Happy President's Day!

Just kidding, we had a baby! A little over 2 weeks ago! And it was so perfect! I went in to be induced b/c they were thinking he was small, and after only 6 hours he was born! It went so fast! I decided to try it without an epidural and was successful. I did have 1 shot of IV pain meds, but all that did was make me very tired. So next time I'm skipping that. I remember thinking, "if these contractions would just stop I could take a little nap." Well they weren't stopping and after less than an hour of pushing our baby boy was born! And he wasn't small either, 7 lbs 3 oz, 19.5 in long. And all of that happened on January 29th, and the very next day was my birthday! I wasn't super excited about being in the hospital on my birthday but the trade off was worth it. We just love our little boy! His name is John David Parks IV, JD for short. And he is doing so great. We went to weigh in at the doctor's office this past Friday and he's up to 7 lbs 8.5 oz! So apparently the breastfeeding is working. He's pretty happy, doesn't cry unless we do something to mess him up. He did decide to buck the system yesterday and not take a nap during the day, so he was fussy a good part of yesterday until his little body took over and knocked him out for a few hours. He doesn't mind taking a bath as long as the room is really warm-he really doesn't like to be cold and wet. Other than that he is great! He eats every 3-3.5 hrs at night, which means we both sleep for 2 hours in between feedings. During the day he will go anywhere from 2-4 hrs and sleep 1-3 hrs in between. His night schedule is actually more predictable than his day schedule. And since I work night shift, it hasn't been too bad to get up with him. As long as I can catch at least one nap with him during the day I am good. Altogether I usually get 6-9 hrs of sleep per 24 hrs, which isn't too shabby. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure-enjoy!

It's a BOY!

Well we found out today that we're having a boy! Hooray! I had been thinking it was a girl most of the time, but then since last week I started thinking it was a boy. And honestly when we found out, I felt this sense of relief that we're having a boy. Weird. Now on to getting his room ready!

And BABY makes 3!

So its official if you haven't already heard. I'm PREGNANT! Hooray! Only 25 more weeks to go!

Happy and Sad

Well today is our 2 year anniversary! Hooray! Sometimes it feels like only yesterday that I drove past Herty Field with the empty white wedding chairs in rows just a few hours before I got married. When I saw those chairs set up, waiting for everyone to come and sit in them at my wedding, I knew it was really happening; I was really getting married. It really was the best, most perfect day of my life so far. And now I can't picture my life before that day without having to try hard; being married to this man is just so right that it feels like forever. And so sometimes it also feels like I've been married for so much longer than 2 years. I don't think I even have the words to say exactly how I feel right now, but if my life is shorter than I think it will be, or if nothing else good happens to me, this is enough. The Lord has truly exceeded every expectation I ever had about marriage and my husband and given me so much more than I thought possible. I am so grateful for these past 2 years, and so humbled that this much grace, love, joy, redemption, and fullness was spent on me. To Him be ALL the glory.

Now onto the sad. David's Pop, John David Parks, Sr, for whom David and his father were both named after, died Saturday. His funeral was yesterday. He had a long life of 91 years, 69 of which were spent with his wife and David's Nanny, Marcus. They lived together in a house they built here in Athens back around 1950. Pop was a quiet, humble man who loved the Lord, his family, and his church, Prince Avenue Baptist, of which he had been a member since 1958. We all miss him, especially Nanny Marcus. We have felt God's presence with us, and know that Pop is right there with Him, and that brings peace. Pray for Nanny Marcus, for continued peace and strength, and for comfort when she's lonely and misses him being at her side. We love you Pop!

Happy Birthday at the Beach!

We went to the beach for my birthday, and took all 3 of our dogs! Their first beach trip ever! It was so much fun, and they loved it! And we did too! Can't wait to go back in the summer!

And Birdy makes 3!

Well we got a new dog. Actually a puppy, my first one ever! And actually we got her Nov 29, 2008, and she was 6 weeks old. A little behind the times again; way to ring in the new year! But anyway, we love her! Her name is Birdy Lou, used to be Birdy Blue, but then her blue eyes changed to green. She is so cute! She is a chocolate lab/australian shepherd mix, so she is mostly brown with a white stripe on her chest, white feet, and a tiny white tip. She is so funny and so smart. And Penny and Scout love her! At least now; for about a week they were really ticked off, but now she is a part of us! She snuggles with Penny and plays with Scout, so it all works out! She is mostly potty-trained; most of her accidents now are when I am at work and she's home with her daddy. But those don't happen every day anymore so the parenting skills are improving!

In other history, Christmas was great last year. We actually got to go to Meemaw's house, which I haven't been to on Christmas for 3 years! It was so nice to get back to my memories of "how its supposed to be;" I mean 3 years is a long time to spend away from the 30 nearest and dearest relations on my mom's side of the family! We spent some time with my dad's side too because they all live in the same town, which is convenient. We were actually gone from that Thursday to Sunday and so it felt a little like we were on vacation. Oh and we got a real tree this year! That we actually cut down ourselves! It was so fun! We didn't put one up 2 Christmases ago because we had just moved and there were boxes everywhere, so this was our first real, house-decorated, tree-up Christmas!


In current news, what was coming this year will be definite in a couple of weeks, right after my birthday acutally. No details yet until its finalized, as there are still some uninformed members of the family who should know before its out here on the web. And in even more exciting news, we are currently NOT trying to "not be pregnant," if you know what I mean! So 2009 could be the biggest year of our short little married lives! And I will keep this thing updated more often with actual news instead of history as we get news to share.

The only real resolution that I made that I actually intend to keep this year is to better my relationships with people other than David, my immediate family, an in-laws. Sometimes those are the only people I talk to for like weeks, except who I work with and go to church with. I mean if you don't live here with me or you didn't raise me, I probably haven't talked to you in months, maybe longer. And I am sorry about that and want to change it. I mean, other people matter, you know? It's just been so easy to settle into the people immediately surrounding me and neglect those out of my reach. So watch out-you may be hearing from me soon.



We had a Thomas Family Picture Day over Christmas-here are a couple of previews!

Thankful

So it looks like its been a while yet again. I guess timeliness isn't one of my qualities or ambitions of late. A lot has happened since the summer, almost too much to recount. So instead of trying to go back and highlight the past 5 months, I'm just going to skip right to present day. And here we find Thanksgiving. Can't believe the holidays are here and 2008 is about to be over. The year has simply flown by. I actually thought that we would never get here, that it was so far away in the future, but here we are. And what comes after this year is a life-changing, exciting, scary, uncertain, dream-come-true kind of thing that cannot be dwelled on now for risk of missing the present, yet cannot be ignored either for risk of being unprepared. I therefore must choose now to be in the present and hold off on what is coming until that too, becomes more present.
As we are in the season of being thankful, here goes. I am thankful for my husband, obviously. He has been the best surprise of my life. I am so thankful for the man he is, the man who follows God where He leads, no matter how hard it gets. And I am so thankful for the man he is becoming, the man God has big dreams and plans for yet. I am also thankful for my family. They don't always understand the decisions I make or the paths I choose, but they always support me. And now they are doing that for David. I am thankful for fall, and this one in particular. I love when the leaves change colors, and this year has been the most brilliant ever. Despite the drought and how ugly things looked in the summer, fall came in with an incredible display of beauty. Only God can do that. Only God can make something out of nothing, only He can make beauty from drought. And I am so thankful for what He has done in my own life. He truly has dreams bigger than I could ever dream, and I am thankful that He gives me the chance to live them. I am thankful for the places He has brought me out of, and how He has used those places to make me into who I am right now. I am thankful for the life He breaths into me everyday and that I don't have to do it on my own. And I am thankful for the people He has surrounded me with, the great cloud of witnesses, who come along side of me when I can't walk it alone. I am truly blessed and I shouldn't be, and I am thankful. Only God can do something like that.
Here's some pictures of what He's been doing up here, although its not the same as actually being part of it. Hope your Thanksgiving is great and that you are thankful too.







PS- Jenny, Laura Susan, if yall read this, or if you know them and can pass this on, I miss reading your blogs! Please let me back in! Sorry I'm late with my request!