Happy Birthday Emma!

Emma is now one week old and just as precious as she was the day she was born.

God is good.

God is so good.

Yesterday, I was waiting on the doctor to call me back and tell me when I could bring Emma in to recheck her Jaundice. While I was waiting, my mom decided to head to Wal-Mart to get a few things. Right after my mom left, the doctor called (about 12:35 pm) and told us to come in about 1-1:15pm. So, I call my mom's cell phone to let her know to come home so she could take us. And then I realize my mom left her cellphone at the house. After a few minutes of freaking out, I decide to pull myself together and just take the bus to the doctor. I am very hesitant because I thought we would be late to the doctor and I was scared about all the germs and yuck on the bus. And Emma was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her up and upset her. But, I decide I've got to do it anyway. So, I quickly pack Emma's diaper bag and grab some money for the bus fare. I put Emma in her Snugli (for the first time ever) and walk to the end of the block to the bus stop. I wait for a few minutes and the bus doesn't come. By then it was 1pm and I knew we would be extremely late to the doctor, so I decide to walk home and call the doctor to see if I could change the appointment. As I am walking home, I hear someone call out my name. I turned around and see this girl from church. She asks if I need a ride and I yell out "YES!" and hop in her car. I had only met this girl, Susan, once and she recognized me and saw that I looked like I needed a ride. Susan was so sweet to take us to the doctor and even took some pictures to document Emma's first doctor's visit. Praise God for sending her!! He is good.

Emma's check up went well. Her Jaundice isn't bad anymore and the doctor said we're on the right track because she is eating so well. Emma had already gained 3 oz since leaving the hospital only 2 days earlier. Emma is in the 50th percentile for weight and just below 50th percentile for height. Such a perfect little girl! :)

Happy Birthday Dad (and Papa)!

Emma would like to wish her Papa Mackey a very Happy Birthday all the way from New Orleans! We wish you were here and hope to see you real soon!

Update

Emma's bilirubin level went down after two full days up phototherapy! She no longer has to be under the light and can stay in my room with me! Praise the Lord!

Our good friends, Paul and Kelly, drove down today to see our sweet Emma. They will be staying until Tuesday and we are so excited to spend time with them and enjoy sharing Emma with them. We are so blessed to have them as friends.

I love this picture. Emma was crying so hard that Paul decided to make a funny face!

Blue Light Special!

Early yesterday morning, Emma was diagnosed with Jaundice and the doctor told us she would need to be under the bilirubin light. She spent all day in the nursery under the "blue light" and I only got to be with her when I was nursing. She will stay under the light again all day today. They will take her blood again tonight at 6 pm to see what her bilirubin count is to see if she can go home tomorrow. We also might have to come back Monday (outpatient) to put her under the light some more. This has been difficult for us as she is in the nursery and I can only hold her when I am nursing. We miss her and my hospital room is very lonely without her. Pray that we will all survive this! It's only a minor setback, but it is still difficult. Here are some pictures of our "blue light special".

Emma Grace has arrived!

I went to my doctor's appointment at 10:45 am on Tuesday morning, expecting to go home because not much was going on with me or Emma. Turns out I had high blood pressure and my doctor wanted to induce. So, I walked across the breezeway from my doctor's office to the hospital and checked in. They began inducing me about 1:30 pm and all went well for a while. Emma was progressing nicely. And then she got stuck! I went five hours with no progress at all, so the doctor recommended we do a C-Section, so that's what happened. Emma Grace Parks was born at 5:48 am on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 (her due date!), weighed 8 lbs, and was 19 inches long. We are all doing well right now. We should be going home on Saturday morning.

Here are some pictures...
For more you can go to Matt's picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/mattjparks/EmmaGrace?pli=1

39 weeks + 4 days

You don't have to tell me, I know I'm HUGE! I'm SO ready for Emma to make her arrival!

true love.

I just have to brag on my amazing husband real quick. Our plan for the evening was to clean the house extremely well before Emma's arrival. After I finished sweeping & mopping the kitchen, I sat down on the bed to rest for a few minutes. All of the sudden, I started feeling nauseous and next thing I know I'm spending quality time with the shiny, clean toilet. At this point I became quite frustrated because I really wanted to finish cleaning, but I felt horrible. My sweet, loving husband insisted that I lay in bed while he finishes cleaning. So he has spent the last hour sweeping & mopping the bedroom, cleaning out airconditioning filters, and getting all of the dust off of our ceiling fans. I sure do love this guy.

My love language.

I have to say, my husband knows my love language. Anyone else's love language go into overdrive when you see the "hot now" sign on at Krispy Kreme? Oh my heart melts. And then I go into a sugar-induced coma.

I've lost my belly button!

Here are a few things that pregnancy has done to me in the past month (just to scare all my friends who haven't had kids yet)...

*My belly button is gone, well, not completely. My innie has not become an outie but because my belly has stretched so big, my belly button whole is tiny! Sometimes I can barely find it!

*I now have plantar fasciitis, in my left foot, probably due to my weight gain. Basically my foot hurts really bad and it's not much fun to stand or walk on it.

*My feet have gotten HUGE! None of my shoes fit me anymore, not even flip flops or my crocs.

*The stretch marks have come in abundance!! I went 8 months of my pregnancy without any stretch marks and then they all appeared at once! And my scars from where I had my belly button pierced have stretched to be like 3 inches long! I would like to thank Amy for my Burt's Bees Belly Butter--it is my faithful friend and will continue to be!

I could share lots more, but I'm going to stop at that. I don't want to scare too many people!

Oh yeah, I will get Matt to take pictures of my 39 week pregnant belly today and post pictures soon.

road trip!

I just found out that Jon & Kate Gosselin (from Jon & Kate Plus 8) will be speaking at a church in Shreveport in November. Time for a road trip!

They also have a book coming out in October. Can't wait to read it!

Pain.

This morning I took a drive through the Lower 9th Ward. I do this on occasion to bring back the reality of Hurricane Katrina. Almost three years after The Storm, there is still so much devastation in this city. This city (and the rest of the Gulf Coast) will never be the same. Thinking of it makes my heart hurt. There are no words to describe the pain and suffering that these people have been through and continue to go through. The pain is very real and very raw. Conversations almost always end up going back to The Storm. You do not have to look for pain and suffering in this city--it is right before your eyes--the homeless, mentally ill, poor, hungry, needy, they are everywhere. These people are the reason I love this city. I have such a desire to just love on these people. I desire to sit down and here their stories, their pain, their suffering. I desire to show them there is hope. I want to be their friend and neighbor and a listening ear. I have a passion, a passion for these people. A passion for New Orleans.

Will It Be You?
by Lanaia Lee

I am from a city that used to be
A city, that was famous for Mardi Gras, jazz, and blues
A city, three centuries old, my choices are few, all I can do now is flee
A city, where it's citizens, had to pay tremendous dues.

Being a child of ten, I am very terrified and scared
Separated from my parents, I don't know if they are alive or dead
Looting, shooting, fire, all this, some people had the gall to dare
Leaving those like me, to survive on their own, I just want some clean water and to be fed.

Where do I go? What do I do?
Being held prisoner, by the water, that is so toxic and lethal
Please, tell me what to do, to this question, the answer, I have no clue
Life is gone in this great city, now that is nothing but a hull.

I see people below, as I watched from the second story, of a devastated house
Plain people, I am scared, where oh where is my helping hand?
I am trembling, like a timid little mouse
This once beautiful place, is no more, please someone, to me extend a helping hand.

No food, or clean water, will I die from this over powering hunger?
For days on end, I have watched unthinkable things, as they are done
A place, where tons of people used to come, but now today, they must deter
People are desperate, some are even carrying guns.

So see, I am very scared, during this time, I am completely alone
But, I am just a child, I really don't know what to do
This once, beautiful city, the aftermath, life as we knew it, is no more, it is totally gone
Someone help me please, I am so sad and blue.

I extend my hand for help, will it be you?
Giving me a second chance to live?
My parents, I fear, they are dead, someone help me start a new life, I feel I have paid my dues
So, to all the survivors that need help, will it be you?

For real?

Does that countdown really say Emma only has 1 week, 5 days until her due date?!

Kinda scary.

VERY exciting!

Waiting

I went to the doctor yesterday and Emma's not making her arrival anytime soon...which is a good thing (she needs to wait at least until the 14th, right Karina?). Not too much is going on with her. She has moved down just a little and hasn't dropped. I'm less than one centimeter dilated (just a fingertip as the doctor said). My guess is that she'll be coming close to her due date...hopefully not after! As for me, I am just making myself comfortable and hanging out. I'm sleeping a lot and watching lots of tv. Life is good right now. :)

New Orleans

One of my first attempts at digital scrapbooking.

new obsessions.

As of today, Matt and I have new obsessions.

Matt's obsession: scooter (he wants one)
My obsession: digital scrapbooking

Anyone else want to join in? What are your current obsessions?

Only in New Orleans...

This morning, Matt & I noticed a black Excursion parked in front of our apartment. It's actually illegal to park there, but people do it anyway. If a car is parked there overnight, it's usually our neighbors, but Matt and I didn't recognize this Excursion. Well, once I come home from dropping Matt off at work, this cab pulls up beside the Excursion and out come two prostitutes. We usually don't see that kind of stuff in our neighborhood, so it was quite strange. The prostitutes then proceeded to get into the Excursion and drive off. Apparently they parked their car in front of our apartment during their rendezvous last night. Hope they enjoyed the change of scenery in Uptown. Only in New Orleans...

Scrapblog!

I just discovered Scrapblog and this site is amazing! It is a free, online digital scrapbooking program. I have been wanting to try digital scrapbooking for a while now and am excited to have found this program. I've been playing around with it for a little while now and will post some of my creations soon!

Thoughts.

2:03 am--can't sleep.

Here are my thoughts:

• I wish my brain would shut off so I could sleep
• Not quite sure how we're going to make it through the next few months financially, but God will provide
• Pregnancy is not as pretty as one would think
• I can't believe I'm going to be a mom this month. Very crazy!
• I'm a little nervous about this whole labor thing
• I love our cats and hope they get along with Emma
• I continue to fall in love with New Orleans every day and want to raise my children here
• Matt & I are so blessed to have a wonderful church
• I have been blessed by all the young moms at our church
• I love living within 2 blocks of our pastor and other church friends
• I miss my family
• I miss Matt's family
• I miss the Edingers and the Beasleys
• Matt and I are branching out and making new friends here
• I am blessed to have an amazing husband who is willing to make huge sacrifices for me (and our daughter)
• I have decided to continue the MSW program at SUNO (instead of going to Seminary)
• I have to start my field placement this summer (not quite sure how that's going to work)
• Emma will be two years old when I graduate with my MSW
  
• That seems so far away
• Matt and I want to adopt our next child
• I really should try to go back to sleep

Sweet dreams--2:15 am