Summer Goals 2012

It's that time again. A time to set a list of goals to achieve over the summer. Not once have I ever written a list of goals and actually accomplished even half of it. This year, I will accomplish ALL of the goals on my list! Below I will list a set of goals that I hope to accomplish with the help of my friends and loved ones: 1.Transfer all of my recipes to one easy to use notebook. Hand write them. The best home made recipe books are hand written like Grandma Hines used to do, but she had a card catalog. 2.Start Ryder's scrapbook. I do not have to finish but I at least have to make a good amount of headway. 3.Get back into yoga. Never hot yoga though, that's a death trap just waiting for me. 4.Play a game of Ultimate. One game. That's all I ask. If I get to play more that would be awesome! 5.Go swimming as much as possible with Caitlin, Denver, Chavon, Jude, Amanda, Brittany, and obviously my mom. 6.Go to the museum a lot...but not so much that I start to think it's boring. 7.Replace photos in frames in my house with updated family pictures. 8.GET CLOSER TO FINISHING CERTIFICATION FOR COUNSELING...or maybe just FINISH altogether. 9.Tell everyone who will listen, and even those who won't, about essential oils and how they can genuinely be life changing...and have a class to help with this! 10.Write a novel That's it. That's the list. Subject to change because, well, I wrote it. I know there is something I left out. I will add it if I think of it. If you have any good goals you think I should have, tell me! Here's my cutest creation:

I am so awful at blogging consistently. I want to try to get better. Not because I think anyone in the world is sitting by their computer just waiting to read what I have to say but because I really enjoy writing and even more so I enjoy being consistent!

I just read a blog by my sister-in-law. She always writes moving blogs that spur me on to thinking great thoughts. I've been thinking a lot lately about balance. I want to be better at balancing being a mom AND a wife. I have no problem saying that I am a great mom. I was clearly designed to be a mom and I love it. God has given me the gift of relatively seamlessly entering into motherhood with few hardships. Yes, I had a long labor. Yes, Ryder has already needed surgery. Yes, his sleeping has become less and less consistent. But all of those things I feel like I have handled with ease and the grace that only comes from God.

Anyways, I blog about this to be transparent and for accountability. I want to be a wonderful wife as well as mom. Right after God, my husband should be my first priority. I don't know how to do that at this point. I love Garritt so much and he is so supportive and loving and understanding. I just want to be feel as great about being a wife as I do about being a mother.

Ryder is so wonderful. He is such a joy. He started smiling and laughing in response to things a couple of weeks ago and it changed my life. I can get him to calm down if he's fussy more easily now that I know what he likes.

Things that Ryder likes:
-The Ellen Show
-His mom dancing around in the kitchen while cooking and listening to The Beach Boys
-His mom singing Janis Joplin's 'Me and Bobby McGee'
-Gripping things... like mom's hair
-Eating
-Sleeping in his crib
-Eating
-Walks
-Having explosive diapers
-and Eating

Things Ryder doesn't like:
-Not eating
-Not napping when he's sleepy

I love my big, growing munchkin.
I'm sure you do too... just look at him!

Life as a mom...

I have been a mom for almost 6 weeks now and this is what I have to say about it...
I love it!

When I started dating Garritt I loved being a girlfriend. When I got engaged I loved being a fiance. When I got married I loved being a wife. And now that I have had a baby I love being a mom. All of the aforementioned steps have seemed so natural to me. I think I must have been waiting this whole time to be a mom.

Now I get excited about finding new recipes and making grocery lists to buy everything I need to cook delicious meals. I have no problem (I actually dream about this)with being the ideal 50s, June Cleaver housewife. I find such incredible joy in it. I pray that one day (soon) Garritt and I will be financially able for me to be a full time stay at home mom. I am so far away from being a feminist that I hardly know what it would mean to be one. I love being submissive to my husband. I love cooking my family meals. I absolutely love doing the laundry...this may be due to finally having a working washer/dryer and being over the moon excited to use it. But what I also love is that my husband treats me as an equal and loves me with all the kindness of Christ. If all the feminists in the world had husbands like Christ I doubt they would see the need to be one.

I didn't intend this blog post to be what it has turned into but I'm into it. I started writing this evening to brag about my love of my new darling little son...but it ended up being a proclamation of the Proverbs 31 woman! If you have not read Proverbs 31:10-the end do it now.

What a woman to admire and aim to be like!
God designed me for a purpose and why would I try to flee from the very reason I was made?

Anyways, isn't my son adorable?

The Birth Story

Labor- 41 hours and 18 minutes
Active Labor- 11 hours and 18 minutes
Pushing stage- 1 hour
Contractions felt and prompting me to believe labor was near- one whole week

Those are the statistics that will begin my birth story. I have been stalling writing this because I have not been entirely sure what to write or how to even begin but I will just go for it.

3 weeks ago time was passing much more quickly for me. Looking back it is odd to me that time was passing so quickly because I was in pain that I could not have previously imagined. On Monday, November 21 (my due date) I started having contractions. I hadn’t had any Braxton Hicks contractions throughout my pregnancy so when I began feeling contractions for the first time I thought he must be coming soon. The contractions started becoming more and more regular. I kept going about my life as normally as possible all the while thinking I could be leaving for the birth center at any moment. Those contractions went on until the next Monday when Ryder was actually born.
Labor started on my birthday, November 26. It was my 21st birthday and I hardly remember it. My birthday coincided with Hinesgiving this year. (Hinesgiving is the name of my family’s second Thanksgiving always held on the Saturday after Thursday Thanksgiving). I escaped to my parent’s room during a game of Celebrity Bowl because I was in quite a bit of pain. I contacted my midwife and she asked me to have my mom time 3 sets of contractions. The contractions were all 3-4 minutes apart and lasting 45 seconds-1 minute. At that point my midwife, Donnellyn, told me to go home and have my doula, Stephanie, meet me. It was exciting to get to leave the house with all my family in one place and they all know at the same time that baby Ryder was coming soon! Psh at least that is what I thought at the time. I went home, changed, Stephanie arrived and pretty quickly we were leaving for the birth center! As painful as the drive was I would have thought it would have seemed longer but that felt like the shortest trip to Argyle (the city my birth center is in) that I had ever had. Poor Garritt kept talking to me and not getting a response and asking if I was upset with him. He would then look down to my phone, see the timer going and say ‘Oh, sorry. Is that another one?’

We got to the birth center and were turned around to go home. I was only about a centimeter or two dilated. I am so very glad that we were sent home because baby didn’t come for another 41 hours! What a long labor! That night went very quickly although I did not sleep but 45 minutes. I am seeing a theme…things that should have felt like they took forever just didn’t. Praise God! I think overnight is when my back pain really started. I have never felt pain like that in my life. I definitely didn’t expect it. I cannot even explain the pain but every 3-7 minutes that night and up until he was finally born I felt like my back…I don’t even know. I am at a loss for words to describe any part of it. Most of the night I tried to power through the pain on my own because I knew Garritt was tired and he really needed to get some sleep before the next day. When I could tell he was awake I would just say “please” and he would rub my back through the contractions. I have a bathroom in my bedroom and I can so vividly remember getting up to go to the bathroom and only making it to the end of my bed before having to stop to have a contraction and then the same on the way back. Finally, the sun rose and I decided it was a decent enough hour to call Donnellyn to update her and call Stephanie and have her come over.
The next day was a lot of the same things but here are the highlights:
-Being told what seemed like a million times to eat but not wanting to.
-The most wonderful chiropractor, Rachel Whaley, coming to my house to adjust me.
-Actually being able to take a small nap.
-And finally, leaving for the birth center a second time!
We were passing downtown at 5:17. I remember this because I said to Garritt that if Ryder were born in 20 minutes he would be born at the same time as our nephew Denver. We missed that mark by a wide margin.
The next 11 hours and 18 minutes passed so quickly that I thought Ryder was born in the middle of the night…not at 5:18 in the MORNING…the next day. The next 11 hours and 18 minutes were also the most painful time in my life. Praise God for making it pass so quickly!
Here are the highlights:
-Only being able to walk 5-10 steps before having a contraction
-Sitting, standing, and laying in any position to make the pain the least painful.
-Truly feeling simultaneously very grateful for whoever was applying counter pressure to my back and feeling very bad for asking anyone to do it. The thing I remember the most was how guilty I felt every time I had to ask someone to help me by rubbing my back. I am so thankful for the team I had for being so willing to tend to my back without me even having to ask most times. I feel like the only things I said that whole night were ‘please’ and ‘I’m sorry’. I thought I must have been very annoying.
-Being excited to get in the water…being excited for the jets to turn on…and being very sad that it didn’t help.
-Believing that I must be having back labor since it was so painful and then doing something more painful than the worst contraction to get him to turn around and face the right way. He was not actually faced the wrong way. I was not having back labor. He was just too big for me and caused crazy pain.
- Donnellyn breaking my water. When she asked me if I wanted her to go ahead and break my water I am sure I didn’t look like it but I could not have been more excited! I said yes! I knew at that point that he would be there soon and my back pain would be over!
-Being prayed over constantly. Especially the last prayer Donnellyn prayed before we left to go home. When she was done I said, ‘You don’t get that in a hospital’.

This time when I got in the bathtub I knew I was coming out with a son! I had a 10 pound 6 ounce baby. The pushing stage was NOTHING compared to the labor! Donnellyn explained to me what I was going to do and to let my body guide me. After she said that and I could feel that it was time it was as if everyone in the room disappeared, I could only hear them. I could hear Garritt telling me to squeeze his hand (but I wouldn’t because I didn’t want to hurt him). He kept repeating to squeeze his hand. I could hear another part of my team, Sue, cheering me on. I could hear Donnellyn telling me to feel his hair and telling me how much more I had left. Mostly, I felt and could hear my body telling me when to push and when to take breaks. I have never felt so in-tune with my body before. It is amazing how God equips us to birth children. Before I knew it my son was here and I could see only him. I vaguely remember seeing Garritt cut the cord and hearing Donnellyn say that he was no doubt 10 pounds.

I had a long, hard labor. I lost a lot, and I mean a lot, of blood. I had to have an IV after Ryder was born. I suddenly got very tired and was falling asleep while people were talking to me and then was wide awake after the IV. I wasn’t allowed to get up for a very long time. I had to eat but still didn’t really want to. I had to drink a LOT of water and gross chlorophyll. I then threw up the water and chlorophyll and then had to drink more. But none of that mattered. I had my son. The Lord finally gave me a son. My family felt like more of a family. It would never be just Garritt and I again.

I didn’t cry. I didn’t cry during contractions. I didn’t cry when I was pushing. I didn’t even cry when I saw Ryder for the first time. I was so incredibly happy when I saw Ryder for the first time. I was so relieved that I had done it and he was with me. It wasn’t until I first saw my family walking through the bedroom door with my mom in the lead to meet Ryder that I cried. It felt so real then. I was so excited to introduce him to my family. It was wonderful.
The question I have been asked most since Ryder’s birth is if I will have another all natural water birth. Every contraction I had I was either pleading with God to take the pain from me, begging Him to walk through the pain with me, or thinking to myself that this would be my only child. So, my answer to that question is that if I have another baby I will no doubt have that baby the exact same way. I will feel every second of pain. I am so pleased that God placed a passion in my heart for natural childbirth. As painful as it was and as many times as I begged God to carry me on His shoulders through my contractions…I would never do it another way. I feel so close to Ryder. I also feel so close to God. The pain I felt is so small compared to the pain He felt when He gave us Christ. The pain He went through allowed me to lean on Him during my pain. How great is our God!
There is my birth story. Long…just like my labor.

Ryder's First Concert

Ryder will forever be able to brag about the fact that his first concert was Taylor Swift. And, boy did he love it. Because of our sweet friend Jane, we were treated to a concert at the Cowboys stadium...in a suite! We had a fully stocked fridge, pizza, and most importantly a private bathroom. Really, we saw a concert the only way a pregnant woman should do anything... with free food, drinks and a private bathroom. Glorious.

Taylor was beautiful and amazing! I never thought I would ever get to see her live. She put on an amazing show!

Jane, Kristin, and I enjoying the sweet musical stylings of Taylor Swift in our suite:

Really though, Ryder kicked a WHOLE lot during the show. He was a dancing fool! He seems to be following in the ways of his mom's musical tastes...and not his dad's. Two against one will always win out in the car. My boy is brilliant!

In other news:
I found Ryder's first outfit! He will come home from the birth center in this little nugget of an adorable outfit! "Born in '11"!

Unless he is HUGE and doesn't fit in it..

And my diaper bag finally arrived! It's beautiful

That's all for now!

Planes, Trains, and Tonka Toys...

My mom and G's mom threw us a baby shower this weekend! It was so fun and I am so grateful for all the work they put into it! There were around 30 people there. My mom kept saying how it was the biggest party she's thrown in her house. She gets a little frazzled when she's the host but she did great! We had sandwiches, sherbet punch, and this awesome cake...

What a clever cake!

We were overwhelmed with gifts! Everyone was so sweet and really did shower us with gifts! Here is a little of the aftermath... I forgot to take a picture of all the gifts when they were pretty and on the tables.

My sweet friend Lauren-Claire got to come to this shower before she leaves for Boston! I was so glad that a someone was throwing a shower that she could come to before she went back to school.

And of course my best friend Amanda was there

Fellas were invited so G was there too!

And then my mom and dad helped me bring all of our goodies home to Ryder's room!

Now, Great Aunt Karen, gave Ryder her old Owl bank! It is absolutely perfect! It is green and blue! Karen said she used to put pennies in it as a little girl to save up for her island... she put in a quarter for Ryder to start with and I can't wait to see what he says he is going to save up for!

It was so much fun to be on this end of a baby shower! We were so incredibly blessed by everyone who came and shared in this experience with us. It was just another one of those milestone experiences that I would have never been able to explain before I was able to go through it.

I can't wait to dress Ryder up in all of his new clothes and see him play with his new toys! We also got a bunch of amazing monogrammed items that I can't wait to put him in!

Read Between the Hines

It's happened. The Hines (or Hines a heart) girls have gathered forces to create a book club. Kristin, Elise, Michelle, Caitlin, Erin and I have entered into the life-long-binding-sisterhood of a book club. 'What will this book club look like?', you may ask yourself. We came together to answer those questions.

We had a LOVELY dinner with amazing place settings (made by Caitlin!) last night to decide what our book club would be.

Not knowing how we would decide who chose the first book I went ahead and did a little research and came with three options. The options I came with were Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Sarah's Key, and The Glass Castle. I haven't read any of these books but they all seem like really great options and I plan on reading all three.

I won't go through our entire decision making process because- as some of you would know how our family gets at family things- most of the suggestions were on the more ridiculous side and were just plain silly. What we did decide was that we would be a book club sans rules. We can make suggestions, however. Suggestions like; bring a few choices when it is your turn, we will go in reverse age order for book choosing, the book chooser will host the next book club and choose the main course while the rest of the book club will bring side dishes.

I'm very excited about the book we chose. I asked everyone to do a golf-clap style applause-o-meter to pick their favorite choice but we ended up just going in a circle and saying what we wanted. We were unanimous and chose Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children! I am really excited to read this book. Look it up and read along with us if you'd like!

Lastly, we left the meeting by deciding a name for our book club. We wanted to incorporate Hines, obviously, and possible a pun or alliteration. Our faithful knowledge owner, Kristin, proposed 'Read Between the Hines'. Obviously, we all wholeheartedly agreed! However, that is not the full title of our book club...
The full title is,
Read Between the Hines: A Sisterly Book Club of Common Courtesy.
We're going to be a big deal.