MADELYN ROSE HOWELL

She is finally here....Madelyn Rose Howell.

Born on December 26th @ 11:22pm, 8lbs 5oz, and 20.5 inches long!

Finally, finally, finally, okay she was only 4 days late, but I felt like she would never come out!!

I really wanted her to come before Christmas, but if she didn't than I wanted her to come after, and she did just that! The day after Christmas at 1:30am I woke up and felt the start of my contractions. I started timing them and at around 3am they were 5 minutes apart. Okay so it's time right and I was very nervous about this being my 3rd baby coming quicker, so let's go. I woke Aron up and told him those famous words.."It's time honey, let's go"...and he told me, but I'm tired. Hey so am I!!! Anyways got up, got the bags (which I finally just packed the night before) woke up mom and left. We did manage to get out of the driveway, but it wasn't easy with all the snow on our street. We got to the hospital and they monitored me for an hour and the on-call doctor SENT ME HOME!! I wanted to kill HIM! Lazy no good doctor didn't want to come in and take care of me during the middle of the night. At least that is how I felt. So they sent me home and told me to get some rest. Rest, are you kidding me, is that a joke. Being the emotional person that I am, I started to cry. The nurse felt really bad for me, but still had to send me home. I went home, was able to get no rest at all, but between 9am-1pm they did start to settle down somewhat. I just happened to have a doctors appointment that day @ 2pm. Only it wasn't with my doctor, she was out. So I went very apprehensive about it. When I got there I asked the nurse if she was going to check my progress...NOPE! She wasn't going to check me, I was shocked, I told the nurse my quick little story...I am overdue, I am contracting, I have already been to the hospital today...please!! She said that I would have to talk to the doctor about it. When the doctor came in I couldn't control my tears and started tearing up again as I told her my sad, sad story! It sounds pathetic now, but then I was desperate. She did decide to check me and I thought she was the worst monster in the world, it HURT so bad. I've been checked before obviously and it never felt like that. I ended up being dilated at a 5 by then and she was admitting me to the hospital, Hallelujah!! I was so ecstatic that I couldn't keep from crying. She was so sweet, she hugged me and then made the phone call to the hospital and made sure to tell them that I wanted the epidural and right away, I ended up loving her even if she did hurt me. Anyways went to the hospital, got my drugs and the rest was a piece of cake!! Didn't feel anything and had my lovely daughter that night.

What an amazing experience when that little body was placed on my stomach right after delivery, she is disgusting and gross looking, but I don't care, no words can describe the feeling when your child takes her first breathe into this world. It's amazing beyond belief...even though I have experienced it before it's a feeling of pure joy and relief to see your child for the first time healthy and alive. She was beautiful and perfect. There was no doubt that she was my Madelyn Rose. Here was this tiny little body that was created inside of me, a little bit of Aron and a little bit of me. How could you not feel anything but love for God and his plan of bringing families together forever!

Christmas Morning

I was so scared of going into labor during the night and missing Christmas morning with my kids. Not being able to see their faces and their excitement when they saw all their presents was going to be really tough. Thankfully I was able to be there to experience it with them. They were so stinking excited! It has to be one of the best Christmas's I have had. My children and my husband are such a blessing in my life, I love them dearly!

I think this is the first White Christmas I have ever had!

Christmas Morning with their stockings


She is all girl, except for her love of cars. And not just any cars, the cars from the Disney movie. She has almost all the characters now.

My mom got them these adorable aprons with matching caps for Christmas.

This is a picture of both of them with their presents they asked Santa for!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was pretty interesting for us. My mother did make it here the night before, so that relaxed me quite a bit, but still no baby. It snowed all morning Christmas Eve. The plan was to go to Grandma Pezl's for a family get together that happens every year since Aron can remember. But the roads are terrible, so I told Aron sorry I wasn't going to go. I didn't want to be out in Canby and go into labor during a snow storm. Canby is about an hours drive from us and it is in Oregon. All morning long Grandma was trying to decide if she wanted to cancel and reschedule for the weekend, but in the end decided to have the party. By noon the snow was melting everywhere and the news was showing reports of the freeways being completely clear of snow and ice. So in the end Aron decided to go and take the kids, and at the last minute I decided to also go and drag my mom with us. We all felt good going on the way over, the freeway was clear and the drive was nice. And then we got off the freeway. Apparently Oregon City doesn't believe in plowing their roads, they were terrible!! The roads were so rutted and the car ride was horribly bumpy that I thought for sure the baby was going to just pop right out of me. We finally made it to Grandmas but not before we got stuck at the bottom of her driveway. I went inside and left the men to deal with that. But we had a really good dinner, and the kids were spoiled with tons and tons of presents! I'm not sure they were that good, but hey they are loved! So then we leave for the bumpy ride back through the town of Oregon City. No labor, everything is good, right? No, we couldn't get on the freeway because a semi truck was blocking the on ramp, he was stuck due to the ice. Then I realized there was something very wrong with our car, the dashboard was shaky even worse. And I realized then we probably had a flat. I shared the news with Aron who pulls over as best as he can (there was snow everywhere, again they do not plow here at all) and sure enough the back passenger tire was flat. Our next mission was to find somewhere that Aron can pull over to fix this flat, but everywhere is covered with this disgusting, dirty, slushy, yet still icy snow. He drove forever before we found a chevron that he thought he could make it into the parking lot without getting stuck and change the tire on dry pavement by the pumps (it was closed due to it being Christmas eve, and of course their parking lot was not plowed either). We made it, got the tire changed, we are all tired and it is now around 9-9:30 at night. Now what do we do, the on ramp is blocked and we really don't know where we are to find our way around it. So Aron just started to drive, and drive, and drive. Hoping the donut tire holds up on these awful rutted roads and we don't get another flat, oh and I don't go into labor! We drove what seemed like forever before we finally realized how to get home. By the time we got home it was about 11 pm, and we still had all, and I mean ALL of our presents to wrap for Christmas. Thankfully my mom was here to help! So that was our interesting night. The only thing that could make it more interesting is if I did go into labor! Thankfully that didn't happen yet.
The car stuck at the bottom of Grandmas driveway

Grandmas Pezl's birthday is Christmas!

Snow, Snow & More Snow!!

It hardly ever snows in the Northwest. We get rain, until now. They say that this is the most snow in some 30 years. Good timing too, right before Christmas and right when I'm due to have a baby. So it has been interesting, really, really pretty and awful at the same time. The kids think that just because it has snowed that means it's Christmas (thanks to all the Christmas movies that always have snow) they don't realize it doesn't always snow on Christmas and never in Washington. So every morning now they keep asking if it is Christmas yet. Sorry not yet. We actually got freezing rain also, which is hard to drive in. So in preparing for this I kept telling Aron to buy chains for the car and he would say no, it won't get that bad. Well guess what it is that bad and now I'm due to deliver and we can't get out of the driveway and my Mom can't get here. But the good news is that my dad did make it here (he has been in Hawaii and couldn't make it back into Portland due to the weather) and he has chains for his vehicle. I made him chain up first thing Monday morning, my due date, in case I needed him.

Now it is Tuesday, no baby yet, we did manage to get a hold of some chains of from craigslist now, so are car is driveable. And my mom is on her way, still no baby though!

The kids and Aron went out on Tuesday to build a snowman. I could only come up with red hots to use for the snowman's face. After a while it looked like the snowman was having some serious bleeding issues!

These two pictures of Aron and Abby with the ice are from Sunday after the freezing rain. Abby said she was making shapes out of them!

A visit with Santa!!

We suprised the kids by taking them to see Santa at the mall. They were so excited when we turned the corner and they saw him. They completely and devotionally believe in Santa 100%. For the month of December they were very good kids (at least most of the time). Dalan asked for his transformer and Abigail asked for her Ariel doll with flounder, the one she can take in the bath with her. She was very specific for a 3 year old. They loved it and we got some good pictures!!

Gingerbread Houses

The kids and I had fun hanging out with our friends Chrissy, Aidan, & Madden while we attempted to decorate our Gingerbread houses. I think Chrissy did most of the work on hers, poor thing kept falling apart. Also Aidan liked eating his decorations more than he did putting them on the house. I was lucky my house came pre-assembled, Dalan didn't do much he was to interested in Aidan's toys, but Abby seemed to enjoy it. It all ended up being a little more complicated than we thought it would, but all in all it was fun!

Oh Christmas Tree, Time to Decorate

This year we went and cut our tree down at a place out in LaCenter. I brought my camera to take pictures but forgot the memory card, so no pictures. Aron worked real hard though!! This is my absolute favorite part of Christmas time!! The kids were so excited to decorate the tree. They each help put ornaments on the tree taking turns. Abigail would pretty much put her ornaments in the same are each time. Then when she went to go get another one Aron would move it to another spot on the tree to even everything out. She did this last year too, this time I think she knew that Aron was moving them, but didn't seem to mind. Last year after Christmas I bought a set of small ornaments that were the characters from Rudolph the Reindeer. She was so excited to see those and had to personally hang all of those. Her favorite ended up being the monster (can't remember the name). She was so excited to show everyone when they came over her monster on the tree. We ended up decorating the tree before church that day, so I thought I would let Abby wear her Christmas dress early, good thing too, since for the rest of the month we didn't go to church due to it being cancelled because of bad weather.

Christmas and Baby are Coming!

The kids are especially excited this year for Christmas. They really get the concept of Santa and lights and especially presents this year. To add to that excitement they know that Mom is going to have this baby soon too. They talk about presents and Santa on a daily basis. The other day Dalan told Aron that he was so excited for Christmas. And then he explained to his Dad that he will go to sleep and Mom will go to sleep, and then he will wake up and come into our room and Mom will be awake and there will be a baby, and he will say hello to his new baby sister. Oh, if only that would happen so easily! When Aron told me the story I agreed it would be much better that way, whatever happened to baby's being delivered by the stork? Gotta love the imaginations of 5 year olds!

Thanksgiving

We had a really nice Thanksgiving this year. It was the first time in 4 years that we were able to spend it with Aron's family at Grandmas house. This is the only place Aron has ever spent Thanksgiving since he was born until we moved to New Mexico so he was anxious and excited to spend it with his family again. They are a great bunch and I enjoy them! Although I was missing playing dominoes with the Johnston Family (we miss you guys)!

Making Oreo Turkeys

We have a lot to be thankful for this year. First, my husband of 8 years. He is my best friend and I love him dearly. He never misses a day to tell me that He loves me. It's amazing how we seem to know each other like the back of our hands yet learn something new every day! I'm so proud of his ambition to go out into the world everyday to provide for his family and make life better for us. He loves to learn and increase his knowledge of things, a great example for our children. We have had some challenges in our life together, but I'm grateful for them. I seriously believe that we have grown immensely closer after experiencing them. We learned things about each other we never would have before. He is a wonderful father and will never admit it, but his daughter has him wrapped around her little finger! He is my eternal companion and I feel so lucky for that!

I'm grateful for the two children that I have. Oh how hard kids are, testing my patience daily, but they also bring me SO much happiness. I love to watch them role play with their toys and see their little imaginations at work. They also on a daily basis tell me that they love their momma. I hope and pray that even when they are teenagers they will continue to tell me everyday that they love me (will see).

I'm grateful for there health and the health aron and I have. I'm grateful for the child that is continuing to grow inside of me. I am so anxious to meet her, see what she looks like, her personality, and everything else that comes with her. We are pretty sure she will complete our family, but we'll see.

I'm grateful for this wonderful country that we live in and the freedoms that we have. We are currently going through a rough patch in this country but it is still so much better than what a lot of people live with on a daily basis in other countries. I'm grateful for the men and women who serve in our military and put their lives on the line for our freedoms every day!

And I am forever grateful for my Heavenly Father whom I know loves me and looks after me. I'm grateful for my Saviour Jesus Christ and for his atoning sacrifice. I know that I am a daughter of God, and he will only give me in life what I can handle. The future is scary to me, but at the same time I am looking forward to all of it. Growing old with my husband, and watching my children learn and grow (mistakes and all).

Old Friends....Good Times!!

Chrissy, Lisa, & Ali
Lisa, Kali, & Chrissy

Lisa, Chrissy, Ali, & Kali

After being back in Washington for close to 3 months I was finally able to hook up with some old friends of mine. I have seen some but only one on one, and this time the four of us were able to get together and just hang out for a couple of hours. It was so good to be with them and I seriously have not laughed so hard in a long, long, time. My belly was hurting I was laughing so much. The four of us all meet each other working at the movie theatre. I have known Lisa the longest 9 or 10 years now. Good memories with her working and going on a couple of rafting trips. I can still remember the day Chrissy walked into the theatre looking for a job, she is one of the quietest gals I know (reminds me of my sister, a lot!) but is one of the sweetest also, and has two adorable kids. And Ali can make you laugh on the spot, no matter what kind of day you have had. These gals are true friends who I have missed a ton and I am truly thankful to have them as friends. It was a GREAT night!! Some how the next night Ali convinced me to go with them to the opening night of Twilight. I haven't read the books yet, but have been meaning to. We didn't go until the 10:15 pm show and I am NOT a night person. But I made it home awake, I was a little grouchy the next day due to the lack of sleep. It was a good movie and I look forward now to reading the books.

Baby Update!

Today I am going in for my third ultrasound! Yesterday was my regular scheduled appointment and my doctor was disappointed in the fact that my stomach had not grown any. So she wanted an ultrasound scheduled for the next day. Now I get to jug 32oz of water again, so fun. Hopefully all is okay. Also I finally talked to my doctor about elective induction. That was a no go! She is old school and would like things to go naturally, even if that means going two weeks past my due date. The only positive note about going that far past my due date would be that my daughter would no longer have a Christmas birthday. But I am not anxious to be pregnant any longer than I have to! The nights right now are absolutely miserable. My pelvis area is in SO much pain at night, I really want to die. Tylenol does not help any! My body pillow only makes me wake up in the middle of the night with sweat everywhere. I am constantly throwing the covers off from me and sometimes Aron. Poor guy wakes up in the morning freezing, oops. So after having two births that were induced it looks like this time I will not. We were really hoping to be able to chose the date (just makes things easier). So we will see how my ultrasound goes today. If everything is well (which I do hope everything is well) than we will continue on until this little girl wants to come out!

34 Weeks - 8 1/2 Months - 1 1/2 Months More to GO!

We are getting closer!!! I am definitely hurting in all kinds of places. I am so tired and exhausted all the time, and grouchy as ever!! I'm sure my husband and children will agree to the grouchiness.

Last night we finally wrote down our list of potential names, so I think one of these will be it.

Natalie, Anna, Marissa, Annabel, Allissa, and Madeline. And I will throw in there my top picks that Aron vetoed. Kaelynn, Kaitlynn, Taylor, and Emma! I vetoed from his list Melissa, and Edith, I know there were some others but I can't think of them right now.

So we will see what happens!

Halloween - Twice!! Lucky Kids!!

We had a fun couple of nights! Our ward did their activity the night before Halloween. They had a carnival going on inside and then Trunk or Treat outside. It was a fun night overall, Grandma Moses came down and spent the afternoon with us and then went to the church with us. The kids don't see her very often so they had a lot of fun hanging out with their Grandma from the beach. That's what they call her!

The next night for Halloween we weren't sure if we were going to be able to go out because they were predicting rain, but around 10am it stopped raining and the clouds cleared out. It ended up being a really nice warm night, and the kids had a blast trick or treating from door to door. Aron drove us out to a really nice neighborhood in Camas. Most of the houses were decorated and they all gave out lots of candy! One house the lady gave them both a big candy bar each and then a little stuffed toy. Abby got a witch and Dalan got a bat. For the rest of the night Abby cared more about her little witch then she did her candy basket. She kept telling us how much she loved her little new dolly and then that night when she went to bed she had to sleep with it. It was a good year, and one of the first that Aron was able to spend with us, that was the best part!

Thursday night for the carnival all ready to go, the ferocious pirate and the beautiful butterfly!

He tried so hard to eat the donut without using his hands but just couldn't quite get it. He eventually gave up and I tore it off for him to eat (I shared a little with him)



Abby didn't even want to try so Grandma and her shared a donut by just taking one!

I braided her hair into a halo and then wrapped the ribbon around it. I thought it turned out adorable!

The outfit she picked out is actually a fairy, but the moment she saw it she said it was a butterfly and that's what she wanted to be. The little girl in the picture also had on pink shoes, so she insisted right away that mom was going to buy her pink shoes to go with her butterfly costume. Of course I ended up buying her some pink shoes!

This is Halloween night. She went to sleep in her hairdo from the night before, but by the next night it was ruined. So I changed it up a little and did two braids and still incorporated the ribbon in there. They both turned out cute I thought.

He was trying to give me a scary pirate look, I don't think it turned out.

When it was all said and done they ended up with a lot of candy and a couple of fun nights!