My how they grow!

I was blessed to have the Thanksgiving week off of work and was able to spend everyday with my little angel. It's times like this that I realize how really lucky I am to have such a mild mannered baby. She caught a cold from David, which of course sent this new mommy into a panic. Off we went to the doctor, who promptly provided antibiotics to fight the little infection in her throat. The rest of the week was full of rest, sneezing, coughing and me checking her temperature every ten minutes.... I know it's neurotic, but I know I'm not the first or the last to react that way.

Despite coughing up all sorts of "ickiness" and being a little more cuddly than usual; she smiled, coo-ed, played with some new toys that I got her (she's sick...spoiling is medicine too right?) and showed off her newest skill... she can now get some air time when she's bouncing in her jumper. It's so hard to believe that she has progressed so much in just 19 weeks. It was hard to get up and go back to work today... not only because she's still a bit under the weather, but because I was the one who was spoiled the most last week. Mommy loves you Eden and I'll see you soon!

Melting my Heart

I don't know if it's residual hormones, or if I am just a lot more sensitive now that I'm a Mom. It wasn't that long ago that I would stay at work hours after I was able to go home getting things just PERFECT for the next day and tweaking my lessons to make sure they were at their very best. Now that I have my sweet little Eden waiting for me to come home or get her from Grandma's house I can't seem to get out of work early enough and I am putting off to "tomorrow" things that don't NEED to be done today. When I finally get to sit with her at the end of the day, she looks into my eyes and starts her 30 minute stream of cooing about her day- my heart just melts. I am so grateful for the blessing of my family... both the family I was born into and had growing up and my new little family. It seems like everyday when I check my email I see a story about a sick or injured child or hear of some tragedy- needless to say I get all choked up thinking about those poor children and parents. I pray every morning and every night for the continued health and wellbeing of those I love and thanking the Lord for my good fortune. God is good.

The Mystery of Hands

Being a Mom is by far the most rewarding and entertaining thing I have ever experienced. At 9 months plus all I could do was surf the channels of our big screen. Since Eden arrived I've been living out the Days of my own Life instead of watching my previously beloved soap on DVR- what is Sammy Brady up to these days?

Instead, I spend my time watching my daughter experience the mysteries before her each day... this week it is the mystery of the hands. She is figuring out that she can reach for something and even swat at it if she wants to. Mommy figured this out when we were laying on the bed jabbering back and forth..... agooo.... agooooo....aaaa whap! (right in the kisser courtesy of my 2 month old). I'm not sure if she was excited by her ability to finally hit the intended target or by the look on my face, but it was all giggles, yammers and smiles from there (which was of course contagious). Hands are such a miraculous creation... a spot on 60 minutes last night proved how truly intricate the design is... and they can hold a binky in place too.

Back to the Grindstone

Warning- this post is a bit depressing- continue at your own risk.

I have one more day left before school starts and I will leave my sweet baby to return to hundreds of other people's children. Never did I imagine it would be so difficult to leave her... I mean; she's going to be cared for by her father, her auntie, and her grandmas. So logically, I should feel great about the situation right? I go back to work (which I love my job) and I am lucky enough to have family take care of her and know she is in great hands. But, at the end of the day the lump in my throat (blame it on the hormones) reminds me how much I just wish it was me that could stay with her.

There are fears that I will miss something she does for the first time- she just started "talking" to me, laughing, and smiling when I smile at her (as you can see from that cute little grin to the right). I have worries that she might not be as bonded with her mommy anymore. And then there's just the general missing her. I am sure that every working mom feels the same way, but does that make anyone feel better? Wouldn't it be great if we could throw on a sling and take our babies to work with us!?! Like Native Americans and their papoose babies. Ok- so it might be a minor distraction (or on some days a major one), but you can't blame a girl for wishing. At least then we wouldn't have to say goodbye to our little ones until they were older than 6 weeks (though I'm pretty sure it doesn't get easier no matter what age they are and carrying around a 30 year old in a sling might be a little difficult).

Baby's First Photo Shoot

I am constantly amazed by the talents of those around me..... A perfect example would be Eden's first photo shoot. We have a camara, we have ample opportunity, but when I take a picture it's just an ordinary picture and I'm lucky if everyone's eyes are open. Lucky for me, there are those much more talented than I. Brad Peters took some truly beautiful photographs of our sweet baby this week. He is truly blessed with that special "eye" of the photographer and the ability to turn the camara into an artist's instrument. Thanks to his patience (our little one was meant to be sleeping through most of the shoot, but she just didn't want to miss anything) we ended up with more than just photos to capture this stage of her life, we were given Art. He is still processing and editing most of them, but here is the photo for her announcement. I'm sure you will agree that it is one terrific snapshot of Eden. He has posted a few others and has some of his other work on his blog http://www.bradpetersphotography.blogspot.com/ if you want to check it out.

Getting the Swing of Things

So, we have made it to the two week mark on our new journey of parenthood. Eden is healthy and happy for the most part (we have been really lucky so far) and David and I are starting to get the knack of the 5 S's... you know swaddling, shushing, swinging, sucking, and swearing... no, that wasn't the last one... oh yes, side/stomach positioning. She is pretty happy most of the time, unless she has a wet diaper; for which she has reserved the highest pitch squeel she can cry the very instant that a drop of pee hits the diaper. I am finally almost back to normal aside from a few aches and pains (I'm sure David would say I was never normal, but I'm getting back to my pre-preggo self anyway).

Last night David and I decided to have Aunt Traci, Grandma & Grandpa babysit while we got a little grown-up time and a nice meal together at the Mission Inn. I know it doesn't take 3 people to watch such a little baby, but holding and playing with Eden is addicting and they were all glad to spend some time with her. We had planned to leave her with Grandma for the night so we could catch up on some of the sleep we have been missing. During dinner is when we started to miss her.... so, we went up to Grandma's house and spent some more time with her. Then it came time that she was asleep and it was getting late and we decided to go before we changed our minds completely and just took her home with us. We came home and went directly to bed, but a funny thing happened.... we woke up every few hours on our own thinking we needed to check on her until we realized she wasn't here.

So, we got up early and went to an appointment at Hanger Prosthetics and then went directly over to Grandma's house where we both went in the door and straight for our little girl (who of course was fed, clean, dressed and in her swing sleeping peacefully-totally unaware we were even gone). Who knew it would be so difficult to be away from her for a few hours of sleep? We missed her so much that I don't think we have put her down since we have been home.

Eden Dawns

After waiting and waiting, and passing up my due date, and waiting some more.... Our sweet baby girl Eden finally arrived. It was a long labor (22 hours), a long delivery (2 hours of pushing), and one long little girl (22 inches & 9 lbs 4 oz), but our Eden has finally "Dawned". People always say that you just don't know a love so deep as the one you feel when you have a child and when moms have told me that once you take her home you forget all about the pain and discomfort of the pregnancy and delivery. I always thought they were just being sappy. Well.... they were right! Even after a night of crying (Eden & me) and no sleep; when the storm finally passes and she calms down to a restful sleep I look at her and just can't believe how blessed I am to have such a precious gift. I know every parent thinks their child is beautiful and I am surely biased, but she is more than I could have hoped for. Her name "Eden" means paradise or God's delight and her middle name "Dawn" seemed appropriate because she is named after her Great Grandpa that has been so important to David & I, and her birth is a dawning of a new time for our family. David is finally healthy and is getting better at walking everyday, I have finally known the joy of becoming a mother after years of trying and hoping, and we are blessed with a healthy little angel. Although it isn't my best look, here is our first family photo.... God is Great.

Growing & Growing

I'm sure everyone is wondering what the Rod family has been up to in the past month and a half that we haven't posted a thing. I suppose the best answer is "Growing". My "bump" is growing physically, David's abilities with his new prosthetic are growing daily, our relationships with our families are growing in new and exciting ways that a new baby can bring, excitement to see our little "delight" from heaven is growing, and our love for each other continues to keep growing deeper and stronger as well. With all this "growing", I'm sure it's quite obvious why our blog posts have not been multiplying. We are truly blessed in life right now. Although we struggle with jobs and money (who doesn't at this point), God continues to provide what we need (and a few things we just want) and Romans 8:28 continues to exist (thanks Dad for the reminders along the way). As always, you are all in our thoughts and prayers. With Love- The Rods

Renewed Faith in Mankind

With all of the problems with the economy, crime, seeing the kinds of things we have on Television, the kind of music we have available, the language used by our youth, and the need for greed that seems to dominate our society; it is times like Friday night that I wonder how this can all be so. This past Friday was the fundraiser for David. It was AMAZING!! The teachers showed unity and spirit as they performed their acts; the students, parents, and community members supportively laughed and applauded even the most ridiculous things; people enjoyed time together at the dessert buffet; and they opened their hearts and their wallets to support David (and me) in our efforts to get him walking again. It was tremendous! Not only was enough money raised to pay for the leg, but there was enough to pay for his therapy co-pays and some medical bills too. The Band Boosters kicked in $1000 from their popcorn sale and the teachers were able to raise $1000 on their own as well. David and I are still in shock at the show of support. I guess it is easy to forget that we are not alone and sometimes you just need to ask for help. To be honest, that was a very difficult thing for us to do. We didn't feel right to ask others to help us when everyone is struggling in this economy. But, the thought of him not being able to move forward with his life was harder to accept than the act of swallowing our "pride" (which is what I have been told it is) and accepting the goodwill of others. We have always given freely when we could and never felt anything but joy in the giving. But, the gratitude we feel to those that helped us reach our goal is something I can't even describe. Thank you to everyone for the support, for teaching me to ask for help, and for renewing my faith in others.

Eden The Donut Queen

A lot of people have been asking me... "How do you feel?" or "How is the pregnancy treating you?" and the general answer is GREAT! Truthfully, it's been pretty easy. The only thing that has been strange (my husband thinks it's hilarious) is that something that I have never really liked to eat is the only thing I seem to crave. Yes- the title of this blog kind of gives it away... a donut...and not just any donut... a Raspberry filled jelly donut (I hate raspberry anything)! I crave it in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening... all the time. Being the good little pregnant lady I hold out until I just can't take the craving anymore, stretching the time between donuts to days or a week if at all possible, but the need for the sweet becomes too much to bear and I end up getting a donut at least once a week. David thinks it's funny to watch me eat something I normally wouldn't touch, but from a guy who will eat a bowl of oatmeal with meat in it for breakfast I am thinking he doesn't have much room to tease me. So, all is well in Donut land (at least she wants something that's only 60 cents). Hoping all is well with all of you too!

Rod Chronicles Part 1- The Gallactic Costco

So I wanted to tell people about my last few days starting with a couple of days ago when me and my wife went to "The Costco." I refer to Costco as "The Costco" because Costco is much more than a warehouse discount center. It's more like it's own planet. This becomes even more clear when you have to navigate it with "one" leg. I remember the days when I use to walk through Costco with "two" legs, I used to get overwhelmed by the sure magnitude of the place, overwhelmed by all the great things sold in the place and overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to buy dancing in my head. Oh, have things changed. So my wife and I walk into Costco and the first thing one of the kind Costco people say to me is, "Do you want to use one of the motorized carts sitting over there?" I promptly respond with a "Do I look like someone who needs the motorized cart?" Of course, the Costco worker looks at me with a slightly confused look on his face, but won't dare say anything else. So he stands a side and away my wife and I go. And into Planet Costco I stumbled. As soon as I was reminded of the sheer enormity of Costco; I knew I was in trouble. Now, let me make this clear. I'm a very hard-headed individual and no one forced me to crutch along "Planet Costco." If I would have turned to my wife and told her that I couldn't venture any further she would have smiled and said "Okay let's go home." She's a good wife; she's always looking after me. So we started going down the first few aisles and slowly anxiety of being there started setting in. But somewhere between picking out ground beef and grabbing some frozen fruit for smoothies all those memories of picking out cool things to buy from Costco were replaced with "Get me the hell out of here!" I was tired, I was agitated, phantom pains were in full zapping mode. I told my wife the count down was on. We hurried on, grab the things we needed and checked out. We made it back to the car. I survived "Planet Costco." Ask me if I would use the motorized cart on my next visit; I would smugly say, "Do I look like I need a cart?" This blog went I little longer than I thought so stay tuned for another "Rod Chronicle." I have some cool things coming up and I want to let you in on some of those things. One more thing, I will be the proud father of a baby girl. Can't wait to see you Eden! More on her later...Stay tuned...

The Fundraising Event

So, here is the finalized plan for the Fundraiser: There will be a Teacher Talent Show hosted at our local high school at 7:00 pm on Friday February 20, 2009. Tickets will be $10.00 each and we are hoping to sell 400 total to pay for the prosthetic. There will be a free dessert buffet available beginning at 6:00pm for those who are there to see the show. Hope to see you all there!

A hand to get a leg

So today has been a long day of trying to decide what kind of fundraiser I should do to help buy David his prosthetic leg. He underwent the above the knee amputation a few weeks ago and the prosthetics company called to let us know it will be between $3500-$4000 up-front for his leg. It breaks my heart to think he will have to wait to get it until we have the money and this will just not do. So, I have been trying to come up with a way to raise the necessary funds for him. One person mentioned a spaghetti dinner, another a casino night.... I just don't know what we will do. If any of you have any great ideas, please send them my way. Whichever fundraiser we do, of course family and friends are invited.

New Start to 2009

Well, it's 4am in the morning and I'm up. Not very surprising in my life these days. With my new amputation, it has brought changes, some good, some not so good. The reason I'm up is partly because of meds and some of it has to do with my newly "acquired" phantom pains. So some nights I sleep pretty well, some nights not so much. So this my first post to the blog. Everybody's wondering if I'm doing well or if life just sucks, but to my slight surprise all is well in my world. I guess people can say that my situation down right sucks and they would be right to say that, but in my case not so much. You see; I had fought to keep my leg for five years and the fight was tough, taxing on my body and on my family. I know all seemed well with me and I looked like a bounced back every time I had a setback or surgery, but to be honest with everyone; it was not easy. As a matter of fact, some of the pain and illness I felt was downright awful, nothing any human being should go through. Many a nights I prayed to God to make the pain stop, but on and on it continued. Eventually, I would get better and needless to say my pain threshold is pretty high. I put on my best face possible to my wife, family and friends because I didn't want them to worry about me. I felt I needed to be strong for them and all I needed to do was hang on a little longer and hopefully see this through before it could do more harm to me or even kill me. So after a whole year of throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this thing; my Doctors and I decided the fight needed to end. The only way to end this was an above the knee amputation of my right leg. The decision was not that hard to make, I needed this to end for the sake of my wife, my family, and most of all myself. I was getting to the point where my faith was colliding with sanity and it felt like my soul would be overtaken by this monster. But let me tell you, it was not easy to wrap my head around the fact I was having an amputation. I was going to give my self some time before I did it. But due to another infection, insurance costs, and the fact that I knew that giving myself more time was driving me crazy, the time came much more quickly. So on the afternoon of December 29th, it was time to end the battle, slay the monster that has haunted me all these years. Believe me I was a little scared but with my unwavering faith in God, I knew I would be alright. He has never let me down before and this time would be no different. I came out of the surgery just fine. Of course there was pain, (when has there not been) but it was manageable with a little help of my friend the Diludid PCM pain machine (aahhh...When are we going to the island?) Anyways, I celebrated the new year with my beautiful, expecting wife, and we celebrated the fact that we have a lot to look forward this year. I'm going to get a new leg and Chris and I will welcome a new addition to our family. A baby daughter, unless updates prove otherwise...Well that's it for now, time to attempt to get some more of that valuable sleep, but stay tuned to some more posts from me. Join me and my family on our adventures because if God willing, it's going to be great ride.

Blogger Challenge

This is in response to Lindsay's Blog Challenge. So, here is the 4th picture in my folder.... you asked for it!! This was a photo I used for a presentation at work. The presentation was about how we are all interconnected, but still individuals playing roles in each of the different groups in the picture. Then respect and responsibilities of group members and "social order"/"social contract" came into the discussion. It is kind of the secular version of us all being a part of the body of Christ and we each need to do our part and play our role to the best of our ability for the benefit of us all. I suppose that is not what was expected from the challenge, but that was the 4th picture, so that's what I've got.... no adorable baby photos YET.

Baby Cake

So, we went for another ultrasound yesterday.... BUT this time I was prepared! I drank a whole 12 oz bottle of Orange Juice and ate a whole package of Chocolate Donettes before I got there. When the ultrasound started it was much like the first; a cross legged baby laying on its back. Then all of a sudden..... SUGAR RUSH! The baby leaned back and did a scissor leap with her legs and for just a brief second let us see what we should expect. She then proceeded to dance and vogue all over the place- which was hilarious to watch. Did you catch it? That's right... SHE. I ran to the store to buy a cake which I cut in half and frosted with a pink layer of frosting in the middle and chocolate with sprinkles on the outside. We took it over to my Mom and Dad's house and they got to cut into the cake to find out the news. Since his family is a little further away, David had pink flowers and an "It's a Girl" balloon given to his Mom. Of course, nothing is 100% until they are born. So, we are going to hold off on the shopping and decorating until after the next ultrasound next month confirms it. But, for now we have a little girl we will call "Eden".

Christmas Surprise!

This year Christmas was a very exciting time. Not only were we blessed to find out that my cousins Michelle & Anthony are going to have a little boy, but David and I were also able to share with our friends and family that I am pregnant. It will be our first little bundle of joy- after years of trying and a very painful loss a few years ago. Since we knew the disappointment that goes with a miscarriage, we decided to wait until the second trimester for the announcements. The wait actually made it even more of a surprise for everyone. We are anxious to see if we will be joining "team pink" or "team blue". David tells me that the baby already takes after me because we have attempted to find out the gender and our stubborn or "modest" little one will NOT uncross its legs so we can find out. Oh well- I guess I will just have another "surprise post" to tell you all whenever he/she decides to let us in on the secret.

Bustin' to Blog

With all of the new events that have taken place the last few weeks, I decided maybe it was time for me to advance myself a little further into the world of technology. This should be a great place for our family and friends to stay in touch with everything that is happening in the lives of the Rod Family. So, it is our sincere hope that you enjoy the ups and downs that make the rollercoaster of our lives. And as always, we sign off with love-