the Good Life

I love Nebraska. Hear me go on about it on my love Nebraska page. See the link on the sidebar! 

What place do you love?

Happy Day!

Millie is making wonderful progress! Today we went to the doctor and she weighed 8lbs 10oz. I thinks she's gaining close to an once a day!! So this means we don't have to visit the doctor all the time and I don't have to pump.
As I think back 2 short weeks ago, I can hardly believe the turn around. Two weeks ago, she was 7.5 and not eating well. I was mess and really wanted to switch to formula because I didn't think nursing was going to work out. I was so discouraged.

But God has been so faithful...
He's brought encouraging people into our lives with just the right words to say right now.
He's laid it on the hearts of our friends to bring us much needed meals during this rough time.
He's answered the prayers for us from everyone we know!
He's brought us through our nursing challenges faster than predicted.
I know this progress is all God's handiwork!! Thank you Lord for watching over Millie and our family. Thank you for helping her grow in an amazing way!

Baby Girl

A lot has been going on and I know many of you have been praying for us. Since I have a minute I thought I'd update you on what's going on with Millie...

First, how she arrived... my water broke at 11am on Monday the 11th and we went to the hospital about 2:30pm. All was going well and I was happy that I was able to handle labor without drugs even though I was hyperventilating some. But by evening we found that Millie was not turning correctly and I was not progressing past 9cm. So after 3 awful hours of being stuck at that point, I needed an epidural. While waiting for it, Joanne (my midwife) and I tried everything to get Millie to turn. I wanted to die - it's not fun to dance around the room when you're in such intense pain! Once I got the epidural, we were hoping to get her turned and out safely. But her heart rate dropped and so we were immediately sent to get a c-section. I'm so happy we have modern medical ways like this for back up so she could get here safely! I'm also grateful that I can rest in God's sovereignty. I did not want a c-section but now looking back, I can rest in knowing that it was God's plan.

Her first week (at the hospital) we worked on nursing, but our first week (her 2nd week) at home was really hard and we found out at her 2 week appt that she was losing weight. I felt soo awful for not knowing that was why she was so fussy all the time. So since then I've been going in every 3-4 days to get her weighed and meet with a lactation consultant. Due to some challenges, we've had to supplement with pumped milk. This feeding schedule has been really really hard on me and at one point I was ready to switch to formula. But as of Monday she was nearly back to her birth weight! So we're continuing to make changes to the feeding schedule in hopes that I can stop pumping and giving her the bottle all together very soon. This continues to be a huge challenge for me as each change makes for a tough few days as we both adjust. This also makes it nearly impossible for me to get out of the house. So all your prayers, encouragement, meals and visits have been soo appreciated!! Hopefully Millie will continue to grow and feed well and we'll be able to start getting out soon! She's already growing and changing so much!

Painting the Nursery

This is step 2 of our Nursery. The first step was clearing out the room. It was our storage room/office before. Once again we had our trusty painting friend S help us out! We do like him for more than painting skills. :)I only have a couple of pictures because I was out of the house for most of the painting. But the nursery is yellow! At first, the brightness was a bit shocking. But once the blinds were back up and everything, I've decided I'm really happy with it. It's very light and cheerful!

We also painted our bedroom. The color is Raccoon Hollow - and that's exactly what the color is - a grayish chocolate brown. We really love this one too!

So I think we're done painting for awhile. The main floor is mostly done and we'll be a little busy. This weekend we're doing one final coat of paint in the nursery. I know it's running late. But we had some problems. Our paint was really really thick so the guys got on 2 1/2 coats of paint and it still didn't cover well. So we're finishing the 3rd to make it all even. And then next week, I'm having a fun surprise painted on one wall. I'll share pictures afterwards. :) Once all the painting is done, then we can finally move all the baby stuff in our living room in!

Painting again

We're painting again! Or still. We've completed the living room, dining room and kitchen. We've already picked out the paint for the master bedroom and upstairs bathroom. I also picked out the paint for the stairs but that's still being looked at. J's not so fond of the bright maroon I picked out. So I'm looking at blues for that wall now. And actually, I think dark blue will work much better. Blue is my favorite color so I'm happy it'll work into my decor scheme.

And we're also picking paint for the nursery! This room has french doors and is on the west side of the house. So since we moved in, I've always envisioned it as a yellow room.
I really enjoy picking a paint. And so far, even though some of the colors scare J a little, they look wonderful on the wall and in our house. We could avoid some anxious moments if only I could transfer the mental picture I have to his brain. But until then I'll confidently pick colors, convince J and be happily proved right when the paint hits the walls! I love seeing how paint personalizes and pulls our home together.

I'm a little Tea Pot

I had to buy a new tea pot. No I cannot go without one! We drink sweet tea at our house. Well it's more like Huebert Tea. When we were in Charlotte, I discovered that sweet tea in the South is more like tea flavored sugar syrup. It's intense. So at our house we have a tea pot specifically for tea. It cannot be used to boil water for hot chocolate or anything like that. That would change the flavor of the drink and the pot. So when I recently scorched our pot (that changes the flavor in a bad way), I knew it was time to replace the trusty kettle I bought in college. And of course I bought the same one from Target! :) It's a good size.

Recently I also got one of these. This particular angel food cake pan was my Grandma's pan. We're in the process of selling their house so all the extra stuff had to go. I don't how many years it will take me to feel confident to attempt to make angel food cake. But I"m ready!

Fall

I think I'm ready for Thanksgiving...
I've been dreaming of cheesy potatoes, corn casserole and ham. Oh I love ham. Yes, we have ham at Thanksgiving. Papa doesn't like turkey and he's boss. And I'm not complaining! :) Speaking of ham, the first thing I"m eating when I'm not pregnant is a deli ham sandwich and an over-easy egg. I miss runny eggs.

This cool weather we've been having makes me sad that I won't be wearing my trusty sweaters this year. I do not want to stretch them out in hopes that they'll fit again next year!