Burton's First Weeks

3 days after Burton Lawrence arrived we drove to Ovalo to the Flying T to be with my family for Easter weekend! So thankful for family that takes care of me while I recover and helps us out as we adjust to being a family of four!

So far, minus Adalynn getting a stomach bug 5 days after Burton was born, the transition to having a second child has not been to rough. Burton has been sleeping 3 hours at a time at night and has been a very calm and content baby! We are so very very thankful for this tiny bundle of blessing.

Burton Lawrence

This not so little guy arrived! April 14, 2014. And, he is the 14th grandchild for my parents. He weighed 9 lb 2 oz and was 20 inches long. 

Saturday night I began having contractions around 10:30pm. By midnight they were pretty consistent and were becoming more painful. So, I texted Mama just to let her know. I told her I wasn't sure that I was in labor, but just wanted her and Papa to know I was having contractions. At around 2:45am my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart, so I let Mama know. She said they would head my way. About 10 minutes later my contractions had all but stopped. So I told Mama and she said they would wait and to just keep them updated. At 5:30am Matthew and I heard a loud banging on the front door! Matt grabbed the gun and we went to the front door. It turned out to be Mama and Papa. They had decided to go ahead and come to Lubbock even though my contractions had pretty much subsided. We went to church that morning, still not having many contractions. Around 1:00pm I began having a few contractions again. I spend most of the day relaxing and counting contractions. They continued all afternoon and evening. By 7:45pm I was feeling like I should get to the hospital. When we got to the hospital I was dilated to 7cm! Praise God! Burton ended up being in a posterior position (meaning his face was up rather than down). I continued to labor all night, and finally at 4:49am he arrived, face up! Ouch :)  Because of his arrival position I have had some low back pain during my recovery. I had not idea that this was a symptom of delivering a baby in the posterior position. But it definitely is! We are so very thankful for this little miracle. Thankful that God saved his like back when we was just 22 weeks gestation. So thankful that God helped him arrive safe and healthy this day! We are in awe of God's miracle.

Eye Surgery

Sending your daughter off to some operating room, with people you don't know, for her to be put under general anesthesia, and have her eyes cute open....man....that is very heart wrenching. As I saw Adalynn being carried away by the 70 something year old CRNA with slumped shoulders, it was as if my heart was being carried away. I had a huge lump in my throat and couldn't talk for fear that I would burst into tears. Mama and I went back out to the waiting room where Papa, Jedidiah and Shelley were waiting. Papa had us gather around and pray for Adalynn and the surgery. I was much more at peace after that. I am so very very thankful that Mama, Papa, Jed and Shelley got up at 4:30am to be with me while I waited for Adalynn to get out of surgery (especially since Matthew was still in route to Texas via the Alcan)!

Adalynn waiting in the OR holding area for surgery.

Adalynn wanted to be cuddling with Mamanita while we waited for surgery.

Everyone from the nurses to the CRNA to the OR staff were amazing!

Sweet girl just after surgery. I started crying when I saw her lying there on the bed. So sad to see her like that....but also so relieved to be back in the same room with her.

Taking it easy after surgery.

Love this girl so much and I am so thankful for God's protection of her throughout this surgery!!

Matthew's Here

We are so thankful that Matthew arrived safely! He drove about 4000 miles in 5 days with a friend, Shane. It took them 98 hours of actual driving time! Adalynn and I are so thankful to have him here. He will be here for 90 days of FMLA (Family Medical Leave of Absence) for Burton's arrival. We continue to wait on the FAA job transfer. We continue to pray that God will provide that job here in Texas for him. We know that God has lead us to make the decisions we have made up to this point and now we continue to wait for God. At times I become impatient and want Matthew to have a job NOW. But I have to be reminded that it is God's perfect timing, not ours. And we have to trust that God will continue to lead and guide our decisions....even if the job transfer does not come.  If Matthew has still not received a job transfer by June 10 (when his FMLA is up), then he will fly back to Alaska, give his boss his two weeks notice, drive my Expedition to Texas....and then we will decide from there what to do about work for Matt.We are praying that God will guide our decisions and give us peace in this time of waiting.

We have loved getting to spend time at the Flying T Ranch with my family!

Adalynn loves wearing her daddy's hat :)

Adalynn follows her daddy everywhere right now!

15 Months Old

 I have missed several months due to us moving and me no longer having a laptop!

But, here is Adalynn Jo at 15 months. 

She loves:

Eating ice

Playing with her baby dolls

Her teddy bear "Cuddles"

 Carrying the iPhone around when she is Face-Timing with Daddy

Greek yogurt, Blueberries/Blackberries, Peanut butter, Broccoli (with ranch dressing), Honey Nut Cheerios, Pasta

Swinging at the park (or at the Ranch)

Watching her cousins play and then attempting to copy them

Sitting in a chair/on a couch all by herself

Carrying purses

Wearing necklaces and bracelets

Wearing glasses (an extra pair on top of her own, as well as her own glasses)

Being the glasses police for Papa and Mamanita (gotta make sure they wear their glasses!)

She does not like:

Changing her clothes

Not a huge fan of riding in the carseat

Having her diaper changed
Having her hair washed
Walking over thresholds or cracks in the sidewalks
Letting anyone besides Matt or me touch her face or glasses

I'm sure there are other things she dislikes....but I can't think of them right now. :)

Adalynn had her pre-op appointments today. She will be having eye surgery this coming Monday to correct her left eye that continues to cross even with her glasses. She is farsighted and nearsighted. The doctors thought that having the glasses those muscles in her eye might get strong enough and she would not need the surgery. But, after 3 months of wearing glasses they have not seen an improvement. So, surgery it is. The surgery itself is very short and pretty "minor", but they do still have to do general anesthesia :(  Which makes me nervous. I am trying to not worry and to trust God. But, that proves difficult for me at times. Matthew leaves Alaska on Thursday to drive his truck and our trailer here to Texas and to try to make it here in time to be here for Adalynn's surgery. I am praying that he has good weather, great roads, and no car trouble. That way him and his friend, Shane, can make it here in time! Whether they make it in time or not, praying they have a safe trip. I am so thankful that Matthew will get to be here for 90 days of FMLA! Cannot wait to spend day in and day out with my man again. I have missed him like crazy!

Current Living

Matthew and I are so thankful to my parents! They are allowing us to live in the house that they own in Lubbock, Texas right now while we are in transition. What a huge blessing. We will be living here until after Burton arrives. Then, we are planning to move to the Ranch house in Ovalo sometime after Burton's arrival. We are pretty sure that if Matt's job transfer does come through that it will be to the Abilene FAA site. So we plan to go ahead and live with my parents at the Ranch until the transfer comes through or Matt quits his job and finds other work. We are incredibly blessed and thankful for Landon and Whitney allowing Adalynn and I to live with them for a while too! We could not ask for a better support system or more love during this crazy time of transition for us. We miss our friends and community in Alaska so much, but we are also so excited to be near family and LOVE seeing Adalynn getting to know and love her cousins, aunts/uncles, and grandparents. We cannot wait to get to make more trips to Georgia and North Carolina to see family out there and have Adalynn get to know them better too!!

Zoo With Kathleen and Mitchell

 Adalynn and I got to see and hang out with these two on Thursday! Kathleen was one of my college roommates and great friends throughout college. Her son Mitchell and Adalynn are just 10 days apart. We had so much fun catching up with them last week and look forward to getting to hang out with them more now that we live back in Texas!