Heart Of Virtue

Feb. 15, 2007 - Clarke's 1 month birthday pictures

- 4 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Feb. 5, 2007 - For me, being a new mommy is...

~ Getting up multiple times a night to feed a hungry baby and change his very, very dirty diapers...

~ Not having a chance to fix my hair, put on my makeup or clean myself up until right before my husband walks in the door at dinner time...

~ Realizing that I'm not a failure as a homemaker if I only have time to serve something super fast and easy for dinner these days, like fish sticks, macaroni and cheese, or *glup* "cardboard" pizza...

~ Falling deeper in love with my husband as he gently holds our baby in his strong arms, sweetly talking and singing to him every night...

~ Spending far too much time just sitting and staring at our beautiful baby boy as he sleeps and makes precious little newborn sounds, praying that he will be a true man of God when he grows up...

~ Learning to give all of my fears and worries about our son over to my precious Heavenly Father, and striving to place our little boy completely in His all-powerful Hands...

~ Experiencing the immense JOY of having our baby smile up at us and give a little giggle...

~ Seeing my 1/2 a mile long "To-Do" list quickly fade in importance when my baby boy has icky tummy troubles and just needs his mommy to hold and rock him until he's finally comforted...

~ Feeling complete contentment knowing that I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be right now...

~ Relishing these precious, fleeting days, and finding joy even in the long and physically taxing moments...

*happy sigh*

Yep, I think this life just keeps getting better and better.

- 3 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jan. 26, 2007 - Back to the land of Oz

Wow, thank you all for your wonderful comments!! I know I promised this last time, but I WILL be writing more soon...just have to find more than a minute's worth of time to spare to sit down and write a REAL post! But, I'm not complaining at all. I simply LOVE being Clarke's mommy and nothing makes me happier than caring for my "boys." *grin*

Just had to update ya'll to let you know that Clarkey is doing WONDERFULLY. He is such a good baby - rarely crying, sleeping a lot and giving us plenty of smiles that simply melt our hearts. He's growing so fast! The doctor had nothing but compliments for him yesterday. He said he expected him to maybe be back up to his birth weight (7 lbs 14 oz) by two weeks old, but that Clarke had surpassed that by far, landing at a whopping 9 lbs 1 oz! Now, that's our boy! *smile*

And, Mommy and Clarke are making a quick trip back this weekend to my good ol' home state of Kansas to visit everyone who's dying to meet him up there! It will be great to show off our little mister to our dear friends and family. We'll see how he does on the long car ride... Hopefully he'll follow his normal pattern and sleep like the little angel that he is.

And now, here's a couple new pics of our handsome son!

Sleeping with his hands straight above his head, the silly boy!

Looking up at the world with those big beautiful eyes!

Winking at 'cha...

- 3 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jan. 17, 2007 - So...we're in love.

Just look at this sweet little fella! His daddy and I are sooooo totally GONE over him.

Thank you all so very much for all of the prayers, encouragement and sweet comments. They have all meant a great deal to us. I hope to be able to post something more substantial soon... (somewhere amidst diaper changes, feedings and nap times! *grin*)

In the mean time, God bless you all! We thank the Lord for you.

- 10 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jan. 14, 2007 - And...he's HERE!

We couldn't be happier to announce that our handsome baby boy has arrived!!

Clarke Samuel Vinson was born on Thursday, January 11th at 10:58 PM.
He's 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long.

The three of us (Daddy, Mommy and Clarke) are all doing very well - Praise the Lord! I'll be sure to post a better update as soon as I can. In the meantime, here's a couple pictures!

Our beautiful baby boy!

Daddy and Clarke

Mommy and Clarke

- 10 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jan. 11, 2007 - And here we sit, still waiting... :)

**EDIT 2** So, we're in active labor!!!! Contractions are now consistently 2-5 minutes apart. We'll be going to the hospital now any minute. We're so excited!!**

**EDIT** So, there's actually something to tell from my dr's visit!! I'm ALMOST completely effaced, the baby is verrrrry low, and I'm dilated to 3 cm right now. The dr couldn't believe that I'm still hanging on to this baby. She said, "One little prick on your water and that baby would be here!" Because I'm soooo close and because she doesn't like to let women go that far over their due dates, she scheduled me to be induced on Monday (the 15th - his due date) at 5 AM if he hasn't come already by then. Can you believe it??? It looks like our boy could be here by Monday!! The dr. thinks I will go before Monday, but it's officially "on the books", anyway. In the meantime, I've had 12 contractions in the last 2 hours and they just keep coming. They're all over the place time wise, but coming nonetheless. Soooooo, he may be here even sooner than we know it. My mother's on her way from KS right now (trying to beat the super duper ice and snow storms on the way), so please pray for her safety. Also, please pray for the Lord's will to be done! Thank ya'll, and God bless. **

Baby Room

So, we now have our little teddy bear, cowboy themed baby bedding! It's sooooo cute. There are a few finishing touches in Baby V's room that still need to be done as far as decor goes, but it's definitely ready for our Lil' Cowpoke to arrive!

Doctor Visit

Speaking of arriving... I'm headed to the dr. today for another checkup to see how things are progressing. If I could guess, I bet she'll say virtually the same thing as last week about how she thinks I'm ready to go any time and she wouldn't be surprised if she saw me in labor and delivery before my appointment next week. *grin* But, who knows? As many ready signs as I'm showing (such as a big increase in contractions), I still have this feeling that our boy is on schedule for next week - maybe a few days after his due date on Monday. But, I could be waaaay off! Only God really knows when our little guy's birthday will be.

Trying to Wait

Yes, it is getting hard to wait, but at least I feel like I have some more time still to prepare for his arrival. I'm going to make a lasagna today and freeze it for after the birth for when cooking becomes nigh on to impossible. (*smile*) Travis is definitely on pins and needles every day at work as he anxiously awaits "the call." Poor guy! He started school this week and had to tell his professors on the very first day that he had a 9-month pregnant wife who's about ready to pop at any minute, so not to be alarmed if he has to run out in the middle of class! They were understanding, thankfully, but that still is a crazy thing to have to tell your teachers the first time you meet them.

I know all the rest of our friends and family are having a hard time of it waiting patiently as well! Even our neighbors ask us every time they see us: "Oh, is it time yet??" They are a slightly older couple and they are just too funny and sweet. They can't remember our names so they call Travis, "The Nice Kid," and me, "His Wife." Isn't that cute?? She came over Saturday night and brought us the most adorable little baby boy gifts, too. They've even volunteered to drive me to the hospital if I needed a ride fast or if something goes wrong. We're really blessed to be surrounded by such kind people.

(Ooo, yikes, that was another good contraction right there. *Whew* Now, if they'd only be consistent and come every five minutes...)

Could You King Size That Please?

BTW, we're thanking God for our new (to us) king sized bed!! With our many household preparations for Baby V, we were also given some really awesome used furniture! It has been a HUGE blessing to us because we were in desperate need of a few things. Among our favorite new pieces of furniture is an utterly GI-NORMOUS king size bed! Going from our former very itty bitty bed to this mammoth sized one is just pure bliss. I can get out bed as many times a night as I need to now and Travis barely notices! (Which is great, because he needs some good sleep these days as well.) I can also roll over about 4 times before I actually get anywhere near falling to the floor. (That's a novelty for this girl who has slept in tiny beds all of her life! ) I was even totally and completely lost in it the first night... No joke! In my delirious state of grogginess I had the hardest time trying to find the edge of the bed when I'd attempt to get up in the night, and then at other times I couldn't figure out where in the world Travis had gone to. Hee hee, of course I realized in the morning that the edge of the bed had never moved, and for that matter, neither had my hubby! Rather, I was the one floundering all over the place. *grin* I had to laugh at my silly little self the next day.

So, Until Next Time...

I will update again if my doctor has anything exciting to say this afternoon. Oh, and I plan on taking one last profile picture to document these last days as well. I will be posting it soon, hopefully... Also, I have to say thank you for all of your sweet comments and encouragement, m'friends. We truly appreciate all of the prayers and support as we enter this exciting time!

We simply cannot wait to introduce our son to ya'll.

- 4 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Jan. 4, 2007 - 38 Weeks, 3 days...and counting...

So, this is what the final pregnancy days feel like, eh?

Weird...

Exciting...

Nerve-racking...

A bit emotional...

Sleep-starved...

But it is still very enjoyable and all around absolutely amazing and wonderful.

I have to say that this waiting and anticipating that the baby could be here literally ANY DAY is just crazy. I suddenly see a ton of things that I need to get done before he arrives and find myself nervously paying attention to every new sensation and feeling related to him and my belly. I've been having a little back labor off and on and some pretty definite contractions, so that has kept me pretty in tune to everything as well. *grin*

Today's Dr. report was a good one! I've gained a total of 33 lbs so far during the pregnancy and nothing extra over the holidays even - which is a miracle, because I couldn't keep myself from eating CONTSTANTLY! I'm 80% effaced, 2 cm dilated and the baby is VERY low down in position. She said she wouldn't be surprised if he decides to come this next week, but of course, it still could be a couple weeks. We're just showing lots of "ready" signs. Woah!

There's not a moment that goes by where I forget that I'm pregnant. This miracle of life growing inside of me is just such a complete and utter mystery to me! It's very hard to remember what it was like to have a flat tummy, lots of energy, to be 30 lbs lighter, to not feel another human being inside of me 24/7, to sleep peacefully through a whole night, or to be void of varicose veins and beautiful stretch marks. But it is all worth it to be able to bring this beautiful new life into the world.

In other news, the Lord blessed us with a marvelous Christmas and New Year's. We got to be close to both of our families. What a treasure! My folks, brothers, sister-in-law and niece all came down the week after Christmas and stayed with us several days. It was a busy little household of people, but very fun. And my brother and his wife surprised us with news of another niece or nephew on the way the end of July or August! Wow, congratulations you two! God's blessings never cease, huh?

And, until next time (which could be tomorrow, or three weeks from now, depending entirely on what our baby boy has in mind *wink*), I'll close with this precious picture of Travis and I's dear little niece, Faith, sleepily preparing to leave our house Sunday morning to go back home to Kansas... *sigh* What a cutie!

See ya'll! I'll be here...anxiously awaiting Baby V.

- 1 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Dec. 21, 2006 - Baby pics and Christmas shopping

Well, this is officially the longest I've ever waited before getting my Christmas shopping done!! I keep trying to go this week, but I run other necessary errands first and by the time I'm done with those, I'm completely exhausted and ready to go home, eat and take a nap. Hee hee, even if my errands are little ones, I still hit the wall and have to hurry home! *giggle* Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy.... *smile* I am going shopping for presents this afternoon - and that is ALL that I'm shopping for. So, hopefully I will fare a little better this time! And I hope so, because it's only 4 more days until Christmas! My, my...

Can you believe it?! I simply cannot fathom that I'm already 36 weeks along! Technically, Baby V. could be born any time from next Monday on and he would be considered a "full term" baby. Again I say, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! How did we get here already? I feel somewhat mentally prepared for his arrival, but we still have a bit of things to do before we're all prepared for his arrival in our home. Organizing and arranging his room is my goal this morning. This will help me see what we're missing and still need to get. Something we want to get that's not a necessity, but just someting fun, is a little fake baby bear rug for the floor! Because it's a cowboy/teddy bear theme in his nursery, we thought that it would be adorable to have one of those as well. They're just toooo cute, in my opinion...

My Doctor appointment on Tuesday was an exciting one. The Doc estimates Baby V. is about 6 1/2lbs right now - a perfect size, she said. I got to see his face up close on the ultrasound - his sweet little nose, mouth, chin and cheeks! His mouth was open and he actually was making a sucking motion with his lips. It was tooooooo cute! Unfortunately, the ultrasound picture the lady printed off for me to take home isn't very clear at all. It's another profile pic, where he's facing up, but it's very hard to see. Oh well, I promised a picture of him anyway, so here it is! (Sorry it's difficult to make sense of what you're seeing...)

Anyway, the doctor said that he's dropping into position and that I'm already a little dilated. She wasn't thinking he'd be coming this week or anything, but he and I are definitely getting ready for the big day! I can totally tell he's dropping lower because I can hardly keep from waddling around everywhere due to all the new pressures in my belly I'm feeling.

I dream almost every night that we're delivering Baby V. Sometimes the circumstances in my dreams are pretty weird though! Like last night, I dreamed that he was just a few mintues old and I said something to him about one of his aunts, and all of a sudden he repeated in a sweet little baby voice: "Aunt." To everyone in the room with me, I was like, "Oh my word, ya'll! Did you hear that?! He said 'aunt' clear as can be! He's a GENIUS!" Hee hee, the funny thing was, no one in my dream seemed to really think it was a very big deal, or they were thinking that I was off my rocker - I'm not sure which! *L* It was funny. The dearest thing of all though in the dream was that as he was laying down looking up at me, I smiled down at him and he immediately smiled back at me! It was a beautiful, precious little smile up at his mommy. My heart just melted!

*happy sigh*

Oh, how I can't wait for that part of the dream to become a reality.

- 3 Comments - Post A Comment! - Permanent Link

Oct. 23, 2006 - 7-Month Belly Bump

28 weeks today!

Here's what I look like these days - now officially 20 lbs heavier than I was before pregnancy. *grin* We're getting bigger, no? (See the difference in the last month and a half here.) No doubt we (little Boy V. and me) have some more growin' to do before January... How exciting!