Humble yourselves before the Lord

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. • Today's Life Verse from Life 96.5 •

Both pregnancies my iron levels have been low, but this pregnancy my levels are really low. I was told at around 30 weeks that if I didn't get my levels up I would need to go to the cancer institute to get infusions done. My emotions got the best of me, I'm pregnant bringing a new life into this world, and I have to go sit next to other people who are having chemo done and are struggling to hold onto life - how is this fair? I couldn't wrap my head around it, I didn't want to do this. I started to research and find what I could do to raise my iron levels.

** Young Living - NingXia Red ** Young Living - Super B ** Young Living MultiGreens ** vitafusion PreNatal ** Nature's Sunshine I-X ** Prescribed Iron Pill ** this was my morning routine of what I would take. It all made me feel better, I wasn't light headed anymore and I had more energy. My iron levels increased but not by much - as my dad said it's probably more the unhealthy food I was putting in my body that was making my iron levels not improve. 

At my 38 week appointment on Tuesday I found out we would have to go along with the infusions, I was emotional before my appointment and even more emotional when I found out that I would need to get the infusions. But I have a very good doctor who only looks out for the best for me so I knew this is what God wants, it's going to keep me and the baby healthy for when the baby arrives. Matt was allowed to come with me so that was great.

Woke up and read the life verse for today and it was so fitting, I just needed to humble myself to the Lord and quit worrying. We walked into the Avera Cancer Institute and everyone was so incredibly friendly. They took me to a private room(totally different than I thought - praise the Lord) and Matt by my side I got through my first day of infusions.

I am so grateful to have an amazing supportive husband and friends who have been praying for me and my pregnancy. 

PS I'm not sure if you caught it or not but yes, 38 weeks pregnant as of yesterday, 2 weeks until baby is here -- ummm....will time slow down before then because I know it won't slow down after baby comes!!!

Our weekend coming to a close

As the weekend comes to a close...

First off, THANK YOU! -- We are so blessed from the support and excitement that everyone has shown for us and our second pregnancy.  Most would say the second isn't as exciting as the first, however our second is our last. it that case it is just as exciting.

Our weekend was filled with: a mommy/son date night while daddy worked late(14hr day), 2 days of sleeping in, 2 - good 3hr nap, Saturday spent in PJ's until 5pm, at home movie date night with the hubby, Church followed by the usual trip to Dickey's(kids eat free on Sundays), hubby got to use his grill, made some popcorn and watched football! :) We are very happy with today's results and excited to host our 3rd Annual Super Bowl Party! :) Go Patriots!

2015 new & exciting!

2015 is a new & exciting year for us! 

Mason has some news to share with everyone...

10 weeks pregnant yesterday. We are excited and hopefully he will be too once baby arrives. The last few weeks have been different than the first few weeks pregnant with Mason. I haven't had much of an appetite and nauseous to smells of food I used to love, deep fat fried foods that is. Already craving the things doctors say you shouldn't have(Subway & Jimmy Johns). Going to bed early, sleeping in and getting a nap on the weekend is a routine lately. && yes - we plan to find out what babies gender is.

Psalm 16:7 - I will praise the Lord. He gives me good advice.  Even at night my heart teaches me.

Nine, Ten - A Big, Fat Hen

--9 Weeks--

Thursday(8/29) We went to see our pediatrician since Mason hasn't been getting better. He said that we are feeding Mason to much it is running straight through him. So we cut back on feedings to 3oz again and he is doing so much better! Matt got to go to the vikings last pre-season game and sit 7 rows up!!

Friday(8/30) just hanging out in my bassinet! 

Saturday(8/31) Roesler's babysat Mason while we looked a few house, yes the secret is out, we are looking to buy a house. It may be in a few weeks, or a few months. There are many factors to if & when we buy one! We need to sell our house - I need to have a full time permanent job - and find a house that we LOVE.

Sunday(9/1) We woke up early to head to Life Light concert in Sioux Falls with the Gniffke Family! It was a beautiful - hot day, Matt & I even got burned! We did a little shopping and returned to Life Light at night to hear the Newsboys(AMAZING!!)

Monday(9/2) We went to Great Plains Zoo - it was my first time there since I was a kid and it was Matt & Mason's first time there! We had a beautiful drive home with an amazing sunset reminding us of how awesome God is! 

--10 Weeks--

Saturday(9/7) was the first time we have left Mason for a long period of time including over night, while we went to the Hansen/Harwood Wedding! Auntie Heather took good care of Mr. Mason!

Sunday(9/8) Ready to watch some more Viking football :) 

Two Months Photoshoot

9/3/13

Mason Matthew:

-Weighing 11lbs 6oz

-Eating 3oz of formula every 3 hours

-Sleeping 5-6 hours at night 

-Loves his mam pacifiers & aden/anais blankets

-Smiling a lot

-Lovess taking baths

-Size 1 diapers

-0-3 Month Clothes

Weeks 7 & 8 of Mr. Mase :)

Time is going fast, I can't believe how big our little guy is getting! 

--7 Weeks--

Isabella babysat so that Mommy and Daddy could go down to the band downtown and then to the pub for appetizers with Auntie Heather and Uncle TJ on Thursday(8/15). Then in the morning we got all packed up to head to the lake with the Speiser Family for our yearly weekend trip! We had a good weekend of relaxing! 

We took Mason on a "Ranger" ride around the lake and he slept the whole time in mommy's moby wrap(that auntie made!)

Everyone giving you lots of love! 

(Grandma Kathy, Great Grandma Marcella, Great Grandpa Ron, Aunt Nola, Cousin Brooke)

Grandma & Grandpa Stager Babysat Mason on Monday(8/19) in the morning and daddy watched Mason in the afternoon. I heard when I got home you peed on that silly Grandma of yours but of course she didn't care!! They love you so much!! It was also Auntie Heather's birthday so we went to the great Wood Lake Fair and after that we went to the Granite Falls Golf Course to eat supper! 

Tuesday(8/20) was Mason's first day of daycare and we also bumped up his feeding to 4oz he was seeming to be really hungry still! He did great at daycare and Amber and Josh send us updates! :)

Wednesday(8/21) Mason is 7 weeks old! Amber and Mason at daycare! Mason is still sucking down 4oz and is still hungry so we started to try 5oz, he seemed to be content after that! 

--8 Weeks--

Thursday(8/22) - Mason had an eventful day at daycare today! He is starting to not feel so good and fuse. Having a hard time sleeping and just not acting like himself, content and happy. 

Saturday(8/24) We took Mason into urgent care, he was spitting up his whole bottle at feedings and was congested. They said he just had a cold and to watch it. We also went to the chiropractor which helped a lot. We spent the afternoon cuddling and I went to help with Kandice Mae Photography with a photo booth at a wedding reception at night! 

Cuddles with daddy!

Photo booth I helped with! 

Sunday(8/25) We are ready to watch some Minnesota Viking football in this house! 

Tuesday(8/27) we took Mason back to urgent care after work, he has had 48/51 poopy diapers in the last 3 days, still not seeming like himself. They told us to switch formula to the sensitive formula and that should help. 

Tears for Mommy, Smiles for Mason

I would have never thought leaving someone was so hard, just for 10 hours. I thought I had my self prepared, I had Auntie watch him for the first 2 weeks, and I have even left him with a babysitter 2 times! But tears still came rolling down my face as I backed out of the daycare drive way and drove down the street to start my trip to a long day at work, missing my baby boy, who not to add is going to be 7 weeks tomorrow! Where has time gone!? I know he is in great hands and his daycare providers love him and care for him! As I had tears rolling down my face, my baby boy was full of smiles! 

 Mason had an awesome first day - the note I got read - I was feeling sleepy today. I was full of smiles all day, when I was awake! I love to talk to all the other kids! As the day went on I got texts and pictures of him! I couldn't wait to come home and see him, I left work for lunch and was about to stop by but thought it would be harder to go back to work! 

I know he is in great hands and hopefully tomorrow and each day after gets easier! 

Time is flying by

--5 Weeks--

Where oh where has my little boy gone?! -- he is now 5 weeks old! What happened time is flying  by! Lots of FIRST these next two weeks! On (8/1/13) Mason attended his first rodeo with the Gniffke's and Grandma Blough! 

We went to the chiropractor to get adjusted. (8/4/13) Mason got to go to his First Twins vs. Astros Game with the Gniffke's! 

--6 Weeks--

(8/9/13) First Concert - Hunter Hayes with Auntie Heather, Gracelyn and Mommy! 

(8/15/13) First Babysitter(non-family) - Isabella MacArthur - she does an amazing job with Mason and the Gniffke kids! We  had another 2 chiropractor appointments and both Mason and I are looking a lot better and back in line. My job is going great and Mason is having lots of fun with his cousins and his auntie! 

Where has time gone?

Where has time gone? Mr. Mason is now 4 weeks old! We have had such an amazing 2 weeks together though! 

--3 Weeks--

Mason 3 Weeks - 7.24.13

This wee we were busy again with Mello Yello events and it was also Crazy Days so we spend Thursday(7/18) at the pool! 

We also went the my friend Amanda's wedding on Saturday(7/20) and Mason did an awesome job! 

Great Grandma/Grandpa Stager along with Grandma/Grandpa Speiser came to visit on Sunday(7/21) and we went out for lunch! 

--4 Weeks--

4 Weeks! Where has the time gone! On Saturday my baby boy will be a month old!! This week Mason met his daycare provider, and it was my birthday(7/25), Auntie Heather took us out for lunch to Applebees and then took us Mini Golfing(Heather won)! This was a lot of fun! On Friday(7/26) Mason and I went all by ourselves to the cities to pick up Grandma Blough.

 Matt and I went out for a little bit with some friends and Auntie Heather was the first babysitter we had for Mason! We babysat Mason's cousins the Gniffkes on Sunday(7/28). More Mello Yello events and a nice lunch at the Coffee House to bring back memories from when we were growing up! Tueseday(7/30) we went mini golfing in Belview for FREE how awesome of a double date was that! What a great week it has been! 

Changes are happening tho: Mason has lost weight and we have found out it is because he wasn't getting enough milk from me when I would breast feed. So I am pumping as much as I can but otherwise switching to formula. I am surprised I could even make it this long with my breast reduction. I also got a job at Schwans and will be starting Monday, yes, 8/5/13. I am doing half days the first week (1-5pm) and the full time the next week. Auntie Heather will be watching Mason until he is 6 weeks and can go to daycare. This was a really hard decision to make but with the economy the way it is we need the 2nd income By the time I get paid it will be 10 weeks since I last received a paycheck. I am just trying to spend as much time with Mason as I can(yes I am even holding him as I type this) It hurts so much to think about it but I know it's the best thing right now for our family because who knows if I will be offered another job for awhile. As someone said to me "By it hurting so much it just shows how much you love Mason" I know he will be in great hands though and it will be easier this way then just having to drop him off at daycare. However I have only left him 2 times now and both were for 2hr so this will be a little bit of a change! Prayers would be appreciated! :)

Natural does work!

On July 10th I got my staples out, I was told I would start feeling a lot better and moving around a lot better after. I went in to get them out being very nervous, we have determined I can NOT handle pain. So I was not looking forward to this. I went in the room and they put 50% alcohol and 50% water on them and let them sit for about 10 minutes and then Dr. Reber came in and took a look at them and said that everything looked GREAT! She then took them all out, within 3 minutes, ALL 20 of my staples were out - best part was - I was okay and not in pain and no tears!!! YAHOO! They then put on little strips that they said would fall off. I went home feeling great, it didn't hurt to get in the car or anything!

I had to go back on July 16th to make sure it was healing fine. I went in and she said everything looked great, none of my strips had fallen off so she took them off, this just felt like band aids being take off. I went home and was felling better yet. However I started to notice the next day that my incision itched. Matt just thought it was healing. Finally on Friday night we called my sisters friend Vanessa to see if she had any suggestions. She said to see if Heather had Lavender and Coconut Oil and if she did to mix those and put it on it. So I did and it WORKED! 

I also heard from people the Gripe Water takes away hiccups for babies, so I decided to go to walmart and buy some. Yes it is $10 a bottle but it takes them away INSTANTLY! I may just be becoming a naturalist(if that is even a word) so maybe my sister was right, natural things are the way to go...ha :) 

My life now as a MOM

--Mason 1 week old--

As many of you know I used to drink almost every weekend, then when I met Matt that slowed down quite a bit but still would on occasion. When I found out I was pregnant I was only 21 for not even 3 months, it was hard at first when we would go out with friends for supper and everyone was drinking except me. It has now been EXACTLY 9 months yesterday since I had my last drink but more importantly 9 months ago yesterday we found out that we were going to have a BABY!! It's crazy how things change and how my life revolved around partying and now it revolves around my son! 

Towards the end of my pregnancy I started to have some terrible dreams, most were about how I was going to fail at being a mom. I only talked to Matt about it but that's all I needed, one day he texted me and said "U will be a great mom. U have so much experience with kids. Hunnie don't doubt yourself. U are GREAT!!!!!!" That helped a lot but didn't take away the fact I was still scared to death. I haven't been getting an income for 5 weeks before Mason was born and I was going to have to take off at least 6 weeks..how are we going to get by? How am I going to buy little things we need for our family? -- by having FAITH that's how -- I would get so stressed, we didn't know how we were going to pay mortgage for July and August with me not working and Matt just kept saying God will help us figure it out...and he did. God was just testing my faith and ever since I had Mason my faith has grown stronger. 

God gave me a beautiful baby boy, healthy and strong. 

God has provided for my family in hard times.

God has never lost faith in me and has always been there to listen.

"My God's not dead he's surely alive, livin on the inside roarin like a lion" 

Typical day in our house....well there is no typical day! We just are living each day - day by day - soaking in every minute! Mason and I get to bond all day, which I love and as soon as daddy gets home he showers right away so that he can cuddle his little guy! I never knew how much I loved Matt until I saw the love he has for Mason! Mason is our world now, and nothing else matters. We have our little family of 3 and I couldn't ask for anything more! I was blessed with a very content baby who sleeps really good at night(anywhere from 3 1/2-5 1/2 hours). Which has also made being a first time mom a lot easier! And all the little things like how will we afford things have just worked out and fell into place! 

GOD IS AMAZING!

Our First TWO Weeks!

WOW! Where has time gone?! Our baby boy is 2 weeks old, some of you may say oh only 2 weeks but seriously time has flown by! We came home from the hospital on Saturday, July 6th, to a very clean home I should add thanks to Heather and her family for cleaning and Matt for asking them to(this was a big stress-or and I didn't want to leave the hospital because of it). Mason and I are sleeping in the living room since I can't lay down yet without pain and Matt is in the bedroom. 

The first night was rough I'm not gonna lie, Mason slept from 12:45-4:00am which was very nice but then he was up from 4:00am until 8:15am.....I was exhausted...finally at 7:00am I went and woke up Matt and asked him to come help even if it was just holding him so I could sleep for a little bit. Since then he has been great sleeping anywhere from 3 1/2-5 1/2 hrs at night! 

In the hospital he wouldn't latch on(we are thinking because of my breast reduction) but would eat with a nipple shield, once we came home I thought it would be easier to just pump...well..I was wrong! It was so draining to pump, feed, wash, sleep(maybe for a bit) and do it all over again. I ended up getting ahead of it where Matt could feed him while I pumped but it was still draining.  I was very nervous about how last weekend was going to go since we were going to a wedding/reception on a farm and how I was going to pump/warm up milk/etc. so I started to try the nipple shield again and he picked it right back up, so relieving!

--1 Week--

Mason's 1 week picture - 7.10.13(sorry I can't get it turned so turn your heads! :))

Matt was able to stay home until this past Monday, July 15 and that was really nice to have him home all last week. He was a huge help and really enjoyed cuddle time with his buddy! We didn't do much other than go to appointments, and some coke events - we took Mason to his first chiropractor appointment on 7.8.13 and he did awesome! 

7/10/13 -- going for a walk!

--2 Weeks--

Mason's 2 week picture - 7.17.13

Love him so much

This past week has again went great and mommy is still holding up good! We are both still sleeping in the living room and will hopefully make our way into the bedroom this week! The wedding(Aaron and Lisa's) on Saturday went great and Mason did a super good job, slept the whole time except for eating! :) He got to meet Great Grandma/Grandpa Wolff and Geoff. Mason is still sleeping really good at night(I truly am blessed with such an amazing pregnancy and now a good sleeping baby!)

Heather and the kids have been here since Monday and have been spending the night which has been SUPER helpful. Even if it's just making lunch or Ashtyn helping me wash supplies after feedings! We are out and about more now and that's nice for me, but yet hard. I still can't lift Mr. Mason until next week and then I need to start gradually....Heather really takes this serious she has been carrying both babies and it stresses me out sometimes because I feel she is over doing it with both babies and Peyton(2 1/2) so today we started to bring our stroller with everywhere which made things a lot better for me! :) 

2 car seat - 1 awesome mom/aunt

She really could handle twins--this is what I came out to after my doctor appointment!