Stuart's Birth

I started having contractions the afternoon of Thursday March 30th (to my delight!) My due date was April 2nd. We packed the kids bags and texted my parents. Julie from church brought us dinner that night around 6, as the church had started a meal delivery schedule even before the baby came! She brought pork sliders, slaw, homemade applesauce. We told her I was having contractions and she quickly left, haha! We ate our meal together as a family, and then Mimi and Boo came to get the kids and dogs.

Once the house was quiet, Dillon and I both felt calm and decided to walk around the neighborhood, the weather that night was clear blue skies and a warm breeze. We didn't get too far, as a church member/neighbor stopped when he saw us walking and stopped to chat. We walked west down Pine Street and then decided to head to the hospital and walk some more around the parking lot. On the drive to the hospital Dillon had to pull the car over for an intense contraction so I could stand. Once we parked, it was starting to get dark. We walked back and forth on the sidewalk for about half an hour. The pain was really picking up, so we decided to check in.

On the Labor & Delivery floor, they checked me and told me I was 3 or 4 cm dilated, and I was so disappointed. I knew I was in labor but they wouldn't check me in until I progressed further, so I was forced to walk around to speed things up. They instructed me to walk for an hour or two and then they would recheck me. During this time the pain became so intense I started shaking, then threw up. Dillon quickly notified the nurse and asked how long it would take to get the epidural, so the nurse snapped into action.

The epidural took a little longer to place than my previous ones, and other than an unpleasant zing that shot down my leg, I was soon feeling relief. We got a couple hours of rest, then the nurse checked me and decided it was time to call Dr. McBrayer. She arrived and within minutes, one push later, Stuart Franklin was born! 8 lbs, 7 oz born at 2:30 am

He had a head full of blond hair! Just like Dillon did. The nurses all said he was the cutest baby of the week. We had some time with him to nurse him and then our nurse took us down to the postpartum unit.

We couldn't decide on a name. The morning came and the lady in charge of the social security card came by and pressured us to pick a name. I was feeling extremely tired and loopy (I thought it was from my pain killers but later found out it was caused by extreme anemia) and had difficulty talking about names.

My parents brought Reese and Lee up to the hospital and everyone held Stuart. The pictures say it all!

Then Chrissie, John and Ray showed up with Smoothies- so delicious!

We came home and still didn't have a name- finally 1-2 days after we came home, we nixed the names Wyatt and Hank and settled on Stuart. Dillon picked his middle name, Franklin.
After his birth, Dillon took a week off. We had meals delivered from people at church for over a month!

Goodbye South Dakota

The west Texas dust has settled and new life is emerging here on the flat lands that we now call home.

I found it difficult to reflect all that was taking place during our move- we were overwhelmed with tasks, goodbyes, anticipation… It was both exhausting and exhilarating.

And now here we are on the other side of it all- looking back at our beloved time in South Dakota as it is no longer home but a memory of home.

The experience of stepping away from a place you love full of people you love can be described in many ways (as I’ve already done above), but most accurately to me as: sacred.

Sacred. So often we are numb to the beauty we live in. We are ignorant of the gifts we’ve been given. We take for granted the people that make up our little world. When I realized the move was inevitable- I saw before me a whole host of blessings I had been given in the last 4 years.

There are moments I will treasure always and they are:

1.   The Saturday evening before we moved the Jacobs had us over for dinner. Allie and I shared the piano for an hour as I taught her ‘Heart and soul.’

2.   The Monday night before the movers came and Toby, Ava & Jaydn piled into Reese’s room to say goodbye one last time. I said goodbye to Nichole while the sunset lit up the sky pink.

3.   Gathering handprints for Reese’s goodbye book from all of her friends at school, church, everywhere.

4.   Our last Sunday at church. I read a goodbye letter to the congregation which was what I needed to say thank you to the church that I love. The childrens choir sang “Friends are Friends Forever”.  Dillon got a standing ovation. After church there was a reception and we were presented with a framed painting of the Chapel in the Hills, a framed photograph of Sylvan Lake, a basket of goodbye cards, a photo book of memories. People lined up to hug us.

5.   Hiking up ‘Sequoia Mountain’ (the hill just across the street from our house’ with Reese, Lee and Brenda while the movers loaded the truck.

6.   Going to the park around the corner from our home one last time (shortly before #2 above). I pushed Lee on the swing and made lots of mental memories of this place we came so many times.

7.   Goodbye dinner at our friends The Kahlers. They were able to share with us their exciting news (pregnant with #3) and we stayed out past bedtime playing nerf wars with all our kids.

8.   Goodbye dinner with our friends The Kenners. It was so wonderful to meet their newest member Miles, a child we have prayed for, for years. Cherished friends.

9.   Goodbye dinner with The Johrings at Murphys. We love this restaurant and these people so much. Mark and Tina have a true gift with children and Reese and Lee adore them.

10.                 Goodbye to my dear friend Sunny and her son, Reese’s friend Crosby. We walked around Wilderness Park with her new baby Ruby, and ate packed lunches. When it was time to say goodbye as we got in our cars, Reese yelled from inside “Crosby you will always be my best friend!”

11.                 The Saturday before we moved, the four of us drove up to Mt. Rushmore one last time (we have been at least a dozen times over the years. We did the short hike around the presidents and ended with ice cream.