Contest Winner....

Jessica Growden won my blog contest. She guessed girl, 7 days late, and weighing in at 8 pound 5 ounces. Her guess of girl and 7 days late was the only guess to achieve 2 out of 3 without missing the sex. Great job, Jess! It will be a couple of weeks before I finish the prize for you. Email your mailing address to me when you're able. Thanks everyone for playing.

Jemimah Norma Stiles Reynolds

In the fullness of this pregnancy it seemed as though our little package wasn't going to arrive in our preset timeframe. We worked hard to instigate labor. Through laughter, walking, squatting, hiking the stairs 2 steps at a time, chasing kids, hard working around the house, etc., etc. our little bundle wouldn't budge. A scheduled induction found its place on the family calendar. Don't worry, this was after the guessing game was posted.  Jake has to be back to work next week, so in order to have the few days of downtime required for a new mom to recover we decided to give our bundle a week post date. We had to pass a fancy ultrasound test for labor and delivery to permit the pregnancy to go through the long weekend. That test was Friday. As it turns out my fluids were low but all else was perfect with the baby. We spent most of the day Friday deciphering this. So It goes with my post date pregnancy. Drama! Oh yes, then there's the abscessed tooth that reared its painful head Friday morning. Very funny timing to occur on Labor Day weekend. Jake contacted two ERs and two dentists. Nobody takes care of teeth on Labor Day weekend. Ouch. I was less than pleased at the thought of labor and delivery along with an abscessing tooth.

So, we coasted through the weekend. Nothing happened. Go figure. We had many people praying for us and particularly for the baby to arrive before the Tuesday induction. This didn't happen. I spent a couple of evenings crying as I brushed my teeth. Don't pity me. It's called a lack of faith and discontentment with Gods will. I knew it, but man, pity parties are fun when you seemingly have something to cry about.

 I had a rough evening Monday. Jake encouraged me and told me if I was still checked about the induction we could cancel. I woke Tuesday with a peace and calm shaken up with a shot of courage. We called labor and delivery. There was room for us at the inn. We checked in. Got my antibiotics going thanks to my GBS positive result. This turned out being such a blessing. The antibiotics had a two fold effect. They knocked out the risk of our baby being exposed to the positive result and after the third bag my abscess tooth was numb. Just enough to trick my dying nerves. We checked into our huge delivery room. The midwife came in at 7:30. She easily broke my bag of waters and we were now on the clock. She would give us until evening before introducing a chemical. We paced the halls and watched the L&D floor fill up. It filled up so much so that scheduled c-sections and other inductions were turned away. 15 babies were born. We were marveling at The Lords timing of having us arrive that early am. Had we come later we would have also been turned away.

In the early afternoon Jake read our daily lectionary to me and we prayed asking God to let this labor start. I kid you not, while he was praying I had a nice contraction. Not nice as in friendly but as in ouch. It took several minutes and another came. By 2:30 I started getting a bit more regular.. Every 5-8 minutes. By 3:00 we were up to 3-5 minutes. It's fascinating watching ones labor progress. The ebb and flow is much like watching waves roll onto a beach. By 3:15 I was in pain and was so thankful knowing I was going to make the deadline and wouldn't need any chemicals to get my labor going. We had a friend from church bring Jackie. She had asked to see the baby come into life. She arrived at 3:45. By this time things were serious and the midwife was just arriving. Thankfully Jake was there to articulate to the nurse that even though I was only dilated to a 4, the time being 3:30, the rest was going to go fast. He says its something with the way I breathe. He had the nurse check me 5 minutes later and I was to a 6. So, once Jackie arrived I had hit my transition. We told her she could leave the room if she got scared. After all, we want grandchildren.. She wasn't afraid and stood at the head of the bed near Jake. At 4:17 Jemimah arrived. We chuckled in surprise, a girl! I guess deep down we both thought boy. How delightful to be wrong in our instincts. In more ways than one...The induction was amazing... Our midwife was superb.... The antibiotics relieved my tooth... The baby came sweetly and quietly into a huge room bright with the light of day.... Our eldest daughter saw a child enter into life; new and fresh.... I didn't hemorrhage.... We were well looked after and some folks recognized us from 2 years ago.... This made recovery all the sweeter. Yes, an unexpectedly, awesome day despite my fears.

Jemimah weighed in at 8 lbs 14 oz. She's 19 inches long. She has black hair. We are so humbled by our Gods mercies to us. We are rejoicing over His intricate weaving of a new life.. Just for us and just for Him. What a gift. Life.

Getting there.

I'm so pleased to be so close to the end of the pregnancy. I'm feeling very full of extra life and joy and a wee bit of exhaustion. I'm very confused about who is coming, whether a son or daughter. There are days I'm convinced it's a boy and there are days I'm convinced it's a girl.. My due date is the 27th of this month and as usual I find myself playing games with my mind that I will go early. After all its been so busy and truly nonstop that maybe my body will just labor early because its so tired.. Then I game around with myself and think no way, I'll be induced again..

Jake has given Colby practice drives to the hospital just in case I start labor and he's not here to take me.. Poor Colby, I really hope that's not the case.

I was thinking we'd play another game and try guessing the gender, the birthdate and the weight of the baby. Just like last time if you guess the wrong gender it's an automatic DQ! Below are the previous stats to help in your guessing. Leave guesses in the comment box below. Not on FB. :)


Colby - 3 days late 7 lbs 3 oz.
Jackie - 2 days late 8 lbs 10 oz.
Benjamin - 12 days late 8 lbs 14 oz.
Louisa - 9 days late 9 lbs 4 oz.
Libby - 1 day late 7 lbs 8 oz.
Silas - 10 days late 8 lbs 8 oz.
Samuel - 15 days late 9 lbs 12 oz.
Hazel - 11 days late 8 lbs 13 oz.

Happy guessing. There will be a prize for the winner. Not so sure what it will be yet.. But it may have something to do with pentagons. 

Love to you all. Please pray for me. I still get scared about this whole birthing thing and the last time was a doozy. 

What's really going on...

The last week has been a whirlwind! We moved out of 4500 square feet and 4 acres to 2500 square feet and 1/16 of an acre. After a few trips to the dump, a few trips with a u-haul, one load of firewood, 12 saints scrubbing our old house and serving our family with their labors and backs. We can say that we are 95% moved in! We need only build a shed for Jake's Garage and our numerous bikes and then organize the basement. 

We closed on the house today and came away with a gift card and money. Super duper thankful. 

So, why all the hubbub? Why all the change, why the prayers and late nights? Why the sometimes anxious hearts? Why the raising of our voices in song and frustration??? 

It is because my beloved, my Marine, my hero, my life partner, my best friend, my Jacob is retiring next month! We are saying good bye to the Marine Corps. We are nervous and hopeful for the future. We are pleased with how God has tremendously provided for our family in the past and trust His mighty provision for the future. Jake will be taking a job with Air Wisconsin, building his pilot hour currency and from there we will see which major airline God leads us to.

Please pray for us during this time of transition. Please pray for our baby who is due in 2 and 1/2 weeks. Thank you all so much! 

The Final Dregs

It blows my mind how quickly my mind defeats me! Moving has got to be one of the tougher things in this crazy life. Not toughest, I'd put childbirth, losing someone you love, and fighting with a family member on the toughest list. Back to moving. We strive to find a home, finally land in one, get our stuff unpacked. Put 100 holes in the wall to display all the pictures that'll make it seem homey. We arrange and rearrange the furniture. We fill the fridge and pantry with the essentials. Flare up the oven and bake a familiar dish.  Then somewhere between week 4 and 10 the house is finally feeling like home.

It's so nice to be home. Isn't it?

But then, it's time to move. Again. I just happen to be pregnant again. Well, I'm frequently pregnant, but I happen to be largely pregnant and in my 3rd trimester again. This would be round 3 of this late pregnancy moving business. Oh yes, big, hot, round, freckled and hairy. Add those to the woes. Trying to take everything down from the walls, filling the holes with spackle, cursing myself for ever having put a thing up on the walls to begin with. Sanding the spackling, re-spackling, sanding. Digging through the dark places of the rental to find the paint that you're praying the owners have on hand. Finding the paint, applying it. Then digging up the glaze because one coat of one color just isn't enough. The glaze is all but gone. Get Acetone from the pedicure box and add a half a cap hoping this will dilute the thick sticky glaze into something workable. Crud! The paint doesn't look right. In fact it looks terrible!! That's because you've picked the wrong base color. Dig some more, despair a little, get rescued by a blonde haired, freckle faced, girl who happens to pick up the 15 gallon bucket and find the right base shade. Thank you Lord! Repaint, take a nap. Ahhhhhhh. Time to get that forsaken glaze back out and add another half cap of acetone. We are in business. Stop cursing yourself for putting holes in the wall. It's okay now. It's okay. It's ok.

Now for the game room downstairs. Where the kids ate pizza on Friday nights and occasionally smeared things on the wall. Gonna have to take down the posters, pennants, pictures, and puzzles. It'll be okay soon. It'll be okay. It will be ok!

B. J.

Maybe some folks are curious how the pregnancy is trekking along.. It's going fabulous! Baby B.J. is an active little soul. With lots of kicks and punches daily I arise and tuck myself in to the beating of this little drum. I am reminded again and again of the beauty of life in the womb. I am overcome with humbleness that I get to have another baby.

This pregnancy like all of them has had its phases. From the initial shock that we were expecting.. trust me, we know how this happens, to the hugging of the toilet bowl.. some things do grow old, to the cuteness of a little belly.. there's nothing like gazing down at ones mid-drift and knowing that bulge isn't a food baby, to the enormity of your tummy at the 3rd trimester.. I am overcome again!

I have scheduled an induction for little B.J. and that induction will take place on August 27th. I am both excited and of course, nervous. We are downsizing and are going to be moving into a new home in a couple of weeks. The location of our move will probably have us an hour from the hospital and we just can't risk another car baby. ;). Trust me, I love spontaneous labors. They are the best. However, God made me unique, as He did all his peoples and I labor unusually fast!

So there is a little update on me and B.J.

Samuel turned 4! (I'm so late in posting)

Samuel is 4 now. The little lad keeps me on my toes. He is a delight. He is talking a bit behind is peer group. He has broken more bones than most kids in his peer group and more than anyone else in the house. He's had 2 root canals, a record for the Reynolds household as far as the kids go. He's eyes are still electric blue. He vows that when the baby is born no bees will hurt the baby. If the bees do hurt the baby, he will kill the bees and then feed the baby ice-cream. He absolutely adores his mommy and daddy. He waits for Jake to come driving up our acreage and then hops in the car for a ride. He sits beside me in the quiet times of the day and pats my tummy and tells me how he loves me. He is an amazing little boy. 

Every bit of effort and labor to bring this little man into the world would be happily repeated over and over by his momma. It is such a privilege to know our Samuel. I'm so glad God fashioned him just the way He did and that Jake and I get the privilege of calling him son. 

Happy, happy birthday, Samuel. May you have many more feasting days of celebration in our home. May the Lord deal kindly with you. May you respond with fear, trembling, and joy before Him. We love you little man!

The dynamic duo charge the ram. Hazel insisted on being blind-folded. 

Cruzer is done and Samuel's just begun.

Absolutely cracked up at the responses of the kids when Colby whacked the ram their way!

Ahh, Jake.

The complete cowboy package for his gift.

Could his expression be any more priceless?

There was success!