~~~Weddings ~~~

Well, this is all new to me! Wedding planning.

It is fun, and sometimes a bit stressful, and fun, and crazy!

The Engagement pic's are so fun. You can find them here at:
http://agreenfieldphotography.com/blog/?p=8867

Bill asked me the other day if I was glad we didn't go through all of this craziness... * (side story below, if you want to know)

Honestly, I sort of wish there had been a little craziness. It's what we girls do, I think!

We got married, that's all. Ok, SEALED for Time and All Eternity, which is way more than just getting married, but, no reception, no party, that was it. We had hired a photographer, but with the change in dates, he had gotten a job out in SLC, UT and was moving and tried to hook us up with another local photographer, but it never ended up working out. Bill's dad took some fun pic's so we do have memories of our day.

We stayed at the Marriott in DC for two days, then when we got home to Bill's parents house, they had bought us a cake with a little bride and groom on top. It was very sweet of them. (then a week later we went to Disneyworld for a week).

Because of the date of our marriage, we had to change our date from May 24, to June 20th, due to some military dates, etc. Very few of our friends were still around, once graduation is over, everyone leaves, that's it, they are gone! We had lived in NY for 4 years, Bill's parents had retired from the Military and lived in Virginia where Bill hadn't lived since elementary school, (he went to West Point straight from Germany where he attended High School.) My family was from out west and in Idaho, and I hadn't lived there in nearly 5 years, and my parents were both gone, so, we just didn't have anywhere with lifelong family and friends to really have a reception at.

So, here we are and this is the first Wedding reception I've been priveleged to be a part of the planning and all the excitement!

I will be posting more updates and sneak peaks as time goes flying by and of course when the wedding is over we'll have all those lovely pic's and stuff to post as well.

*********************************************************************** When Bill and I got engaged, we had a long engagement, since he was a cadet at West Point, and you can't be married and be a cadet... so traditionally there are quite a few weddings in the hours/days after graduation. It's a pretty big deal. Many people get married in the Cadet Chaple on post. (Last week we watched an episode of Cake Boss where they were asked to make a cake for the 100th anniversarry of the Cadet Chapel. It was fun to watch and hear them talk about the history, etc. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/11/cake_boss_recap_buddy_honors_w.html
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100608/NEWS/100609797
http://www.westpoint.edu/Dcomm/PressReleasesbd/nr37-10cadet_chapel_centennial.html)

Anyway, when we got engaged, Bill called my dad and asked for his approval. My dad passed away a month later. Then we waited for a year for Bill to graduate, and of course we didn't plan a wedding at the Cadet Chapel, we planned our marriage at the nearest LDS Temple - which at the time was Washington D.C. to be sealed for time and all eternity.

In the next months I went to California to visit my good friend and she went wedding dress shopping with me. I found and bought a dress, and drove it across the country from CA to NY.

I wanted to have friends and family at my wedding, but due to various circumstances, that wasn't completely possible. We ended up getting married on June 20th, nearly a month after graduation, and in the Military, it also happened to be after the move exodus had begun for families moving duty stations.

As it was, we had a dear family I'd know the whole time I'd been attending Church at West Point. Sister Lemperle was my Escort when we went to the temple. She and her daughter(s) came down to DC with us. My dear friend Jessica who had to change her plans and her airplane tickets, etc to be with us came. (She had to have a copy of our marriage certificate to show the airline to get her ticket changed with out a charge, since our date had to be changed... so imediately after the sealing we had to go get a copy of the certificate for her to take to the airport with her to fly out the next day.) Jessica and I stayed ina Hotel in DC the night before the wedding and she helped me get primped and all ready for the big day! I love her for all she did for me! All of this and she hadn't yet gone through the temple so waited for me outside...

We had another family from church at West Point who also came down and he and his wife attended the ceremony and he was one of the witnesses. Ken Alford had been a good friend and mentor to Bill in learning about the Gospel. My good friend Wendee's aunt lived in the DC area. We'd spent several holidays at their home over the years we'd lived in NY. She came to our selaing, and she brought her son and daughter in law as well. We were glad, as then we had a 2nd priesthood witness to sign our marriage license, and we didn't have to have them just track down a strnager in the hallway... Another sister who had been in our ward at WP but had since moved to the DC area also attended. She was very kind and let my Brother stay at her house overnight so he could be closer to the airport, and get to see some of the sights in DC while he was there for the two days. I'm so appriciative that he was able to come out and be there for me as a support from my family. He waited outside with Bill's parents and our friends, while we were sealed.

It was a bittersweet day for me. I was so happy to be doing the right thing, that Bill and I were able to make it to the temple to be sealed together as a family For Time and All Eternity, instead of just 'till death do us part' as the world does, and yet it was a rough day for me as well. My family and friends were outside waiting, and my parents were no longer living, and I had so hoped to feel of their spirit(s) while I was in the temple, but I ws so consumed with my own grief and missing having my mom be there for me at this important occasion, that I couldn't feel it. I cried many a tear that day... thank goodness for waterproof mascara.

Here we are 21+ years later, and our first child is preparing now to go to the Temple to be sealed to her sweetheart for Time and All Eternity. It doesn't mean it will always be easy, we all have our struggles, but, it is so wonderful to know it is worth it, and that we will be able to be together forever as a family if we continue to live worthily, and do our part. We are so proud of Rebekah, and we like her new sweetie too. :-)

19 years ago today...

I was marveling over the new sweet little baby that had just come into my life (the night before). My sweet little girl and I were getting to know one another. Now, all these years later she is technically an Adult! Where did the time go? I am proud of the woman she is becoming. I really enjoyed the time she spent home with me (us) over Christmas Break. Happy Happy Birthday to my beautiful Rebekah! (yesterday)

My Sister's Keeper... (possible spoiler, so be warned)

I leave for a conference in B'ham tomorrow after Church. I get home late Tuesday night and Rebekah will be leaving on Wed. for NY. I won't see her again until we go up to NY in Oct. for Bill's 20 yr reunion at West Point (we will have her come down for the weekend).

Bill suggested that since this is our 'last day together'... perhaps She and I should go out.

Well, before we could go, Rebekah had to spend some more sister time! She has been having girl time, and 'girl talks' with Hannah, since 'she won't be here for her'. So the last thing she really wanted to do was 'teach' Hannah to shave her legs. I should have taken some pic's but, there was some levels of undress, so I opted out..
But here is the scene, Hannah, Rebekah and Amanda all sitting along the edge of thebathtub in my bathroom. Lots of shaving cream was involved, and a little bit of blood... Hannah managed to nick herself once. At one time Amanda was shaving the back of Hannah's leg, and Hannah was gigglign that it tickled. Well, after the giggling, she managed to nick her also.
It took a lot longer than Hannah was expecting... and she got a little bored, after the sisters had finished shaving and Hannah was just starting on her second leg. She sort of wanted to quit and do that leg 'next time'... ;-) Well, the girls would have none of that! Since Rebekah adn I were getting ready to leave, Amanda spent the time with her and helped her finish up removing the light carpet she had started to carry along on her legs. Now... she has really smooth legs. She was so proud of herself!!!

**************************************************************
Possible spoiler:
Rebekah and I were going out, we wanted to get dinner, and a movie. We had decided to see The proposal, but when we arrived at Bridge Street, the theater was sold out for that veiwing, except for the very front seats... yuck, no thank you! And... Iwas NOT staying out late enough to watch the 10:20 showing!!! So, we changed out thoughts, and got tickets for my Sister's keeper. I figured it would be a girly show, and fun for us to watch together.

They had very few seats available for this movie either, but there were two individual seats, separated by two seats - previously taken, o the back row. So, by the time we bought tickets, an got popcorn and a drink (to share, we got two straws, etc...) We hoped we could get in there and ask the two in the seats between us, if they would mind sliding to one side or the other, so that Rebekah and I coud sit together.

Not only did that 'plan' NOT work out, but I got in there and someone was in my seat, and they said they were in the wrong seats (mine and someone else's) because some younger girls were sitting in their seats just in front of where they were at. But, what did this mean for us??? we only had ONE seat! The movie had already started, we are standing there, trying to figure out what to do. There were two seats right in front of the other (still empty) seat we had bought a ticket for, but, there were still people coming in and we didnt' want to take someone else's seats, and have to get up and move again when/if they showed up. Rebekah just went down and sat in a single seat up closer to the front/of the back section. I felt really bad. After the movie had gone for a while, I decided the seats in front of me were still empty, so I went down to try and get Rebekah to come sit in them with me... she didn't want to disrupt other people since we would have had to climb over 6 people in order to get to the empty seats. I sat down and was just going to sit on the stairs next to her. She said no, don't do that, as that would make a bigger problem, with the workers comming and telling me I was not allowed to sit on the stairs.

I, however, JUST wanted to SIT by my daughter, since it was our Night out together... and the point of the movie we were watching was abou a mother and her daughter(s), and how much they loved each other... I got upset but went back to my seat (leaving the popcorn and drink with her so she'd have it... although she didn't have any of it either, so that was a big waste!). But as I turned round and walked away from her back to my one seat, I began to cry. From that point on, the movie got very sad, and emotional and I was pretty much sobbing. Everyone around me was crying also, so I wasn't alone at least.

I however was crying about more than just the emotional efforts of the film writers, etc. I was crying at the fact that I will miss my daughter who was leaving me in 4 days, and going out into her life all on her own. The daughter I couldn't even sit next to and share this emotional movie with!!! I was crying and feeling guilty for any silly thoughts and feelings I've had over the years, with any of my children. Life is so short and so important!!! Why do we let ourselves (MYSELF), get all upset about silly little day to day things in life?!?!?! I love Rebekah dearly! She has the potential to be an amazing person! I wish her all the best in her future endeavors. I want for her to have a happy life, a good life, to find a love that is and will be Eternal. I want for my girls (all my kids, but especially my girls), to grow into amazing women, and I want for them to be friends. To be willing to give their all for each other. Willing to stand up for each other, and support each other.
I want them to LIKE and to Love each other... I hate all the bickering, and unkind words, that have flown around at my house at times. I hate to see my family hurting each other... I love the times I can remember, where they spent good fun quality time together; whether it was just going out running errands, or helping one another with some project or another, or going shopping or out to eat or something else with each other. I love when they plan special surprises for each other. (Rebekah made these adorable little hopes and dreams jars for Amanda and Sariah and she took them up to girls camp one night when she got to attend one night up there. she really worked hard on them, and wanted the girls to like them a lot. I thught they were adorable! If you go to Rebekah's blog, you can read about the jars, and see pic's she posted.

As for the movie, I wonder if it would be inappropriate to contact someone I used to know, who lost a child and sort of 'warn' them of the movie. I think it would just make them all fall apart, due to the content of the movie...

Graduation

Rebekah's graduation from Bob Jones High School was on may 19th, 2009. (So much has happened since then I just haven't had time to blog abt it yet.)

When we got there, and the grad's walked in... Rebekah couldn't find us in the crowd so in todays wonderful world of technology... She texted us a message. ;-) Bill texted back, and so it goes...

Suffice it to say, we watched it from the Nose Bleed section of the Von Braun Center Downtown. They had nearly 800 graduates in the senior class. It lasted for over 3 1/2 hours to hear the speaches and to call out all those names and have all those kids walk across the stage. It was nice.

The band plays pomp and circumstance as the Graduates walk in and take their seats. (and Amanda plays the French Horn in the band so she was there in full support of Rebekah's graduation).As the Graduation went along, and they got closer to calling Rebekah's name she was getting more and more excited and antsy... she was getting the other people around her antsy and excited too... they were all bouncing in their seats, and her hands were shaking and bouncing in her lap. She could hardly sit still until they asked for her row to stand and move to the front of the walkway at the stage.

Bill went around to the other side of the arena, since we of course were on the opposite side of the arena from where Rebekah was sitting. From the other side Bill was able to see the Graduates as they came across the stage and down the ramp and stopped for the Photographer at the end. He tried to get pic's of all of the kids we know from Church, and a few of Rebekah's other friends that we've gotten to know over the years as well.Rebekah's Grandparents (Bill's parents) came down for Graduation. (That is twice we got to see them in a few months. More than most years - Often we have not seen them in several years at a time even - mostly when we have lived over seas.)

Just a few short days after graduation, Rebekah went to Illinois to visit with her boyfriend Ryan and his dad.

Baccalaureate

Today was Rebekah's Baccalaureate. Before we went, some of he kids had asked what it was. Bill told them it was basically a NON-Denominational religious ceremony to help encourage the Graduates as they go on their way.

They had one speaker today. He was a Youth and Family Minister from Madison Church of Christ. He gave a good speech on life lessons.

One of the stories he told, was of when he was a kid, and had broken a table at someones home where his parents were visiting. He tried to 'fix' it and when he was on the way home in the back seat of the car... the guilt became so big that he couldn't stand it any more. So, he spilled his guts, and his parents did a u-turn, and took him back to make him apologize and tell the family what he had done. The family informed him that the table was already broken, and they regularly have to prop the table leg back up, just like he had done. He made the point, that his parents taught him a valuable lesson, even though it turned out that it really wasn't a big deal, and he hadn't really broken the table... but they helped him learn that you need to take responsibility for your actions.

Another time he had done some things he was supposed to get in trouble for, but his parents sort of 'forgot' and when he arrived home, they told him to get ready for bed, and he got ready faster, than ever before, and went right to sleep. However... at 4 a.m. his mom opened the bedroom door, and he got the punishment for the earlier 'crime'! He said that taught him that, there will always be a day of reckoning. You will have to pay for your actions, eventually.
It was pretty good.

We were talking about it, and thinking about how each of our own Baccalaureate ceremony's were probably a bit different. Bill's was held at the Post Chapel on the Military Base he was at in Germany during his High School years. Mine, was held at the Stake Center of the Church, in a very small mostly LDS community. Bill commented that he remembers the music being fairly traditional probably Hymns. I would think the same of mine.

This one? a 5 piece rock band on guitars/both electric and acoustic, and an electric keyboard, and drums, and a woman singer who clapped her hands to encourage the crowd. It was definitely not traditional Hymns. They had the words to all the songs printed in the program, and I sang along to most of the songs, as they had pretty easy tunes to pick up...
Something I thought was interesting, was watching the youth minister up on stage. He didn't try to sing along with any of the songs... and he just watched as the band rocked out to all the songs.

Well, that is one more step down... Graduation is Tuesday! Rebekah has some plans to go out of town for parts of the summer, and then will be leaving mid July to go to New York... Life sure will be different with her gone from home.

Quick update...

Bill went up to bed with his 'machine' last night... I was up for a while before I went up. So I walked in and he was all hooked up and in the dark... it wasn't a big loud noise, it was more of a slight wooshing sound hearing the air flow as he breathed. I layed there for a little while, listening and just tried to breathe along with it... I had JUST fallen asleep, when Liam woke up crying his foot hurt, and I spent most of the next hour up rubbing his foot and finally convincing him to take tylenol. Then he was with me the rest of the night, and Bill who'd gotten up to help deal with the footpain issues as well... didn't bother to put it back on... so he slept the next 4 hours without it. I was so tired I didn't even notice... I guess tonight we'll give it another go.

Oh and Rebekah came home from school and thinks she might have a kidney stone... She actually doesn't WANT it to be a stone, but is having several of the symptoms. I'm trying to get her in with the Dr. now...

Never a DULL moment!

Senior Pic's!

We've had a big week. The day before Bill's Retirement Ceremony, Rebekah went out with a freind of ours for her Senior Pictures. They turned out great!!! (We waited till her braces were off, and then we waited for Cherry Blossoms to be in bloom...).

http://growinguprebekah.blogspot.com/ you can find the link to her pic's here.

Off to NY

No NOT the family!!! We are staying here in Alabama - the new job is LOCAL.

Bill however is off for the weekend with Rebekah, to check out colleges. She is planning to attend Niagara University, in upstate NY (yes Niagara - as in Falls). They flew up there yesterday morning, and will be back late Tuesday evening.

Bill said the campus is very small, but very pretty. Rebekah really liked it. Today they were attending Church in the Ward in Buffalo, so she could check it out ahead of time to see what she can expect there. (Institute class is in Buffalo).

I can't wait to hear more about their adventures.

Rebekah - her life in Pictures

Rebekah's first picture... with Dr. Oilburg, just seconds/minutes old. February 12, 1991

Rebekah 2 weeks old, dressed up and ready for Church. The first time Daddy got to meet his baby girl! He just got off the bus that brought him home from his deployment to Saudi Arabia. Rebekah was 3 months old. Once Bill picked her up, he didn't put her down at all. He took her all over with him, while he turned in his weapon at the Arms room and everything. He was so proud!!!


Rebekah's 1st birthday. She got a little Minnie Mouse big wheel, your first Cabbage Patch baby named Luciana, and you called her Luci, I believe Rebekah still has her, put away somewhere, and a stroller/push along walker. 1992 Germany

This picture isn't on her birthday, but it is near enough. She had just turned 2 yrs old, and had a new baby sister. 1993 Alabama

Rebekah at 3 yrs old. 1994 California

Rebekah with her Grandparents - 1995 - 4 yrs old. Virginia

Rebekah's 5th birthday - it was a total princess party, with our one Prince Charming. 1996 California

For Rebekah's 6th birthday I took her out of school for the day... we went to lunch and then I took her to get her hair cut. 12 Feb 1997 California

*****1998***** 7 yrs old. Anastasia Birthday party. White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

February 1999 8 years old in her baptism dress... each of her sisters has worn that same dress to be baptised in as well. New Mexico

February 2000 - Japan - 9 years old.

*****2001***** 10 yrs old Sagamihara Japan


12 February 2007 ************* Sweet 16 ************** She got her drivers license that day

Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese for a fun birthday party! It was great to see all these teenagers having so much fun being silly!!! ;-)

This year I wanted it to be fun and special for her. I stayed up making yard signs, and with Liam needing me to rub his foot, and wanting me to rub it with "Wotion"... it took me till the wee hours of the morning. I put the signs in the yard just before 3 a.m. She seemed to be pretty excited when she went out to start her car in the morning.

These light pink Balloons were her birth announcements... 18 years ago! Every couple of years I pull a couple out and blow them up. She was so excited when she came home from school and I had the balloon bouquet with her birth balloons!

Rebekah Birth Story

Rebekah Loraine was born at ...
10:30 p.m. on February 12th 1991.
She was 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 1/2 in. long.

We were living in Germany, with the Army... I was at least. Bill had been deployed to the gulf war and was in Saudi Arabia. He left in early December (I believe it was Dec. 5th, and as I write this, I realize that Hannah was born on the anniversary of that day, 8 years later). I was due 5 February. My parents were already gone, so having my mom come over and stay with me wasn't an option. Bill's mom hates to fly, and they had said they wouldn't be over to visit us while we were there, so I knew I wouldn't have their help either. While I was still engaged our very good friend Jess and I had made plans for her to come to Germany to see us and to help, when I had a baby. When we 'planned' this, we had NO idea how important her visit would be to me, and that Bill would be gone. Jess arrived 2 days after Christmas.

She helped me keep track of my life, and was my 'social' secretary, while I was the only Officer's Wife in the unit (that stayed in Germany to help - our Company commander's wife went home just after Christmas. (They had orders and pack out dates to leave Germany, and her husband had to stay/go with his troops, and she really didn't want to stay so she had the stuff packed up and she moved 'home')).

I remember the day quite vividly. I was having a 'woe is me' kind of a day. I hadn't really showered and gotten myself ready for the day... It was exactly one week after her estimated Due Date. I thought I would be pregnant forever! That very day I had decided that the baby was never coming! I hadn't really gotten myself ready for the day... my hair was driving me crazy and I was about to start chopping at it myself! Around 5 pm I called a friend and asked if she would be willing to cut my hair. I arrived as they were finishing up dinner. She cut my hair and that alone made me feel so much better!

We sat around talking and laughing for a while. As we were getting ready to leave, I remember we were all standing in the hallway, the friend was standing in front of me, in front of the bathroom door... I felt something and my eyes got wide and I looked at her, and said, I needed to go to the bathroom!!! She quickly moved out of the way and I went in. I could hear everyone joking around outside the bathroom door, speculating on what might be happening... perhaps my water had just broken? I remember my dear friend Jess commenting that no! I was probably just, finally able to pee! (how sweet of her! :-) She herself an unmarried gal, had made fun of me and my irritability at the frequent NEED to run the the bathroom and then drip two or three drops all day and night!

I realized that yes, in fact my water had broken. It was 8 p.m. We got a plastic garbage bag to cover the seat of the car I was driving (I was taking care of and driving one of Bill's soldiers car a cute little Honda CRX while they were in Saudi). I didn't' want to mess up the seats! and a bunch of paper towels, then we drove the few minutes home to begin labor I hoped, and get my bag, etc...

I hadn't had 1 single contraction yet, and I was mad! I had done some reading. (I had read every single book in the post library on pregnancy and childbirth - all 7 of them! as well as a couple of books that an old friend had recommended and I had my mother in law go out and buy them and send them to me). I had planned to labor at home as long as possible. I knew that with my water breaking they would probably want me to come in right away, and yet I wasn't contracting yet! What a disappointment! I called the Dr and yes they did want me to come right in. Jess ate something for dinner and packed herself a bag of snacks for the long haul ahead of us that night. I repacked my bag, I had used it a couple of weeks before when I had come down with the stomach flu and the Dr. put me in the hospital on I.V.'s for two days... While I was packing I had my first contraction at 8:30 p.m. This made me a little bit happier, as I at least knew something was getting started! I had another contraction while getting stuff together. I hadn't timed anything, but it sure seemed kind of close together. I told Jess to look at the clock, and we hurried about our business while we waited for the next contraction. It came and we realized they were 3 minutes apart! Goodness, I guess we'd better get going!

We headed downstairs to the car (I lived on the third floor of stairwell apartments). Jess was SOOOOO excited! She kicked our friend who lived downstairs door as we passed by and yelled, we're having a baby! They came running out to see what all the commotion was, and to see if the way Jess had yelled, if I was having the baby RIGHT then and there! No, but contractions were coming pretty fast and furious... I remember getting out to the car and having to hold onto the edge of the car and sort of squat with the contraction!

We got in the car and started our drive - a 20 minute drive to another small city. We lived in Nuremburg, Bill's office was in Erlangen. The Military hospital in the Nuremburg area had closed for normal patients, when I was 37 weeks, and I had gotten a phone call to say, "Come and get your records, and find some place to have your baby." The hospital was on stand by as the Limb injury hospital in Europe for casualties of war. (the most injuries that they received were people that blew their knees out from playing volleyball in the sand! but they were ready in case it was needed!). Anyway, when I had chosen the Dr's and the place I was going to give birth, out in Erlangen, everyone was so shocked an surprised! Why would I want to travel 20 minutes away in labor, when the LARGE German Hospital (Maternity hospital - Kranken-haus) was very near by?!? I figured that first time labors were an average of 12-18 hours, and I would have plenty of time to get 20 minutes away!

While driving I was very uncomfortable in that cute little sports car! I had no idea at the time but I was going through transition on the drive. We got to the hosp. (A very small private hospital that had only 5 rooms and 10 beds. There wasn't a nursery as such, certainly not one to leave your baby in - the baby stayed with the mom in her room. yay! sounded good to me. It was actually in like, this little strip mall looking place. There was a large pharmacy, the maternity hospital, a small pediatric hosp/clinic, and a grocery store, and some Dr's offices, and who knows what else.) We arrived and I remember having to stop and squat again as I got out of the car, and then again when we got up to the door.

The only nurse on at the time was Hans. He spoke very little English (maybe 5 words???), and I spoke almost NO German! He was rushing around trying to get me ready and things pulled together for a labor and birth. I would have loved to speak/understand German, (to be a fly on the wall) just so that I could have known what all he was saying and how many frantic phone calls he had made that night! He actually went and got another mom from her postpartum room. She was a German wife of an American Soldier, who had recently delivered her own baby, to come translate for us. So she comes down the hall, she is holding her baby, and she stays to help me. Jess is trying to get things together for me... she is setting up the video camera that we borrowed from my downstairs neighbors (at that time in my life, I had thought that people who took pictures and video of births were sicko's!, but when it occurred to me that Bill was going to have NO idea what we had gone through... I thought perhaps it would be a way I could share that part of his child's life with him, when he came home, whenever that would be).

I some ways I look back on it, in my fuzzy memory and I see it a little bit at a sort of three ring circus. Hans, could not communicate with me (to even tell me to get undressed and get up on the delivery bed/table... or anything). Barbara, the German mommy - was standing there next to me, holding her baby in her arms, trying to help me to breathe. She would say you have to breathe for your baby! Look, in just a little while you will have your own baby, just like this... Jess is running around hyper and trying to get my bags taken care of dealing the the video camera, and with never a child birth class or any preparation, trying to help me in whatever was she could.

Usually the Midwife would come and labor with you and check on you, and she'd call the Dr. when things got close. I had never met the midwife that worked with them. At some point the Dr. showed up, not Dr. Hammad, the one I had seen for most of the visits I had, had since switching to their practice - I think I'd met Dr. Oilburg once. He shows up and is very efficient and gets things ready... He checks me and basically says nothing, Jess who is just all excited about the whole process, asks, Well, "what is she?" The Dr. says, "oh, I can see the hairs on the baby's head, she can push whenever she wants to..." WOW!!! That is certainly NOT what I expected to hear! I had figured that like the average first time mom, I would be in labor for at least 12 hours. I had begun to think, even though I had wanted a natural birth, I might not be able to handle it, if I had to go through this for another 12 - 18 hours!!! Things were just so intense!

Barbara, at some point went and put her baby back in it's little bed in her room and then she came back to help me - it was clear she was needed. I remember my mouth getting so dry! I asked for something to wet my mouth... she eventually was able to get some gauze squares from the Dr and got it wet and let me suck the thing dry! She then would wipe my brow, with it. Wow! did that feel fantastic! My birth was going along so crazy, but she who had never even had a vaginal birth (she labored with her first, then had a c-section, and then had, had a repeat section for her new baby), but she knew what I needed, and did what she could to help!

I began 'pushing' while they continued getting everything set up and ready. I didn't' realize at the time I wasn't actively pushing hard... but I at least was no longer fighting the urge to push that I had been having, making everything harder and more intense for me! It was nice to be able to just let my body do it's thing. Before to long, Dr. Hammad showed up. He said he had been just down the street visiting friend at the university... and got the call, and so he showed up. Since the Midwife wasn't even there yet (we found out later that with the recent snow and ice she'd had a little car accident (a fender bender) on her way to the hospital), Dr. Hammad put his hands on his hips and said, "so, I will stay and be your midwife!"

I pushed a little bit, like I said, not really pushing hard, just getting out of the way of my body, and I stopped fighting and it was going better in that respect. They started doing the whole coached pushing thing, and before too long I realized they were about to cut an episiotomy... I remember sort of 'screaming' out in my head... NOOOO!!!!!!! and thinking, "can't you just wait a minute?!?!?!" I'm in the middle of a contraction here! "I was just getting into pushing, and what was the hurry?!?!?!" So what if my labor took 30 minutes longer!?!?!? I think it was just standard for first time mom's (perhaps, for all mom's?) to cut an episiotomy.

Rebekah made her appearance at 10:30 p.m. It was hard to believe that I was a mom!

The midwife arrived just as they were putting Rebekah on my belly. She bathed the baby, and dressed her in these cute little clothes. The midwife came in each day we were there and bathed Rebekah and dressed her in another cute little outfit. She had a full tub bath every day of her life (pretty much) until she was two years old. (Her umbilical cord came off days sooner than Amanda's where we put Alcohol on it like at the American hospital). They of course told me the weight and length in Centimeters and grams. I had to wait until I was able to talk to someone a day or two later to get her weight in lbs.

I was surprised and shocked that I had a girl, and I wanted to share our happy news with Bill!
I sent out the message through the Red Cross. Luckily while they were in the desert, AT&T set up phone banks for the soldiers to make phone calls. Bill knew i was due and had been calling fairly often for updates. As it turned out there were two ladies in our unit who's husbands had not called them ONCE at all! They were a little bit older and perhaps didn't feel like they needed to waste the money calling long distance, and collect, and that their wives didn't need to hear from them? I don't know, but several of us had been telling our husbands to tell their husbands to CALL HOME!!!!! (the one guys kids were so sick over Christmas that they didn't even care that Santa came and didn't open presents until around 6 pm on Christmas day... he still hadn't called his wife and family!) As luck would have it, they both called home on Feb 13th to talk to their wives, who were some of my best support group ladies, who passed on the news, and so Bill was able to call our home, he got Jess and got the phone number for the hospital where I was at and he got to call me and hear all the happy news! I feel very lucky that was possible, since he didn't receive the Red Cross message for about 2 weeks or more!

I know we have had our rough times over the years, but I am so grateful to have Rebekah as my daughter. She has been the Guinea pig and I've had to learn to be a mom and I've made plenty of mistakes. I really do look forward to watching as she grows and becomes a woman, and though the prospect of her getting married any time son is really frightening to me... It will be fun to watch that new chapter of her life unfold as well. I hope that I have done an o.k. job of parenting her, and that she will have a good life.

I love you Rebekah! My first baby! The person who made me what I am today... A Mother!

The Years Have Flown by soooo Fast!!!!!

18 years ago... I had given up! I was a week overdue, and I was thinking I was going to be pregnant forever, the first woman in History!

Little did I know that in a mere matter of a few hours I would be a mother! 9 Months of Pregnancy, did not prepare me to ‘be’ a mother! It was all such a shock and a surprise! I couldn’t believe it!

The other part was that at an ultrasound a few weeks earlier, my Dr. had said, “Don’t go out and buy clothes, – which I did... but, I think it’s a boy.” Well, not that I was disappointed in any way, I have LOVED having my girls, but for a few days I was still just in shock and awe!!! I was a Mother! I had a baby... and it was a GIRL!!!

Long many years ago, I had started a little book of names that I liked. I decided I wanted to name my first daughter after my mother. My mother’s name was Loraine Faith Sherwood Wright. I was not into Faith, Hope, and Charity as names at that time of my life. I decided I wanted to use Loraine, however I thought it was kind of a BIG name (Old Fashioned) for a little baby girl, so I decided I would use it as a middle name. I then set about trying it with different names and figured out I really liked how Rebekah Loraine flowed together. And because I had always felt like I had a boring name, I wanted a little different spelling, so I went with the one in the bible, with the ‘kah’ at the end instead of the ‘cca’ spelling.

When Bill and I were engaged, we talked about names. He wanted to name a boy William Joseph after his grandfather, and that was fine with me, and I told him I wanted to name a girl Rebekah Loraine. By this time I had already lost her a little bit over two years before, and so it was now even more important for me to honor her by naming my first daughter after her. I was however an only girl, with 3 older and 1 younger brother, so I didn’t know if that would ever come to be.

When I had my sweet baby girl, I just felt a real closeness to my mother and I truly felt that my mother had sent her to me... I could just imagine my mother standing there holding Rebekah’s hand and leading her along and sending her specifically to ME!

I missed my mom and have wished so many times that she could have been there with me as I grew into a woman, and got married in the Temple, and then when I had the blessing to become a mother! I have worried and wondered over the years, as we have not always had the best relationships, if I would be close to my children, to my daughters when they are grown and have families of their own.

I have enjoyed watching Rebekah grow and mature into a wonderful young woman, and now here she is turning 18, and she is about to go out on her own, and I so hope that she has some fond memories of home when she leaves us. I hope and pray that she will make good choices and grow even stronger in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that she will enjoy her life, and learn and grow, and have fun at college, and that she will be able to stand strong, and let her light shine, and be a beacon for others who are searching to see and to follow.

I have so appreciated all the help that she has been to me and at home and with the family, over the past few months in particular.

Not having had an Adult Relationship with my own mother, I wonder what it will be like to have adult children. Part of me is having a difficult time accepting that I will have a child who is 18 years old now! That means I’m really old... ;-) On the other hand I really do hope to have many fun years ahead of us. I love the idea of taking ‘girls’ trips every so often. Not that I want to leave Liam out at all, I just want to be able to enjoy my daughters, and to have fun watching them all grow over the coming years.

Back to Rebekah...

She was born in Germany, while her daddy was off to ‘war’ in Kuwait back in 1991. She was not an easy baby, and there were many times I felt very alone! There were times that the phone would ring, and I could hardly speak when I answered and I would realize I hadn’t spoken a word in days. I feel horrible that I could go for several days at a time and not talk to anyone, including and especially my sweet little baby! They say that children learn their language and verbal skills early on, by people talking, singing, and reading to them as baby's. Luckily I don’t have to feel too terrible, as it is pretty obvious, I certainly did not stifle Rebekah’s verbal skills!!!

She has always LOVED her daddy! When he first met her she was already 3 months old! Perhaps that worked out nicely as she could smile and coo at him by then, and she was I’m certain, thrilled that there was someone else who would spend lots of time and effort devoted to her and to meeting her needs. Of course the needs he’d respond to were different a lot of times than what she needed from me. (We read an article once many years ago, about how dad’s teach their children to look outside themselves and their immediate circle for things. Mom’s teach them closeness, with all the loving and cuddling we do, etc, but dad’s teach them to be strong and independent, with all the rough housing and the throwing them up in the air, etc...)

When we were living in Germany we only got ONE (1) channel of AFN (Armed Forces Network)t.v. I remember you could turn on the tv on a Saturday, and watch World Wrestling Federation Competitions. Now I would try to just avoid them, but when there was only one channel to choose from... Bill would then commence playing WWF with our daughter! He’d hold her under her armpits, and hold her standing up on the couch, with the narration (dad) of the wrestling match... “And Rebekah climbs up the ropes and Jumps!!!” Onto what ever weird name dad picked... Another fun game he would play with the children would make me think... I’ve often wondered how Circus acts get started. Then I got married and had kids??? Now I know. He would lay on his back on the floor, and hold Rebekah up and out and have her ‘wrestle” him to the ground! And heaven forbid he even sat on the floor in those days... the child would come up and push him down and say pick me up daddy. They would then sit on his feet and he’d lift them up high into the air, then he would take their feet into his hands and hold them tight and then have them stand up while he would straighten his arms out as well as his legs, to get them really high in the air! He has gone on to include tossing them (Liam, I don’t know if he did this part with the other kids or not. I’m old and so are they and I don’t remember!) into the air and then catching them on their way back down! Yes, welcome to my circus! Way back all those years ago, I used to be worried about the baby, and would he catch the baby? Etc, etc... but he always did, and now... I don’t usually think about it, unless I can see a piece of furniture too close by, in case of a fall (which none of them have ever done in all the years!), but otherwise I don’t hardly notice and I certainly don’t freak out over it! We laugh, we take pic’s and the child giggling in delight, says, “again, again!”

I will post more, but for now...

**************HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*********************

A Budding Artisit...

Rebekah took Art 1 this past semester at school. She hasn't really brought anything home, so We haven't had the opportunity to see any of the things she's been working on, although we have heard about some of them.

At the end of the semester the students display their favorite or best pieces of artwork at the Art Show. It was originally scheduled for last week on Thursday and she had made something special for me, (as my birthday present) and was going to be abe to have it go to the Christmas Festival as a nativity... then because of weather they postponed the art show (even though they still had the band Concert that night). She was very sad, but I didn't know why...

Well this week when they did hold the art show, on tuesday night along with the Choir Concert. I got there later than planned, but when we arrived we were treated with some amazing art, and the pictures that she had done were fantastic! I do crafty arts stuff, but I have to copy a pattern, and I cannot do realistic stuff at all! I am so impressed with what she has learned in art, and that she had the ability to do the work she did! We are so proud of her!

Just another art comment... A week or two ago, rebekah was sitting here with me and Liam while we were watching a Disney movie. She was pointing out things and was amazed at all the attention to detail that they take to do a whole movie... at first it was just a few comments, then after a while, I asked her if this new notice was because she has been in art class. It was just interesting to see her notice all of the actual artistic efforts...

We like all that she did. I can't believe all the details she did on the face of the little African girl. I don't think I could EVER do something like that! And of course I loved the Nativity picture, and all the thought that went into it! And then there is the Swan picture... Awesome! Bill asked her if he could have it. We'll need to take her stuff in to get it framed. Again, we are so proud of her.

Can't think of an all inclusive blog post title...

This past week the girls worked on thier Young Women in Excellence projects before Wed. Night. Sariah put together a poster to tell about her summer school that she did this summer. Amanda decided to make a dress. Before School started and we were school shopping, we bought patterns adn fabric to make some dresses, and skirts, and cute things. Well, the sewing machine was causing me fits, so I finally took it in and it was of course, FINE... so I was able to help sew something for Sariah, and before I could get to another thing it was messing up again. It's me and tension. So when Amanda announced what she wanted her YW in E project to be I cringed, and warned her it might not work. I put it off (o.k. life was busy, as usual, so it got put off), and on Sat. she started working on it. She did a great job, the machine worked just fine for everything she needed, and she was able to wear the dress that night (wed). Amanda did most all of it on her own. I did put the zipper in (it's been a long time since I put in a zipper, and it was hard enough to get it figured out, without having to try to 'teach' her how to do it), we were in a time crunch at the end of Wed afternoon! I need to pull it out and redo it for her to get it fitted a bit better (the dress is a bit loose right now). She looked very cute. Sariah helped her get her poster finished.
I told Rebekah she should put a poster together of all the hard work she has put in on applying for colleges and the acceptance letters she has started receiving. She did use that as one of her Personal Progress goals, and has put in many hours... she applied to 7 colleges/universities. She has received 4 acceptance letters so far, and has been offered scholarships from two of them so far. Yay!!! I'm very proud of her! It looks like she will probably be heading north (she is going to freeze her buns off!!!)
She didn't feel very good and ended up staying home (she did keep Liam, and run the little girls to Activity Day's and pick them up again, since I was at YW in Excellence). She had gone to the Dr. that day finally, (I hadn't realized how bad she'd been feeling - she'd had a fever off and on for several days, and just had no energy, and appearantly her back hurt but she hadn't mentioned that one to me...). He did blood and urine tests and called us later in the afternoon - she has a kidney infection. YUCK!
Bill had a quick trip to Houston on Wed, so he missed the YW in Excellence night. :-( He got back late on Thursday night. Not too bad, other than he's been gone for part or all of the past three weeks. It's been a busy couple of months of traveling...
Today Bill thought it might be nice to head up to Monte Sano Mountain to take in some of the fall beauty... we didn't get up there till a bit late, so it was a bit chilly, adn I think we missed most of the fall colors, most of the vibrant reds and oranges are gone already... or perhaps we were early??? but I think a lot of the leaves had already turned to yellow and brown and fallen off the trees. We had fun anyway. We took a few friends along with us, and they all seemed to have a good time. The Teeter Totters were a big hit and we all spent quite a bit of time on them. The kids were just cracking up as they sent each other up and down... It was fun. I took a bunch of pic's. I'll have to try to get to them later - the camera got left in the van I think, and it's nearly midnight and I'm not going outside! Then I took Sariah, Amanda and Hannah with me dad took everyone else home. We stopped and got Hannah a pair of tennis shoes she'd been wanting/needing, and Sariah a new hair cut. She only got it cut, not styled, so by the time we got home it had dried and was not 'cute' anymore, and so she was a bit frustrated. Amanda spent some time with her with the flat iron, straightening it out. It isn't exactly like the picture in the book, so she feels a bit sad. I think it will take a little bit for her to get used to it and learn how to fix it like she wants is all. It is quite a drastic change, so it's going to be fine, and she'll get used to it soon. I think it is cute.
Well, Liam is starting to get tired (sleeping late in the car ride does not help us get to sleep at night!), so I'm going to go see if I can get him to bed. I'm thankful for my little night owl... I jsut wish he slept a bit better.

I laughed, I cried, I wanted to cheer and clap...

Yesterday seemed to be movie day.
Sariah started the day out, going with friends to see some scarey movie...then, Hannah was invited to go see HSM 3 with the neighbors. We decided that perhaps Amanda and I could take Marissa later... It turned out Sariah got home in time to go with us as well.
After spending the day with Amanda working on her YW in Excellence project, we got ready and headed off to Bridge Street. We arrived just in time and got in our seats as the last preview was showing.
I remembered reading 'D's blog post about going to see High School Musical 3 and hwo she loved it. I thouught it started out a little bit slow, and then... WoW! They did an awesome job! I loved it! I seriously had to hold myself back, I wanted to cheer and clap throughout the whole thing!!! We were in a small crowd, but other than laughter, there wasn't a whole lot of noise, and I would have been very noticeable! I just clapped silently to myself.
I think one of my favorite parts was The Boys Are Back! http://www.clevver.com/movies/videof/225491/high-school-musical-3-senior-year-video-clip-the-boys-are-back.html

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/high-school-musical-3-music-video-us5-the-boys-are-back-hq/3236085977

So cute!!!

I literally wiped tears away at parts of the movie! Perhaps it has something to do with the story line of it being their senior year in high school and they were all graduating and moving on with their lives, and it made me think of Rebekah and how in just a few short months she will be leaving home. When faced with the reality of my baby going out on her own I know it will be hard and I will miss her so much. She, I'm sure, has NO idea how much I love her and I truely will miss havng her around. It has been an amazing journey being a mother. To watch my children grow and learn and to become amazing people. To wonder what kind of people they will be when they are grown, and what they will ultimately do with thier lives.

O.K. so this got pretty deep, but back to the original reason for this post... I LOVED HSM3!!! We have probably all seen other movies, where after the first or second in the series, they just seem to go down hill. There is at least one or two kids shows in particular that I can think of that I can watch the first, it's cute. The 2nd, also cute. But by the time they hit the third movie??? It's as if they ran out of idea's and yet they just keep trying to keep us pulled in, based on the success of earlier movies of the same name. With this one? I think it was the best one yet, and I am sad to see these kids (the show) grow up - and move on.

Bravo... great job!!! If you haven't seen it yet, and you liked the original Disney Movie.. Go see it! soon! I think I could see this one over and over. Now to get the Sound Track!!!

growing pains...

Rebekah is 17, looking towards her last year of high school, and thinking about colleges. I can't believe that she is getting so grown up! There are times that we butt heads and I'm sure we both wonder if we'll make it through this phase of life... however, there are other times when I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I really like the person she is growing up to be.

I guess in some ways, all first children are guinea pigs and all parents are learning, and sadly it ends up being the first child who you make more of your mistakes on, I suppose.

Every once in a while Rebekah will gather up her siblings, for a day out. Sometimes one on one, and sometimes several of them or all together at one time. She'll take them shopping with her, or to lunch or sometimes even a movie date. It's fun to see how excited the little girls get when she tells them she's taking them out! The other day Marissa actually asked her if she wold take her out to have fun! It isn't even the money, or location, she could just take them to a park, or to have a picnic lunch somewhere. They just think it's cool to go and spend time with her.

Sometimes to give me a break she has started taking Liam out running errands with her as well. It is very nice to have someone who can drive and run errands for you... There are benefits and perks to being old enough to have children old enough to drive I suppose.

Then again, sometimes it's hard to think that in just over a year she will be heading out on her own and will leave us behind, for all practical purposes. I've been on my own since I left home to go to college after graduating from high school - Not that I had a lot of options, losing my parents at a young age. However, I have definite mixed emotions to now be on the other side of things. There is a new song out by Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus, called Ready, Set, don't go.. It is really sweet, and sort of tugs at your heartstrings, when you think about your kids growing up and moving on with their lives.

I guess the other thing that is a bit difficult for me, is the fact that I don't really know what an Adult Child/Parent relationship is. My mom passed away just two weeks after I turned 20 years old and my dad passed away just 2 1/2 yrs later. I'm sorry to say I am not as close to my in-laws as I might have liked. I hope that as my kids grow up and get married that I will be able to have good relationships with them and their growing families.

Well... I write this today because Rebekah had a rough day. She has a friend who is having trouble and is concerned for that friend. Her other really good friend was involved in a car accident someone ran a light and hit the car - totalled it, so she' s concerned for that friend as well. Then this morning she had a little problem, and couldn't get a hold of me at home. Liam and I had a rough night last night... I saw the clock at 12 something, 1 something, 2 something, 3 something and 4 something. I was surprised I actually heard my alarm clock in the first 5 minutes to wake up and get the kids off to school this morning! Once they had all left the house at 7 am I went back to bed with Liam and apparently fell asleep! When she called the house and my cell phone repeatedly for help... I didn't hear it at all. I had turned off the ringers to the phone by my bed... and my cell phone was plugged in downstairs, (I don't have a client/pregnant mom - due right now, at 38 weeks I go on call for the mom's I work with, so I try to take advantage of the off times). I used to hear the phone ring downstairs even if I didn't have the ringer on my bedroom phone turned on... however, now that we built Liam's room and we don't have the 'open space' straight down to the office with it's phone, I don't always hear it upstairs anymore I've noticed in the past week - even when I'm awake!

So, she tried to call me, tried to call her dad, who is stuck in El Paso, TX because of the American Airlines canceling all their flights for two days now, for inspections, and we are unsure when he will actually get a flight home! Dad finally answered her calls, in between him trying to contact the airlines, etc... he then tried to call me. Finally he called our good friend J who luckily is somehow always there for me (I don't' know why she's so nice to our family, but she is, and we are so grateful!), and actually has an extra key to our house, and so she came over, rang the door bell, banged on the door as well as continued to call me, and then came into my house, got the extra key to Rebekah's car, and took it to her, where she was stuck since seminary. Then, poor Rebekah had to go into school late, use one of her very valued 5 parent notes for her excuse for being late for school (a call was made home and I actually was awake at this time, since J called again to see if she could get me... and finally I heard the faint ring of the phone downstairs, and it got through my subconscious). When she arrived at school she also had to have the two students who's books she had locked in her car with her own things, called from classes up to the office to get their books, and she was stressed that they might have gotten in trouble for not having their homework to turn in or for not having come to class prepared with their books and things...

After running an errand to help my friend J out (finally something small I could do for her to help repay all her kindnesses to me and my family!), I stopped at subway and bought Rebekah lunch and delivered it to her school as a possible peace offering to say sorry she'd had a crummy day and that I was not available to help her this morning. I hope she understands how much I love her and want the best of everything for her. I hope that if not now she'll understand someday... of my love for her.

I love you my first sweet beautiful baby girl!!!