Where does all this love come from?

"The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy" --Psalm 126:3

As many of you already know, our new love, Finley Grace, arrived Monday morning (3/19) at 9:33 a.m. and weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and is absolutely perfect. I am so sorry that I haven’t posted before now but I am just too busy staring at my beautiful baby. I am so overwhelmed with how much I love this little 6 lb. bundle and I can’t imagine life without her now.

I have loved every minute of this past week. From spending time with family to just being with my baby at all hours of the night. I love seeing Richard cradle and kiss her and believe it or not he’s even pretty good at changing diapers. Below I wrote the Story of Finley and how she arrived into this world... enjoy.


Finley’s Story
We feel so incredibly blessed! After a really easy labor of only 2 hours (yes, start to finish) Finley arrived and was extremely healthy. I spent the night in the hospital on Sunday night so that I would be ready to go in the morning when they were to start the pitocin (drug that induces labor) at around 8 the next morning. They gave me a cervadil the night before to help get my cervix ready and I guess that was all I needed. I woke up the next morning just in time to start watching the Today Show and noticed that I had a few light cramps. Then at around 7:30 they began to get worse and in the matter of 10 minutes I was having full on contractions. The nurse came in and checked me and found that I was already 7 cm dilated. She ordered my epidural and the anesthesiologist came in around 8:30 and I think I have decided that whoever invented that should win the Noble Peace Prize. By 9:10 I was completely relaxed and feeling no pain. Shortly after I was comfortable the Dr. came in a checked me and found that I was ready to push. My water had not broken yet so she broke my water and I was ready to push at around 9:30. After just 4 pushes Finley had arrived at 9:33! It was such an amazing feeling to finally lay eyes on her and we all fell in love instantly. Richard and my mom were such great coaches and I’m so glad they were there in the room to help welcome Finley into the world. I’ll post some pics below but finleyvanhook.com has the whole scrapbook.

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for our daughter. Your prayers were heard and the Lord has blessed us beyond our imagination.

My mom with Finley

My dad with Finley

Ready to go home

Richard's mom and sisters

Richard's dad and stepmom

Her cute mittens

Going home outfit

Shower for Finley

Here are a few pics from the lovely shower my friends up here threw me and Finley. It was so much fun. They had lots of fun games and lots of good food. I love these girls and am so glad the Lord has placed them in our life to be our "family" while we are up here! It's so fun to see other people get excited about the birth of your child.

Finley got lots of fun, girly things!!

Katie and me! (a little swollen!)

Partaking in the goodies!

Katie smelling the baby food.

Trying to identify the "dirty" diapers.

Yes, we had to try baby food... it was a very humbling experience!

38 Week update

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Well the countdown is on. I am officially entering my final week of pregnancy. I have so many mixed emotions. I'm so ready to meet her, but I have really enjoyed being pregnant. Although my waddle has hit an all-time peak, my legs cramp a lot, my toes look like little smoky sausages, I have to use the bathroom constantly, I don't think Richard would say I'm as sweet as I used to be, my ankles are now "kankles", my bootie.... well, I won't even go there, I find that I don't mind at all.

I am so thankful for this little miracle inside of me. I love feeling her move and kick and I think I will really miss it. I can't wait for Richard to feel and get to know her like I have these past months. I want treasure every memory that we have had with this 1st pregnancy..... telling Richard, feeling nauseous every minute of the day the 1st trimester, seeing the heartbeat for the first time, feeling her kick for the 1st time, hearing the doctor say "it's a girl!", watching my body change and transform to provide for her.....It's all been so exciting!

Richard and I have tried to cram as much as we can into this past final weekend without children or family here. I have found that I have had this sudden burst of energy and I want to make sure everything gets done before she arrives. We cleaned the house good, completed the nursery, (except for the bed which is on backorder, so it's won't we here until a week after she is born) and ran errands that needed to be done. We also went on our final date, but it seemed every other thing out of our mouth was "Can you believe we're about to be parents?" or "I can't believe you're/I'm pregnant?" .... I guess it won't really set in until she's here.

I'm supposed to be induced a week from today, the 19th.
Please pray that she will wait till then so our family can all be here and for a healthy and safe delivery. Thanks for all your prayers thus far.
We will post as soon as she arrives!!

My Love

I have found the one whom my soul loves. Song of Solomon 3:4


Although I rarely give "shout outs" to Richard, I feel like it is probably long overdue and
I can't think of a better day to do it than today. I don't know if its all the hormones that are going through me or just the fact that I realize now more than ever how much he does for me and loves me.

It's crazy to think back when we got married almost 5 years ago and how young we were. I thought then that I couldn't love him more than I did that day but I look at him today and I think that I didn't love him very much compared to today. I hope that it's always like this and I will always love him more tomorrow than today. It's so neat to look back and see how the Lord has planned every step that we have taken together and how much we have learned, how much we changed, how many mistakes we have made, and how very blessed we are.

Richard is everything that I ever pictured my husband would be and he makes me such a better person. He has been absolutely wonderful throughout my entire pregnancy and even loves to go out for late night cravings with me- you can't get any better than that!! I can't wait to see him as a father. I know that he will be wonderful.... he already is. He talks to Finley every morning and occasionally I will get him to bust out in song for her(he'll kill me for sharing that!). He loves to feel her moving and kicking and says the sweetest prayers for her. We know that our lives are about to drastically change and we are ready (sorta), but I am so thankful for the past 4 1/2 years we have grown together just as a couple.

Happy V-day Richie... I love you!!

32 Weeks and Counting....

As the days are decreasing, that darn number on the scale keeps increasing.... I can't seem to figure it out. This week I went to the Dr. (gained 4 more pounds in 2 weeks) and she scheduled an induction date of March 19th. Wow... hearing that date makes it all that more real to both Richard and I. I requested a date so that our families could be here and luckily she was fine with it so 7 Weeks from tonight I will be in the hospital getting ready to explode, I'm sure, in more ways than 1.

I've been saying for months now that I am so ready for her to get here just so I can meet her and touch her (and also to be more comfortable) but really there are so many things about being pregnant that I have really loved. I love feeling her move around. I feel so connected to her and I just love feeling her respond to my laughter and movement. There are so many things that I find myself wondering about.... Does she like the sounds of our voices? Does she like it when we sing to her? Does she think we're weirdos? So much to think about and worry about in the days to come so please continue to pray for us as we prepare for this new chapter in our lives. We are so excited but very overwhelmed at the same time.

We got a 3-D ultrasound a few weeks ago and here are a couple of the images we got... I think she's gonna be a cutie (and very active)!!

Nursery

The beginning of the nursery transformation has officially begun. We finished painting the bubblegum pink room last week and I have a couple checked off the list. I'm a little stressed because the bed and glider are not supposed to be in till the week she is born so keep your fingers crossed that they will get here on time. We have much more that has to be done to make sure that the princesses room is perfect so I'll be posting as we complete each task.

"Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you
were here an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of love." - Maureen Hawkins

Bring on the PINK!!

Over Christmas I was given 2 showers for Finley. They were both wonderful and we got so much girly stuff. Richard and I are so amazed at how much she is already loved by so many people. We feel so blessed!! My fear now is that they didn't read the ultrasound correct and we are having a boy who will have a major identity crisis. I love all the pink though... I find myself just sitting in her room going through all the frilly stuff and imagining what she will look like in them. I'm getting more and more excited as each day passes and can't wait to finally meet her!! Here are some pics from my shower given by my besties up in NWA!! I love those girls!

Oldies but Goodies

"We must ever be friends; and of all who offer you friendship let me be the first, the
truest, the nearest and dearest." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Nothing is more fun for me than catching up with my dear friends from high school. At least once a year Amy, Martha, Lee and I make it a point to get together for a night of food and good gossip. This year after Christmas we met at PF Chang's then had a gift exchange at Lee's for our annual night. I must say that there is something about old friends that we can not talk for weeks or months, but when we get together it's just like old times and we just catch up where we left off. I love these girls and they will always have a special place in my heart. Things are changing in all of our lives as Amy just got married in October, Martha is due in June, and Lee just got engaged on New Year's Eve, but I hope no matter where the road leads us we can always make time to reunite the "box".

Christmas in Arkansas

We had such a wonderful time back at home for Christmas!! I got to fly in on the 19th and Richard drove in on the 22nd. I drove back with Richard on the 30th and it was the hardest good-bye so far. Not just because of the 16 hour drive ahead of us, but with Finley coming Mid-March I'm not sure when the next time I'll get to go back will be. I've always looked forward to coming back to DC, but this time was different and I'm not sure I like it. Although it seems like a long time we still didn't get to spend enough time catching up with everyone. We are so blessed with great families and friends and here are some pics from the break.

Christmas Morning at Mom and Dad's

Christmas at Mamaw's

a Christmas tradition... all my little cousins come over and we make cookies/ gingerbread houses

New York @ Christmas

We got to go again to NYC during Christmas time this year. I love just walking around and taking in all the sights and Christmas decor. It's one of my favorite places to be at my most favorite time of year. We met up with Clay and Cara Conly who were visiting from Northwest Arkansas and went and ate at Serendipity 3 and went to the Top of the Rock and I conquered my fear of heights... well, kinda. We also got to see the Rockettes and shop a lot!! Here are some pics from the weekend.

New Niece

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Emily Catherine Mays was born in Little Rock. We got to spend some time with her over Thanksgiving and she is the sweetest, most perfect little baby ever. It made me even more ready to meet Finley!! I am so glad that both Brooke and I are having girls so close together so they can be best buds. Brooke and Tom are such a great parents and it's so nice to have someone that has just gone through what you are going and are about to go through for both Richard and I.

Christmas Decor

Since I've had my Christmas decorations up for a good month now I thought I would take some photos to share. I love decorating for Christmas and my hubby is so good about helping out. Last year we didn't get to put up a tree due to lack of room in our little apartment, so this year I went all out and put up all that would fit in our townhouse.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas! Can you believe that it's already almost here?? It's always been my most favorite time of year. I love to see kids get excited and I can't wait till next year when Finley will be here. They say that as you get older the excitement of Christmas tapers off but I don't think so. It's more than just the presents and decorations now... I love the way it makes you feel and just being together with the ones that you love.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas things:

• Christmas Eve afternoon at Mamaw's and that night at Memaw's
  
• My dad reading the Christmas Story from Luke every Christmas morning.
  
• Christmas Eve candlelighting service at Church
• My family. All of them. The Hays' and the Vanhook's are the best people to spend holidays with.
• My little cousins anticipating Santa
  
• Martina McBride's "White Christmas"... the best Christmas CD ever, although last year Clay Aiken gave her a good run for her money
• Driving around and looking at Christmas lights
• Seeing a bunch of cars outside of a house because you know a family is celebrating
• Driving past Wal-mart on the way back from my Grandma's house and hearing my dad say, "Look now kids, you won't see that parking lot empty again till next year!!" (<--it's a tradition)
• Big fat colored lights
• Gaggers!
  
• Richard always having at least one surprise up his sleeve.
  
• Nativity Scenes
• Smells of Christmas... cinnamon, pine, apple cider, christmas cookies, etc.
• Jesus...

I know that it is so cliche to say that Jesus is the reason for the season- but it's true. I hope that during all the hustle and bustle of this time that we all remember why we celebrate. I hope everyone has wonderful holiday season!!!