Love Abundently

You know the saying: Everything in Moderation. That's a great way to live life, especially when it comes to eating healthy, exercising, partying, working, etc. But I have a secret and insight into something you can do everyday of your life that does NOT require moderation. Love. It is the one thing you can over do. Love the persons in your life with ALL that you have, with your mercy, patience, humility, and unwavering kindness. Do not love with expectations of how it should be returned to you. You will be disappointed. It can be simple if you let it in to your heart. Love is the greatest gift you can give to another person and to yourself.

Happily Preoccupied

There has been so much change in the last two months that I have not taken a moment to capture it all in words, until now.

My sister Bridget is pregnant with her second child and is living in Iowa with her family. Back with her first pregnancy, I was in Mrytle Beach and missed the delivery of my nephew Hunter. I was not going to miss this one. I flew out to Iowa on March 31st and was greeted by my very pregnant sister (due date: April 5th) and happy/energetic Hunter-Bear. My mom and I had the same idea; she flew out the very next day. On April 2, we celebrated Hunter's 5th birthday. We went to Pump it Up, a fun inflatable party place with slides, mazes, and obstacles. I had blast chasing H-man all over the facility and racing down the inflatable slide. My sister desperately did not want her children to share the same birthday, so we held off inducing labor until after Hunter's day. From then on it was Operation Get Baby Out! We made Bridg do lunges, squats, runs around the block, and anything else we could conjure up over the weekend. She was a champ!
On Monday, she went to the midwife who did a minor medical procedure that might induce labor over the next 12 hours. I will not go into details. Although I was anxious to meet this beautiful baby boy or girl, I was still enjoying feeling the baby kick and watching Bridget's stomach make waves as the baby rolled inside her. It was so wild to see and feel the movement of life inside Bridget. That night we went to Cold Stone's for Cookie Don't Ya Want Some, a favorable craving of hers during this pregnancy. She started feeling some contractions and timing them at 5-7 minutes apart. But not close or painful enough to go to the hospital. The next morning she awoke to tell us that she thinks this is it. The midwife confirmed this, but allowed a few hours before it was necessary to be admitted to the hospital.

Five hours later as planned, I picked up Hunter from preschool and dropped him off with Paul's mom and headed to the hospital. I was honored that Bridget allowed me to be in the room during most of her labor, but of course when it came close to delivery I was kicked out. Looking back, I am thankful with that decision for obvious reasons, but I didn't go far. For the following two hours I stood outside the room with my ear glued to the door to listen and wait for the cry. The nurses, Paul, and my mom were cheering Bridget to push. I have to be honest; after some brutal screams I started to feel pain! Then I hear Bridget say, " What is it? What is it? Is she ok?" It's a GIRL! A few minutes later, my mom snuck me in to the room to be part of it all. Bridget, held my hand and with a happy tear rolling down her cheek, she said, "I know this isn't the best timing, but go say hi to your god-daughter." She couldn't have told me in any sweeter way. I stood between Paul and my mom staring in awe at this precious little girl. Paul's reaction was priceless. He stood over his daughter with light and joy gleaming from his face saying in amazement, "She's beautiful!"

Kinley Jane born at 7:04pm, weighing 7.8lbs, and 20.25 inches.

The month I spent with my sister and her family was so worth it. I immediately jumped in to their busy life taking Hunter to and from school, cooking meals, walking their dog Yankee, riding bikes, playing dragons and Star Wars, investigating the woods, watching t-ball practice, going to church, listening to High School Musical 2 every day in the car, changing diapers, burping Kinley, etc. In comparison, my life at home was so boring. I loved the running around to make appointments or to play the next game. I loved being a fun aunt to Hunter and a caring one to Kinley. I loved joking around with Paul. I loved being best friends with my sister.

Some fun memories I keep with me... Taking Yankee for a walk was one challenging endeavor. Rather, it's Yankee taking me for a sprint! He's a strong yellow lab who has not yet grown out of his puppy stage. Then, chasing Yankee around the dinner table trying to get a sock, stuffed animal, or slimy dollar bill out of his mouth. He's just a dumb lovable dog. And I really enjoyed the days when Hunter would come to me and ask, "Nanee, do you want to play with me?" We would bike ride to investigate tunnels, play on parks, or to explore new paths. Occasionally, we would take breaks since Hunter's "muscles were getting tired because of working so hard." If it's a play day inside, then we play dragons. Hunter had given me the job of being the voices of five different dragons. Oh this is going to be good: 1. a righteous sufer dude with two heads 2. a 1920s newspaper writer 3. a ghetto guy with attitude 4. a stuck up girl 5. a slow old folk. Hunter played the normal one. I think I had more fun with the characters and Bridg got a kick out of listening to my creative enthusiasm. But if Hunter and Bridget were taking naps, I got to play tummy time with Kinley or rock her to sleep. I even learned the lyrics to Hush Little Baby and it worked! And Bridget and I just got to have fun with each other and be sisters. Might I add we are hilarious!

I could go on and on about all the memories with my nephew, niece, sister and brother-in-law. But if you want to know more about the growing family, check out my sister's blog.

Life in Iowa