Wrex bought an old, bred milk cow that Wryder really took a liking to. He named her RaRa Robin (after his grandma). She’s the sweetest ole thing…and she really loved him, too.
Wryder and RaRa
We all waited so patiently for her to have her baby and prayed and prayed that the kids would be able to watch see that baby born.
In the days before she calved, Wryder took such great care of her. He’d walk to the corn stalks south of our house and grab a couple of partial ears of corn, bring them home and shell them for her.
Shellin’ corn
We’d been watching her and checking on her every few hours every day. Wrex was even getting up in the night to check her. One Monday morning, they went out to check her and then Sawyer came runnin’ back to the house telling me that RaRa’s water bag was hanging out!
I threw some shoes out and sure enough, a baby was about to be born! Wryder brought a lick tub over outside the fence and within 10 minutes, the kids got to see LIFE!
Good momma!
RaRa had a sweet little heifer calf that Wryder has named – are you ready for this? Betty Harbor Baby Whanny Kroeker Phipps. Ahem.
Wryder and Betty
Despite that big ole bag RaRa has, there’s not much milk to be had so we all made the decision to sell her so that Wryder could buy a cow to really get his herd started, just like Sawyer did at four.
My big boy was so brave! He loved sweet RaRa but understood that it was the responsible thing to do. He didn’t cry at all…and I bawled all day!
One last goodbyeLove this sweet boy
He took her to the sale barn with dad on Monday and got her sold.
Watchin’ her sell
This boy is just one of the sweetest, funnest, brightest balls of energy I’ve ever met! Saying goodbye to a good friend – even when that friend is an animal – is never easy and he did it with such grace. So proud of my brave boy. Here’s to finding the next great one!
We have had more fun checking on the eagles (via live cam) in Florida who were incubating two eggs. We checked in on Harriet (the mom) and M15 (the dad) several times a day and finally got to see their sweet baby Saturday morning!
Checking on her eggsA pip! We could see the eaglet moving around inside the egg!Look who finally arrived!
You have to love modern technology when it comes to stuff like this. Very cool to watch the eaglet pip out, break all the way out of his shell and then be fed and cared for by mom and dad.
Eating dinnerThe parents have brought a LOT of fish to the nest!We got to see both of them on the nest a few times!
New life is always miraculous, whether through birth or hatching. I can’t help but awe over the majesty of the Creator…
He’s sure a cute little thing!
We’re still waiting on the other egg but are starting to wonder if that one has a sweet little eaglet or not… Either way, this has been SO very fun!
I’m a momma three times over now and I’m not sure I could be any more joyful. Never, EVER did I think my heart could hold so much love…so much adoration…for such beautiful little creations…
My whole world…
Our days have been full of so much grace here lately; grace for things that might not seem like a big deal to anyone else but things that spoke so richly of His love for me…
A decent night’s sleep before induction (unlike the last two births)…
My babies waking up earlier than normal so that I got to love on them before I left for the hospital (which was a good thing since that whole labor thing took a little longer than we were expecting)…
Checking into the hospital with a nursing staff full of familiar faces that were excited and ready for us to meet sweet Sayble…
Rainy, cloudy, overcast weather that kept our recently planted grass nice and moist while daddy was away taking care of mom instead of the yard…
Decisions that I was nervous about making that ended up being made for us since we had some small progress…
A nurse that encouraged us to sleep until the next round of induction drugs could be administered because labor would come if it was going to come…
A doctor who is patient and understands the desire for natural labors…pretty sure had I been in a big city, they’d have just cut me open and snagged baby so they could attend their kids’ track meet since it was taking longer than expected…
Blood sugar and blood pressure that stayed right on their respective cues from start to finish…
A baby who’s heartbeat never once showed signs of distress during that lengthy process…
A nurse and a doctor who delivered their baby’s naturally who encouraged me just as much as my sweet hubby and doula-mom…
A friend who volunteered to cover a shift so I could squeeze her hand off while she championed with me to have this baby…
Being able to allow myself to sleep through some of those first few hours of contractions…
Pitocin finally doing the trick and other than transition, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be…and pretty sure transition would be bad regardless…
Pushing out that sweet baby girl in nine little pushes…
Post-partem drugs doing what they were supposed to do to help my uterus really clamp down back into place and size…
An easier recovery (mentally and physically) than Wryder’s birth…
A (so-far) seamless transition from two to three…or four to five…
I feel like grace was the word for this pregnancy from the get-go…and I’ve experienced it so richly the past week or so that I’ve found myself not being able to help but pour it right back out.
As a type-A kinda girl, there have been plenty of opportunities (now that there are five of us in one house) that didn’t quite meet my rigid expectations and I’ve noticed that I’ve dealt with them swimmingly. I haven’t felt rattled or frustrated or disappointed…I’ve just felt a sense of nonchalance…trust me, THAT is grace.
I know that grace is an area I struggle with; I don’t have much for myself, much less for anyone else…but when I see it in action, it literally brings me to my knees. It is SUCH a breathtakingly beautiful thing. How I looooooooonnnnngggg for more…and long to give it away more…
So this Mother’s Day that is what I wish all of you mommas and mommas-to-be and mommas who’s hearts are burdened for whatever reason or season…I wish you grace…
That you would be able to see how readily it is available for you and that you would reach out and receive it…
That you would fully understand the weight of the job you do but know that it’s not all up to you…
That you would cut yourself (as well as the mom next door) some slack and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty as He works with you to fill in the gaps…
That you would give it away even when you think it is undeserved – because isn’t that really what grace is…
Happy Mother’s Day to the women of the world! Grace to you in all you do!
Today is Sayble’s due date! I suppose I have a few more hours of wishful thinking that she may join us outside of the womb, but I’m thinking today is probably not the day.
Three of us Phipps cousins were all due within two weeks of each other, me being due first (ahem) and they have all had their babies as of today. I can now say I’m FOR SURE next! 🙂
I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such amazing, loving, encouraging, Godly women in my life, but they have just showered me in prayers and messages of encouragement the past few days.
When I thought I was sliding down the slippery slope of “I can’t do this! I don’t want her to come out,” my sweet sister says, “You will be fine! You’re a pro at this!” My sister in the faith said, “I pray that your body begins to relax knowing that you were MADE to have this baby, CREATED to have her. Your body and heart will sync up beautifully!” I’m trying to live THERE.
A sweet friend was praying over my labor and upcoming induction and unprompted she said, “I was thinking earlier today that God has always been faithful especially regarding the birth of your babies and He will do it again! I just feel so confident in His plan for Sayble, too!” Wow. Who does that?!
My two (beautiful and uber-classy) aunts, the moms of both cousins who have now met there sweet little babes, have checked on me oh-so dutifully and both reached out to me today to encourage me and cheer me on! I can assure I’ve done nothing to receive such favor!
I’ve had friends send me scriptures and blog posts. Even my nail lady got in on the action and had researched labor-inducing pressure points for my feet when I went in yesterday to get my pedicure. Our mail lady stopped by today to see me one last time before baby was born and set up a time to bring us a meal and meet miss Sayble.
I tell ya, the Lord has blessed us with some of the most loving and generous people… I have just been in awe of His love for us because of the love of His people.
And so, we wait some more. I’m doing my last big house cleaning today and tomorrow we’re gonna run a few errands and have some fun with the kids. Sunday has already been reserved as a day of NOTHING…and I’m really looking forward to it. Unless…
Unless…she decides to grace us with her presence before induction. I’d be ok with that, too. 🙂
Pray for me if you think about it…for a safe, healthy, complication-free, easy, fast, natural birth! That’s not too much to ask for, is it?! I kinda giggled as I wrote that but I distinctly heard the Lord say, “Not for me…”
Four years ago right now, I was a nervous wreck. Literally, a wreck; ugly crying…snot streaming out the nose…inconsolable… I was (very) pregnant with Sawyer and was scheduled to be induced at 6:00 p.m. and I was scared to death.
Her due date was August 9th so she was already nine days overdue at this point. I knew she needed to come out and I was sooooo very ready to meet her, but I’m not a big fan of the unknown.
Being induced wasn’t part of “THE PLAN.” Oh goodness, how often is that true? THE PLAN was to go into labor naturally (and let me tell you, I tried…all of it…spicy mexican food…a bumpy trip across the pasture checking cows…extensive walking…all of it. Except castor oil…that didn’t sound fun). THE PLAN was to start having contractions and then get up and get ready and go get a pedicure with momma Jeanie and Tredessa. THE PLAN was to eat a leisurely lunch and then head to the hospital and welcome my sweet girl to the world. THE PLAN did NOT include an induction.
My sweet momma Jeanie came over about this time and talked me off the ledge I was perched upon so clumsily. I made it through the morning, had lunch with my honey and then cried some more. (It was the hormones!!) *ahem*
We met momma Jeanie at the hospital and checked in at 6:00 on the nose. We got settled in, began the induction and then Wrex fell in love with the contraction tracker. He’d sit there and say, “Did you feel that one? That was a big one! Here comes another!” It was so cute…and not annoying at this point. 🙂
Love this girl…
Poppa Dave showed up and brought Chick-fil-A and Mt. Dew and we partied with Tredessa and my sweet “sister” Tara until midnight.
The best labor team on the planet!
I was not in active labor at this point, but it was fun to pretend! So glad my feet were clean…
Honestly, it was one of my favorites nights EVER! There was so much excitement and encouragement and love; it was the perfect way to welcome our sweet Sawyer.
Dave and the girls left around midnight and Jeanie stayed with me as I tried to sleep. That’s always such a joke to me. Sleep…during contractions…yeah, ok. I was in for a natural labor so sleeping through contractions wasn’t gonna happen…
Everybody reconvened the next morning and I kept them waiting. I was progressing, just pretty slowly. I contracted and walked and hugged toilets and got into all kinds of weird positions that I’m still so sad that Jeanie and Tredessa had to witness – ha!
Wrexy broke down about 4:30 that afternoon; he was so worried about his girls and he hated seeing me in pain. It was a sweet moment that actually kind of re-energized us. At about 6:00 pm, it was time to push! I was absolutely exhausted at this point…
I was so hot (surprise, surprise) and there wasn’t a fan in the room so Wrex was fanning me with an instrument packet. I remember that he kept hitting me in the face because he was in deep conversation with our doctor about the differences and similarities between a human birth and that of a cow. *ahem* Farm wives, you know exactly what I’m talking about…
This part of her birth was quite supernatural for me. I don’t remember just a ton during this time; the Lord was my strength, no doubt. We had gone through three or four shift changes of nurses, ten other babies being born, codes over the loud speaker…and I remember hearing this cry and I asked, “Was that Sawyer?” I was so delirious I didn’t know if some other lucky duck had their baby or if it was actually my turn…
Three and a half hours of pushing later, she was here! 24 hours of hard labor later, my angel was here!
Just a few minutes old…
They put her on my tummy and I got to gaze upon her sweetness in exhaustion. Jeanie spoke the name of Jesus over her and then handed her off to daddy. Those brave souls that lasted long into the night joined us in our room and sweet Sawyer had quite the welcoming party! She deserved it!
We slept about four hours that night…
It’s exhausting being so cute…
and partied some more the next day; we had a ton of sweet visitors – LIFE is worth celebrating, you know?
Aunt Dessa, after a little rest…Nonna and Poppa with sweet Sawyer
Let it be known, that this woman is a saint! There is no way I could’ve made it through this labor without her by my side!
Our friend/neighbor/co-worker, KiethUncle Jerad and Aunt KristieUncle Craig and Aunt CateOur neighbor and friend, Elsie
It was a sweet, sweet few days – some of my favorites, no doubt. It just sure doesn’t feel like it’s been four years since I birthed this sweet baby girl…
Look at those skinny legs!
They say the days are long but the years are short. Tis true…
