Thanksgiving 2010

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to stay in Phoenix. We thought traveling during the winter with a baby used to warm weather might be a recipe for disaster. So we spent Thanksgiving at Kevin's cousin Shelley and Brad's house. It was really nice to have family here in town to spend the holiday with, as well as people excited to play with Luke - gave mom and dad a little break and some time to eat turkey :)

This Thanksgiving I was really thinking about how much I have to be thankful for. When I was a kid my parents used to pray contstantly for my future husband. That he would be a man of God and someone who would support me and love me no matter what. Over the past few months Luke has been dealing with severe colic that lasted 8 weeks. There were times where I truly did not think I was going to survive and I even became depressed. However, throughout this struggle, Kevin really stepped up as a wonderful husband and father. He would wake up with Luke during the night to feed him, come home during his lunch breaks so that I could have some down time during the day, and was constantly checking in with me to make sure I was okay. I really could not have survived Luke's colic without Kevin. Now that the colic is gone and life has settled down a bit, I have reflected on how truly blessed I am to be married to Kevin and how he is an answer to my parents' prayers for me 28 years ago. I am also so thankful that my parents were praying for my marriage so many years ago - how lucky I am to be raised in a house filled with God's love.

Here are a couple pics from Luke's first thanksgiving, complete with his turkey shirt from Aunt Stefanie. It is amazing that at this time last year we were telling the families that I was pregnant and now Luke is 4 months old! I am really starting to get excited about Christmas and having the family here - it's going to be such a fun celebration!

Luke's first month

Here are some pictures that capture Luke during his first month. I apologize that most of these were taken with my iPhone, but it is just so convenient!

Luke Daniel Hurley - The Birth Story

Luke was born on Friday, July 23 at 11:51 am. He was 7 lbs 11 ounces and 20.75 inches long.

The birth story:

The Tuesday before my due date (July 24) I had an appointment with Dr. Sawyer. At this appointment he determined that Luke still had not moved into the birth canal, and that he wouldn't be able to because I have a contracted pelvis. This means that my pelvis did not and would not spread during the pregnancy, making it impossible for Luke to pass through. So we determined that day that I would have to have a C-section, which will be the case for all future pregnancies as well. I was upset when I first found out, even though I was thankful that Luke and I were both healthy and that everything else was going according to plan. So we scheduled the c-section for Friday morning.

Thursday my mom and dad flew into Phoenix, which had been arranged months in advance. We had just been hoping that my parents would be there for the birth (blessed). Praying before we booked the tickets really worked. Thursday night I got very little sleep - I was so nervous about the surgery since I really didn't know what to expect.

Friday morning I woke up early and started checking my bag to make sure I had everything I needed. I took a shower, spent some time with my parents and Kevin and then at 8am we were off to the hospital. Kevin played music the whole way there and told me random stories trying to take my mind off of everything - I think he knew I was nervous. Once we got there they checked us in, we signed some papers and then they took us to the room where we would wait to be taken into the c-section. I had an IV put in (ow) and some blood drawn (ow again) and they had me get into a hospital gown. Right around then my parents showed up and we all just were sitting around and waiting. Dr. Sawyer was running a little behind, which actually worked out well because Mark was running late. He got there in enough time to see us and hang around the room a little while. To be completely honest, that morning is kind of a blur. I remember being nervous and I remember praying with my family, but the five hours I was awake before going into surgery are very fuzzy, and I wasn't even medicated!

Dr. Sawyer came in around 11:30 and said we were ready to go. So I put on my cap and stood up out of bed and walked, yes walked, into the surgery room. That was probably the scariest part. I got up on the table and they gave me the spinal and then it was time to go. Losing feeling in the lower half of your body is bizarre and a little freaky. They put up the curtain and then they let Kevin in. While I had given everyone strict instructions not to tell me anything that was going on, Kevin was looking over the curtain watching the whole thing. He even took pictures!

At 11:51, they pulled Luke Daniel out. When I heard his cry I instantly started crying. It was one of the most joyful moments of my life. He was perfect and it made me feel even closer to Kevin. Every time I look at Luke I fall more in love with my wonderful husband.

Here are some pictures from the day:

getting ready to head to the hospital

All dressed and ready to go

walking back to my surgery

Kevin waiting to be allowed in to be with me

Luke Daniel getting all cleaned up

Letting us all know he has arrived

In the nursery enjoying the heat lamps

The rest are all pictures taken within the first few hours of Luke's life.

heading home from the hospital

Dougie goes to Phoenix

This weekend our really great friend Doug Beam came for a visit in Phoenix. Doug currently lives in India where he teaches music to 1st - 3rd graders. He is in the states for the summer and since we couldn't go to him, he came to us. For the past two years our visits with Doug have been short (typically a couple hours one time a year) because we don't live in the same place and he he isn't in the states all that often, so have a full three days was a really great.We had fun taking Doug to some of our favorite restaurants (Yardhouse, Chuck Box, Barro's), hung out in the pool a lot, went to a Diamondbacks game and spent many hours talking about old times, good friends and, of course, politics.

Doug is very happy and really enjoying his life and it was so nice to hear all about it. He is a very special person to us and I feel very fortunate to have Doug in my life. Here are some pics from the weekend of fun.

Doug and Kevin hanging out, watching stupid videos on YouTube. Warms my heart :)

On the train on our way to the Diamondbacks game. Unfortunately, the air conditioning was not working in this car so it was REALLY hot!

Hanging out at the D-backs game with the other 40 people who were there. Ice cream and Pretzels with cheese made this a really fun time!

Our tour of the base, enjoying the planes and me looking quite pregnant.

Doug and Kevin on our base tour. Aren't they cute?

It was really nice to see you Doug! Already looking forward to your next visit!

Golden Birthday

Last week was my 28th Birthday (on June 28th, thus the golden...). The celebration really began on Friday. A few weeks ago, Kevin sent me an email from work and told me he has asked off work for my birthday. I was really excited and started thinking about all the the fun stuff we could do. About a week later he told me he had gotten confused and had accidentally asked off for Friday instead of Monday...I just chalked it up to Kevin not being a great planner and said "No problem, we will have fun celebrating on Friday and I will have a Kristen day on my actual birthday."

Fast forward to Friday morning. The weirdness began when I came downstairs to the kitchen and Kevin was talking in hushed tones on his cell phone. I was starting some laundry so I didn't hear anything he was saying, but I thought it was weird that he was getting a call at 8:30 on his morning off. Kevin has been working on the landscaping in the backyard and had asked if it was okay to use the cooler (read 98 degrees instead of 110 degrees) hours of the morning to work on the backyard, and then we could do something fun. Since I only have about two hours of energy a day right now that sounded fine to me. So off Kevin went to Home Depot and Walmart and I sat down to read some emails, pay some bills and catch up on facebook.

About 45 minutes later, Kevin walks in the door. I was on the computer with my back turned so I didn't even notice that he didn't have any bags or tools or supplies with him. Then all of a sudden, Oscar starts barking and going absolutely crazy. I turn around to see my Dad walking in the front door, totally surprising me with a birthday visit. I was SHOCKED! Never had any clue. I started crying a little (which I'm sure has nothing to do with the pregnancy hormones) and gave him a big hug. It was really a wonderful surprise.

We spent the rest of Friday morning looking at patio furniture, having lunch at my favorite mexican place and then relaxing at home on the couch and in the pool. Dad was really tired from his long day of traveling, and I was just tired as usual. That night, Kevin and Dad worked on the landscaping in the back yard while I made some dinner, and we went to bed early.

Saturday evening Kevin and Dad went to play golf with Mark and then a little later part of our Arizona family (Aunt Jody, Uncle Mike and Kevin's little cousins Logan, Justin and Brayden) came over to celebrate my birthday. I opened the door to the boys yelling "Happy Birthday". The boys played the Wii and then went swimming for a while. I have not seen kids play "Marco Polo" for over an hour before, but these boys were loving it. Kevin, Mark and Dad got home a little later with some pizza and we had a lot of fun just hanging out. Funny quotes from the boys:

Logan -"I just can't wait to hold that little baby in arms"

Justin - "Have you considered the name Jon?" Me - "No, why, do you like the name Jon?"

Justin - "No, not really"

The rest of the weekend included Dad visiting our church with us, going out to dinner and a movie to celebrate my birthday and hanging out at the house together. It was really nice just to have Dad around and get to spend some quality time together. I was sad to drop Dad off at the airport on Monday morning but I'm happy that he will be back in a few weeks (when the baby is here!).

On Monday night Kevin cooked an amazing dinner, which included steak, chicken, baked sweet potatoes, fresh corn and broccoli and rolls. Mark came over to have dinner with us and after an impromptu trip to Walmart with Kevin bought me some tiki torches for the pool, which are actually really cool. We went swimming by the light of our new tiki torches and watched Tropic Thunder (a classic). Overall it was a really wonderful birthday. Thanks for making it a great birthday Kevin, Dad and Mark!!!

This is the only pic I got from the whole weekend...Kevin enjoying the last piece of my ice cream cake straight out of the box. There would be more pics, but I didn't think to take any. Must be the old age setting in...

Tour of the Midwest Part 1

Two weeks ago I headed to Louisville, Xenia and Indianapolis for an extended trip to the Midwest. This was my last opportunity to fly anywhere before I hit that blessed 32 week marker and am officially stuck in Arizona for the heat of summer. I spent a total of 12 days visiting with my family, seeing my friends and attending baby showers. My mom's friends were kind enough to throw me a baby shower in Louisville over my first weekend and then the following weekend the Hurleys had a Xenia shower and Lauren and Leah threw me an Indy shower. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time I got home.

I spent the first 8 days of my trip home in Louisville. Kevin couldn't join me until the following week, but since I had three showers to attend I had no choice (heehee) but to be in the Midwest over the course of two weekends. It was so nice to be home with my parents, just relaxing, getting pedicures, going shopping with mom, watching Lost and resting when I needed to. However, while I was home it occurred to me that this would be my last trip home by myself. Now I am not trying to be dramatic, but I feel like there are certain milestones in my life that have been marked by visits home; The night before my wedding when I slept in the house I had grown up in for the last time as a Bratcher or the first time Kevin and I came to Louisville for a visit and stayed in my childhood bedroom. It occurred to me that the next time I came to my parents' house, I would be a parent myself. I am not saying that this is going to be bad, but it did strike me as yet another sign that I am growing up, becoming even more of an adult, and that my life is going to drastically change soon. It was definitely bittersweet.

On Saturday my mom's friends, Sue Smith, Becca Collins, Terie Blankenbaker, Diane Steinrock and Carol Ann Anderson hosted a baby shower for all of my Louisville friends and family. We had a large group of people, consisting of old friends, close neighbors and supportive family. It was so great to be surrounded by so many people that I love so much and to be able to celebrate this exciting occasion with them. I was overwhelmed by everyone's incredible generosity and encouraging words they had to share with me. The baby shower was perfect and wonderful and a celebration I will always remember. I was exhausted afterwards, but it was totally worth it!

Getting ready to open gifts.

Some of the gorgeous food (that was all delicious!!)

My amazing friend Emma who had just had Baby Vera four weeks earlier (doesn't she look great?!). I was so happy she was able to be there to help me celebrate. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends and it made the day that much more special. Plus I got to meet Baby Vera later on that evening and she is just as gorgeous as her momma!

Laughing at the "Young Buck" onesie I got, with the card addressed to Baby Hurley and Grandpa Don. Priceless!

There are so many other wonderful things that happened while I was in Louisville. I got to visit with one of my mentors, Amy (Renfro) Henson. We met at Panera and had an opportunity to catch up and talk about things ahead. Amy had some really great wisdom to pass on about parenting, childbirth, boundaries and trusting God. I am so blessed to have this woman in my life and just wish we had more time to see each other. Her prayer at the end of our breakfast brought me to tears as I silently thanked God for her many many years of mentoring and friendship.

Other highlights of my time in Louisville included lunch with Dad, taking naps, my awesome pregnancy massage at Z's, special time with Abby and her two daughters, and going shopping at the Gap Outlet with my mom, Terie Blankenbaker, her daughter-in-law Margaret, her granddaughter Ruby and my close friend Lesley Liesman. It was so great to be surrounded by such a wonderful company of women, and while I felt like my time with Lesley was WAY too short (five hours...sniff sniff), it was such a relaxing day and also a very successful shopping trip. I also enjoyed getting to know Margaret better as well as her daughter Ruby. After spending the day with these two, and seeing how well behaved Ruby is, I now have all new parenting goals to aspire to.

Tour of the Midwest part two will be about my time in Xenia and Indianapolis and the baby shower celebrations we had there. Stay tuned...