Announcing JACOB LINN MONDAY

On Thursday, June 25, 2009, Michael and I checked into the hospital in Bluffton, Ohio, to bring our new baby into the world. We were very excited. As mentioned before, the boys were convinced they were having a sister named Tickle, and although they hadn't convinced us of the name, Michael and I were more sure it was a girl than a boy. We were very excited about my doctor and about delivering a baby in a small hospital like Bluffton. Margie Woodruff, a close friend of ours from church and a nurse there, and our friend Laura Talbot had told us how friendly, caring, and wonderful Bluffton is, so we were excited. Within a couple hours, I was prepped for the c-section and ready to deliver my new baby, or nude baby, as Thobe calls him.

When we got in the operating room, the nurses and anesthesiologist got me ready for the cutting. It was fun having Margie Woodruff there, who I knew would be very thorough and caring. When the surgery began, Michael watched eagerly, and my doctor, Dr. Robert Schutz, soon invited Michael to step on the other side of the curtain to watch the surgery head on. No other doctor ever gave Michael that opportunity, so he was thrilled. Dr. Schutz explained everything that he was doing, and Michael kept saying, "That's so cool! Wow! That's amazing!"

Soon I heard Michael say, "Oh, there's the head!" and then I heard a little cry. I don't know what it is about giving birth that feels my soul with wonder, peace, and a great deal of love. It is perhaps the most spiritual experience I've ever felt. I am convinced that spirits on the other side of the veil are there in that small room to witness that sacred event. I felt an outpouring of God's love for me and for that baby as soon as I heard him cry. Of course my first question was, "Is it a boy or a girl?" When they announced that it was a boy, I was so happy. I worried before Jacob was born that if I found it that it was a boy that I might be disappointed, but I can honestly say that I was just so happy and couldn't wait to see him. Dr. Schutz raised him above the curtain for me to see, and my heart ached to touch him and hug him. The love I felt for him was overwhelming as I shed tears of pure joy.
Soon the nurses took the baby and began weighing him, getting his Apgar scores, and cleaning him up while Dr. Schutz began putting me back together. Jacob weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and is 21 inches long. He's got a lot of dark hair and is so incredibly cute. Shortly after Jacob's birth, my entire body began to ache and hurt terribly. The doctor thought that I must have got some air stuck in my back that made my entire body hurt, but it was miserable! The anesthesiologist suggested that he sedate me, but I insisted that he wait until I was able to see the baby.
Despite being in a lot of pain, I was so excited to see my baby. Michael and I decided a few weeks before the baby was born that if the baby was a girl we would name her Joanna Linn (Joanna after my great, great grandmother who walked across the United States sharing a pair of shoes with her sister and then displayed an amazing amount of faith and courage throughout her life, and Linn, which is Michael's great grandmother's maiden name from his Grandma Monday). We were very unsure about a boy's name though. On our way to the hospital, we decided that if the baby was a boy that we would likely name him Jacob Linn (Jacob Micah Truman is my great, great, great pioneer grandfather who was the first resident of Enterprise--the town where I grew up and Linn was explained previously). We figured we'd wait until we saw the baby to make the final decision. It was really neat when we saw him. He looked like a Jacob, and we knew that should be his name. I still can't quite figure out who he looks like. I see some of each of the boys in him, so maybe he's just a cross between the three of them to make him our little Jacob.
So after I saw the baby, the anesthesiologist sedated me, and I woke up just as my kids were arriving in my room. Because of the sedation, I was really, really tired for the next day or two, but I was still so excited to have all my family there and to have each of the kids see their new little brother.
Alden was ecstatic to see Jacob. He wanted to hold him and cuddle him and love him as much as we'd let him. He kept saying, "He's so cute, Mom. I love him so much." Anything that anyone does with the baby, he wants to be a part of. He loves doing whatever he can to help and has been especially curious about the whole operation of getting him out of me. He asked if he could see the cuts. When I told him that they look gross, he said, "I'll just plug my nose when I look at them." What a silly goose!
Thobe has also been very sweet with his "nude baby." He really loves to hold him and has been very interested in giving him kisses. He is the least involved of the kids, but he still loves Jacob very much. He often asks where Jacob is and is also very helpful. He tells me over and over that he loves his dad, mom and brothers very much.
I must admit that I was nervous about Hyrum and the baby, but he has been incredible. Michael is really good about going the extra mile with the boys when a new baby is born, which I think has been a huge thing for Hyrum. He is enanamored with Jacob. He always wants to hold him and kiss him and love him. Today he even helped me change his diaper. I pulled the swing out of the storage room today, and Hyrum immediately wanted to put Jacob in it. It has an ocean sound, and he kept saying to Jacob, "You like it? You like the ocean? You like the swing?" He's so sweet, and I'm so happy that he loves his new brother so much.
My mom and sister Emily came out the day before Jacob was born, and I honestly don't know what we'd do without them. My mom got an inner ear infection just before she came, so she hasn't felt terrific, but just like my mom always does, she has done probably more than she should. The boys have loved having their grandma and aunt here. Hyrum was so happy when he saw my mom. He immediately ran to her and gave her a big hug and said, "I love Grandma." The only thing he hasn't been able to figure out is where his grandpa is. They have done so much to help, probably more than I even know about. I really am thankful for their sacrifice to come here and all their service to me and my family. Emily has cooked a gormet meal every time she goes into the kitchen. She unfortunately leaves tomorrow--we're really, really going to miss her. Mom is staying for another couple weeks, which I'm extremely thankful for!!!!

Michael and I feel so fortunate to be parents. What an incredible blessing it is to have a baby in our home that has so recently been in our Heavenly Father's presence. I often wonder what mission God has in store for our little Jacob and sometimes feel overwhelmed at the task of raising him. I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have that God has a plan for each of us and that if Michael and I work to raise our children with God's guidance and help that He will help us help Jacob reach his potential and that we can be together throughout this life and into the eternities if we live as God wants us to do. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have that families can be together forever.


I stayed in the hospital until Sunday. Each day I anxiously awaited the arrival of my family. I loved getting a big hug from each of my boys and seeing the boys interact with their little brother. I also looked forward to a big hug from Michael and visiting with him and my mom and sister. While I was there the nurses and doctors took such good care of me and Jacob. After Friday, Jacob and I were the only patients in the entire maternity ward, so any request that we had was immediately granted. The nurses took time to visit with me, and they even made me a delicious milk shake every night. The hospital food was made to order and was also very good (I've never said that about hospital food). In addition to having Dr. Schutz who is the most personable and kind doctor I've ever had visit me daily, I had a great lactation consultant, and Jacob's on-call doctor was our Bishop from church. It was fun seeing him each day. Hyrum was especially excited the first day that he came in. When he walked in the door, Hyrum ran up to him and said, "Ship-ec," which sounded like "Ship Wreck." Bishop Woodruff, or Dr. Woodruff, got such a kick out of that and told Hyrum, "You have no idea how closely that describes how my day has been." We all got a good laugh out of that. I was excited about having the baby in Bluffton, but I really had no idea how wonderful it would be. The facility was exceptionally nice, and the staff was even nicer. If we do decide to do this again, I'll definitely do it in Bluffton and would encourage anyone else having a baby to do the same. Michael said that even if we move to Alaska, that if we decide to have another baby that we'll come back to Bluffton to do it. It was an incredible experience (my only complaint is that we couldn't get Michael's computer to work, so I couldn't update my blog until today).
While we were in the hospital, we also had a few visitors. We had the Alemans come and see us as well as some of the Woodruff family. We also had Michael's parents come and visit us. It was so fun to have them there. They enjoyed meeting Jacob, and the boys especially enjoyed when they took them to McDonald's playland for a midafternoon dinner and playing. Michael, my mom, and I got a nap while Emily read. It was a good thing for everyone, as Michael said. Michael's mom, Grandma, and Kathy Beavers-Deck also got us a very, very nice new car seat for Jacob. My other baby car seat expired--urggg.
The best part of the last few days is having our new little Jacob. He is such an alert, pleasant, and sweet baby. It's amazing to me that at four days old that the sound of my voice can settle him down. When he wakes up, he looks around for me. I feel like he's been part of our family forever. I love him so much and am so grateful for him. He loves to snuggle and be wrapped up tight in a blanket. He hates dirty pants and is an incredible nurser. I hope that I will take the time to treasure every day because babies get big so fast! I love my new little Jacob and am so incrediblely grateful that God sent him to our family. On my last doctor's appointment before Jacob was born, I was talking to Dr. Schutz's nurse and sister, Patty, who had four boys and then two girls. She told me that when she was expecting her 4th baby that she took her three little boys to Meijer, and the cashier said, "Well, I sure hope you've got a little girl in there." Patty told me that she agreed with the cashier, but she then said, "But in retrospect, I'm so glad that God chooses, and that he chose that boy to come to my family. I probably would have chosen a girl, but my fourth son is such a blessing in my life." I feel the exact same way. I would have likely chosen a girl, if I had had the choice, but I'm so glad that I didn't. I know that Jacob is supposed to be a part of our family, and I'm so grateful for that. I love him so much and am so grateful that God picked him to come to us. I hope I can teach him all he needs to know to grow to be the man that God wants him to be. This pregnancy was not easy, but as I look as my new little baby boy, every ache, every pain, every emotionally tramatic moment was so, so worth it. It strengthens my testimony that God lives and loves us more than we'll ever know.

Our Fun Father's Day

My friend, Laura Talbot, gave me this idea. She put the pictures in a three framed picture frame and had her girls hold the letters D A D. Since we have one on the way, I decided to have my boys spell Papi and put them in a four framed picture frame. It was really fun to give these pictures to Michael.

Anyway, our family had a fun day celebrating Father's Day. We went to church and then came home and gave Michael this picture frame, a BYU flag, and a Brita water filter. We also gave him a hook to hang a bird feeder on (he loves watching birds in the morning when he's eating his breakfast). We then took a quick nap, and then went to Toledo to celebrate Father's Day with Michael's dad. Chris is out of town, so we took a roast, potatoes, and corn, and stuff to make a cherry pie, which I made when we got up there. While we were there, we called my dad and wished him a Happy Father's Day. Hyrum insistently told Grandpa that he is 5. It was fun.

I am so thankful for days like Father's Day that allow me to reflect on the blessings of Fathers. I think of my grandfathers--my Grandpa Thomas and Grandpa Humphries. I think of their lives and all they did for me. It's really interesting that since they've passed away, I feel them close to me. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have that this life isn't the end, and that because of Jesus Christ that I can be with them forever. I know that they live and that someday, I will see them again.

Also on Father's Day, I think of my Dad. He's such a good man. I love him so much. I'm so thankful for all the things that he taught me when I was growing up and that he still continues to teach me. I love that I can call him for advice and chat with him for hours. I'm so lucky to be his daughter. I also think of Michael's dad who has become a second father to me. I really am thankful for him and all he does for me and my family.

Over the past seven years, fatherhood has taken on a new meaning for me as I've watched Michael assume the role as the father of our children. He is so amazing. I often wish that I could be the kind of parent that he is. He's so patient, consistent, loving, playful and incredible with our boys. There is no doubt in my mind that our kids are as amazing as they are because of Michael. The kids go crazy the moment that Michael walks in the door and yells, "Amigos!" I think so often parents are either their children's friend or parent and have a hard time finding the happy medium. Michael doesn't. He really knows where the line is and never crosses it. I really can't say eniough about what a terrific dad Michael is and how grateful I am that I get to be his wife. I really love him!!!

Doing Those Things They Do

This summer Alden, Thobe, Hyrum, and I have had a lot of fun. We've been working hard to establish a summer routine. The kids have done a nice job with it for the most part. They get up and get dressed and clean their rooms. Then we eat breakfast. Alden then clears off the table and puts everything in the dishwasher, and Thobe wipes off the table. Then they help me with my weekly household chore, and then we do learning time. Alden's teacher sent home a packet of worksheets that he does on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Thobe reads to me. On Tuesday and Thursday, we read, write stories, or plan some type of creative project. I've also tried to plan trips to the park or library or the free movie. On days that it doesn't rain, we practice basketball or baseball in the yard, pick strawberries from our strawberry patch, or just play outside. Last week in church, Michael found a yucky, obtrusive, gigantic tick on Thobe's head to prove that he's done his fair share of playing outside. Despite the tick, I love Ohio this time of year. Everything is so green and beautiful, and the weather has been fantastic!!!! We haven't had too many mosquitos yet, which has also been nice.

Alden has been been my right hand man. I really do love having him home everyday. I probably ask too much of him, but almost everytime I ask him to help me, he says, "But, of course," and then runs and does the thing that I ask him. Our extremely intelligent friend Becca Renfroe told us about making video games a bi-weekly event. This has been an incredible thing for Alden. His favorite thing in the world is to play Lego Star Wars on our Wii, but he never asks to play on any day but Wednesday and Saturday. He also knows that in order to play, he needs to have his chores done and the basement clean. He's been so good with not pestering us about playing and being content to only play twice a week, although he talks a ton about Star Wars. The other day he had a friend over, and I heard them talking. Alden told his friend he had a secret that he would tell his friend as long as he didn't tell anyone else. Very interested, his friend leaned in to hear the secret. Alden whispered intently into his friend's ear, "I have the Force." It made me laugh. He's also enjoys playing baseball. He's got an incredible coach named Sunny. She does such a great job with Alden, and we've seen some definite improvements. I think I mentioned before that Alden's favorite part about baseball is running. When Sunny wants to punish the team for not trying, she makes them run. That is Alden's favorite part. He's very fast and always finishes in the top three of his team. At his last game, he did a great job in the outfield with backing up the basemen that he was behind and batting as well. We were really happy for him. We always tell him that we don't care if he's good or bad at something but that we do care that he tries and puts forth his best effort. I must admit that I was so happy with his efforts at his last game.

Thobe is also having a nice summer. I think he especially enjoys playing with Alden. They are such good friends! He misses school. Everyday for the first week after school was over, he'd say, "I have school today, right Mom?" He was often disappointed when I'd say no. He is doing a great job with reading and learning and loves to write stories, all of which are about the Wolverines playing one of his favorite teams. The story line is always very similar, but it's fun to hear him tell the story of how the Wolverines were winning, but then the [insert Buckeyes, Cougars, or Rockets] started scoring a lot of touchdowns and came back to win the trophy. He's such a tender boy that he often tells that his team will share the trophy with the Wolverines. He also enjoys playing with all his fake friends. His favorite fake friends are named Alden and Melissa (Alden has green hair by the way). This morning before church he told us he was feeling a little sick and that his fake friend named Alden was a little sick too. Alden just heard his name and adamently told him that he was not sick. "I know," Thobe answered, "My fake friend named Alden is a little sick." You never know what those fake friends are up to. We also recently signed Thobe up for t-ball. He loves it! He is very proud to tell people that he plays for the Rangers and that their color is blue. He certainly is one of the most distracted Rangers, but he's still very cute. He also has a great coach that is very patient with him.


Hyrum has loved every minute of having his brothers home. He loves to do whatever it is that they do. Hyrum is definitely an A personality. He knows what he wants and works very hard to get it. He is especially bad at taking things away from Thobe. Michael and I have been working with Thobe to take things back from Hyrum (I never thought I would try to teach my son to steal something back from his brother, but Hyrum is very assertive and Thobe is not). Hyrum still likes to climb. When my dad was here he put up some fiberglass or plastic stuff in front of our banister, so that Hyrum wouldn't be able to squeeze is small body through the pillars and fall to his death. This worked really well, although the other day, the little monkey climbed up the plastic and looked way over the top of our banister down onto the hard wood floor beneath calling for Alden. Despite this scary experience, I do feel more confident every day that he might just survive to age 3. He now comes and gets me when his ball rolls into the street, whereas before he'd go get it himself and then spend time dribbling the ball there. He also is more sure footed as well, which makes me less worried when I find that he's climbed onto something high. My favorite thing about Hyrum right now is that he talks like crazy. He says the cutest, funniest things. He knows he's funny too, which makes it even more cute. He loves getting hugs, and whenever we hug him, he says, "I love you." He's saying a ton of things in English and Spanish. Like Alden and Thobe he often mixes the two. The other day when we were furniture shopping, Hyrum found the bunk beds and was very angry when we wouldn't let him climb all over them. He demanded to Michael, "I want bunk cama!" He also loves animals. Yesterday we took him to the pet store. When it was time to go, I told him to say goodbye to all the animals. He went around to every tank and every animal and said goodbye. My favorite was when he got to the cockateal and said, "Goodbye, Chicken." He also loves our neighbor's cat named Jake. Jake scratched or bit Hyrum the other day and left quite a mark, but it doesn't matter to Hyrum. He still chases the poor cat all around. Hyrum will often look at his scratch and say, "I bite Jake. Ouch Jake." He's so much fun.

Anyway, I've had a lot of fun so far with the kids. I hope that when the baby is born, we can continue to do all we've done so far this summer. We're all very excited for the arrival of Baby Tickle.

Only 10 Days Until Baby

So life has been crazy here around the Monday house. I have only 10 more days until my c-section is scheduled. Last night I was having regular, painful, but non-debilitating contractions every 5 1/2 minutes (yes, I did finally time them, Mom and Dad) from about 8:30 until I went to bed at 11:30. I hoped that maybe I was going into labor and that I would be able to forgo the c-section all together (I was in labor on petocin for a lot of hours with Alden and a couple days with Thobe and just never dilated, so I scheduled a c-section with Hyrum and have done the same with this baby). Anyway, I ended up sleeping fairly well last night, despite the contractions and heart burn, and when I woke up, my contractions were over. I guess the good thing is that I saved my mom $110 from having to change her plane ticket. I am more ready for this pregancy to be over than any other pregnancy. Part of it is that I'm very excited to see what kind of baby is growing inside of me. I am very excited. It's so much fun to hear the boys talk about and ask questions about Baby Tickle. Alden tells everyone that he's sure this baby is a girl because he knew Hyrum was a boy, and he was right (what he doesn't tell them is that we found out at the ultrasound that he was a boy and that before that he was sure he was a girl). Michael and I have discussed names. We have a long list of girls' names that we love (FINALLY), and a much shorter list of boys' names that we like. If the baby is a girl we will likely name her Joanna (we're unsure of her middle name), and if it's a boy, well, we're leaning toward Jacob but that might be too common for us Mondays. Both of these names have family significance which I will discuss in further detail if we decide to go with either name. I'm even more excited for this pregnancy to be over because it's been a difficult pregnancy. I seriously still get very nausiated and weak for at least an hour every day--STILL. If I get hot, eat too much salt or sugar, or sit or stand for an extended period of time my fingers look like hot dogs and my toes like Vienna sausages. My ankles are always fat, and all my shoes hurt my feet because they have become too small. As a matter of fact, today when we were on our way to church, we had to turn around because I forgot my shoes simply because it's always the last thing I do before leaving the house. My emotions have also been very mercurial. I feel like I lose my temper way too easily. I must admit that my first week of summer with trying to establish a few routines before the baby is born consisted of me just yelling at the kids. I don't know how those sweet boys remain so sweet. Things have gotten a lot better, but I really want to be a patient, kind and loving mom and often fail miserably. Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed, I don't have to look very far to realize how blessed I am to be able to have four children, especially if the fourth baby is as incredible as my first three boys. Despite the challenges of being pregnant, I wouldn't trade this great gift of motherhood for anything. I love being a mom. I love my kids. They teach me, they encourage me, and they love me. Motherhood does not come without sacrifice, but it's so worth it. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for my children and the opportunity that our family has to have another spirit in our lives. What a great blessing! I truly am very excited!

Lindsay, my sister-in-law told me that I need to post a picture of myself pregnant before my pregnancy is over--so here you go, Linds (Alden took the first picture and Thobe took the next picture). When I tried on my shirt today, Michael told me that he really liked it. I said, "Thanks, but don't you think it makes me look fat from the side." Before he could answer, I said, "Oh yeah, wait a second, I am fat right now." We both laughed. That's the other thing that I love about pregnancy--it's the only time since I was a young girl that I don't stress about looking fat. Do I really want this to be over?????