Samuel Hezekiah

After having my last two children without any induction assistance I was all ready to have a natural delivery again. I had high hopes throughout the pregnancy that it would be similar to my others. I started having irregular contractions around 38 weeks. No surprise there. Unfortunately they did very little at that point.

My due date, April 10th, came and went. Thankfully I was beginning to dilate from the contractions and was 2-3 cm at that point. I was hopeful that labor would kick in. I begged and pleaded with God for labor to begin and still nothing. On Monday, April 14th, they did an ultrasound to make sure all was well with the baby and it was. They also were guessing the weight to be 9 lbs and 12 oz! Having had a 9 lb baby before I knew it would be wise to go ahead and induce sooner rather than later. There was also extra fluid. The combination told me from my experience that unless labor kicked in that night, I would need help having the baby. Dr. Brown asked me if I would allow her to help me, and I said yes. She checked my cervix and I was now a stretchy 4 cm, meaning I would only need pitocin and not cervadil. They arranged for me to be induced the next morning if nothing happened during the night.

I went home and began having contractions that felt promising. Again I was hopeful and I contracted well for about 2 hours. But then they began to space out. Again I begged God to bring the contractions back. I was up late and had to wake at 5 am to call and find out what time I could go in for the induction. 6:30 was my time, so Jim and I got up and ready to go. Thankfully the car was packed and ready,so we just had to pick up a couple of things.

Check in went quickly. My IV was started that hurt horribly. (Still is the worse part of having a baby, seriously!) Finally around 9 am the pitocin was started. I was hoping to just need a whiff of pit, but no go. The contractions did not get harder. I tried changing position. The baby was still so high. I just had to wait. Jim and I listened to music I had put together for labor and played a couple games together on his Ipad. I was so tired I began to fall asleep. Around 11 or so I took a good nap. I have never napped during labor! But clearly I needed it.

Contractions continued with no real progress. I knew if they broke my water things would move quickly, but at that point the baby was still floating, which is an unwise time to break water, especially when your fluid is high. I sat up again, hoping it would encourage the baby down. The contractions got a little harder, but still no real discomfort.

Finally around 4 pm I was about 6 cm and the baby's head was low enough the doctor felt safe to break my water. That's when the part began. I stood up beside the bed for awhile as the contractions increased in intensity. It took about 45 minutes for me to get really uncomfortable and need to get back in bed. At that point, I felt like I was dying. I have never had overly painful contractions, but this time I did. It was intense and I was hurting. I was so close to asking for pain meds. My mind was my enemy. Thankfully I was making gradual progress and so I told myself I would resist. With each contraction I was regretting the decision, but I cried out to God all the more. I had to remind myself that God was my only strength and He would get me through.

Finally I was given permission to push with my body. It took no time at all as my body and I pushed. At 5:31 pm the baby was born. Jim looked at me and said "It's a boy!" To which I responded, "Are you sure?" (No, seriously. We all thought the baby was a girl.) But it is a precious little boy we had. Samuel Hezekiah weighed in at 9 lbs (thankfully the ultrasound was a little off) and is 21 inches tall. I was so thankful he was here and healthy. It is also special that his birthday is April 15th as that was my grandmother's birthday.

God is so faithful and I am blessed beyond belief.

 Big thank you to my friend Gidget for the pictures!

Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic

This book was a good short quick read. It was full of great little reminders to count your blessings and remembering that this phase is short, though it can feel as if it will last forever. It was an encouragement to me to read as I planned and prepared for having 5 children 5 and under, like the author, and helped to keep things in perspective. I definitely recommend this book.

Girl Talk by Carolyn Mahaney

I really enjoyed this basic book on passing Biblical womanhood onto the next generation. It is a topic that I have been studying a lot in the last 5 years or so, and this book explains it so simply. It is geared mostly towards daughters, but is meant to be read with mothers and daughters together. I enjoyed reading it to Lillian and hope we can read it again together as she grows up. It covers a variety of topics and is not just a how to guide, but gives you ways to think about what Biblical womanhood looks like for your house, your daughter and you. I very highly recommend this book.

The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance by Heidi St. John

This is a good reminder of marriage and the importance of giving preference to your marriage at all times, especially when you have kids at home. Though geared toward homeschooling families there is practical advice for everyone. It is an easy read and straight forward, 2 things I greatly appreciate. She takes a very personal approach and deals with heavy issues in a gentle way. Most of all I appreciate the focus on the sanctity of marriage and how to succeed in marriage from a Biblical standpoint. I highly recommend this book.

Pieces of Light by Julie Cave

This was, by far, my least favorite of this series. The writing was good and the characters you could identify with, which I liked. I was also thankful to see a downfall of a "villain" who had been in the other books, but it was still unfinished. (This is supposedly only a trilogy.) However, it was so obvious to me who the guilty party was the moment they were introduced. I tried to look at others when they came in, but it was so obvious. This made it much less fun to read. I also felt a situation with Dinah was handled poorly in my personal opinion. If you have read the first two then go ahead and read this one, but be prepared for a let down, especially after the second. 

Death in His Grave

Though the earth cried out for blood

Satisfied her hunger was

Her billows calmed on raging seas

for the souls of men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony 

Turned their heads in disbelief

Their precious Love would taste the sting

Disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief

On Sunday a King

Laid down in grief

But awoke with the keys

Of Hell on that day

The first born of the slain

The man Jesus Christ laid death in His grave

So three days in darkness slept

The Morning Sun of righteousness

But rose to shame the throes of death 

And overturn his rule

Now daughters and the sons of man

Would pay not their dues again

The debt of blood they owed was rent

When the day rolled a new

On Friday a thief

On Sunday a King

Laid down in grief

But awoke with the keys

Of Hell on that day

The first born of the slain

The man Jesus Christ laid death in His grave

He has cheated 

Hell and seated 

us above the fall

In desperate places 

He paid our wages

One time once and for all

Jesus has overcome death for us! Thanks be to God!

Listen to the song here.

On The Day The Sky Went Black

On the day the sky went black 

The Light of the World obscured 

Sins of the Earth strapped on His back 

The shame of the cross to endure

Oh - Oh

On the day the sky went black 

Christ in the death machine 

A Roman spear spilling blood from his side 

That would wash all the stained ones clean

Oh – oh Itʼs over and done, Itʼs over and done 

Oh – oh Itʼs over and done, Itʼs over and done 

From that dark travail 

He will claim the conflict won

And over death prevail to lift high the holy ones

To lift high the chosen sons to God

On the day the sky went black 

The Breath of God drew his last 

Death into life and light into dark 

And praise in the lungs of the blessed 

Oh – oh. Itʼs just a bite to the heel, a bite to the heel 

Oh – oh. And a bite to the heel gets a boot to the head

From that dark travail 

He will claim the conflict won

And over death prevail to lift high the holy ones

To lift high the chosen sons to God

On the day the sky went black 

The Light of the World shown high 

The debts of the Earth are paid in full 

And the well of wrath drained dry. 

Oh - oh

From that dark travail 

He will claim the conflict won

And over death prevail to lift high the holy ones

To lift high the chosen sons to God

Listen to this song here