My Girls

The Story...

...of how our little Marleigh came into this world. This is for all of you that are detail oriented (but don't worry I wont get too graphic).

As most of you know I started having contractions about 5 weeks before my due date (so I thought we were going to have an early bird) and they continued off and on until the 14th of May when they changed from being really annoying and uncomfortable to painful.

It was around 6:00 pm that I realized that this might be it. My parents came and got Sati at 9:00 ish. Danny and I waited around and played cards for a few more hours just to make sure that it was "real" (because we almost went several other times and then the contractions stopped... really annoying).

We got to the hospital around 11:00, they checked me and then sent me out walking for an hour to see if I could get things moving. We came back and the nurse told us that she spoke to the Dr. and she said that they would check my progress in the morning and if I hadn't progressed they would send me home. (This was a bit disheartening because the hospital is an hour away from our home.) She turned out the light so that we could get some sleep if we wanted to.

And then I started having really intense timely contractions (while Danny was asleep on the pull out bed... haha) and decided to go for a little walk and then take a bath. This is also when I started throwing up, and didn't stop until little Marleigh was born. Danny woke up at around 5:00 am (I think) and they checked me again I was at 7cm (and so excited because I never got that far naturally when I was having Sati). The pain was hard, but manageable... and the labor was progressing wonderfully... yea!!!

At 7:00 they checked me and I was at 9cm... "dude piece of cake I'll have this baby within the hour!"... and then something changed. She flipped and was now sunny side up, hello back labor. The progress that I had been so proud of was now slipping away I was back at a 7cm and couldn't handle the pain.

Somewhere around 11:00am I got an epidural and my whole world changed... haha. I could breath and talk again. I wasn't totally numb and could still move my legs, but the pain was gone. It was great! Then my blood pressure dropped something crazy and I turned white so they put me on oxygen and gave me a shot of something that made me feel much better.

12:30 a slough of nurses rushed in slapped an oxygen mask on me and raced around like crazy... the baby's heart rate had dropped dramatically. They quickly found that she had totaly dropped and I was at a 9 again (a good thing). Just then my water burst and I was ready to push... one problem, I couldn't. The epidural had made it impossible for me to feel what was going on. So they turned it off.

Most, if not all, the feeling came back and finally at around 2:15 they asked me to give a "practice" push. The baby almost came right then... they ran and got the Dr. (we took a quick poll of what sex the baby was going to be... everyone in the room said "boy") and then in two pushes I had another BEAUTIFUL baby girl!!!!

Marleigh Karai Harmon

Our new baby GIRL!! was born May 15th (on her due date) at 2:33pm after 20 hours of labor. She is beautiful and looks a lot like her big sister. Weighing in at 7 lbs and 14 oz and measuring 20 inches long, she's not quite the chunk that Sati was. She's a good eater and sleeper (praise the Lord), and we are enjoying every second of being a family of 4.

More info to come after I catch up on some sleep :o)

Could it be?

Is spring finally here? I sure hope so (my allergies think so)!! This is the first flower I've seen and it's only about an inch tall... still my hopes are high.

Of coarse, it snowed a couple days ago, but I just took a look at the forecast and I see 70 degree weather in our future. Is that exciting or what?

Anybody have fun plans for spring / summer this year? I think it'll just be nice to go outside without having to put on 15 layers... bring on the heat!

What's With the Egg?

Easter is an event that is just too amazing to wrap my mind around. While I do feel that I could give my life for another person (maybe I'm morbid in that way). I really can't imagine taking their blame and letting it separate me from God (even if only for a min.). That is just too much of a sacrifice. Yet, that's what Jesus did for me... and he was closer to God than any one of us has ever been... I can't even imagine the pain of that separation. He sacrificed EVERYTHING so that I could live forever in glory. And what happened next???? Even more exciting... HE CAME BACK TO LIFE... dude! Like I said, I can't seem to wrap my mind around it.

So, with that being said, you will understand why I'm a bit annoyed. The American church has just added pagan festivities to their own. With sermons on "what the egg means to the Christian" and Easter egg hunts in the Church, how are we separating ourselves from every one else? How are we communicating the truly amazing gift that "Easter" has brought us?

If you want to take your kids out in your back yard and hunt easter eggs, or decorate your house with bunnies, that's your call. It's your family, your house, and your own convictions. But, to me, the church has no place to sponsor these activities (I think the message that is sends is confusing). Sure, maybe it's fun, maybe more people will come if we tone down the message... but in the end will they see Jesus or just the easter bunny?

That's What She Said

A few more things our little girl does that we find irresistible.

• She lines her "friends" (stuffed monkey, frog, and bear) up at the door several times a day and has them say "bye, Dad dad".
• She makes her friends sign "with" before she will pick them up.
• After she wakes up from her nap I'll hear her asking "Night, night all done??" and then answer "NO!" (while laughing). She also does this in the bath.
• She always asks if she can brush her teeth before we leave the house.
• When she's in the nursery at church and the person in charge doesn't know sign, our little Sati "teaches" it to them. She will sign something and then show them what it is... I love it.
• My parent's cat gets annoyed with her sometimes and will hiss and scratch her. Sati (sometimes bleeding) will say "awww" and give the cat a big hug. As if to say I'm sorry you had to do that.

Lent

The end is nearing, and to be honest I'm going to miss it. The biggest reason that I'm going to miss it is because I'm not the one participating (lent started right after I found out that I had GD and I just felt that I couldn't joyfully give up anything else... so I skipped out this year) , Danny is...

He gave up video games. I think it's awesome because I can't stand them... haha. Our little vacation from the controls is coming to an end, however. I can't be sure, but I think he might be a little more excited about it than I am.

Are you practicing lent this year? If so, what is it that you gave up? If not, have you done lent in the past? Do you feel like you are closer to the Lord because of it?