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

3 Weeks

Baby Ryan is 3 weeks old today. I am rather sleep-deprived right now, so this probably won't be the best post I've ever written, but I at least wanted to check in really quick to update since it's been a week since my last post.
Overall, I think the baby is doing great. He's a good nurser, and his face is showing it - he already has a double-chin. This morning, I tried to see how much he weighs now by stepping on our bathroom scale by myself first, and then stepping back on while holding him. According to that, he weighs 11.4 pounds. I'll be anxious to see how much he weighs at his one-month check-up with the pediatrician early next month. As I mentioned above, I'm pretty sleep-deprived right now because he's still waking up during the night every 2 to 3 hours to nurse. I'm praying he'll start sleeping through the night very soon, because I am REALLY missing my sleep. Apparently I don't have the most pleasant mood in the world when I haven't gotten much sleep. I don't think it helps, though, that I have a 19-month-old who is already full-swing into her "terrible two's" stage. Rylee has really been giving me a "run for my money", and it has not been easy at all. Every form of discipline I try does not seem to phase her a bit, and I just don't know how to handle her right now. It's very frustrating, because I just want her to behave. And here I go, getting off topic. (Although, while I am on the "topic" of Rylee, I would like to mention that SHE WENT PEE-PEE IN HER BIG-GIRL POTTY TONIGHT! We were so excited and proud of her! Okay... that's all.) Really, though, I can't think of much else to say about Ryan right now. He's still just eating, sleeping, and wetting diapers all day long. As he continues to grow and start doing new things, I'm sure my update posts will be a little more interesting. For now, though, here are a few pictures of him that I snapped today:
asleep in Mommy's lap
asleep in Mommy's lap
asleep in Mommy's lap
kisses from Big Sister
holding Mommy's hand

Until next time...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I'm NOT "Supermom", but I CAN do this!

Baby Ryan is two weeks old today. As usual, time is flying by.
We had an appointment at the Health Department at 8 o'clock this morning. Jordan started back to work at UPS yesterday morning (he started back at Home Depot last Monday), so he was not able to go with me and help juggle the two kids. My mom is in the hospital recovering from her double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery she had this past Friday, so she wasn't available to watch Rylee for me as she normally would if she didn't have to work. That means it was completely up to me to get myself and both kids up, dressed, fed, in the car, and to the Health Department by 8 o'clock this morning. It might not sound like much of a big deal to most people, but this was my first time out and about with both kids by myself. Just thinking about it stressed me out. I didn't want to do it. I didn't have a choice, though. Thankfully, I woke up on time (thanks to my alarm clock), even though I'm exhausted from two weeks of constantly-interrupted sleep during the night, and we made it to the Health Department on time. While we were there, they checked Ryan's weight, and he now weighs 10 pounds, 4 ounces. That means he has gained over a pound in less than a week (he weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces at the doctor's office last Wednesday). I can't believe how quickly he's growing. He's definitely a healthy boy, praise the Lord. Anyway, overall, our trip to the Health Department actually wasn't that bad at all, other than the fact that we were there for almost two hours because they were running really behind. And as insignificant as a trip to the Health Department alone with two young kids may seem to most people, for me, it helped me realize that I CAN do this.
I CAN be a mom to two kids by myself. I know I'm not "Supermom", and I never will be - and that's okay. I know there will be some days that go much more smoothly than others. I know there will be days where I'm ready to scream at the top of my lungs and rip my hair out. I know there will be days where I just want to curl into the fetal position and cry. I know there will be days when I'll be ready to sell both kids to the local zoo. I know there will be days where I wonder what on earth God was thinking when He entrusted these two kids in my care. I know I will constantly doubt myself, and I will make my fair share of mistakes, but whether I always believe it or not, God knew what He was doing when He decided to bless me with each of my children, and I know He will equip me with the strength and ability to do what I need to do to take care of them as best as I can.
This year started out as the best year of my life and the worst year of my life all at the same time. I welcomed my son into the world just ten days before my mom had major surgery to hopefully get rid of her breast cancer. It has been an extremely difficult, emotional time for me. I have always been close to my mom, but I never realized just how much I needed her until I became a mom myself. My heart has been so torn over all of this. I so badly wish I could be with my mom, helping take care of her so she can recover as quickly as possible, and at the same time, I selfishly so badly wish she was here with me, helping me take care of my babies. I just want to be able to call her and know that, if I wanted or needed her to, she could drop whatever she was doing and come over to be with me. Right now, though, she can't, and that hurts me so badly, even though I know it's not how she wants it to be. I know she would be here with me if she could be. As hard as this whole situation is for my entire family, though, I know God is using it to strengthen each of us and draw us closer to Him. He will get us through this, one day at a time, and we will be okay.
There is a beautiful song called "Blessings" by a woman named Laura Story, and it really speaks to my heart right now with everything I'm going through as a new (again) mommy and dealing with my mom's illness. The last set of lyrics in the song are as follows:

"'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?"

I'm so thankful that, even in the midst of my trials, God can use something as "simple" as a song to remind me that He is with me. With Him, I CAN do this!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Pinterest


I decided to jump on the bandwagon with the rest of the world (so it seems, anyway) and join Pinterest. I didn't exactly understand what it was all about, and when I first got the invitation to join, I logged on and had NO CLUE what to do, but I decided to log back on today and try to get started, and I think I'm slowly but surely catching on to things. Everyone told me it is very addicting, and I'm quickly realizing they are right. I've been "pinning" things all day between changing diapers and nursing sessions. I'm still getting the hang of things, but if you want to "follow" me and see what I've done so far, you can check out my profile here. Happy "pinning"!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

He's Here!

In case the title of this post didn't speak for itself, our baby boy is here. Ryan Parker Price was born on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 4:09pm central time at Baptist Medical Center East in Montgomery, Alabama. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds, and he was 22 inches long. Big, healthy baby boy. As you can imagine, we've had our hands a bit full since his arrival, so that's why I'm just now (almost two weeks later) getting around to doing this post, but I figure it's better late than never.
Everything associated with my labor and delivery went pretty smoothly overall. First, Jordan and I went to my appointment with Dr. Dupre at 8:30 as per scheduled, since my scheduled induction for that morning fell through. I weighed 138 pounds, meaning I gained a total of 31 pounds during my pregnancy. Not too bad, I reckon. Dupre checked me, and I was 2 centimeters dilated. I was so glad to hear I had actually made a little more progress. Anyway, as he had promised at my appointment the week before, he decided to go ahead and send me across the street to the hospital to be induced even though I wasn't actually scheduled for it. He told me to tell them I was having contractions (he stripped my membranes while I was in his office so I would have some) and showing signs of water leakage. Like a dummy, I said, "I am?!" He told me to smile and nod and go along with it if I wanted to have my baby. Have I mentioned how much I love my doctor? He seriously cracks me up.
So anyway, Jordan and I loaded up in the truck and drove over to the hospital to be admitted for induction. We were taken to my labor and delivery room (room 11) just after 9:30am, and the nurses began hooking me up to an IV and all the monitors to get the "party" started. I got my epidural just after 11am, and just like when I was in labor with Rylee, the right side of my body had a hard time going numb. I had to lay on my side to help the medicine flow into my right side, and finally, it started setting in. The left side of my body was much more numb than the right side of my body the entire time, though. Anyway, just after 1pm, Dr. Dupre came in to check on me and break my water. If I remember correctly, he said I was almost 4 centimeters dilated at that point. By 3:50pm, I was feeling the pressure to push. The nurses called Dr. Dupre, but he was stuck on an important phone call and wasn't able to make it in time to deliver the baby, so the hospital's in-house doctor, Dr. Thomas, had to deliver instead. To be honest, I was really upset when the nurse told me Dupre wouldn't be delivering. I had never heard of Dr. Thomas before, and I just wanted MY doctor to be the one to deliver my baby. However, as soon as Dr. Thomas walked into the room, I felt so at ease. It might sound a bit silly, but he's an older man, and as soon as I saw him, I just felt very reassured that he knew exactly what he was doing, and that I was in good hands. He was wonderful, and I was able to push Ryan out - even as big as he was - with just a few pushes and no assistance other than an episiotomy (when I had Rylee, Dr. Dupre had to give me an episiotomy and use the vacuum to help suck her out because her head kept hitting a spot and getting pushed back in). I was pretty proud of myself, if I may say so. Of course I was quite emotional through the entire experience, especially when the doctor pulled Ryan out and placed him on my chest and I heard him cry for the first time. I tell you what - it's not always pleasant to hear our children cry, but those very first cries of theirs are music to a mommy's ears. After I got to look at him for a minute, the nurses took him over to their little station to clean him up. Finally, they brought him back over to me, and everyone left the room so Jordan and I could have our bonding time with him and I could try to nurse him.
About an hour later, a nurse came in to take Ryan to the nursery to get his first "bath" and have his measurements taken. We were all very anxious to see how much he weighed. We could tell just by holding him that he was bigger than everyone was expecting him to be. He wasn't chunky by any means, but he was very solid. A little while later, my mom and a couple of nurses came back into the room with big smiles on their faces. One of them said, "Guess what..." I said, "What?" and she said, "Well first of all, he's 22 inches long." That alone impressed me. I rarely hear of a newborn being 22 inches long. It didn't totally surprise me, though. He apparently takes after his daddy and big sister. Then she (I think my mom) said, "Now guess how much he weighs." I knew right then that he must have been over 8 pounds. I guessed 8 pounds, 5 ounces. She said, "Keep going." I hesitantly guessed 8 pounds, 7 ounces. Then the main nurse who had been helping me said, "Honey, you just gave birth to a 9-pound baby." I think I just started laughing. I really couldn't believe he was that big. I didn't think it was possible for me to have a baby that big. How on earth did I carry him around as long as I did? No wonder I was hurting so badly by the end of my pregnancy! When the ultrasound tech told me the Thursday before he was born that he only weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, I knew there was no way it was correct. I knew he was bigger than that; I just didn't think he was going to be THAT big. All of the doctors and nurses were shocked. They kept asking me how tall I was. I guess it's not often that a woman my size has a 9-pound baby.
When I got over the shock of my linebacker baby, I asked the nurse if I had missed dinner time. I had not had anything to eat or drink (except for a few ice chips during labor) since about 10 o'clock the night before, and by this point it was already pushing 6pm, so I was on the verge of starving. Thankfully, a cafeteria worker brought a dinner tray to me just a few minutes later. I shoveled that hospital cafeteria chicken and dumplings, roll, and brownie down my throat in between phone calls to friends announcing that Ryan was here. It was actually pretty yummy (although at that point, I probably would've eaten just about anything). Shortly afterward, my family (my mom, dad, daddy, brother, sister, brother's girlfriend, and Rylee) decided to head home for the evening. Saying goodbye to Rylee was a bit emotional. She started crying because she didn't want to leave us, and I knew I would miss her during our 48-hour stay in the hospital. It still feels like it was just yesterday that I was there having her. Anyway, we said our goodbyes to everyone, and after a while, a nurse came to move me to a regular hospital room for the remainder of our stay. I was wheeled to room 229, and the nurse helped me get settled in the hospital bed (I had regained feeling on the right side of my body by that time, but the left side of my body was still pretty numb from the epidural). And so began our two nights in the hospital.
Our stay was actually pretty pleasant. The nurses at Baptist East are wonderful and took very good care of me. We also had some friends and family come visit us and meet Ryan. Thursday afternoon finally rolled around, and it was time to be discharged and go home. As soon as we were loaded up in the truck and got on the road, I started crying (just like I did when we were headed home from the hospital with Rylee). I guess it's just a very overwhelming feeling to me to be sent on my way with a brand new baby. It's a bunch of mixed emotions all thrown together at once. When we got home, my mom, dad, and sister were already there with Rylee. My mom was nice enough to have dinner fixed for all of us as well.
We've been home from the hospital for over a week now, and things have been going pretty well overall. Of course Jordan and I are both sleep-deprived, but that's all part of having a newborn baby. I feel like I'm starting to adjust to what it's like to have a baby BOY versus a baby girl (changing diapers can be quite a task; I've learned I have to be VERY quick or I risk getting a "shower"). On Monday, Jordan had to go back to his job at Home Depot, which I was NOT looking forward to. It's pretty intimidating to me to be responsible for a toddler and a newborn baby all by myself - even if they are my own kids. Next week, he has to go back to his job at UPS as well, so that's when the real challenge will begin. I know I have to learn how to do all of this by myself at some point, though.
Since we've been home, we've been blessed to have friends from our church bringing us meals until we get settled in a bit more. So far, people have brought us rotisserie chicken, enchiladas, pizza, baked spaghetti, a chicken-and-rice casserole, and manicotti. It really means a lot to us that other families will take time out of their busy schedules to help take care of us. We have a great church family.
On Tuesday, when Ryan was a week old, our photographer, Mrs. Lynne Richardson, came over to take newborn pictures of him. I was excited and nervous about them at the same time. He ended up doing very well (overall) during them, though, and she got some absolutely precious shots of him. She's still working on editing all of them, but I can't wait to share them in a post soon when she's done. If you're on Facebook, though, you can see some of the pictures she's already edited and uploaded here and here. Aren't they beautiful?
On Wednesday, green puss started coming out of Ryan's right eye. We took him to the doctor and found out he has a clogged tear duct. We have to put eye drops in his eye a few times a day and massage it. The doctor said it's a very common problem, and it can flare up for as long as a year. Hopefully it'll clear up soon, though. That's really the only "issue" we've had... other than that, we have a very healthy baby. He weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces at the doctor's office, which means he gained 9 ounces since we came home from the hospital. He's a good nurser (when I can actually wake him up to eat).
Yesterday, I packed up all of his newborn clothes. It was pretty much pointless for me to wash, fold, and put them away in his dresser. If I had known he was going to come out of the womb weighing 9 pounds, with arms and legs longer than mine, I would've gone straight to 0-3 month-size clothes from the beginning. Today, we also decided to move him up to size 1 diapers. I feel like we are squeezing his little legs to death trying to get newborn diapers on him. I just can't believe he's already big enough for this stuff. We did NOT have to move Rylee to bigger sizes this fast. We have a big boy on our hands. We still have two unopened packs of newborn-size diapers in his closet, but hopefully we can take them somewhere and exchange them for a bigger size.
Well... I think that about catches us up to life with Ryan so far. Again, I really hate that I'm just now getting around to doing this post, considering the fact he's almost two weeks old already. I just don't have as much free time as I used to (gee... I wonder why...), and when I do, I'm normally trying to catch a nap to make up for the sleep I'm losing during the night while I'm sitting up nursing a baby. I hate that this post is so long and probably all over the place (if you're still reading, I applaud you), but I figured it'd be easier to just go ahead and put everything in one post instead of trying to take the time to write several different posts. I will try to do better about posting updates from here on out, but don't hold me to it. For now, though, here are pictures from our hospital stay and since we've been home. There are quite a few, so just bear with me.
in mid-contraction (The epidural had started wearing off on the right side of my body, and my contractions were pretty intense by this point.)
trying to muster up a smile between contractions
feeling the pressure to push
He's here!
big boy!
all wrapped up
Ryan and Dr. Thomas
my first time holding my son
Ryan and Mommy (Jan. 4, 2012)
kisses from Mommy (Jan. 4, 2012)
Rylee came to visit us! (Jan. 4, 2012)
Rylee came to visit us! (Jan. 4, 2012)
Jan. 4, 2012
Jan. 4, 2012
Jan. 4, 2012
Ryan and Daddy (Jan. 4, 2012)
Ryan and Daddy (Jan. 4, 2012)
Jan. 5, 2012
ready to go home! (Jan. 5, 2012)
swinging (Jan. 6, 2012)
in mid-stretch (Jan. 6, 2012)
napping with Daddy (Jan. 6, 2012)
napping with Daddy (Jan. 6, 2012)
Daddy, Rylee, and Ryan (Jan. 6, 2012)
passed out in Mommy's lap (Jan. 7, 2012)
passed out in Mommy's lap (Jan. 7, 2012)
hanging out in Daddy's lap (Jan. 7, 2012)
hanging out in Mommy's lap (Jan. 8, 2012)
hanging out in Mommy's lap (Jan. 9, 2012)
hanging out in Mommy's lap (Jan. 9, 2012)
passed out on the couch (Jan. 9, 2012)
asleep in Mommy's lap (Jan. 10, 2012)
asleep in Mommy's lap (Jan. 10, 2012)
passed out on Daddy's chest (Jan. 10, 2012)
This is what it looks like when your baby has a clogged tear duct. (Jan. 11, 2012)
Ryan and Daddy after "bath" time (Jan. 11, 2012)
snoozing in his bassinet (Jan. 12, 2012)
first time napping in his crib (Jan. 13, 2012
hanging out in Mommy's lap (Jan. 13, 2012)
getting ready to go to the hospital to visit Nana (Jan. 14, 2012)
ready to go to the hospital to visit Nana (Jan. 14, 2012)

Monday, January 9, 2012

Another Year Over; A New One Just Begun

Well, we have officially entered the year 2012 (okay, so nine days ago we officially entered the year 2012). Insane, right? I wanted to do this post on New Year's Eve night while I stayed up waiting for the clock to strike midnight, but... I ended up going to bed around 10:30 instead. That's right... I rang in the new year from behind my eyelids in the comfort of my bed. I guess that's what happens when you're a mommy to an always-on-the-go 18-month-old and 39 weeks pregnant with Baby Number Two. You get tired, and suddenly, staying up to watch a ball drop on TV doesn't sound so appealing or important anymore.
Anyway, last year on New Year's Eve, I did a post recapping some of the "highs" and "lows" of my 2010, so I figured I'd do the same for 2011. It is SO hard to believe 2011 has already come and gone. I can honestly say it has FLOWN by faster than any year of my life thus far. WAY faster. It seriously feels like it was just a couple of months ago that I was sitting in this very same spot on our couch typing up that New Year's Eve 2010 post I just mentioned. I can't believe a whole year has passed by since then. 2011 was, overall, another great year for our family, filled with many blessings to overshadow the "bumps" in the road.
Without further ado, here's a quick recap of some of the events of the past year for me/us:

In January 2011:
- we celebrated Jordan's 26th birthday (posted about here)
- we became sponsor parents through Compassion International to a precious little boy in Haiti named Findley (posted about here)
- Rylee drank from a sippy cup for the first time

- Rylee learned how to clap

In February 2011:
- we celebrated my 21st birthday (my sweet hubby threw me a little surprise birthday party with some of our family and friends, posted about here)

In March 2011:
- Rylee crawled for the first time (posted about here)
- Rylee came down with her very first illness (posted about here)

In April 2011:
- Rylee got her first hair cut (posted about here)
- Rylee got her first tooth (posted about here)
- we celebrated Rylee's first Easter (posted about here)

In May 2011:
- we adopted our cat, Haiti (posted about here)
- I celebrated my first "official" Mother's Day (posted about here)
- we found out we were expecting Baby #2 (posted about here)

In June 2011:
- Jordan and I celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary and went on a long weekend vacation to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (posted about here)
- we celebrated Rylee's first birthday (posted about here and here)
- we celebrated Jordan's second Father's Day (posted about here)
- Rylee started walking (posted about here)
- one of my high school best friends, April, got married (posted about here)

In July 2011:
- Rylee got to swing for the first time (posted about here)
- Rylee went swimming for the first time (posted about here)
- we brushed Rylee's teeth for the first time

In August 2011:
- we bought Rylee her first pair of tennis shoes (posted about here)
- Jordan and I got to feel the first "for sure" kicks from the baby (posted about here)
- we found out we were going to have a boy (posted about here)

In September 2011:
- apparently not much happened, because I can't think of any highlights to mention!

In October 2011:
- we had to take Rylee to the doctor for her first "sick visit" (posted about here)
- we went to Florida to visit my daddy (posted about here)
- we took Rylee to her first Halloween festivities (posted about here)

In November 2011:
- we got 4-D ultrasound pictures taken of Baby Ryan (posted about here)
- I got to see Chonda Pierce and Warren Barfield in concert with my mom (posted about here)

In December 2011:
- my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer (posted about here)
- my high school best friend got married (posted about here)
- my church Sunday school class hosted a baby shower for Ryan and me (posted about here)