Today is our 3rd Anniversary.  We some how managed to both get the day off work and Andy’s mom was able to baby sit for us.  So we had a late breakfast, made a quick stop back at home (and no it was not because we had to check on the baby) and then we headed out to a relaxing afternoon together.  We went to the zoo, I had not been there in over a year I think.  We walked around the whole place and seen most of the animals.  I can not wait til Morgan is old enough to appreciate going.  Anyway, after we left there we headed to Union Station to continue a tradition that Andy and I have been doing since the year we met.  Every October we have our caricature done, this year we were able to add little Morgan to the pic as well.  It turned out really cool.

We had a nice dinner and then came home so Andy could head to class.  All in all it was a great day.

Ok, so October is here finally.  Its been an ok month so far.  Its the beginning of a lot of different things.

First off I am renewing my job search, which I started the week mom went into the hospital.  Its very scary to be looking after having been here for over 10 years.  I worry that I will not find something I like as much as this place or that we will not be able to find someplace willing to pay the amount we need.  But we shall see.

Secondly, my family had the first Abernathy Family picnic.  It was a great success, despite it being so cold.  From what I could see, the kids had a great time as did the adults.  It was a day of fun and games, between hoosier golf and washers to just kicking the soccer ball around or throwing the football around.  Food was plentiful and yummy.  Especially those sugar free chocolate chip cookies.  MMMM.  I look forward to next years.

Thirdly, October is our Anniversary, we will be married three years on the 21st.  Boy how time has flown by.  I doubt we will do anything too extravagent as time and money do not allow for it, but we are going to spend the day together and that will be nice.  Life has gotten busy and its been hard to find time to be together except at bedtime.  I love you honey, if you are reading this!

So lets hope that October continues to be a great month for us, full of pleasant surprises.

So now that its over, I can officially declare September the worst month ever.  It should have been a joyous, if not stressfull, month since Morgan was here and we had to adjust to being parents.  However, not only did we have to be new parents, but we had to deal with a parent passing away.  Now that would be a parent for each of us, so two deaths in less than two weeks.  Of course for me one was harder than the other.  My mom and I were pretty close, at least until the last few years.  We were still close but not the gotta talk to each other every day or even every week close.  I know I got busy and did not take the time to call, I regret that now.

We found out that Andy’s dad had passed away right after the holiday (Labor Day) and then the following Tuesday my mom went into the hospital and passed away on the following Sunday (Sept 20).   At least with Andy’s dad we did not have to do much to finalize things, Andy’s mom and brother took care of most of that, thank goodness.  With my mom however, she was as unprepared to go as we were for her to.  She had no will and no life insurance.  It was hard to go thru all the paperwork and to know what we were supposed to do.  I kept sitting there going ok what do we do next?  Where do we start.  Things move pretty quickly that first week.  Honestly if it were not for my sister in law I am sure we would not have accomplished all that we did.  She did a lot of the running around for us and kind of pointed us in the right direction at times.  Anyway we managed to put together a Memorial Service that I am sure mom would have loved, the rest of the stuff is still being worked out.

I have no idea where we will put mom’s ashes, we have not even discussed it yet, but I am sure we will figure something out.  I do know that I refuse to have them sitting in my car or in my basement (which I do not have at the moment) for any length of time.

I am sad to know that Morgan will not have gotten to know her Grandma MJ or her Grandpa Don.  I guarantee she will hear all kinds of stories and see tons of pics (at least of my mom).   We love you mom!

We arrived at Memorial Hospital at 6pm (on Sunday, Aug 23) as scheduled, the ER was pretty busy. We had to check in there because it was a Sunday. They called back to Labor and Delivery and asked if I could just come back and they said yes they were expecting me. So this time we walked back, there was no real need to be sat in a wheel chair and wheeled back, especially with them being so busy. So the nurse we had Friday night was there and we go to have her for a little bit. I got all settled in they set up the iv and took all the stats before putting the servadyl (sp?) in. This was to help my cervix dilate (soften the scarring up a little). It was about 8 pm. So the thought process was that this medicine would take about 12 hours to do its job and then the doctor would induce labor.

Looking back right now, I think we watched a little tv and then tried to get some sleep, but I am not really sure. I know at some point (around midnight) the cramps starting getting worse and I was getting the shakes every time they got bad. I could not get comfortable for nothing and so they gave me a sleeping pill. An hour later I was still awake and had to get up out of bed the cramps were pretty bad. I had to go pee so I went to the bathroom and at that point I could not decide if I had to go to the bathroom (number 1 and 2) or throw up. The shakes were so bad I had to hold on to the rails in the bathroom to get thru them. Andy came in and seen me, then went immediately to find a nurse. Apparently we were in labor. So they got me back in bed, removed the servadyl, and gave me some pain meds to hold me over til the anesthesiologist could get there to put in the epidural. As it turned out the anesthesiologist was around the corner so they got that set up pretty quick too. So I was feeling no pain once that kicked in. Andy made some phone calls, letting mom’s know we were in labor. Of course my mom did not hear the phone, but it was ok, cuz she had plenty of time to get to the hospital. Andy’s mom showed up pretty quick and was sitting in the room for a bit. I was out of it and did not remember much other than the fact that she was there and at one point went out to the waiting room before being told to go back home for a bit as we had plenty of time.

From that point til morning (it was about 3 am) I dozed on and off, not sure if Andy did as well. In the morning when they checked me they could see the baby’s head and they called Dr. Frank, he said for me to give one push and see what happened. Mind you at this point I had no, and I mean absolutely no, feelings in my legs. It was the strangest feeling I have ever had. After one push the baby’s head was crowning. The nurse told me not to push anymore until the Doctor got there. During all this Andy’s mom showed back up at the hospital and we were not sure if my mom was on her way or not. When Dr Frank got there, he asked if he had time to change, he was told yes, but to make it quick, then Andy’s phone rang, it was my mom looking for directions. Her and Uncle Jerry had gotten lost. He handed the phone off to his brother (who was in the waiting room) and had him get them to the hospital.

The doctor walked back into the room and we were ready to go, except Andy was not back yet. So I am sitting there, legs in the air, ready to push and they keep telling me to wait! Lol Once everyone was in place, I was told to push when I felt it, after two pushes little Morgan joined the world. It was a very emotional time for both Dad and I. I will never forget that feeling. So we did the picture with the baby, mom, dad and doctor, then snip the cord was cut and baby was cleaned up. The nurse put Morgan’s foot print on dad’s arm and he headed to the waiting room to make the announcement and see if my mom was there yet.

She was not in the waiting room so he said it would be just a little bit longer. As he was on his way back to the room he seen my mom trying to go thru the nurse who was standing guard outside the door. I had requested that no one come in until my legs were back on the bed, so the nurse was keeping all but Andy out. Of course anyone who knows my mom, knows she was having none of that and was trying her hardest to get thru the nurse. She did manage to get around her and poke her head in, making sure her baby girl and new grandchild were ok. She said she loved me and then waited outside. Andy went and told his mom that she officially was a grandma and showed off the footprint. The got me cleaned up and my feel back on the bed and then both grandma’s, Uncle Doug and Uncle Jerry were allowed in the room.

So Morgan was officially born at 8:36am on Aug 24, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz.

Now, these events are as I remember and what I think I was told. Feel free to correct me if you are reading this and know the story differently.