The People I come home to

I am still trying to catch up on past posts from my family blog challenge. So, I am going to tell you all about the most important people in my life and what they mean to me. Here goes.

Dad: I respect my dad so much. He has spent his entire life working day and night for my family and our survival and welfare. He is busy all the time and always has been. His work ethic is incredible. I never have heard him complain about how much he has to work. I never have heard him complain about not getting enough vacation, or pay or anything along those lines. He knows that we have always needed every penny that he works for so he works for as many pennies as possible. My dad is funny. His sense of humor might be lost on some people but he can make you laugh so hard at the least expected moment. Example: Once we were driving down into Grand Junction from Powderhorn in dad's truck. Jen, Holly, Lisa, and I were in the back seat and mom and Kelli were in the front with dad. Dad was starting to fall asleep at the wheel, which he used to do once in a while and we veered slightly off the road and onto the really loud grooves in the road that are there for just this occasion. He quickly snapped awake and righted the car and mom leaned forward to look at him. Dad: "What?!" Mom: "Just making sure you are awake." Dad: "Who could sleep through that?!?"

I love my dad.

Mom: Let's see. My mom is one of the most creative people that I know. She throws her heart and soul into everything that she does. Although she didn't go to school for Library Science, she landed the job as the school Librarian a few years ago and she has completely transformed the school that she works at. She is getting those kids excited about reading. She has made the library a cozy and inviting place to be and the kids like to be there now. She comes up with the best ideas. She won a very prestigious award for scouting in her region. She works in the Boy Scouts of America program through her calling at church. She has an effect on people as soon as she meets them with her smile and loud and infectious laugh. I look up to her in so many ways. Put all that aside and you have the best mother and grandmother that anyone could hope for. She is an extremely supportive and loving mom. Even if she doesn't agree with our decisions, she supports us and loves us and doesn't constantly nag or bug us about it. She is also very funny and if you ever have the chance, ask her to do the big mouth frog joke.

I love my mom.

Jen: Hmmmmm, how do I begin? Jen is 4 years older than me and I have looked up to her my entire life. When I was 12 and she was 16 I wanted to be like her so bad! I wanted to do my hair like she did. I wanted to look like her and talk like her and sing like her. I tried. It didn't work but I never gave up hope to be as cool as she is one day. Jen is my best friend. I still look up to her in so many ways. She is an inspiration. She is shouldering the burdens of a small army right now and doing an amazing job of it. What a great example she is to her daughters of what a strong woman is. Jen and I used to fight a lot. But through these experiences my mind was opened to so many things. Jen and I can laugh together like no one else. (Was that your elbow?!?) I miss her face. Thank goodness for Facetime chatting every single day!

I love Jen.

Adam: Oh man, I can't even begin to tell you all how much I love this guy. Adam got me through the first 2 years of high school when I was feeling the least confident and most insecure. He is an example to me of courage. He joined the Marines in 2001 before the world was rocked with 9/11. Once September came and everything changed we knew that he may be called to go and fight a war that we weren't even thinking about before. I remember sitting on my parents bed one day and talking to him about it. I asked him if he was regretting his decision to enlist. He said that he was just thinking about how it all had changed now. He knew that he was going to be called to do things that he didn't necessarily have in mind before but he just looked at me and said, "But, I'm ready." He had made a commitment and he was willing to follow through. I look up to that mindset. He has just recently become a daddy and I am looking forward to seeing how much more he will become in that role. I can't wait to meet sweet little Paisley! (Also, he married my best friend from high school. Who could ask for anything more??)

I love Adam.

Holly: Hmmm, if you asked me to choose one word to describe Holly, I would tell you.... No. That's impossible. She is too fantastic to be summed up in one word. Holly is 18 months younger than me so we pretty much did a lot together growing up. She and I are a lot alike. We have very similar personalities. We even chose husbands with similar personalities. She is, however, a lot funnier than me. She is an incredible writer and has a great blog. (theglems.blogspot.com) She has had many trials in her adult life that people typically expect from someone who is much older than she is. She has gone through them with an incredible sense of humor. She is super creative. I miss seeing her doodles all over the papers on the fridge. I love going to her house cause she always has an adorable calendar. I still have a lot of fun little creations that she made for me when I went off to college. She has a natural presence that draws people to her. Her beautiful smile fits her personality really well. She works really hard for her company and is an irreplaceable person to her bosses and others at work. I look up to her so much.

I love Holly.

Lisa: Lisa is blunt. And I love it. She will always say what she is thinking no matter what the expected reaction will be. I find that admirable. She is brave. Some people tend to take this at face value and judge her too quickly. But I know that Lisa is one of the most loyal, kind-hearted people that I know. She loves to take care of things that need help. She has always had a special connection with people who have special needs. She has had a great impact on some kids that she worked with over the years. Lisa and I have similar features but the completely opposite coloring. Our daughters do resemble each other quite a bit as a result of this. Lisa also is blessed with the gift of humor. She and I worked together for a summer and got a lot closer than we had ever been before that. Ever since she has become a mommy, she has opened herself up to others even more it seems and allowed her kindness to show. I appreciate her so much.

I love Lisa.

Kelli: Kelli and I shared a room up until I was in high school. I used to get onto her all the time cause she was messy and I wanted the room clean. She used to lay on the floor in front of the mirror and watch herself cry. Kelli has one of the strongest testimonies of the gospel of anyone I know. She is a great example to me of a faithful person. She has become so much more confident in the last few years and she gets more and more beautiful. She is ridiculously strong. One time we were playing in the snow and i tried to tackle her and she just stood there. Cut to a few minutes later and I lay flattened on the ground cause she tackled me back. Yeah, she is super buff. Her favorite color is orange and I love all of her orange accessories. She has been out to Nashville 3 times to visit me since I've lived here and I appreciate so much that she comes to visit. She has a little more freedom with her school schedule and unmarried status to travel and I welcome that! Kelli is awesome.

I love Kelli.

Now a quick word about my wonderful siblings in law. Nick is great at cleaning. Kara is extremely crafty and creative. Eric is perpetually ready for fun. Hondo is super sweet-hearted. (Kelli's boyfriend Tyler is great with the nieces. He gets parentheses cause they aren't married yet. haha)


Anywho, I love all of these people very much. They make me who I am and I am grateful for all of them.

Welcome, Lucy!

I promised a post once Lucy was born and here we are, 6 weeks after her birthday and I am finally getting around to it. Oh well, such is the life of a mom.

We were blessed to welcome Lucy Jean Griffith to our family on Tuesday September 11, 2012. We had to be induced as she was very warm and cozy and decided that she wanted to hang out in my belly for a few extra days. The 11th was 4 days after my due date and I feel like my body would have gone into labor on its own that day or the next anyway. I was having contractions a lot and was already dilated to 4 cm when we went in for the induction. The nice thing about being induced was that we had a plan for Michaela. I was nervous about going into labor and having to scramble to get Miki somewhere before going to the hospital. So, we dropped her off at my friend Jessie Williams' house early that morning. I didn't sleep much the night before so I got up and did my makeup and curled my hair. Why not look my best if I had to be in the hospital to deliver my baby?

Matt and I got checked in to the hospital. I got changed etc. The Doctor came in to break my water at about 8:05 am and they started my pitocin shortly after that. My contractions started shortly after that and came quickly. I already knew I wanted the epidural after my experience with it when I had Miki. I ended up laboring for about an hour and a half before the anesthesiologist came in. She was very nice and very good but my epidural was awful! It usually takes about 5 minutes. Mine took over 45 minutes. I was in painful labor the entire time which made it hard to sit still. My back was really tight and a tendon was blocking the catheter used for the epidural. It kept veering off to one side so she would redo it and it would veer off to the other side. It was brutal. Hurt really badly in addition to the contractions I was trying to breath through. Matt and my wonderful nurse were each holding my hands and helping me breath. It was tough but we made it through. The epidural took another 20 minutes before it wasn't painful anymore. I could still feel and slightly move my legs which was good. It took no time at all after that. By 12:00 I was fully dilated and I did a quick "practice push" when I started feeling pressure. The nurse called everyone in and I pushed one round and boom! there was a baby in the doctors arms! So crazy! It all happened so fast and then she was on my chest staring up at my with big, dark blue eyes. The most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Right away, we just couldn't believe how pretty she was. She was round and rosy and just was looking around and taking in all of the lights and sounds. They cleaned her off and brought her back to me for skin on skin. We just sat there and held her for a few hours before they took her to the nursery.

For those of you who know how hard it was for me to nurse Micheala, know that I had good reason to be nervous about nursing Lucy. I had prayed and prayed that she would latch well and my body would get into the groove quickly and easily. Right away, Lucy was licking and clicking and all of the signs were there that she was ready so I tried to latch her on and she started sucking right away! I cried I was so relieved. She took to nursing like a champ and it only took about 3 days for my body to stop hurting every time we nursed. The medela gel pads helped me tremendously. They are cool and soothing and helped the soreness. I would recommend them to anybody. The 2 days in the hospital were fine. Matt went home the second night with Miki so I was by myself with Lucy in the hospital. It was good. It's hard to sleep in the hospital of course but we did ok. I was already a lot more sore than I was the first time.

The next two weeks were hard for my body. I know it's very normal to be sore but I was expecting it to be a little better than it was because it was the second time. Not the case. I was way more sore than the last time. It was pretty bad but we got through it.

Miki has adjusted pretty well to having a little sister. She loves baby Lucy so much and helps mommy get diapers and kid e col and blankies. She gives her sister loves every day too. She is very sweet, mothering her baby dolls like mommy does with Lucy. She will change their diaper, "feed" them like mommy feeds Lucy and pat their backs to burp them. She also puts them down for naps and puts them in the swing. So cute. She has had some attitude issues and her potty training has reverted a little bit once in awhile. All of which we expected from her. It's all normal, we know. That doesn't mean it is easy for mom and dad to deal with.

Lucy is doing well. She sleeps great. Already 5-6 hours each night. She loves to snuggle and has the  cutest little coos and smiles. She does get fussy every night for about an hour and does fuss a little bit once in a while. She is a baby, so we aren't too worried about that. :) She is so gorgeous! We can see the resemblance to her sister Miki but I feel like she is her own unique self and they are quite different. Lucy is darker complected and has darker hair and her eyes are very dark blue. All opposite of Michaela which I love. I am blessed with beautiful girls and a loving husband. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the blessings in my life!

Proficiently Proficient

If I could be instantly proficient at something... well, the list is long. Speaking French and playing piano would be on my list for sure. But various family members have said the same things so I am going to try and come up with a new one.

Ok, I think I would have to stick with instruments on this one. I want to learn to play a stringed instrument ie guitar, mandolin or fiddle. If I could be instantly proficient at one of these things Matt and I could truly start a band. And then I could do what I love with the man I love. Sounds like a good plan to me.

What almost always gives me goosebumps

Beautiful Music. It doesn't matter what genre. If a song is beautiful sounding in any way I will get chills.

Inspiring quotes or speeches. I can be reading or hearing powerful words and they will give me goosebumps. Every. Single. Time.

Heartfelt stories. Anytime I hear an inspiring story I cry and get chills.

When I feel the Spirit, I get chills.

My least favorite thing to do

Fold laundry. I don't mind doing laundry but I haaaate folding it. I also hate emptying the dishwasher. But I hate it when those two things are left undone so I do them. A lot. Unfortunately my husband also hates those things so if I don't do them, they don't get done. I am almost 100% sure that I will have to continue to do both of these things throughout my lifetime. At least until my children are old enough to make them do it. Ha!

My Superpower and Name

Hmmmm, ok I have a few weeks of catching up to do. I had to go and give birth and that has kept me pretty busy for the last few weeks. 

So, if I could have a superpower, it would probably be... (let me just say that I have been sitting here staring at the screen for the last 10 minutes because I can't think of anything.) My first answer would be the ability to apparate but my mom and sister already both said that too. So, in the interest of being unique, I am going to say that my superpower would be to fly. Who doesn't dream about what it would be like to fly? I have some very realistic and vivid dreams about flying and even though I am afraid of heights, I never am when I am flying. I don't understand why we weren't given this ability. If I were creating the universe I would make it so my people could fly. Just saying.

So, my name would be Magnificent. Call me Mags for short. Who said your name had to make sense?  

Before baby #2

Well, as I sit on the precipice of a new phase in my life, I contemplate a lot of things. There are so many thoughts swirling through my head right now. I am not gonna organize them so much as just vent them all here.

This has been a difficult pregnancy for me. As you may know. I have been sick and struggled with minor depression like I have never in my life experienced before. I have had loved ones struggle with depression and not fully understood what they were going through. I have always been a glass-is-half full type of person. I can always find the silver lining in any situation. I find humor during the hard times. Until about 5 months ago. The combination of being unhappy with my situation right now in life and the sickness and hormones of pregnancy have changed that all for me. I felt so lost. I could not see the positive in any situation. I got so frustrated so easily and found myself snapping at Matt and Miki all the time. I felt extremely anti-social. I resented the fact that no one here seemed to care either way what was going on in my life and at the same time if anyone would try and talk to me or ask about my life I didn't want to talk about it. I found myself not smiling like I usually do. I would cry and cry and then be mad at myself for being so weak. Matt was so helpful and patient with me. I felt so guilty like I was not being a good wife to him and a good mommy to Miki. You always want your kids to see the best of you but that is just impossible. There are times where she would climb on my lap and give me hugs and kisses and say "It's gonna be ok, mommy." My 2 year old would be comforting ME. She has truly been a blessing in my life.

The good news is, that all seems to have passed now. I have felt so much better in the last 6 weeks or so. I really turned a corner after I was able to talk to my doctor and my sisters about all of my feelings. It is nice to have people that I can be completely open with and have them not judge me but just listen and tell me they love me. I know I have an amazing support system in my family. It was just so hard to be far away from it. There are many wonderful women here who I am friends with but I don't have anyone that I feel is a complete bosom friend. I am the kind of person who doesn't need a lot of friends but I like to have a few really close ones who feel comfortable telling me anything and in whom I can do the same. I love my friends here and will get there someday with them.

Now, another thing that has been on my mind lately a lot is Miki. The fact that she will have to start sharing me and daddy soon with her little sister makes me feel a little guilty if I am completely honest. I know that as soon as Lucy comes, we will not be able to remember what it is like without her. I know that we will love her as much as we love Miki. I know all of that. But... it is hard to really know until it is here and right now I feel bad. I am so excited for this new little girl. I am so happy that Miki gets to be a big sister. I can't imagine my life without my siblings and I want that for all of my kids. However, Miki and I are quite a pair. We do everything together and I love that she still needs me so much. I feel like I am taking a part of myself away from her by having a new baby that will demand so much of my time and attention. Matt and I have talked a lot about this and we feel the same. Excited and guilty at the same time. We have made a resolve to make sure Miki still gets plenty of time and attention on her own after Lucy comes and to have lots of moments with just Lucy too. I know that millions of people have gone through this transition before and I know it will all be great. I am just confessing how I feel.

I am excited and anxious for the birth. I hope my water doesn't break first like it did with Miki. I am already 3 cm dilated and hoping that means that the labor is shorter than last time too. (23 hours was a long time.) I can't wait to see what Miss Lucy is gonna look like. Will she have hair? What color? Blonde? Brown? Long? Short? Will be she just as fair and blue-eyed as her sister was or will she be different? I can't wait to see her little personality and watch as she develops a relationship with her big sister. Miki will be a great big sister! She loves to nurture already and takes such good care of us. She is so sweet and loving and I know she will help so much with the new baby.

So, now we are just waiting. Doctor tomorrow. We will be exactly 39 weeks. One more week until my due date. It looks like she is gonna hang on and be a September baby, not an August one. Which is funny because my 2 nieces that were supposed to be born in August came early and were born in July. Our family is determined not to have any birthdays in August. We have some already in July and a LOT in September. It's funny how those things work out.

Well, I am hoping that the next update will be announcing Miss Lucy Jean's arrival. Thanks for listening. Love you all!

Stef