Rug #1

Okay, here is a photo of the first rug. The red one is still drying and I don't know where I'm going to put it yet.

337 Strikes Again

The above photo is what Aaron did to himself in the car while waiting for the following story to unfold...

Many who know me have heard me say that 337 is my "God number." I didn't choose it, but it's just a number that has appeared in many strange ways and situations over the past 15 years or so. I've begun to notice it as God's way of marking something and saying, "Hey, pay attention to this..." or "Hey, watch what I'm going to do here..." or "Hey, pray about this...". (Okay, maybe God doesn't say "hey" that much, but you get my point.) You know, like the time our motor home broke down--yet again--and I went to get a burger while Peter sulked outside and my order number was #337. I just knew God was in the middle of our RV trauma and doing something about it. Sure enough, we went outside and fired the motor home right up and sailed away. No problemo.

Well today was a good one. For months after we moved here I combed over Craigslist ads daily looking for furniture deals. Once we purchased the furniture we currently have I got tired of it and stopped searching. Okay, so we ran out of money. That just to say, I have not been on Craigslist in a long time. Today I got the random urge to sell something on Craigslist. Once my listing was posted, I decided to take a minute and do a couple of searches. Bunk beds. Floor gym. Area rug. Bingo!

A listing came up for a 5' x 8' red wool area rug in Hawi (basically my town) for $100. I noticed the phone number which ended in 8337. Dingdingdingdingding. My curiosity had me calling the number immediately. Sonora was her name. She seemed very mellow and was open to me coming over right away to look at her rug. Peter jumped in the car with me and we drove 5 minutes down the road to Sonora's house. We introduced ourselves and she noticed Alyma and we talked kid talk for a couple of minutes. I found out that she has SEVEN children, two of which are adopted. They moved here two days ago from Seattle and don't know anyone in the area. She's my age. Her house is stinkin' cute and looks like she's lived there forever. I wonder how it is that she is more unpacked and organized in her house she's been in for 2 days with 7 children than I am after 7 months and half the children.

She shows us her rug and I like it. She comments that she has another one. And then another. We decide to buy two of them. Yeah!!!! The longer we talk, the lower her price gets and we end up with two rugs for $200. She asks me if we happen to know a guy named Oliver. We know Olivier (pronounced oh-live-ee-ay, French), a friend of ours who lives on our street. Turns out they have mutual friends. I suspect she is a Christian, so I ask her and she is. We find out that we have mutual friends who went to Vanguard University, our alma mater. She used to live in Costa Mesa. So did we. Suddenly we are all very excited at our "small world" experience and that our rug purchase led us to meet some new friends!

We have planned to go to Kapaa Beach Park for a BBQ with them and Olivier and his family soon. Sonora is excited that they have so quickly been able to meet other young Christian families in the area. Now you can't tell me that this was a "coincidence." This has 337 written all over it! ;) And I just thought of something else. Only yesterday I found out that Olivier's name is spelled like it is. I never knew it was spelled so similarly to Oliver. Had I not learned this yesterday, I never would have thought about our friends, Mia & Olivier, when Sonora said "Oliver."

Anyway, it's just so fun. I love how God works things together like this. We're looking forward to getting to know our new friends and OH! We stopped by Mia and Olivier's house on our way home to let them know about our encounter with Sonora. Olivier, who happens to own a carpet cleaning business, saw that we had two rugs rolled up in our truck and offered to clean them for us for free! And it's a good thing because one of them was FULL of dust like you would not believe. He cleaned both rugs very well and sanitized them for us. All ready for baby now! And I PRAY they cut down on the echo factor in our house!

The End

The Shrink's Couch

I haven't blogged in a while because I have so little time for such things anymore. If anyone saw the condition of my house right now, they would see why. But my kids are fed and some of them are even clothed and most are happy. So I give myself a pat on the back for the things I DO accomplish which are, hopefully, the most important things.

I just went downstairs with Alyma and plopped myself down in the recliner hoping to vent to Peter. Unfortunately he's "at work" right now and not able to hear all that I would like to say. He did listen as long as he could, at least until the phone required his attention. I feel like I need some time on a shrink's couch with a large box of Kleenex.

So, I turn to blogging-while-nursing instead. (Is there ever a time in a mother's day when multi-tasking is NOT required???) Here comes my brain dump. I'm frustrated with my teenage son who finds strange pleasure in pretending he doesn't hear me when asked to do something or, if he does acknowledge hearing me, simply refuses to budge. It doesn't matter if it's a minor request or a major one, he just doesn't see the need to do what he's asked to do. He's "not into that whole subordination thing", to use his words.

Today it was a minor request while at the public health nurse's office for his TB test. "Mark, please go back into the restroom with that paper towel you have stuck to your face or wait in the car until that newly popped zit stops bleeding." "Mom, I didn't pop a zit. I have a cut on my face." "Oh really, so you just went into the bathroom and got a cut on your face, huh?" "Yes, I got a cut on my face. I didn't pop a zit." "Whatever, just please come back when you don't have paper towel hanging from your face."

No movement. I ask 5 more times. Nothing. People are staring. I'm embarrassed. He doesn't care. We get the TB test and walk outside. "Mark, please come here." He keeps walking. "Mark, I know you heard me, you're standing right next to me." "Huh? What? Huh?" Keeps walking.

Is this what happens when you take over raising a child who was partially raised (in the most formative years) by a mentally-challenged mother? Or is this just plain teenagerness?

I want to buy the boys a bunk bed so Alyma can use her crib. I found the perfect one on Craigslist today, including mattresses, for $500. I want one with a queen bed on the bottom so that we don't have any kiddos falling off the top onto our hard floor and breaking bones. Better to land on a mattress and bounce than the wood floor and, well, not bounce. This bed I found has a full on the top and a queen on the bottom. We could use it for guests to sleep on and I could move Aaron out of his crib so Alyma could finally use her pretty crib set. But we don't have the money. Unless I want to dip into our meager travel savings.

Which leads me to my next tangent. As of now, we stand to lose $2200.00/month of income beginning in January. Our plan is to take the entire family to California for Christmas and we have about half of the money for airfare saved up so far. The rental car situation is another story and something we yet to have an answer for. I can't imagine NOT going to California for Christmas. Alex's already-broken heart would be crushed if he could not be with his cousins and see his grandparents and other loved ones after being away for a whole year. I don't even want to think about Christmas morning in Hawaii with warm weather and no family around. Maybe someday we will enjoy this, but I'm not quite there yet.

How can we justify spending so much money to go to California when we will turn around and possibly not have enough money to pay our rent? I seems like a lose-lose situation. Either we stay here and be sad or we go and be broke. I'm leaning towards broke at the moment. Of course, to show some sign of faith, God has always been faithful to provide for our family even when it didn't seem possible. So I must confess that I do trust Him, even with these difficult issues, and know that He has a plan. Somehow I am still stuck worrying about tomorrow.

Matthew 6:25-34

25 "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. 28 "And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! 31 "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. 32 Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, 33 and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. 34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."

A Child is Born

Our Alyma Joy was born on May 15th at 10:20 a.m. after 4 hours of labor. Well, at least 4 hours of labor that ended in giving birth. I was in and out of early labor for a week prior to her actual delivery. But still, 4 hours is quite fast considering Alex's birth was 21 hours and Aaron's was about 9 hours. Alex was born at 38 weeks and weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. Aaron was born at 8 days late weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz. And Alyma was born at 38 weeks, 2 days weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. I guessed she would weigh in between her brothers and I was right! We also guessed she would be born on May 15th--either we are prophetic or she is already a very obedient child. :) So nice of her to come a bit early and relieve me of my misery!

Okay, so I thought I would write out Alyma's birth story before I forget it. The night before she was born I had been having some occasional contractions and they were quite strong. I had been to the dr. earlier that day and I was only at 1 cm and 50% effaced. I could tell these strong contractions were doing something and kept expecting my water to break under the pressure!

At 4 a.m. I woke up as I had for several days prior. I rolled over and felt a slight gush of liquid and said, "Peter! Wake up! Something is coming out of me!" Haha... He jumped up and grabbed a towel and told me that he couldn't see anything but a clear wet spot on our sheets. We just looked at each other like, "Okay, this is it! Here we go!" Considering Peter had a cold and I wasn't having any contractions, he tried to go back to sleep. I began scurrying about cleaning the house and packing a few final things for the hospital. Peter ended up not being able to sleep and joined me for breakfast while we watched a beautiful sunrise. Actually, we watched the sunrise while our oatmeal cooked and by the time it was ready, I said, "We'd better have breakfast in the car, I'm starting to get contractions."

So we woke Sean up and told him we were leaving for the hospital at about 5:40 a.m. We took the "long way" to Waimea along the coast rather than over the bumpy, windy mountain pass. It's only 10 minutes longer and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the bumps and contractions at the same time. It was a really gorgeous drive considering the time of day and the way the sun was coming up. I began having regular contractions about 3-5 minutes apart on the way to the hospital. This was a relief because I was afraid that I would have to get induced if I didn't go into labor on my own.

We walked into the ER at 6:20 a.m. to register and then made our way to the Family Birthing Center. I got checked in and they put me on the monitor to get a 20-minute strip of the contractions and the baby's heart rate. The nurse commented, "Now that is a heartbeat you could dance to!" I was feeling really good and the contractions were definitely strong but manageable. I was told all the birthing rooms were full and we'd have to wait for a bit to be moved into another room.

During our short wait, things really began to pick up in the contraction department. I'd say by 7:00 a.m. I was beginning to really feel the pain. The nurse moved me down the hall into a delivery room. I was sad to pass up the "ilima room" - I thought it would be so cool to give birth in the room with her Hawaiian name! Oh well... So by the time I met my new nurse and got into the birthing room I could not sit still for them to put me on the monitor. Everytime I had a contraction I could feel the weight of the baby moving down very intensely. I never felt that much pain or strength of contractions with the boys. When they checked me and told me I was only dilated 2-3 centimeters, I told the nurses I was not going to be able to cope with that much pain for very long and wanted to know my options for dealing with it. I was told they could try calling an anesthesiologist to see if one might be available to come in and do an epidural, but that it was unlikely that it would happen because my labor would probably move quickly. Instead, the midwife suggested I go sit on a birth ball in the shower and try to relax.

I spent a great deal of my labor with Alex on a birth ball and also in the shower and I remember it helping immensely. So I decided to go ahead with this plan and try to relax. No luck. I found myself holding onto the railings in the shower for dear life everytime I felt a contraction building and was telling Peter to go get me drugs!!! Unfortunately, since my water had already broken, getting in the hot tub wasn't an option for me. I had really looked forward to trying that out! After 5-6 contractions in the shower I got out and back onto the bed, literally feeling like I was being tortured alive and clawing at my husband as the contractions became so close together, it seemed like I never got a break. At one point I was told "no biting." Haha! I think I was about to put Peter's hand in my mouth. :) The poor guy, he's lucky he has hands left after how tightly I hung onto him for those few hours!

Just before I thought I was going to lose my mind altogether, the nurse came in and offered to give me and IV and a narcotic. I gladly accepted, although trying to get an IV in a moving target took a couple of attempts. While one nurse put in an IV, another drew blood from my other arm to get a platelet count "just in case" I might be able to get an epidural eventually. I was relieved to feel the narcotic take effect. I was able to relax a little more and feel like I got a minute or two of respite between the still-spiking and terribly painful contractions. While I would have rather been numb, the break helped me cope a bit better. I still couldn't believe how intensely I could feel the baby moving down with each contraction. Maybe it was more intense because this was the first time my water had broken before labor? Whatever the case, probably just before 10 a.m., I reached down after a contraction and felt the baby's head. Remember, the last time I had been checked I was only between 2-3 centimeters and the baby was "hovering" high. Peter told the nurse I felt a head and she ran in. Sure enough, it was time to push!

The midwife came in and turned on the baby warmer and got all the delivery paraphernalia out. This is where a midwife delivery here in Hawaii was so different from my California doctor deliveries. They didn't break down the bed, put me on my back, cover me in blue paper and start barking numbers at me, telling me when to breathe and when not to breathe. They put Peter at the end of the bed and gave him a rolled up towel to hold. I held the other end and, whenever I had a contraction, I pulled on that towel as hard as I could and pushed the baby down at the same time. I was just sitting up on the bed, not in stirrups or anything like "normal." Pulling on that towel really helped me focus on pushing. It was the first time I ever experienced the urge to push in a delivery and it really did feel better to push than to just ride out the contraction.

Things began to get easier at this point as the contractions slowed down to being 5-6 minutes apart rather than one on top of the other. From the time I started pushing, I'd guess I had 4-5 contractions before the baby was out. Peter said the decibel level in the room was never so high as it was when she was beginning to slide out. Ha! It was VERY intense, but I knew that as soon as I got beyond that point, I could be DONE! Once her head was being delivered (and they announced her head of black hair!!!), they told me to open my eyes and look at the baby. I was shocked at her hair and how dark purple and flat-nosed she was. I really thought she looked like a black baby! Then they had me reach down and grab her under her arms as she was being born. I delivered her from there and layed her on my chest. I was dripping in sweat from the workout of my life, but so happy to experience holding my baby immediately after delivery. Both boys had been whisked away at birth to have their meconium-filled lungs suctioned out, so I didn't get to hold them right away.

At this point, the midwife and the nurse began to get really nervous because I was hemorrhaging. The midwife said, "Sorry, I have to do this," and then proceeded to shove her fist up into my uterus--no joke--up to her elbow! I also got a shot of pitocin and some other drug to help stop the bleeding. Peter did say I was gushing blood, but at that point I didn't really care...I was just glad to have the baby out and know that I never EVER had to go through childbirth again! It is a good thing that Alyma was our last child because, had that been my first childbirth experience, I probably wouldn't have had anymore children!

I must say I was shocked by the "hard and fast" delivery of our daugther. The pain was incredible, however it was nice to have it over within a few hours! I have a lot to be thankful for. For one, she came early! I was living in a miserable state there at the end of the pregnancy, so to have her come early was a great blessing. Secondly, the fact that my water broke before my labor began allowed us to leave for the hospital and make the 40-minute drive before my contractions got to the unbearable point. With as quick as things went, I could have had her in the car had I waited too long! And lastly, I had a healthy baby girl with no complications, tearing, or need for a c-section. She really is perfect and our family is now complete!

The Birth Plan

Last Thursday I had my (now) weekly check-up at the Waimea Women's Center. This center is actually a wing of the hospital where I am going to give birth soon. I have been seeing a couple of different midwives since we arrived here in January, all of whom are part of this women's center. There are two midwives who actually do the deliveries and I will only ever see a doctor if there is a problem that requires one. I must say, it has been quite a refreshing change going the midwife route. I dread doctor's appointments and hospital stays as it is, so feeling like my pregnancy care is a little less "medical" is great for me.

On Thursday I did what I have done during my past two pregnancies. I took in a copy of my two-page birth plan stating everything I either absolutely DO or DO NOT want while I am giving birth to my child. In California, it literally did take two pages to make all of my requests known. Even then, I still felt like I had to fight to have things "just so" or to avoid things I'm not into like the antibiotic eye drops or immunizations at birth. I did have one nurse, while I was in labor with Alex, who let me go without an IV. But, when the nurses changed shifts, I had to get the IV anyway. I'm telling you, having an IV has been the worst part of labor for me! It makes me feel like I can't move or ever get as comfortable as I need to be to get through childbirth naturally. The hours I labored with Alex were AWESOME as long as I didn't have that thing in my arm. Later getting that horrible heplock was the most painful part of my birth experience.

So, I presented my birth plan to the midwife on Thursday. She pretty much went through it with a pen and crossed most everything out. No one here does episiotomies. No one here will vaccinate your baby unless you sign a request for it. You don't have to have an IV. You are expected to be up and moving, going to the hot tub, the shower, etc. and are not restricted to your bed. They do not drape you or "break the bed" down when it's time to deliver. You may deliver the baby in whatever position you feel is best at the time, or even deliver the baby yourself. You will not be told how or when to push; no one will be counting either. There is no nursery, so 24/7 rooming-in is the only option. And on she went. I must have been sitting there with my mouth hanging wide open in shock! Here I have fought for even a few of these "rights" as a birthing mother in California and still never got it all. I'm telling you, Hawaii is the place to have a baby! At least the way I like to do it. I'm very excited to experience such freedom in the "family birthing unit" when the times comes (hopefully sooner than later!). I have heard nothing but raving reports about women's experience there, so I'm stoked!

Day by (Miserable) Day

Once again it has been a while since I blogged. I just haven't had anything new to say. The only thing that has really changed recently is that Sean & Bobbi Jo have been living with us now for 3 weeks. They might as well be angels. The quote "many hands make light work" has come true in our home. More hands to help with the cooking and cleaning has been a huge blessing. Not to mention the fact that Sean & Bobbi have more energy than Peter & I have right now and are an incredible help with the boys. Now we just have to figure out how to keep them. I fear that the next 4+ weeks that they have left with us will go by all too fast. Considering their visa issues, we don't know how or when we will see them again anytime soon in the U.S.

As for me, I am officially beyond miserable. The day Alyma Joy arrives will be a glorious day for many reasons. For one, I can't wait to see her face and find out what color her hair is! I also can't wait to start dressing her in some of the cute clothes she has hanging up in the closet so far. For two, I will be delivered from my miseries in more ways than one. Of course every pregnant woman is uncomfortable in the last month or so. I am very good at growing a larger-than-your-average-large belly and I have done it yet again. Who isn't ready to give birth by the end of 9 months??? Now add to the discomfort the following: sciatica, trips to the bathroom every 15-30 minutes around the clock, crazy allergies and extreme sleep deprivation. I mean, really now. A woman in my state can only handle so much at once. I feel overwhelmed at this point. Even though this goes completely against my feelings about induction, I just might take a merciful doctor up on his offer to help me get this baby out ASAP should such an offer be made. Number three is supposed to slide out like a wet fish, right??? :)

Well, I feel a nap coming on. Even though I probably won't be able to actually sleep, I just can't keep my eyes open any longer. Please pray that this baby comes very, very soon!

Easter in Hawaii

Easter brings up a lot of sentimental feelings for me of Easter holidays gone by. Matching Easter dresses with Julie and Breann, warm weather, coloring eggs, later hunting and eating the eggs, going to church, enjoying the fresh spring weather and signs of new life after winter.

The five Easters we spent in Mammoth were sad for me. I just couldn't get past the fact that there was snow on the ground where there should be daffodils! Peter didn't grow up with the Easter traditions that I did, so it was just two Easters ago that I convinced the Johnston side of the family that we could all enjoy coloring eggs together and not become total heathens (haha, ok --mostly kidding). We had an egg hunt for the cousins and Alex still remembers it!

Well, we didn't have the cousins this year but we didn't have snow either. Alex & I colored eggs yesterday only to be joined later by our friends Jenny, Sean & Bobbi Jo. They each gave me a funny look when I asked if they wanted to decorate eggs with us, but after doing one themselves they saw how fun it is and got into it! We had a little hunt for the boys today and they had a blast, even if it was short and not well-attended. :) We also had beautiful weather and hunted eggs in our very own backyard full of green GRASS! What a concept!

I'm already dreaming up Alyma Joy's Easter dress for next year...I can't wait!