Please stand and say the theme!

I recited this theme every Sunday alongside my church leaders and fellow young women for 6 years. I recently tried to recite this to myself, and I stumbled in a few places. I was able to do it, but I had to think about it. There has also been some new wording added since my days as a young women. I am not sure what made me think of the YW theme, but I am glad I did.

I can definitely be striving a lot more to live these values. So here I go again with some new goals.
I am going to use the theme as a guide. Everything I want to improve on in my life is essentially summed up in these values. That's kind of the point of the theme, right? So, I am going back to my youth. My goal list never really changes, so I will really just be saying that I am working on my "knowledge" when I finally start learning to play my guitar or my "Choice and accountability" when I finally start running (I joined a hood to coast team, so I better get going on this, chop chop!)
Etc Etc Etc....Wish me luck, and join me if you want to!

Wyatt Spencer

This is our sweet Wyatt Spencer. We chose Wyatt because we think it sounds manly and Spencer is after my favorite uncle.  We love our little Wyatt Spencer.

My sweet SIL snapped these photo's for me. PLEASE visit her website and use her for your photo needs, you wont regret it!

 http://www.christalannephotography.com/

Labor and Delivery. WYATT THE SPEEDING BULLET!

"My due date was yesterday. Honestly, I am so excited to have the baby, but at the same time I can wait. The longer he stays in, the better off Daniel will be during the delivery. That being said, this is the longest I've ever gone."
-Cami Houghtelling
4:40 pm August 22nd.

Those were the magic words. Truth be told, I'd been having contractions all day, but they weren't regular and they weren't getting stronger. I thought it was false labor.
I decided to make the kids clean their room around 7:15 that night. Normally they are in bed by then. I sat down on their bedroom floor, criss cross applesauce, to begin giving my orders. Clare and Max were putting toys in tubs, and I was bending every which way, getting anything within my reach...which really isn't saying much. 9 months pregnant people! Not alot of bending going on. Then at 7:30, I had the strangest feeling. "Did I just pee a little? Weird" Not kidding, those were my exact thoughts. Then my next thought was this: "I didn't even sneeze or cough or jump! That couldn't have been pee!" I got up, did some...investigation. Called for Daniel. " I think my water broke, but I really don't know"
"WOO HOO!" he said. I made the necessary phone calls, you know, call the Moms routine. But, I still wasn't convinced that my water had broken, so I told them I'd call after I took a shower. I still wasn't sure after my shower. Then there was another little trickle. Called the Moms again and got them on their way. My mother in law told me to call someone to take the kids till she could get here and I said "Nah, I can wait, it just broke 30 minutes ago". I got off the phone and....GUSH! OK Mother  in law, you win! I called my diligent visiting teacher whom I happen to adore, she is the sweetest most soft spoken person I've ever met...anyway, her and her husband came running and told us to hurry up. She has really fast labors, so she felt like I should hurry. She's a smart lady! My contractions really started to pick up at this point, and I couldn't really walk or talk through them.  On the way to the hospital, Daniel was getting a little antsy. I am a really bad car passenger, I get super anxiety and feel out of control. So, with Daniel feeling like he needed to drive fast, and me being in labor and all, I had to tell him to please just chill out! I cannot handle a race to the hospital, drive normal please, I am stressed out as it is! Well, he slowed a little, but not enough to make me Happy, so I just closed my eyes and put my head back. And then it happened. Road construction.
 "You have got to be kidding me! A freaking flagger and plates in the road!" I was a little upset. Thank goodness the flagger was in our favor and traffic seemed to be ignoring the fact that the flaggers sign said "slow".
We got to the hospital at about 8:45 pm. I had to go in through the ER entrance. I walked in, said I was having a baby, and they asked if I could walk to OB. HAHAHA! No. The security guard wheeled me there. Daniel was parking the car.  Once I was changed in to my hospital gown, she asked when labor started. i informed her that my water broke at 7:30 and the waters were clear. I got checked and I was at a 4...I knew I was in trouble. In the past, I went from a 5 to a 10 ridiculously fast. When she asked if I wanted an epidural, I told her I was undecided. She warned me that it takes about 30 minutes to even get the anesthesiologist there, so if I wanted one, I shouldn't wait until the last minute. The nurse left, I had one more contraction, and I asked for an epidural. (Daniel laughed) I had epidurals with the other kids, and I am a huge fan of them! Greatest thing modern medicine has ever done! The only reason I thought I might go without, is because we might not have anymore kids. I kind of wanted the experience.
Back to the story. I am still in labor!
Literally 5 minutes later, I am gracefully stating (screaming/grunting) "I need to push!" The nurse  barely heard me down the hall (could hear me loud and clear) and came running in...I said "please tell me I am still at a 4! I need an epidural!" She said " sure, you are 4... more...meaning 8" The doctor was sitting on the couch in my room, eating a sandwich, while the nurses scrambled to get everything ready. (Who does that???)
When the doctor was getting ready (I presume she finished her sandwich) I looked at her and asked her if I was going to get my epidural...she shook her head. "No".
 I calmly said (screamed)"THEN LETS GET HIM OUT!!!" At this point I was bound an determined to get this baby OUT! I was very graceful and quiet however. (Screaming, grunting, yelling, more yelling). I think I pushed about 5 times and the head was out, one more push for shoulders and AHHHHHH....sweet relief. Beautiful baby on my chest...Oh yeah, one more push for that placenta!
9:28 pm.
At this point, I told them to put something for pain in my IV, because lidocaine was not going to cut it, so to speak, for the necessary stitching. Once I had that , I was cracking jokes! Weird right? Seriously, I had the doctors and nurses cracking up! I just kept saying things like "oh my gosh, what just happened.I can't believe how loud I was. I used to make fun of women who were loud during child birth, but I always had epidurals!" Apparently, these were funny things to be saying after giving birth.
All in all, the whaling and gnashing of teeth was worth it. I got my natural child birth, and I didn't have to endure hours and hours of hard labor. If I had to go through hours of that, I think I would just die instead. All I could think when I knew I wasn't getting and epidural, was that I had to get him out. I gave it my all. I pushed as hard as I could. At one point, the doctor told me that I had to scoot down the bed more, and I told her no. Daniel told me I had to, and I told him no! I was in so much pain, I did not feel like I could do any scooting! Daniel and a nurse ended up grabbing me and moving me down.
 It's crazy the difference between natural and epidural.  I can understand telling a women who has an epidural to wait to push. You can't feel anything. But natural birth, you don't have a choice. Your body is going to push no matter what, hence the lady like grunting. I think he would have come out without me doing any extra pushing. It was a strange feeling. My body was pushing this kid out no matter what.
I had no time to come to terms with what was happening. You'd think I would be ready, after 9 months of pregnancy, but no. I did not expect to have record breaking speedy labor and delivery. 2 Hours start to finish. It all happened so fast, I am still amazed. I think I was in shock for a few hours after delivery...and so was Daniel for that matter. We are still talking about it in awe.

Wyatt Spencer Houghtelling
Born August 22nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm. 8 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long.
Not only our speeding bullet, but our biggest baby yet. We love him. Pictures coming.

Snips, Snails and bottles of Pee...That's what little boys are made of.

To make this story a little shorter, this bottle WAS filled with soap. The kids dumped all if the soap out in to the tub during bath time, leaving an empty bottle. The next day, this bottle was filled with what I thought was watered down dish sap that Daniel must have filled it with to compensate for the missing soap. So, I just left it alone. Later on, the bottle was gone. I just thought that was weird, and went on with the day. today, I went in the bathroom to wipe down the counter and when I opened up the cupboard to get the Lysol wipes, there was the mysterious bottle again. I decided to do further investigation this time. I shook it around a little. "Is this really watered down dish soap?" I thought. I opened it up. I took a big ol' whiff. Sure enough, NOT soap. I turned to Clare, who was "helping" me. I asked her what it was. "It's just pee." she said. "who peed in this?" "Just Max." 

I went in to the living room where I asked Daniel if had used this "soap". For those who don't know. Daniel has no sense of smell. None. Zip. Can't smell a flower or a fart. Nada. So, he could have easily thought the same thing I did, and unknowingly washed his hands with pee. Luckily he said no. PHEW! I told him what it was. We were both cracking up, when Max saw what I had. He instantly got upset. He did not want me messing with his bottle of pee. he was clearly enjoying peeing in to his bottle. Between our laughter, we explained that he would have to pee in the toilet from now on. This was yucky. After snapping a photo of the bottle (Duh, great blog material, must be documented for future remembrance and laughter!) I disposed of it.

A little later, I saw Max heading to the bathroom. I wondered what he would do...

Sure enough, he was looking for his bottle to pee in. I told him it was gone, so after moping for a second, he of course just used the toilet. I conclude from this that little boys are born with instincts on how to make gun noises, car noises, and also instinctively know that they can pee anywhere and in to whatever they want.

Boys make life more interesting, that's for sure. We love our little man and all the parental adventures he we have with him.

The saga continues: an update

Well, here we are. I feel like we are writing an epic bit of the story of our lives together. "These are days of our lives" LOL! If you get that joke, you rock.

Daniel had his surgery on Tuesday afternoon. They wheeled him in to surgery at 2:30 and he was done at 6:30. The surgeon said everything went great, but he did bleed a lot, but they were expecting that. I finally got to seen him around 9:00. He was very groggy and sick from the anesthesia, but he seemed to be in good spirits. He was just glad to have it over with. He is recovering just fine. He is up and around on crutches, but still has a hard time with simple tasks, like getting his left sock and shoe on. He can do most everything himself, just a little slower. He is in pain of course (Hello! they hammered a titanium rod into his femur and screwed it in to place with 4 screws!) He HATES the side effects of the medication he is on now. He only takes the pain killer if he absolutely has to. He also has to have a shot everyday for 3 weeks. It's an anti coagulant. He moves around so much, that I don't think we have to worry about him getting a blood clot, but, they insisted he use it. I should clarify that I give him the shot. Don't get me wrong, he is a tough guy...but he cannot give himself a shot. I had no idea how much this manly man of mine hates needles. It's kinda cute :) Watching them do his IV was really kind of funny. I was really surprised at what a nervous nelly he is when it comes to needles! Lets just say that he is not allowed to make fun of me for getting light headed when I have to get poked.
He left the hospital on Thursday. Man, we were soooo glad to get out of there. We went and got the kids and drove home. I have never been so happy to be home. HOME!

During all of this, all I could think was how glad I was that I did not have a newborn with me. It was much easier to just have a pregnant body, and not a recovering body. Not to mention, I did NOT want to have a newborn in a yucky hospital. It is really all working out for the best. My due date was yesterday. Honestly, I am so excited to have the baby, but at the same time, I can wait. The longer he stays in, the better off Daniel will be during the delivery. That being said, this is the longest I've ever gone.

Alright. Heavenly Father really knows me. I have to say, His tender mercies are over flowing in this household. Why did I ever think that having the baby before the surgery would be a good idea? It's a good thing He is watching out for me. I am so DUMB! He knows whats up.

Now on to the other blessings. Our devoted parents. My Mom and Dad stayed with me during my failed induction...they were there the entire 2 days. My poor Dad slept in his car! My poor Mom slept in the recliner in my room. They wouldn't leave my side, no matter how many times I told them that they should go home. My parents came to see me at OHSU the day of Daniel's surgery. My Mom had to leave early for work. But, before she left, she made it perfectly clear to my Dad that he was not going with her. He dutifully babysat me all day long and then drove me back to my in laws at 10:30, when we finally left.  It was nice to just hang with him for an entire day. We had some good conversation.

Daniel's parents. Wow. They came and got our kids on day we went to the hospital to "have the baby". They waited and waited until the next day for the baby to come, when they finally left. While they waited around, they kept busy by clening all the things I didn't get to before we went in. My nesting instinct was going crazy, and the things that I didn't get around to were magically done for me! My nasty fridge and microwave were spotless when I got back. As the days have gone on, I've noticed MANY other things that got done as well.
They had our kids for 7 days straight! So, they took the kids starting Friday morning, and had them until Thursday afternoon. I can't even believe it. It was such a relief to know that they were in good, capable hands and in a place where they were wanted and loved and not being treated as burdens. They are very devoted grandparents. I know it must have worn them out, but they certainly didn't make us feel bad about it, not even once. We were told to just not worry about it. THEN, they came to our house (an 1 1/2 hour drive) on Saturday and painted a vacant apartment for us. Not to mention, they are still planning on watching the kids during the next (an hopefully last) hospital visit. And this time, I am going to have another grandchild for them darn it!

We are so overwhelmed by all of their support. All 4 of them are still calling and texting everyday to make sure we are OK. They must really love us. I am so thankful for the service they have done for us.

Also, the support from our friends and family on Facebook has been awesome! Being able to open FB on my phone and get a quick little bit of encouragement and love from everyone was great. So thanks to everyone there as well.

In theory, my next update should be a labor and delivery story. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Christal Anne Photography

http://www.christalannephotography.com/

Just a quick plug for my sister in law. Check her out if you need some great photos!

An unsuccessful induction? That can happen?

Yes, it can. I had no idea it was possible to have an unsuccessful induction. NO idea. But, sigh, I did. Also, if you are a guy, you probably do not want to read this...you've been warned.

First of all, I hate IV"s. Who doesn't. The nurse that did mine was so nice, and was so embarrassed when it took her 6, yes, 6 times to get my IV in. My veins kept blowing, and it definitely didn't help that I was passing out. My ears were ringing and everything was going dark and she slapped the oxygen on my face. I sat up higher in my bed, and felt much better, but none the less, everyone involved was traumatized. Mostly me though. I have the bruises to prove it.

After that, I thought I'd get hooked up to the pitocin and this party was going to get started. Lets have us a baby!
Not so much.
I was induced with Clare, and I started and the same place with her. 50% effaced and dilated to a 2. They just hooked up the Pitocin and everything progressed juuuust fine.
Not this time! I was told that they had to "ripen" my cervix first. So, no Pit, just little pill being inserted every 4 hours up my who ha. I know, that sounds so fun right?? After the 2nd pill, I stared to have labor pains, and I thought that things were actually going to work out...that is until the time for the 3rd pill came and they said I could not have one, I was contracting to much. OK, good, I guess? I got up and went for a walk. A vigorous one. That's what they told me to do. Then, when I laid back down, my contractions completely stopped. I called the nurse and told her this, so she said she would monitor me for about 30 minutes and come back with another pill. She never came back, in fact, no one came. After a few hours of waiting patiently, I call for a nurse. The nurse that came in was...cold. I said that "I feel like I've lost all my momentum, can I please have another pill? And I need another dose of antibiotics, and could you please check on the baby's heart rate?" You know, all the things that they should have been on top of. The nurse was so cold! That is the only word I can think of to describe her. She basically said too bad. Why? Because the screaming an whaling woman across the hall and the one down the hall were ready to deliver, and they were under staffed and it would be un safe to give me another pill, but they'd hook up the heart rate monitor and start another round of antibiotics for me. They literally just stopped giving me care, and didn;t even bother to tell me why for several hours. So, I was having labor pains for the better part of the day, and it was all for nothing. I finally got another pill ant 2:30 in the morning. Gee, thanks. That was pointless. It did nothing. Let me also say, that the nurses believed they were doing what was best for everyone by doing this. BUT, why in the world could they not understand why I was upset? AND, why could they not have popped in to my room to let me know that they were understaffed and would not be in for a while? Why would they just leave me hanging for several hours with no care and no answers?? I was not happy.

Saturday morning came, I had my good nurse back, and I expressed that I just wanted to be hooked up to the Pitocin, no more pills. The doctor came in and checked me and guess what??? I was right where I started on Friday. 50%, and 2, and -2 station. I am convinced that this is because they let my labor stop and so much time passed before I got another pill. The doctor agreed to start with pitocin. Great! Right. After another day on that, I was 70% effaced, and at a 3, still -2 station. I was in pain all day, and that is as far as I got. WHAT THE HECK!! This is soooo not like my other deliveries! I asked them to break my water, but since the baby's head was not engaged,(-2 station) they could not. I was told that if I did not make any more progress by 5:00, they wanted to take me off pitocin and give me pills again for the night, to let me rest. If you are anything like me you are laughing right now. I politely declined. I was going home. No way was I going to sit through another night in that horrible bed, with nurses that can't handle their job. Sure enough, no progress, but lots of pain. I was pretty upset. I ached all over from the uncomfortable bed and from having contractions all day for nothing, and my sore arms from all the attempted IV'S. I just wanted to go home. Did I mention that they had me on a clear liquid diet this entire time??? Yup...add hunger...no, add starvation in to the mix.

I left totally defeated. Here is my conclusion.
I wanted so badly to just have a plan. I wanted everything to be under control. I wanted to make sure that this baby comes at a convenient time for us, what with Daniel's surgery being on Tuesday. My will was not in line with Heavenly Fathers. After the induction was scheduled, I was relieved. I was so glad that I talked my doctors in to doing it. But, I had a nagging feeling that I shouldn't do it. You know what I am talking about? Just a little nagging feeling that I was making the wrong choice. I was so happy on the one hand to have it scheduled, but didn't have the peace of mind I was hoping for.

I guess I am just one of those people that needs to be slapped in the face in order to learn what Heavenly Father wants us to learn. I should have trusted HIS plan (whatever it is) and I never should have ignored that nagging feeling.
Oh well! What's done is done, and I learned a lesson. I can say that I will never ignore that nagging feeling again. Peace of mind is the way to go. Silly me, I should have learned this a looooong time ago. Obviously, Heavenly Father has another plan. So,I am just giving it all to Him. His plan HAS to better than mine anyway. And, if I go in to labor while Daniel is still in the hospital, well, I guess it will make for a great story that I can laugh about in oh, say, 50 years.

We are heading off to Portland tonight, and Daniel gets checked in to the hospital at 10:15 tomorrow morning. We are so gratful for a lot of things right now. We are so glad that he can have this surgery. It is a blessing, even though the timing is a little hectic. At least it happened now, rather than when we quit his job to start the apprenticship and he has no insurance for a while. We see all the blessings, and even though we are stressed, we feel very blessed. I can actually say that we don't even feel like it's a trial anymore. It's just lots of blessings. A great new career, insurance, a sweet new baby and the list goes on. Lucky us.   :)
It must be all the prayers all of you wonderful people are saying in our behalf. Thank you!