The Story of Emily, Chapter 2: Surprise!

The Story of Emily

Chapter 2: Surprise!

My parents, sister and brother-in-law planned to make a trip to North Carolina in June. I was so excited to see them! One of the best parts was they would be here for my 21st birthday. Even though I had barely begun working for The Special Children’s School, I took the week off to spend time with my family. Just so you know, I told the school before I was hired that I would need the time off. They didn’t have a problem with it. Mark didn’t have the same privilege that I did so he continued to work that week.

While Mark was working so very hard, the rest of us took off to the beach. We went to the Outer Banks and stayed at the Cape Hatteras KOA. Other than my dad’s horrible snoring (I shared a cabin with him and Mom) and the mosquitoes, it wasn’t half-bad. I wore a bikini for the first time since I was a year old! Falling in love and getting married had trimmed my waist line. I was down to the smallest size of my adult life. Size 5 shorts and 127 lbs. A little different than the 142 lbs I carried around in high school. But enough about how fit I was!

We all enjoyed the beach part of the vacation. I was happy to see some of North Carolina that I hadn’t before. We drove around and saw four different lighthouses: Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke Island, and (I think) Currituck Beach. I’m fairly certain Mom and I liked looking at the lighthouses more than anyone else in our party. Since we weren’t that far away, we also went to see Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. It was interesting to see the place of the first flight. The landscape was different than what I had expected; picture a sandbox that hasn’t been tended in about 3 years and there are almost as many blades of grass as there are grains of sand.

After about four days of the beach, we headed back to my home in the foothills. Still, there was much I wanted my family to see. I had a grand time showing off my new state to my family. Mark and I hosted a bar-b-que so his family and our friends could meet my family. That night I played soccer with our friends’ kids. I hadn’t had so much fun running since I was a kid myself. If I remember correctly, my sister and my mom joined in which made it all the more fun. Another day we drove to Mt. Airy, the town Mayberry is based on in The Andy Griffith Show. We even toured the museum there. While we were out, we kept driving to Virginia so they could add another state to their list.

It was on this trip to Virginia that my dad said something to me that I will never forget. We were driving back and I asked them to stop at Bojangles. They don’t have this fast-food restaurant chain in Texas and I wanted my family to have the experience. I got some sort of chicken sandwich, but I could only eat half. I wrapped up the other half to bring home. As soon as we got back to my house I was hungry again. As I’m unwrapping my sandwich my dad asked me, “Christi, are you pregnant?” I scoffed at him and said, “No, of course not”.

But my dad’s question had gotten me thinking. I hadn’t been sick in the morning, on the contrary, I felt better than I had in years. However, I couldn’t for the life of me remember the last time I had a monthly cycle. I was on birth control pills so I never gave it a thought. There was only one thing to do. I happened to have a pregnancy test in my bathroom. On a Friday afternoon with no thought to morning pee, I took that test. I didn’t have time to think or wonder before those two pink lines showed themselves. I just stood there bewildered for a moment………or two. When I could find my voice again, I went to find my sister. She was packing her bags because they were all leaving that evening. I asked her to come and see the test. I’m betting her face was a mirror of mine. I told her she could tell my brother-in-law, but I asked her not to tell my parents. I wanted to tell them myself after I had told Mark. He was working nights and wouldn’t be home until the next morning.

All that night I worried about how to tell Mark and how he would take the news. We had discussed starting a family recently, but we had planned on waiting another 9 months. How ironic! I had been planning on going back to school and he wanted to be more secure in his job. We wanted to save up some money, buy a second car and prepare. Somewhere amidst all my worrying, I came up with a plan. First, I would buy another test, just to make sure; after all, no sense in worrying over nothing. Second, if it was positive, I would buy a Father’s Day card to give to Mark. Sunday wasn’t that far away, surely I could wait that long to tell him.

I went out early and bought the second test and the Father’s Day card. Like the first test, the pink lines showed up immediately. And once again, I was in shock. I wanted to be happy, but until I knew Mark’s reaction, I was holding myself in check. I had always thought we would plan when to have a baby, try for a few months and then be jumping up and down when it finally happened. Without those string of events leading up to the news, I didn’t know how to react. It turns out that I could not wait another day before telling Mark. After he got home, we sat on the bed like we always did before he slept for the afternoon. I told him I had something for him and I handed him the card. I don’t think he made the connection that the next day was Father’s Day, he just thought I was giving him a card. I don’t remember exactly what it said, only that I signed it “Love, Baby”.

Mark opened the envelope, pulled out the card and read the front with a puzzled expression on his face. He opened the card, read the inside, then for good measure turned it over to read the back. I’m sitting on pins and needles waiting for a word from him. I guess to make me crazy, he starts from the front again. It’s a card with very limited wording; I’m fighting the urge to start gnawing my nails. When he gets to the part, “Love, Baby” again, a sweet smile starts spreading across his face. Mark looks at me with look of love and total wonderment. The question is in his eyes and I say, “I think I’m pregnant.”

Chapter 3: Pregnant Bliss

The Story of Emily: Foreward & Chapter 1

The Story of Emily

Foreward

For years now, I have wanted to write down all the thoughts and feelings I had about the pregnancy and birth of our oldest daughter. For one, I wanted to have a written account I can look back on when my memory begins to fade. For another, I wanted to foster understanding by sharing our story. As Emily approaches her ninth birthday, I decided that there was no time like the present to get the words on paper. This is a story of a little grief, a good dose of fear, and a whole lot of hope. There always has to be hope.

Chapter 1: The Back Story

Mark and I celebrated our first anniversary on December 21, 1999. We had just bought our first home in North Carolina and he had recently begun a job with his current employer. We only had one vehicle at the time and since he drove over 160 miles round trip every day and was gone for 16 hours a day, I became a housewife by default. However, I was a registered substitute teacher with our county school system. The local elementary/middle school was only a mile from our home so I started subbing there as much as they needed me. I could easily walk to work. These walks most likely contributed to me becoming more fit than I had ever been in my adult life.

May arrived and while owning our own home was nice, things were tight in the pocket book. This was especially true with Mark having to pay for all that gas to and from work and with me not being needed every day at the school. I needed full-time employment, or at the very least consistent employment. But because we lived in a very small town, walking-distance jobs were scarce. We talked things over with my Father-in-law and he agreed to loan us one of his seldom used vehicles, an older model Ford Bronco. Now that we each had something to drive, I could begin my job search in a broader radius.

I thought, at that time, that I might want to be a teacher someday. I had gone to college with the intent to become a high school English teacher. I had made it through my first semester of my sophomore year when I quit school in Texas to move to North Carolina to be with Mark (but that’s a story for another time). Before I had moved to NC, I had mostly worked in an office setting. I could have gone in search of another office job, but I thought I should look for a job that would enhance my teaching goal. In other words, I wanted to work with kids, preferably high school or middle school age.

I decided to drive twenty to thirty minutes from our house in every direction. Surely, I would find something out there. I knew without a college degree I couldn’t be an actual teacher, but maybe I could find a job as an aide or something. I have some trouble with my exact religious beliefs these days, but what I am about to share makes me believe, without a doubt, in a higher being. As I started my first twenty minute foray, I prayed to God. I asked Him to lead me to a job that I needed. Needed. I think that’s the key word. I didn’t ask for a job that I wanted, but one that I needed. Months later, I would realize that He knew exactly what He was doing.

My first stop was a little, private Christian school. I knew by the marquee that it was a school for kids in kindergarten through twelfth grade. I went in and talked to the very nice secretary. I had a nice chat with her, but I realized that this was not the right environment for me when she mentioned that all females in the school had to wear dresses or skirts every day. Anyone that knows me knows dresses and skirts are special occasion only clothes for me. They are meant for weddings, funerals or a nice date with my husband. They are not every day wear. I politely excused myself and got back in my car to try my luck someplace else.

Just a little further down the same road, a sign caught my eye. It said, The Special Children’s School, and it had silhouettes of young kids on it—one was in a wheelchair. My curiosity had me turning into the drive of the school. I had always held a special place in my heart for those with disabilities. More, working with kids that happened to have disabilities was in my blood. My mom, dad, grandparents, various aunts and friends of the family had all at one time or another worked for a particular facility that took care of people with disabilities. I was raised all my life to treat all people the same. I was never disturbed, or worse grossed-out, by those that were “different”. Looking at the school on that sunny day in mid-May, I knew I had found the place I was meant to be.

I went in, filled out an application and had an interview within days. At first all they could offer me was a van monitor job from 7:30-9AM and from 2:30-4PM. It would mean traveling to and from the school twice a day, but at least it was steady work. I also signed on to be a substitute, figuring I could fill in the gap some days with more work. I was fascinated with the school. It was for children with special needs, ages birth through pre-K. They also had a wonderful inclusion program which means having “typical” kids learn side-by-side with the kids with special needs. At the time “typical” kids could start at around 18 months. The infant rooms were totally dedicated to those with disabilities. On site, the school also provided occupational, physical and speech therapy by full-time therapist. There was at least one nurse there at all times and meals were planned by a nutritionist. As far as quality goes, this school got an A+. Every lead teacher in each classroom had a bachelor degree in early childhood development and all of the other staff were well trained. I learned so much working there. Soon, I was offered a position working as a part-time floater. I came in at 12:30 and left at 5:30 when the school closed for the day. My job was to help out wherever I was needed. This afforded me the opportunity to work (and learn) throughout the school.

Chapter 2: Surprise!

Anna Speaks

Finally, I have been able to post a video of Anna speaking. This was recorded on her 9 month birthday, 12-10-09. Anna had been babbling away to us so, I grabbed the camera. Mark was standing behind me trying to keep the other kiddos quiet and keep Anna's attention. It's a little loud at first, but you can clearly hear her say, Dada and bye-bye. We may finally have a kid that speaks before age 2. LOL

My "Cool" Girl

Emily was digging through the hall closet and happened upon her black leather jacket. I got inspired and used my make-up on her. Yes, I put make-up on my eight-year-old. I want to call her a "Bad Bleep", but since my mom accesses my blog at work, I'll keep it clean.

What a difference a smile makes:

Happy Birthday, Garrett!

Garrett turned four years old on October 14, 2009. We had his family birthday party on Sunday evening. The little guy requested balloons, party hats, cake and pizza. He can't make up his mind which super hero he likes best, so he had batman plates, spiderman napkins and a superman cake.

Garrett is such a smart and funny guy! He always has something witty to say and it will usually make you laugh. These days, he has gone to calling himself: Super-Fast Garrett, Spiderman Garrett, Batman Garrett or Superman Garrett. Can you see a running theme here? In keeping with the theme, Garrett received all hero related gifts this year. Among the favorites are his Spiderman costume courtesy of Aunt Jessica, Uncle Jeremy and cousin Morgan, his super hero set from Meemo and Papa and his batcave from his brother and sisters.

That pizza really hit the spot...............now I am just going to sit back, relax and wait for some cake.

I'm tired of smiling, just cut the cake already! Is this good enough?

Superman cake that I spent hours creating. Destroyed in less than 5 minutes.

Time Sure Does Fly!

Nine days since my last blog post. Better than the 2 month drought though. We've been easing into the new homeschooling year. Today, Emily started rhyming words all on her own. This was a pleasant surprise as she had struggled with rhyming in public school. One of the greatest "tools" for homeschooling her has become apparent by accident. She loves to use a magna-doodle to do her spelling and math. I still have to make her do work sheets so we'll have something to put in her portfolio, but the majority of her work is done on a magna-doodle. Hey, whatever works! ----That's my teaching philophosy.

Jeepers!

It has been over 2 months since my last entry! Bad, bad Christi. So much has happened in that time. We went to Texas at the end of July/beginning of August. And just two weeks ago our faithful computer finally gave out on us. I will have to take some time soon to update everyone on the trip to Texas and the following weeks, but for now I have to make this short. I did want to mention that Anna Jaye turned 6 months on on 9-10-09. I've included a few pics of the big day. The first one is my absolute favorite picture of her so far: