Some old photos you will certainly enjoy!

David somehow retrieved pictures off my old computer I used from graduate school up until we moved to Lake Charles (so 2006 - 2009). Enjoy...

 Trying on the wedding dress

 David and I at Festival Internationale '07

 Engagement picture

 Minutes before our wedding. Sarah is holding Madeline (4 months)

 Madeline (15 months) meeting John Paul for the first time

And in celebration of Micah's upcoming baptism, here is a picture of John Paul's baptism...

And Therese Marie...

And like most things associated with Jacob that I cannot seem to get to/find... I cannot locate a picture from his baptism, and Micah is crying. Jacob you are loved and appreciated... just not in this post.

So let me introduce to you...

Micah Philip Dawson, ladies and gentlemen!

The play-by-play:
5am : woke up to some light contractions, which was typical of each day from week 38 to 40. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I woke up, had some prayer time, and went for a walk. Contractions were 7 minutes apart

8am: conceded to the fact that I was actually in labor, so we fed and dressed the kids and called my parents. Showered, vacuumed the house, did some dishes, packed the kids, breathed, timed, prayed.

10am: kids were packed up and went to Granny and Grandpa's for the day. This part is NEVER easy for me. I've cried each time, and wonder if we're making the right decision to have a baby(yes, I realize this last part is irrational. I mean, we're pretty much committed at this point). Contractions were 5 minutes apart or less.

       
11:30: headed out to the hospital by way of stopping at David's office to grab the laptop and drop off a Blockbuster movie. We also had the beautiful and moving privilege of stopping in front of the church while the hurst of a friend pulled into Queen of Heaven. Daniel Crochet was being commended to God's mercy at the same hour the God's mercy would bring new life to us.

Noon: Admitted to the hospital, needed antibiotics for group b strep otherwise they would have sent me home... because after 6 hours of labor I was 1 cm (this is child #4 people after weeks of false labor- so humbling)

Somewhere between then about 2pm- dilated to almost 4, but after trying to labor naturally while totally stopped up and lighted headed from breathing so hard I received an epidural. We had been doing prayer intentions for each contraction, when I received the epidural the prayer intention for the entire process just happened to be for Daniel's soul (and the soul of his brother). God is good to let us participate in prayer and suffering for others.

4ish- 7cm lying on one side. The nurse flipped me, and less than 5 minutes later I was complete!

5:09pm... and 3 pushes, he was on my chest, crying with his little lip out like someone had hurt his feelings. That was an incredible moment. Praise God!

 The traditional gel-in-the-eyes freshly born pic... and he's still so cute! P.S. That's my mother-in-law's hand on my leg, which I remember looking over and seeing that her hand was there... and that I couldn't feel a thing in that leg.

 Lots of time in a quiet hospital room, so we took pictures!

 Our first family-of-6 photo! I love that Jacob is on John Paul's lap- what a great big brother!

 These two are so great with Micah. They love him and ask to see his toes and kiss his head all the time... except they all have super nasty coughs/colds, so we don't let them do too much with him yet.

 Think 4 is overwhelming? Could be, but I have captured one of many moments when they were all three playing well together with the same toy. They were play "buy the pig/buy the turtle" and John Paul would say, "Have a nice day! Thanks for buying the turtle!"

 Granny helping John Paul hold Micah for the first time (I hadn't informed her that they weren't allowed to touch him with their snotty little hands)! Look how proud he is. My sweet sweet man! My loving mama!

Therese is a fantastic sister already, and she loves babies. She's been waiting for Micah since we told her we were going to have a baby and she said, "I want a pink baby." A pink baby's what she got. She tells me that he's so cute every time she looks at him, and she loves trying to take care of him; she'll say, "I got Micah, Mom." (In other words: you go do your thing, and I'll just be here insistently trying to stick a pass in his mouth)

 

 Jacob Joseph is doing as expected. He is very loving and compassionate baby, so he is NOTHING but sweet to Micah (so far), but is also a mama's boy, so he wants to be held a lot, thus forcing me to break the rules and hold him a lot! And occasionally, he hides in the corner behind our recliner with his pass (which is a no-no... except for this week. He can have it all he wants.) He is showing lots of behaviors that say, "Um, guys, my whole life just got turned upside down."

As my mom titled this picture: "How do you entertain three young children? Have a baby to entertain them!" This morning John Paul asked me, "Mom, may I please have some chocolate milk, so that I can drink it and sit in my red chair and watch Micah?" And that's exactly what he did... and the others followed suit.  A good note to end this post. See you soon (whatever "soon" is redefined to mean).
__________________________________________________________________________________

Another note: Micah looks almost identical to John Paul at birth until he opens his mouth to cry/scream, then he looks/sounds like Jacob. Craziest thing...

John Paul's birth

 Week 4 or 5 I think.

While we wait...

39 weeks today... nothing to report. Though, I will say that I am indebted to Britney, my sweet friend who invited us to Galaxy Bounce House today for all our little olive plants to jump around. No, I didn't purposefully jump (I bet my mother-in-law is just ready to faint reading this), but I did HAVE to help Jacob inside some of the bigger jumpy things... and up some of the blow-up slides. Yes, there were indications on these monstrosities that pregnant women should not partake... I signed a waiver. Don't worry.

Anyway, David and I decided to take a family day to trip to Baton Rouge (again, I know some of you think I am just insane. I'm ok with this) to meet David newest godchild Cecilia Jane Dawson.

 

 The day she was born

 This is Mimi and Grandaddy with all their 6 grandchildren... 

couldn't figure out how to stick my belly in this one to make it seven.

(Therese- 3, Jacob- 18 months, Luke- 16 months, Liam- 3 1/2, John Paul- 4, Cecilia- 1 week)

David fell instantly in love. She's so beautiful, y'all.

----------------------------------------------------------------

And while we wait... we like to paint...ish

---------------------------------------------------------------

And I had to mention another important event in the life of a sweet friend. Adrienne will travel to Houston tomorrow (3/16) to begin tests and have surgery for breast cancer. She is a trooper, she is strong, she is peaceful, and we are praying for a swift recovery for her. Must mention that she happens to be the kids pediatrician, so we tried (believe me) to have Micah before she took her sick leave. Sigh. Please keep our precious friend in your prayers.

So that's the Dawson house... don't feel like you need to sing the jeopardy song or anything. We'll be around. You know soon enough.

The "joyful" part of the anticipation is waning...

I'm beginning to feel like a little kid who asks for something he can't have. Grateful for the gift of life... and ready to be looking this life in the face... know what I mean?

Joyful Anticipation...

So here's our family... and it's who defines me, who orders my days, who fulfills me, who challenges me, and who brings me greater joy than I could ask for or imagine. So what happens when we begin to add new people to this dynamic?

I remember when it was just John Paul...

... it was a hard, beautiful, transitional, life-altering, self-redefining time for David and I. It was not a hard decision (I say that now, but David would laugh at me for saying that) to decide to open ourselves to another child when John Paul was around 10 months old. It's no surprise to anyone that David and I want a large family, so in most cases, number 2 comes relatively soon after number 1. (As my sweet friend Britney is chuckling- she went from 1 to 3 with her twin boys).  Well, I remember that when I realized that I was definitely in labor for "the baby" (because we didn't find out Therese's gender) I began to cry of sadness: Our family definition was changing. We would no longer be David, Kate, and John Paul, and I was scared to journey into the unknown to welcome a new baby. And when I heard David say, "It's a girl," it changed everything! It seemed so perfect that God would give us a precious little girl- our Therese Marie.

The adjustment from 1 to 2 was not near as difficult for me as from 0 to 1. And as Therese grew in that first year, her little personality came out very quickly. She was/is curious, opportunistic, independent, self-assured. A fantastic and fun addition to our family. We quickly became pregnant with another baby, who's story I have shared before. We named him Andrew Thomas, and I quickly learned that fertility is a gift, and that life is precious - whether it is planned/expected/feared or not. This experience brought David and I close as no experience had done. God was so close to us through this loss, and we continued to remain open to life... which brought us a pregnancy 3 months later. Enter Jacob.

Jacob has been a huge gift to our family in so many ways. His first 6 months were extremely difficult for me, mostly because he enjoyed nursing every 2 hours 'round the clock, and sleeping was not his top priority. But is was such a joy to see how much/quickly John Paul and Therese loved him. And as I've described before, Jacob's compassion, affection, sense of humor, and love for people has brought us joy that we continue to be surprised by and grateful for.

We also experienced another loss of a child. This one was different because it happened so quickly. We knew that we were pregnant less than 48 hours before miscarrying. Agnes Karolina was gone almost as soon as she came. This pregnancy taught me to be grateful. As you can imagine, Jacob was 6 months old, and though we knew God was asking us to be open to His will, I was emotionally flustered because of Jacob's sleeping habits. So my telling David that we were pregnant was less than enthusiastic. I realized after her loss how much it must have CRUSHED him to hear his wife say that we had created life as if it were a burden. I will always carry regret for feeling/thinking/reacting this way. Another 3 months passed and we discovered (after about 120 pregnancy tests b/c I was so irritable and weepy all the time) that we were pregnant. Praise God for another chance to be grateful for life!

And so as of today I am full term for Micah Philip Dawson. I've had contractions, Braxton Hicks, pressure, heartburn, and digestive trouble since about 30 weeks. I am seeing a pattern that somewhere between 30 and 35 weeks I hit a place of despair because I just think I can't handle being pregnant any more. I start bargaining with God, saying things like, "Hmm, well God if we have a baby at 32 weeks, it won't be so bad. A 4 lb baby is ok, and a few weeks in the NICU won't be so bad." (Forgive me, Lord, and forgive me Mama's who have had to go through such a nightmare). It takes so much grace and dying to self to stay/get back on track in remember that what's best for the BABY is time and growth and weight even if it's not easy for ME (imagine that). I come out of this stupor at around 35 weeks, probably because I can see that light at the end of the tunnel... what's another 5 weeks?

The fear of redefining our family, as I experienced when moving from one to two, is pretty much gone, other than attempting to picture what life will look like (which is not productive because it cannot be pictured), and I also must admit that the thought of 4 children is more exciting than frightening (as I tended to feel when moving from 2 to 3). I kind of feel like I've already reached that, "Well what's one more?" kind of mentality. It's already a fantastic little circus over here... so the more the merrier seems to be the idea around here.

I am seeing signs that my body may be ready to get this party started... and though I have prayed for an early baby (like a little 5 year old who asks God for a new bike), David and I are facilitating a married couples retreat starting tomorrow and ending Sunday. So my more specific prayer is to have Micah soon... just after Sunday (thanks Fr Huckaby for telling that I can be specific in prayer). So the name of the game is waiting. But the gift of a  a handful of children already means that waiting isn't really what happens. We are NOT bored over here.

All this to say that joyful anticipation is the new name of the game. Praise God for a wonderful example: the Blessed Mother!

And so I wait... "my soul proclaims that greatness of the Lord... for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant."

See you soon, Micah, you precious gift from God!

A few pictures to update you!

I thought I would let you know what the last few weeks has brought us... that have been captured on my parent's camera, that is...

How many before shots does it take to get your Easter picture together?

 Depends on who's upset about his coat.

Still upset...

 Ok, this will work... even if Jacob looks forlorn.

 This is the "we survived Easter Sunday Mass" picture.

 My super-duper fantastic, beautiful, funny, humble, thoughtful sister-in-law Julia will be having Baby Cecilia on May 9th. Our bumps are in a race to see whose can make her fall forward first. Thanks Uncle Pat for making sure the bellies were in the picture... we won't tell Liam or the top of our heads that they didn't make the cut.

 And finally, my sweet, dear friend Lisanne Ruth Meiners, no McCullough was married to her precious Patrick over the weekend. It was a quick trip, but worth every second.

 She was so stunning, y'all, I just couldn't get over it. Every time I looked over at her or spoke to her (or secretly followed her around snapping shots with my parent's fancy camera) she had that beautiful smile on her face.

Want to know a little somethin' 'bout my kids?

I thought I would give you a glimpse into the precious treasures whom I refer to collectively as my chitlins:

 John Paul - 4 yrs 8 months - John Paul keeps my life together from playing quietly while I "rest" to letting my know when Jacob is running into the street to dressing himself. He is most definitely a words of affirmation kid (very much like Mommy). He is a good storyteller, he likes when life brings what is expected, and he enjoys meeting new friends (unless he's upset about something, then he doesn't like anything or anyone... very much like Mommy). His drama seems to be increasing with age, but he does a great job of "practicing"
 those behaviors that will make his life easier (i.e. taking a deep breath when he needs to calm down or asking politely for things). His blonde hair and blue eyes are still there. He does NOT like ANY injustice done to ANYONE, and will cry over said injustices if he feels someone needs to be helped. He will enter kindergarten in the fall taught by yours truly. Pray for him. He recently learned how to jump rope, to swing himself, and when he lays down with me, he suggests praying with me (and he leads). He is the one who will tell me things to put me on cloud 9, like at the end of the day when he says, "Mom, I'm so glad to be your son," followed by, "And you're glad to be my mom (bc I tell him that a bunch) and I'm awesome." Love this kid. He learned to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on his little keyboard by ear. I lose count of how many times a day he says, "Mom, I just love you."

 Therese Marie- 3 yrs 1 month- Where to start. Therese is the life of the party. She walks around the house singing her own songs, she like to make her barbies wrestle, she potty trained at age two (while we also potty trained JP), and she loves to read books multiple times in a row ("Mama, can we wead dith muh mor time?"). Quality time and physical touch speak the most to her, so God sends her to me when I need to slow down with my nesting and cleaning to be present to her and to the others. She is a snuggle queen, and will quickly escalate into hi-pitched, nearly inaudible requests if we don't temper it... you know I mean. She likes to predict what people will say in certain situations, for example, before arriving at my parent's house, she may say, "Mama, when we get to Gwanny and PawPawth (she is the only one who calls him this, as everyone else calls him Grandpa) heeth gonna thay, 'Hi Chereth, my little flower,' and I'm gonna scrath Gwannieth back and it-th gonna be tho nithe." She, too, will run to me from across a room to tell me that she loves me. For any other references as to her personality, please read the Story of a Soul - the autobiography of her namesake, St. Therese. She quotes Charlie Brown- so frequently will say, "Hey... wait a minute... that's it!" and "I can't believe it, I just can't believe it!" I am so in love with this precious little girl. And if you're worried about her being surrounded by all boys, don't worry about her. She is most certainly able to hold her own. I cannot wait to watch her with Micah. Her predictions about Micah's arrival is this: " I'm gonna thay, 'Hey Micah, come out' and heeths gonna thay, 'Ok, I'm coming, Chereth.'!" She leaves me all the cookies, brownies, and cakes I want and prefers candy candy candy!
She very much enjoys pushing her older brother's "go crazy" button, mostly by taking something a running away. Lastly, she refers to the movie credits as "crickets." We affectionately refer to "Beautiful" by Mercy Me as "The Therese Song...." which she frequently requests. She is very forgiving... after some time, of course. I pray she keeps her curls and her lisp as long as possible. But, as David says, if she could keep her nose-picking habit through high school, that would save us a lot of trouble in the dating scene.

Jacob Joseph- 17 month and some change- The name of the game is PASSION... and COMPASSION with Jacob. There is no guessing with him. If he's angry, he will throw something... anything... whatever is closest (one time the only available object was 1 little elbow macaroni noodle he found under the cabinet). He will hit if he's mad at you... and then will immediately kiss you in an apologetic manner. He loves to give you kisses and hugs, especially when he recognizes that you are sad or that some injustice was done to you. When the other two are sent to their room, he quickly runs after them to console them. He's only now becoming a little chatter box (probably because we stopped letting him have the pacifier constantly in his mouth because he used to scream like a pterodactyl), and says please (which actually comes out as "fooh"... not kidding) and a few other things from time to time. It's enough to get his needs across, but the head shake gives us all the information we need most of the time. If you want a snuggle man who will make you feel like the most fantastic person in the room, just find Jacob. He also sings Old McDonald, and likes you to give him lotion to eat while you change his diaper... because otherwise he turns on the pterodactyl scream and hits you... then quickly apologizes). He is such a fantastic asset to our family.

Micah Philip- T - 6 weeks- He enjoys kickball, soccer, spinning class, kickboxing, and yoga. [Your predictions here]

(And as for Agnes and Andrew, our two angels in Heaven , they are absolutely perfect in every way!)