Happy Spring!!!!!!!

Well, we awoke this morning to about 6 inches of snow.
FOR REAL!
The boys were outside all day yesterday in shorts...welcome to spring in Colorado!
All this means is that tomorrow, when it melts, there will lay our nice, green GREEN grass!!!! :)

Oh....and I would MUCH rather a snow day in late March with 6 inches of snow (that will melt in a day or so) than a yellow day in Georgia with 6 inches of pollen (that lasts seemingly forever). :)

Here are my little angels about 2 weeks ago...before I shaved their heads for the summer. It was just getting so hot and they would come inside from playing with sweaty, matted hair. ICK. And GOSH NO, I did not shave Presley's head! Gee, what kind of a mom do you think I am?! I did trim it a bit....but no shaving for my baby!




The boys go to a homeschool co-op on Mondays....and today was "Crazy Hair Day"!!!! So they picked out the colors they liked (Bronco colors, might I add) and we colored their hair. Now, they WANTED me to shave them a full-on mohawk. RIIIIIIIGHT. I compromised with the color. :)







Yesterday we went and climbed Castle Rock with some friends. It was SO beautiful!!! We went right before the sunset so it was magnificent. And if my camera held more than 20 pictures I would have gotten some of the actual sunset! But alas, tthe sunset pictures are on my friends camera...and when she gets them to me, I will post them!




The little ones got carried up the trail most of the way....what sweet Daddies! :)




At the top of Castle Rock. Yes we did climb it with 6 children....including one 6 month old!




The boys are climbing to the tip-top of the rock. I lost my dare-devilness when I pushed out my first kid....so on the ground I stayed.




We also went to the Larkspur house that Josiah is building. We helped do some clean up and then we goofed off :)

What?!

It snowed today.

S-N-O-W

Yesterday it was 66 degrees...and tomorrow it will be about 70 degrees.
But today it snowed :)

Hannah Grace

Our little Hannah Grace is now 2 and a half weeks old! AH!!! She has gained over a pound already...mom has super milk! :)

Below are a few random pictures of her from the past few days. She got her first bath as well!!!!!

Courtney had her 2 week visit with the midwife, Claudia, yesterday and everything is going SO well.....AND Court has lost 23 of her 27 lbs of baby weight. YEAH. I don't like her anymore either.
Just kidding! I love her to death!!! I am just completely jealous, that's all. :)

What's Going On?????

Sooooo......during our lunch break the kids were upstairs playing "Super Heroes" and I was on the phone. All of a sudden I hear them screaming something illegible (not uncommon for the Super Heroes)...but then I hear Tarin start REALLY crying. So I get off the phone as Ethan and Kell come racing downstairs yelling, "The new school in on fire!!!!" Tarin was scared to death!!!
Background: A monstrous new high school is being built at the mega-church a few miles down the rode. We can see the new school building from the windows upstairs it is SO TALL.
I assumed that the construction people were burning debris or something...and assured the boys of this.
"NO MOM. IT IS ON FIRE!"
So up the stairs I went...and low and behold, they were right!!! There were flames shooting into the sky from the roof of this multi-million dollar school.
"Come on guys! Jump in the van and we will go watch the firemen!!!!"
So we loaded up and drove down the rode...along with 5083 other people...to watch the flames and the firemen.
It was a sight to behold I have never seen a "real fire" before...nor firemen up on the ladders squelching the flames. The ladder was attached to the fire truck and the wind was blowing so hard that the ladder was swaying back and forth as the fireman on top was aiming to steady stream of water at the roof.
Finally, the red flames were gone and the smoke was dissipating.
WAIT! More smoke! Black smoke!
More water....more firemen...some on the ground spraying and others up on the truck ladders.
WOW. It was amazing.
The boys and I watched in silence for a long time...in awe. Then Tarin, in his little tiny voice says, "Those firemen are SO brave." So spoke about firemen and their bravery...and Kell asked if they get training for this stuff and so I told them about their training...and they all decided they want to be firemen now. So perhaps the Super Heroes game will now be Super Firefighter Hero Game. :)

A worker who was welding inside the building started the fire. The building is made of steel...all except the roof...and the guy accidentally caught the roof on fire. No one was hurt, thank the Lord, but I cannot imagine the cost of the damage from the fire as well as the water. I mean, this is a BIG GINORMOUS school. And the water was so strong that it tore off other parts f the structure as it was being sprayed.



On another note........Josiah got the race results in yesterday. He is QUITE sad. Although he ran his heart out, it showed him being in 234th place. Now, I was there, and there is NO WAY that is accurate. So upon closer examination we find that his ankle device that times the run WAS NOT WORKING. So we have no accurate time for his run. He is moping around the house in a state of depression...poor guy. Well, the next run is in a few weeks....and this time, we will be sure to be EARLY and make sure the timing device is set correctly!!!!

On a sadder note........my mom, cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandparents all left for Florida today for my cousin's wedding. I am SO SO SO SO SO bummed that I cannot attend!!!!!!! Mark has been on our minds and in our prayers for years now, and to see him marry the woman of his dreams would just be so grand. But, alas, I cannot afford a plane ticket. The wedding is Saturday...outdoors in a beautiful field with a big barn....ahh...how romantic. Thankfully my cousin Dawn will be taking pictures so at least I will be able to see everything. Oh...and if anyone wants to graciously donate some sky miles to a Denver to Orlando ticket, I will be taking all such donations from today till Friday evening :) :)

Saturday

Today was a wild and crazy day.

First off, it was the first race of the season for Josiah! For those who don't know, Josiah caught "the bug" last year for racing. He did a triathlon last summer and really enjoyed it...so this year, he has signed up for 10 races...all ranging in difficulty. Today was an easy 5K. Or so it seemed....

The race was to begin at 9:30 a.m. Well.....sort of. Josiah had told me the night before that the race was at 9 a.m....and then this morning he said 9:30 a.m. So being the supportive, submissive and meek wife that I am....I took his word for it. Ha. We got there at 9 a.m. on the dot. And heard the announcer counting down... "15 seconds......10 seconds....." OOPS. It DID start at 9 a.m....and Josiah had not even registered or gotten his number yet. So he R-A-N to the registration booth (1/2 a mile away)...registered (the race had now started) and R-A-N to the starting line...and R-A-N the race. Not a good way to start. He was the VERY LAST person to start the race! Thankfully, they time each person so it really does not matter when or where you begin.
So he ran the race and did very well. There were a few hundred people running it so we will see what his times were in comparison in a few days.

After the race we went home and got the kids ready for Bella's birthday party. In the meantime, I went to REI to spend my year-end dividend! YEAH BABY! I got the coolest pair of Chacos for basically FREE. I am so very happy! I have wanted a pair for quite some time but could NEVER justify spending $90 on them....so free was good :)

So then we went to the party...which was so fun for the kids. They had a blast. Poor Dawn is SOO SOO SOO very morning sick (all day really) but she was a trooper. On the way to the party, Kell rode with my mom. As they were walking towards her car he said, "It's just me and the ole girl." NO KIDDING. My mom about fell over laughing. Where do kids pick this stuff up? He apparently liked the laughter and attention from this seemingly innocent comment...so later on he climbed up in the porch swing with me and told me the same thing. Now all of a sudden that comment was NOT so funny :)

This evening we had our neighbors over after dinner for a kids movie and adults poker night. Our neighbors are SO great....they love the Lord, homeschool, bake bread, etc. so we all love hanging out. And our kids are best friends. So I halfway won the pot at the end...which means I kinda won the game (long story) so that makes me so very happy :)

Thus ends a long but fun day at the Flamm home....and tomorrow is another beautiful day here in Paradise!!!

a quick story

An anecdotal occurrence during my trip to Georgia 2 weeks ago escaped my memory until tonight. (While folding clothes LOTS of clothes. Just now getting caught up on laundry. I have been home a week) I happened upon a small story in my jumbled thoughts. And I know you all are dying to hear it. :)

First let me set for you my state of mind during this story. I had gone through 3 days of panic trying to get a flight out of Colorado to Georgia. Frantically I had been on the phone with Frontier scores of times (literally. the operators knew me by name. no joke.) attempting the seemingly impossible task of making it to my brother and sister-in-laws birth. SO.....having gotten the red-eye flight out of Paradise on a Sunday night, I had packed up my things and prepared to go.

It was about 10:30 p.m. on that Sunday night. I was going through security at the Denver airport. While waiting in an unusually long line for that time of night, I walked while texting a friend...looking forward to my journey to the birth.... smugly reading the posters on airport rules regarding luggage. UH. Plastic bag for all liquids. CHECK! Whew....I had some vital liquids in my carry on. You see, in my haste to pack, I did attempt to contain a small bit of brainpower. I decided to pack the labor/birth items I was bringing into my carry-on in case the airline lost my luggage. (I know what you are thinking..."smart gal"....well, hold that thought). In my carry-on...in a plastic bag...I had the comfort measure items I use at births. Aromatherapy oils, lotion, etc. Expensive tools of the trade for a doula...and ones that I carefully have collected over the years.

My turn in line. I hoist my carry-on, purse, coat and pillow (yes, I brought my pillow) into the little bins to go through the x-ray machine. Do they actually LOOK in all the stuff? Well, of course they do. Especially when I come through the line. (Apparently young, white, non-Muslim girls are prime suspects for airplane bombings and such. They need to weed us out and search our things to make sure we are not terrorists. I know this because EVERY TIME I EVER go to the airport they search my stuff. The "come sit over here miss while I rifle through your bags" search.) So this guy sees my plastic bagged items for the birth. All 4 bottles of magic potions are in my carry on. And to think I thought this would be okay!!!!!!!!!

"Miss, these items are more than 3 oz. They are not allowed on the aircraft unless they are in your suitcase...not in a carry-on bag."

"But Sir! I put them in a baggy!!!!" (oh, how naive)

"Yes Miss, but anything over 3 oz cannot be carried on the plane. You will have to dispose of these right here." He points to a garbage can overflowing with random liquid items over 3 oz. that other less intelligent people have had to discard.

(I am beginning the freak out...) "OH NO! I cannot do that!!! These are expensive oils and lotions... I need them!!!! (voice going several octaves higher as I plead with the guy) Can I get them into my suitcase that I checked???? I just checked it!!!!"

"Uh, no Miss, you cannot."

"But you do not understand!!!! These are for a birth. A B-I-R-T-H. My sister-in-law in Georgia is having our first girl (as if he knows my family history) and I am going to the birth!!!! I MUST have these things!!!!!!! I M-U-S-T!!!!!!!!!!!" (I continue to ramble on about a birth and such for several seconds.)

He listens.

Is it the late hour?
Is it the frantic way that I am singing my story to him?
Is it the panic in my eyes?
Does he think I am going to attack him?

I don't know. But all I hear is.....

"The items are medical, are they not?"

"Medical? (uummm...NO SIR, they are for a homebirth!!!! duh....OH!!!!! WAIT!!!!!) "YES! They are medical! Medical!!! MEDICAL!!!!"

"Well I cannot require you to throw away items that are medical in nature"

"AHH!!!!!" (I restrained myself from jumping across the conveyor belt to hug him) "Thank you! THANK YOU!!!!!!! Medical! Yes!!!! You are my new best friend!!!! Thank you!!!! MEDICAL!!!!!!"

At this point he is pretty much shoving me away from the area and pointing the way to my terminal.

And so my trip began. :)

This is me and my little neice, Hannah Grace, the day after she was born!!!!!!




My mom is holding her first Granddaughter!!!




My mom, Nate, Court with Hannah and me the day after the birth.

To read the birth story and see pictures, scroll down to the last post!!!!! :)

The Birth

The cross-country journey began on Sunday, February 25th and ended on Wednesday, March 7th. YES, I was gone from my family for that long!!! It was torture for me....I missed them all so very much. I got to where I did not want to talk to them on the phone because I would just cry from homesickness. However, this trip was a highlight in my little life....and I am so glad that I was able to go.

The original plan was to fly to Ga when Courtney began having contractions. And since her cervix (yes, I said cervix....this IS a birth story!) was ripe 3 weeks prior to her due date, we were all thinking the baby would come early.

Enter: the due date. Feb. 17th.

Nothing.

Enter: 1 week late.

Nothing.

-poor Courtney!!!!!



At a week and a day overdue, I hoped on the red-eye flight to Georgia. I could not stand it any longer...and I was having trouble booking a seat on a flight. (I was using sky miles so I had to jump through all kinds of hoops) Josiah....seeing my duress and fear that I would miss the birth....put his manly foot down and said GO!!! :) I love this man! So on Sunday night at midnight I departed Paradise. At 5 a.m. I landed in Ga. I slept from 6 am till 1 p.m.....aaaahhhhhh! It was Monday the 26th. My mom and I met Court for lunch and went back to her place to do some nesting....we moved furniture and decorated...was fun!!!

Tuesday, Feb 27th.... 10 days overdue. I went with Nate and Court to the midwife visit. Now Nate and Court are smart people....they hired my midwife Claudia (who was at all 4 of my births) to attend their birth....so we had a great visit with her and Nichole!!! We were there about 1 1/2 hours and left feeling lighthearted. I LOVE Claudia! Courtney asked to be checked so the midwife checked her....still 1 cm, 100% effaced and +1 station. It is rare for a 1st time mom to have all that going for her....we were excited!!!
Court and I left and went to Target for some last minute shopping....and decided to re-decorate her guest bathroom :) We HAD to make a Brusters stop (best ice-cream ever!) and then we went to her house for more decorating. I left her house around 5 p.m.

Tuesday night....10:00 p.m.
Courtney calls. She has been having contractions 10 minutes apart and about 30 seconds long. YEAH!!!!!!!!!



Wednesday morning, Feb 28th. Court has contracted all night with no sleep. Contractions are the same, she is tired. She tries a hot bath and some wine and it slows them down for a little while. Her and Nate go run some errands and go out to eat. Later that night she calls and the contractions are still 10 minutes apart....but are now 55 seconds long. YEAH!!!!!!!!

Thursday morning, March 1st. Court contracted that way allll night. Again. No sleep. She is SO tired. Tries the wine and tub again to no avail. She contracts all day Thursday. Around 3:30 p.m. she calls me...at the end of her rope. I am trying to give suggestions and encouragement when......"Uhhhhh....my water just broke!!!" YEAH!!!!!!!!

Thursday evening. I go to Nate and Courtney’s home to be with them. We eat and time contractions...they are the same. The midwives come over to check on the baby and Courtney around 9 p.m. The baby sounds fantastic but Courtney is just SO tired. They stay a little while and observe, then go home to get some sleep so they will be rested for the birth (which we all thought would be that night). Nate put on a cute movie to watch and Court sat on the birth ball, dosing between contractions.




She contracts all night. The contractions are about 6-7 minutes apart now and 60 seconds long. She cannot sleep. Nate stays with her constantly....reading scriptures to her from Psalms....praying with her and being an encouragement to her. It was such a blessing to me to see my brother be this rock for his wife. I cried several times in thankfulness to the Lord for Nathan.







5 a.m. on Friday morning, March 2nd. Courtney is done. She has worked so hard and is just so tired!!! We all sit in the baby's room, discussing the options. We decided to call over Claudia and see what she says.

5:45 a.m. Claudia and Nichole arrive. They bring a breath of fresh air to the house with their warmness and excitement about the birth. We all needed that!!!! Claudia observes Court for a little while and asks if she can do a cervix check. (typically you do not check the cervix once the water breaks to prevent infection....however, there was a need here to reassure Court that the contractions were working). Court and Nate agree. Claudia is encouraged! Courtney is 4 cm and the baby is quite low. Claudia suggests filling the birth pool and doing things to stimulate the labor naturally. (usually the mom will not get in the pool until late labor so she can take advantage of the warmth in relaxing...however, Court needed the warmth to relax and get some rest). The pool was nice for Courtney....helping with the intense contractions and allowing her to fully relax. We also began to give her TONS of water and some honey for energy. A mom needs to eat in labor for her body to work well, but Court was nauseous and had not eaten in about 24 hours...that alone can hinder labor. The honey helped a lot in restoring her energy and blood sugar.




The contractions got closer and longer!!! 3-5 minutes apart and well over a minute long. YEAH!!!!!











We needed the contractions to be 2-3 minutes apart and 90 seconds long. We had Court get out of the pool every few hours and walk around to help things. She would walk around the living room and lean on Nate....they took a walk around the backyard (it was a beautiful sunny day) with their little dog Faith following close behind!












4:15 p.m. Courtney is DONE. It is not the pain but the exhaustion that has gotten to her. She has given it her all....more than she thought she had. Claudia asked to check her cervix to see what was happening and Nate and Court agree.






6 cm during contractions and stretchy to 8 cm between!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!

Claudia says the baby's head is not applied well to the cervix....hence the contractions not being right on top of each other. We all agree that a transport to the hospital is looming in the distance. No emergency. No issues with the baby. Just poor little Courtney being totally spent.
Claudia is very experienced. She knows what she is doing. She suggests a last-resort effort before transporting. (Court did NOT want a c-section and we all knew that would happen if we went to the hospital). Claudia would have Courtney get on the birthstool (a U-shaped stool for giving birth) and do some directed pushing to get the baby to apply better to the cervix and help the contractions get stronger.
What to do???????
Courtney says she just cannot do it. She is just so tired.
Nate looks at Courtney then at Claudia. He says, "We will try it." WE?! Poor Court could not even show emotion at this point...so she says "okay, let's do it."

4:30 p.m. Directed pushing begins. Claudia skillfully helps Courtney's cervix over the baby's head during contractions while Court pushes. Courtney likes pushing MUCH better (don't we all?!) and is doing a great job.

5 p.m. Courtney is fully dilated and having her own strong urge to push!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Courtney is an expert pusher!!! I was so very impressed. She pushed standing up, sitting on the birthstool, on the toilet and on the bed. She is SO strong. I am speechless at her strength and determination. Nate is still with her every second...speaking words of love and encouragement in her ear. He wiped her with a cold cloth constantly (she loved that) and was giving her water and juice to up her energy. They were a great team!









As we began to see the baby's head, Nate realizes that his baby is going to be born...at home...with no c-section! He is enthralled. He watches his child descend and is amazed. Nate begins to REALLY encourage Courtney with every breath on every push. He tells her a play by play on the baby moving down and the baby's head and hair! Courtney looks in the mirror and sees her baby for the first time...she touches her little head. "Come on baby!!!" As the baby was crowing, Courtney was trying not to push so hard so she would not tear. She asked if she should push in between contractions so she could easily control the birth of the baby's head...and she did just that! She birthed like a 5th time mom....so expertly. I am severely impressed.



7:37 p.m. Hannah Grace is born into the world!!!!! Nate caught his daughter with Courtney reaching down to help catch her baby girl. Claudia's hands were guiding Nate's....seeing all 3 of them reaching for this little baby was so moving! Nate just kept saying, "OH MY GOSH. OH MY GOSH." I think he was in shock! He did say, as the baby is almost crowning, "Oh Courtney. The baby's head is so tiny!!!" Well. He did not realize that what he saw was the top of the baby's head...not the whole head. So when the whole head was born and those little cheeks came out he was REALLY in shock! He was crying as he was trying to catch Hannah...as was the midwives and I....it was such a moving, beautiful moment.







He set Hannah on Courtney tummy and they were welcoming her into the world, laughing, talking, crying....bonding with the daughter they both worked so hard for. Court was wide-awake now! :)

Court held Hannah for several hours after the birth. She nursed her right away and got to get to know her little girl without anyone hindering them. Nate was right with her the whole time, touching and talking to his wife and new little girl. It was SO SWEET!!!







Courtney did bleed a bit much after the birth. Her poor uterus was so exhausted from the birth that it just stopped contracting. Claudia handled it like an expert, or course! So Courtney is just fine.









A few hours after the birth the midwives did the baby exam. Hannah is, as we all could see, total perfection!!!!!! She was 8.2 lbs...a bit bigger than Court's limit of a 6 lb baby :) AND....to top it all off, Claudia said (as we were all talking about the birth) that the baby was born presenting military style instead of vertex with a tucked chin. WOW! So Court pushed out the largest part of that baby through her pelvis! I find this quite cool since everyone was "so worried" that Courtney was just "too small" to have a baby...especially an 8 lb malpositioned baby!!! And the best part....no stitches for Courtney! She was SUCH an expert pusher. Go Courtney! Nate dressed little hannah for the first time! It was adorable!











After the baby exam and the first few nursings, Nate and Courtney asked the family to all come in and meet Hannah. (ALL the family had been waiting in the driveway for a loooong time!!!!) It was like the Paparazzi with so many cameras flashing! Hannah is already a princess :)




So, that is the birth in a nutshell. ("help! I'm in a nutshell!") It was a momentous time in my life to see my brother and his wife work so hard to do what is best for their child. I am in awe. The Lord's mercies were ALL OVER this birth....from the first contraction. His goodness to us all is mind-boggling and we are so thankful for His faithfulness towards us. This would not have happened without His guidance.

"Children are a blessing from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His REWARD."


Courtney and baby are doing excellent. Hannah is nursing like a pro!!!! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, March 5th. My mom and I pack the car and leave at 4 a.m. for Texas. We drive straight through....13 hours to Dallas and stay with my Grandparents.

Tuesday is spent hanging out with family and friends (hey Noelle!).

Wednesday, March 7th. Mom and I leave Dallas at 4 a.m. for Colorado. We drive straight through.....13 hours to Denver. I got to see my hubby and children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My house is clean and my kids are intact....I love my husband :)

Hannah Grace

After 42 weeks of pregnancy....3 days of labor and 1 and 3/4 hours of pushing......Hannah Grace made her entrance into this world at 7:37 p.m. on Friday, March 2....weighing 8 lbs 2 ounces......born at home into her Daddy's hands :)

More details later.....thanks for all the prayers!!! Mom and baby are doing fantastic!!! :) And this little Aunt is SO in love!!! My brother and his beautiful wife Courtney did SO well in labor....I am very proud of them! And the mercies of the Lord are amazing, so evident and so real. Praise the Lord!! Like Hannah said in the Old Testament..."For this child I have prayed, and the Lord has answered my prayer!!!!" Blessed is the name of the Lord.