The Great Healer

On Christmas morning Pastor David recited the fighter verse, "He restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:3-4) Verse 4 seemed to some to be pretty inappropriate for Christmas, until he said "because death happens at Christmas too." Oh how this touched me. One of my closest friends miscarried just a few days before Christmas. While the rest of us were rejoicing in a birth, she is mourning a birth that will never happen. My heart hurts for her. My soul aches for her. She lives too far away now for me to comfort her in person, but I wish I could. Death is awful no matter which way you cut it, but the death of a child, even an unborn child is devastating. Death was never meant to be. It is because of sin that death entered the world. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they ruined God's perfect creation. Romans 5:12 says "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned..." We all have sin natures, even precious tiny babies, and so we are all susceptible to death. But God, in His perfect will had a plan to save us from death. Romans 5:18 says "Therefore as one trespass led to condemnation for all men ,so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men." That one act of righteousness was Jesus' death on the cross. He died to take the sin of mankind so that all who believe in Him may have eternal life. John 1:12 says "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God." How amazing is it that all we have to do to receive eternal life is to believe in the name of Jesus? Acts 16:31 says "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved..." Oh how wonderful to believe in a God who is victorious over death. "He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces..." (Isaiah 25:8) "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) So, take heart my dear friend. Death is not forever. We serve a victorious God. One day there will be no more grieving, no more tears. One day you will be with your precious Noah in heaven. Until then rest in the fact that Jesus holds him in his arms. This pain is temporary. And if just one person reads this and is touched by the Gospel, then Noah's short life and tragic death are not in vain. You are loved, my friend, and prayed for.

If you want to follow her healing process you may visit her blog:
www.learningfromthegreatteacher.blogspot.com
(for some reason I cannot link to it, so you'll have to do it the old fashioned way and type it into your url)

2011 Year End...

As 2011 comes to a close I feel compelled to write a Christmas letter, even though most people who read this probably already know everything anyway. So, here goes!

2011 has been an eventful year in the Metcalf house. Our beloved Derek turned 2 in February. It was really hard to believe he was that old, and now we are staring down the barrel at 3!! He was in his first wedding in March when he was one of the ring bearers in his Aunt Jessica's wedding. He did so well, and was the only one who did not cry going down the aisle! Go Derek!!! He has loved being a big brother since May. He loves his baby brother so much. Every night before brother goes to bed Derek has to give him a hug and a kiss and tell him that he loves him. It's adorable! In August he got another opportunity to be a ring bearer in his Aunt Rebekah's wedding. He walked down the aisle so nicely, and made everybody laugh when he was aghast that the flower girl was throwing the flower petals on the floor. he kept saying "no, no! Don't spill the flowers!" Right after the wedding we tackled potty training, and he accomplished that in less than a week. Christmas this year was a blast! He loved opening his gifts, and even loved helping his little brother open his gifts to. He would open them and then go show him what each thing was. Derek speaks in full sentences now, and there are not many things he cannot say. He's growing up before our eyes. We are so proud of how much he has learned in the past year.

On May 27th we were ecstatic to welcome Owen Michael into our family. He was born at about 4:30pm after a 5 hour labor. This was my first natural birth, and it was amazing! I am so proud to have been able to accomplish it. Owen is not the greatest sleeper, but he makes up for it in sparkling personality. He brings a big baby smile into the room whenever he enters. He has cut two teeth in the past month, and is eating solids very well after being exclusively nursed for the first 5 months. He still prefers to nurse over any other form of food, but he is enjoying trying new tastes of fruit and veggies as well. He crawls everywhere, and is into everything! It is so fun watching him grow and develop!

Nathan continues his job as a youth pastor at our local church. We just passed the two year mark at this church in September and things are really amping up there. This past year Nathan went on two ski trips, a Colorado camping trip, a service project trip to Wisconsin, and a few other trips with the youth group. He stays very busy to say the least. He is also a substitute school bus driver for our school district. It's a great chance for him to meet new kids.

I continue my work with the transitional home for women. I have moved from just being a relief staff member to being the relief staff manager. It is a big change so far as I take over the tasks of scheduling and managing the staff. So far so good though. My primary role is still at home with the kiddos. Derek and Owen are the lights of my days! They are a lot of fun. I am doing a lot of pre-preschool things with Derek to prepare him for starting preschool in the fall. Owen and I are the best of friends. Anywhere I am, he has to be too. I love it!

Our cats, Calvin and Piper are doing well too for those curious. They still don't get along very well, but they have established the pecking order and they have calmed down about it a little.

We wish you all the best in the coming year. We rejoice that the Son of God was incarnated as a tiny baby so that he might grow to be the perfect Lamb of God, a sacrifice for our sins that we might be reconciled to God. We thank Jesus for the precious gift of salvation. And we praise God for His perfect plan to send his Son as a baby. Amen! May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all this holiday!!!

Soli Deo Gloria,
The Metcalf family,
Nathan, Sarah, Derek and Owen

Taco Casserole

Even my toddler ate this taco casserole! If the toddler eats it, you know it tastes good! :)

-Brown off 1 lb. ground beef and add 1 packet of taco seasoning
-make spanish rice (I used a box)
-Add 1 can of black beans (drain, but don't rinse them)
-Mix it all together in a pan or pot
-cover bottom of casserole dish with tostada shells or taco shells broken in half
-add layer of meat/rice/bean mixture, cover layer with cheese, cover with enchilada sauce
-repeat until the top layer of meat/rice/bean mixture, cheese and sauce
-cover with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes

Yum!! Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Carnitas

Yesterday I made slow cooked carnitas for dinner. It was fabulously good! I had a bunch of people ask me for the recipe, so I'm posting it here for whoever wants it!

Slow Cooked Carnitas
Serves 12

-1 boneless prok shoulder butt roast (3-4lbs)
-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
-2 tsp Olive Oil
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1 1/2 cups minced fresh cilantro
-1 cup salsa
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1/2 cup tequila (or substitute 1/2 cup additional chicken broth)
-8 oz chopped green chilies

1. Cut roast in half; place in slow cooker and sprinkle with garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Add cilantro, salsa, broth, tequila, and chilies. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
2. Remove meat, shred, and return to slow cooker to cook through.

See how easy it is?? It was the easiest thing I've ever done for dinner, and tasted awesome. I did not use the tequila because I didn't have any on hand. I wish I had used it though. It would have given some depth to the flavor. I also forgot to add the chilies, so the meat was not spicy at all. Next time I will use the chilies, but it tasted fine without them if you're not a fan of spice.

10 Years...

It was a normal school day for me. I woke up at five thirty, showered, got dressed, left my house at six thirty. I picked up my friend Sarah. I can’t remember what we talked about as we drove to Eastview High School, but I’m pretty sure that it was normal teenage stuff. As we drove we listened to the morning show on the local top forty radio station. School starts at seven thirty. It was no different that day. Funny, I can’t even remember what my first hour class was. None of those details were important to me then, they are lost in the fog of time.
It’s interesting how some things are burned into our minds. There are moments when time slows down and you have all the time in the world to log each detail away so that you can remember it all your life. Those who remember Pearl Harbor know what I’m talking about. Those who remember President Kennedy’s assassination know what I’m talking about. During those moments you rarely know that your mind is actually locking those things into your memory. Usually the moment happens and you remember it forever without even realizing why.
I remember that my second hour class was AP Literature and Composition. I remember that my teacher’s name was Mr. Bayer and that he had a really casual teaching style that made his English class the most enjoyable English class I had ever taken in high school. I remember that the girl who sat next to me was named Katie, and that she was in color guard for the marching band. I remember that her boyfriend’s name was Cody because she talked about him all the time. I remember that I sat in the second row on the left hand side of the classroom as you look at it from the back. I remember that we were supposed to watch “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.”
My dad is an airline pilot. That has always made my life a little different. He was gone a lot when I was younger. People always looked at me with the same look that you would give a kid whose dad is in the military.
“Oh, that must have been hard for you.” People would say to me as I got older. The truth is that I never really thought about it. My dad was a pilot before I was born. I have never known anything different. Northwest Airlines, whom my father flies for, has their world headquarters in Eagan Minnesota which is, not coincidentally, where I grew up. That whole area is chuck full of airline families. All my friends in high school with the exception of two were from airline families. When I went off to college people would say things like “Oh wow, your dad’s a pilot?! That’s so cool! So do you, like get to fly for free?” Nobody said things like that in high school. They were all in the same boat as me. There was a mutual understanding among us. We talked smack about Northwest management when the pilots went on strike in 1998, and every time the mechanics went on strike we griped about how the CEO really didn’t know anything about his company. We talked about a lot of things having to do with the airline industry, but we never, ever talked about plane crashes. There is a solidarity among airline families. The same kind of solidarity you find among military families, and NASA families. The thing that airline families have in common with military families and NASA families is that we all know that at any moment, tragedy can strike. It never matters how safe flying is supposed to be, or how few accidents they’ve actually had in the space program, or whether your spouse was supposed to be a non combatant, there is always the knowledge in the back of your head that there is a possibility that when your family member leaves for work, he or she may not come home. You never talk about that possibility. You never think about that possibility. When I was in tenth grade I really, really liked this boy. I was convinced that I was going to marry him someday, as soon as he realized he loved me back. There was nothing that boy could do to make me stop liking him. At least, so I thought. When we were discussing flight plans for our summer missions trip with church, I asked what airline we would be flying. He cracked a joke about flying on Egypt Air. Earlier that month an Egypt Air flight had crashed shortly after take off. It was determined that it was pilot suicide. I hated that boy. I hated him with everything I had for that moment. (And for a while afterwards, until he finally apologized to me.) When TWA flight 800 blew up over the Atlantic, we were glued to the television. The reason is simple, we are a community, and we feel it when we lose a member of that community. The thing about the airline community is that when a plane goes down we don’t just lose one member of the community, we lose several. After it leaves the news, we never talk about it again. It’s not something we want to remember over and over again.
Everything that happened after that second hour class is vivid in my memory. I remember third hour Spanish and calling my mom and telling her that I wanted to go home. I remember Eastview High School going on lock down. I remember a girl named Maggie hysterically telling people that her mom was being forced to evacuate the IDS tower in downtown Minneapolis because “it was next.” I remember a fellow pilot’s daughter huddling next to her locker and telling me that her father was flying that day. I remember there being so much we didn’t know. I remember going home.
I wrote a poem for a scholarship about it. It was really good. It was too good. I never submitted it. I think I wanted to keep it especially for me. Every person had something about that day that they kept to themselves. I think everyone had to keep at least one thing to themselves because there were so many things we shared. American flags lined the streets of suburbia and every car had a “united we stand” bumper sticker. There were candlelight vigils and tributes to the heroic firefighters and police force members. There were bulletin boards covered in pictures of missing people and pictures on the news of their families crying as they pleaded for information about their loved one.
I remember Mr. Bayer turning on the television and turning off the lights in the classroom. I remember that in the split second it took for the video tape to register in the VCR we caught a glimpse of two buildings on fire. I remember thinking it was just a made for TV movie. Then, I remember seeing the CNN logo in the bottom corner. I remember the class shouting in unison, the same two words “GO BACK!!” I remember Mr. Bayer sinking into his chair as we watched unbelieving what was unfolding on the TV in front of us. I remember seeing the buildings fall. I remember the principal talking over the loudspeaker saying that school would remain in session, although teachers would be free to abandon their lessons and just watch the news all day. I remember the airline kids shooting terrified glances at each other. I remember thinking where is my dad? Is he flying? I remember calling my mom and finding out that he was safe at home. I remember waiting anxiously for the newscasters to tell us what airlines had been involved.
There were tributes to the pilots and flight attendants that died that day. But not until later. They seemed to us to be the forgotten victims. Then, we received stickers in the mail from the Airline Pilot Association. They said “we will not forget.” They are right. We won’t forget. I read in the newspaper about the husband of one of the flight attendants and how he rode his bike across the country to commemorate the life of his wife and the lives of her co-workers. There was a memorial put up to venerate the crew of United flight 93.
And me? I joined the ranks of those who would go on to be called the 9/11 generation. We now know what it’s like to be someone who remembers Pearl Harbor, or the Kennedy assassination. We know what it is to have a single moment in history burned into our eyes and ears, and for some of us, our noses as well. We know what it is to suddenly worry about our safety when we’ve never had to before. And, like two generations before us we know what it is like to feel overwhelmed with uncertainty about the future. We all know that someday, our children will ask us about that Tuesday morning, and we will help them write their history papers and projects about it. We will show them newspapers and video tapes of CNN and NBC broadcasts. They will ask us how it feels to remember such a pivotal event in our nation’s history. We will respond that we are not the first to experience it, and we will not be the last. Because, after all, history has a way of repeating itself.

New Things...

There are so many new things going on. Not all of them are good, but we trust that God is good.
I guess I'll start with the bad since I mentioned that. Nathan's dad is struggling with some on going health issues and went to the doctor because of chronic pain that he thought was stemming from these issues. What they found instead is the strong possibility of the presence of cancer. This news was devastating to the family, even though we aren't really sure what the final result of the tests are. The mere thought of it being cancer is terribly scary. But like I said, we trust that God is good and has this in His plan. Please pray for the whole family over the next week as we find out the results of the tests done yesterday.

Now on to the good stuff:

Owen is getting BIG!! He is now three months old, and things have gotten so much better around here! We are sleeping again, and although he still doesn't sleep very much throughout the day, I have decided I can live with that provided he sleeps at night. Which he does, very well. He is usually only up once a night to eat! It's great! He is a talker! He will look you in the eyes, and really zone in and just baby talk to you and smile and squeal when you talk back. I just love it! He is working really hard on sitting up by himself. He still has a ways to go on that, but it's so fun to watch him try! He's so happy and so smiley! He still loves to be held, and would rather be worn than ride in the stroller, but as long as he can sit up and see what's going on around him he will sit in the stroller for a while.
Derek is huge too. He is 2 1/2 these days going on 20 it feels like. He is talking in full sentences now. He will repeat anything you say, it's so cute to watch him mimicking his daddy. His imagination is blossoming too. He will pretend to be a kitty, or to cook dinner on his play grill. He is the best big brother. He will sit and play baby games with Owen and love on him. He is very careful not to squish the baby by hugging him, and instead will plant brother kisses all over his baby face! Owen in turn will squeal in delight when he sees Derek! It's so heart warming to watch them together!
The weather is turning cooler these days. Fall is coming... winter is coming... This February I turn 28. 27 went by too quickly... Derek will be 3 and ready for preschool next fall. Owen will be one by the time the weather turns warm again. Oh how the time flies by. Don't waste it. Never waste these precious days. All too soon you end up like my parents with both kids married off. Not that I'll mind that stage when I get to it I'm sure, but not now. As I was pacing up and down my house with a sleepless Owen a few nights ago I was speaking softly to him, and this is what I told him:

"Oh precious Baby, how I love you. Don't grow up, okay. Stay little in my arms forever. Your brother grew up and grew too fast. He runs from my kisses now. Stay little in my arms forever, Owen. I know that someday you will be big, and you will go to school, then to college, and you will find a wonderful girl to love and you will love her more than me. You had better love her more than me. But not tonight. Tonight you are mine. Tonight I will hold you and love on you. Stay little in my arms, okay Owen. For just a little while longer."

10 Things I Wish I Could Do....

1. Go to the beach
2. Go out on a date with my husband
3. Take a jacuzzi bath (it's like my jacuzzi tub is taunting me with all the kiddie toys in it)
4. Go to a movie in the theater
5. Drink caffeine
6. Sleep through the night
7. Write a book
8. Keep up with this Blog
9. Type with two hands
10. Not be frustrated that I can't do these things....

The Reason I've Been too Busy to Blog...

My Little Sister got married!!!!!!! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially older than the hills. My sister (who is 6 years younger than me) is a Mrs. I was in Minnesota for 2 weeks for the wedding (and I was there for 2 weeks previous to that at the end of July) so I have been away. It was a really busy 2 weeks! Between planning the bachelorette party (which was a HUGE success!) and spray tanning, and correcting a dress that got taken in too much (mine thankfully, not the bride's), and dealing with my kids on top of that it was crazy! Owen started to do better sleeping, but now that we are back at our house, he is all over the place again. Hmmmmm. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful, and I'm so glad to have another brother! 3 brothers-in-law all together! How fun for this girl who grew up with only one sister!!! :)

Confessions of a New Mom Part III

I'm REALLY REALLY wanting to go to the beach!

Ok, that doesn't have a lot to do with being a new mom, but I would LOVE to take the kids to the beach. Owen is a little young, but Derek would have so much fun! He's constantly asking to go. Maybe next year when Owen is a little bigger.... In the meantime, I will settle myself with sitting in my backyard in the scorching hot sun with ocean sounds playing on my phone. :)

Confessions of a New Mom Part II

I don't like my seven week old's personality!

I know that babies don't really get their personalities until 3 months or so, but so far, my baby has been nothing but ornery and fussy. He doesn't like to be put down. As a result he hates the swing, the bouncy seat, the play mat, the car seat (therefore the car also), the Ergo carrier, the Moby Wrap, the Baby Bijorn, the stroller.... anything that's not being carried in arms. He also has stopped taking a bottle, and spits out any pacifier you try to give him. Nursing only for this kid. Needless to say this all makes my life very difficult. He has about 5-10 minutes of quiet happy time right after he eats. This is when we play and I get to see his smile. But then he starts fussing and the fussing doesn't stop until he goes to sleep. Thanks to his current sleep strike, that isn't happening very much either. I know that this will soon pass, and I love my baby more than anything, but I really can't wait for that 3 month mark.

Confessions of A New Mom Part I

Welcome to my new series. Confessions of A New Mom. Now, granted, I'm not exactly a new mom, I've been Mom to Derek for a while now, but I'm the mom of a new baby, so that counts. So without further ado, here is Part I...

I Hate Breastfeeding!

I feel like this is something I'm not supposed to hate! So many people talk about how much they love it, but I'm just not feeling it. I breastfed Derek for 7 weeks, and gave up after bad information and formula supplementing depleted my milk supply to nothing. But deep down, I was relieved after I gave it up. I didn't have to worry anymore about wearing clothes I could nurse in easily. I didn't have to worry about sore nipples anymore. I didn't have to deal with engorgement after going on a date with my husband and missing a feeding. It was a little bit of a pain to carry around multiple bottles and formula when we went somewhere, but it was an small inconvenience I was willing to deal with. This time around, things are different. I have much better information. I am more educated about the benefits of and mechanics of breastfeeding. I don't have an excuse for not breastfeeding Owen, so I'm doing it. But I realize I'm doing it begrudgingly. My nipples hurt a lot at first. I have clothes that I packed up and sent into storage because there's no way I can wear them this summer. It would be impossible to nurse in them. I have to bring my pump with me when I go on a date with my husband so I can pump in the car on the way home. It's a pain, but it's what's best for my son. I am determined to do things differently this time around, so I continue nursing. However, I can tell you right now I will not be an EBF-er. One year will be my cut off point. I love my son, but I also want my body back. Plus I want to be able to eat pizza, and lasagna, and ice cream again. :)

For Father's Day

To my Daddy: What can a girl say about the best Daddy God could have given her? There's so much I should tell you. Like how you were a perfect example of the kind of guy I should look for to marry myself. I say perfect because you were not afraid of your imperfections, but you always were diligent about killing the sin in your life even in front of me and Bekah, showing us how we should do it too. I never harbored ill feelings for the things you missed because of your job. After all, what's one or two piano recitals missed when we took the coolest family vacations ever? :) You have taught me so many lessons through the years, I can't possibly name them all. But, I can tell you this, when the situation presents itself, I will suddenly remember very vividly something you said, or did in the same situation that taught me how to handle it. I totally forgive you for choosing Butterfly Kisses as our Father/Daughter dance at my wedding and making me cry so hard there was no recovering my makeup afterwards. :)One of my favorite memories is having Super Soaker fights in the backyard. We battled with the old pump action Super Soaker 50's (The COOLEST water guns on the market at the time) and we always ended up drenched. I wonder how one of those battles would go with the new battery powered automatic water guns nowadays!! Or how you would set up the little tent in the backyard every year for me and Bekah to play in, and you would be a good sport one night a year and agree to camp out with us in it. You very rarely said no to watching me jump on Jack's trampoline, even though I'm sure I asked at some pretty inopportune times. Although I was pretty excited when we were finally able to get a trampoline of our own. I got over hating you for grounding me from the car after I backed it into the garage by accident, then didn't tell you about it for weeks. I still talk about the times you took me on a trip with you. Even though one of those times didn't turn out the way we thought it would. Remember how we ended up in Morristown NJ instead of Manhattan??? Oops! :) However, there is one thing that sticks in my mind most of all. Something you taught me with out even realizing it. It was after Mom and I got into a huge fight. We were hurling insults at each other, and you arrived and broke up the fight. I remember you doling out my punishment for disrespecting her (don't remember what the punishment was, but I was mad about it). I said something along the lines of how it was unfair when she was just as guilty in the fight as I was. You leveled your gaze at me and said "She is my wife and I will protect her, even from you." With out realizing it, you showed me the lengths a man should go for his wife. Fortunately, the Lord gave me a husband who lives up to this. Thank you for showing me what that type of man looks like so I could recognize him when I found him. Most of all, thank you for showing me Jesus. Thank you for your constant witness during the 21 years I lived under your roof. Thank you for the example of parenting you have given me. I love you so much Daddy!!!

To my Husband: How could I have asked for a better father for my children?? God sure knew what he was doing when he gave you to me! Our boys are blessed to call you Daddy. I love watching you wrestle with Derek and lavish Owen with kisses. I jokingly call you the "baby guy" because you are always so great with the little ones, but especially your own. I love the twinkle you get in your eyes when your son(s) are the subject of conversation. And the way you laugh with me when we have parenting mishaps. I love that after two children, your love for me hasn't faded a bit. You hear of dads who are totally disconnected from their wives and children, and I am so thankful that you are willingly engaged in your family. I love that you are always striving to be a better example of Jesus to our children. In this they will see Him. Thank you for getting up with Derek every day, especially now that we have Owen and I am up during the night with him. Thank you for doing the dishes, and helping with the laundry, and helping with the cleaning. Thank you for being patient with me and my messiness, even though I know it sometimes drives you to the brink of insanity. I love you more than you'll ever know.

To my Grandpa: I miss you more than ever now that it's been 12 years since you went to be with Jesus. I wish more than anything that you could have met Derek and Owen. I wish you could have taken them fishing. They would have loved that. I am so incredibly thankful that you are my grandpa. More than anything else I am thankful that you came to know Jesus before it was too late. I know that you are waiting to meet my boys in heaven when we all join you eventually. I can't wait to introduce them to you. In the meantime, they will hear stories about you. Like how you spared a 4 or 5 year old me the trauma of knowing I'd accidentally killed a fish. It swallowed the hook and there was just no way to remove it without killing the fish. You skillfully redirected my attention and disposed of the dead fish before I even knew what had happened. Or how you bravely quit smoking cold turkey because the doctor told you if you wanted more time with your family you had to quit. Or how you used to give me money and tell me not to tell Mom. I love and miss you Grandpa.

To my Pop Pop: I'm so glad you get to know my boys. Derek and Owen are so incredibly blessed to have a great grandfather to get to know. Thanks for always putting us up in your house when we came to visit Rochester. You are a pretty incredible example to me of how to stay young. :) I mean when I was in high school you were still playing tennis at the club all the time! I'm so glad you and Nana are a part of my life, and a part of Derek's life. I can't wait for you guys to meet Owen!!! Thank you for all you have done for me over the years. I love you!!!

More about Owen

Well, Owen is officially 3 weeks old! He is doing great! At his two week appointment last week he weighed 8lbs, and was 21.5 inches long, so he is a growing boy!!! He is doing so well! The best development is his desire to sleep at night! He will eat for a REALLY long time around 9:30pm (for like an hour or more) but then he will go to bed and sleep for 5 hours, eat again, and sleep for anywhere between 3-5 more hours after that! FABULOUS! I realized I didn't include any pictures in his birth story post, so here are a few for you all!

Welcome to the World Abel and Belle!!!!

As many of you know, I've been closely following my friends Aaron and Jennifer in their journey through embryo adoption. Well, the Lord is so good and Jennifer has delivered their twins safely! Abel and Belle were born at 31 weeks due to severe preeclampsia. They are in the NICU, but are doing well. Jennifer underwent two surgeries, her initial C-section, and a second surgery to stop some internal bleeding afterward. But, she has recovered and has been discharged from the hospital, praise the Lord! We continue to pray for Abel and Belle to grow strong so they can leave the NICU and go home. Welcome to the world Abel and Belle! You are loved already by so many people!!!!

Owen's Birth Story

On May 27th Nathan and I (and Derek) welcomed Owen Michael into our family!!! Here's how it all went down:

On May 26th I had been feeling contractions for weeks. We expected Owen's arrival any day, but he was taking his sweet time. I was dilated to 3cm and was 70% effaced, so I was really just waiting for my water to break. That evening Nathan was poking Owen (in my belly) for fun and I felt a trickle of fluid. I suspected that my water had torn but not broken. I didn't feel any more fluid after that initial trickle, so I figured that Owen's head had blocked the tear. I called my doctor who sent me up to labor and delivery at the hospital. When I got there, they tried to test me for amniotic fluid, but the test kept coming back negative. Again, I wasn't leaking any fluid after that initial trickle, so I wasn't all that surprised that the test was negative. I wasn't having any regular contractions (although I was having them) so they decided to discharge me and send me home to see if labor started on it's own. Before I left the nurse scheduled an appointment at 9am the next day with my doctor. That night I went for a long walk around the neighborhood with a friend and hoped that labor would start overnight. It didn't. I went to the doctor the next morning hoping that she would have some advice for me on how to get labor going. I wanted to wait for spontaneous labor but I was also worried about the possible water bag tear. When I got to the doctor I was dilated to 4cm. She told me my options were to wait it out, or go over to the hospital, have her break my water and see if my body took over from there. I was having contractions every 10 minutes by this time so I was pretty confident that my body would know what to do. I opted to go home, get Derek over to the babysitter's and get my bag packed the rest of the way and then head over to the hospital. I called my mom, who grabbed her already packed suitcase and headed over to the airport to try to get on an overbooked plane. It wasn't looking good for her to get here that afternoon, but she went anyway, and we started praying. I got to the hospital, got situated in bed and waited for my doctor. I was still having regular contractions, but I wasn't in any pain. Nathan and I were hanging out and watching TV when my doctor came in at about 12:30pm and broke my water. After that my contractions got more regular and closer together but I still wasn't in any pain. I was dilated to 6cm by now and so I got out of bed and onto the birthing ball to hang out there for a while. At 2pm they checked me again and I was still at 6cm. My doctor wanted to give a 5 minute long slow drip of Pitocin. I wasn't thrilled with the idea. I had wanted to avoid Pitocin at all costs, but at that point I realized it would help. After 5 minutes they came in and turned it off. The Pit contractions were so painful. It was awful. There's a reason the epidural rates for women who are induced are so high! I was begging Nathan to let me give in and get an epidural, but he was great and refused. It didn't take very long for my body to take over once I accepted the fact that I was not going to do pain drugs of any kind. I was pretty out of it for the next hour or so. I was aware of the nurses checking on me. I was aware of Nathan holding my hand. I was aware of my doctor stopping in periodically to check on me. I was aware of them getting ready to deliver and them setting up a fan to keep me cool (because I started sweating horribly through each contraction because of the pain). But I didn't care about any of it. All I could focus on was getting through each contraction. Finally I came awake when my doctor said it was time to push. Pushing was crazy strange. I could literally feel Owen moving down with each push. At one point there was horrible pressure on my tailbone, but I pushed through it. Getting the shoulders out was the hardest part. (Wide shouldered Metcalfs!) Then just like that, it was over. Owen was born. Turns out that pressure on my tailbone was Owen's face. He came out all black and blue in the face from slamming into my tailbone so hard. But, he was healthy! He was 7lbs. 10oz, and 20 inches long. He is a little nursing machine and when he was weighed a couple days ago he was 7lbs 12oz (which after dropping to 7lbs even at the hospital is pretty darn good weight gain!). He is such a great baby. He doesn't scream unless he's STARVING. He just fusses to let us know he needs something. We sleep pretty well at night except for between 2 and 4am. He really wants those to be awake hours, but Mommy is not so thrilled with that idea so we are working on that. He is laid back and easy going, and like I said, a champion nurser now that we are over the initial learning process. Things are going pretty well in the Metcalf house for now. Derek loves his little brother and never misses an opportunity to hold him and cuddle him and love on him (supervised of course). We will resume life as normal when Nathan goes back to work on Sunday! (Eek!) More updates to come!

God's Blessings

I just HAD to write a blog post about what the Lord has been doing in our lives the past couple of months. It is just so cool! As some of you (but not all of you) know we have been having a really hard time financially recently. Before this pregnancy we were doing okay. But when we became pregnant the medical bills started piling up and our insurance company shrugged their shoulders at us and said that because we had not yet been on their insurance for a year, they would not cover ANY of my maternity care, labor or delivery. Frustrated, we ditched the company and applied for state health aid for me. If we could just get this pregnancy covered we figured we could go back on the insurance afterward. No one seemed to think getting me covered would be a problem. But it was. It seems that we make $300 above the qualifying cutoff line. And of course, it has taken us about 8 months to get answers from the state about this, and to finally get a denial letter. It has been probably the most discouraging 8 months we've had in a long time. We have struggled to make ends meet and keep up with our doctor bills for this pregnancy. At the same time we have struggled to live by faith. We have lost faith at times, lost sight of the fact that God does indeed care for us and will provide all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. We have forgotten that He is Jehovah Jireh. We have had to recommit ourselves to trusting that He is truly faithful and good. And as we have done that we have seen His faithfulness in amazing ways. It started when I was told I would not be able to have my level 2 ultrasound without paying $300 to the hospital up front. There was NO way I was going to be able to get that kind of money together before the U/S was scheduled. In tears, I confessed to my parents our situation and told them I was going to have to cancel the procedure. Their response was beyond what I could have imagined. They gave me the $300 I needed to pay the hospital. Over the next few weeks we experienced a series of what is commonly known as "mailbox experiences". We received money from Nathan's parents, some dear dear friends from church, and even more money from my parents all to go toward my prenatal care. (In addition, my parents gave us some money to take a date night!!!!) It seemed like we were finally getting our heads above water. And then, we started looking at baby gear for two kids. Oy! Double strollers are EXPENSIVE! I knew we were going to need one, but I just didn't see how we were going to be able to afford one. And I knew that needs come before wants, but I really wanted a double jogging stroller so that I could go for walks with the boys this summer. (Regular strollers are difficult to use for real exercise.) After checking out all my options, I finally settled on a tandem stroller that was on the cheaper end, but still going to cost almost $200. I gave up on the double jogger. Then came a bigger blow. No double stroller on the market was going to fit into the trunk of our Mazda 6. The only one that was a remote possibility was an almost $400 stroller. Yikes. There was no way this was going to work. We couldn't afford a $400 stroller, and there NO WAY we could afford a new car. So, I prayed. I prayed for weeks that the Lord would make a way. On Maundy Thursday I was approached by a family at our church wanting to give us their minivan. They had no use for it anymore, and wanted a family who needed it to have it. They said the Lord immediately laid us on their hearts. I couldn't speak, only nod dumbly (speechlessly) as I tried to drag my jaw off the floor. We got a new car in a matter of days. I couldn't even begin to believe that the bright blue happy looking minivan sitting in my driveway was mine!! I've never been so happy to drive a mom-mobile (and I call it that affectionately!) We were still faced with the problem of being able to afford a stroller, but after the way the Lord took care of us with the car, I decided He would take care of the stroller problem too. And boy did He!!! We were given not one, but TWO double tandem strollers!!! So, we have one to keep at my parents' house in MN, and one to use here at home!! On top of everything, because we were given two tandem strollers, I was able to use all our gift cards given to us at our shower to nearly completely pay for a double jogging stroller!!!!!! Ohhhhh it gets better people! I met with a lady at our local health department who runs a program that will pay for ALL of my care for the last trimester of my pregnancy!!!!! (This program could have paid for all my prenatal care, but I wasn't informed of the program's existence until last week. The best she could do was cover my last trimester. It is much much better than nothing, that's for sure.) After all this, God wasn't done. Last week I went to Pampered Chef party. I needed to get a gift for our next door neighbor's wedding, so I ordered them something. There was a promotion going on, spend $60 and get this adorable coupon holder in a pink zebra stripe fabric. SO cute!! But, $60 was completely out of the question. So, I put the coupon holder out of my mind, and went on with life. Two days ago I got an email from another lady who was at the party wanting to know if I got the coupon holder. She did get one, and doesn't coupon, so she wanted to know if I wanted it. WHAT???? God wasn't finished when He gave us what we needed, He went an extra step and handed me something I wanted too. How great is our God? If ever anyone needed proof of His goodness, it was me. And He showed me in a BIG way that when we walk in faith, He is faithful and can give us more than all we could ever ask or imagine! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in my life recently!!!!

Baby Stuff

Well, it's almost time folks! In less than 3 weeks we will be a family of four!!!! How exciting and scary and exciting and scary and did I mention exciting and scary? So, I've been working on my baby checklist for a week and a half now, and I think I might be almost done! Let's see...

New Car: Check! Ok, this wasn't originally on my baby checklist, because there's NO WAY we could have afforded to buy a new car. We were planning on cramming what we could into our Mazda 6. But, God had a cool plan! A family at church was giving away their Dodge Caravan and asked if we could use it, to which we dumbly nodded. SPEECHLESS! So, we got a new car that will FIT everything in it!!!!! Praise the Lord!

Carseat: Check! Of course, this was leftover from when Derek was an infant so we already had it, but it is in the car and ready to go!

Double stroller: Check times 3!!!! We had two Graco Duogliders given to us for free! (Praise the Lord again!) So, we will keep one at my parents' house for use when we are in MN, and the other we will use here at home! Because people were so generous to us by giving us those tandem strollers, I was able to use baby shower gift cards to purchase a double jogging stroller! I am totally excited about this because during the summer I walk up to 5 miles a day and a jogging stroller is a must when you're doing those kinds of distances. It's just all around easier to push and handle, so I wanted one really badly. The one I got even has all the features I wanted! (Individual sunshades for each kid and a snack tray for each kid! Plus the infant seat snaps into it! Score!)

Derek switched to a toddler bed: Check (finally)! It took a couple months, but Derek is now comfy in his toddler bed at night, and we have a solid routine reestablished in our house. More praise for that because it was rough for a couple months there.

Crib ready: Check! Mattress is raised and clean sheets are on it, and it is ready to go!

Baby Laundry done: Check! After a full week of doing nothing but laundry (nesting!) it is finally done and put away and ready to go!

Extras bought: Check! We did a Babies R Us shopping trip yesterday! We got newborn pacifiers, another diaper pod for Owen (because Derek is still using his), new bottle nipples just in case we need them, and a few other odds and ends that we were lacking.

Hospital bag packed: Check (mostly)! I don't have any of the things I use everyday in there yet (like deodorant and stuff like that), but I have sweatpants, and a couple thin sweatshirts, a t-shirt, my nursing camis, and a few things for Owen all ready to go in the bag!

I feel accomplished! Do any of my mommy readers out there have anything that they think I've missed???

Our New Running Joke

So at my last doctor's appointment, I mentioned to my doctor that I'd been having some really weird cravings recently. Not necessarily to eat, but it was slowly evolving into that. I mentioned that I'd been obsessed with rocks, specifically gravel. The sound wet gravel makes when you crunch it beneath your feet, and that in the last few days I had imagined crunching gravel with my teeth a few times, and I'd been crunching ice like crazy to mimic the sound. Anyway, she knew immediately what was wrong with me. She drew some blood just to be sure, and sure enough... Iron deficiency. It's SUPER common in pregnancy, so she sent me out to buy some Iron supplements (and extra fiber tablets!). Anyway, Nathan and I can't stop laughing about the fact that I actually was craving ROCKS! Anyone else out there crave something horribly weird during pregnancy (with or without the possible reasonable cause)? :)

Oops

Wow, I have been delinquent on updating this thing. Part of it has to do with it being the most busy couple of months EVER! Oh my goodness! March was crazy with my sister in law's wedding. I spent the better part of the last few weeks in February and first few weeks of March praying that my bridesmaid dress would fit me. Luckily, it zipped up on the big day with just a few centimeters to spare!! Derek was in the wedding too! He was sooo stinking adorable in his little tie! He walked down the aisle without a fuss and spent the whole rest of the wedding hanging out quietly and contentedly with Mimi and Grandpa (my parents). What a great boy! Nathan officiated the wedding, and the pastor at the church they got married at kept calling him Reverend Metcalf. Every time I burst out laughing. It was just so strange to hear him called that! I cracked up during the ceremony when he said it. I couldn't help it! Anyway, moving on into April...

Owen has been growing nicely. I'm actually gaining weight with this pregnancy, albeit, not much. I've only gained 8 lbs. so far. Whew! I mean, I know weight gain is good, but I really don't want to have a ton to lose at the end. Speaking of the end, it's actually almost here. I can hardly believe that. Thank God this pregnancy has gone by fast. It's been a bit miserable, but I am thankful that it's almost time to meet my new little boy!

Okay, now I'm going to keep more updated and constant with the blog (don't I always say that?). I promise! :)

Happy Birthday Derek!

My little man is TWO! I can't even believe it! Has two years really gone by?

Derek,
My son, what to say? You are an amazing little muffin! You are so articulate when you speak. Last year you were signing, this year you are talking! You are learning so much, it boggles Mommy's mind. You love to narrate your day for me, just like I used to do for you when you were a baby. WERE a baby! Not a baby anymore are you little man? Nope you're a big two year old. You love to play with your friends Grayson and Kadence, and your big kid friends from church. You still revel in the attention from Daddy's youth group teens. You know where "your baby" is and already love him even though you haven't seen him yet. At least that's what you told me the other day. "I love Baby" you said. Made Mommy's heart melt that's for sure. You look like such a big boy in your clothes now. No more onsies and adorable baby outfits. You love Thomas the train, and Veggie Tales, and "Lightning Car" and of course, Buzz and Woody! You're more of a shower kid now than bath, even though the logistics of it are difficult. You are such a helper too. You LOVE to help Mommy with the laundry and the dishes. I hope that lasts! You love Jesus too. I can already see the beginnings of a love for the Lord in your heart. You love to pray to Jesus, and to shout "AMEN" at the end. You remind Mommy and Daddy to pray all the time. You ask us to read the Bible to you and not just your little storybook Bible, but the "big boy" Bible too. When we ask you if you love Jesus, you always respond with a resounding "YES!" We love to see this growing in you most of all Derek. Never lose that heart my son. I love you with all my heart, and I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the next year as we cruise on toward 3!
Love forever and ever,
Mommy

More Adventures....

This one took place at 6:30am this morning! We have 2 cats, one is a kitten and he's crazy wild. I know it's a kitten phase, but I seriously cannot take one more night of my sleep being interrupted by Piper terrorizing our older cat, Calvin. So out of desperation last night Nathan kenneled Piper in the laundry room. We gave him a small litter box in his kennel along with a small bowl of water... (can you see where this is headed? When Derek woke up at 6:30 this morning, Nathan went to get Piper out of the kennel before getting Derek out of bed and, well, let's just say it was the worst mess he has ever seen. Piper had of course knocked over the bowl of water and gotten soaking wet, then slept in the litter box to avoid the water. Since we use the clumping litter he was caked in dried clumped litter this morning. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to take a before picture of Piper, but we were occupied with getting him into the bathtub and getting Derek up for the morning at the same time, so Here are pictures of the aftermath!

Adventures in the Life of a Pregnant Stay at Home Mom

Sometimes I feel like I have it together and like I can do this thing called being a stay at home mom. There are weeks, like last week, that I successfully run my household, cook dinners (or at least successfully get my hubby to volunteer to cook for me! Haha!), organize my home, and care for my son, all while working in a couple of shifts at my for fun part time job and hosting an old friend from high school! I was on top of life last week!!!

Then there's this week.... When this week started off with my mom letting me know that due to illness she wouldn't be coming to visit, I lost all my motivation. So, laundry is still crawling along, the floors well, I just did those tonight so I guess I can check that off my list. But just about everything else has gone out the window... Along with Derek's nap today... along with my nap today...

But it's all part of the adventure right? And on the bright side, I have more weeks like last week than I have like this week. Any other stay at home moms out there experience this?

Pet Peeves

I want to play the pet peeves game again!!!! This time the category is Facebook pet peeves!

Here are a few of mine:
-People who "like" their own comments or statuses. LAME-O
-couples who use their statuses or each other's walls to talk about all the physical things they are going to do to each other (usually in hidden terms). YUCK-O
-CONSTANT game invites from people even after you've hidden one app they attack your feed with a new one. STOP IT!
-When you post something seemingly innocuous as your status and someone finds a way to argue with you about it. My wall, my post, LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT IT!

Ok, your turn!!!!!

Delta Airlines

If I could write a letter to Delta Airlines customer service, it would go something like this:

Dear Delta,
I have a few tips for you that might help you in the customer service department. I have noticed that you have ranked at the bottom for customer service among airlines out there, and seeing as I have spent several years in the customer service industry, I thought I might have a few pointers to help you out.

1. When you say that you have a flight at 2:25pm every day, it is helpful to schedule an airplane to be at the gate at 2:25pm to actually make the flight. One thing that will really make your ratings tank is when people check in two hours early for their 2:25pm flight only to get to the gate and realize that it is not actually leaving until 3:15pm, or 4:30pm, or worse yet, 6:30pm. That doesn't sit well with anyone. So, do yourself a favor and make sure there's an airplane available at 2:25pm to take these people where they want to go.

2. Staffing, staffing, staffing!! I can't stress this enough. Staff your airports adequately. Running 3 flights back to back out of the same gate because there isn't enough staff to run 2 departure gates is unacceptable. Also, unacceptable is when 3 spaced out flights become 3 back to back flights because of delays. See point 1.

3. When there is a gate change, for the love of God, announce it. And get the airport to change the gate number on the monitors, just in case someone missed your unintelligible loudspeaker announcement.

4. People are paying lots of money to check their bags. When the bag arrives with a wheel missing and the pull handle broken, it doesn't look good for you. Just sayin'. If I was paying $60 to check my bag and it was all busted up when it came back, I'd be pretty upset. (Not my bag by the way, although you did manage to tear one of the zipper pulls off my expensive Travelpro suitcase. Not sure how you managed that one.)

5. Passengers traveling with lap babies who check their car seats actually need those car seats on the other end of their travels in order to leave the airport. You see, we cannot just say "Oh, well, I'll come back and pick it up." Our babies need to be in those car seats in order to travel. Next time you leave my car seat behind you can babysit my child for seven hours at the airport while my husband and I go out to dinner and to a movie. We will be back later to pick him up after all. Another note on car seats... Having many different types of loaner seats will ensure that you don't end up with babysitting duty. Offering me an infant seat for my 25lb. 2 year old isn't going to cut it.

6. Standard Operating Procedure (as well as common curtesy) suggests that if you do perchance leave my car seat behind, it should arrive on the next flight. I should not have to request that you write a letter to the ground crew at the Minneapolis airport and ask them pretty please with a cherry on top to send the car seat on the next flight out. It should automatically be there. Just in case this isn't SOP for Delta, your baggage agents, or ticketing agents, or whoever handles the claim should be smart enough to realize that they need to request that the car seat be on the next flight. Many times the passenger doesn't know there needs to be a written request posted, so they won't ask for it. Don't assume that just because they don't ask for it means they don't want it. Again, common sense, people. I'm pretty sure the frazzled mother with the screaming toddler would LOVE to have her $300 car seat back as soon as possible.

7. Lastly, when something does go wrong, APOLOGIZE to your customers! Don't treat them like it's their fault the airplane had a mechanical problem in Timbuktu and so is 5 hours late getting to MSP. Because I'm POSITIVE that one of your passengers booked on the MSP to ICT flight flew to Timbuktu and sabotaged the aircraft. Doesn't everyone want to spend more time in the airport??

I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Sarah

(Of course I could never actually write this letter. After all, I'm just a non-rev.)