More pictures

Here are a few more pictures of our newest family member. Oh- we also have 2 other new family members. Uncle Dustin and Aunt Kelly bought Ely some fish. We are also proud to annouce that we have a black fish named Smokey and a goldfish named Racecar.

1 week

Hard to believe Carson is 1 week old already today. These pictures are from his birth day.

And now for the rest of the story (the birth story that is)

Carson was a late arrival. At 41 weeks my midwife suggested an induction, which I was not thrilled about, but understood the risks of going to much past 41 weeks, so at 9 days post term on 3/8/08 we scheduled an induction. We arrived at the hospital at 8am and the doctor broke my water at 10am. I walked the halls of the hospital for about 3 hrs, with contractions about 10 minutes apart, but not really building in intensity, so at about 2pm I was given pitocin. I had requested the lowest dosage and only turning it up every 45 min or hour, so it would start relatively slow. I watched the last disc of season 3 of Lost during that time, but then at about 4pm the contractions really kicked in and it got hard and intense. I had also requested no pain medication and not to offer any to me. I was shaking the whole time and worked with the pain, moving around and staying upright as much as possible. Of course once I hit transition, I started asking for some relief, but my awesome husband was right there coaching me through and helping me stick the to the plan as we had discussed. Reflecting back on those moments, I am so proud and thankful for how Darren helped me through those moments. They checked me soon after the "self doubt" stage and I was at 8cm- almost there!! It was only a few contractions later and I was ready to push. I was so encouraged that I was close- it was incredibly intense and I was literally not able to control and relax, but I had read so many books about natural labor that I was prepared and able to let myself lose control. Needless to say, my throat was very sore the next day from all the yelling. Anyhow, I pushed him out in about 10 minutes! Not very many pushes at all. It was so sweet to see him for the first time. He was very alert and all I could do was say thank you God over and over. I was so happy to have had the birth I had envisioned, even though it was induced. He started nursing before we left the delivery room and he hasn't really wanted to stop since then. An 8 lb 4oz, 20.5 inch little miracle. We are so thankful that Carson Richard Hawes is finally here. I will post some pictures here shortly.

The beginning....

of the birth story. Well, Carson isn't born yet, but his birth story has begun. 3 weeks ago, we discovered the little guy was breech. After doing everything in my power to flip him on my own (standing on my head in the pool, laying upside down on my couch to the floor, etc.), on the 8th of February, brave mom and bleary eyed dad showed up at Providence hospital for a "version", to get this little guy turned head down (8am appointment, so we had to leave our house at 6:30). Anyway- it worked! He flipped! Much more medical than I had anticipated, IV, muscle relaxant (which actually makes your body feel like you downed 10 cans of Red Bull) and lots of nurses/doctors. Anyway, it really wasn't the worst thing in the world, but was a little hard to breathe as 2 doctors pressed as hard as they could on my belly. Carson came out like a champ. Good strong heartbeats and kicks the whole time. Mom faired pretty well if I do say so myself. So a week later on the 14th, I had another appointment with the midwife, and low and behold, without me knowing, he had flipped back to head up on my left side- his favorite comfy place. So, we scheduled another version for 9am the next day (the 15th). The midwife and dr. performing the version both said I had 3 options, do the version and go home, do the version and be induced, or schedule a c-section. We decided to do the version and decide in the morning. So with our car packed for a new baby and the possiblity of a long labor, we dropped Ely off at his friend Mikah's house (thank you Katra!!), and once again headed into the hospital. Again, the version worked! He flipped, head down. After talking with the dr. and midwife, I decided not to be induced at 38 weeks and 1 day. Give him a little more time to develop and my body a little more ready for a natural birth. So, I took a long walk in the hospital afterwards and could feel him down pretty low. That is where this part of the story ends, the waiting game begins....
As of this posting, he is still head down (as far as I can tell) and I am having itermittant contractions. It will be fun to tell the rest of the story as it unfolds!

Count down

And the count down to b-day is on! 6 weeks to go and we do finally have a name. Carson Richard Hawes. First time we heard Carson was driving back from a grocery trip to Anchorage on a Monday night. We were listening to Monday night football on the am station- Bengals and I don't even remember who. But Carson Palmer just happens to be the quarterback for the Bengals, so I said to Darren, what about the name Carson- and he liked it! So from then on I was a little conflicted. The name Ely had so many different meanings for us and it just seemed to fit. But Carson, just after a quarterback that we don't really even watch that much (the Bengals, really, come on). But, after hearing about a conversation that my mom and my granddad had, it all made sense. Carson is a combination of my granddad's two names. Charles Nelson. Richard is after my dad. CR will be his initials, like my dad and my brother. Once I found some meaning, the name stuck. I can't wait to meet him!

And its a....

BOY! Very clearly a boy. A very healthly little baby boy!! We are so excited, but now the challenge of finding that one perfect, cool name. No ideas really at this point. We do have one name that has not gotten the immediate axe from one or the other of us, but still not sold on it yet. At least we have another 4 months to decide. I have already started praying for the wisdom and the safety of these 2 (actually 3 if you include the grown one too) boys that I would lay down my life for. I have read Wild at Heart, we live in Alaska, I have a 25 year old brother, a husband, with 2 brothers of his own, and a father, who all also like to take risks. I will need courage, peace and the wisdom to know when to speak out and when to let them be Wild. For now, I will protect and someday I will need to let go. I have already identified through some awesome women's Bible studies that my struggle is both knowing and believing that God is truly good and the battle with the fear that Satan plants in my heart. With Him I will win that battle in my mind, but I also know that discernment and wisdom should play a role. So, I will love, I will pray and I will savor each precious moment. After all this blog is called, Living in the Moment right :-)

So the rest of our summer was fantastic! We loved having Nate, Jenn and the kids come to our house. It went by far too quickly. We really enjoyed having the kids and Ely getting to see what babies are all about. He is convinced our baby will be eating oatmeal right away, and then there is all the spitting up that Nolan does. Ely has already started telling me that he will help get the burp cloths for me. Nate, Jen, Kaylee and Nolan... we love you!!!

About a week after the Nate Hawes crew left, we had Darren's parents come, which again, we really enjoyed. Darren and his dad got lots of projects done. We got real stairs off our back deck (instead of cinder blocks with wood on top), new shelves, another bathroom cabinet, some toliet paper holders, dimmer lights etc. etc. Carolyn and Alvin, we love you too!!! After company in August and early September, the past month seems like a blur as well. We finally got our house stained (about a year after it was supposed to be done), but we were very thankful that we made it before the season shifted. I think our house may have been the last one done in Girdwood for the summer.

Now we are most definitely into fall, which is actually almost over, and headed quickly into winter. The past couple of mornings driving to work it was in the 20's. It won't be long and we will have snow!

Captain's Darren and Ely

Ely's first fish (with assistance from Dad)

A Bun in the Oven

So, if you haven't heard yet, we are going to have another baby! Yep- due Feb. 28th and this year is a leap year :-) Could be a fun one!! So strange how the second time around your belly looks twice as pregnant as it did the first time at this stage. I can't hide the bulge any more and I am only 10 weeks along! So, we are praising God that this belly is bulging. What an answer to prayer. I had prayed for peace and assurance that He would work His plan in our life and His timing would be perfect. I was just about to run out of peace and confidence right around the time I saw 2 lines on the pregnancy test!! Yippee!! Now to pray for a healthy, strong, perfectly formed child. So, if you get a chance, whisper a prayer for this little heartbeat, that he or she would grow to be healthy and strong and that he or she would grow to be a light in this world and glorify Him always.

I have to share a cute Ely story about having another baby... when we found out we were expecting (which was on our 8th anniversary- pretty cool), we started dropping little hints to Ely. I wanted to wait and really tell him until we had been to the doctor, but I thought a few questions wouldn't hurt. So one night as I was putting him to bed, I asked him if he wanted a baby brother or baby sister. He looked up at me and said matter of factly, "No, I'd rather have a ferret." (He had just been playing at his cousins house, who have a ferret!)
Fortunately for us now, he is saying he wants a baby sister, for a while it was a baby brother, and sometimes he says, "no just a baby, not a brother or a sister". So, I think we have a ways to go before he really understands the concept.

Nate, Jen, Kaylee and Nolan are coming tonight for 2 weeks!! We are so excited that they will be here. I will post some pics of our goings on once they are here. I am headed to the airport in about 20 minutes to pick them up. 3 carseats in the back of Darren's truck will be a feat! :-)

Also, Ely turns 3 on Saturday! Wow, I can't beleive he is going to be 3. Although there are moments of motherhood that have felt eternal, it moves me to the core and brings me to tears to think of my sweet tiny little baby turning 3. He is such a blessing and the best gift God has ever given us (besides this little heartbeat in my belly I don't even know yet). Thank you Lord for my Ely- may he learn to walk in your ways and may you keep his path straight. May he be a light in the darkness, may he love you always and may he grow in the knowledge and wisdom of Jesus, his friend and savior.