Another year has come and gone. As always there was good and bad in 2013...though I believe that the good far outweighed the bad this year and for that I am so thankful! So, here are my best and worst moments of 2013 (I'll start with the worst to get it out of the way)...
Worst Moments of 2013 (in the order in which they occurred):
- The 15 minutes immediately after Liam's 20 week ultrasound...when the nurse let us know that she had some concerns about the appearance of his bowel which led to a phone call just a few minutes later with the doctor who was calling from home (on his day off, on a holiday) to let us know the number of very scary things that could be seriously wrong with our baby boy. Those were awful, heart stopping moments, as we tried to wrap our brain around everything we were being told.
2. Loosing our beloved dog, Indy, in March. The night before we had to have him put down was especially awful because he was struggling so much to breath and was clearly in pain. Finding out the next day that his body was riddled with cancer was hard and having so say goodbye to our first baby was horrible. He'll forever hold a place in my heart that one.
3. Eli falling from the swing and splitting open the back of his head and the resulting crazy couple of hours in urgent care. I've shared the story on here already, but suffice it to say that a very pregnant mama, a bleeding, hysterical 3 year old and multiple hours in a waiting room do not make for a pleasant combination.
4. About a week and a half before Liam was born I decided to try a new face cream that was in our bathroom that somebody had given me (I ran out of my regular face cream). I broke out in a red, bumpy, itchy rash all over my face and neck! I was certain that after a day or two it would be better, but on the third day I woke up and it was worse. I was very pregnant, huge, uncomfortable, my back hurt, I was borderline diabetic, and my face was covered in a rash and I was DONE...I was so done and just broke down in tears. I felt desperate not to be pregnant anymore and yet I hated the thought of giving birth (or having my baby see me for the first time) covered in a rash!:) It's funny now...but it wasn't then!:)
5. A little over a month after Liam was born we went through a brief stretch where we were having a hard time getting him to take naps during the day. He would be up for hours and hours at a time and the more sleep he missed the more overtired and fussy he would become (and then it would be even harder to get him to sleep). One day he barely slept at all and I was just exhausted and overwhelmed. So I started looking for the book on baby sleep that we have. Except that I couldn't find the book...anywhere! And in my exhausted and overwhelmed and emotional state this was just the last straw. I went on a rampage though the house, tearing things a part and yelling, as if my baby's very survival depended upon finding the book. Until I just couldn't take it anymore and collapsed in a heap of tears in our mudroom. And approximately one minute later my friend Beth happened to knock on the door to discover me in the sad, sad state I was in. She let me cry and talked me down a bit...and amazingly even helped me find the book!
6. Early this fall Eli decided to jump off of Lily's loft bed onto the beanbag chair below...except that he missed the beanbag. This resulted in a trip to the ER...just me and the baby and Eli (Joe was out of town and Lily went with a friend). After two and a half hours in the waiting room we were finally admitted and promptly deposited in a dimly lite hallway. Seriously, they left us in a hallway. That's where we finally saw a doctor and found out (thankfully) that Eli's foot wasn't broken...just wish they could have told us that hours earlier after the x-ray!
7. One evening this fall Joe was doing his internship hours at the hospital and I took all three kids with me to Target to do a little shopping. It was ONE OF THOSE trips...the kids were fussy and not listening and I just wanted to finish and get home. I had told Eli to sit down in the basket of the cart about one thousand times...but the car seat (with Liam) was right in front of me and blocking some of my view (and I was distracted) so I didn't realize that Eli had stood up (AGAIN). When I went to push the cart forward the motion sent him head over heels out of the card and he landed on his head with a thud like I have never heard before (literally this may have been the worst sound I have ever heard). I raced to him certain to find lots of blood and something awful. He never lost consciousness and there was, amazingly, no blood. There was a couple of lumps and he screamed his head off for the better part of half an hour, but he was okay. Those moments and the two hours following were pretty awful.
The Best Moments of 2013 (in the order in which they occurred):
1. In January Joe was away on a ministry trip. He called late one night after the kid's were in bed to tell me that he was at the airport and on his way home (a full day early)! I really don't like it when he's away, so this was such a wonderful, fun surprise!
2. Getting the news, after Liam's 20 week ultrasound, that all of his tests were normal and that we were in the clear for a number of very serious illnesses! The night my doctor called we had a group of students over for dinner. We had just finished eating and the students were having a meeting with Joe in our living room when the phone rang. When I heard my doctor's voice my heart must have skipped a few beats. It was great to be able to share the news with Joe and our students. That was such a great evening.
3. Watching Joe ride his bike into the driveway one afternoon in March and moments later finding out that we had been given the go-ahead to stay in Maine and not move to New Hampshire. Those moments really changed everything for our family!
4. Finding out at Liam's 32 week ultrasound that his bowel appeared normal and that whatever problem might have been there seemed to resolve itself. Such sweet relief.
5. Liam's arrival. In particular there was this sweet time shortly after his birth (after he was all cleaned up and checked over) when he was snuggling up with me and he was making the sweetest little cooing sounds. It was one of the best moments of my life.
6. Lily's first day of kindergarten at her new school. It was a blessing for me to be able to take her and see her off...she was so excited and happy! That day was just the first of many wonderful days of school this fall for our girl. After all of the debate and going back and forth it was absolutely the right decision for her and our whole family!
7. Sharing the gospel with Eli in his bed one night and being with him as he prayed and asked Jesus to come into his heart. One of those moments that I will never, ever forget...and one that has such incredible eternal value!
8. Every morning when I wake up looking at the sweet smile of my precious baby boy. I never expected to co-sleep with my baby, but Liam had other plans. And though some of the nights are long and tiring it all seems worth it when I hear him happily making noises in the morning and I watch his face light up as I open my eyes and he sees me! Melt my heart every time.
There are a few things that I have realized about 2013. First, it seems that half of my worst moments involved Eli being in some sort of accident. Oh, here's hoping that he's growing out of that stage. We are a few days into 2014 without any major bodily harm so that's a start!:) And second, I could have listed many, many more best moments. 2013 really was a good year with some incredible, life changing moments. I am so very thankful!
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