beautiful, beautiful boy

one year ago, God showed me
no matter what my plans may be, no matter what i want, or think is best
that He will always be the one in charge.
i had plans for a home birth with a midwife. he would be delivered without medicine.
after he was delivered he would be put on my chest, into my arms, and he would know i was his mama.
we would take him home with us that day, and we would begin our life together.
not so.
he was delivered in a hospital, by a doctor, with medicine.

they wouldn't let me see him after he was born.

they took him from me before i had even seen his face.

it was 4 hours before i was able to see what my baby looked like, 15 hours before i knew what he felt like, and 6 days before i knew what it was like to have him home with us.

i hate this story. it still breaks my heart.

but he did come home, he did know i was his mama, and we learned that no matter what we want

God will always have his way.

Praise be to GOD.

one year ago, God gave me the most precious, wonderful, beautiful gift.

one year ago, this little guy came into my life and flipped me upside down,

and taught me to love in a way i didn't know i was capable of.

this boy changed me forever. thank God he did. really. thank you, God.

this little boy, who came out in such a perfect form, with the most lovely dark hair,

blue droopy eyes, and these amazing puffy lips...

more beautiful than i could have ever imagined

my little guy that i had memorized while in my belly.

my little guy who i would give anything for, do anything for
him...who i was so graciously picked to be his mom.
him...who completed areas of my life i didn't know i was missing

him.

my little Judah.

My beautiful boy.

"Beautiful,

Beautiful, beautiful,

Beautiful Boy,

Before you go to sleep,

Say a little prayer,

Every day in every way,

It's getting better and better,

Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,

Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,

To see you to come of age,

But I guess we'll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it's a long way to go,
But in the meantime,

Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,

While your busy making other plans,

Beautiful,

Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy"
by John Lennon

I love you little Judah. Happy Birthday.

Jwaye Noel

Photo used courtesy of Drea Coslett, Fly on the Wall Photography

Our year has been filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, bumps and scrapes, joy and tears, and blessing upon blessing....

--We bought and completely remodeled our beautiful home from the studs up. This 3 month project took us 7 months, but we did it!

-- We welcomed our beautiful baby boy Judah Andrew on Feb. 25. There has never been a more perfect and lovely little boy...to us anyways :)

--We began training for a triathlon in April.  When we started, I was not sure if I would be able to follow through.

--Judah and I flew out to San Diego to see my brother, Zach, became a Marine in May. I am so proud of who my brother has become.  He has grown in leaps and bounds this past year and has turned into such a beautiful man.

--We moved into our home the first week of July!

--We completed our first triathlon in August! I DID IT! Woo hoo. Next time, my goal is not only to finish, but also, beat my sister.

--I'll skip September/October....these were difficult months for my family.....thankful they are through.

--Judah started walking at 8 1/2 months old this November.

Thank you for being apart of my life and watching my family throughout this past year. It's funny to think anyone would find my life remotely interesting, but it blesses me all the same. You are lovely people. All of you.

"The LORD bless you

and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you

and give you peace."

Merry Christmas

For real this time.

Well hello. So nice to talk with you again.

Yes, I know. It's been a long time.

But....

I have my reasons.

Some of which you may never know, others I just don't feel like typing at the moment

So, I'll try to win you over with a picture post.

Will it work?

I hope so!

The last month we.....

Finally got caught up on some much needed sleep.

We missed a few weeks while we were teething.

Thank you, Jesus that's over.

2 teeth down.

Learned to say: Kitty cat, Doggy, Ba Ba,

give kisses, click my tongue, and scream when I'm happy.

I refuse to say Mama.

Don't ask me how I feel about that.

Mom, unfortunately, had to go back to work, so we spend

as much cuddle time as we can together.

It's not ideal, but it's what we have been given and we're just dealing with it.

I learned to crawl.

I get into everything.

I knock everything over and pull everything down.

You know this story.

My mom also forced me to be the cutest lion that there ever was

Ever.

And through our crazy month, we are still a family.

Girls Weekend

We were loud.

We were obnoxious.

And nearly peed our pants with laughter.

(not me)

We ventured to the pumpkin patch where I discovered there were no batteries in my camera.

Fabulous.

So don't mind the gritty quality

(not that my normal camera is much better)

The camera phone just had to do.

We suffered through the Kansas wind on a hay rack ride.
Oh, hay rack rides.
I used to like you, but you left my hair a tattered mess.
We're through.

The children had to put up with their parents being highly unusual while fighting for the biggest and best pumpkin.

No one was injured.

Though, Bailey (in the striped jacket to the right) took a spill running ahead to find the best pumpkin.

Her advice was, "Watch out! There are vines all over the place!"

Yes, Bailey. This IS a pumpkin patch.

My sister in law, Alex, picked quite possibly the ugliest pumpkin ever.

We ventured through a corn maze.

We are a family of highly impatient women.

I say this in my defense.

We did not cheat in this corn maze.

Nope.

We did not pop out at some random area about 20 feet away from the actual exit.

Not us.

We also went to watch my sister's son play in his varsity homecoming game

Judah was entertained by all the people in the stands.

He's a people watcher just like his mama.

Best of all....
we made it through the weekend injury, tiff, and piddle pants free.

Oh, Baby.

Drew's sister, Jessica, had a baby boy September 24.

This is one of those birth stories that will leave you feeling...

well...

just a little like you want to kick her.

Or is that just me?

No.

I would never kick anyone.

Onto baby things...

(I made him that little hat. I just couldn't help myself!)

She woke at 4 am with light contractions and noticed around 6 am they were getting pretty regular.

She though her water may have broken, but wasn't sure.

She went to her midwife appt. at 11 am where she confirmed her water had broken.

The midwife sent her home until her contractions were closer together.

She walked around. She took a nap. She relaxed.

Then her water really broke around 2 pm.

Her contractions got really hard and they headed to the birth center.

She was dilated to a 9 when she arrived and she pushed for 40 min.

Her baby was born at 4:30.

Tristin Nytte was 7 lbs 12 oz.

She was in real labor for only 2 1/2 hours!

AAND she went 5 days early!

She was back at her house that evening around 8:30.

What I wouldn't have given (or kicked) to have that kind of delivery.

It was a blessing for her and I am so happy for her, nonetheless!

Here she is less than 24 hours after delivery.

Judah kept trying to man handle the poor little guy.

If my next delivery goes half as well, I will be completely satisfied.