A Lifetime of Love

Teagan has been cleared of her jaundice diagnosis and I returned the bed yesterday. She slept great last night in her crib (I was a little concerned since she's been on the bilibed since birth). Her skin coloring looks great and I am enjoying just holding her, although I haven't seen her much today because of my school schedule. I am looking forward to getting home tonight; I miss her. :( I taught today and overall it went well. Today isn't the first day I've taught, but it's the first time I've implemented my own lesson. My mentor teacher observed and critiqued me, and I have some things to reflect on to improve the lesson. I learned some things and am very happy that I had the opportunity to do so; some things can't be taught, only learned through experience. This is one of those things. Well, I am headed to my last class of the day. I can't wait for 5pm to arrive- school's out!

Teagan is doing better with her jaundice. Her levels were down on Friday but rather than taking her off the bilibed now and risking her levels rising again, the doc kept her on the lights through the weekend. I have to take her back tomorrow afternoon and will more than likely return the bed. Yesterday and today have been the first we've been able to really hold her and love on her. Because of the jaundice, she had to be on the bed except for feedings. Thankfully she has taken a bottle fine (unlike T.G.) so TJ has been helping with feedings in the middle of the night. I have been nursing around 11ish, then he gets the 1ish feeding, and I get the 3 and 5ish feedings. But, since it was the weekend, I also got to sleep in until 8:30 so I don't really mind. The bilibed has been a mixed blessing. Teagan is my first child who hasn't slept with us in the beginning. I have always had the baby in bed with us to make nursing in the middle of the night easier (I have a co-sleeper so...

We came home yesterday because Teagan's levels were below the 75th percentile. However, we took her back to the doctor today and she is now on photo-therapy at home because her levels have risen. It's the same type of bed as the one in the hospital, only we are at home instead of in-patient. She goes back for another re-check Friday morning. Hopefully she'll be better and we won't have to get more aggressive with her treatment. I know jaundice is common but I've never had to treat any of my kids like this, and they've all had it. It's a little scary because it's new, but I totally trust my doctor and her judgement. *I am thankful to have a pediatrician that my family loves- mom and kids, both!*

Just a quick update. . . Teagan is jaundice and spent the past 24 hours on the "bilibed" to help get her levels down. She is being assessed by the doctor as I type this and is hopefully doing well enough that we'll be able to go home today. Although she has been nursing well, she has not passed enough stools to get the excess bilirubin out of her system. Say a prayer that she is doing better today! *I am thankful for the care and attention we've received while here.*

6 years ago today I welcomed my firstborn into this world. A lot has changed in our family since then, but one constant has remained: my love for him. Th is an amazing boy, full of laughter and joy and compassion for others, animals included. He is funny, caring, smart, and as best he can, living his life for the Lord. He is an excellent big brother and for the most part puts the needs of his siblings ahead of his own. I am so proud and thankful to be his mom! Happy birthday, buddy! I love you!

Teagan Claire made her arrival at 2:48 this morning. She weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20 inches long. Like the others at birth, she too has dark hair and lots of it! Teagan is doing well, nursing about every 4 hours or so. TJ and I took the kids on a walk yesterday to go visit our neighbor who lives behind us. She has lots of land and animals, a small farm of sorts. She recently added some ducks and chicks to her animal collection, and last week brought us some fresh eggs, one of which was green. She invited us to come by and see the hen house where the chicks live. While we were walking, I began to have some contractions. Nothing major, but they were there none the less. By the time we arrived at my neighbor’s house (we took the long way there so the kids could ride their bikes and burn up some steam), I was tired and the pressure from my belly was getting to be too much. We took the shortcut home (which is just through our backyard) and once I sat down, I was okay. We lit a cam...

At this point I am not going to be induced. I have been praying about and reading Scripture to try and get peace about the situation. Yesterday during my Bible reading, the Lord brought this verse my way: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8). I really feel like the Lord has been trying to teach me patience these last few weeks, and this verse confirms my thinking. I don't know what the Lord has in store for me or this baby, and I don't want to risk jeopardizing any blessings by trying to take control of a situation that is not up to me to control. As much as I am a planner and take-charge type person, for once I am going to let God be God while I wait patiently for His perfect will to be done. *I am thankful, as always, for the opportunity to read and study my Bible.*

Tonight during my evening class my professor and classmates surprised me by throwing a baby shower, with a beautiful cake, drinks, chips, and of course gifts. It was so shocking and much appreciated. There are only 4 other students in the class besides me, so it was an intimate group and I just can't thank the girls enough. They are so sweet and, especially because they are all in their early 20s, I know the financial sacrifice they had to make in order to do this for me. I called TJ during my break to tell him what they did, and I smiled the entire class period (from 5-8pm). Here is a picture of the cake- isn't it beautiful?!

I went back to the doctor today. My cervix is "ripe and ready to go" as the doc so eloquently phrased it! The only problem? I'm still not dilating and probably won't anymore until labor starts. This is the complete opposite of my pregnancy with T.G. With her, I was dilating but my cervix wasn't ripening. I was going to be sent home from the hospital at 5cm because my cervix wasn't thinning out as quickly as the doctor thought it should be. Thankfully a very nice nurse let us stay the night because T.G. was born about 2 hours after that! Anyway, the doctor did say I was an excellent candidate to be induced if I choose to do so. I don't know what to think about that- I've never had to face that decision before! LOL! If I do decide to be induced, it won't be for 2 more weeks because the earliest the practice is comfortable inducing is at 39 weeks. Can you imagine me pregnant at 39 weeks? I surely can't!! I am torn on what to do because part of me ...

Th’s party was fun. He had a good time being silly with his friends. Below are a few pictures from the day. Oh, by the way, TJ pulled Th’s tooth so I have been joking with him about brushing his holes. He thinks it’s hilarious, and this morning he came in and said, “Mom, I brushed my holes already.” Still no baby. I am honestly shocked. A few weeks ago, I was having such strong, hard contractions and in the past week, they have been few and far between. I guess Taco is happy where he/she is and will arrive in his/her own time. I also think the Lord is trying to teach me patience because I am getting very impatient. My hips and joints are killing me and it is painful to walk. I thought that taking a stretching class with my students would help, and it has, but the relief is temporary. I also thought the stretching would get things going with labor, but that hasn’t happened, either! LOL! I have been trying lots of “natural” things to start labor (i.e. eating spicy foods, lots of walking)...

My speech went well, and I was surprised at the turnout. There were about 150 people in attendance. I was the second speaker, and was scheduled to speak after lunch. I finished my meal and excused myself to the restroom. On the way back into the room, I quickly phoned TJ and he prayed with me to help calm my nerves. As soon as I opened the doors to the dining room, all eyes were on me- it was my turn! I promise you I wasn’t out of the room for more than 5 minutes, but apparently the first speaker gave her speech as soon as soon as I left. I was so embarrassed! At the end of the presentation, several people came up to me and congratulated me. It was nice to have the support of so many, especially because a few of them didn’t even know me. I even received an email from a current classmate this afternoon congratulating and thanking me for giving such an inspirational speech (I didn’t think it was very inspirational). It was also nice to see some former professors, classmates, and friends ...

Below is the draft I submitted for my speech. Hopefully I won't have to make too many changes! *************************************************** We all have many names. T. is the one given to me at birth from my parents. Other names include: sister, friend, student, Coach, and my personal favorites, wife and mom. You may be wondering what being a wife and mother of 3 ½ small children have to do with taking classes here at (insert college name). To be quite honest, my husband and children have greatly influenced my decision to pursue my education. In high school, I applied for and received a full scholarship to attend a local university upon graduation. For personal reasons, I declined the scholarship and instead enlisted in the United States Air Force as an airplane mechanic. To say my family was upset with my decision is an understatement! The September following my high school graduation, I left small town Ohio and headed to Texas for Basic Training, then shortly thereafter I w...

I received this email request today from a pretty important person on campus. I am honored, but flipping out at the same time. Read below. I know that you plan to attend the Scholarship Luncheon this Friday, and we would like to have you speak on behalf of your fellow students to express appreciation to our donors. You could tell a bit about yourself and your own situation (as much as you choose) to demonstrate the need for such scholarship support. You will be one of two students speaking to the group, and between the two, you would be in a good place to represent the needs of those who are nontraditional students with family responsibilities, jobs, etc. We hope you will agree to take this on--folks in the college are very proud of you and all that you accomplish. How can I say no? Now I am working on a speech so I can turn in a draft by Wednesday morning. On a different note, my bulletin board that is due by Thursday has a little flexibility because of some circumstances out of my co...

are probably the best words to describe how I am feeling lately. In all honesty, I have never felt any of these emotions to the extent that I have been feeling since yesterday. Balancing my home life and school has always been challenging, but never like this. I am second-guessing myself in every decision I make, taking me on even more of an emotional roller coaster. For instance, I needed to clean the house as I haven’t done it in 2 weeks. I decided to begin last night, and I finished up this morning. I worked my behind off to get almost everything clean. But, because of my decision to clean, I put off doing my school work until this afternoon. I regret that decision now. I spent the afternoon trying to figure out where to begin, and with each assignment I started, I can’t finish because I either need more information from my students or from my teacher. Plus I received an email today informing me that I have less than 2 weeks to prepare and teach my students a 30-45 minute lesson. N...

My first day in the school was AWESOME! My mentor teacher is great, the students are wonderful, and I am so thankful the Lord put me in this particular room in this particular school. Back in the spring, when the college was giving me some difficulties about registering/taking classes this fall, I was told I would be placed in a school local to my home. However, when I received my placement letter in early August, I was placed in another town about 25 minutes away. Another girl in my class was placed at a school literally less than 1 mile from my house, and TJ suggested I look into switching with her. I am so glad that I didn't! I told him that the Lord was in control and He allowed this placement to happen the way it did (and TJ knew that, he is just thinking about my upcoming labor). When I returned to college Tuesday afternoon for my class, we had a support session to talk about/discuss our classroom placements and how the first day went. There are only 8 students in the class,...

Tomorrow is my big day- my first day of student teaching. Well, I'm not actually teaching tomorrow but I go and meet my mentor teacher and the students in the class. I will begin actual instruction next week. The only information I received from my mentor teacher is that the kids are in grades 10-12 and they do a lot of community-based instruction (i.e. how to make a purchase in a store, how to use public transportation, how to cross the road safely, etc.) I am excited about that, but at the same time, it makes lesson planning difficult for me because, for my college courses, I have to focus on academic instruction (i.e. literacy, assessment, etc.) But, I'll figure it out somehow- I always do. Tuesdays are long days for me. I leave the house around 7:15am and don't get home until after 5pm. I will only see Ta and T.G. for about 20 minutes (I pick them up at noon and deliver them to TJ at 12:20pm so I can get to my next class). I'm a little bit nervous about being away...