Henry's Birth Story

Some may not really care how the events on my son's birthday unfolded but, typing this helps me remember. And, this really was a day I don't want to forget! I wanted to type this out before Henry's 1st birthday..... which is next week! Nothing graphic or gross so you won't lose your lunch.:)

We woke up that Sunday morning at 4:30am. I knew something would happen that day because I felt different from the get-go. My parents and sister had been staying with us the week before with high hopes of cuddling a little grandson/nephew. Henry was stubborn and just wouldn't budge. As the week drew to a close, a realization that my family may not get to meet Henry until Christmas set in. That reality was sad but, we still had a great time. When family gets together it's good food, great company and plenty of belly-laughing. So at 5am that morning when they packed up and left for ND, I cried. Like I always do. My brother and friend Laura(who were also staying with us) were still asleep. Joel and I went back to bed and, a couple hours later I woke up and realized my water had broke. Very very slow trickle just like when we labored with Norah. Sparatic contractions but, nothing painful or consistent. I called my midwife(Sue Lang- most awesome midwife ever!) and she told me that we should head to the hospital to get checked and get on a monitor.

Leaving Norah was very hard for me. We didn't want Norah to feel at all scared or anxious that day, as we had made arrangments for our neighbor's to watch her. Danny and Laura must've sensed how sad I was(seriously, I was a bawling mess) because, they decided to stay for a while and hang out with Norah. Joel and I arrived at the hospital, got checked(2.5cm) and it was confirmed that my water had indeed broke.

I was emotional for a good chunk of the day. It was hard to say goodbye to family, hard to be away from Norah and, hard to walk a bjillion miles around the maternity unit trying to get labor moving. At 1:30, Sue suggested starting a pitocin drip. With Norah I denied pitocin for 5 hours, not wanting drugs of any kind. With Henry, pitocin was started at 2(I think). I didn't see the point of dragging this process out, Joel and I were anxious to meet our son!

Throughout the afternoon, Satan tried relentlessly to drag me down and, do all in his power to ruin this amazing day. He reminded me of how painful it was going to be, told me I couldn't do it, told me how dumb I was for refusing an epidural. Reminded me time-and-time again that Henry was already over 9 pounds and Norah was hard to push out at just 6pounds 15ouces. There was a very dinstinct moment in the day where I felt God stomp Satan's lies out of my mind. My attitude changed and I was focused. Focused on God and his plan for my family. It was awesome having Joel there, he was nothing but positive and relaxed the whole day. Sidenote: I think he really enjoyed spoon-feeding me the ice chips!

Fast forward to 6pm. Danny texted and said they really needed to get on the road(headed back to MN). I asked Joel to drive home(25 minutes) and, eat with Norah and get her settled with the neighbors. He reluctantly left and I sat on a birthing ball visiting with my midwife. Sue is also Catholic so we talked about different bible studies we were doing and, also her son's upcoming wedding. This took my mind somewhat off how painful the contractions were becoming. At around 7 she checked me and told me to call Joel to see where he was, I was at 9.5cm(I think Sue was getting nervous that Joel would miss the main event:). I called and, he was still about 10 minutes away. The nurses were called in at that point and the bed was made ready. Sidenote: I asked Joel this past weekend what it was like for him driving back to the hospital knowing his son would soon be born. He said he prayed and remembered saying a "Hail Mary" and ran from the parking garage to the maternity unit. He remember's people saying "There's the Dad! Is he going to make it in time?!"

Then, in what seemed like a split second, Joel was back, we were 10cm, ready to push. This is where the power of prayer came into play. I closed my eyes and pictured Jesus standing in front of me. I said, "please God help me." He responded, "You can do this, I know this because I made you. You were meant to have this baby, you were meant to be a mom. I made you for this." With every contraction and every push it was me with me eyes closed,  and Jesus right there with me, helping me thru(and Joel and Sue, of course). Joel tells me my head looked like it was going to pop off and we laugh about that but, in all seriousness, the birth of my two kids were the most personal moments I've had with God. With Norah, I would say the LORD's prayer until the pain got so intense that I would forget the words. It went something like this, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come......." and repeat.

^13" I can do all things through Christ^[a] who strengthens me."   Philippians 4:13

After 10 minutes of pushing my little boy entered this world. His cry was loud and, they placed belly for a quick moment. Sue whispered something to the nurses(something to do with his mega cisterna magna that was detected in the 38 week ultrasound) and they rushed him over to the table to examine him. They checked him over, weighed him(10 pounds 5 ounces) and Joel brought him back to me.

At 7:35 that night, we glorified God for giving us a healthy baby boy. One year later, we're glorifying God for the joy and love Henry has added to our family. We know God has something really incredible planned for Henry, we can't wait to see what it is!

As Joel held Henry, he blessed him "The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

And with that, Henry fell asleep... and to this day, Henry hears that blessing every night before bed.

This week in pictures

Henry loves showing off his pearly-whites! And, he loves when I brush his teeth! I think it makes him feel like such a big boy.

 These next couple pictures are from a family-fun day that Caterpillar had for their employees and families.

 Joel and Norah watching a machine demonstration

 Every couple minutes Norah would point and yell "BIG SCOOP!"

Since it's getting colder out, the kids often stay in jammies until late morning. And... being the self-proclaimed super-fun Mom I am, I usually participate too....

 The kids love racing down the driveway, Henry in the coup and Norah on the worm. Joel gives them a little push and I act as official at the bottom of the driveway.

 This does Joel's heart good, to come home and find two smiling kids playing outside.

 This was a hug/tackle that ended in lots of laughter.

  Have you ever seen such beautiful blue eyes??

 Henry's not mad about Norah putting necklaces on him... all he really wants is a big hug!

Is it time to go out and play Mom?

Have a beautiful weekend!

Have you checked out 40 days for Life's devotional for Day 3? You can find it here.

The truth about Henry.

With Henry's 1st birthday quickly approaching, I want to share some thoughts about our past year.

You see, Norah was only 7 months old when we found out that we were 6 weeks pregnant with Henry. I was still nursing Norah 5 times a-day, swaddling her everytime she went to sleep, she had just recently started eating rice cereal and she was still very immobile. I was not ready to get pregnant and Norah was still so very very little. So, when I found out we were expecting, I cried. I felt like it was way too soon, like I wouldn't be able to love another baby the way I loved Norah. My heart was already so full, was there room for another baby? I was overwhelmed. Joel was super excited. He is a very wise man and he knew from the get-go that God would provide. God would provide the love, the energy, the money, the healthy, happy baby. God was at work gifting us with a sweet little boy and I was... ungrateful.

Even though I was initially ungrategul, I immediately felt love for Henry. That love multiplied every single day. At 14 weeks, I felt Henry kick and I REALLY looked forward to meeting him and introducing him to Norah. I looked forward to teaching him about God, loving on him and telling him, "I love you more than you know." I had a feeling I was carrying a boy, even though Joel and I talked about how nice it would be to have a second girl since they would be only 15 months apart. When we found out we were having a boy, it echoed in my ear "God has an incredible plan." I teared up driving home from the doctors appointment.... this time I wasn't overwhelmed with fear or anxiety but, complete happiness. The ultrasound looked great and this baby was healthy.

Last October Henry came bursting into our lives weighing 10 pounds 5 ounces, 22 inches long, perfectly healthy. This baby was what we needed. God knew that. I did not. I get goosebumps and watery eyes, just thinking about how much we love and adore Henry.

On a lighter note:
Henry is as strong as an ox: holding him when he's trying to get away will always end in a sweat.
He is loud.
He has an obnoxious laugh.
His smile is among the biggest I've seen.
He's an early-riser. And sometimes he still wakes us up at night. Then, I tell Joel, "I'll give you one million dollars if you help Henry." He goes and helps Henry, returns and says, "I'll take my money in the form of apple-cider donuts from Tanners Orchard."
Holding Henry in church is like wrestling an alligator. Seriously, I wake up sore on Monday.
He's somewhat of a vicious hair-puller.
In the morning, after I nurse him, he lays in bed between Joel and I, while we both cling to 2.5 more minutes of glorious sleep. At this point Henry usually does his best impression of a torpedo. He sets his body perpendicular to ours' and spins, only stopping to kick Joel directly in the face or slam my cell-phone against my head. It's great fun.
Henry can eat like no other. He usually clears his tray then, finishes Norah's too!
He's usually screaming for his food before we can finish our dinner prayer.
He's like an octopus in the bathtub. Giving the kids a bath is not a task Joel and I fight for. The "lucky one" gets the job of cleaning the kitchen during bathtime.
He adores Norah. Follows her around the house, gives her hugs and kisses and, even lets her put necklaces on him.
Sometimes putting him in his carseat is like putting a cat in the bathtub. I'm not kidding.
He's a mama's boy. I love putting my arms out and watching him come running in for a big hug.
He's a little comedian. Sometimes he crawls across the floor with his face in the carpet like an ant-eater just because he knows it will make us laugh.

I would be lying if I said he was the most easy-going baby but, he's still a joy and we wouldn't trade him or his wild personality for anything. God was spot-on(as usual) when he blessed us with Henry.

And to the Skalet family, last night Joel said he thinks Henry's going to be a "busy" boy. You know what that means!

If you have a few minutes, would you please commit to the 40 Days for Life campaign devotional for Day 2. I love the prayer at the bottom of the page. You can find it here.

Be vigilant

Today kicks off the annual 40 days for life campaign. I believe that God has a truly amazing plan for every single human life and that that amazing plan begins at conception. At this very moment lives are being ripped away, babies are dying to the hand of abortion. Will you participate this year, in prayer, fasting and peaceful vigil??

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America. (source)

I remind you, all my prayer-warrior friends and family, to never cease praying. Pray persistently until the very last abortion clinic closes. Pray that these babies will live. The 40 days for life website has put together some really great daily devotions. The devotion for day one is here

The power of prayer should not be underestimated....

Two more abortion centers close their doors;40 Days for Life prepares for record campaign

WASHINGTON, DC – "This Wednesday, people of faith and conscience in 301 cities across seven countries are launching a massive, unified 40 Days for Life campaign of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion that is going to outstrip all our previous efforts,” said Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life campaign director.

“Tremendous momentum is on our side,” said Carney. “We’ve recently learned of the closure of two more abortion facilities where peaceful 40 Days for Life prayer vigils were conducted in the public right-of-way outside."

Those locations are in Pensacola, Florida and Forest Grove, Oregon. Volunteers in Pensacola report the abortion center was closed and a sheriff’s notice placed on the locked door as the result of court proceedings involving the business. In Forest Grove, volunteers say business signs were removed and the building emptied. Phone calls confirmed the permanent closure of the facility.

In all, 16 abortion centers where peaceful 40 Days for Life prayer vigils have taken place have closed following these campaigns of prayer and fasting. In addition, 53 abortion industry employees have left their jobs at facilities where people prayed for an end to abortion during 40 Days for Life campaigns.

Dresser and Rocking Chair

We've been keeping busy with all sorts of little projects and, I thought I'd share a couple before/after pictures with you.

 Dresser before. $15.00 at the thrift store

Dresser after. Yes, the picture is accurate, it is really that bright! I had envisioned painting this dresser yellow, distressing it some and putting dark drawer pulls on but, my sister Allison was here and both her and Joel fought for the blue so, I lost. I do like this though and, our livingroom did need some color pop!

 Rocking chair before

 My Mom actually spotted this at a garage sale in July when she was visiting us. It was in rough shape but, she paid just $3.00 for it and, it did rock really well.

Rocking chair after. We took it almost completely apart, sanded it down then, Joel put it back together tightening everything up so it rocks like new. The kids absolutely LOVE this chair! I think I'll eventually put a pad on the seat to make it a little more comfy for them.

I'm going to be posting a few more pictures of recent projects we've finished. The growth chart, toy box and subway art are finished and ready to be photographed! Stay tuned

Joel and Norah posed for some cheesy pictures last weekend.... it would be a crime to keep them secret!

Joel's senior picture re-enactment.

Happy Monday!

Henry 11 Months

Just popping in to let you all know that... Henry is now 11 months old and walking is the cool thing to do! As of last Saturday(September 10th) Henry has been officially walking. Joel and I both agree that it still catches us completely off-guard when Henry comes strutting around the corner... no longer our little baby. We're so in-love with this amazing little boy of ours and his beautiful spirit... truly blessed to have him as a son.

This past month has been overall pretty challenging for our little man. He started the month getting his second top tooth, took a break from teething to conquer roseola, diarrhea, then fought thru a nasty bloody diaper rash(TMI, I know) and finished off the month with his 3rd top tooth and all that fun that accompanies teething. He's doing well now and throughout all this yucky stuff, he still blessed us daily with his great big smile and his obnoxiously beautiful laugh.

There have been some things Henry's been doing for 1-2 months that I've forgot to mention. He's a dancing, waving, clapping, laughing whenever-he-hears-someone-else-laugh machine. One of my very favorite parts of the day is when Henry first wakes up. He's so happy to see everyone.. the waving is among the wildest I've ever seen. When he sees Norah they hug and usually both end up laying on the floor laughing.

With Henry's first birthday quickly approaching, I find myself remembering the first days, weeks and months when we first brought him home from the hospital. I've been thinking of the day Henry was born and, how hard it was to leave Norah to go to the hospital, what an emotional wreck I was as we walked and walked and walked around the hospital trying to move labor along. I had a VERY intimate encounter with Jesus that day and I think as Henry's birthday gets closer, I'm going to share all of this... my sons birth story.

Stella's Visit

So my BFF Stella came and stayed for about a week Aug31-Sept6. It was great having her here..... as always when someone special comes for a visit, time sped up. Those 6 days felt like 3 days at the very most. We kept busy with crafty projects, wasting time looking at home decor on pinterest, a quick day-trip to Chicago and we even finalized some plans for our upcoming "2nd Annual Holiday Party." Stella is the very best kind of houseguest. While I'd be changing dirty diapers before lunch, she'd be cutting up the kids' food. She refused to let me do her laundry and she even introduced us to an AWESOME mexican dip recipe while she was here.

These two pictures are my favorite from her time here. My babies love her so much and it doesn't surprise me one single bit. She is an amazing person.

Norah LOVES the smell of Stella's hair!

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us Stell, we love you!



This weeks lovin

So I've had that feeling lately..... like I want to paint every single wall in my house and get some really awesome things to hang on the wall.... this feeling was bound to show up sooner or later.... afterall, we have live here for a-year-and-a-half!

 source

I am in love with subway art right now! I'm going to attempt to make a "family rules" sign for our living room.

 source

Of course I'm still loving this Amy Butler fabric. My comforter is screaming for a duvet cover so maybe.... just maybe I could sew a few straight lines and have myself a new comforter. Easier said than done... Joel told me that the seams that I sew are more crooked than an Illinois politician! Hey Joel, what about Aaron Schock?!?! He's not a crooked politician!

I'm sorry I don't have a source for this.... I have no idea where I found it but... I must have one.:)

 soure

I'd love to make one of these Pottery Barn knockoff growth charts in the kid's room. We tried marking Norah's height the other day(on a 2x4 in the furnace room) and she was less than impressed. We never did get her height marked....

source

If my first "subway art" sign turns out, I'll make a couple more. I'd love to have the "fruits of the Spirit" on a sign for the kids' room and I think I need this verse for my room;

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”^[f] Hebrews 10:35-37

source

I think these letters would look great in a playroom! I just love the different fonts and that button for the letter "o" is so cute. At $175 per set, I think I'll try buying plain letters and painting them myself.

Of course I'm still lovin me some iced coffee! Have you tried the recipe I posted way back when? If not, give it a try. Recipe posted here.

So, I'll let you know how these projects turn out. I also have a couple before/after pictures I'd like to share. We refinished a dresser and a little rocking chair for the kids. More on that later.

My BFF Stella is flying in today to spend a week with us. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! I have been counting down the days until her arrival since May! It's going to be a really great week.

Happy Wednesday everyone!