#Goodwilldatenight

Well since our facebook post has gone viral I figured now was an appropriate time to detail our date night a little more.

Shane and I try very hard to be intentional with date nights.  We have a baby girl and it is so easy to get wrapped up in her and her cuteness.  So, in an effort to keep our marriage first, we try to go on a date night one night a week.  And we try to make them fun!

Shane heard of another couple who went to Goodwill and picked outfits for their date nights and so we just had to do it.  To most people’s surprise, the whole date night was Shane’s idea.  But, we are very competitive so we had to add some rules to it.

Rule One: You each get $10 in Goodwill to shop for the other person and they have to wear what you pick.  This was so much fun.  We found some crazy stuff in Goodwill and made each other try on outfits until we found the perfect one.  This cued the insane laughter from the start of the date night.  My husband is absolutely goofy so as you can imagine I tried on some CRAZY outfits.  We ended up only spending $13 for both masterpieces.

Rule Two: Once you leave Goodwill, it’s like fight club, no one talks about it.  We had to resume date night as normal and pretend like we had no idea our outfits were off the wall.  We went to Longhorn for dinner so of course we had to wait for a table.  The minute we got out of the car we had to put on our game faces.  People were snickering as they walked by and we got a lot of side eye from the hostess.  Again, to most people’s surprise, NO ONE said a word to us about our outfits.  Everyone just looked and laughed behind our backs I’m sure.

Rule Three: You have to pick fake names and go by them all evening.  This didn’t start as a rule but after we saw the outfits we knew it had to happen.  When I walked out of the dressing room Shane said “Ethel get your choir book and come on” and from that point on I was stuck with Ethel.  And really, who wears more plaid than a “Roger” which I affectionately shortened to “Rog” in front of our waiter.

Y’all I don’t think we have laughed this hard in a long time.  Marriage is tough, parenting is tough, and honestly life is tough.  But everything is better when you’re doing it with your best friend.  So, have fun and make sure you hashtag all of your pictures with #goodwilldatenight so we can laugh at your pictures too!

***Disclaimer- to all of the people posting that Shane and I are “goals”, thanks.  But, we are both very off the wall, sinful people.  We only have a great marriage because we put our relationship with Jesus Christ first and let Him tell us how to live and love.  Without Him loving us and showing us how to love each other we would be nothing! 

Year Two

Hard to believe I have been happily married to the literal man of my dreams for two years now. 

Year one was bliss.  It was laughter, dancing in the kitchen, and spur of the moment date nights on a Tuesday. It was binge watching Netflix and staying up way too late, sleeping in, and being late to work.  It was remodeling our little house and dreaming up big plans for the future.  It was fighting with the kitchen sprayer and arguing over who was responsible for dishes.  Year one was filled with memories of carefree adventure and spontaneity. 

Year two was harder.  It was twin pregnancy hormones, miscarriage, joy and sadness all wrapped up in one.  But it was wonderful.  It was laying in the bed crying next to my best friend while he held me tight.  It was wondering how I would ever find the energy for another day and waking up to find breakfast made for me.  It was having someone rub my feet and try to get the right pressure points so I would finally go into labor (which didn’t work).  It was having someone hold me tight when I thought labor pains would kill me.  It was him literally holding me up while I birthed our child in a pool.  But in the midst of all the hard times it was so much joy.  It was painting a nursery and daring to see who would start the paint fight.  It was picking out baby names and dreaming of our sweet girl.  It was playing board games on Christmas Eve eve, Sunday trips to the dog park, and making our own family traditions.  It was wondering why we ever wanted a baby when she wouldn’t stop crying at 4 am no matter what we tried.  It was taking 4 hours to watch one movie because we had to stop so many times to calm a fussy baby.  It was hysterical laughter as our newborn baby latched on to him to try and breast feed.  It was watching him transform into a daddy as he rocked and swayed our newborn in the nightlight, whispering how much he loved her.  Year two was a year of growth; the year we grew into our own family.

Our marriage isn’t perfect, but I’m convinced God blessed us with a once in a lifetime love.  There is no one on this planet I would rather spend my days with; the good ones and the bad ones. My husband loves to hunt, fish, golf, garden, and work with his hands.  But, more than that, he loves our sweet girl and he loves me.  And the best part is, more than he loves both of us, he loves Jesus and follows hard after HIM.  He is sold out and that makes him an incredible husband. He is patient (most of the time), he is kind, and he is definitely not self-seeking.  So excited for what year three will bring our way! 

Our Water Birth

Many people have asked about Hannah Kate’s birth, mainly because it was a water birth so I wanted to take a moment to share our story.  I’m also including a few pictures that are my absolute favorites.

From the time we found out we were having a baby I was amazed at how quickly my body just took over.  I didn’t have to do anything to grow this sweet little life inside of me; God had designed my body to grow and carry a baby.  It was truly a miraculous experience.  Everything she needed she got from my body yet my body was still able to function (but man was I tired!)  I was so amazed that I decided early on to attempt to deliver my baby with no pain medications.  The thought of an epidural terrified me more than the thought of the pain of childbirth.  I have control issues and could not stand the thought of being numbed to the point of not being able to walk. 

The more research I did the more I read that water birth was the way to go if you weren’t going to have pain medications.  However, I was delivering at a small hospital and I had no idea that was even an option.  However, when we were discussing our birth plan with my midwife she asked if we had considered it.  I immediately said yes! And we started planning to deliver in the water.

For those of you who think that’s crazy, don’t worry I heard that a lot.  But, to clear up some misconceptions, the baby will not swallow water and drown.  They are floating in water inside of their mama’s and when they come out they can actually stay in the water for up to ten minutes as long as they are attached to the cord.  They also won’t take their first breath until their face hits air so the likelihood of them swallowing water is slim to none.  And, my biggest concern was that it was going to be disgusting.  But, in reality it wasn’t all that bad or if it was I was so busy I didn’t even notice it.

So, our story. Shane and I tried everything to get our baby girl to come.  I was miserable and swollen and ready to have my girl in my arms.  It wasn’t looking like she was going to come on her own so my midwife went ahead and scheduled me to be induced.  I started the second round of medications on Feb. 21 at 5 am.  This really jumpstarted my labor and my water broke at 8:45.  When the midwife came to check me I was only at a 4 and she would not let me in the water until I was at a 7.  For those of you who don’t know, once your water breaks contractions really start to hurt.  So I was determined to get to a 7 and get there quickly so I could get in the water. 

Shane and I started walking around the hospital stopping every time there was a contraction.  I was still adamant that I wanted no pain medication.  And, if I had caved, I was told I wouldn’t be allowed in the water, so walking and moving was the only relief I had.  At one point in the hospital lobby a contraction hit and it was so much pain that I literally started throwing up everywhere, talk about embarrassing!  We decided to go back to my labor room to keep from showering the rest of the hospital in my bodily fluids.

They checked me when I got back and I was finally at a 7!  They started filling up the tub and told me it would take about 45 minutes.  So Shane and I got in a rhythm through contractions.  We raised the hospital bed as high as it would go and I leaned over.  He stood behind me and every time a contraction would hit (felt like they never stopped!) we would rock back and forth and he would remind me to take deep breaths.

After 45 minutes, which felt like 17 hours, the tub was ready.  The nurses told me I could get in and let them know when I felt like I had to poop, because that meant I was ready to push.  No sooner than I got in I knew it was time.  I yelled at them that I was ready to push and they checked and sure enough it was time.  The midwife was at her office so they immediately started telling me not to push.  Now, you might think that’s easy right, just don’t push.  Only it’s not.  Your body naturally starts trying to push and you literally have to stop it from doing what its designed to do.

The midwife finally showed up, only two minutes later, but again it felt like a million years.  I pushed about 6 times and out popped a red headed baby girl at 11:21 am.  They handed her to me and my whole world changed.  I’ve had a wonderful life and had some incredible moments but there is no way to describe the feeling when they place your baby in your hands for the first time. 

Our birth was perfect.  I desperately wanted to do it without medication to see what my body could do and I was amazed.  God truly thought of everything and is such an amazing creator.  It hurt. Really, really, really bad but at the end of it, I was so thankful that it had all gone exactly like it was supposed to.

**and extra shout out, my husband is a rock star.  He was by my side the entire time and was so supportive and encouraging.  I could not have done it without him.  And, how sweet is this picture of him praying over us.  I’m so blessed.

Back to work I go...

To my sweet girl,

Time is flying by and its already time for me to go back to work.  I’m crying as I sit here because the thought of leaving you all day breaks my heart.  I will miss snuggling you before nap times, the sweet smile when you wake up from your morning naps, and the way you grin when you get that first clean diaper in the mornings.  Oh, my heart hurts to think about all the firsts I will probably miss. 

I want you to know that every second I am away from you my heart is wishing it was with you.  I want you to know that you and your daddy are the most important people in my world.  But more than any of this I want you to understand why mommy works.  Yes, we need the money and insurance.  Yes, mommy needs time outside of the home too.  But, more importantly than all of this, mommy feels called to a purpose greater than herself.

Yes, my sweet girl, this is what I hope you understand one day.  Jesus saved me according to good works that He has ordained for me.  Every person is created for a purpose; that includes mommy, daddy, and even you.  I am so passionate about making sure that kids who are less fortunate than you have a safe place to go and have someone looking out for them too.  I feel God placed me here to fight for them and fight to make sure they are safe and protected too.

Being your daddy’s wife and your mommy are the biggest joys in my life.  My number one job is to serve your daddy and to raise you up to know and follow the Lord.  So, every day when I leave you, know that my heart aches with the things I might miss that day.  But, one day I want you to look back and remember that mommy was working for a purpose bigger than her and even bigger than you.

I hope one day you have the joy of being a wife and mommy.  (If that’s not what God has for you that’s okay too).  But, I hope you find your purpose and I hope you commit to serving God, no matter how hard it is.  Maybe your purpose will be to stay at home and raise my grandbabies (and maybe even take care of other people’s babies!)  Maybe it will be to go live across the ocean and tell people about Jesus that have never heard.  Maybe your purpose will be to teach snotty nosed little kindergarteners.  I don’t know what your purpose is going to be; I am so excited about watching you grow and figure it out.  I hope that whatever it is you have the strength to follow after it with all you have because you saw your mom and dad stand strong and do what they were called to!

I love you forever.

Mom