A SPECIAL DELIVERY

It was Autumn last time I wrote ... and it's about to be Autumn again. But I have a really good excuse this time. Promise.

Last Fall, soon after school had started and life was beginning to fall into a rhythm again, I started to feel sick. Like ... overrun, tired, just blah. Then I got a nasty cold.  Around Halloween, I knew something wasn't quite right. I lost the hearing in my left ear, my cold wouldn't go away, I was tired all the time, the smell of coffee made me puke.  Yeah, can you imagine?  COFFEE made me puke.  I knew then exactly what was wrong.  I was pregnant!!  Once I took the test to confirm, you'd think I'd be thrilled.  But I was devastated.  It was such bad timing. I would be 39 when the baby was expected, my youngest would be going to kindergarten, financially it was a fiasco of epic proportions, plus I'd had severe pre-eclampsia with both pregnancies before - just bad all around.  I was terrified of telling my parents and in-laws.  I was so depressed that I didn't tell anyone except for my husband and my sister.  I was kind of embarrassed, too - who gets pregnant at almost 39?? But keeping it a secret was really taking a toll on me.

A few weeks in, I took a step back and decided to take a look at the big picture. I think it was an episode of '18 Kids & Counting' that inspired me. I didn't normally watch the show so I must've stumbled upon it while flipping channels or something.  Maybe God wanted to let me know something :)  Sure, we were in dire financial straights, and yes, pregnancy does not agree with me, and so what if I'm old?  My baby was a gift from heaven - a gift that so many women would die and have killed for! I thought of my friends who wanted so desperately to have one (or another) and were unable. And the ones who needed expensive medical intervention or had experienced miscarriages. Who was I to complain?  How could I not be GRATEFUL?  It was then that I decided that no matter what anyone's reaction was, I would let all of the family know and I would be HAPPY no matter what.  So I told them.  And they were thrilled!  I'm sure they had their concerns but it was such a relief to have that secret out and they were so supportive.  It made me wonder what I had been so upset about to begin with.

The pregnancy was difficult (as usual for me).  In addition to my standard pre-eclampsia, this time I also had gestational diabetes (& a host of minor ailments I'd never had before) and was on a bunch of medication.  I had NO energy and spent all of my time on the couch napping all day.  My AWESOME husband took care of EVERYTHING - all the cleaning, food shopping, cooking, etc.  And I made it to 38 1/2 weeks!!  My first was born at 30 weeks & weighed 2 lb 6 oz; my second was born at 36 weeks & weighed 6 lb 4 oz; and this was my biggest baby born at 38 weeks & weighed 6 lb 14 oz!

And here he is, Thomas Henry

Can you stand it??  I'm so in love.  There are no words.  I am so grateful to God for this little blessing. *sigh*

While I was pregnant, my Etsy shop fell by the wayside.  I'm just now starting to get back into the groove of things.  I've had a few custom orders and suddenly I'm itching to get back into my creative zone.  I didn't realize how much I missed it!  I've also opened up a second shop, 4 Archer Street, where I'll be selling eco-friendly/recycled creations.  I'm hoping to have it stocked and open for business by September 15th ... but who knows?  I'll keep you posted ;)

So, thanks again for waiting ever so patiently for me to show up.  You rock.

PS I love coffee again.  I'm drinking it 4 times (or more) a day now.  Probably to make up for the nine months I couldn't have it.  I know; you're relieved.