Are you there God? It's me, Jenny!

Did you read these books as a young girl? The actual book has nothing to do with this post, the title just reminded me of the day I had.
The past few months I have really been praying about my greater purpose in life. I know there is something else I am meant to do, but I don't know what it is. Mike and I are involved in a small group study that will hopefully guide us in that direction. Until then, we wait!
Most days I feel so blessed and lucky to be living this life. I am fulfilling my dream of being a stay at home mom. I get to spend every hour with my son and watch him as he learns and explores this new world. Most days this makes me very happy....then there are days like today. It didn't matter what I did he just screamed and screamed and screamed. There was nothing wrong with him (other than being tired and fighting his nap) but it led to HOURS of a tantrum. In my last bible study we talked about not waiting until the last minute to ask for God's help. Walk hand in hand with him all day and tell him your desires. Of course when a 4 month old is SCREAMING at you, you tend to forget this. So in a desperated plea I begged God to help me calm this child. Once he finally fell asleep I called Mike and completely unloaded. Tears and all. When I hung up the phone I expected to feel better, but I felt worse. Was I really complaining about this child that I loved before I even knew him? The one I have wanted for years and years? So, instead of cleaning, I decided to nose around on some blogs. I ended up on a blog of a family I don't even know. I really don't even know how I got there. But there I was reading a young mom's entry about how stressed and tired and frazzled and negative she had been with the struggles of a newborn. Her husband kindly pointed these things out to her and she reminded herself, and me, that we need to count our blessings. Focus on the positive. Positive thoughts are contagious.
Then began the water works. There HE was....GOD! Answering my prayer. Did he stop my baby from crying? NO! But he gave me a little tap on the shoulder (thanks to internet) and reminded me that HE hears me and HE is listening. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, JENNY! FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE, JENNY! WALK HAND IN HAND WITH ME THROUGH THE DAY, JENNY! I LOVE YOU, JENNY! YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER!
NOW....I will go do the laundry because I am thankful we have clothes to wash! I will go clean the dishes because that means we had food to eat. I will go wipe Isaiah's tears becuase I have a beautiful, healthy, (most days happy) son. Then, I will say my prayers and know that my Father hears me!

Family News!

What an exciting few months our family has had. I thought I would take some time and share the headliners!
My brother, aka Uncle Bubba, joined the army and is loving life! He graduated in the top ten percent of his class from boot camp and then went on to school in Oklahoma. He is now stationed in El Paso, Texas. I am so proud of him and the path he has chosen in life. Isaiah will be lucky to have him as a role model and mentor one day. Here is a picture of Private First Class James Matthew Lawrence!
Next up was the wedding of the year! My borther in law David married his best friend Kristen in October. Krissy was a BEAUTIFUL bride and David looked so handsome. I wish we could have been there to celebrate their special day but we had a little bundle on the way and doc said no traveling for the mommy to be!
Just DAYS before Isaiah was born my sister in law, Ashley, got engaged in Jamaica. She loves Nick so much and he is so good to her. They have planned their wedding for March 2012. What an exciting time this is in their lives. I can't wait to see the wedding gown she picks. She will be absolutely stunning!
To round off October we welcomed Mr. Isaiah into the world. Here is one of our family shots with the amazing Beth Carter (he was 2 weeks old).
Our newest family news happened this weekend. My mother-in-law, aka Gigi, married Pete! With all the excitement of the year they decided to exchange vows in a private ceremony and have a celebration with family and friends later. So, after a ski trip in Salt Lake City they headed off to Vegas for a wedding. What an exciting day this must have been for them. Pete makes Gina so happy.

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our family. What an amazing and blessed year God has given us. I can't wait to see what he has in store next!

Time Flies.....

WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN! I love my new life as a stay at home mom. The days are busy and full but for some reason I never feel like I have accomplished much. So goes life with a newborn. Isaiah is growing so fast I don't even notice it until I go back in my archive of pictures (thank goodness for camera phones!) He now weighs about 15 pounds and his personality is shining! His newest (and my favorite develeopment) is his laugh. It is music to my ears. It is the cutest most perfect sound I have EVER heard. It makes my heart smile every time! This week he rolled over from front to back AND from back to front. I was super impressed and I KNOW he is the most talented 3 month old around. hahahaha His favorite story is "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and he has started to take a liking to "Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do you See". He has become a thumb/fist sucker which is fine with me if it helps him go back to sleep on his own. When he was sleeping in our room (in his bassinet) he was up to six hours of uninterrupted sleep at night. We moved him to his big crib around 11-12 weeks and he is now back to the three hour cycle. I know it's best to have him in there but it sure makes for a tired mommy (especially since he spoiled me so early on).
What's been going on with the grown ups? Well I finally decided it was time for me to get out of the house and connect (and get some adult conversation in my life). So....2 weeks ago my friends Tonya and Beth invited me to our local MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) group. I went, I fell in love, I signed up! It is so awesome to be surrounded by other Christian mom's going through the same struggles I will and do face. Every other week a bible study is led by Gwen Diaz (if you don't know who she is...google her) She is amazing and talented and super and spiritual and fabulous and fun and sincere (i could go on and on). Michael and I are doing a marriage study with our family of 8 + 3 1/2 (YES, someone is expecting!!!!!). We haven't really gotten to the meat of the study yet but I am really looking forward to it. We have also joined in with our local Tres Dias committee and are getting ready for a walk in April. I can't wait to see what God does in the lives of these men and women. We are sponsoring our dear friends, the Stiversons, and I just know IT WILL BE AMAZING! Michael turned 30 at the end of January and he is playing softball on our church league. My friend Mary has recently become a "Lakeland Housewife". I am excited because now I have someone to walk and talk with. We are looking forward to breaking out our strollers and hitting the pavement (her "baby" lilly is white and furry and her short four legs can't keep up so she travels in style in her doggy stroller).
Well I am running out of time but I have tons more to tell about. Hopefully I can get back sooner than later but I will leave you with some of my favorite pics from the last three months!
This is Isaiah at 2 weeks old heading to church for the second time.
16 days old and napping in his crib. HE WAS SO TINY!
Two months old an
d headed out for family date night (Yogurt Mountain and a red box movie)!
Look who found his thumb!
This picture has become a FAVORITE in the DeAngelis family. My sister-in-law uses it as therapy when she has a bad day at work. LOVE IT!!!!

Isaiah's first Christmas!

December was a wild month for the DeAngelis family. Isaiah's colic went FULL BLOWN. That was an experience. Sadly for us it peeked the week we decided to take him to Memphis. WHAT A MEMORABLE TRIP THAT WILL ALWAYS BE...HA!
We left Lakeland at 630pm on a Thursday and decided to drive straight through the night. My little brother had finished up his training in Oklahoma and after a two week stay in Memphis, was leaving Friday at noon for his new station in El Paso, TX. We really wanted our little guy to meet ALL of his aunts and uncles so we drove 13 hours through the night. We got in at 7am and were greeted with a warm fire, the Lawrence family and a warm breakfast. GranDebbie was SO happy to have all her little ducklings together. I think this made her Christmas complete. Even though our visit with Uncle Bubba was short (and a little delirious) we are so happy we made it in time.

My parents were so kind to open their home up to all of our friends and family. With the colic this made life much easier than dragging Isaiah around at night. It was still a bit stressful because when company would come our little fella would get wound up. We had SO many visitors. It was so fun to meet our friends kids and watch our family interact with Isaiah. The first night in Memphis my bestest, Ashley, came for dinner and cocktails. We have been best friends since we were 5 and I was so excited for her and Jay to meet our little blessing. She, in true Ashley fashion, came with the cutest little onesie that has a tie stitched to it and BAGS of Cole's old baby clothes. We had a ball and this night will be etched perfectly in my memory forever.
Isaiah got to meet most of the Leathers' crew. Jane was IN LOVE and the afternoon we spent at her house was a little piece of heaven. Great conversation and SO relaxing. I started baby-sitting for this fam when their 3 girls were newborn, 2 and 3. They have grown up to be beutiful young ladies and watching them snuggle with him kind of brought things full circle. They are now 17, 20 (next month) and 21! While the girls loved on him, Mike and Eli had NERF wars and opened fire on us. Boys will be boys! ha!
Most nights were spent with our entire family loving on our newest addition (when he wasn't pitching a fit). As I said earlier, Mom and Dad graciously opened up their home to everyone. We were abounding with grandparents, aunts and uncles. Such a fun time. Here are a few pics that captured some of the moments.







Sadly my tired little brain forgot to take pictures of other family members and friends. SORRY! Isaiah also got to meet my good friend Carrie and her beautiful daughter Sutherlynn Grace, a life long friend Natalie and her precious daughter Addie (who is going to be a fabulous piano player one day...hahaha), Matt and Karen brought their newest blessing Mr. Ryder Lee Holley to visit, family friends Donna and Buddy, Ms. Judy,Lesley and Noah, Cole and Kate, and Mike's grandma Jean, aunts and cousins. It was a whirlwind and I am so sorry if I left anyone out. Oh yea....we had lunch at our favorite little Mexican place, El Porton, and visited with Mike's best friend Matt and the lovely Mary. They had just driven in from Charleston and brought Isaiah and Ugly Doll....WE LOVE IT! I can't wait for them to start a little family. We are hoping to meet up in St. Augustine sometime soon.
Once we wrapped up in Memphis we headed to Birmingham for my grandmother's 89th birthday. It's always bittersweet when we visit her. She is my only living grandparent and she misses my Pawpaw so much. I took a picture of him on his 90th birthday and put it in an album and everytime she walks past it she talks to him. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. On this day she told him what a great time he was missing and how she wished he could meet Isaiah. Her day was full of visitors. My cousin Kim brought her family and left me with a special little treasure (more to come on this in a later blog), the entire Palmer crew came for a visit, even Pat and Aunt Sparkie. Isaiah truly is loved and we feel blessed that so many people came out to meet him.
This is one of my favorite pics from our trip:
So, if you are tired just reading this imagine how we felt when we got home. hahaha...we got in at 540 on Christmas Eve and had to be at church at 6! CRAZY! I felt like a weight was lifted off my chest as soon as I got there. I couldn't wait to hug Steph and that Baby Lew in the making! My girl, Jen, even shared in a hug. Cheri was happier to see Isaiah than me but that's ok (just kidding). I love my church family so much and it was a great way to come back "home". We ran out for some last minute shopping and awoke to a wonderful first visit from Santa...including gifts from aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends.


We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a blessed and happy 2011!

"birth" day

Ok Mrs. Swanson, this one's for you! So as most of you know my pregnancy lasted a little bit longer than I had hoped (9 days to be exact, but who's counting?) In that time my little bundle of love went on a growing spurt. In the end I gave birth to a 9 pound 5 ounce, 22 inch long, sweet baby boy....naturally. Now I'm sure many of you are thinking "Wow! That's one tough lady". Or "She's my hero". Or "HAS SHE LOST HER MIND?" The truth is I am not able to have epidurals due to a back surgery I had in 1997. The thought of this terrified me from the beginning. It was one thing to say I was "choosing" not to have an epidural (knowing I could get it if I needed/wanted it) but to be told I would NOT have an epidural, no questions asked, was quite a hurdle for me. Mike and I practiced lots of relaxation techniques. Massage was my favorite through the pregnancy, labor and delivery. I had prepared a whole play list of music which accompanied me through some of the labor but by 8-9 centimeters and contractions every 1-2 minutes I was done with that. QUIET PLEASE!

We checked in on a Friday night and the nurses began all the paper work, questions and attempted SEVERAL times to run an IV to me. I have terrible veins. Once they finally got one (six pokes and 2 collapsed veins later) it was time to hook up to the fetal monitors. For me, this was the most irritating part of the whole process. I could not seem to get comfy and every time I finally did, Isaiah would move, the alarm would sound and the nurses would come to adjust. Needless to say I got no sleep. Bright and early Saturday morning I was temporarily released from the straps and allowed a nice hot shower and some time to walk before the doctor came in to start the pitocin drip and break my water. I am SO glad I had this time. It was quite refreshing and rejuvenating.

8am enter doctor. Break water.
8:30 am begin pitocin.
....hmmmm, this isn't so bad. Contractions begin. Massage is working. Total relaxation. And they said this was hard....HA!
9:30 am contractions every 2-3 minutes but still not so bad. I am gonna ROCK this.
10:00 am contractions every 2-3 minutes but getting much more intense. A little queasy now but still nothing I can't handle.
10:30 am contractions suddenly begin to send me in to orbit. They are still only every 2-3 minutes but BOY that is some pain I have never felt. Nurse comes in and asks how I am doing. Being the IDIOT I am I tell her "fine". So no check for me. She tells me not to worry if it is night or the next day before I have this baby. Seriously? I can't take this pain all day.
11:00 contractions every 1-2 minutes and much worse. Mike is hanging on for the ride and being a great cheerleader. I continue to tell the nurse I am fine. What was I thinking? I have no clue. No time to be tough girl.
Finally by noon I decide the nurse should know of my pain. This if FOR REAL! She takes one look and RUNS to get the doctor. Next time I will communicate a little better. HA. Having a child is no time to be tough.
At 12:00 pm (3.5 hours after induction began) the real work began. I can honestly say the labor part was worse for me than the delivery part. At this point I could see the end in sight. My husband was absolutely amazing. The worse part was that my vein collapsed and between pushes the nurses attempted 5 times to run a new line (add 3 more collapsed veins) At 1:50 pm we welcomed our beautiful son into this world. I was a fluster of emotions and couldn't wait to get my hands on him. I couldn't believe how big and beautiful he was.
I am still amazed that I housed life inside of me. The whole process is truly amazing to me. I would love to pat myself on the back and tell you what a rock star I am but the truth is I didn't have a choice. The other truth is....God designed me for this purpose. He does not give us anything we can't handle. I would never advise anyone to turn down an epidural because we all have different pain thresh holds but what I will say is that I am glad I didn't have the choice. I am glad that I did it and hopefully I will do it again some day. I am glad that I was up walking and looking at my baby 30 minutes after he was born. I am glad that I am a woman, a wife and a mother!

Happy One Month Birthday!

What a month it has been. November is my favorite month of the year so it was very fitting that we came home from the hospital on November 1st and we are closing out the month celebrating his one month birthday. I love being a mom. It is the BEST job I have ever had....but WOW, it can get pretty exhausting at times. All of the benchmarks he hits make every tear worth it (and I'm not talking about his tears...hahaha) This week he has started cooing and talking to me during play time. This makes my heart SMILE! I hope you enjoy the video and I hope I get better at blogging, but don't hold your breath!

The End? Nope, it's just the Beginning!

October 30, 2010 marked the end of a LONG pregnancy and the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. I will spare you the details of birthing a 9 pound 5 ounce baby naturally (for now...hahahaha), but I will tell you the SECOND he joined our world all the pain went away. He is absolutely amazing and I fall in love with him more every day (if that's even possible). I haven't had time to blog and tonight's will be short as I have started a new "schedule" to welcome week 2. Just wanted to share a few pictures with my blog followers. This is the best job I have ever had. I look forward to all the challenges, memories, and blessings in store. I pray that we are the parents God wants us to be and that we always listen to Him and follow His guidance.