Freedom Festival

We took a semi-last minute roadtrip the weekend before the 4th to see Bailey's cousin Jonathan and his family (Uncle Mickey and Mamaw were there too). Jonathan works at a church in Albany, GA. (The church that put out the movies Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous). The church has a big celebration called Freedom Festival in honor of the 4th of July at their very large recreation park.

We left mid-afternoon on Saturday after Bailey got back from a class in Memphis. Sidney went to sleep as soon as we hit the road. She woke up about an hour and half down the road, as it was time for her to eat. We stopped to pick up something to eat and then got right back on the road. She was still a little fussy after eating but soon fell right back to sleep. I had to wake her later to eat again. We got to Jonathan and Tiffany's about 1:30 that morning. Of course, little miss was ready to play when we got there! We all got in bed, and Sidney talked us, and herself, to sleep.

Bailey, Sidney, and I slept in Sunday morning while everyone else was at church. We hung around the house until later that afternoon when it was time to go to Freedom Festival. The festival consisted of the big blow-up bouncy's, pony rides, a cake walk, food vendors, music, other activities, and,of course, fireworks!

 

 

We hung around for a bit before taking a break to go inside to Jonathan's office to cool off (it was HOT!) Then we walked around for a little while before the program started. Sidney napped on and off throughout the afternoon/evening. She even stayed up to watch the fireworks. As soon as the fireworks were over and the lights came on, we could all feel a rush of cool air. A storm was certainly on the way. We loaded up as quick as we could and got back to our car. The rain came before we made it back to their house. Unfortunately Jonathan and Uncle Mickey (and some other volunteers) got stuck at the park during the storm, but they finally made it home. Sidney slept about 8 hours that night!!!

After the fireworks...just a little hot and sweaty

  

Jonathan and Tiffany had to work on Monday so Bailey, Sidney and I spent some time shopping at the mall and driving around Albany. That afternoon we met them at the church to get a tour of it. Then Tuesday morning we got up and drove home. Sidney pretty much slept the whole way home except for when we woke her to feed and change her. It was a quick trip but we really enjoyed getting away for a couple of days and visiting with family.

Mamaw and her two great-granddaughters

Welcome Sidney Kate!

On Friday, April 27, Bailey and I went with my family to eat dinner at one of our favorite pizza places, Avellino's. After dinner, we went to watch my cousin's baseball game (his team was in the state playoffs). Bailey and I got home somewhere around 9 and were in bed by 9:30. (Let me just mention that Bailey took two Tylenol PM before getting in bed). About 11:30, I woke up suddenly to my water breaking. We showered, finished packing up our bags, and headed to the hospital. Bailey was still a bit groggy from the Tylenol PM he took, but I think his adrenaline (along with two Diet Mtn. Dews) kicked in.

Last belly pic--39 weeks, 4 days

We checked into the hospital a little after 1 a.m. I was still at 2 cm which is where I had been at Monday's appointment. I was 100% thinned. We got into our room and shortly after, around 3, I got my epidural. We had a few people come in and visit for a few minutes here and there but mostly tried to rest. Around 6:30, I was at 3 cm and they started the pitocin. I was at 4 cm about 8 a.m. At 9:30 they came back to check me and I was about 9 cm. The nurse had someone else come behind her to double check because she couldn't believe it. At 11, I was about 9 1/2 cm.

Waiting to be moved to a labor/delivery room

The view from our room :)

 

Daddy-to-be waiting patiently

 

Our last picture as a family of two!

We started pushing around 11:45. After about an hour and a half of pushing, the doctor stopped by to check in on our progress. Sidney was "sunny-side up" (face-up), so he tried to turn her. Ouch! He wasn't successful. We tried pushing for almost another hour and a half. The doctor came back around, said we weren't making progress, so let's head to the OR. (I was more than ready for that). They drugged me up some more, Bailey put on his OR gear, and off we went for the C-section.

We got to the OR, they got me on the table, and the anesthesiologist started pinching and poking me to see if I could still feel some pain. Yes, I could. He continued to give me some meds as they started the C-section. Bailey stayed on "my side" of the curtain as I was still hurting. I soon passed out. I woke up and did not see Bailey where he was previously sitting. Then he came around the corner holding our baby girl. Sidney made her debut into the world on April 28 at 3:03 p.m. She weighed 8 lb. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long.

Proud daddy with baby Sidney 

Our sweet baby girl

Hanging out in recovery

 

They took me to recovery while Bailey went to show everyone pictures of Sidney Kate. Then he came back to recovery with us where we spent a little time before making it to a room. Once we got to a room, family and friends poured in to meet our sweet baby girl.

We followed the suggestions of many and had Sidney stay in the nursery at night. I think Bailey and I both actually got a little bit of rest (especially considering we may have a had a total of 3-4 hours sleep/rest the night before). On Sunday, we had some more family and friends visit. Once again on Sunday night, we let baby girl stay in the nursery so we could get some rest.

The doctor came by Monday morning and said we could stay another day or, if we were ready, we could go home. Of course, we were ready to go. It wasn't until after lunch that the nurse came by with the discharge instructions, etc. We finished getting our stuff together and then we were on our way home as a family of three!!

World Changers

A few weeks ago, Bailey and I had the opportunity to go with the youth from our church to World Changers in East Chicago, IN. When we were youth, this was a weeklong trip we looked forward to each summer. World Changers is an organization/program through the North American Mission Board that is geared toward students. It is a missions experience that allows students to help meet other's physical needs by completing various construction-type projects and to meet their spiritual needs as they share the love of Christ through their service. Here's a recap of our week.....  (Warning: this is a long post, without pictures, but we had an amazing week where the Lord proved, once again, that He is with us each and every step of the way).

We (25 youth and 11 adults) drove ALL day Saturday (about 12 hours) to Gurnee, IL which is about 45 minutes north of Chicago and the home of Six Flags Great America. We spent most of Sunday (about 9 hours) at Six Flags. This Six Flags is fantastic! We rode nine different rollercoasters. A few of them several times. I must say that I loved Superman (which you ride like you are actually flying--face down/head first) and Viper (a good-ole wooden rollercoaster). We ended the day with Giordano's pizza (in my opinion, this was better than Gino's).

We got up Monday morning, and as most of us are getting ready, a big thunderstorm comes through and knocks out the power at our hotel. Luckily, the weather passed on through and we were able to pack up so we could go to Navy Pier before we had to check in at World Changers.

A typical week at World Changers: Monday: check-in, opening celebration, dinner, meet your crew, worship, youth group devotion, free time. Tuesday through Friday: breakfast, go to work site, lunch at work site, back to school to shower/clean-up, dinner, worship, youth group devo, free time. Saturday: head home.

Bailey and his crew (which included Mrs. Susan from our group) worked on a local church. They scraped and painted it. Bailey had the experience of working on the steeple of the church. This church and another local church will soon be merging.

    My crew (which included our youth minister, Alex) worked at a trailer park. Originally there were to be approximately 30 trailers that needed to be painted (to be completed by several crews). However, at the last minute, one of the financial supporters backed out. This left us with little paint. We started on our trailer the first day (after waiting about an hour for supplies) and completed a portion of it, knowing we probably wouldn't be back the next day.
    On Wednesday our crew went to a smaller town and worked with one of the town employees spreading mulch and then we picked weeds at a playground. The previous evening at worship, we had a special prayer time that the supplies (paint) would be provided. And that it was. Our crew chief received a call about the middle of the day, Wednesday, asking how much paint we needed, as there was a lady that heard about World Changers and offered to buy a certain amount of paint.
    Thursday--my crew goes back to our trailer and we finish painting it. At this point we're not sure what Friday is going to hold, if anything, but we just wait until the next morning to find out.
    Friday--our crew returns to the trailer park to help another crew finish painting their trailer (which had not been worked on since the first day as they were out of paint). We worked with that crew for the morning and then after lunch completed a few smaller projects helping different residents in the trailer park. I had a really great crew that was willing to do whatever they were asked. The students worked very hard and helped one another to complete whatever job they were working on.

This was my 6th World Changers trip. I must say it was frustrating to me at what appeared to be a lack of organization/lack of work for us to do. Typically you have a project that you know is going to take you all week to complete and not a project that could be completed in a day (granted you have the supplies). However, the Lord provided us something to do each day, even though it may not have been our choice of work. He placed us where He needed us to be so that we could encounter different people and share His love with them. 

The lack of work, or rather, the extra time, really allowed for a lot of evangelism for most of the crews. It was so amazing to come back together as a youth group at the end of the day and hear several of our students tell a story about how they were able to personally share the love of Christ that day with someone else. I loved going on these trips as a student, but it is a completely different experience going as an "adult." It is such a beautiful, and encouraging, thing to see the love of Christ burning within our students.

Please keep the people of East Chicago in your prayers--for those we encountered throughout the week and do not know Christ and also for those that do and need a church home with fellow believers.

The Last Month or So....

Here's a quick recap of what's been happening with the Hunt's in the last month or so......

We went to the Ole Miss-Auburn game in Oxford and actually tailgated (the only time this season).

My former roomie (who FINALLY got engaged at Thanksgiving--sooo excited for Scottie and Daniel!!)

Hanging out in the grove with friends

The next weekend we made a trip to Tunica to Paula Dean's Buffet for Kerry's birthday. We went on a Friday night so they had seafood too. Needless to say, we ate waaaay too much.

We ate alot!

The girls

He's my favorite :)

My forever roomies

The next morning we got up early to head to Jackson to see Anna-Blair run in the state cross country meet. Then we came straight home and got ready to go to a wedding. Of course, I do not have a picture of us at/or before the wedding. The following photo is courtesy of Mrs. Connie.

The next weekend Bailey and I drove to Knoxville to watch the Ole Miss-Tennesse game. The game was awful, to say the least, but it was a fun trip.

Neyland Stadium

The stadium is right next to the river. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. (As opposed to the other two away games we've been to when it was raining the whole time). 

 And then of course there was Thanksgiving break, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I didn't do too much of anything. I did, however, get a much needed haircut and I got carpet in my room. And, of course, I spent Black Friday shopping til I dropped.

A few Thanksgiving pics.....

And I'll leave you with a picture of our sweet dogs enjoying the warm weather while it lasted.

Catching Up....

For those of you that have noticed, I've taken another, unexpected, break from blogging. But recent events (and prompting by a few friends) have inspired to get back into this thing (or at least write this one). I apologize in advance for the randomness of what I'm about to write.

Not a whole lot has occurred since my last blog. It's football season so that means either heading to Oxford or spending Saturdays in front of the TV. There have been a few exceptions--a party/shower for a friend of Bailey's and a wedding reception for the same friend. Both of which Bailey was able to catch up with a lot of college friends (especially his friend Bud, who told me he better be mentioned in the next blog--so, here's to you, Bud).

This past weekend I attended a shower for my best friends from high school's brother & fiance. (Was that clear?) It was great seeing and catching up with Kara, Julia, and Sarah.

And now for the randomness.....
     I'm considering keeping a book for all the things Bailey says/does that are moments when I think (or I say), "Did he really just say/do that?" "What was he thinking?" "Is that really my husband?"
     For example, about a week ago I learned something new about Bailey--he has a small sensory issue with cotton balls. For some odd reason, he doesn't like to touch them because of the way they feel.
     I have two more examples that I experienced today while we were out shopping (and it was actually his idea to go shopping today, not mine). The first occurred while at Kohl's. I was looking at some clothes and Bailey asks, "Is that Lauren from the Hills/Laguna Beach?" That's when the thought occurred to start writing these things down.
     The next one occurred when we were at the mall. Since we've been married, Bailey has begun watching several of "my" shows. One being Desperate Housewives. We really like all the characters on the show but Gabby's daughter, Juanita, is probably one of our favorites. While walking through the mall, we saw a young couple in front of us with a toddler. Bailey pulled me aside and said, "Is it just me, or did that girl remind you of Juanita?" I was thinking it the whole time but he actually said it.
     That's enough of my embarrassing Bailey stories.....for now.

For the past few weeks Wrigley and I have been going to "school." Northwest's continuing ed program offered a basic dog obedience class for six weeks. I thought it would be a good idea to take Wrigley. She has done really well and she graduates next week.

That's what's been happening with the Hunt's. What we're looking forward to in the coming weeks/month: I will be catching up with my grad school girls, we'll be travelling to the Ole Miss/Arkansas game with Bailey's dad and brother's girlfriend, a wedding, and more Ole Miss games. Hopefully my next blog will be before Christmas break.

Congrats Bailey & Poor Wrigley

Congratulations to my sweet hard-working husband! He's worked very hard the last two years taking classes and getting many, many hours of experience in order to take two big tests. He took the first test earlier this summer, took the other this week, and I'm proud to say he is now a licensed appraiser. Now he'll start on the next round of classes and experience hours in order to reach the next "level" (which I believe is a general appraiser but I may have the terminology wrong.)

Wrigley has taken over what used to be Bailey's chair.

You may recall the post I did earlier this summer about Wrigley and her bite. Since then she's had a small knot where they cut it open. I was told she'd probably have some scar tissue there so it wasn't really anything...until two days ago when Bailey noticed it and thought it was a bit bigger. I looked at it and agreed. It also looked different--it was begining to look like a bubble, the skin was thinner there, and looked like there might have been some blood underneath the surface. So I took her to the vet yesterday morning. He decided to keep her there for the day so he could remove whatever it was. I went to pick her up and he said it was a mass of some sort and some of the area was infected so he removed all that mess and we have more meds to take for the next week. I'll take her back late next week to have the stitches removed.

All of this happened after we went to the vet last Friday. We'd noticed Wrigley has had some trouble controlling her bladder so I took her in just to be safe. Apparently, many females, after being spayed develop incontinence. However, it usually happens much later down the road, not to 9 month old puppies. So, Wrigley will be taking DES (dog estrogen) for a little while. 

I had a recipe or two to post but I'll save those for my next one since I've been talking about all this gross dog stuff.