2011: A Big Year in Review

2011. It's a year that I'm positive I will look back on for the rest of my life and remember as a pivotal year in my life.  As the year draws to a close, I've been looking back over it and spending some time reflecting and remembering the good, the bad, the hard, the normal... It's been a big year. So for posterity, a recap of some of the major events of 2011 in our family:

January:

Birthday Celebration: Lucas and Jacob turned 36, and we were all able to celebrate together with a night out eating pizza, bowling, and hitting the video arcade (lots of fun for kids old and young!). This was just one of many, many special times we were able to enjoy while Jacob and Laura were living in Siloam Springs. It was one of the sweetest parts of the year!

Little Rock: Toward the end of January, Lucas, Max, Maggie and I took a weekend trip to Little Rock, where Max and Maggie got to experience their first political rally at the Walk for Life at the state capitol, and Max got to hold some cold hard cash ($250,000!) at the state treasury. We also enjoyed a great visit with our good friends the Breitensteins as well as my grandparents in Malvern.

New Baby(ies)! We announced to the world that we were expecting our third baby, due around August 1st! We also celebrated that Jacob and Laura were expecting their first baby, due just two weeks later!

February:

Snowmaggedon: Siloam Springs experienced record snow fall when we got about two feet of snow in one day! Lucas got stranded at work but managed to hitch and hike home to us, despite the crazy amount of snow. Max and Maggie LOVED playing in the snow! It was cold, folks. Really, really cold.

It's a Boy!: We found out that our new little one was a boy! Max was elated, Maggie was devastated, and Lucas and I were just thankful that he was healthy and on his way! Mom was able to come with me to the ultrasound, which was so special. She really thought it was going to be a girl!

Valentine's Day: We spent Valentine's Day in the hospital with my mom. She had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance on February 12 when she suddenly showed signs of a stroke at home with my Dad. We learned a couple days later that her cancer had spread extensively throughout her brain, and her doctors said there were no more treatment options and sent her home to hospice care.

My mom received this news and the subsequent days with more grace than I could have imagined. In retrospect, I see what a gift she gave us. As was the habit of her life, in the midst of what must have been more difficult for her than I can imagine, she faced it all with humility and grace and courage and dignity. I believe she did this not only by the power of the Holy Spirit and out of a desire to honor God every moment, but also in order to make it all as easy as possible for her family. The whole world could not have contained the respect I had for her in her final days on this earth.

Sacred and Excrutiating: We spent the last two weeks of February and the first two weeks of March caring for my mom as she was dying. These were sweet, sacred, exhausting and excruciating days. I would not have traded those days by her side for anything in this old world. 

I think this is the last picture ever taken of us, just a couple weeks before she died. We were at Mitch's restaurant, Smoke, where she was enjoying two of her greatest joys in life: her entire family together and a gourmet meal.

March:


March 14, 2001: My Mom went home to Jesus.  My dad and brothers and I were gathered around her, and just a few minutes after her death, a loud clap of thunder filled the sky, as if to announce her departure from this universe. I was so thankful to be there with her at the very end. Lucas' Dad and Maria had come from California for the whole week prior to her death to help with Max and Maggie so I could just be with my mom. It's a gift I'll never forget. The next few days after her death were a strange mixture of difficult and relieving. It was such a relief to know that her pain and suffering and battling were finished; that she had finished this race so very well. But the thought of my whole life stretching out in front of me without my mom there to share it was (and is) simply overwhelmingly sad.


Kansas City: Before we knew my mom was entering hospice, some of my dearest friends and I had planned and booked a girls' weekend away in Kansas City. I wasn't sure how it was all going to work out, but God did. Less than two weeks after my mom died, I was away with these dear gals, and it was exactly what I needed. I was able to meet Amy's newest son, and these friends were so tender and caring with me after such a difficult month.

April:

Royal Wedding: Laura, Maggie and I made a little event of the Royal Wedding together. We got up at 4:30 to go to our local English Tea Room to watch the ceremony live. But the Tea Room was packed so we came back home and watched it together. It was a special memory for my own little princess. :-)

3-2-1 Blastoff!: When Lucas heard that NASA was discontinuing the Space Shuttle program, he began planning to take Max on a road trip to Florida to see one of the final shuttle launches at the Kennedy Space Center. At the end of April, Lucas and Max and our good friend Paul set off on their space adventure. After driving right through historic tornadoes in Alabama and getting stranded at a hotel with no electricity or gasoline available for a 50 mile radius, they finally made it to Florida. The shuttle launch ended up being delayed a whole week and they were not able to stay that long, but they did get to visit the shuttle on the launch pad and immerse themselves in all things space for a few days. I know it's an experience Maximus (and Lucas!) will never forget!

May:

On the Move.... AGAIN: With the help of some very selfless family and friends, Lucas and I made our eighth move in eight years of marriage. We now call a beautiful house in Siloam Springs home, and we hope to for many decades to come. We are so thankful for and LOVE our new home that God so generously and miraculously provided for us to buy. And as this completely and utterly exhausted pregnant woman moved the last few boxes from the car to the new garage, I burst into tears and told Lucas, "I never want to move again until I move to Heaven!" May it be so.

Celebrating Baby Sweetie: I had the pure joy of hosting a baby shower for Laura the second week in our brand new home! Celebrating this new little life was one of the things that really kept me smiling on some sad days.

Making Music: My sweet niece Susan and Nephew Jackson performed wonderfully at our little piano recital at the end of our year of piano lessons together! I love these two and have been so thankful for the opportunity to teach them.

Beach or Bust: While we were waist-deep in boxes and packing paper as we were preparing to move, my very wise husband booked us a 5-day getaway to Cancun, Mexico for two weeks after we moved. Coming off some of the most difficult months of my life with my mom's death and a move during my third trimester of pregnancy, this trip was an extravagant gift to me in every way. My dear and also very pregnant sister-in-law Laura kept Max and Maggie for nearly a week so that Lucas and I could go and have the time to truly rest and invest some much-needed time for our marriage after a difficult year. I read three books, sat on the beach, slept A LOT and took time to really stop and cry about my mom for the first time and also mentally and emotionally prepare for bringing a new baby home. I'm not sure I would have made it through the spring without this trip. I believe more firmly than ever that the ocean is good for the soul. Especially for 30-weeks-pregnant souls. And sipping frozen beverages while lounging under grass-topped beach umbrellas can't hurt, either. :-)

Unfortunately, all our photos from our trip were inadvertently sacrificed to a computer malfunction, except for this one of Lucas. We had some really gorgeous ones, but I guess you'll just have to trust me on this one. It was paradise.

June:


I honestly can't remember what we did in June. I guess we unpacked the rest of our house, set up a nursery, did laundry, cooked meals, scrubbed toilets and caught up on all the other normal duties of life.

July:


RICE: Roebucks Initiate Creative Entertainment 2011 in Roswell, New Mexico: Jacob and Laura and Laura's parent's Bill and Polly hosted an off-the-charts awesome friend reunion in their Roswell, NM home over the July 4th holiday weekend. We were thrilled to have my Dad join us for the weekend, and Max and Maggie got to play with some of their favorite little buddies and we grown-ups got to catch up with some of our favorite long-time friends. We were so thankful for all the work the Roebucks and Hartmans did to host the event, and for all the friends who were able to travel from all over the country to be together this summer!

Sisters and Showers: Just a few days after returning from Roswell, several of Lucas' brothers and their wives and his Mom and Tony converged on our new house to enjoy a wonderful family weekend together! Some sweet friends hosted a baby shower for me (Thanks, Allison and Christine!) and timed it so that many of my wonderful sisters-in-law could come, too. For someone who grew up with all boys, I sure am rich in sisterhood these days!

Maggie's Graduation: A couple weeks before Alexander was born, Maggie and I spent a whole day together doing all her favorite things. We called it her graduation from being the baby of the family to being a big sister. We went to the pet store, the book store, had lunch together, had ice cream and saw the movie Winnie the Pooh together. It was such a special day!

Welcome, Alexander James Roebuck!: On July 28th, we welcomed our third child into the world! He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz and was born at 1:28 p.m. My labor and delivery with him were the smoothest yet, and he hasn't stopped making life as easy as possible for us since day one. He is truly the World's Best Baby. I know I'm his mom and I'm probably biased. But really, he is. The world's. best. baby. Besides a little scare of some extreme weight loss during his first week of life and our subsequent realization that he was not going to be able to be breastfed, we've had a very smooth transition to life as a family of five. Xander is my pure delight, and has been God's grace to me in every possible way for this year. Experiencing new life has been so incredibly important for me during this year of grief.

My mom's sister, Carol, came and spent the two weeks leading up to Alexander's birth with me and was with me during labor. She let me hang onto her while I got the epidural and held my hand throughout the day. I can't tell you what it meant to me to have her there on a day when I was missing my mother so fiercly. I was so grateful.

 Lucas' mom was also such a help! She came and kept Max and Maggie while we were in the hospital and was waiting for us at home when we brought Alexander home from the hospital. I was so thankful for her!

August:

Heat Wave:  It was hot, folks. Really, really hot.

First Day of School: Max started kindergarten about two weeks after Alexander was born. We were thrilled to find out that he would have Mrs. Fox as his teacher, not only because she is a great teacher, but also because she was a good friend of my mom's when they both taught kindergarten at Northside together. We could also hardly believe it when we learned that Max would also be in the same class with his very best friend, Jakin, and also two other friends, Anna and Laura. We could not have asked for a better first school experience for him. It has been everything we prayed for and more! We are thankful! Max is thriving in school, and like his Daddy and his mommy, he loves to write. He received The Respect Award, and we were so proud and thankful for how well he is doing in school.

New High School: We got to attend the dedication of the new Siloam Springs High School, an event that was really important to my Dad. He and his colleagues have worked so hard to make this beautiful facility a reality, and it was fun to share their excitement at the dedication.

 Grandpa and Abuelita Visit: We loved having Lucas' Dad and Maria visit us for a week to meet Alexander and celebrate Max and Maggie's birthdays with a joint birthday fiesta! Max and Maggie got their first bikes.

Welcome, Penelope!: Jacob and Laura's first child was born on August 28- Maggie's 4th birthday! I was literally sobbing with joy at the news of her birth. Lucas wasn't sure if I was going to be OK. After I composed myself a bit, he asked me whether I thought it was strange that I cried harder at the birth of Laura's baby than I had at the birth of my own baby. At that point, I was just too giddy to answer.

September:


Back to Roswell: Once again, my husband proved his super-star husband status by buying me a plane ticket to fly me and Alexander out to see Laura and meet Penelope when she was just two weeks old and Alexander was six weeks old. It was one of the most special few days of my life. Laura's grandma told us we were just like two little girls playing house with our baby dolls.

 October: 


Settling in: October was pretty low-key. Alexander learned to sleep through the night (yay!), and I turned 32. More laundry, cooking, cleaning, disciplining, baby-caring, etc.

My little package of pure joy for 2011

Surprise!: We planned a surprise birthday party for my dad. It has obviously been an incredibly difficult year for him as well, and it felt so good to bring just a little bit of sunshine his way during some lonely days.

Kansas City: Lucas and I had planned a little getaway to Kansas City and were going to leave Max and Maggie with his mom, but Maggie got sick at the last minute and so we ended up having to change our plans and make it a little family getaway. It ended up being some great family time together. We were also able to swing by Lucas' Mom and Tony's new home in Missouri to visit them. What a gorgeous spot they've found! The kids loved raking leaves with Gramma.

November:


Women's Retreat: I had the joy of leading worship at an overnight women's retreat for our church. It might have been a bit ambitious to do this with a three month old, but I was thrilled to be a part of it, and Alexander was a champ as usual. And the ladies were all very gracious with me as I muddled through. :-)

Denver for Turkey: We took our first major road trip as a family of five to Denver for a Huckaby family Thanksgiving. Joe and Tammy are awesome hosts, and we all had a fabulous time together!

December:


Introducing Xander to Great Mama and Great Papa: I got to make a whirlwind trip to Little Rock to introduce Alexander to my grandparents and also visit my dear friend Janel before she and John move their family to Uganda in a few weeks.

Look Who's Reading!: Maggie surprised us all when she started full-blown reading this month! I knew she was learning certain words here and there, but I was shocked one day when she picked up the package from a cookie mix we were making and began reading the directions to me! I pulled out a few simple readers with her and found that, yes, my four-year-old can read simple words. I'll admit it, I'm the overly-proud parent... but this just makes me so happy! My mom would have LOVED hearing her read. It's so fun to see these second-born kids pick things up so quickly as they learn along with their older siblings!

Dees family Christmas celebration: It was hard without my mom, but we did it.... And even had a really special time in spite of missing her so very much. It felt like a milestone for our family, and I'm glad it's done. It was the last major holiday we had to do without her for the first time.

Christmas with our Little Family: If this photo doesn't make you smile.... well, then you must not be the mom to these kids. At the end of a tough year, I've got these smiling faces to wake up with every single morning, and I'm thankful. It's been a particularly meaningful Christmas for me, as I've had to stop in the midst of grieving my mom and simply be grateful for the hope that Christ brought at His humble birth.

Here we are in all our Christmas morning splendor! Ha!

Maggie said her favorite part of Christmas this year was baking together.

Waking up their Dad: "Time for presents! Time for presents!"

 And that's it, friends. 2011 in a rather large nutshell. I know for sure that I wouldn't have made it through 2011 without all the love and prayer and help from so many of you.

As with so many things this year, I have mixed emotions about closing out 2011. On one hand, I'm just glad we made it... And thankful that God has been so faithful. On the other hand, I sort of hate to say goodbye to the final year that I shared with my mom here on this earth. I know we'll open up 2012 with lots of wonderful things to look forward to, but it makes me sad to think that this will be the first year that my mom will not share any part of our lives. But then I remember that this whole life is just a blip on the radar or eternity, and we'll all be back together soon.

Thank you, friends, for following along as I recapped our year. It's good, free therapy. :-) I hope your 2012 brings many, many good things to your lives!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit!

I love Christmas music! I'm buying some new Christmas music today and was so excited to see the Straight No Chaser Holiday Spirits mp3 album and the Bebo Norman Christmas... From The Realms Of Glory mp3 album each for only $5 on Amazon today. Fun!

A glimpse of our Thanksgiving

So much for which to be thankful! Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Three Months Old

Here are a couple of Alexander's three-month-old pictures from a few weeks ago. He is doing so well. Sleeping well through the night, smiling, cooing. A pure delight:

Best Birthday Present Ever

Maximus wrote me a book for my birthday. He did this project 100% on his own. I loved it so much it brought tears to my eyes. Max is such a thoughtful little guy! And without further ado, "Like" by Max:

"Mom likes outside."

"Mom likes dad."

(Oh, my word. The tie on Lucas is just too much!!)

"Mom likes the ocean."

"Mom likes her family."

Quote of the Day

Maggie: I don't need to be teached!

I'm Shocked; Shocked, I Say!

What?!? I slept through my midnight snack? Went the whole night without any milk? How did THAT happen?!

We have a through-the-night sleeper! And there was great rejoicing! At exactly ten weeks old, Alexander decided to stretch his night sleep just a little bit longer and made it seven hours, from 10:30-5:30. Let's hope he keeps it up!

The Respect Award

On Tuesday Max received The Respect Award at Northside Elementary!

He was selected with other students who had demonstrated a respectful attitude at school and was recognized at their school-wide character assembly. I was so proud of him, and thankful that his school spends time on character education even though they have such strict accountability to teach a challenging kindergarten curriculum.

My dad was able to come to the little assembly, so Max wanted his picture taken with Grandpapa and Baby Brother. Maggie and I didn't make the cut. :-)

What We've Been up to: Alexander

You guessed it: Alexander is mostly eating, sleeping and filling up diapers these days. :-) But he's also adding some new items to his repertoire, including smiling and cooing!

He had his 2-month check-up at the pediatricians office this week, and here are his stats:

Height: 23 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 10 lbs. 15 oz. (25th percentile)

Head size: 16 (50th percentile)

He's starting to sleep slightly longer at night! I usually feed him his last feeding of the night about 10:30 and then he will sleep until about 3:30 or 4. Not too bad, but I sure am looking forward to those 8-hour stretches of sleep!

What We've Been Up To: Maggie

Maggie is a very energetic and busy four year old! She has taken on her roll as big sister with flying colors and loves her baby brother. She reads him stories and hugs him and baby talks to him. It's sweet, and I've been so proud of her in this area of her life.

She is also learning so much these days, and I suspect she will be doing a significant amount of reading in the next few months. She is learning along side Max as he brings work home from school, and she is already reading several words!

Maggie loves art! This is one of her recent drawings of (in her words) "Bethany Hamilton on her soul surfer board on a wave before she got attacked by the shark." :-)

P.S. We recently watched the movie Soul Surfer as a family and really enjoyed it. It made for some great discussion with our kids about how we can respond when hard things happen in life! We loved the special features with interviews with the real Bethany Hamilton– She and her family used this difficult situation to give honor to Jesus in such a public way. Awesome. We totally recommend it; the shark attack scene is too intense for little ones but is easily editable, and I thought the rest was very family friendly!

What We've Been Up To: Max

Max turned six years old on Tuesday, Sept. 27th. We had an impromptu birthday "party" in his kindergarten lunch room.

Maximus absolutely loves school. He is working hard on his reading and writing and is doing so well! Here is one of the papers he brought home this week that made me smile.

Conversations with Max and Maggie

Maggie: Mom, I have two plans for if a bad guy ever comes into our house. First, if he has a gun or a sword, we will take the gun or sword away from him and cut him or shoot him. Second, we will take some milk out of the refrigerator for 15 minutes, and once it is bad we will pour it in his mouth.

Max: Ummmm, Maggie, I don't think the #2 plan will work. Actually, I don't think the #1 plan will work either. Neither plan will work. How could you take a sword or a gun from the robber before he hurts you with it? Besides, robbers don't use swords.

Maggie: Well, you could make him say 'Surrender'!

Max: No, those plans won't work.

Life with Alexander

In some time warp that I don't completely understand, seven weeks have passed since Alexander's birth. The days and weeks just keep flying by as we've started Max in Kindergarten, celebrated Max and Maggie's birthdays, enjoyed a good visit from Lucas' Dad and Maria, and (Xander and I) flew to New Mexico for a few days to see Laura and welcome new baby Penelope! His first few weeks of life have happened in a blink!

Before Alexander was born, a couple of different friends told me that you're simply on the go more with #3, and I've definitely found that to be true. God has again graciously given me exactly what I needed, a very mellow-personalitied baby #3. Alexander has definitely been a trooper as we've toted him all over creation during his first few weeks of life!

Since we returned from New Mexico this week, I am feeling like we can finally settle into "normal" life as a family of five. Interestingly enough, "normal" newborn life with Alexander has turned out to be quite a bit different than the newborn phase was with Max and Maggie. I am finding that one never quite gets past the learning curve in parenting!

Alexander is definitely his own person. He apparently doesn't want to fall in line and do everything just like his older siblings did! After giving us a bit of a weight-loss scare during his second week of life (he dropped from a birth weight of 8 lb. 4 oz. down to 6 lb. 15 oz.), we discovered that he had such a weak suck that he was practically getting no nutrients from breastfeeding. I worked really hard to try to get him to nurse better, but in the end we had to switch to bottle feeding him pumped breast milk plus formula to supplement. I'm still nursing him a little, but he is now primarily a bottled-fed baby. It's been really tough for me to let go of breastfeeding– It's something I value, and having never had any problems with it for Max or Maggie, I wasn't prepared for the possibility of not be able to do it with Alexander.

Lucas has been really good to encourage me throughout this process– the highest value here is that Alexander is able to get what he needs, which is apparently going to look a little different for him than the other two. My dad also reminded me to be thankful: a couple hundred years ago, before breast pumps, or formula or even bottles were widely available, our son probably would have died or been a very, very sickly child. I am so grateful that I am able to pump to get him the benefits of breast milk, and I am really grateful that good formulas are available to supplement for the rest. He is healthy and thriving, and that's the most important thing.

But since feeding a newborn is such a big part of their care, and feeding Alexander has been so different than my first two, I feel like a new mom all over again! I've had to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of learning about bottle feeding, pumping and supplementing. I've found that for me, bottle-feeding seems like a bigger hassle and takes more time over-all than breastfeeding, but that it is nice that he is not completely dependent on my body for eating. I'm enjoying the upsides, including that Lucas and others can help occasionally, and it's a lot easier for feeding on-the-go and when we are out and about.

I'm excited to see more and more of Alexander's personality surfacing. He is just starting to give his first smiles! Everything about him seems to indicate that he's going to be a "Steady-Eddie" type of guy– He's pretty chilled out much of the time. Time will tell, and I can't wait to see just who God made this little guy to be!

First Day of School

Today's the day! Maximus started kindergarten this morning at Northside Elementary. He told me last night at bedtime that the only thing he was nervous about was sleeping too late and missing the first day of school. He was so excited that he was out of bed and dressed for the day at the crack of dawn this morning!

We let him choose who he wanted to take him to school this morning, and of course he chose his Dad. No surprise there. :-) Lucas dropped him off at his classroom and Max started the day without a glance back. I'm sure it helped greatly that he has a great teacher (Mrs. Fox) and several of his best little buddies in his class this year. We are so thankful and are praying that he has a wonderful year.

I can't wait to pick him up this afternoon and hear how his day went!

Alexander's Birth

**Disclaimer: This post contains details about Alexander's birth. I'm posting both for my own journaling purposes and because I know a lot of you gals out there enjoy some of these not-too-graphic details.... but feel free to skip this post if you're not into birth stories!

Alexander's due date was August 1, but a couple weeks before his birth my doctor started talking about the possibility of a planned induction and gave us the option to move ahead with that once we got a little closer to his due date. Since the doctor said I was progressing and everything looked favorable for the induction, we decided to proceed with that plan. I'm so glad we did!

This was our best birth experience yet, and that combined with all of the help and rest Aunt Carol had given me in the week leading up to the birth made for a very smooth delivery day and adjustment to life back at home with three. What a gift from God to me during a tough milestone without my mom here- I've been so thankful.

On Wednesday, the day before Alexander's birth, Lucas' mom drove in from her new home in Missouri, less than two hours away from us. What a change in distance from her and Tony's previous home in Oregon! I am thankful to have them so much closer. She arrived in the afternoon just in time to watch the kids while I went to my final doctor's appointment. Aunt Carol came with me, and I was able to get some final questions answered before moving forward with the induction, which we had scheduled for early the next morning. My sis-in-law Meagan treated me to a manicure after the appointment- what a great gift; it was such a relaxing thing to do on the evening before Alexander's birth!

We had decided to deliver at the hospital in Siloam Springs, and we were supposed to check in at 5 a.m. for the induction. We left the kids in great hands with Gramma Cheryl, and amazingly enough for Lucas and I, who neither one do well with early mornings, we were walking out the door at 4:55 a.m., ready for the big day:

Leaving for the hospital: 4:55 a.m.

We arrived at the hospital right at 5:00 a.m., and Aunt Carol met us there. We sat down at the check-in desk, and I was feeling a little bit jittery and nervous and excited.... and mostly just ready to have this next part over with and have our son in my arms.

A very kind woman at the desk wanted to quickly verify the information we had on file with the hospital. Name, Address, phone number, Emergency contact... "Still Kerwin and Vicki Dees, grandparents?" Gulp. Lucas jumped in and corrected the information, and I took a deep breath as the L & D nurse came and got us and took us to our room.

When we got to our room and settled in about 5:30 a.m., Lucas decided to text my dad and let him know we were at the hospital and getting started. Less than two seconds later, my dad texted back: "I'll be right there." My sweet dad came at the crack of dawn and wanted to be up there all day, even though this is an extremely busy week for him at work.

Aunt Carol was by my side all day and went to work immediately, asking the nurses to find and send the nurse who was very best nurse at IV insertion, and holding on tight to me as the anesthesiologist got my epidural in after three very uncomfortable attempts. I was so relieved to have those two parts of the day over with!

After that, the morning went by pretty uneventfully. The doctor came in and checked me– I started out the morning at 2 cm dilated– and then he broke my water. I was having some regular contractions, but not enough to get things really moving, so they started me on pitocin. We kept the room pretty quiet and dark all morning, and I was able to relax and sleep a little, and Lucas and I also made a final decision about what our son's middle name would be. The nurse checked me again at 11:30 and said I was at a 4 and the baby was still basically as high as he could be at a -3 station. I settled in and figured that it might be a long day of waiting, but I was comfortable and not having any pain.

About an hour later, the contraction pain started to ramp up just a little, and Aunt Carol came and sat by me and helped me relax through them. She was asking me all about our trip to Cancun in May and had me describe the most serene parts of our trip.

I had been nervous about my epidural wearing off, because my legs weren't really not numb at all, and I thought "there's no way this epidural is going to get me through transition,"especially since they had just checked me and I was only at a 4! The nurse told me they needed to refill the medication in the epidural line, so I thought I was feeling the contractions more because they were changing out the meds. After she took care of that, the nurse decided to check me again when she saw I was really having to breathe through the contractions. I was shocked when she told me at just before 1 p.m. that I was fully dilated to a 10!

She said if I could hold off on pushing for a little while that it might make the delivery go more smoothly, so I decided to try to do that. My dear friend Anna had just come by to check on me, and she came and sat with me for a few minutes until the nurse came in and said it was showtime! I started pushing at about 1:15ish, and Alexander was born at 1:28. I really couldn't have asked for a more smooth labor and delivery!

Lucas and I both said out loud as soon as he was born- "Wow- he's big!"

At 8lbs., 4 oz., He looked so much bigger than Max and Maggie had when they were born

(Max weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz, Maggie was 6 lbs. 12 oz.).

I had plenty of tears of joy as I met him for the first time.

Very soon after he was born, we were able to introduce Alexander to his big brother and sister, who were SO EXCITED to meet him. Maggie had this amazed smile on her face and was completely speechless for at least 30 seconds- perhaps a new record for her. :-) She quickly snapped out of her state of wonder and exclaimed, "Give me my baby!" Max was practically glowing with pride.

We were so thankful to have a lot of family there to welcome Alexander on his first day in the world. Gramma Cheryl, my dad, Aunt Carol, Uncle Russ, Aunt Meagan, Uncle Tyler, my cousin Brandon and several great friends were there in the hours after his birth to meet him. I was thankful to be feeling very well in the afternoon after an easy delivery, and I really enjoyed celebrating with everyone!

Meagan made this adorable sign to hang on our hospital room door!

We stayed one night in the hospital, and we were able to take Alexander home on Friday after lunch when he was exactly 24 hours old.

First car ride: 1.3 miles from the hospital to home.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing Alexander James into the world safe and healthy. We are so grateful for our new son and can't wait to see what God has in store for him!

Welcome, Alexander!

Alexander James Roebuck

July 28, 2011 • 1:28 p.m.

8 lbs. 4 oz. • 20.25 inches

On Receiving Help

I'm less than one week out from my due date, and it looks like this little guy is going to arrive in the next few days. We are all excited and eager to meet him!

My mom's sister, Carol, has been here all week helping me prepare in body and soul for this baby's birth. She has given so much to me– she's been taking the kids on outings every day (which they are loving, of course!) so that I can sneak a nap in here and there; going to the doctor with me; and offering a hug and a teardrop or two that we both understand at just the right moments. Her arrival has given new meaning to the term "Godsend" for me.

Since Aunt Carol's been here, I've been thinking a lot about what my mom taught me about receiving help. She taught me, especially in her last three years of life, that simply and gratefully receiving and accepting help when we need it is a posture of humility and grace. It's a posture that recognizes that we are weak, that we can't do it on our own. It's a posture that understands that God has sent help not only because He loves me, but because He loves the giver.

My pride bucks against this idea, of course. I want to prove that I'm capable and strong and independent– which is actually laughable to anyone who's around me for more than about 30 seconds! When I'm able to simply and humbly accept help– without trying to downplay or repay the gift– the Gospel is at work in my life. I want to live in that place more.

The Lord knows that I've been at a pretty needy place the last few weeks. And the truth is, I didn't even know how badly I would need my Aunt here until she arrived. The Lord knew. And I'm truly grateful to the point of being overwhelmed. Out of love for me and for Carol, He sent her at just the right time. I'm actually feeling rested in body and soul for the first time in months. I actually feel like I can do this now!

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for me in the last few weeks. I know you have been. I've been receiving your help, too. Thank you, thank you, my dear friends.

Happy news is on the horizon! Can't wait to introduce you all to the new little man.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Chaney!

Here's a little birthday message for one of our favorite Grandpas.... these video clips also happen to offer some insight into the personalities of these two little Roebucks, hence the inclusion of the outtake. :-)

A message for Grandpa Chaney, Take 1:

A message for Grandpa Chaney, Take 2:

We love you, Dad/ Grandpa Chaney. Wish we could be with you on your special day!

School Supplies!

I have a big master "To Do" list going of all the things to keep me productive and on track until this baby makes his grand entrance. One of the items on the list: Get Max's school supplies. I couldn't believe it when I pulled out the calendar today because Max wanted to know how many days until school starts. Three Weeks and Three Days until Kindergarten Open House!!! Wow- and I know it is going to be a whirlwind between now and then with the baby's arrival.

So off to Walmart we went with school supply list in hand. Max was so excited, and so was I. I always loved school supply time when I was a kid- and it was so fun to see Max enjoy it as well. He wanted to sit in the cart to organize the items as we picked them out. He told me, "I've got them all organized, because it's important to be organized when you're in school." :-)

Kindergarten, here we come!

Remembering

Today we were opening up a package of sight word magnets to work on, and I mentioned that Grandmama Vicki had bought these for us. Max asked why she got them for us, and I said it was because she loved to see her grandkids learning to read and write. I told them that before she had cancer, she was a kindergarten teacher at the same school Max will be going to in a few weeks.

A huge smile came across his face and he giggled. "I wish I could be in that class," he said through his giggle.

And it just made me so happy and sad all at once. Happy because he remembers. Happy because he knows how much she loved him and how much she loved to teach him. Sad because we won't be able to share this huge kindergarten milestone with her, and she would have loved it. Sad because it's only been four months, and so many years stretch out ahead where we'll be missing her.

Mom never really felt like being a teacher was her calling in life. But she sure was good at it.