Seize the Day

I was looking through my late Grandma Barb's Bible yesterday, and it was such a blessing.

She had written in the front cover, saved notes and cards from loved ones, and underlined many verses. She was a loving, faithful woman who was kind to those around her, and took time to listen, care, and love.

Barbara Norman Obituary

The message that kept coming through was "You are not alone. Jesus is always with you."

That is the message that I want to share with you today

YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

"You will never walk alone. As long as you have faith, Jesus will be right beside you all the way." (lyrics from a Point of Grace song)

People everywhere struggle with loneliness and depression. They lose hope, thinking that they are alone in this world, and no one cares. 

THAT IS A LIE.

The truth is that God made this world, and he sent Jesus into this world. It was a crazy plan - send him as a baby. He grew up just as humans do. Preached a radical message, brought together a rag-tag group of guys to be his disciples, and allowed the corrupt rulers of the time to murder him.

Super crazy plan.

But it was powerful. Forgiveness, grace, and actual true love are the most powerful things in the universe.

Now that I am a mother, I have a new level of understanding surrounding love that I did not have before. 

The love of parents for their children is all consuming.

Ian and I have a love that transcends cancer, depression, time, and space. We have been on the highest mountain tops and struggled through the lowest valleys. We have been miles apart, close together, and through it all love has remained. Love for each other. Love for our families. Love from God to us.

We are also surrounded by an amazing community of people who love us. It is an absolute blessing.

The above photo was taken at our wedding. We wore LIVESTRONG bracelets to symbolize all that Ian and his community had overcome, leading up to our wedding day. Our Celebration of Life!

***

If I could turn into a literary character today, it would be Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings. She is a Shield Maiden of Rohan. Fearless. Courageous. She channeled her passion, love, and skill to accomplish amazing feats of bravery!

Today, channel your inner strength, given to you by our Creator. The one who loves us yesterday, today and forever.

After all, the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.

Martin Luther King: "And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Winston Churchill: "You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory! Victory at all costs! Victor in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

John F. Kennedy: "And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Nelson Mandela: "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and see realized. But my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

May the Lord Bless You and keep You. May the Lord make His Face shine upon You. And give you peace.

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You in the Palm of His Hand.

Love,

Adrianne

Learning from History

I have all sorts of ideas about ways to make this world more awesome. But then I realized, all I have to do is look back in history for the answers. 

As George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a dream

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

"When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Really, we do not have to look any further than the words of Jesus

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Amazing Ian

Hello, lovely friends. I have missed you.

I love connecting with great people, and I am so very blessed to have a large community of excellent people who enrich my life.

One blessing that I get to enjoy every day is being married to the Amazing Ian David Law!

Is that a million dollar smile, or what?!?

As we approach our 5 year wedding anniversary, I am reflecting on how very, very blessed I am to be his wife. He is the strongest person that I know. He is extremely kind, thoughtful, and caring. He strives to "live a life of love" and he does that every day by loving his family and friends. He could write a book about how to be a loving husband and father! He is super cool. Really funny. A joy to be around! AND handsome! He really is the whole package.

Here are just a few throwback photos of the Amazing Ian.

Speaking at Relay for Life, 2009:

Team Re Mission at 2009 Relay for Life. Serious about coolness and the Fight against cancer. Our dear friend Tom (far left standing in the back row) is now watching out for us from Heaven. Tom, we will take Hope and Ezra fishing in your honor this summer. We love you and miss you.

 Now THIS is a real man. Tandem babywearing!

Amazing Race: Dad edition. This Professional Father is ready!

Family Fun at the Waterpark of America! So much fun. 

Click to see photos of our wedding! Seriously, they are amazing! It was such a joy filled celebration of life and love!

Ian and Adrianne Wedding Photos

First look: Setting Up A First Look For Your Wedding

Ian and my beautiful sisters, celebrating his 1st Rebirthday:

Bonus adorableness:

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Smile. Laugh. Then share with a friend. Ideally in person, while consuming your favorite beverage. (Thinking of you, Childers/Stalker family!)

5 month cuteness!

Where does the time go? How did Hope and Ezra get to be 5 months old? They turned 5 months old on my 28th birthday, which was an extra fun birthday present. I must say, being 28, with 5 month old twins is pretty great! Ian and my mom brought the babies to visit me at work on my birthday! I loved it, and I got to show them off to my coworkers, as well as many of the residents at the nursing home where I work. Ezra slept most of the time, but they were both very well behaved, and of course everyone loved them!

Here are some of the 5 month pictures that we took:

"Whoa - we're 5 months old? Really?"

I accidentally cut off the "5" block, but their expressions are so cute, it makes up for it.

Hope thinks Daddy is so funny!

August 13th was Ian's 5th Rebirthday! We took photos with his Survivor quilt to commemorate this amazing occasion.

How far he has come in 5 years!

Hope says, "I really want to eat this block!"

"Didn't you hear me? I want to play with it and eat it!" Meanwhile, Ezra chills on the couch.

Solo shot of Ez.

Little Miss Hope

Mommy with 5 month old babies! I LOVE the hippo outfits! SO MUCH!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a smattering of cute photos from August:

I'm pretty sure this belongs on a Hopkins calendar or brochure or something.

"Look, we still (sort of) both fit in one Rock N' Play!"

Ezra and Hope with their good friend Myles. They've come a long way since the first picture we took of all 3 of them! Myles looked like a giant, and Ezra and Hope looked like little elves:

Yes, amazingly, those are the same babies, in the same order, as in the photo above. 

Ezra, Myles, and Hope. Crazy!

Look at that face! Can you stand it?!?! Crazy cute. 

Looking back - Our birth story. I'm a Hypno Mom!

There are several people in my life who are pregnant right now, and as they prepare for the births of their babies, with various different feelings and approaches, I am reminded of that time in my own life earlier this year.

Now that I am 28, and Hope and Ezra are 5 months old (that happened on the same day!), how about I share my birth story? Seems like fun to me! (I say this earnestly, no sarcasm.)

So here it is: The story of how our babies made their entrance into this world!

I love reading birth stories, and I spent a lot of time during my pregnancy and bedrest doing just that. I find it fascinating to delve into the details of this amazing and miraculous experience. Given my interest in this topic, I spent a fair amount of time thinking about and preparing for the birth of our twins.

My chosen method of preparation was Hypnobabies. This is a childbirth education course that focuses on helping the mother develop a calm and positive attitude toward birth, thereby making the birth experience a positive one. Their tagline is "Enjoy your baby's birth in comfort, joy, and love."

I had heard about Hypnobabies from my sister-in-law who is a doula and labor and delivery nurse. I was fascinated! (Seriously, it's really interesting, you should read more about it. Or ask me! I would love to share more.) When it came down to it, I decided I wanted to experience this for myself. I initially signed up for the six week course through Hypnobabies Twin Cities but then when I was put on bedrest, I opted for the home study course instead. I diligently read through the coursework, listened to the self-hypnosis CDs, and practiced my self hypnosis tools. Overall I was very happy with the program, as it allowed me to feel proactive about my birth preparation and remain low stress during my pregnancy.

The day finally arrived - the day that our babies would be born! At 7:30am on March 19, 2014 we checked in to our labor and delivery room at Fairview Southdale. (I had to be induced because at 34 weeks I developed cholestasis, which is a liver imbalance in which the flow of bile from the liver is impaired. The only treatment is to deliver the babies, and then the liver-bile system regulates itself after delivery.) Before I got hooked up to my IV, Ian took a few last pregnancy pictures:

When my doctor had done a cervical check two days prior, I was 3cm dilated and 100% effaced. That was great news! No cervical ripening needed. So my nurse Helen came in and we chatted about our birth preferences. She was very supportive and excited about our plans for a natural childbirth, and her daughter had even used hypnosis during birth! She started the pitocin, and things were underway!

Honestly, labor went really well - Hypnobabies worked! I was a Hypno Mom! I had put in the time and practice, and it totally paid off. I truly did experience contractions just as pressure, not pain! This was particularly cool because usually when pitocin is used, contractions are stronger and more painful. Ian went out periodically to update our family in the waiting room, and they couldn't believe I was doing so well and feeling so good. Even my nurse and doctor were surprised! At one point they put in an Intrauterine Pressure Catheter (IUPC) so that they could measure the strength of my contractions and be sure that they were productive. Sure enough, they were plenty strong! And my doctor confirmed the same thing later when I had a contraction during a cervical check! Yeah!

I was able to use a variety of positions in and out of bed, including being on the birthing ball, sitting up in bed, leaning back, standing, and periodically getting up to use the bathroom. I really enjoyed being able to move around, and use positions that were both comfortable for me, and good for the babies. At one point I even felt a little reflex-like jolt when Hope, who was positioned very low, moved down even lower. It was almost like the reflex when the doctor taps your knee with that little hammer. Weird, but cool!

Each time I had a cervical check throughout labor, I just relaxed and focused on being positive. I didn't want to know how far along I was, so after each one Ian would confer with my nurse. What I found out later was that initially (until about noon) I progressed nicely, but then I stalled at 6cm. And stayed at that amount of dilation for about 8 hours. It finally came to the point that my doctor came in, told me that this was the situation, and that she was recommending a C-section. This was the first time that day that I cried. I was feeling really good and wanted to keep going! I asked her for one more hour, which she agreed to. I asked Ian to share our situation with our family in the waiting room, and ask them to pray for progress. I spent that next hour trying different labor positions and focusing on being at peace with however things turned out.

At the end of the hour my doctor came back in and checked me. I was still only 6cm. She said that after being on bedrest for so long, trying to keep preterm labor at bay, my uterus had been through a lot, and it probably just wasn't able to get us any further. We had all done everything we could do from a labor standpoint, and it was time to go to the OR. She recommended this course of action as being the best for me and the babies. By that time I had accepted this, even though I had really wanted a natural, vaginal birth. 

My doctor is a great surgeon, and everything went well. Ian was with me, and we got to see the babies right after they came out. I even got to hold Hope while I was getting stitched up!

Ian, ready for action!

All prepped and ready for surgery

9:38pm - Baby A - Little Miss Hope!

9:40pm - Baby B - Mr. Ezra! He needed a little help to get his lungs inflated, but then he got it sorted out. This also meant that Ian couldn't get as many pictures of Ezra in the OR.

Ian and his little daughter, Hope!

"She's so beautiful!"

"... so beautiful."

Our brand new bundles of joy

Very first family picture!

Such a proud dad!

Getting wheeled to our room. Even though they were born early (35 weeks +2 days), they didn't have to go to the NICU. They got to stay in our room, and we all went home together 4 days later! Amazing.

In reflecting on the whole experience, it was just how our journey was meant to be. I got to experience labor, and now I am confident that I could definitely do it again! Ian was the most amazing supporter and partner (my Hypno-Guardian!) and I was so lucky to have him. He said it was hard watching me on the operating table, so we are both very much on the V-BAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean) train for next time (whenever that may be...).

Birth is amazing, and I am grateful to be able to share my experience. It is so intimate and personal though, so I am a strong believer in women making whatever choice is right for them. There are many great options out there, and it is great that we are, for the most part, able to choose where and how we want to bring babies into this world. My advice for any future mothers is to talk to people, and explore a variety of options until you find a fit that is good for you. And at the end of the day, you get a baby - or in our case, two! What a miraculous blessing.