Hunter arrives!

December arrived splendidly this year!
Hunter Lawrence Stevens made his debut
on Thursday last week. He had been due
on November 30th. When Lacey visited the
doctor, all Dr. Iler would say was that it
would be "soon".

It was. It was the next day. Lacey even
drove herself to the hospital. She had
him in only about 5 hours. She told us
that it was not as tough as she had
imagined it was going to be from what
everyone told her.

She will be able to have children easily.
Both my mother and my mother in law
had their children easily. Somehow
my older daughter and I missed out
on that. I am not sure why, but it
is a forgettable pain, so that makes
it all worth while.

With each Grandchild's birth, I remember
bits and snatches of my own children
coming into the world.

It took me a long time to want Grandchildren.
Maybe I should never have had 3 children of my
own. Whatever caused me not to want grandchildren
at that time has passed. It passed as soon as my
oldest daughter told me she was expecting.

I remember her call that day. I do not remember
what day it was...but I remember what she said.
She said.... what are you doing in November?
I don't know why, but I caught on pretty fast.
She must have been laughing in the background
or something, because I said, "are you pregnant"
pretty quickly. I was covering a lampshade with
scraps of fabric at the time...hands all glue
and sticky.

The time went quickly and Tyler ended up coming
almost a month early, on October 9, 2003. Guess
I should have told daughter that it did not take
me long to get pregnant. She didnt take long either.
They had only been trying for a short while.

The youngest, who just gave birth to Hunter, took
a while longer to get pregnant. They had been
trying for almost 2 years before they succeeded.
Lacey had an easy pregnancy. She even worked up until
a few days before he was born. She got so bored those
days waiting after she left work.
We took her out to supper on the Tuesday
before he arrived. Grandpa Larry said he wanted out
because of all the pizza and chicken we ate that night.

Jodee had a long labor, and we worried if and when Tyler
would get out. He finally got here....after she labored
a long hard time. He is 2 years old now and that time
seems to have flown by. We did not get to see him as
much as I would have wanted to because of the distance
between where they lived and us.

Now they have moved closer. We see each other about every
month now...which I really like. He is going through
the terrible 2s right now...so I don't cry so much when
I have to wait to see him.

We got to see Hunter the night he was born. I got to hold
him for about an hour that night. That was special.

I was in the room when Tyler was born...that was special too.

I have been very blessed.

I called my Dad to tell him about Hunter...and he sounded
so very excited too.

I have promised to call Dad more often, and I intend to
keep that promise...both for him and for me.

I want to close this with a small thank you.

I am thankful to God for helping me find out
what was wrong with me. I want to thank Dr. for
listening to me and helping me find the right
medicine for me.

I want to thank my Family for loving me and
forgiving me so quickly for being kinda nuts
for a few weeks.

Thank you too, dear cyber friends for listening
and letting me rant and rave when I needed to
do so.

You are all in my thoughts and Prayers.
May you enjoy December and begin your New Year
with Joy and Happiness, not Depression and Sadness.

If you feel sad, see your Dr...it may be the best
thing you ever do for yourself.

Goodnight all, hugs too

Katie

Snow Update

Snow 2005.

Yes, it began to snow last week.
I have already lost count of how many
inches of Snow we have gotten so far.

The accumulation does not appear to be
much...but I am ready for Spring already!

I think the official count of inches is
about 10, but some of that did not accumulate,
it melted as it came down. We are thankful that
the storms began with lots of rain...otherwise
I know the accumulation would be very high indeed.

Today began as a beautiful Sunny day with the snow
sparkling and glowing...

Now it has turned cloudy and is very bitterly cold.
The high today is to be only in the single digets.

Winter has definately arrived!

Schools were delayed but not cancelled.
Hubby took one day off and stayed home.
I am learning to be thankful for small
things. We enjoy each other's company
again. Guess he always did, I was the
one who was tense and on edge. Now I
am grateful for any time spent with him.

This weather makes me want to find a snowy
hill and slide down it like we used to do
in the old days. Seeing smiles and hearing
giggles from my girls was so much fun.
It more than made up for the wet socks, and
snowsuits....seeing those little pink noses
and smiling twinkling eyes made the winter
pass quickly. Snow days were fun days. We
would make cookies, decorate them, read stories,
watch movies.....cuddle in and snuggle tight and
stay put.

Aaaahh, those were the days.

Now we will have Tyler and Hunter to watch
enjoying the snow and giggling.

Hot Chocolate anyone?

*wink*

Hugs

Katie

Yes, Virginia, I do Believe!

I had a very very bumpy November.
Enough to say that I survived it.
The Family as well survived it, though
I cannot say they did so without scars.

I truly "lost" it for a few weeks. I am
now seeing my Dr. regularly and am on
some medication that seems to be working
wonders in my well being.

I thought that I was "through the change"
without a mark on me. It appears I was not
entirely correct in this issue.

All I want to recount of this is that I
moved out. I liked being on my own in
certain respects. I loved having my own
space and being in charge of it.
What I could not tolerate and did not realize
before going through all of this is that how
deep my true love for my husband is.

Why I did not listen when I knew the grass is
NOT greener on the other side of the fence, is
beyond me at this time. I only know that I had
to go through what I did to come out on this
side feeling better about it all.

I found out how very very deep my husband's love
goes. He was so good about everything I put him
through, and still is. Guess he got a bit scared
too...eh?

Anyway, I am home now. I will do my best to make
things better and keep improving upon myself.

I am getting stronger physically than I have ever been
in my entire life. I feel the muscles responding more
every time I use them. I am trying some new exercises
to keep my flexibility up and myself from becoming bored.

I realize that exercising will never be "fun" for me, but
that I must seek types of it that I can enjoy.

My only regret of this past month, November, is that I
did not talk to my Family about how panicked I was feeling.
I did not realize that it was maybe a chemical imbalance.
I only saw the short term. I could not seem to se beyond it
and now I do.

Whatever happens next, I will do my best to let folks close
to me know what is going on in my mind and my heart.

November was filled with sad times, but ended with so many
good times that I really KNOW what being Thankfull means
this year.

I believe in me. I believe in my Family's love for me.
I at last begin to truly believe IN ME!

It has taken me way too long, but at last I see
what other people have been trying to tell me.

YES! The glass is again half full! My attitude
is changing again to a positive one. No more
negative thoughts allowed. They have ruled me way
too long. My outward happiness that I showed the
world will again be mine on the inside as well.

I will defeat my defeat. I will claim my success.
Yes, I do Believe!

Santa is in our hearts. So is God. Let us all rejoice!

Hugs to you all and HUGS to me as well...it is no
longer selfish to do so.

More next time.

Hugs

Katie