Read Andrew's catch-up post below if you haven't already. He's pretty much covered everything, I'll just add one other story that happened on Annie's birthday:
Ever since becoming a doula, there is a very big fear I've had: Needing to miss an important family occasion (esp. birthdays or Christmas) in order to attend a birth. I knew it would happen sooner or later, and I'm actually surprised it's been this long (although I have tried really hard to be careful about when I accept clients).
Well, the day before Annie's birthday, my client called to tell me that she had been having early labor contractions for a while. We kept in touch all day, and I just knew that I had to have EVERYTHING ready to go for Annie's birthday the next day. So I rushed around finishing preparations and trying to plan ahead in case I had to leave. I kept praying really, really hard that I wouldn't have to miss any of Annie's birthday, but I knew I had to be prepared regardless. Luckily, Andrew had already planned to take off work and spend the day with us for Annie's birthday. When things slowed down for my client later that evening, I thought maybe it would be a day or two. I even started to relax a tiny bit. But just before 7 am on Annie's bday, the phone rang and I knew I would have to leave. I'm sure you mothers can understand how my heart ached as I said goodbye to my little two year old on her "happy-day" (as she calls it), not knowing when I'd be back. I was so worried about missing this day with her.
When people have asked how I manage to be a doula with young kids, one thing I've always said is that if I am prayerful regarding the clients I accept, the timing of the births has always worked out really well. I had felt good about taking this client, even knowing she was due close to two of my kids birthdays. So when I got this call on Annie's birthday, I think it was just a real test of my faith.
I was at the hospital a little after 8 am. My client arrived a few minutes later. Then something none of us expected happened. Her water broke just minutes after arriving, and the baby was born just after 8:30 am. Wow. By 10 am she and her baby were resting comfortably and ready for me to go. So I called Andrew up to see where he was. Umm...he was just minutes away from where I was, on his way with all the kids to a children's museum in Baltimore. I asked him to swing by and pick me up, and then we spent a lovely day together. The only thing I had missed was breakfast. Miracles happen every day, sometimes in really ordinary ways.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Catching Up
Well, it's been a while since our last post... So, here we are with a little update on the last few weeks... I'll give my version, then if Becca wants to tell things her way and fill in whatever I miss, she can go ahead.
AP in Utah
So, I spent the first 10 days of April in Utah, working with my new job. It was a lot of fun, but as always I missed the family. We had just packed up the truck the week before I flew out, so by the time I got there, the truck was just arriving. I dragged most of my family members into helping and even one cousin -- it's good to have family in Utah! :-) We filled up a storage unit in Lehi and after moving all our stuff twice in 7 days, I was glad to put the lock on the door and leave it behind for a few months.
Robby's Birthday
So, I got back just in time for Robby's 5th birthday on Friday April 11th. We planned a day full of his favorite things and had a lot of fun watching him enjoy each "surprise" as we moved through the day. We drove out to his best friend's house in VA to pick him and his sister up to go play at a park. Thankfully the weather was perfect and the kids had fun running around for a couple hours. Then, after giving Robby a few choices (some healthy ones included of course), he quickly chose McDonalds, since his b-day is pretty much the only time he ever gets to go there. We took the friends home, then headed back to the Parsons where we're staying right now. My parents came over for a little visit and brought him some presents, then we headed out to the circus for the night. Robby was so excited that the circus was in town for his birthday. We went with the Papa Parsons and kids.
Annie's Birthday
Okay, the very next week on April 17th was Annie's 2nd birthday. She was so excited and ready for her "happy day" :-) She was so excited to wake up to pink ballons floating all around her. We took her up to Baltimore for the day to a children's museum that had a lot of fun activities. Andrew Parsons came along with us and we all had a good time. As soon as we got back to the house we got things going for her family party. We had talked through a few things with her to see what she wanted to do. Her answers can pretty much all be summed up in one word... "pink". Sometimes we got an extra word to help describe what she wanted. "Annie -- what do you want for your birthday dinner?" "pink pizza!" So, we pretty much decked out the party area in pink for her and she was in heaven. She's so cute how girly she is, despite growing up w/two older brothers.
Kids Circus
With kids it's always a circus, but... inspired by the "real" circus from Robby's birthday, the kids wanted to put on their own. They had some very impressive choreography at times, but most of the acts resembled "clown" acts :-)
Sidekick
Okay, I just love this picture cause Annie is such a cute little helper. If you couldn't tell from her birthday pics, she is very much a daddy's girl -- always hanging out with me. We had a little mulching party at Parsons and Annie was my most dedicated little helper. She kept saying "this is hard, daddy" but she stuck with it. It was so cute. I LOVE having my little girl :-)
Youth Conference
After getting through the birthdays, stake youth conference preparations picked up in a big way. It was the last big thing I had to do for my church calling and it just ended last night. Phew! I probably spent a good 20 hours in the last three days leading up to it, but had a really fun time w/the kids partying all night and then doing a service project painting murals and doing landscaping all day at a DC elementary school. I'll miss this calling working w/the youth... It's like "calling roulette" when you move to a new place... we'll see what we end up with in Utah!
Okay, so those are the bigger things I've been up to. It's been a busy month, but a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the Pincock family reunion coming up next week at Virginia Beach!
AP in Utah
So, I spent the first 10 days of April in Utah, working with my new job. It was a lot of fun, but as always I missed the family. We had just packed up the truck the week before I flew out, so by the time I got there, the truck was just arriving. I dragged most of my family members into helping and even one cousin -- it's good to have family in Utah! :-) We filled up a storage unit in Lehi and after moving all our stuff twice in 7 days, I was glad to put the lock on the door and leave it behind for a few months.
Robby's Birthday
So, I got back just in time for Robby's 5th birthday on Friday April 11th. We planned a day full of his favorite things and had a lot of fun watching him enjoy each "surprise" as we moved through the day. We drove out to his best friend's house in VA to pick him and his sister up to go play at a park. Thankfully the weather was perfect and the kids had fun running around for a couple hours. Then, after giving Robby a few choices (some healthy ones included of course), he quickly chose McDonalds, since his b-day is pretty much the only time he ever gets to go there. We took the friends home, then headed back to the Parsons where we're staying right now. My parents came over for a little visit and brought him some presents, then we headed out to the circus for the night. Robby was so excited that the circus was in town for his birthday. We went with the Papa Parsons and kids.
Annie's Birthday
Okay, the very next week on April 17th was Annie's 2nd birthday. She was so excited and ready for her "happy day" :-) She was so excited to wake up to pink ballons floating all around her. We took her up to Baltimore for the day to a children's museum that had a lot of fun activities. Andrew Parsons came along with us and we all had a good time. As soon as we got back to the house we got things going for her family party. We had talked through a few things with her to see what she wanted to do. Her answers can pretty much all be summed up in one word... "pink". Sometimes we got an extra word to help describe what she wanted. "Annie -- what do you want for your birthday dinner?" "pink pizza!" So, we pretty much decked out the party area in pink for her and she was in heaven. She's so cute how girly she is, despite growing up w/two older brothers.
Kids Circus
With kids it's always a circus, but... inspired by the "real" circus from Robby's birthday, the kids wanted to put on their own. They had some very impressive choreography at times, but most of the acts resembled "clown" acts :-)
Sidekick
Okay, I just love this picture cause Annie is such a cute little helper. If you couldn't tell from her birthday pics, she is very much a daddy's girl -- always hanging out with me. We had a little mulching party at Parsons and Annie was my most dedicated little helper. She kept saying "this is hard, daddy" but she stuck with it. It was so cute. I LOVE having my little girl :-)
Youth Conference
After getting through the birthdays, stake youth conference preparations picked up in a big way. It was the last big thing I had to do for my church calling and it just ended last night. Phew! I probably spent a good 20 hours in the last three days leading up to it, but had a really fun time w/the kids partying all night and then doing a service project painting murals and doing landscaping all day at a DC elementary school. I'll miss this calling working w/the youth... It's like "calling roulette" when you move to a new place... we'll see what we end up with in Utah!
Okay, so those are the bigger things I've been up to. It's been a busy month, but a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to the Pincock family reunion coming up next week at Virginia Beach!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Emerging
It's been a little over a week since the days filled with packing, loading a truck, cleaning a house, and moving to my parents, and I am just now starting to feel up to checking email, returning phone calls, and venturing out. This move felt more exhausting than other (several other!) moves we've had and I needed a break. Andrew is also out of town for ten days right now, so that's probably added to my hermit-ness.
With our activities of late, I haven't been reading very much, and I've noticed. Reading a good book helps to calm me as I lie down with my kids at night, and keeps me from wasting time staying up late watching tv. I haven't been able to figure out the right book for my mood though, but tonight I just found it!
I've had this book sitting in my house for a while, but hadn't picked it up yet. It almost made its way into one of the 20 or so book boxes we packed, but for some reason I kept it out. And tonight I remembered it and began to read. As I nursed Annie to sleep I made it through the first 25 pages, and already I feel peace seeping into my soul. This was just what I was looking for! It is called Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry by Katrina Kenison and I have a feeling this is one I'll be going back to several times over the years. It reminds me of one of my most favorite books of all time, Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh which I try to read at least once a year.
A side-note: if you haven't already been there, goodreads is a fun site for finding and sharing great book recommendations.
Well, I'm going to get back to reading, and in a little while I will try to return one or two of the many emails that sit unanswered in my inbox...if I can pull myself away from the book. Here's wishing you a peaceful evening.
With our activities of late, I haven't been reading very much, and I've noticed. Reading a good book helps to calm me as I lie down with my kids at night, and keeps me from wasting time staying up late watching tv. I haven't been able to figure out the right book for my mood though, but tonight I just found it!
I've had this book sitting in my house for a while, but hadn't picked it up yet. It almost made its way into one of the 20 or so book boxes we packed, but for some reason I kept it out. And tonight I remembered it and began to read. As I nursed Annie to sleep I made it through the first 25 pages, and already I feel peace seeping into my soul. This was just what I was looking for! It is called Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry by Katrina Kenison and I have a feeling this is one I'll be going back to several times over the years. It reminds me of one of my most favorite books of all time, Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh which I try to read at least once a year.
A side-note: if you haven't already been there, goodreads is a fun site for finding and sharing great book recommendations.
Well, I'm going to get back to reading, and in a little while I will try to return one or two of the many emails that sit unanswered in my inbox...if I can pull myself away from the book. Here's wishing you a peaceful evening.
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