The LilyMonster!!

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Shadow over America the Beautiful

I had the pleasure a few days ago of speaking with a native Okinawan lady. She told me some very interesting things- such as, the Okinawan people don't really consider themselves "Japanese", and they consider themselves separate from the "mainlanders". They are ALOT more laid back and not as strict as the Japanese as well. Okinawa has the record for overall human longevity as well, due to their healthy lifestyle and eating habits.

The conversation then turned to how she married an US contractor who has been here in Okinawa with her for their entire marriage. She said that one of her biggest fears was possibly having to move to the US with her children because of the horrible drug problem there and the high crime rate among the youth today. She talked about how she herself likes to visit the US and how beautiful and varied it is, but the amount of crime and the drug problems is what "stands out" as a part of the US today. This view of our country is apparently widespread.

It really is sad to hear this developing reputation about my beloved homeland -which was founded on religious freedom and a love for the one true God. Now, we can't even teach about God in our schools, and instead of worrying about handing in homework on time, kids have to worry about whether or not the kid next to them on the bus has a gun or a knife. Living here in Okinawa these past 7 months, where children as young as 5 walk to school safely all by themselves and you RARELY (I have heard of none since I have been here) hear of a violent crime or a drug raid,...has really opened my eyes. Car chases, which are pretty much weekly just in California..areunheard of here! It should strike fear into us to see how far our country has strayed from the standards and morals it was founded on. Living in America should be viewed as a privilege with responsibility to uphold that which is right not as a right with free reign to indulge in every debauchery imagineable. Will there be no limit to which our country won't plunge if it does not return her trust and faith in God? Where will the liberalism (hedonism more like)stop?! I am afraid these are just more indicators of the last days... *sigh* I will retire the soap box...for now ;)

Nose to the Grindstone

Well, Brian checks in off of leave today, and we will slowly be getting back into our routine. I am battling baby-blues as usual, but not tooo bad ;) Getting back into the swing of things will definitely help with that.

Brianna starts piano lessons next week. I was going to wait until she turned 5, but a friend of ours said she takes children as young as 3! So, I am going to go ahead and let Brianna start. I always wished that I had taken piano lessons, so hopefully Brianna will enjoy it at an early age and use it to serve the Lord. I guess that is all for now, the girls are ALL down for a nap since they are exhausted after a full morning of gymnastics and then the playground. Ayden is now LOUDLY letting me know he needs my attention :) Ahhh motherhood- it is fleeting, I know ;)

Urashima Dinner Theater

Brian's parents enjoying Lobster (with uni sauce ;) and Steak at the Urashima Dinner Theater
The dancers
Some tired little girls up way past bedtime ;)
check out the video in my home video link of some of the dances...pretty neat! For some reason all of my links are waaay down on the right side...sorry. I am not sure what happened!

All FOUR of them

I feel so overwhelmingly blessed to have my four little miracles. I am so grateful. I am soooo undeserving of such a blessing to be a mother to these dear ones. It breaks my heart to think of the times I take them for granted. God is so good.

Aquarium

The girls love the Aquarium..it is the world's 2nd largest! It is right on the ocean...just beautiful. There is also a great playground right outside of it that the girls just love. I put some video clips in my home video link.

Udui Theatre and Kokusai Street

Brianna and Anjolie and Daddy went with Grandmom and Pop-pop on a tour to the Theatre to see some traditional Okinawan dances and a popular shopping street in Naha. I stayed home with my two babies and got some new mommy rest :) It is hard to believe I just had a baby 12 days ago!! I forget sometimes...and pay for it later ;)

Ayden

Is he talking already?! ;) Actually, this was one of the few times we have seen him awake!
3 little indians...Lily was still asleep.
Anjolie just loves her new little brother. Of the three girls, Anjolie seems to be the most interested in little Ayden.

Grandmom and Pop-pop are Here!!

No, I did not fall off the face of the earth ;) Brian's parents arrived on Thursday night. Yes, they braved the mega flight from Vegas to Okuma to Okinawa to see our new little addition and the other little rugrats as well :) After having been awake nearly 24 hours, they have been up and ready for whatever this Island has to offer! Thursday morning we visited the 100 yen store, and in the afternoon stopped by sunset beach and Chile's for dinner. Poor little Lily has been fussy though :( My little baby who is normally so mild tempered has been a little ummmmmm feisty ;) I will update as time allows!! Please pray for our health and especially that of Brian's parents.

Welcome Baby Ayden Josiah!

He is finally here after what seemed like 2 weeks of labor.
Saturday night I woke up with some regular contractions, but was able to fall back asleep, and then woke again around 3am and continued with the same thing that had been going on all week...contractions that felt like they were progressing and then would get little erratic. So, I went in to Labor and delivery on Sunday morning at around 8am, as planned. My Dr checked me and told me I was still right around 5 cm, at a -2 station and 90% effaced. So, I did not have to have pitocin as I thought I would...the Dr broke my water at 9:22am. About an hour later I was into HEAVY labor...the contractions were so intense that little Ayden was not handling them well. His heart rate kept dropping into the 60-70bpm range during my contractions and REALLY scaring us. I was about 7 cm when I went ahead and consented to the epidural they kept dangling in front of me ;) I knew it was for the best because I usually dilate to a 10 in about a half hour after getting an epi. So, It took the Dr almost a half hour to get it in because he stuck it in the wrong spot the first attempt but then he succeeded the second try...not fun when you are going through transition and having to sit like a statue through it. Anyway, Ayden continued to struggle through my contractions for about 40min...which I once again worried about having to have a c-section...but then I finally felt I could push! The Dr checked and found the baby's head "right there"! I pushed for almost 4 min and he was out!! So, from start to finish..9:22am-1:12pm a short but unforgettable experience of little Ayden joining our little family which is now complete. He was 8 pounds exactly and 20" long. God is so good...His whole planning of this entire event...just blows my mind. After a discouraging week of being turned away because they were soooo busy. There was only one other mother in labor at the time I was, so I got a beautiful big room with a beautiful view of a sunny day to labor in, I was the first mother to deliver a boy that day so I won two bags chock full of baby stuff from the girl scouts who were celebrating their birthday...the night after I delivered, the L&D was incredibly busy again, and delivered 5 more baby's. I really feel the Lord was purposeful in His design of when Ayden would be born thanks to the loving prayers of friends and family. I was running a slight fever after the birth so I even got to stay an extra day to recover and rest...(that is what took so long to update this!)God is soooo good to us. I have some video clips on my Home Video link. Thank you again for your love, and prayers.

Tomorrow tomorrow!!

..I might just finally have this little baby. If I did not feel so awful and worry about my blood pressure so much...I really would not mind going another couple of weeks. But I would like to just "be myself" again, and be able to take care of my family the way they need. This pregnancy has been taxing on all of us I think.

So, we are going to head in at around 7am Sunday morning...soooo that would be 5pm Saturday for East Coast time I think. PLEASE pray that Lord would protect us...I don't have a whole lot of faith in the staff...sorry, but just please keep that in mind as you pray...that the Lord would guide their judgement and hand in their work. Also, I am just feeling a little discouraged lately...probably just hormones, but I am praying that the Lord would, in His grace, give me a little boost tomorrow. Thank you so much...I so appreciate your prayerful support.

Baby Shower

Ok, here are some pictures of me...I will set my pride aside ;) I am just sooo swollen!!
Kimberly, Susie and Vicki...all friends from 29 Palms!! So neat to have them all here in Japan as well!

I had a most wonderful baby shower on Friday night. We got some really nice things. My friend Kimberly threw it for me and we all had a really nice time. The Lord really has blessed me this past week even though I have been soooo uncomfortable. Brian was given off every single day to be with me, and the weather has just been gorgeous! I have been resting 100% better too. God is so good to know what we need most and when. I know now that He was giving me some rest and healing before little Aiden arrives.

Gymnastics

The girls were able to go to gymnastics on Friday, and they had a really good time!
I put a couple of videos on my video link as well.

Probably Sunday...

...every day it is just more of the same...contractions all day..just enough to get my hopes up ...then they are gone.. I am still basically at 5cm, and 90% effaced, but they will not keep OR help me UNLESS my water breaks or I am in HARD HARD labor....Ok, that is not going to happen until I am almost ready to push..

On a brighter note, my dear friend Kimberly is throwing me a baby shower Friday night (your Thursday)! I am sooo looking forward to it :) I will post pics!!

Patient Little Princesses

Brianna and Anjolie have been so patient. I know it is hard on them just waiting and waiting. I put together a little breakfast tea party for them yesterday morning to help them feel some sense of "normalcy". Brian, has had the past two days off just to help me!! His MSgt's wife went through this same thing with their fourth, which also happened to be a boy..so he is really being understanding since Brian works at a base that takes 30 min to get to (due to traffic, not distance). His wife finally went in and just had them check her...she was 9cm!! They broke her water and she had him in 2 hours. I can ONLY HOPE that is the case with me.... I guess we will see on...*sigh* Sunday. As I don't anticipate my water breaking on its own.

Ok.....

See post below...yeah...that's about it. I can just picture my water breaking here at home and well, I guess hey! I will finally get that home birth I always wanted right ;) "Brianna!! Get me some towels and hot water!!" Now THAT would make for a good blog!

But really...all day my body is giving me every indication that I am STILL dilating (how is that possible??!!) but my contractions won't get regular. Grrrr...Don't get me wrong, if Aidan is not ready yet..I don't want him to come, but it feels like my labor starts really well I get in a few good hours of building conractions with "indicators" that they are doing something and then it fizzles out like my body just gets "bored" or something. Well, the Lord knows...He sure is hearing an awful lot about it :)

*sigh* Still Here

I had contractions all day, and most of the night, but they never progressed into a full fledge labor pattern....oh well.
I am definitely close...with other signs of progression as well, but this baby is just waiting- for whatever reason.

Brian's command was soooo nice to let him off work yesterday afternoon though to be with me while I was having lots of pain. I must have walked about 3 miles yesterday trying to get my contractions to get into a pattern! Oh well...I will keep you posted...please pray as I REALLY DON'T want the Pitocin on Sunday!!

I'm home..

...and I might be in labor...the beginning. I am 4+ cm dilated and 75% effaced...so since I am not contracting regularly he is letting me walk and try to get some regular contractions going. My BP was borderline today, so the Dr did "get my contractions going", (rather painfully) so we will see what happens. Brian had to go back to work (*rolling eyes*)...hope he doesn't miss anything ;) So, since I am in pain and still have stuff to do ...I will just use my work to get these contractions regular. Please Pray my labor does not just stall out!! Sunday morning...if I have not delivered, I get the wonderful Pitocin...yuck..I have until 9am Sunday morning to get this baby out on my own!

Waiting....

...for my appointment to see what is going to happen today. The appt is at 11:15am my time...soooo 8:15pm east coast time (my mom :) ) and I believe 6:15pm in Lake Havasu (Brian's mom :) )? The Dr said he is going to be "aggressive" to "get things going" for this appt due to my high bp last appt. My blood pressure this time will pretty much determine just how "aggressive" he is going to be.

I am going to be honest in saying I will not complain if I have the baby this early (37wks by the hospital's inac. date and 38wks based on my date and confirmed by u/s)...I am so worried about an abruption, which I had a partial one last baby...not to mention it would be nice to have some of my pregnancy induced problems- like the swelling, itching, dizziness, sleeplessness, hypertension- go away :)

I will keep you posted!!

Good Weekend

The girls with part of the "American Village" in the background.

Brian and I had a good weekend just relaxing with the girls. Things are going to get hectic, I think, this week, so we decided to take it easy this weekend. I put some new video in my home video link of the girls at the playground. That is one real blessing, to have so many playgrounds available to us on base.

On Saturday we went to the "American Village" It is a shopping village right by the ocean and not far from us. They sell "American" stuff ;) Hanes t-shirts, fruit of the loom, Levis- and lots of restaurants. There is even a Starbucks! The girls really enjoyed walking around and watching some of the street performers that were out at night. They get quite a bit of attention from the Japanese. Poor Brianna about had her cheeks pinched off at one of the stores one weekend. They also believe it is "good-luck" to touch blonde hair...so Anjolie and Lily (who I don't really consider blonde...but is by comparison to the Japanese) get "touched" alot :)

Well...

Yesterday, everything kind of went opposite of what was expected. Brian, who was promised the day off, had to go in to work in the morning after all, but he made it home in time to go with me to the girls' first gymnastic class. They were soooo excited...but when we got there no one was there. The receptionist said the class had not been cancelled, that the teacher was probably just running late...I mentioned the fact that there were no other children there...to which she just shrugged...ANYWAY. So, we sat there for almost 30 min with one other family when finally one of the directors came in and said, yes the class had indeed been cancelled due to illness. Ok...I think I was more disappointed than the girls, and I felt so convicted that little Brianna had such a good countenance and great attitude about the situation, and I truthfully did not. So, we took them to Burger King playland...which they accepted just fine. So, sorry, no pictures this week :( Next Friday...there will be pictures.

Then, the day continued on the same trend. A couple of girlfriends of mine from church had invited me out to get a pedicure at a popular salon out in town. Well, she mistakenly gave me wrong directions to her house, and so, they had to leave without me to make the appointment in time...we tried to find the salon, but could not. I was disappointed, but- oh well. We just decided to try a new restaurant out in town with the yen that I would have used for the pedicure...it started out AWFUL! I was almost in tears because Anjolie and Lily, who are normally pretty well behaved in a restaurant were just awful! I know they were probably just tired, but it seemed as if the day could not get more disappointing. Brian finally prayed about the situation (hmmm why didn't I think of that) and God in His grace did in His mysterious way intervene. The rest of the time was wonderful, and so was the food. So, today, it is a beautiful day, I am praying that the Lord will just bless this time we have together as a family before the baby is born. I have a feeling that the reason yesterday was such a trial was ...I forgot to ask the Lord to help. I had not because I asked not.

Still Here!

What a blessing this week has been as far as Brian's schedule! He has gotten off at mostly normal times for most of the week! He did have to go in at 1am though, and his day is not going well today...lots of logistical stuff fell through. Please pray for his safety as I know he is exhausted.

We signed up Brianna and Anjolie for gymnastics, and their first class is tomorrow! I know they will really enjoy it. I will try and remember to bring the camera. I had wanted ballet, but the wait list is very long. Besides, with gymnastics, they are in the same class. Brian is supposed to have tomorrow off since he had to work over the holiday weekend so he will get to see the girls at their first class :)

This may very well be our last weekend without a new little baby! I hope it goes well...I will keep everyone posted, but I have really been swelling, so Monday at my appointment ...well, we will see what happens.