Correction...

In my last post I said that I was induced at 35 weeks. Although I was ready to have him at 35 weeks, no doctor in their right mind would induce that early! I was actually induced at 39-1/2 weeks. Oopps!

To: My One Year Old!

I became a mother exactly one year ago, and at 5:57p.m., my life changed forever!

Finding Out:
I took a home pregnancy test on Wednesday, May 31, 2006, just as a joke. I was a few days late, but knew that I could not be pregnant. I told Zack, “I’m going to take a pregnancy test just to make sure.” “Whatever,” was his response. I took the test, looked at the stick one millisecond later, and saw two dark pink lines. I looked at the directions and this is what I read:

1 light pink line = not pregnant
2 dark pink lines = pregnant

I looked at the stick again, then the directions again, then the stick, then the directions... I just knew that God would not allow us to be pregnant now! Zack was in school, we were broke, I wasn’t ready, we had plans… (Isn’t it funny how God knows so much better about what you need than you do yourself?) At this point I’m sweating, shaking, crying, and about to faint. I go to Zack, grab his arm and fly into hysteria. “Za, aa, ck!” More crying, hyperventilation, can’t breath, about to faint. “WWAAAAH!” I cry. Zack just holds me, looking pale and faint himself. “Was it positive?” he asks in a terrified tone of voice. “Y-Y-YES!!” I cry some more. “Is that a good cry or a bad cry?” he asks. “I don’t know!!” I reply. I called my wonderful friend in Texas to get some encouragement and words of wisdom. She laughed…Then, of course, she told me how wonderful it would all turn out. How God has a better plan for us than we do for ourselves, and how He’ll always provide for us and take care of us. It wasn’t long before I started feeling better and even a little excited.


By the next day, I was more excited than Martha Stewart when she was released from prison. I went to school glowing like a prom queen. I had made a picture frame that read, “Save this frame for Baby Hickman who is due in February” to show all of my coworkers. We then told all of our family and friends as soon as we could. Some cried, some screamed, some were speechless, but everyone was ecstatic!

The Pregnancy:
Unlike my mom and sisters, I had a wonderful pregnancy. I was sick for a total of one week (when we took a vacation to Colorado). By the 8th month, I was so excited, anxious, and ready to have my baby, I couldn’t think straight. It just COULD NOT happen soon enough. Every doctor’s visit from 35 weeks on, I went in praying, crossing my fingers and knocking on wood that I would be progressing and closer to having the baby. Every doctor’s visit from 35 weeks on, I got the same report: “You are not dilated at all, your cervix has not softened at all, you are not close to going into labor at all.” FINALLY, at 39-1/2 weeks, on Monday, January 29th, my doctor said, “I am going to be on call Wednesday night. Do you want to go ahead and induce?” “YES!!!” I cried. So it was settled, we were going to be parents two days later.


The Labor and Delivery:
6:00am- Checked into the hospital
8:00am- Pitosin was administered
10:00am- Contractions started
12:15pm- Received epidural
1:15pm- Had water broke (1-1/2cm dilated)
2:30pm- Still 1-1/2cm dilated
3:30pm- 2cm dilated
4:10pm- 4cm dilated
4:11pm- 7cm dilated (I dilated from a 4 to a 7 while the nurse was checking me!)
4:30pm- Baby’s heart rate dropped and he went posterior. I was put on an oxygen mask
and was turned onto my stomach.
5:00pm- 9cm dilated- Baby’s heart rate was still low; I was turned onto my right side.
5:15pm- 10cm dilated- Preparing for delivery.
5:30pm- Began pushing.
5:50pm- Suction Vacuum was used.
5:57pm- Zayde was born!!


I cannot put into words the joy that I felt the first time I saw and held my baby Zayde. The emotions overwhelmed me, causing me to shed tears of joy!

The Past Year:
Since then, I have shed many more tears of joy holding him, playing with him, rocking him, and just being his mommy. Zack and I have now said many times, that we
don’t know what we would do without Zayde. He has brought us so much joy, happiness, laughter, excitement, and fun. Sometimes, I feel like my heart is going to explode with love and happiness. I have always desired to have children and knew that I would love them. I just never knew how in love with my baby I would be. I am so blessed to be given the awesome responsibility of loving, caring for and raising this child of God. As Psalms says, children are truly a gift from the Lord. I know that the love I have for Zayde can only come from God alone. Sometimes I wonder if this love ever fades. Because, if not, I don’t know how I will ever spend seven hours away from him everyday when he starts school, or how I will be able to live without him when he goes off to college, or how I will ever share him with another woman when he gets married. These are worries that I will have to place in God’s hands and trust in Him to give me comfort and peace when the time comes. In the meantime, I am immensely enjoying every waking moment I have with Zayde and soaking up every precious second spent with him! Happy Birthday, Zayde- I LOVE you!!

Chuck E. Cheese!!...

Last night, Zack and I took Zayde to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate his birthday with just our little family. We enjoyed it so much and had a blast watching him discover, explore and play...

Not real sure about ol' Chuck E.


VERY sure now!


All better with Mommy. :)


Zayde and Daddy enjoying pizza- Zayde had his first bites of pizza last night!


...riding in a fire engine (he held on to the sides for dear life)



Sliding with Mommy...


He rode the carousel several times. He loved the mirrors on it!


Like father, like son... Off roading in a Jeep!



This was a little school bus, so of course Mommy was all over that!


Zack took Zayde through the jungle gym of tunnels. He LOVED it! He was laughing and crawling so fast through all the tunnels, taking whichever route he wanted to.


He looks scared in this picture, but he was smiling at me- I'm just not fast enough with the camera. :)


...coming down the tunnel slide!


Daddy and Zayde watching a virtual-reality roller coaster.

We can't wait to go back!

One Year Pictures!

Zayde had his one year pictures taken with Lanning Photography last week. Feel free to check them out!

Go to: www.lanningphoto.com

Click the "proofs/online ordering" link at the top

Click the hyper link provided where it says: "Order your photos online at..."

Under "Recent Photos" click on AHickman

Don't worry about reading all of the info that comes up. Just click "continue"

If it ever asks for a password, it will be Zayde. But, I don't think it will ask for one.

Enjoy!

The Word on Wednesday...

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer and gave him to me. Now I give him back to the Lord. He will belong to the Lord all his life."
1 Samuel 1:27-28

Zayde will be one year old tomorrow! There have been many nights during this past year that I have just held Zayde, thanking the Lord for giving him to me and for trusting Zack and I to take care of HIS son. Children are a gift from God and motherhood is an amazing journey. I have been humbled, tested, and tried in many different ways than I have ever experienced before. But more than anything, I have been blessed beyond belief with the great responsibility of taking care of my Lord's son, who was graciously given to me to love for the rest of my time on this Earth. My son is truly the son of a HEAVENLY King! (and I am so thankful for that!)

My Prince is Turning One!

One week from today is Zayde's 1st birthday. I absolutely cannot believe it- it does not seem possible. I am excited, because this is a big milestone birthday, but also somewhat sad, because he is growing up so fast. A one year old is considered to be a toddler, but I'm not ready to let my baby go! Thus far, parenting has pretty much been a breeze (except for the whole sleep thing)- it's just been playing, laughing, and having fun. All too soon, the real parenting is going to have to start- disciplining, spanking, teaching him lessons... Do you know how hard it's going to be to get my sweet baby in trouble? I mean, have you seen his beautiful big blue eyes?! I now know that my parents were not lying when they said, "This hurts me worse than it hurts you." Of course, we have not punished Zayde in any way, yet. But oh, the heartaches to come...

Well, enough of that. I just wanted to give you all a sneak preview of Zayde's birthday party stuff. The theme is 'Prince.'

These are the invitations that I made...
Front: (It is a little blurry because of the velum.)

Inside:


This throne seat was borrowed from my friend, Mandy. Thank you, Mandy!

After looking at several crowns online, I decided to make one myself! Everything to make it was purchased from Hobby Lobby.

My Prince!

"Yea!!"

Sweetness...

I would love to start making and selling products for a side hobby, including (but not limited to) picture frames, princess/prince crowns, decorated wooden letters, invitations, thank you/birthday/etc. cards, stationary... So, if you like what you have seen, leave a comment and spread the word! Thank you!! (I plan to create a website and will post that information when I have it.)

The Word on Wednesday...

"Give your worries to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will never let good people down." Psalm 55:22 (New Century Version)

I don't know about you, but I tend to worry. As a matter of fact, I have had a few situations come up that I am trying not to worry about right now. I am so thankful that, unlike the lady in the cartoon above, God cares about EVERY concern that I have! Sometimes, when a problem arises, I have been known to call up a friend or family member to cry, vent, and/or complain before I ever took my worry to the Lord. Every time I do that, I have to stop and think of this verse, and then ask for forgiveness. God desires for us to come to Him FIRST. HE is our helper, peace maker and problem solver! He knew about the problem/situation before it happened, and He knows the outcome, solution and what we'll learn from it before we even ask. Doesn't it give you so much peace and comfort to know that no matter the "worry", great or small, God knows about it and desires to "...take care of you." And, "...never let you down!" I praise Him for His unconditional, undying, unwavering love!

Jibber Jabber!

The Word on Wednesday...

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139:13-14

I am SUCH a people watcher. When Zack and I go to the mall, he'll try to talk to me and I'm like, "Uh-hu, yeah, mmh, um-hm." Finally, he'll ask if I'm even listening to him. I just have to tell him that I'm so sorry, but I cannot concentrate with all the people around! I have often thought how amazing it is that there are soooo many people in the world and no two people are just alike. God is just so incredible.

I have clung to this verse many times when I have struggled with self-esteem/confidence issues. God loves me (and you) so much that he chose every hair follicle, bone structure, feature, etc. on me. He "knit" me together, created me, formed me just the way that He wanted me to be. When I look at what I call "flaws" "imperfections" "blemishes" I think of this verse, and remember that I am flawless, perfect and wonderful in His eyes and that's all that matters!

Zayde Walking!!

Please Forgive Me...

I have thought a lot about my blog lately... why I have one, what kind of posts I publish, does it make a difference, is it inspiring, etc? I have also been thinking about my walk with the Lord and my calling as a Christian. As I thought about these two things together, I realized that people who don't know me and came across my blog, may never see what God means to me. As a matter of fact, they may not even realize that I am a Christian. Looking at all of my posts, it would seem like Zack and Zayde fill the #1 position in my heart. But, that just simply is not so. My Lord and Savior is and always will be #1 in my heart and life, then Zack and then Zayde. While Zack and Zayde are so very important to me, Jesus Christ is more important. I will, of course, still publish posts about how wonderful my husband is and how adorable and great my son is. However, I hope to also start posting about how precious, costly and beautiful my Lord is- as the lyrics go in one of my favorite (old school) songs:

More Precious Than Silver
Lord, You are more precious than silver.
Lord, You are more costly than gold.
Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds,
And nothing I desire compares to You.

Lord, Your Love is higher than mountains.
Lord, Your Love is deeper than seas.
Lord, Your Love encompasses the nations,
And yet, You live right here inside of me!

Who can weigh the value of knowing You?
Who can judge the worth of who You are?
Who can count the blessings of loving You?
Who can say just how great You are?

Lord, You are more precious than silver.
Lord, You are more costly than gold.
Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds,
And nothing I desire compares to You.

And nothing I desire compares to You.

New Header!!!

What do you all think of the new header?! Well, as much as I would like to, I can't take credit for it. It takes waaaay too much talent and html knowledge for me to figure out! My best friend, Jessica, has an awesomely talented friend, Brandy. Brandy found out (from Jessica) that I really wanted a header with pictures. She emailed me and offered to create something for me. I didn't tell her anything specific that I wanted; she just used pictures that I have posted on my blog and designed it herself! If you knew what kind of knowledge and talent it takes to create something like that and for blogger to actually accept it, you would all be astounded. I just want to thank Brandy for my awesome new header- I love it!!

Last Home Project (Hopefully!!)

I started this blog after most of our home projects were completed, but let me fill you in if you're not aware of our home projects. Before we ever moved in, we basically gutted our house (well, kind of). Here is a list of everything we did before moving in: painted EVERY square inch of EVERY room in the house- walls, ceilings, base boards, trim, window sills and doors, painted the fireplace bricks, converted the gas fireplace to wood burning, took out every kitchen cabinet to sand and paint, tiled (stick-on) the wall behind the stove, tiled (stick-on) the kitchen floors, front entry floors and back entry floors, plus we did a lot of work on the outside. After we moved in, we: gutted (for real) the bathroom- we put in new floors, new walls, new base boards, new window sill, new bathtub, tiled the walls around the bathtub, then we replaced the living room carpet with engineered hard wood flooring, replaced both bedroom carpets with newer carpet, and now we're in the process of replacing the hallway carpet with engineered hard wood flooring. We did everything ourselves with the help of family and friends. The only time we hired professionals for help was for the bathroom plumbing. Here are the pictures of our latest project (the hallway floors):

...after ripping up the base boards, carpet and pad

Zack also took this opportunity to completely redo the bathroom door jam, frame and trim. Imagine the look of shock on my face when I stepped in the hall to see the progress on the FLOORS, and I find the bathroom door, door jam and trim torn apart!

Zack spreading glue for the floors.

...more glue

What is a project without a break to play? Literally, in the middle of his project, Zack stops what he's doing, takes Zayde outside and pulls him around in his little red wagon. (He has just a touch of ADD!)

The hallway half finished...

This is seriously the story of our remodeling lives! Every project we have done, EVERY project, there has been some kind of set back. The setback for this project? We ran out of flooring and it is on back order for four weeks! I guess I'll be posting the final pictures next month...

Yes ladies, that is a sheet covering the bathroom doorway on the side of this picture! Oh well, we didn't have a door OR a shower for a month when we remodeled the bathroom- at least I still have a shower.

A Party for a Princess

Kynzie Lasha turned one year old yesterday. She had a princess party to celebrate...

Kynzie, the birthday princess!

A table set for a princess!

There are so many people that love Kynzie and wanted to celebrate with her. So, there were three cakes!

Princess Cake from Harps...

Homemade chocolate cake, mmmm!

...and Kynzie's very own individual cake.

Other princesses that attended...
Addye, Mikaela, Mia

Zayde surrounded by the girls!

Kynzie received many great gifts!

...a jack-n-the-box, board book,

pink boots,

a suitcase (which she wanted to play inside of), she also got a sweater, pj's, hairbow holder, xylophone...

She loved it when we sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She was so intrigued.

Cake time!

At first, she wasn't sure what to think about the cake...

Then, she decided she loved it and even shared some with her big sister.

Too cute for words!!

She was so glad that all of her friends came. She kept trying to play with this little girl's tongue.

Zayde and Nana (You know I have to throw a few pics of Zayde in!)

Mia and Melissa playing with a balloon.

One of Kynzie's friends... Even though she was camera shy, I thought she was too cute not to picture.

Great-Grandma Maxwell and Zayde

My beautiful cousin, Melissa and beautiful grandma, Joann (you would never guess her age; she looks AWESOME- I've always thought that my grandma is so pretty)

Princess Becky modeling the jewelry.