Mommyhood Day Ten

Hello Motherhood! What a huge blessing, I never really understood how amazing it would be to bring a child  into this world, and to care for her, and to love her so very much. It's amazing what a child can do to a family, not just strengthening the bond between a husband and wife and causing them to see each other in another remarkable light but to bring two families together for one reason and to cause so much joy. I am so very thankful for our little Sephorah, she is nine days old today and I feel I can literally see her grow right before my eyes. She is a very easy baby, she only cries and very little if her stomach is upset or if she is hungry and at night we have to wake her for her feeding. 

Enjoying the sunshine this morning while getting dressed for the day!

Last night we started our tradition of devotions and prayers before we tuck her into bed, my parents always did that for me and I thank them for it to this day and I want to do the same for all of our children. Gabriel is working very hard every day as we start our business up here in Virginia, he is a very proud father and I do have to say he has really taken care of me well through the recovery progress. He really took care of us while we were in the hospital, all through my delivery and the nights that followed.  I truly have an amazing husband, I wouldn't trade him for a thing in the world.

The delivery was not easy, thank goodness for epidurals, as it almost wasn't strong enough to block the pain. We came to the hospital Tuesday morning at three am with contractions only five minutes apart or less, and she was finally here at four forty seven pm. It was a very hard few hours but we made it, and I swore I would never have another child BUT after all the joy she has brought to us? I would do it all over again, I know I am CRAZY! What can you do?

Looks like I have a little under 5 weeks of recovery left to go and I can already fit into most of my old clothes again, looking forward to working out again and seeing my horses. In the mean time I am thoroughly enjoying time with my family and Gabriel's family, and watching Sephorah grow...

Sleeping in her cherry outfit yesterday morning.

Computer work with daddy before bed. Best husband in the world!

Sweet monogrammed shirt from our friend in North Carolina.

Thank you all for the comments, I read them all! It's so great to hear from all of you. I will be updating often, with a couple more pictures and product reviews, and probably some mommy moments! ENJOY the spring weather!

God Bless,

P.S. The acrylic nails are still holding up beautifully, on the count down to see how many weeks they will last... I've already changed the color four times, *rolls eyes* I'm still a bit impulsive in the little things. :-) Will post a picture of my red hair too, sounds bad doesn't it? It's highlights, and not "red" red... ;-) ready for summer red I guess!

Cupcake asleep in her rocker, first appointment with doctor went well this morning! Very quiet baby, wish I slept as heavy as her ;-)

April 23, 2013 4:47 pm Hanna-"Sephorah" Faithe Alway was born at 6 pounds 14 ounces and 17 inches long... beautiful baby girl! Going home today around lunch! Will blog more when I get home. :-)

Waiting for Baby

As of Saturday I had contractions start, they've been random but some in patterns. It's Monday afternoon already and getting more intense, so we will be going in tomorrow to see what my midwife says... hoping she will come soon! Hoping we will end up staying there and progressing quickly, so let's keep our fingers crossed! In the mean time, here are a couple of pictures taken that I am enjoying. :-) I will keep you updated!

Gabriel holding Lilah after a long day of work, she thinks the world of him!

Flowers in my hair, pulled from a cherry tree while I was waiting for Gabe to get some Starbucks o the way to church Sunday... how could  I let that tree have all those flowers? All I wanted were four. :-) 

Spring Has Sprung in the Old Dominion

I gave a very bright welcome to old springtime, how I missed you so! Thankful for our winter where all seems to rest but thanking our wonderful Savior for the breathtaking beauty of spring. I do have to say one of my many (MANY) favorite things about the spring (besides the flowers, grass, warmth, and tucking away all the bulky sweaters) are the birds that seem to have the canny ability to plant a huge smile across my face around 4:30 am as they sing announcing that another beautiful WARM day  is on its way soon. 

Gabriel and I have made it to Virginia, moved here around the fifteenth of February... thanks to the help of his brothers Michael and Joey! We could have NEVER made such a long trip with ALL of our things without them. We have a sweet little town home close to our parents and horses, my parents are thankfully seven hours away instead of seventeen! We now get to see our family often, which has been so very nice especially since little Sephorah is coming soon. Our home is nestled in a beautiful small and quiet community, we have our dogs, Lilah and Jeb, here with us and my parrot, Tootsie. We have lots of windows and off-white walls, so the house absolutely LIGHTS up when the sun is up! I could not be happier with the home, especially coming from such a dark home in Texas, was quite depressing inside.

As of today I am only 8 days from my due date, I have had no morning sickness or complications, just occasional heart burn which by wives tales means she will have lots of pretty hair on her head. Sephorah is very healthy, estimated being in between six to seven pounds at birth and already practicing her breathing as we got to see on our recent ultrasound. We have everything set up in the nursery  thanks to all the beautiful gifts and contributions given at our baby showers, we have quite a sweet set up... now we just wait! And I will walk, walk, walk, and go, go, go, until she comes, hoping it will push things along. Here are some shots of all of us enjoying the beautiful springtime...

Michael's horse Arrow, telling us what he really thinks...

My father feeding Sundance his traditional cheese crackers, mmmmm, healthy! ;-)

Lilah, Lily, and Jezzy out on the back porch with me while my parents visit, Lily and Jezzy are my mothers beautiful long-haired Chihuahuas and Lilah's "sisters".

Easter Sunday morning snapshot, a family tradition of ours to get
dressed up for church that morning and showcase each others outfits!
Navy blue dress from Ross, Forever 21 rose pink cardigan, Fossil rose gold watch.

Tootsie on the back porch enjoying the company of a fake bird... silly girl.

Gabriel torturing Sundance with a non-existent cracker in his hand, so sweet, ha ha.

I am ready to get back out to my horses, I do miss them very much but have been kept so busy that I have hardly had time to think about them. I do plan on training and teaching as soon as I recover, now that Gabriel  is getting his horse business back up also. I apologize for the lack of horse material on here, but I have a pretty good excuse. I am very thankful for such a wonderful Husband, and family, and for our little girl... and this blog will be a great way to keep track of my family life and horse life (and the joys of mommy-hood, makeup, home keeping, and OF COURSE nail polish ;-) 

Speaking of, I've learned to do my own acrylic nails, after putting up with the aggravating expensive nail salons and chipping at home regular nail polish (which needed repair almost every day, and was quite painful whenever I wanted to use my nails... acrylic turns your nails into a household cleaning weapon and wonderful husband back scratcher! :-). I am quite proud, getting the expensive look for one third the price. I was quite intimidated, thinking I could never have this end in nothing but disaster... but, SUCCESS! Used a simple $8.00 kit from Target...

Success! Exactly the shape and length I wanted. Used a Easter pink color,
"Born with It" 150 by Maybelline Color Show. $2.45 I do believe?
 Better than $40.00 for a set that won't last long and wasn't what I wanted at a nail salon!

I am hoping to get pictures of our home and nursery as soon as I can and post it here, so be looking for those! Please feel free to post a comment or two, or a question! Would love to hear from you.

Happy Spring!