Innocence Lost

Jonathan's innocence was lost on the day of the Boston Marathon bombing.  As a parent, I was forced to answer his questions after we watched the news, and in hindsight, I probably should have turned the news off since he was in the room.  However, I did not, and now he keeps asking questions from a three-year-old's perspective.  "Who had the bomb?"  "What color was the bomb?"  "Are the bomb people bad?"

And then I heard him playing with his toys in a "mean" way that is not characteristic of my son.  He was saying things about bad guys and bombs and not being friends.  And then he said that the bad guys don't like Jesus.  Which turned into a teachable moment.  No, "bad guys" probably don't love Jesus; if they did, they would not do the "wrong thing."  I explained that we need to pray for the people that don't love Jesus; that they will find Him and trust in Him.

I wish my three-year-old could be innocent for a little while longer.  This world is a crazy place, and violent acts are becoming more and more common.  If I could shelter him from the storms of this life, I would.  No child should have to be afraid of bombs or of "bad guys."  But this is our new reality, and we must trust in Him to protect us and shield us from evil.  I will continue to pray for carefree days for Jonathan and Owen, and that they will not lose faith.  During times of good and evil, Darin and I will continue to point the way to Jesus.

Birth Story ~ Part 1

The night before our scheduled c-section, my MIL and FIL came into town from Indy.  We enjoyed a yummy "dinner" at IHOP, and then we took Jonathan over to my friend Kim's house to spend the night.  It was so hard to leave my little guy, especially knowing that our lives were about to change forever.  Jonathan was a little sad because he was convinced that I was going to the hospital forever and would never be coming home again.

Fast forward to the next morning.  We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 and I got prepped for surgery.  The nurse was so good that the IV only hurt a bit.  Everyone told me that a planned c-section was more relaxing, but I think that I preferred the unplanned c-section that I had with Jonathan.  Everything happened so quickly with his delivery that I didn't have time to think about what was actually happening.  (Below is a picture of me pretending not to be nervous.  Ha.)

My sis surprised me by coming early to help me relax.  Love.

My c-section was scheduled for 9:30, but the doctor came to get me at 8:50 to get the party started.  Darin stayed behind while I had my epidural done, and he rather enjoyed taking pictures of himself in his scrubs.  I, on the other hand, was experiencing an incredible amount of pain while I was given my epidural.  (Just for the record, the IV hurt worse than the epidural when I had Jonathan.) 

I was well-prepared for the epidural, knowing that it really did feel like a "bee sting".  Something went wrong; I knew immediately when I the anesthesiologist asked, "How tall are you?"  I replied, "5'4", and he said, "Oh, I thought you told me that you were 5'5"."  I heard some mumbling and grumbling, and then it was announced that I would need a second epidural because they had my height wrong the first time, and therefore the epidural was too high in my spine.  Great.  The first epidural hurt like crazy, so why not experience the fun of another one?  And here's the kicker...the second one didn't work, either.  SOOOOOO, I had the wonderful pleasure of having not one, not two, but THREE epidurals.  I cried.  My blood pressure dropped.  I almost fainted (the nurse caught me).  Then the anesthesiologist had to do the "dull/sharp" test in which he lightly poked me with some kind of needle thing all over my body to determine whether or not I was getting numb.  It hurt every single time.  This is when I found out that the anesthesiologist was a student because the person "coaching" him finally took over and told him that he was doing it all wrong.  I sure wish she would have stepped in after the failed attempt at epidural #1!!!

All that was (temporarily) forgotten as Owen William made his way into the world.  This part of the c-section was MUCH better than Jonathan's because it wasn't so rushed.  We were able to get more pictures and (gasp) spend time as a family as I got stitched up.  Darin prayed for our family as we sat together, and I'll never forget it.

Very first picture.  Look at that face!

Holding tightly to Daddy's finger.

All cleaned up and peaceful.

Footprints!  And the hospital didn't lose them this time!

Love. 

The AMAZING Dr. Choi.

Bonding.

Found those fingers!

That is one proud Daddy.

 Stay tuned for the second installment!