The Big Double Uno

It feels like just yesterday when Mike and I found out we were going to be parents for the first time. Mike tells a different story, something about us agreeing to wait three years to have children, but seeing that this is my blog I will tell my side of it.

Mike and I were married on December 31, 1994. This sounded like a good day to get married since I have issues remembering dates. And it was a great date until we had kids....it is really hard to find a babysitter on that day, let me tell you!!

For as long as I could remember I wanted to be a mom. That's it. I didn't want to be a career woman or have a great rewarding job out in the workforce I wanted to be a mom. When Mike and I were first married he was working at Garcia's in Mesa, a Mexican food restaurant, and I was working at a pre-school while we both went to school full time, and I was waiting for the moment we could become parents. Then our first summer hit and Mike got to work as an intern at Motorola. When we found out that he would be staying on after the summer and we would have full insurance WE decided that it would be a good time to start our family.

I promised God that I would do everything in my power to raise the children He gave us in His name. That I would do everything to teach this baby about Him and show them His love. By October of '95 we found ourselves expecting our first little love.

It seems I read every book ever written on pregnancy, children, and child rearing. We had a great pregnancy a small snafu with the all important finding-out-the-sex ultra-sound and had an at home ultra-sound pizza party where we invited our entire family and all our friends for pizza and an ultra sound. You should have heard the room when we heard that we were having a girl. Very loud cheering. We now had a name for our baby, Faith. We all anxiously awaited her arrival.

Then it was the week of our due date. I was a little discouraged. I had taken the classes and read the books and I was having few symptoms to show that this baby was ever going to be born. It was at this time that I said to Mike, "I don't think I will ever have a contraction." He was quick to remind me of this statement the next week when I was in labor.

The day before our due date I woke at 4 A.M. in the morning with pain. I was sure that this was it. It felt like the real thing. And it was the day before my due date. So we waited until 10 in the morning and went off to the hospital. We laughed and talked in between contractions and when I got to the hospital they took one look at me and sent me home. Told me to come back when I couldn't talk.

I walked the walk of shame out of the hospital and sat down in the middle of the parking lot and cried. I couldn't imagine it getting worse!! What if I am never ready? How will I know when it's time?

We went home and I did every bit of housework there was to do. Mike finished building the book case for her room and the contractions continued every five minutes all day long. Finally, that afternoon at about 4 o'clock we decided to try the hospital again. I was no longer laughing. I was tired. Then we got to the hospital my status hadn't changed since I had been there that morning, but they could tell I was tired and let me stay. Oh, and hooked me up to the epidural. I slept. It was wonderful.

Then at 12:04 am our sweet, perfect, baby girl was born. She was gorgeous. I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew I was having a baby I just hadn't been able to picture her. And here she was everything in it's place and just beautiful. She captured both Mike's and my heart from the moment we saw her. Mike followed her everywhere the nurses took her. The man who wouldn't leave my side all through the labor was now guarding his daughter. And he still does to this day. Funny the bond between a daddy and his daughters, it really is an awesome thing.

What a great kid. I can hardly believe it has been eleven years already. She is such a special girl!! I thank God for her sweet spirit, kind heart, friendly attitude, the loving care she has for others, her natural leadership qualities, the encouragement she gives to people around her....the list could go on forever. Her daddy and I are truly blessed.



Happy Birthday Faith!!



Kristen