Jesse Joel Thorson

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures Joel posted earlier this week, but of course I just have to post more with a few more details to answer those burning questions!! I went into labor Sunday night, and we went to the hospital early Monday morning once we were sure it was the real deal. Since it was my 3rd c-section, I am really not supposed to endure labor due to the risk of my uterus rupturing from the previous incisions. Jesse was born at 12:20pm so I did have to endure labor for 6 hours...6 hours more than I would have liked! I was a big baby about it. Maybe it was all mental because I had determined that I didn't have to deal with labor pains and I wasn't very happy about the waiting game. The last half an hour, the anastegialogist gave me something so I was high as a kite until it was surgery time. The surgery went so great and Jesse arrived healthy. The healing process has been going well for me and we were happy to bring the newest Thorson home this afternoon. Big brother Asher and big sister Anna can't get enough of their little brother and we have to have a protective barrier around him at all times...at this point in time, Grammie is that protective barrier :). I am sure I will be posting more pictures in the next few days.

Jesse is here!

Ok, please forgive me if I don't do this right. I have never blogged before. (this is Joel by the way) But I am entering into this world of blogs to announce the arrival of our son, Jesse. He was born on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 12:20 pm (Hawaii time!). He is 7 lbs 9.6 oz and is 18 and 3/4 inches long. He has more hair than either Asher or Anna had, and he is perfectly healthy. Mary has survived her 3rd c-section and is recovering very well. We have been very pleased at how well the procedure went. I have included some pictures here of Jesse and the family. Mary and Jesse will hopefully be released from the hospital tomorrow (Wed), the same day that Mary's mom gets into town. I know Mary will post more later, but this is a start! We love and miss all of you.
Joel

6 Days Left...

6 days left until Jesse's scheduled arrival into this world found me again plopped in my beach chair and taking pictures of another funfilled beach day. We went with some friends to a "local" beach that was again absolutely beautiful. It was so nice to have one last relaxing family day before the craziness of a new addition next weekend.


Asher and friend Kenoah buried in the sand.

Asher getting the hang of boagie boarding. He LOVES it!

Unfortunately, Anna only enjoyed sitting on her towel with the rest of the girls today so all my pictures of her in the water look like this. We went to the movies to see "Horton Hears a Whoo" (great movie!) last night so I guess we kept her up to late.

Sunny Bag Hawaii Sale

This past weekend, I had an experience unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. Some ladies in my bible study invited me to go to this "Sunny Bag" sale on Saturday and once they explained it to me, I had to see it for myself. Sunny Bags are a hot item here in Hawaii. They are designer purses, bags, backpacks, cosmetic cases, etc...kind of like Vera Bradley. They usually run anyway from $50-$100 to purchase. Twice a year they have a huge sale where the prices are never higher than $20. So I guess for those Vera Bradley lovers...can you imagine what you would do if Vera Bradley had a sale like that? SOOOOO...we met at 6:15 am to arrive in line at 6:30am. The sale didn't start until 8:00am and there were already hundreds of women in line ahead of us! I brought my beach chair and plopped down :) ! We were handed trash bags while waiting in line and then we entered this huge warehouse filled with boxes. Women were just running everywhere, digging through the boxes, throwing purses into their trash bags. You had to grab anything you even remotely liked because it wouldn't be there if you went back. Then our group went to a corner and looked through what we all grabbed, and THEN decided what we really wanted. It was NUTS!!! Women were ruthless. For those "Friends" lovers out there-it reminded me of the wedding dress episode when Monica went to the big New York wedding dress sale to get her dress. We seriously needed whistles too!! I was scared, but it was fun, and I got a nice nap when I got home. The first picture above is me and some of the girls after we finally made our purchases, and the other picture is the warehouse of boxes and women.

And here is a shoutout to my dear dear girlfriends back in Mass. Thank you thank you thank you for my "Babe Day in a Box". We celebrate each other's pregnancies by pampering the pregnant mom and celebrating her for a day...hence the name "babe day". You gals are the best and will never be replaced in my heart!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed the Dunkin Donuts coffee every morning now :). Boy, do I miss Dunkin Donuts!

Let the Countdown Begin

The date has been set...May 2nd is when Jesse Joel is scheduled to come into this world via c-section. It is amazing how it can be so close but yet feel like ages away. I am still praying for that small chance of going into labor ahead of time and ending the constant backpain. But for now...16 more days!!! (And only 14 until my Mom arrives in Hawaii...woo hoo!). Here are some pictures of my attempt to induce labor this past weekend (hehe). We did a 2.5 mile hike to see a lighthouse and some awesome views of the island. It was all paved, so don't worry-I am not completely nuts!

Testimony Time

This week, God has truly opened my eyes with many blessings that I don't deserve. It was a week for me, as I am feeling content, full of hope and after today's blessing, well-rested! The week started off with an invitation from a girl who is becoming the best friend I have here to go get a pedicure. It was so nice to have a fun girl's night out and treat myself to a little piece of heaven. Look at my beautiful toes!! Not only did I have my feet rubbed and beautified while chatting away, I was seated in a massage chair during the duration of this process. My back needed that more than anything-it was awesome! This friend also calls me now just to chat during the day-not because she needs something. She is a mother of 6 (pregnant with #7) so she doesn't have much time to just chat. It is so nice to feel someone investing in me and know that I am not the only one reaching out.

Then during my bible study this week, I heard a few testimonies on how God has blessed people finacially...you may have heard stories like this. How when you are in need of a certain amount of money, or something breaks down and you don't have the money, all of a sudden there is a finacial gift in your life that can only be divine. As I sat listening to this I was thinking in my head "yeah God that is great, but it has never happened for me. We could use that kind of blessing right now you know". I have posted before about the situation with our house-at the moment it is causing some finacial worries. We have been provided the means at the moment but all these little things keep coming up that normally wouldn't be a cause for finacial strain but are now. The main one being my nightly mouth gaurd going down the garbage disposal about 2 months ago...these things cost between $300-$400 and I really need one. The insurance company will only help out every so often and I wasn't sure how to explain the whole garbage disposal thing, you know? So I chatted with my new dentist about it, and he gave me an estimate for $330 for a new one, and the insurance company would pay $130 leaving us with a $200 bill. Well, Joel and I discussed it and I needed one so we would have to make it work. I went to pick up the mouth guard on the same day as my nasty thoughts after bible study, and you know what-the dentist only charged me $70!!! I am sure this dentist is a Christian from my previous visits but have no idea what moved him to do this for me. I stared at the receptionist stunned and asked why? She said "don't ask, just accept-he gave you a discount". I started crying in the waiting room. Surely God has got my back! Forgive me Lord for my doubt. He is taking care of me and working this all out for His good and glory.

And to top the week off...Joel came home at noon today with "I have a surprise for you". And I said "you are taking the afternoon off and I get to sleep all day" (yes, words of a desparate pregnant woman who is not sleeping at all!). And he said "YES!". WOO HOO!!! I got to take a 2 hour nap this afternoon because I am blessed with the most wonderful and caring husband, another thing in this life I don't deserve.

So to end with another good thing and picture...here are the family and I enjoying a lovely dinner with our college buddy Robert Jordan and his wife Heather. We ate at the building in the back of the picture which is nestled in the moutains. It was a beautiful setting, awesome food, and wonderful fellowship.

Thank you God for being faithful and for all you have given.

No snakes...

...but we do have these lovely things!! I was so excited to be moving to a place where I would never have to face my biggest fear...snakes. In Hawaii, there are poisonous centipedes. Oh lovely. In the 4 months we have been here, I have heard numerous stories of friends finding these in their houses, children stepping on them and getting stung, friends getting bitten in bed. Enough to make me pretty scared of ever seeing one of these babies, but I was beginning to believe it was all a fable. Then I finally saw one! Not just one, but 5 on one day!! Aren't they the creepiest looking things? If a child under 7 gets stung by one of these, you are supposed to take them to the ER. Their stings are supposed to be extremely painful, and if you step on it, it can curl up and still get you. The only way to kill them is to chop them in half with a shovel or something. So how do you teach a 4 year old who loves bugs to keep away from these horrible things?! Now I am extremely paranoid about the kids having their shoes on outside.

Besides bugs, Joel's alarm clock almost met its death this week. He decided to go to work early one morning leaving what I thought was his alarm clock still set. It started ringing at 5:45am. I was banging every button imaginable and it still wouldn't stop. I eventually unplugged it and it was still ringing!! So I start looking for a battery compartment and am getting pretty mad. Right when I am about to literally throw it against the wall, I realize it is his cell phone alarm sitting on the night stand. The alarm clock was saved but not my sanity.

And on a good note, we have another friend from college Robert Jordan visiting this week for work (who we haven't seen in about 5 years). He was so patient with the kids tearing his velcro uniform patches off during out entire lunch visit (thank you Robert!). We are looking foward to spending some time with him and his lovely wife this week. It is amazing how many old friends we are getting to see here where we thought we would never see anyone!!

A Baby Shower

First, here I am at 35 weeks...after 3 pregnancies, I am still amazed at how big a woman's stomach can get. I am so glad I only have to count down to 39 weeks instead of 40...only 4 more to go!!! How much more can this stomach stretch in 4 weeks??

This evening I was very blessed with a baby shower. When we first moved here, I cried over being pregnant because I didn't even know if anyone would offer to cook me a meal when we had this baby. A baby shower was the last thing I expected to happen. These women are mostly women from a bible study I have joined on the Air Force base that meets once a week. From this study, my kids have found playmates, and I have found companionship in wonderful Christian woman who I must say are "supermoms". I have not found any friends for life or busom buddies yet but I do believe that God has some very blessed relationships in store for me through these women...relationships that I feared I would never find. Our move to Hawaii has opened us up to the military life in a way we never experienced in MA. Military wives open their arms to new comers and cling to each other in a very beautiful way. I was moved to tears when they told me they were throwing me a baby shower...I mean how many people get one for their 3rd child?! But I believe it is something that military wives do to show support and love to other military wives no matter what child it is...they are just different in a very special way that I am on my knees thanking the Lord for after such a special evening of feeling loved and accepted. (However to my dear MA friends...it was no "babe" shower. I love you guys. and Wendy, do you recognize anyone?!)