Changes...A new season begins

Well, I recently said goodbye to my teaching job and to my classroom and my co-workers of the past 4 years. It was a bittersweet moment for me taking this picture. I am sad to be leaving such a GREAT team and will miss seeing them everyday once school starts back up in the Fall. Yet, I am excited as I begin this new chapter in my life staying home with my kids. I know it's what the Lord has as the next step for me in my life and I look forward to seeing His Hand work. Below is from Monday, June 8th...my last day of work. That now empty classroom in the back has been mine for the past 4 years and holds lots of memories for me. I'm going to miss it. More so though, I am going to miss the people pictured with me and the ones not pictured. I can say without hesitation that I loved the people I worked with. They aren't just my coworkers, but they're my dear friends as well. I will miss you guys and look forward to coming to visit you next year! It's one thing to have a job, but it goes even further when the people you work with reach to your heart and leave lasting impressions. Love you guys!

This picture was taken on June 15th. I am 38 weeks and 5 days preggo here and literally about ready to pop. Jay and I were about to head to the hospital to get for my induction the next day. This is the last pregnancy picture taken of me (at least with makeup and not in labor) before my son was born. I have to be honest and say it was definetely a rough pregnancy for me there at the end (and for my husband as well who had to shoulder the family load alone while I was on bedrest! But he never once complained! I truly am blessed with a wonderful husband!!) I was glad to be taking this picture knowing this pregnancy would soon be over and the road to recovery would soon begin! The Lord is faithful and His strength is my strength. Even when I didn't think I could go a moment longer in this pain and discomfort of the pregnancy, He carried me through. Thank you, Lord.

And the Lord has blessed me with another gift....
My son, Eli James Sappington, is here! He was born June 16th at 10:30 p.m. after a looooong day of waiting for him to come! (Thank you to all you troopers who came to the hospital to wait out his arrival! I love you!) He is doing very well and is (so far...thank you, Lord....may it continue!) a content baby and sleeping well.
8 lbs 3.5 ozs
19.69 inches long
Happy Birthday, my son. The Lord has great plans for your life. I am priveleged to be your mommy!

Proud big sister, Jadyn got to hold her baby brother for the first time on June 17th. This is her facial expression every time she sees him. She is enraptured with him and loves to look at him and give him kisses. When she came in to meet him for the first time the night he was born, her face was one of complete amazement, and then it was followed with, "Uh-Oh!" Haha! I wonder what she meant by that! :) I am happy she is liking her baby brother. This is an adjustment phase for her as she's no longer the only child, but at least she likes the new addition to the family! :) For that, I am thankful and praise the Lord for answered prayer.

We are doing well around here. God has blessed us tremendously with great family and friends! Thank you to everyone who's taken care of Jadyn, sent us words of encouragments, visited us, prayed (and continue to pray) for us. God is so good and it's you guys who continue to show us that His Love Never Fails.

Love,
Shannon

Maternity Photo shoot

We had the fun experience of getting a photo shoot with a photographer who is starting up her business. We had a really good time doing it and she seemed please with the photos she got. Her name is Michelle Monk and her business is Beautiful You Photography.

You can check out her website at http://www.beautifulyouphoto.blogspot.com/

Go to my picasa web album to view more of her shots and to also see updated pregnancy shots. http://picasaweb.google.com/shinnin1171

Baby update

Well, we have reached the 37 1/2 week mark and baby boy has been on the move!
I went to my weekly midwife appt yesterday to discover that I'm still dilated to a 1 cm (for the 3rd week in a row, y'all....), but that things are 'loosening up' down there! We also learned that Baby boy has now turned himself head up! Yup, he's breach. My original due date was June 24th, but after a sonogram appt about 3 weeks ago, they moved the date up to June 16th. And now, after yesterday....it's been moved up to this Tuesday, June 9th! The plan is that I'll go in sometime Monday afternoon to the doctor my midwife works with. The doctor will do another sono to make sure I still have plenty of amniotic fluid in there (which as of yesterday, I do), and to make sure the umbilical cord is not around baby's neck. If all that checks out, then they'll give me a shot to relax my uterus and the doc (who's one of the best around!) will then do an aversion (he'll manually turn the baby back to head down). From there, we walk on over to Labor and Delivery (the doc offc is next to the hospital), check ourselves in, and that evening the nurses will insert cervadyl into my cervix to hopefully get the ball rolling and get my cervix fully ready. They'll then give me a sleeping pill and it's lights out for the night! Tuesday morning, bright and early, my midwife will come in and start the induction. So, if all goes according to that plan, we should be welcoming a VERY healthy and bouncing baby boy!

The alternatives if the aversion isn't possible Monday or doesn't work, then we either schedule a c-section or we wait it out til the 16th to see if he turns on his own. If I go into labor before he turns head down again, then it's a c-section as well. We know that either way, the Lord is in control.

Please be in prayer that he'll decide to turn head down on his own (thus no need for the aversion) and that labor and delivery will go smoothly. I've been put on bed rest for the weekend to get the massive swelling in my legs and lower belly to go down. It's been less than 24 hours since being put on bedrest, and I'm already bored, peoples! LOL

God is good. We can't wait to meet our son.