I ALMOST missed this birth. Once Jordan was cleared to not take the "devil drug" anymore to stop her contractions and that she was good-to-go for the birth....the contractions stopped coming. We tried everything from walking the border at all hours of the night, walking the mall during the day because it wasn't so hot, driving (more like four wheeling) through the desert, even castor oil. I went to bed the night before I was supposed to leave resolving that it was ok...Keje would be coming and she would be there to see her niece be born.
I remember being woken up the next morning by Jordan rubbing my back and saying "my water broke"! After calling Mark and the airlines and doing some major "sweet-talking" to the reservation agent to change my ticket and not be charged an arm and a leg, I was given an additional 36 hour window or opportunity. Of course we thought that the contractions would start...but no such luck. After 24 hours and just when Jordan was getting ready to head to the hospital to be induced for labor...little miss "I'll do it my way" started to come. I was so blessed to be at the birth and spend a snipet of time with her before I had to leave. Luckily, Auntie Keje would be there next (we actually passed through London the same day but at different airports) and then Auntie Keeks (Kirstin) would follow Keje.
I love this little independent one....she is sweet and spunky...mixed into a ball of energy! Happy 2nd birthday, Kead!
Yesterday Kirstin and I ran the Colfax 1/2 marathon. We had to be at City Park at 5:00 am for the race start of 6:00 am. It was Kirstin's first race and my first half marathon. We were finished by 8:15...15 minutes of this was spent in the first mile trying to get everyone from the start line and out of the park! The weather was absolutely gorgeous...no wind, lots of sun but early enough that it wasn't too hot!
We have been running a couple of times a week for several months now. We do runs around Washington Park, visit, push Burke in the stroller, and sometimes even go for a "cuppa" at the Bucks afterwards. This has been a really special time for me not to mention the obvious physical benefits. We hope to continue the running...with a goal of running several "races" every year. The next may be a marathon relay and we might even get Adam G. to run a 5K as part of our relay team!
I don't like using cliche's but "where has the time gone?" really says it all. It seems like not too long ago...I was sitting in the living room with Viviana (our exchange student from Ecuador) when I realized that I probably was going into labor with Adam. She was so excited that she couldn't stand the thought of going to school that day. But off she went....
We found out that we were pregnant just days before Viviana came to live with us for the school year. I know that this sounds funny, and probably not a story that you might expect me to share for a birthday wish, but I just can't think of Adam's pregnancy without remembering her. She took her responsibility of being a "big sister and big sister-to be" very seriously. When I was tired of chasing two toddlers around the house all day, Viviana offered to give Kirstin and Jordan a bath and read them bedtime stories. It delighted my heart to see a young woman who had never made a bed or prepared a meal before arriving in Taos... playing and cooking and baking with the girls so that I could sit with my feet up once in awhile. She would love to rub my tummy and tease me that I must have swallowed a basketball because that is what it looked like from the side view.
She came home from school that day and we told her that we would be heading to the hospital. She gave me a big hug and kiss and said "buena suerte" (good luck). Hours later when she held Adam for the first time, she would say over and over again, "he's so beautiful....he's so beautiful" between her joyful tears. It's true...he WAS a beautiful baby!
When AJ was six weeks old, it came time to say our sad good-byes at the Albuquerque airport for her to return home. I was seriously concerned that she would not give him back to me before boarding the plane:) She lived with us for a pregnancy and then some but she will always be part of my memories of being pregnant with Adam. Can it really be 25 years ago????
Not friends but admittedly, these guys are the #1 reason to visit Idaho. I miss them so much!
Maggie-we became "kindred spirits" the day we met!
Edna...we have been dear, dear friends for many years!
Anvita....one day older than Kirstin and expecting her first baby :)
Mark and I have have moved quite a few times and the actual "moving" part is the LEAST favorite part of all. As I type this, I am STILL unpacking boxes with our recent move into a house that we bought in Denver. It is at about this point in the move that I vow that I will NOT move again!!!
And then it happens.....just when I think that I am destined to spend the remainder of my days organizing a household, putting together yet another storage system for the closets (or lack thereof)....life just takes hold of our new surroundings and I start to feel "at home".
I just returned from a trip to Idaho. A part of my heart is still there....with some incredible friends, not to mention Keje, Patrick, Adam and Trish...who live in the Inland Pacific Northwest. It was bittersweet to visit....loving every minute while I was there and so sad to leave.
I have often told our kids and friends that it SHOULD hurt to move. Because when it hurts, you know that you were really part of the community. You KNOW that you were blessed with lifelong friends!!!
There is something magical about a spring snow (when it comes occasionally and unexpectedly)....quiet, serene...peaceful. It covers up all the winter brown and blankets everything in white.
I was looking outside this morning while I was pondering an appropriate a passage from my daily bible study;
Isaiah 1:18 (New International Version) 18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Like the city streets that are covered in white snow, God sent Jesus to completely cover my crimson sins!!! What a beautiful picture!
No...this isn't a typo. Keadryn was here for two weeks and it was way too short! Between spending time at Kirstin's and staying here, I think that she was given some extra attention while Jordan, Drew and Sayla were in Oman and the Emirates. She was such a doll and Mark and I had so much fun! I miss her already.......
25 random things about Carla…..not in any particular order……
1.I can eat an entire big bowl of popcorn or watermelon in one sitting.
2.I love school…as a student or a teacher…always have…always will.
3.Mark and I have been best friends since we were high school chemistry lab partners in 1972.
4.I do like to clean…there is almost something therapeutic about it.Apparently, however, my kids do not share my enthusiasm for it so I will not be able to depend on them to clean my bathrooms in my old age…
5.I’m not a “girly girl”.If it weren’t for the girls in my life, I probably would be wearing old lady pouchy pants.
6.I have always loved to dance.When I was 9 years old, I was the youngest girl selected to be a go-go dancer for Sam the Sham and the Pharoah”s (big name in the 60’s…”Little Red Riding Hood”).Yup…fringe dress and white go-go boots…but never swinging around poles !!!
7.Along that same line, I want to dance in a musical someday.
8.I have watched every season of “Survivor”.I even applied to be a contender (but obviously never made the cut).
9.I have no problem eating cereal for dinner…my favorites are oatmeal with raisins and walnuts, puffed wheat with fruit, and shredded wheat with banana.
10.My favorite lip balm is Vicks.I got that from MY mother.
11.I can honestly say that I have enjoyed everywhere that I have lived!
12.I’m really good at remembering faces and places.Sometimes it freaks Mark out.I’m still working on remembering names though.
13.Ever since I was a little girl, a shower or bath + clean pajamas + clean sheets = as close to heaven on earth as it gets!
14.Mark bought me a sewing machine the first year we were married.We still laugh at the projects that I attempted.Fortunately, Jordan ridded me of the “devil machine”.
15.I cry at EVERYTHING…singing the “Star Spangled Banner” or “O’ Canada”, Hallmark commercials, chick flicks…I have embarrassed Mark and the kids more than once!
16.I love the Canadian blend of Red Rose tea.I ask anyone who is going to Canada to please bring me back a box…or two…or five….
17.I really don’t like being cold (so living in the Northwest Territories was an adventure in more ways than one).
18.The “craft gene” that our kids have….. did NOT come from me!!!BUT……
19.The “gypsy gene”… definitely did come from me!!!(seriously, my great-grandmother was a gypsy in Poland).
20.Speaking of “crafts”…some may be amused to know that I was part of a “craft group” for the three years that we lived in Taos.It took all that time for me to complete the needlepoint that secures a position of prominence in every house we have lived in since then.Obviously, I spent more time talking in “craft group” than doing the actual craft…
21.I love dirt…the colors, the smells, the feel of it.Ask my kids…. But, I don’t like too much dirt in my house!Maybe I should consider being a soil scientist for my next career…this sounds much better than just loving dirt.
22.I’m a “thrower” not a “keeper”…except for Mark…I’ll keep him as long as he will have me!
23.I would like to do “The Amazing Race” someday.
24.Mark says that I have never met a stranger.I love to talk, visit, and listen to others life stories.
25.And last, but certainly not least…I LOVE being a wife, mom and grandma!When I was in high school I never dreamed that I would say this!
