Life with Jane

Confessions of a Blogsentee

2010-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

So my silence is broken...is there anyone out there still reading? Can I get a witness?

I've coined a new term "blogsentee". It is a term referring to one who takes frequent blogging sabbaticals. These hiatuses can vary in length from a few weeks to several months depending on the blogger's motivation, availability and inspiration. I confess I'm a blogsentee. I admit it. It's finally out there. Now I can sleep again at night. I won't bore you with excuses for my lack of posting, but will only whet your appetite for a strong 2010. Maybe even attempting to post once a quarter, or make that at least a semi-annual post. I'm not one to set myself up for failure, so I'll set the bar low. Think of this blog like a "white sale". White sales only happen a couple times a year because one doesn't need new towels every few weeks, but twice a year a new washcloth or a bath mat is just what the doctor ordered.

More to come...sometime between now and July :)

Summer Fun

2009-07-08T13:06:00.001-07:00

The summer is flying by and we are enjoying every moment. We went on a family vacation with my family (the Carrells) to Branson in June. We loved it!

Then Father's Day rolled around and we got to celebrate the amazing daddy that Jon is to sweet Jane.

Jane's birthday was next on the 4th of July. I was impressed how the nation really stepped up to the plate to celebrate her big day--fireworks across the United States! Grandma and Grandpa Feekes and Grandma Carrell and Pop-Pop Carrell came to St. Louis to join our celebration.

What an amazing year it's been! Jane we love you so much!

Spring Has Sprung

2009-05-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

"There is a season, turn, turn...." Indeed, spring has sprung. At such a time of new life, warm weather, bright colors and freshness one's heart turns to blogging. And, being the devoted blogger that I am, I felt it appropriate to compose the Spring edition of Life with Jane.

Much has happened since our last post. Jane continues to grow and thrive. We took our first airplane trip in February to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Iowa and to meet baby Joci for the first time. My sister in law, Amy and Joci drove to Iowa to meet us, and we had so much fun. The cousins were immediate buddies. It was awesome family time together!

In March Amy, baby Joci and Grandma Feekes visited our place in St. Louis--more fun family time. Lizzie was also very entertained by Amy's dogs Moose and Bailey.

April came, and our church (City Church) had its inaugural service on Easter Sunday. It was great! Also that month Jane got her first two teeth--what a big girl!

At the beginning of May Jane and I made another trip--this time a road trip to Springfield to spend a week with my parents. We enjoyed our time with Pop-Pop and Grandma. Then two of my brothers came with their families for Mother's Day weekend. All of the ladies in the family enjoyed a special Mother's Day Tea. Jane is always up for a good tea party. Warm weather is now here, and we are loving the outdoors. Jane and I love to talk walks in the park especially with our friends in the neighborhood. We're looking forward to a fun summer. I'll keep you posted!

Lizzie and Jane

2009-01-25T14:11:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

We just had snow, and it was one of those slow falling, picturesque kind of snow falls.

Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the new year. It has been an exciting January. Regardless of political leanings it was quite something to watch the sights and sounds of our new president. Jane has begun eating new types of food: home made baby food: mushy peas...yum:) and lots of oatmeal. We are also adjusting to life with a three legged dog. That's right. Lizzie, our golden retriever, had her right front leg removed after a recurrence of cancer. She is actually getting along fine, making her way up the stairs in our house (we have many) and figuring out what life is like with a disability.

Have a great week. Love Jon, Heather & Jane

Christmas and New Year

2009-01-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Our dog Lizzie sharing some space with Jane

Springfield scavenger hunt...visiting Abe Lincoln

We continue...I wanted to update everyone that a new milestone was reached...I turned 30 on January 2. It was a fun and adventurous day as I went sky diving, sang karaoke, ate pancakes at 1 AM at the local diner, the usual weekend.

Actually I was able to spend the day with Jon and Jane, shopping, seeing down town St. Louis, and relaxing at home together as a family. Jon even made a delicious birthday cake and Jane gave me her first card and present. What I have learned is Thirty is the new twenty:)

Happy Holidays

2009-01-03T17:14:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning with Grandma Carrell

Jane's digging in and checking out what she got.

I spy...

Baptism dress. It was wonderful to have family

present to share in this moment.

Showing off her spunk

Baptism - surrounded by family: Parents,

grand parents, and great grandparents!

Christmas dinner in Iowa with Grandpa

Grandma Feekes

We arrived in Sioux Center Iowa to celebrate Thanksgiving & Christmas! Jane really put on a show...she was practicing her smiles and giggles.

This Holiday Season we were able to spend time with family over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This post is just a brief summary of the past few months.

Over Thanksgiving we traveled to Iowa to see Jon's family. It was a wonderful trip, Jane did so well and we were able to see the the Feekes family. We also enjoyed Christmas together. To cap off the Thanksgiving weekend, everyone traveled down to St. Louis for Jane's baptism. We are so glad grandparents and great grandparents were able to join us.

Christmas was met with much anticipation and we were excited. Jon, Jane and I traveled to my parents and enjoyed several days of celebrating, playing games, and visiting with family. The week even included a suprise scavenger hunt around Springfield on board the Springfield trolley.

2008 was filled with many blessings. God is faithful and we look forward to 2009. Happy New Year!!!

Harvest Party and so much more...

2008-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

We took Jane to the annual Greentree Harvest Party. We decided to go with a family farming theme. This year we had an amazing crop!

Jane has had a busy week. First she donned her first Halloween costume and made her appearance at the Harvest Party. Then she visited my pals at CID. And finally she hosted her very first brunch. What a gal!

Our Pretty Pumpkin and Other Pics

2008-10-17T10:20:00.001-07:00

Triple A Blogging

2008-08-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

To use a sports analogy--something I'm known to often do--I think of myself as a triple-A blogger. I'm not yet ready for the major leagues of blogging. I'm not a homerun hitter like Katie M, the Albert Pujols of blogging. I'm just learning the ropes.

Confessional, I've had blog anxiety. Technology isn't something in which I have much interest. My cell phone is one that could have been a prop on Saved By the Bell. I still don't have my parents phone number as one of my contacts. And, I don't know how to switch my phone to the vibrate setting. So in this fast-paced world of downloading and uploading, I sometimes feel a bit lost in the shuffle. However, like that triple-A ball player, I'm in it to win it. Someday, I'm going to be drafted to the big leagues--when I figure out how to change my blog background and the picture on my profile. One day, when Jon no longer needs to talk me through downloading pics of our camera, I will make my major league dream come true!

A Long Awaited Conclusion

2008-08-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

Alas, another post. I had to conclude the story I started. Then I am free to start more stories as they unfold.

Disclaimer: This might be a blog you only need to check monthly.

Well, the last month and a half has been busy to say the least. Life with Jane is nothing short of amazing. I wish I had a better adjective to describe it--"amazing" seems overused. She is adorable and is daily teaching us new things. Since my last post, she's gaining weight. What a relief! That took a while, but now we're on the right track. And, Jane is beginning to sleep longer during the night. We think she'll pull her first all-nighter of sleep any day now. She's really close to it!

It's such a privilege to get to stay home with Jane. We have a great time together--playing, walking in the park, cuddling, reading books. Jane's so much fun. I recommend getting to know her.

Above are some cute pics of our sweet pea and us as a family. Enjoy! Our pics were taken by our friend Kelly D.--she's awesome! Thanks Kelly :)

Chapter 3 Enjoying Jane at Home

2008-07-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

July 7 Monday Night

Celebrating our new little girl, we were not ready for the ensuing nighttime. Jane was also not ready. Jane cried most of the night, and most of the night meant 10 - 4:30am. She would settle down, "pretend" to fall asleep, give us a quick miniute to sigh and get into bed, and decide to celebrate her homecoming in her own way. We were all getting used to the new routine, Jane was just seasoning some rookies.

We all made it and learned from it. One thing that became evident was the need for swaddling, effective swaddling. Although we watched the nurses swaddle Jane a thousand times we never quite caught on. Jane is an escape artist, and once out, realizes that what she previously had wasn't so bad. The best thing we have found is the "Miracle Blanket". We ordered it online and fortunately arrived in two days. Now Jane loves it.

Summarizing the remaining week, up to Saturday.

We met with our Pediatrician, who is fantastic and Jane has a clean bill of health! We have been enjoying the week together as a new family, and we have been enjoying the love, support, and wonderful meals from our friends. Thank you so much!

Some firsts for Jane this week:

First sponge bath at home
First tummy time
First thumb suck
First exposure to her new belly button--umbilical cord fell off
First manicure (nails were really long at birth and needed filing)

We are absolutely in love with Jane and can not imagine our lives with out her.

Chapter 2 Going Home?

2008-07-12T17:51:00.001-07:00

July 5, 2008, Sunday
Jane continued her stay in special care nursery. It was sad to not be able to have her in the room with us. We traveled back in forth over to her quarters so I could feed her. The neonatatogist told us that her blood counts were looking better, but he was waiting on her final bloodwork to make the decision if her stay in the hospital should be extended one to seven days. I was discharged on Sunday, so I was a bit concerned how I was going to do feedings for the next seven days if indeed Jane was to stay that long. Jon reassured me that the Lord was in control and things would work out in the right way at the right time. We were learning a lot over the previous several hours about our lack of control in our lives and how easily we can get out of sorts when things stray from our plans. At any rate, the hospital told us that we could stay in a hospitality room (it was actually the room where we had been staying) at least for Sunday night and possibly for future nights if need be (already a provision for us!)

July 6, 2008
Results of the latest blood work were favorable and Jane was given one final round of medications. At last, we could take Jane home! We left the hospital so thankful that Jane was doing well and also somewhat terrified that we were now in charge. There was something reassuring about having so many medical professinals on hand when we were with Jane--now we were on our own! And, the hospital had crushed ice, something that I was really going to miss.

Recap--our new arrival

2008-07-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

So, here goes.....the week has been a whirlwind with an unexpected delivery and the addition of our little bundle into our lives. Being the blog novices that we are, we set low blogging expectations for ourselves and vowed to blog about Jane's birth at some point--at least before her high school graduation. To summarize the last several days I've written a short story (some of you have stopped reading already), trust me it's well-worth the read or at least a glance at the pictures.

CHAPTER 1
July 3, 2008 - routine OB/GYN visit, tests revealed water had broken, told "do not pass go, do not go home, head directly to hospital 'cause you are having a baby" and "this ought to be interesting" as Jane i.e. my body was not showing any other signs of labor.

Backing up: The previous Monday I decided something was up, called my doctor and she sent me to the hospital to see if my water had broken. Tests came up negative but that got Jon & I focused, as in, pack the bags, install the car seat, get all the paper work ready. Issue continued until my scheduled doctors appointment.

Arrived at the hospital and the preparations began, I would be induced. Jon was heading back home to pick up the bags, take care of Lizzie, our dog, and head to the hospital as well.

The medication administered began around 1:45pm and kept going, and going. At some point around 1am the nurse said I was still technically "not in labor yet". That was encouraging.
After that, the potocin (induction meds) really kicked in and contractions became intense.

At 5am, epidural in, pain out, things started to progress. By the by, the nursing staff at our hospital was amazing. Very professional, but even more relational. We will not forget the nurses who were attending to our care.

July 4, 2008 - Jane was born at 11:43 AM, weighing 6 lb 14oz, 18 3/4". A true blessing to us and rememberance of how good God is. Also, everyone celebrates Jane's birthday with fireworks! How great is that. That evening, after a second round of blood work, Jane's white blood cell count was elevated, which meant she was fighting a possible infection. Because of this, Jane was moved to the special care nursery and administered antibiotics.

Naturally nervous, it was a long night of prayer, talking with each other, questioning the nurses...it is so hard to not have control of a situation.

Urban Living

2008-06-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

We moved into the City in February and it has been a wonderful adventure. The opportunity to meet our neighbors, walk in the park, and get coffee at Bread Company is so nice.

Everyday when walking the dog we meet someone new or see a familiar face.

Inaugural Blog

2008-06-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend the Feekes family took the plunge and created a blog! We were not sure this would ever happen :)

We hope to keep eveyone posted on the minutia of our lives including a few updates on little Jane. Right now she is just kicking, sleeping, eating, and enjoying life in the cocoon.