Lost and Found

As our car approached our house after school pick up, I noticed a mangy looking dog wandering around our cul-de-sac. As we pulled into our driveway, I spied a second tiny dog, about the size of a cat, on our next door neighbors grass. It was apparent these two little fellas were not from around here.

As soon as the car was in park, Trey dashed out and Josh soon followed in pursuit of the little chihuahua that had disappeared into the neighbors yard. I went inside to feed a starving baby and soon forgot about the pair of four legged animals roaming our street.

Once Zach's belly was full, I started to head upstairs to sort the laundry when my eyes caught sight of the scene there on our sidewalk. Trey was kneeling down with two little friends by his side. He had been successful in finding both dogs. I was touched by his concern and care he felt towards them.

I exited the house and looked on those two lonely little faces and knew they needed some assistance, desperately. Thankfully they both had on collars. I have never owned a dog, nor ever plan on owning a dog and had no idea what is even on dog collar, but I knew it was our key to getting these two home. I picked up the phone and for the first time in my life called a veterinarian clinic.

After a quick relay of numbers from the tags, we properly introduced ourselves to Tiny and Mr. Wiggles. I also had the owners phone number in hand. I dialed the digits and was soon connected with an older man with a deep booming voice.

My rapid fire speech in sued, informing him I had found his dogs wandering in our neighborhood and they were currently in our fenced backyard.

"Slow down, slow down. I'm on a cell phone. I can't understand you. What did you say?" He inquired.

"I HAVE YOUR DOGS."

"What?! You mean you have Tiny?" His voice had a tinge of desperation. In the background he quickly asked someone to hand him a paper or write down what he said.

I carefully spelled out F-i-t-z-r-o-y Lane. Not an easy street name to understand over the phone.

"We will be there soon."

I could sense that he was deeply grateful for the phone call. I was grateful Trey had taken it upon himself to round up the dogs. I was also grateful for this opportunity for our family to do one small act of service and see the rewards that can come by lending a hand.

My kids and half the neighborhood spent an enjoyable amount of time in the backyard cuddling, coddling and cooing over Tiny and Mr. Wiggles. To me, the dogs seemed a bit traumatized from their ordeal, but with some time attention seemed to be recovering well. When the chihuahua was shivering, the boys wrapped him a towel and he fell asleep. Kaitlyn rushed inside to tell me the baby dog was sleeping. It was wonderful to see the affection they freely gave to the little pups.

Mr. Reed soon arrived and we handed over the two dogs. The first thing that popped into my mind when peered inside his car was that we had found Santa Claus' dogs. He was a spitting image of the big man himself.

After some pleasantries and an explanation of the dogs escape early that morning we waved them goodbye.

As I began to usher the kids into the house, the cars break lights glowed red and I was called back ("little lady") and with a twinkle in his eye he spoke in a hushed tone. "I didn't want the little ones to hear, but the day after Thanksgiving, at Lexington Green, I'll be there. Drop by and say hello."

By golly, we had in fact found Mr. Claus' pets.

Hot diggity dog (literally). This might be the mightiest Christmas yet.

He seriously owes us..... and we owe him for one terrific dog day afternoon!TinyMr. Wiggles

School Pictures

Storytime

When the rain begins to fall and there's a slight chill in the air, a friendly indoor activity is a must.

Today we visited our local Joseph-Beth Booksellers for storytime. To say this is simply a bookstore would be a crime. Two stories high, with a cafe, travel agency and huge children's section stocked full of a wide range of items are just a few things Joseph-Beth offers.

Tiffany and her girls came along for the fun. There was quite the crowd so we sat on the floor and sang songs with actions and listened to a story or two. After, the girls explored the vast selection of toys, dolls, games and of course books. We fed the ducks in the pond behind the store and the girls' faces lit up when they spied the beautiful Christmas tree at the entrance.

And I have to add, that I used a great amount of self control and walked out of the store with out buying anything. Not even the Dora sticker book Kaitlyn spied that was only $1.50. That may have been a first for me! Kaitlyn loves all things Barbie

Brynn, Kaitlyn, Savannah and EllieBaby Z enjoyed snuggling in the pack. He honestly is the best baby. Ever.

After the bookstore I drug these sweet kiddies to the mall, Old Navy and to Wal-mart. What troopers. Can't blame them for falling asleep on the ride home. It really was the perfect afternoon with my littlest three.

Birth Day

With all the hussell and bussell of life with a newborn, school beginning for the boys and every day since moving by at a rapid pace, I failed to post Zach's birth day pictures and the story of his arrival.

August 11, 2009

36 weeks 2 days pregnant

Last day of summer vacation

1-3 PM: Hit the pool for a few hours and properly say goodbye to our favorite summer haunt

4 PM: Head to Georgetown, KY with the kids to the NFL Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp

While driving there, called my little brother Rhett to wish him a Happy Birthday. Comment that he won't be sharing his birthday with our baby.

6 PM: Grab dinner from a Wendy's drive thru in Georgetown. While ordering have a few hard contractions with the dreaded back pain. Anytime I go into labor I have serious back labor pains. Wonder if this could be the beginning of the end.

7 PM: Get home immediately download the pictures, start cleaning up the house and do laundry, got backpacks out, wrote checks for lunch money and laid out clothes for the boys- just in case I need to head to the hospital later on.

8 PM: Blog about the football event knowing if I do have this baby, it will be one less thing I will have to post (dumb, I know, but true). Plus I can sit and write and not worry about labor- hard to do when you are having contractions

9 PM: Start writing down the time between and length of my contractions. Tell Rich I am writing down my contractions. Rich begins to get nervous.

9:30 PM: Call my dad. Contractions are 7-10 minutes apart and last 1 minute. My dad says they are not regular enough to go to the hospital. If I went they'd say I was not in active labor and send me home.

10 PM: Put kids to bed. Wonder what in the heck we are going to do if I have the baby tonight. School starts at 7:45 AM the next day! I can't haul them to someones house and I can't ask someone with school age kids to come over. Major problem.

11 PM: Decide to get ready for bed, pack a bag, but only put all the toiletries on the counter- just in case.

August 12, 2009

12-2 AM: Difficult time sleeping. Hard contractions.

2:30 AM: Sit up and start timing contractions. Put on sweats and jacket. Rich wakes up and sees me and gets worried again. We still have no idea what we are going to do with the kids if I have to leave. Think- "I'm fine." Then a contraction hits and I think "I need to go to the hospital."

3 AM: Tell Rich we'll both just go back to sleep.

3:01 AM: Lie down. Next contraction- WATER BREAKS.

3:01 AM: Freaking out because now I HAVE TO GO IN. I have fast labors.

3:02 AM: Call Ashlee Millar's cellphone. Twice. Wake her up and ask her to come over. She immediately says yes and leaves her sleeping husband and sons and rushes over.

3:05 AM: Call my parents to tell them we are headed to the hospital.

3:10 AM: Ashlee arrives- LIFESAVER!!!

3:10- 3:30 AM: Drive to UK hospital- even run one red light. So Hollywood. Call Rich's parents and Kristi.

3:32 AM: Park car and walk across the street into hospital. During a contraction have to stop and sit on "smokers curb" (no less that 10 people out smoking at 3:30 AM!) to wait out the pain so I can continue to walk

3:45- 4 AM: Wait in an empty triage waiting area. Really? So busy at 4 AM you can't take a woman whose water has broken and is in labor back to get checked!

4:05 AM: Finally get hooked up to a monitor and can hear baby's hear beat. Such a relief!

4:06 AM: Meet the first doctor. Family medicine INTERN. Been a resident for 6 weeks. Oh my goodness. No way in H--- this dude is going to check me.

4:20 AM: Finally get a OB resident in to check me. I'm at a 5. Dang. I am dying. Wishing I was at least an 8.

4:30 AM: Intern keeps yakking asking me stupid questions- can't remember what- I just can't talk. Close my eyes and breath and hope he goes away.

4:35 AM: Tell the anesthesiologist I can't have an epidural. My platelets are too low (knew that from my last doctors appointment when they drew my blood). Very sad to see her leave and know I've got to do this on my own.

4:40 AM: Not sure which attending is on call.

4:49 AM: Nurse asks me to get on a wheelchair so they can move me into a birthing room. Have to wait out the contract before I can move off the bed.

4:51 AM: While being transported see MY OWN PERINATOLOGIST standing there. Realize she's on call. She is going to deliver me. Almost start crying out of gratitude and relief. What a blessing.

5:05 AM: Dr. Hansen checks me. Dilated to an 8 plus. 90 percent effaced. She tells me she'll check me again in 20 minutes. Whew. Knowing that made each contraction easier.

5: 25 AM: I'm at a 9 and 100 effaced. Dr. Hansen tells me she'll be in the hallway and to tell the nurses if I feel the need to push, she'll come right in. Close my eyes and remain silent and hope no one wants to talk.

5:45 AM: Feel pressure. Holler at the nurse.

5:50 AM: Nurses start all the prep and Dr. Hansen and the OB-Gyn intern are in place. Can't believe he's almost here!

6:05 AM: Four HUGE pushes later we welcome (nameless) Baby Boy Jackson into the world. Say a silent prayer he is here safely-a true miracle baby. I also am SO happy labor is over. Am surprised at how GIANT he is being 3 1/2 weeks early. Notice his reddish hair. I had been expecting black like all the others.

6:06 AM: Rich strokes my hair and tells me he loves me and is proud of me. He keeps saying, "He's beautiful Cheryl. He's strong and healthy and perfect." My eyes tear up. At that moment, I could not have loved Rich more.

6:10 AM: After he was weighed and cleaned up, I finally go to hold, smell and kiss my beautiful, perfect baby boy. Realize I am blessed beyond measure. He's a true gift and I am infinitely indebted to my Heavenly Father for giving me my precious children.At triage in between contractionsBaby Boy Jackson (no name yet) His face was so bruised (just like Josh's was) and his eyes had broken blood vessels. It was a fast delivery, but his little face took a beating.
8 pounds 5.4 ouncesHospital had mother and baby be 'skin to skin' to help the baby transition better. Not sure if I believe in that stuff, but to just hold him tight, rub his soft hair and know the pregnancy and labor were finally over and he was here and safe and perfect, was a miracle to me.My children!First time opening his eyesOur family- I love this picture "The Boys"Ashlee and Mac came bearing gifts: candy, magazine and homemade chocolate chips cookies. All that AFTER she came over at 3 AM and got my kids ready for school! She's a saint!Bishop Tom Blodgett Dr. Wendy Hansen. She delivered Zach. She's wonderful. She is a perinatolgist (an obstetrical sub specialist concerned with the care of the mother and fetus at higher-than-normal risk for complications) and first read my ultrasound at 14 weeks when my mom was in town. It was a dramatic and difficult day for me, full of scary emotions and tears. Dr. Hansen also was the first doctor during this pregnancy that acted like she cared about me and my unborn baby. She was kind, helpful and did all she could to get me in to see a doctor for a regular OB visit. She followed me throughout the entire pregnancy, though my official OB-Gyn was Dr. Alisa Gambrell. Dr. Hansen is now the OB-Gyn Department Chair.August 13, 2009

Zachary Steven Jackson (the hospital would not discharge the baby without a name!) dressed and ready to GO HOME!Rich and the kids decorated, while baby Zach brought a few gifts of his own to tell his big brothers and sisters how much he already loves them.

dribble, dribble, dribble, SHOOT!

I know where I will be every Wednesday night, Thursday night and Saturday morning until March- sitting on the bleachers in Glendover Elementary School's gymnasium watching kids trying to get an orange ball through a hoop. In some ways I feel like we were just doing this. But then I look and see this cutie, I know a lot of time has passed since we were there watching practices and games with our Moms while I was battling a difficult pregnancy this past spring.Trey's on a new team this year, the Sonics. It is 4th and 5th graders, but their team only has one fifth grade player. If we stick around next year, they could be really good. Trey was thrilled when he was sitting on the bench lacing up his shoes and recognized a few faces warming up. There is a boy from our ward, Justin, and one of Trey's best friends from school, Hunter. Trey's coach played at Western Kentucky and after just one practice I can see a world of change from the crazed, technical foul inducing, expletive laced, loser dads from last season. Truth be told, Trey should have returned to his old team and coaches, but we opted to put him back in the draft. It really was THAT bad. This new team will be perfect for him, even though we'll be late for scouts every week until spring, it will be worth it to be on a team with knowledgeable coaches and nice teammates. Josh and Matt are lucky to have Rich as their coach again. They moved up to the older league (2nd and 3rd graders) and their team name is the Wildcats. The other coach is our friend from the ward and his son Nate is on the team too.

It will be a big season for them. In this league they call fouls, shoot free throws, do not allow traveling or double dribbling and inforce all other rules. It really is tough at this age to be really skilled in every area. Rich plans to focus on teaching the kids the fundamentals of the game, which creates solid players and gives you the opportunity to win- on the scoreboard and in the long run of becoming a technically sound player.We did have a few seconds of panic yestreday when we realized, just before practice, that Josh and Trey did not have basketball shoes that fit. We rushed to Dick's an hour before practice and purchased two pairs of Nikes. While they fit perfectly, those shoes will just have to be broken in on the court.

The next four months we will be busy with all basketball entails, but I love watching the boys learn how to work alongside a team, develop various skills and understand how to be gracious whether they win or lose. The girls always love an event and I love watching Rich share his vast knowledge of the game with young, eager players. It will be a fun ride.

Here's to a great season boys!