Let's just start at the beginning.
I found out the day before my thirtieth birthday that I was pregnant with our fourth child. Owen had just turned one the week before, and this was a completely unexpected happy surprise to find out he would have a little somebody just 20 months his junior. I immediately became pregnant-sick, and life changed a bit.
Somewhere during that time, we started throwing around the idea of moving to Las Vegas. It rattled around in our heads here and there, and finally stuck with an actual job offer in November. I encouraged BK to go for it. I just felt like it was the right thing for him and for us. He accepted the job at the beginning of December. And thus began an intense several month process of mile-long to-do lists and miracles and everything else that has to happen to get a family of almost-six across the country.
We hired a property management company and rented out our house--our very first house!--within two weeks of it being posted. This posed a "problem" as I was very, very pregnant with nowhere to live, and a husband about to move to Nevada without me. We sent all of our stuff with him, and we moved into an empty house belonging to someone who had moved out of the ward but hadn't been able to sell their house yet. We lived out of suitcases and slept on borrowed mattresses. We had a small, very small, fridge, and just a few dishes. At the time it was fine, but now every time I look back on that time, I feel sick. Somehow I was protected from getting down in the dumps about it while I was in it, but again, looking back, I'm really not sure how I survived on my own. But we did. And it was not alone. I wanted to share a copy of an email I sent to our Bishop as we were on the road to Nevada. (I'll get to the birth story in a minute.)
"Bishop Eyre,
Brady flew back in last night and we are currently on the road headed to Las Vegas! So we survived! However I absolutely could not have survived had it not been for the dozens of favors I have received from those in the Waco 2nd ward. I wanted you to know that between the ward council members and my home and visiting teachers, I was taken care of and truly humbled by everyone's kindness. The olsens invited me and my kids over twice for dinner. Jackie is one of my visiting teachers and she also helped watch my kids while I had dr appts and let me do laundry at her house. The Sanford's had us over for dinner also. Lilian also had me over for lunch twice while I did laundry. She also brought me a meal after I had the baby. President Lindner and Sister Farnsworth texted me often to check on me. One time when I was extremely sick and unable to make it to church, Justin noticed within ten mins that I hadn't showed up and texted me to ask if I was okay. Unbeknownst to him, a moment before receiving his text, I was in tears on my knees pleading for strength because I was so sick and In charge of very rambunctious boys. I know he was prompted by the Spirit to text me right at that moment because it was the Lords way of letting me know that He hadn't forgotten about me. Olivia Lindner brought me cookies and another time ran to the grocery store for me. Aersta acerson also offered and went to the grocery store for me. Matt Shane who is my home teacher helped me with some things that came up with the hubbards house and needed fixed or things that were too heavy for me to lift. He also drove out to Vegas with Brady and helped unload our stuff. We had at least 8 guys show up to help load our uhaul truck. The Shane's also had us over for dinner and Jessica checked in with me frequently and watched my kids for me when I needed it. They gave my kids rides to and from church also. Jeanette Vance brought me meals and also packed a cute box of road trip goodies for our family before we left. Sis hoffmann brought me a meal after I had the baby. Malia white let my kids sit with her family at church while I was in the hall with Owen. Laurel baker is a saint. The Bakers provided me beds, sheets, and other furniture at the Hubbards house (the hubbards by the way let us stay at their house for six weeks without us paying them anything except utilities even though we offered repeatedly). Laurel let me borrow clothes, she had me over for lunch while I did laundry, she babysat my kids COUNTLESS times during the past two months, she brought me dinner, she brought me ice cream and watched a movie with me, she let my kids borrow toys, and this list could go on and on. She is one of the most Christlike people that I know and you should rotate as many people as possible through primary while she is in there so they can learn from her and her amazing example. Sarah Echevarria is my other visiting teacher and I could not have survived without her either. She (and Lilian Sanford and malia white) came and packed up my kitchen for me. She came over another time and cleaned my fridge. She watched my kids. She let us bring over laundry late at night the night we got home from the hospital when my one year old threw up all over his bed. She and Jose brought us boxes when we were packing. They used their truck to help me with at least three different favors. She and Lilian came over and helped me bag up garbage at our house and hauled it all to the curb for me. Many of these people worked together to throw me a surprise baby shower. I'm sure I'm forgetting other favors, but I just wanted to illustrate the LENGTHY list of good works that have happened to us the past two months. I have never felt so useless and humbled in my life--and words cannot express how touched I am by the outpouring of love and concern by these and others in the ward. I only wish I had been around a little bit longer to be able to somehow help to repay these sorts of things back. Our family has been truly blessed by our time in Waco. I will miss you all dearly!
Amy"
I was truly carried during my time of distress. I've been praying for opportunities to show kindness in these sorts of ways for others. I've also been sad to leave this long list of wonderful people. It's overwhelming to start over sometimes, but good in a way, too.
Now backing up a few weeks--
I started having pre-labor pains a week or so before BK flew in. He was getting in on Thursday, March 5. I was scheduled for an induction on Friday, March 6 at 6am. Contractions came and went frequently. On Thursday, while BK was en route, I lost my mucus plug (EW) and immediately started praying that the labor would stop and wait until BK made it that night. The contractions stopped. We got back from getting BK that night at 10:30pm. My contractions started again at midnight. And this time they didn't stop.
By the time we got to the hospital around 5:45am, I was having contractions 3-5 mins apart. We got checked in. BK then left to go back to the house to let Laurel go home to get her boys ready for school. He dropped Landon off at school and dropped the other two off at Laurel's house.
At 8am, I sent the following text to my mom and sister. (Sara was in Paris and so she couldn't get my messages!)
"The doctor just came. Everything looks good. I'm at a 3, almost 4 and about 75% effaced. He broke my water, and my epidural is on order and should be here soon.... I'm on pitocin. A small dose. Until they get the epidural here. At which point they will crank it up. The fluid was clear which means the baby is fine."
45 mins later the CRNA was supposed to show up at "any minute" and I was in quite a bit of pain. It took awhile to get placed.
At 9:39am: "The epidural is in. And I'm at a 4. And feeling fantastic!"
Unfortunately that didn't last long. About half an hour later I was in the most pain I've ever been in my whole life. The epidural wasn't working the way it was supposed to, and I was terrified thinking I was only at a 4 and would have to endure that for hours. They tried fixing it, it didn't work. The nurse was about to leave again, and then decided not to wait for the doctor to check me because my face looked different, like maybe it was time to push. And I'm glad she did. I had progressed from a 4 to a 10 in about 45 minutes. So the pain wasn't for nothing--he was apparently just ready to get out.
At 11am the doctor arrived, and got things ready to go. 15 mins and three pushes later, Foster James Powell joined our family at 8 lbs 3 oz and 19 in long. He was in perfect health. We enjoyed our time together at the hospital. Heading home from the hospital we couldn't find a pharmacy open that had my pain meds, which was just the beginning of one nightmare after another. Owen started puking a couple of hours after that. He came down with pneumonia shortly thereafter. And then BK left. Somehow Foster did not contract any illness. And somehow I survived for ten days with four children while we waited for BK to come back to get us.
We drove for two days with our four sons and our dog to our new home. (Owen was horrible.) And so far, I really like it here. It's sunny and warm. Having BK's sister just down the road has been awesome, and the rest of his family is super close too. We've already made a lot of great memories. Our house is beautiful. Landon has adjusted to his new school pretty well. Spencer will start half-day kindergarten in the fall. Owen is learning to talk. Foster is learning to sleep. You really can make "home" anywhere as long as your family is with you. The routine just looks different. I still get a bit choked up when I think about the beautiful life we left behind us in Texas. I loved our house there. I loved our friends and family there. But BK and I could not deny the promptings we had to go down a path "less traveled" by (by us, anyway). And so I'm excited to see where it takes us. People here have been wonderful to us so far. Complete strangers showed up with meals. Other moms have been friendly. BK works for really great people. I got the calling I had been praying for. (Relief Society pianist. YES!!!)
We are making a good life here, so far. And that, my friends, is what we have been up to for the past year!
