1st Thanksgiving in Colorado

Thanksgiving looked a little different for us this year being so faraway from the majority of our family. Our Thanksgiving used to typically consist of driving to different family members houses, eating a lot, spending time with with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents (and maybe some Black Friday shopping). Instead, this year our Thanksgiving celebration looked like this: Wednesday night, Thanksgiving Eve Church Service with a pie social(so yummy!), Thursday, thanksgiving day dinner and watching football with some church friends, on Friday we were cleaning the house and prepping our food (cooked our turkey overnight) for hosting a Saturday Thanksgiving dinner, having 7 friends come over and bring wonderful additions to our meal, Sunday morning we had church/bible study and once we were all home it was nap time then for dinner and a football game we headed over to a church friends house.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious!!!! We only made a few of the dishes and here they are:
The Turkey ~ We tried something new with our bird this year thanks to my mother-in-law and it was amazing! We buttered and seasoned it using: garlic salt, seasoning salt, black pepper, poultry seasoning and sage, then put it in the oven on Friday night 10pm at 300* and the Mister got up at 5am Saturday morning to take it out(LOVE HIM!). We let it cool for a few hours then took all the meat off the bone, put it in the crockpot with the juices sans the fat, until we ate around 3:30pm that afternoon. We loved doing it this way for a few reasons being 1) we didn't have to even think about our turkey because it cooked while we slept, 2) it was super easy, 3) it was amazingly tender! We will definitely be trying that recipe again!

The Ham ~ We cooked our ham the way the package said to. I know, boring, right? But it was great...I may have added extra brown sugar...LOVE the caramelization that happens! Even though it was Thanksgiving and the main event is supposed to be the turkey I am such a sucker for the ham. The Potatoes ~ We HAVE to have mashed potatoes at every holiday. I think it has something to do with growing up in meat and potato country, the Midwest. We boiled, mashed and mixed up 10lbs. of potatoes to put in the crockpot. As long as your crockpot can be set on low or warm the potatoes will stay fluffy and creamy until you're ready to eat.Peanut Butter

Cream Pie ~ I cannot even pretend to take credit for thinking up this amazingly sweet concoction. I am NOT a baked fruit person. I don't know what it is, the texture maybe? So when I was trying to think up a pie to bake for our church's pie social I googled recipes with graham or pretzel crust and came across this one. I didn't end up using it for the pie social but thought I would let my Thanksgiving guests be my guinea pigs to try it out. Everyone who tried it said it was good enough to make again. Personally, I am the worst critic of what I make, I thought The peanut butter/whipped cream mixture was a bit much which made the pie extremely sweet....not always a bad thing but can be overpowering for some people.

Our amazing friends are the ones who brought everything else to complete this feast. We had rolls, corn, green bean casserole (one of our favorite dishes!), wine, beer, dump cake, and turtle pie! It was a great first Thanksgiving in CO! (This post is very boring without the pictures, I apologize. I forgot to take pictures on Thanksgiving and I haven't been able to get our friends pictures yet to add to this post. Hopefully you have a great imagination ;)

Total Spudette

I have not devoted much time on McKenna updates for the main fact of having little time. I knew with her arrival it meant lots of visitors, different schedules for Jason and I and still attending a variety of events and practices. All of these happenings took up plenty of time and blogging wasn't a priority compared to hanging out with the cutest daughter I have! Now that she has gotten older, 4 months a week ago, her schedule is different and she takes longer naps (that post is for a different time, Babywise is AMAZING) I have more large chunks of time during the day to spend doing things around the house and blogging. So this is the start of my attempt to update you on our little girl's first 4 months.

Asleep with Dad while Mom gets her bottle ready.

McKenna's 4 month appointment went great, minus the vaccines.! It is so hard to watch your little baby in pain even when its for a good reason. She is 16lbs.(90%) and almost 25 in.(70%) long and extremely healthy which is all that matters. During our appointment McKenna started showing off for the Doctor and even grabbed her nuk out of my hand and put it in her mouth. She had never done that before, usually she can get it close but is typically sucking/chewing on the hard plastic part of the front or side but that day she finally got it! McKenna is also becoming more and more focused. She will look and watch for her nuk and especially her bottle, she definitely knows her bottle when she sees it, she also loves watching dad, mom, and Sophie (our lab mix). Sophie and McKenna were never really that interested in each other but lately McKenna can't keep her eyes off of the dog while Sophie still runs and hides every time McKenna starts to cry. 

When we got close to the 4 month mark we also started cloth diapers. This topic seems to be a difficult one for some people saying that issues with cloth diapering outweigh the benefits. Deciding to cloth diaper was a no brainer from before McKenna was here. Shortly after we got married two of our neighbors and close friends were pregnant. Both of their husbands were studying to go into the full time pastoral ministry and both cloth diapered. Now I'm not saying if your in the ministry that you have to cloth diaper, it just so happens that alot of people who are in the ministry do cloth diaper. The main reason being cost, which is true for us as well. http://www.snapsandsnails.org/blog/2011/02/25/how-much-were-really-saving/ This blog post goes into great detail, she did a TON of research, about the cost difference between disposables and cloth...about $3000 difference and that's only for 1 child. After having so many trustworthy friends using cloth and seeing how much we could save it was a no brainer for us, but I do know that it's not for everyone. So far we have 2 new bumgenius, love them, 4 second-hand fuzibunz, love them, and 6 thirsties covers with about 20 prefolds, starting to like these more. Originally I had issues with the thirsties, leaking being the main problem but I think it was due to my inexperience with cloth. After a few days and trying different folds with the cover we have been leak free :) Besides starting our cloth diapers life around here as been amazingly relaxing and simple. Fall seems to have officially started here in Colorado with cooler temperatures and we couldn't be happier to finally have Holidays just around the corner. We are looking forward to getting together with great friends to celebrate Thanksgiving and all we have been given this year and then Christmas will be here before we know it and some of our family will be with us to celebrate our Savior's birth. We can't wait!! Here are some pictures from McKenna's first few months. We love her to pieces!

3 Months

3 months and 17 days to be exact; that's how old my beautiful spudette is today and how long it's been since life has changed forever....for the best!

As amazing life has been its also been a bit chaotic lately. In the past month McKenna has traveled to and through 4 new states, met 4 of her 5 great-grand parents, saw all 6 of her grandparents again (they visited us shortly after her birth), met 4 uncles and 2 aunts, met her God-parents (Jason's brother and sister-in-law), met 3 cousins, numerous great aunts and uncles, and was able to spend quite a bit of time with the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that visited us when she was just a few days/weeks old. In addition to that, the day after we got to MN we had to cancel our plans because I was in urgent care with a temperature of 103*, sever dehydration and pneumonia. NOT the way we intended to start our vacation! Thankfully being with family made it much easier to be sick since they all wanted to take care of us and McKenna, it was almost a relaxing time :) A HUGE thank you again to our family who took care of me!

We loved being back in the Midwest but it was definitely too short of a trip especially not knowing when we will be seeing all of the family again. During those 2 weeks we were also able to see a few good high school and college friends and all of their adorable kids. We also found quite a few future gentlemen suitors for McKenna from among our friends children, can anyone say 'arranged marriage'? Wouldn't it be great, to be able to pick an amazing, Godly spouse for your child? Anyway, that's a topic for a different day.

Finally!

I've been trying to figure out how to load pictures and I think I've finally did it...at least for now :) Enjoy!

Our first picture as a family of three!

Spud Is Here!!!! And it's a GIRL!!!!

***Just a note before you read this...#1- it's LONG, #2- it's detailled, hence the 'long' part (and possibly TMI for some; you do know you're going to be reading about labor and delivery of a baby right?), #3- it's picture less because for the life of me I cant figure out how to add pictures to a post from our iPad (I'm technologically challenged BIG TIME)


Our lives have changed a bit these last few weeks. It's hard to believe that just three days after my last post we were blessed with a baby!!!! McKenna Kimberly decided to join us a few days early, which is a completely new thing for the women in my family because everyone seems to go late, but we couldn't be happier for when she came!!!!  


McKenna's journey into this world started on Tuesday, July 3rd, when my mucus plug came out and I started having somewhat regular contractions. We still decided to take Carmen, Jason's sister who was visiting, out to a few breweries to meet some friends and try some local beer. Everything was going great until we got up to leave the first place, as we walked out this gush of fluid came out and I literally thought I peed my pants. Not exactly the best feeling especially because we were all headed downtown to another brewery for more CO beer and pool. So needless to say, once I decided that no, it wasn't my water breaking, we took a detour back to our house so I could change and grab extra clothes in case it happened again. The contractions were still there and even though they were coming semi-regularly they still weren't regular and consistant enough to make me worry. Plus they had gotten less intense than what they had been the past few weeks. So the next few days I kept a close watch on everything and really monitored how I felt just in case my body was going to give me any other clues on how close to baby time we were. 


On Friday, July 6th, my dad, step-mom and cousin arrived for the weekend. It was great to see them because it was the last time to see them before this Fall and they brought with them a glider we had purchased (which proved very useful the next day). On Saturday when I woke up everyone was still sleeping except my dad so we took our dog, Sophie, for a quick walk and came back to get ready for the day. This was the first time my cousin had been here so we were going to take her to Garden of the Gods to do some hiking and sight seeing. By the time everyone was getting up, around 9 am, I started realizing that my contractions were coming pretty frequently. I still wasn't timing them at this point but just overly paying attention and getting excited. It wasn't until around noon that I started timing them and realized that there were consistently coming between 5-6 minutes apart and lasting anywhere between 40 seconds and 1 1/2 minutes. This got me very excited but I knew I had to be patient because if I was in labor then this was just the start! 


After my contractions stayed consistant for about two hours we called into the maternity triage and asked if we should come in. The nurse said it definitely seemed like labor but not to come in until my contractions were much harder, where I couldn't talk or walk through them (those weren't exactly the encouraging words I had hoped for). So Jason and I did a few short walks up and down our street to keep me moving and try to keep Spud moving down as well. Around 9:30 Saturday night we drove over to the hospital, my contractions weren't getting closer but they were getting more intense and I wanted some confirmation that we were actually in labor. Motivation was key during my labor!!! 


Our first nurse when we got to the hospital, Shannon, was great! She hooked me up to all the monitors to check on Spud, myself, and the contractions so she would have some information to tell our doctor when she called her. After sometime she called our doctor and when they checked me I was still about 75% effaced, but I was now dilated to a 5. Our doctor was a little concerned about my blood pressure and that Spud seemed sleepy but another 20ish minutes and a cup of cranberry juice later everything seemed good and normal. Once our Dr. didn't have any more concerns she gave us  our options. Since our goal was to try for an all natural birth, with no assistance from the doctor, she  said we could go home to labor for a few more hours or get checked into the hospital and wait. Jason  was concerned that I was getting too tired so he suggested we get checked in and that I get some  medicine to help me sleep before the real intense labor started, which we did. Shannon gave me 2  doses of Fentanyl which allowed me, and Jason, to sleep for about 3 hours which was amazing and  much needed.   


When I woke up I decided that I had slept enough and was to excited to sit around any longer. I wanted to start doing something to get Spud moving, especially since when Shannon checked me I  was only dilated to a 6, almost 7. We opted first for the jacuzzi tup, I was able to sit in it and relax a  bit while Jason used the hand held sprayer to put some counter pressure on my back, back labor is no  fun but it did help to get the job done. While I was able to manage my contractions easier in the tub  they had started to get more intense so after about 40 minutes I was ready for another change. This  time, the exercise ball and walking around in our room. This enabled Jason to get a little more sleep,  the contractions weren't terrible, and me to move Spud. The ball was great and helped a ton to get my  mind off the pain, I suggest it to everyone! Around 5:30am our doctor came and checked me and I  was at a 7 but my contractions weren't getting closer so we opted for her to break my water to see if  that would get labor progressing any faster.....it did!!!! 


I never knew that contractions could be non- stop :( But the worse they got the closer we were to meeting our little one, that was the one thing I  tried to focus on and it was a huge help in getting through the labor. Walking wasn't helping much  anymore so our next nurse suggested we try the shower. There was a hand held attachment so Jason  was able to help a TON by applying counter pressure again just like in the tub. Before getting in the  shower the nurse checked and said I was dilated to 8 and when I got out and started feeling like I  should push I was at 9. The nurse got ahold of our doctor and was given the green light to let me start pushing whenever I felt I needed to. By the time our doctor got there I was dilated to 10 and the  action started. Almost immediately the room had about 3 more nurses and my bed was taken apart for delivery. Pushing is a completely new experience, unlike anything I have anything experienced  before, and near impossible to explain to someone who's never had a baby. But let me tell you...it was so incredibly worth every minute, because this amazing little blessing, a daughter, was brought into  our lives. 


The last few minutes before she came out they needed to give me some oxygen but as soon as she was born they put her on my chest. AMAZING!!!!!!! I couldn't believe she was actually here! I got to have her for a little while but then they had to take her to the warming table because she  was cold and blue and they couldn't get her to pinken up. Jason was right next to her and I was  exhausted and  thankful for just a minute to hear the doctor say that everything went great, no stitches and the   placenta came out completely. Once she was pink I got to have her again until the nurse took her and Jason to the nursery to wash her and get her footprints while my nurse helped me get ready to move to our postpartum room. 


McKenna was born at 8:39 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 1 oz., 19 1/4 in. long, and her head was 13 3/4  in. We couldn't be more in awe of this miracle that God has blessed us with!

Changes: Some Bad (the Fire), Some Great (Spud)

This week has been rough! Where we live we are about 20-25 miles away from Waldo Canyon, which is currently on fire and it quickly became the worst fire in Colorado Springs history, possibly even state history. Thankfully at this point they have the fire 70% contained and people who had to evacuate their homes are slowly being let back in. Thankfully very few people were hurt in what could have been a massive tragedy for the people of western Colorado Springs. During this time Jason and I were managing the climbing tempetures by positioning fans to get air flow and keeping windows wide open; tempetures continue to be about 10* higher than usuall for this time of year. Needless to say, but we were getting extremely warm, then the smoke from the fire blew across town to the area we live. Instead of being smoked out of our house we shut all the windows with the hope it wouldn't get too warm and soon the wind would change so the smoke would be blown elsewhere. This was not the case, instead our house was usually warmer than it was outside....not ideal when your about 37 weeks pregnant. Some amazingly gracious friends from church offered their guest room, aka basement, to us for as long as we needed. It was more than wonderful to be in an air conditioned house, in a cool basement with great hosts! We couldn't have been more thankful especially since the night before we packed up to live at their house I slept about 2hrs because it was so hot in our house; 2 hrs of uncomfortable, restless sleep doesn't make for a happy momma. While staying at our friends house I had an unexpected visitor (Jason was in on the surprise) my mom!!!! She flew in for the baby shower the ladies from my church threw for me and was able to stay the weekend to help us pick up our crib. It was an amazing surprise and I was so thankful to get to visit with her and get more words of experienced wisdom (she's had 6 kids) about our upcoming adventure of labor, delivery and parenthood. We got our hopes up that Spud would have made an appearance for Grandma because of the news were getting at our prenatal appointments. (Possible TMI alert) At our 37 week appointment my body was already getting prepared for Spud. I was dilated to 2, 50% effaced and Spud was head down. At 38 weeks I was dilated to a 3, 70% effaced and Spud was still head down and positioned correctly. At our most recent visit the nurse said she could feel Spud's head so baby and mom are both getting closer to a visit to the hospital!!! Jason and I couldn't be more thrilled to know that Spud is still healthy, growing on schedule and will soon be joining us! We know that a lot will change with a new baby in the house but we couldn't be more excited to start this next chapter of our lives!

What to do when Papa Bear isn't home???

On Sunday Jason, Pastor, Andy (and old high school classmate of mine and the teacher at our WELS school here in the Springs) and a member from our church left for Nebraska where the WELS District Convention was going to be held. Which meant I had to find things to occupy myself from Sunday to Wednesday night....anything is fair game according to Jason, except going into labor (we have about 5 weeks left but the seemingly constant braxton hicks contractions leave us thinking that my body wants to have the baby soon, we'll see what's in God's plan :)  So far (it's only Tuesday morning) I have done alot of laundry-I blame it on the nesting, grocery shopping, dishes, and sitting around reading baby and parenting books. I love having downtime but it's almost more draining to find things to do than to be busy.

 But I say that last statement cautiously because last week was VBS at our church. Normally it wouldn't have been very stressful but the lady who usually teaches the crafts didn't want to run it this year but rather wanted to just help. And I have nothing against her for that because it is a big job...I came to find out. When Jason found out he still needed someone to run the crafts I thought, 'Ya know, I think I could do that. It doesn't seem that hard'. Lol Let me tell you something I learned in the last few weeks....planning, organizing, and assembling the crafts for 4 different age groups is not that easy!!! Thankfully I had some HUGE help from other ladies at church and Jason but I definitely made a mental note that next time there is a volunteer position available and I am about a month away from giving birth, ---let someone else fill it---. Even though it was a very busy, stressful week, and it sounds like I didn't like it, I really enjoyed myself because it was extremely fulfilling to be a witness to over 75 children who came to participate with our VBS and learn about their Savior's love!

Getting Ready

At this point in my life there are alot of things I need to get ready for. Getting up in the morning and getting ready for the day, dressed and preparing myself for church, trips to the store...so many minute things compared to some biggies such as getting ready for 4 days of VBS and being in charge of crafts (for the first time EVER- Yikes) or a trip out of townor the biggest one yet...having a baby.

Life, From a Few Glances

*Warning: This post is a bit odd, but if you know me at all then this should come at no surprise. :)

Life is constantly throwing us curve balls...I think that's what we get for disobeying and eating forbidden fruit. Life is usually not predictable, instead it is typically haphazard, unorganized, disheveled, crazy and always guided by the Father alone. Only He knew what the future would hold...even before the 7 days of creation, He knew. That boggles my mind completely and wholly, and yet with the faith He has mercifully granted me, I follow Him in this unknown, hectic, and sometimes scary world. (Now I am going to try and make these thoughts come full circle so you can somewhat understand where I am coming from. Please be patient with me, my writing skills and/or story-telling were never top notch....I seem to get distracted too easily.)

The last few days I have been able to experience the odd weather that the Springs gets this time of year. One day it was sunny and 85 the next was overcast, super windy with 100% chance of snow...and it did, only a few inches but still it was a crazy difference to experience especially when by early afternoon everything was melted and it was at least 70 and sunny again. The weather being as crazy and unpredictable as it was (and with as cranky as the cold weather made me) it led me to think about the blessings I have recently been given and the other situations in life that bring us to our knees in prayer. 

Back in February I was able to fly back to MN for my older sister's baby shower, a great event with amazing family and friends who were so excited to celebrate this new life coming into the world. (If you would like to read more from her perspective check it out http://www.obergsmn.blogspot.com/2012/02/rubber-duckies-everywhere.html ) Then a few days ago we received the amazing news that she finally had her beautiful little one, a daughter. And in our family she is the first grand-baby!!! A gift from God to surly be thankful for especially since my sister went through 48 hours of labor and her baby was over 10 lbs but both very healthy, doing great and are now settling into life outside the womb at home :) 

Another amazing gift was the birthday of my Grandma Dee, 89 years young! My Dad's mother is someone I have always known to be stronger than her circumstances; she had 10 children while moving around the country since my Grandpa was in the military. A woman who has been given her share of difficult times and yet continues to cling to her faith! 

We are constantly being flooded with blessings from above that most of the time we don't even see the mercy He grants us, until we hit a wall, a situation that we face where only God can help. Very recently I found out that a friend and her husband, who tried for a very long time for a baby and who is now pregnant with her first baby, were given this type of struggle to go through. She is only 19 weeks along, her cervix ruptured and she is dilated to 3. She went to a larger hospital with a NICU but was discharged after a few days with no changes. The prayer now is that their little girl can stay where she is for at least 4 more weeks while her mommy is put on very strict bed rest. Right now even the doctors say that they can't do much if their little girl comes now, but after 24 weeks there is a better chance, only God, the once who 'knit her together' in that first moment of conception has the ability in this situation. His will be done! Please pray for these three dear Christian brother and sisters as our God alone holds their future!

All of these situations, blessings and struggles show so blatantly how our Father's precious hands alone hold us and carry us through our lives, the good and difficult times. During this past Holy Week, where we use the time to refocus our eyes on the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us terrible sinners, it is also a time to remember that God holds each and every one of us. He knew exactly what blessings and struggles we would encounter and how He would constantly give us strength to overcome these situations. We are never alone in life, our Father is constantly by our side.

***I found out today, by God's will alone, that our friends who were struggling with the possible birth of their very premature daughter have just started a very hard journey. Their daughter, Kora Ruth, was born early Easter Monday. She was both delivered and then baptized by her father, a few minutes later Kora went home to her Heavenly Father. Although Kora is now in the best place imaginable with no pain or suffering, please continue to keep her parents in your prayers as they are facing all of the emotions that come with a struggle that parents were never supposed to experience, the loss of their child. 

January and February

Theses months have flown by at an incredibly fast speed. Moving, adjusting to new jobs, keeping our dog Sophie out of trouble, and getting ready for our Spud has overtaken all of our time. Jason jumped right into his work at the church within days of moving here and I was presented with a job opportunity to work as a Kindergarten Aide at a nearby public elementary school. Originally Jason and I decided that I wasn't going to try to find a job but rather focus on moving in and getting Spud-ready while he focused on getting used to his new staff minister duties. But we found out very soon after moving that I needed to have some time out of the house because we realized I get more accomplished when I am busy, sad to say but that has alot to do with lack of self-discipline...I'm trying to work on that. So when this job was suggested to me I jumped on the opportunity to meet the principal, walk through the school and get a feel for what my job would entail. I was blessed to get an interview out of 40 applicants and was even more blessed to be offered the job!! My first real, adult job; very exciting!  So Monday through Friday, 8 -12 I get to hang out with my teacher and 22 kindergartners, some who can't call English their primary language - a teaching challenge for sure although my 2 1/2 years of high school Spanish is definitely being put to use :)

We have also had the opportunity to meet and hang out with the Youth Group, C.O.R.E (Collegiates On the Road to Eternity, the college age group), and the 20's/30's group at our church. The amount of groups that get together for fellowship outside of Sunday morning at church has, and continues, to amaze us! Getting to bowl, ski, play frisbee golf, eat and play games with these very eager-in-faith Christians has led to meeting friends and having great discussions.

New Life in CO

I would think that with my new found freedom of time, free from school, student teaching and portfolio, that I would have figured this blog thing out already. Like rule #1 - Post at least once a month, otherwise your news is outdated. But alas, I have yet to understand and abide by rule #1.  But I'm trying....that counts right? Anyways, life since moving to Colorado has been full of excitement. We have met so many gracious people from our new church family who have helped us tremendously! When we first moved they met us and the moving truck, by bringing meals the first few days, taking us around town and inviting us into their homes and lives. We have been very moved by their outpouring of love and joy that we are here; we couldn't be happier to be part of a church family that is so inviting to anyone that walks through the doors.

Since it has taken me so long to update our lives I'll try to recap for you all of the major happenings so far. After a great road trip from New Ulm, MN to Colorado Springs, CO three vehicles, five adults, five children(one in utero), and one dog arrived safely at our new house. We drove up to meet 9 men from FOL ready to unload the truck for us. It took us 1 1/2 days to load it but only took them about an hour to completely empty it. We were thrilled for their help. Then we walked into the kitchen to find the fridge, freezer, and the pantry stocked for us. We were absolutely floored by our welcome committee.
While my mom and our friends, Katrina and Phil and their family were still in town we were able to arrange most of the furniture, hang wall pictures, get the bedrooms settled and the kitchen ready for living in. Jason and I couldn't have moved in without all of their help, especially because I realized that the altitude made me very tired on top of being 13 weeks pregnant.

Installation Sunday was the next big day. It was great to met and greet all of the members at the cake reception following the service and also have them meet our friends and family that were able to be there. The day before Jason's mom and dad had flown in to be there for his installation which was a huge surprise considering that none of us knew they were coming. After an exciting morning we all went back home and were able to just relax before Katrina, Phil and their family had to start driving back home. The next day my mom and Jason's parents also headed home. Having everyone leave was bittersweet especially now that we're so far from our friends and family we were unsure how long it would be again before we saw them. But it was a great experience to have so many people with us who supported us in this huge new chapter of our lives, it made the transition much easier.