the story of us

Finally, due to requests, I post "the story." Confession: I rarely read others' stories. They are long and boring. So if you don't read this, I won't mind. I probably won't even read this.

38 weeks: Doctor tells me I'm dialated to a 3 or 4. Acts like it's no big deal. Turns out he's right.

40 weeks: Doctor tells me I'm dialated to a 3 or 4. Still no big deal. Schedules me for an induction.

41 weeks - April 27

6:30 a.m. Call hospital to see if they have room for me. pack our bags.

7:30 a.m. Check into hospital.

8:00 a.m. Hooked up to the contraction tracker machine.

9:00 a.m. Still no contractions, but hey, I could have told you that. Dialated to a 5. Start me on pitocin.

10:00 a.m. Still not feeling any contractions (which I'm not sorry about).

10:30 a.m. Doctor says I'm at a 6. Breaks my water. An awkward sensation, to say the least.

Increase pitocin dosage.

11:00 a.m. I'm feeling contractions, but they are no big thing.

12:00 p.m. I'm feeling contractions, and they are a big thing. Ouch!

12:30 p.m. Get the epidural. Best. Idea. Ever. Seriously.

3:30 p.m. I'm at a 10 and fully effaced. Nurse wants to know if I'm feeling any pressure. Nope.

4:00 p.m. Nurse wants to know if I'm feeling any pressure yet. Nope. Really good epidural. Too good? I'm okay with that.

4:30 p.m. Nurse wants to know if I'm feeling any pressure. Nope. Has me start pushing anyway. Oh joy!

6:00 p.m. Still pushing. On and off oxygen. Getting sick of having my blood pressure taken every 2 minutes. Everyone is talking about her head full of hair. Doctor is playing with her hair. I'm laughing. Turns out to be more effective than pushing, so everyone encourages me to laugh some more.

6:32 p.m. There's her head. I watch Doctor pull a human infant out of my body. Most amazing experience of my life.

They set her in my arms and I'm in awe of the most perfect baby girl I have ever seen. She is absolutely beautiful in every way. No cone head, bruises, or smashed nose. Everyone exclaims about her small feet and all her hair. She is perfect.

4 1/2 weeks later, she still is.

keep me awake

Sometimes, when I am feeding little e at 4 a.m. I wonder what she and I would talk about if she could talk. I imagine it would go something like this...

e: why is it so hard to poop?

me: same reason poop has to smell so bad. No one really knows, sweetie.

That's about the extent of our conversation. After all, it is 4 a.m. Maybe we'd have a more profound conversation at a normal time of day. I don't do well so early in the morning. She does look cute when she asks me, though.

i'm gonna sit right down

dear jeffree,

Last night was your 3rd grade "year in review." e and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is so fun to see your little 3rd graders and how they've grown because of your dedication, hard work, and love. It's cute to see the way they adore you and how much they want to be like you.

As I watched you lead the songs, not only did I think about what a good-looking profile you have, I thought about what an amazing man you are. Most would shy away from teaching, even if that's what they loved, because it doesn't pay enough or whatever other reasons. But you give it your all. You have so much talent and drive and because of that, your students thrive. You are determined to succeed no matter what. I hope you know I support you in that.

You go above and beyond in everything you do, which is one thing I love about you. I hope I can be more like you someday.

We love you, Mr. Shirley (and Daddy).

love,

loRi and ember belle

it's all about your heart

Today I feel beautiful. No, I didn't shower or do my hair. yet. I haven't put on make up (and I probably won't). But I feel beautiful. Because today when I looked in the mirror, I glimpsed something more than my physical appearance (which is...as you can see...interesting).

I saw a healthy body, hair on my head, clean, clear skin, a smile. I saw a mother who, though struggling most of the time, is trying hard to give her daughter everything she can.

I have every blessing in the world. Good health, a sound mind, a perfect husband (who always treats me as if I'm the most beautiful woman in the whole universe), a darling baby girl, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is more than enough reason to feel beautiful.

What makes you feel beautiful?

paint me in

Nothing like teacher appreciation week to bring a smile (and a few laughs) to teachers around the world. Here's a sampling of what Jeffree's students had to say about him. We've tried to be as accurate as possible on student's spelling, punctuation, etc. Enjoy!

Dear Mr. Shirley,

You have been a wonderful teacher. Congrations your baby, Amber. You have been the best teacher I have ever had. You are really funny and really nice and I love that.

Dear, M.r. Shirley,

You are the best teacher a student could have!!

P.S. Cute baby!

thankyou

Mr. Shirly

your a grea teacher

Dear, Mr. Shirley you are the best teacher ever.You are the teacher I’ve been waiting for. You rock

Love this picture! I'm not sure why I'm 8 times the size of Jeffree or why little e looks like some species of monkey, but at least the student thought of us :)

And here's a shout out to teachers from Jon Stewart himself. Hilarious.

maybe i should keep this to myself

I am an official member of the mom club. That's right - today e and I ventured out with other neighborhood moms and took over Kiwi Loco. Nothing like a little frozen yogurt to help our children bond. e was an angel and slept/spit up the whole time we were gone. The excursion left me a touch exhausted, but was well worth the effort for our girls' day out.

I may or may not have been wearing sweats and a t-shirt. I may or may not have worn the exact same "outfit" yesterday, and might possibly have slept in said outfit last night because I was too tired to change. But hey, that's what being a mom is all about, right?

Sometimes I think, maybe I'll put make-up on tomorrow or curl my hair. But then I realize that I'd rather sleep when I have the chance. I'm certain Jeffree would rather have a cheerful wife than a pretty wife. And he'll tell me I'm beautiful anyway. Perhaps someday I'll be the cutesy mom that looks nice and has perfect children and packs her husband's lunch in the morning. But for now, I'm pretty content with the fact that I folded half the laundry today... quite the accomplishment.

p.s. the weather is gorgeous! pinch me!

mother dear, i love you so

[Satan] knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail.

-Sheri L Dew

No doubt it's a tough job. And she's the toughest.

People told her she was crazy, irresponsible, etc. But she did it anyway because she knew that's what she was supposed to do. She gives so much to her children (and grandchildren), to her husband, and especially to the Lord. She is frugal, funny, clever, brilliant, a spiritual giant, and a wonderful mother. I love her so much.

Thanks, Mom, for giving us everything.

And to Jeffree's mom - well, anyone who can raise a perfect child must be astonishingly good at what she does. She's serving a mission right now and still managed to crochet Ember a baby blanket. She has served on almost every committee in her community and never stops working. And you should see her food storage.

Thanks, Ma, for giving so much to the world. And for giving me your son.

Happy Mother's Day to every woman in the world, because we are all mothers.

i just wanna hold you and never let go

Our little angel is one week old. We are so grateful to have her in our lives. Though being parents is more exhausting than we could have imagined, her sweet little face makes it all worth it. Her favorite things are snuggling with grandma, listening to Dad's voice, and rooting.

We are loving our little e