Orangepoppy

officially moved!

so clearly I have not been around these parts the past few months - just thought I would say hello and make sure you knew where I have been. Orangepoppy has officially moved visit my new blog HERE! xo

Ten on Ten :: January 2011

I posted my set over on a bit of sunshine this month, come on over and check it out!

the close of 2010

 I have been sitting here trying to formulate something great to say about the past month, an exciting wrap up to our holiday season. I did not do a stellar job of taking great photos throughout much of December - truthfully my arms were full with a little girl to snuggle. I did however manage to drink way to much hot chocolate and ate way to many christmas cookies and watched all my favorite holiday classics several times too! We decorated our home, visited Santa for the yearly Gough cousin picture. We went on a fun field trip to wights nursery with grandma Gough and the boys preschool and we even had the pleasure of going to our very first "christmas concert" at their school which marks the begining of the years of the annual children's christmas concert I am sure - and I am so excited about!

We celebrated Christmas not once, not twice but a total of seven times this year and managed to squeeze in a birthday as well all in one week..we only got our times mixed up once in the midst of all the crazy, Christmas caos.

It was defienetly a year to remember. As I sit and reflect a bit on 2010 I am so struck by God's goodness and love poured out on our family and I feel such a deep sense of gratefulness. Of course the birth of our darling little girl, an addition I longed and hoped for being realized in 2010 was truly an amazing gift from God and although I might not have all the perfect pictures to prove it this past season will not quickly be forgotten. here is a random smattering of photos taken throughout the month of december:

thank you friends for being a part of our life and keeping up with us on the Orangepoppy blog! This space has truly become a comfortable place to share about our family with all your love and support.

In 2011 I have decided to start a brand new blog, a bit of sunshine - a spot to be a bit more creative and light. I might post over there about our family a bit too but hope to keep Orangepoppy going as a more personal focus. I would so love it if you would join me in my new spot though, I am just getting started and having a lot of fun!

so here's to 2011 and all that it might bring!

xo,

Rebekah

Ten on Ten :: December 2010

check out all the fun HERE!!

Capturing our Blessings :: In Review

so even though I have been away for the past month on what I am calling *maternity blog leave* ha - at least I actually have an excuse for neglecting my blog these days..anyway, even though I have been away from Orangepoppy I did indeed manage to participate in a little project Kristen and I cooked up over on the Ten on Ten blog during the month of November.

I wanted to find something to keep me busy documenting this crazy season  with a new baby and when paired with the month dedicated to giving thanks, Capturing our Blessings was born. Kristen and I each took a photo and posted them side by side on the Ten on Ten blog as a diptych each day. Kristen's always on the left and mine always on the right.

It was a really fun project and I am happy to report that we both manage to do it every single day during the month, finding sweet blessings woven throughout our days. Kristen posted a little behind the scenes of her photos over on her personal blog so I thought I would join her and give you all a tiny glimpse of what we have been up to the past weeks.

::01::

this was an amazing meal of enchiladas brought to us by the sweet Sarah Wheeldreyer. She came a great distance so that our family could enjoy a hot delicious meal without having to lift a finger. It was delicious as were all the many many generous meals that so many friends have brought us over the past many weeks. - thank you all if you are among the group it has certainly been a BIG blessing!

::02::

Josie had a doctors appointment while the boys were at preschool.

::03::

my first peppermint soy mocha in the red cups at Starbucks - I know they make you giddy too!

::04::

a little at home pedicure...I am still wearing it and it does not look so hot anymore - ha!

::05::

Chris beginning prep for the humongous painting project he did on our piano - I will share photos I promise!

::06::

the most a-mazing homemade chicken noodle soup that Noah and Julie Jane brought one day when we were feeling under the weather. No kidding the best I have ever had, the noodles are even homemade!

::07::

an amazing baby shower for Josie and I with tons of cute little girly things and the most incredible words of blessing shared. Paula and Jenny did an awesome job, I was completley overwhelmed!

::08::

my MIL lending her incredible hands as we settled in as a family of five! I could have easily done half of my photos with pictures of this dear woman in them!

::09::

my sweet Levi dancing in the curtains, a little blessing he is.

::10::

Josie's first nap in her crib. Can you see the cute crib sheet made out of vintage linens? My Mom helped me make two and they are so adorable I love them!

::11::

this is a photo I very deliberatley took of a card that a friend, Kim gave me that says it's a girl on it. I found out that morning that she had just delivered her third daughter but the announcement hadn't been made yet so it was a little documentation of how happy my heart was that day for she and her family!

::12::

a nice crisp fall walk with the boys on their bikes, the leaves were gorgeous and we stopped and talked to neighbors while we were out.

::13::

Simon had his first "drop off" birthday party for his new little girl friend Savvy (I am telling you they won't leave class to go home unless they are holding hands so Savvy's Mom and I are becoming good friends, he was the only boy at the party) so Chris and I took Levi and Josie for a coffee date at the delicious Besalu in Ballard and had such a lovely conversation with two women about child rearing and the blessings that our kids are! It was a Saturday so we were lucky to get a little table tucked in the corner!

::14::

Celebrating the cutest little two year old ever! Wesley turned two and had a gymnastics party at SGA - the boys had a great time celebrating their adorable cousin!

::15::

Chris working on his 2k piece puzzle, I think it helps him unwind and I am just happy when he is happy. There were many nights he was up through the night bouncing our colicy baby and working on this puzzle!

::16::

A trip into the city on our way to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's. We stopped to look at an office space for TNS.

::17::

this morning I could tell my boys needed their Mom to give them some extra lovin so I bravely took my three alone to our favorite donught shop. As you can see Simon was especially "blessed" by that huge chocolate bar. I got a few stares too which are more common now that I have three kids. I felt very proud to have gone and even braved the bathroom with all three of them.

::18::

a fun thrifted find that was perfect for the Thanksgiving holiday, $2.99 for this handmade masterpiece!

::19::

our dog Renton out in the backyard while the kids played with Chris

::20::

an ebvelskiver morning. A family tradition my Mother gave me a special pan many christmases ago to make them and our boys think they are quite fun!

::21::

the first gorgeous snowfall of the winter season - although it is still techniqully fall. that orange tree in our yard looked beauitul in the snow!

::22::

Josie's first snow experience, she slept through the whole thing in the Moby but she looked so cute in her snow hat!

::23::

a true snowday, Chris stayed home from work but the sleep deprevation got to me that morning and I was a grump. I drew a little heart in the snow as a peace offering while he was out for hours sleding with the boys. it worked :)

::24::

one of my favorite captures. Chris and I were talking at the table and looked into the playroom to find the boys reading together with that stack of books on the couch. I just love this picture of them - soooo sweet!

::25::

Jenny, Kristen and I trying out the second annual photo booth at Thanksgiving. Chris and I built a teepee for it this year!

::26::

our Christmas tree! It was actually quite dark when I took this but it was our second tree lot for the day. The first one only had three trees in the size we wanted so we had to leave. This one was just right for us!

::27::

a family "christmas cheers" over breakfast, getting into the christmas spirit!

::28::

Chris and I lead worship at our church's north seattle church plant this day with our friend Adam. I love it when Chris plays his mandolin on classic christmas carols, we had a lot of fun!

::29::

santa photo day with all seven of the Gough cousins! I loved this moment when Simon and Levi saw Kristen's boys Evan and Miles. They screamed with glee at each other and her boys ran to catch up with huge grins spread on their sweet faces!

::30::

the lights on our christmas tree the evening of November 30th. A truly amazing month full to the brim with so many blessings!

And because Kristen and I had such an incredible time doing this project together we decided to unfold a new on going series called The Beauty Collective - a monthly collaborative project hosted by Ten on Ten, featuring two photographers and the beauty found in their everyday lives. This month we are featuring the photos of Stacy Bostrom and Casey Visser who are both incredible photographers. Check out all the details HERE!!

you can see the full Capturing our Blessings project HERE if you want!

ps. this Friday is December tenth so be sure to charge your camera batteries and join in some Ten on Ten fun!!

Josie's birth story :: part two

I finally found a few minutes to write out the rest of Josie's birth story. I can hardly believe it has already been seven weeks since she was born. I keep telling myself I am not allowed to blog until I get this post written simply because I want to have it documented in some way but wow three kids = not much time to myself..but I wouldn't have it any other way!

*read part one HERE*

When we arrived at Swedish we headed straight up to triage. I know right where it is since I had a preemie a few years ago. It is pretty close to the labor and delivery wing and as we were walking past that portion Chris spotted my old doctor, Dr.Hanon in her office. She had to leave her private practice fairly suddenly a few years ago but still works a few days a week at the emergency portion of labor and delivery. I didn’t see her I was sort of on a mission but Chris told me as I was changing into the hospital gown.

Then the tests began. I was hooked up to monitors and poked and prodded. I assured the nurses that all I really needed was something to slow my contractions down since I was in pre-term labor (36.6 weeks). I needed to make it to my scheduled c-section the following week and would not be having my baby this evening. I told them all about our plans to go to the pumpkin patch the following day with our boys. They all just smiled and nodded and asked me questions but outside I overheard the doctor mention doing the c-section tonight. I shot a look at Chris and then blurted out to the nurse “if I do have to have the baby tonight can Dr.Hanon do it?”

“No, absolutely not. She is here for patients who come in on emergency with no doctor, she is not in your group, that really is not possible”

Humph, I was looking for a silver lining.

After about an hour and a lot more contractions, labor seemed to be ramping up. Dr. Miller finally came in to discuss the situation. I had seen him once during my pregnancy but he wasn’t my regular ob. He ordered an ultrasound and an amnio which I had been fervently trying to avoid but he felt it was necessary to check Josie’s lung development. He also wanted to see how my uterus was holding up with labor and just how thin it had gotten.

When the radiologist came in with the huge ultrasound machine she smiled and asked me if I knew what I was having. I asked her to double check if it was still a girl – ha ha I was still so worried. She confirmed that it was indeed most certainly a girl and then she proceeded to measure the lining of my uterine wall. Most of it was 4-5cm, which was sort of hard to understand, but the part that got scary was when she tried to scan the portion of my uterus that has the large “window” thin area over my cesarean scar

There was nothing to measure.

Dr. Miller looked at me and said “sorry, we are skipping the amnio and doing the cesarean right now this is way to risky”

Chris immediately went out into the hall to make arrangements for the boys for the night and to text the family that we would be delivering earlier than expected. At some point out in the hall Dr. Hanon came out of her office and saw Chris. She immediately came up and asked why he was there. She wanted to know if I was around and if I was in labor. He told her we were doing an emergency c-section and she literally came running in to find me.

First of all the fact that she remembered us was sort of shocking. I mean she had hundreds of patients when she was practicing full time but she remembered everything about my thin uterus and risky delivery in 2007 and began discussing it with Dr. Miller. She also gave me her little Dr. Hanon, I will be getting my way grin and boldly said “Rebekah I WILL BE joining you in surgery”

I literally burst into tears. I mean how incredible that the Lord somehow made a way for my original doctor, the one who has been with me from the beginning and knows my body so well to be there.

She doesn’t even practice anymore. It was a gift.

So Chris and I prepared for surgery. Actually all he did was put on the dorky jumpsuit and hat – but he actually did need some help it was quite humorous. They wheeled us in and I began to shake. I remember doing this during my first c-section, also an emergency. My body started to go into shock and I got super cold and scared. The anesthesiologist was hilarious and tried to put me at ease but Dr. Hanon sat and held me (usually a nurse does this) while he did the spinal. She was just whispering the sweetest words of encouragement.

I won’t bore you too much with the details of the actual surgery but I will say that I HATE this surgery. It was my third so I feel pretty seasoned. It is never fun. When the spinal hits your system the room starts to close in and often you can’t feel the sensation of breathing even though you are. It is so weird and so terrifying and then my blood pressure always drops out and the extreme nausea starts. Yuck.

But little Josie was out within minutes. I heard Dr. Hanon yell for Chris to come and take a really close look at my uterus. She was cheering about the fact that we had gotten Josie out in the nick of time. I guess that the portion of my uterus that is super thin was actually being held together by the amniotic fluid or “water” that had not broken thankfully. She said it really was so lucky that nothing bad had happened.

Josie on the other hand had some trouble. She was not breathing well at all and they were struggling getting her to transition. They were able to weigh her, 6lbs 9ounces but I wasn’t allowed to hold her at all. Chris was with her the whole time and at that point I just remember Dr. Hanon bending over and whispering into my ear that she was beautiful and that she would be just fine it was just going to take here a little bit to get use to breathing but that we did the right thing by getting her out safely. I still cannot even believe Dr. Hanon was there it was an amazing gift.

And because I had two doctors attending to me the surgery was so super short. We were out of there within the hour and headed for recovery. But not until we told everyone that we were naming our sweet little girl Josie. Dr. Miller was shocked, he has a 14-year-old daughter named Josie and he said he had never had a couple use that name in the years he was delivering until that night!

In recovery Josie was still having a ton of trouble breathing and they laid her on my chest skin to skin to see if that would help. It didn’t at all; it was a really weird scary sound that she was making. Like she was gasping for air over and over. They finally took her to the NICU, Chris followed. That was a really painful moment for me. With my first son, who was born five weeks premature he never had to leave my side. I had new sympathy for families who have scary situations and are not able to be with their little ones fresh from the womb. The adrenaline of having a child is there, you can’t sleep you just want your baby in your arms not in a big plastic box with monitors and tubes.

Josie only had to stay in the NICU for about eight hours. But I lay awake the entire night praying for her and counting the minutes until I could be with her again. And they finally brought her to me the next morning just a few hours before the rest of the family arrived to welcome her.

It truly was an amazing experience even though it wasn’t exactly as I had planned. I know God’s hand was in it and am in awe of how he has blessed us!

So that is that, it feels so good to finally have the story written down. I didn’t do a good job of writing out Simon or Levi’s birth story..It is so easy for time to get away and I don’t ever want to forget the amazing details and ways that my kids came into this world.

Josie, we love you so much and are beyond thankful for you sweet and safe arrival. It is so funny you are only seven weeks old and I already can not imagine my life without you!

Ten on Ten :: Novembers 2010

check out other sets over on the Ten on Ten blog and join in the fun!

Josie Joan-Claire::18 days

cute and cuddly :: has her days and nights mixed up but we are working on it :: already has her first cold, boo :: hosted a party at home at 16 days but slept through most of it :: weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces respectively at her appointment today :: in the 25 percentile, petite and feisty :: looks adorable in her bear hat that mommy saved from when simon was born since daddy thought it made her brothers look to wussy and wouln't let them wear it :: positively perfect in every way!

ps. I didn't forget about the second half of her birth story just need to finish it up - stay tuned!

pps. if you haven't already check out the fun collabrative project, Capturing our Blessings that I am doing with Kristen this month over on the Ten on Ten blog and consider joining us!

Happy Halloween!

these were our jack o lanterns this year. the boys carved them with Chris after we rescued them from being forgotten at the pumpkin patch. yes you did read that correctly, we forgot our pumpkins at the patch this year. ha ha, I guess you know you have a newborn when you go to the pumpkin patch and a.) forget your camera's memory card?? weird who does that? b.) somehow manage to dump your kid out of the back of a wheel barrow into a giant muddy lagoon c.) proceed to clean him up with a bag of wipes while he freezes his behind off d.) spend quite awhile cleaning up the group, including yourself and striping your kids down to their sk-ivies e.) drive away WITHOUT your pumpkins and then not realize it for five hours when the patch is now closed and then have to call and explain yourself to farmer Jenny the next day that your the weirdo who left $20 worth of pumpkins at the cash wrap..

has anyone else ever done this? or maybe forgot your tree at the christmas tree lot? hm hope we don't do that this year too..anyways we got them back and enjoyed carving them as a family.

tonight we celebrated Levi's third birthday but I didn't take a lot of photos. hoping to scrounge a few up to share here but who knows. just trying to keep my head on straight. hope you all had a great evening and got a lot of good loot out of your kids stash after they crashed from sugar overload.

now someone explain how tomorrow is November already? craziness!!!

Happy Birthday Levi!

I can't believe I have already had you for three whole years. The time has flown by and I am so honored and blessed to be your Mom. I am amazed at all that you can do. The sweet and gentle way that you are coupled with your huge appetite for life and discovery! You are an amazing boy Louie and all of us who know you love you so much!

The past few weeks we have had a lot of new changes with the arrival of your baby sister. You honestly blow me away with how much you adore her. You check on her all the time, ask if she can play and you share your favorite toys with her too. The other night you kissed Josie on the head looked at me and said "Mom I just love this baby so much"..Levi that is how I feel about you too. I just love you, deeply and with the most grateful heart. You have brought such joy and humor into our home. You are a bright spot in my day and you always want to cuddle at night!

May this next year be full of more adventures than you ever thought possible. I can't wait to see what will come out of your mouth next. Your a treasure Levi Martin. Happy Birthday my special son.

Love,

Mommy