Little Miss Jainna, part 1

Born Saturday, February 20, 2010

After 2 weeks of false labor warnings, our 6th child (5th daughter) came to our family in a quick rush. I want to tell her story, but I can't seem to find the time to sit down and write it all out at once, so for now I will give a brief update and later hopefully find the time to give more details as to how she came to us.

First of all, we have finally settled on Jainna as her first name. The middle name is still undecided, but at least we can stop calling her "that baby with no name". Second, she is still in the care of the wonderful hospital staff at American Fork Hospital. Although its hard to not have her at home with us, we know it's where she needs to be.

She was 5 weeks early, and therefore is not ready for some of the daily demands life puts on her. She initially had trouble breathing properly on her own, but that was under control within the first 12 hours. The next main hurdle was (and remains to be) her eating ability. She is so sleepy and does not have the energy to wake up to eat. Also, she does not have the internal instinct most babies have to suckle and nurse. These are all typical responses that "near term" 35 week babies have problems with. It's nothing to panic about, just something that time and patients will bring her success.

At this point, I am allowed to attempt to feed her twice a day. So I go in every morning for her 10:30 feeding and then again in the evening for the 7:30 feeding. We have had no success in getting her to nurse at this point, but she could turn that corner at any time.

At a later time I will share more about her delivery, but for now all I will say is she came FAST (meaning about 25 minutes from arriving at hospital to actual birth time). Apparently one of the side effects of such a fast delivery, is that her eyes are bruised - it looks like someone punched her in both eyes. I'm not sure how long the redness and swelling will last, but I cant wait for that to be remedied.

She was on an IV to give her fluids, but now they have removed that and now is on a feeding tube instead. A "feeding tube" sounds more intimidating than it really is - its a teeny tiny tube in her nose that leads to her stomach to give her food directly. It doesnt get in her way, and she is not bothered by it at all. I'm glad the IV is out because that WAS in her way and she seemed constantly bothered by it (or perhaps im just thinking of how I would feel to have that in my hand all the time - no thanks).

She did have slightly elevated levels of jaundice so the put the "bili lights" in her bed for one day. But she conquered that event quickly and is back to normal lighting.

One of the hardest parts is that the other kids have not had a chance to hold her or even get a good look at her. They are so anxious to have her home with us - as well are Brian and I. We took the kids school pictures and taped them to her bed.

I think she will be at least another week before she even starts to be interested in eating, and another week to get her up to speed with proper nursing amounts. But that is just my guess - any and all prayers are appreciated.

More to come later, until then enjoy these pictures and video (if it will work).

Love, Liz

Joseph and Brianne

No, its not a new boyfriend . . .


Brianne has been chosen to be "Assistant Director" for the upcoming school musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. She had auditioned for a chorus part, but they obviously saw in her what we've been seeing for many years - a great ability to lead. She is listed first in the cast listing (above all the leads) which to me says she is the star :)

We really didn't know how she would do compared to the other girls who were auditioning, and since there are so few girl parts in this musical, we all thought she'd be "lucky" if she got to be in the ensemble (chorus). On Wednesday night she learned she did not make callbacks, but her teacher explained that callbacks were only for people getting lead roles - she still had a chance to be in the ensemble. Then this morning the teacher posted the official cast list and the first title on the list said "Assistant Director - Brianne Kirkby".

She is VERY excited - we didn't even know the teacher was considering a student position for this. We think she fits the "role" perfectly. She would much rather do this than be a chorus girl, even tho it means not being on stage performing. Personally, I think she fits in behind the scenes better than on stage. She will go to every rehearsal (which is a pain in the rear for me - but owell what can I do?) and get to boss everyone around, how great is THAT??? lol just kidding :)

We are all thrilled for her and invite everyone to come see the show at the end of March. And any local friends who are driving home past Willowcreek every week day at 5 o'clock who can pick her up would be appreciated :) just kidding again - sort of.

Grats Brianne! GO GO GO JOSEPH!

Happy New Year!!

I did it!! I didn't eat candy for a whole year. It wasn't as hard as i thought it was. I have now inspired my sister to do it along with my cousin, good luck to them and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ps Just for the record, the first candy i ate was a skittle. [:

The Courage To Be Imperfect

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. Some things are so important that they must be done, even if at first we cannot do them well. We can never become good at what we don't work at. There must be a willingness to try, to practice, to improve, to become. We must give our imperfect best, and in so doing, our best will eventually become perfect.

"I propose that self-esteem becomes a nonissue for the person who is perfecting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ . . . So many issues that revolve around the subject of self fade like the dew in the sun as one cultivates faith in the Savior. Without him, nothing else matters. No amount of self-esteem or anything else can adequately fill the void. . . One who practices faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will find relief from the stresses and anxieties of the pursuit of self-esteem." ~M. Catherine Thomas, Selected Writings of M. Catherine Thomas, 237-50.

"We can be so cruel to ourselves; we destroy ourselves wit our negative self-talk. We see only the raw material, much of it yet undeveloped, and we block from our awareness many already godlike qualities in us. We throw a wet blanket over all this divine fire. We steadfastly ignore the fact that many of our goals have been accomplished by our exercising godlike qualities: sacrifice, discipline, creativity, perseverance, love, faith. We decline to acknowledge the divinity that is developing in us through the challenges that life has already presented to us for this very purpose. And we are ready to argue - in a most ungodly way - with anyone who tries to tell us something to the contrary. This refusal to accept our developing divinity is a sort of blasphemy and a denial of the purpose of the plan of salvation; it diminishes the effectiveness of our service and inhibits our full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no real settled contentment, no real enlarging of the soul to meet great opportunities and possibilities, until we find our own divine fire." ~M. Catherine Thomas, Gospel Scholarship Series, 254.

"God is your Father. He loves you. He and your Mother in Heaven value you beyond any measure. They gave your eternal intelligence spirit form, just as your earthly mother and father have given you a mortal body. You are unique, one of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives you claim upon eternal life. Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual. The whole intent of the gospel plan is to provide an opportunity for each of you to reach your fullest potential, which is eternal progression and the possibility of godhood." ~Spencer W. Kimball, "Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters," Ensign, November 1978, 105.

"The work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to 'bring to pass the ... eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39) is an eternal work. Not all problems are overcome and not all needed relationships are fixed in mortality. The work of salvation goes on beyond the veil of death, and we should not be too apprehensive about incompleteness within the limits of mortality." ~Dallin H. Oaks "Powerful Ideas," Ensign, November 1995, 26.

"I do not believe that any man lives up to his ideals, but if we are striving, if we are working, if we are trying , to the best of our ability, to improve day by day, then we are in the line of our duty. If we are seeking to remedy our own defects, if we are so living that we can ask God for light, for knowledge, or intelligence, and above all, for His Spirit, that we may overcome our weaknesses, then, I can tell you, we are in the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal. Then we need have no fear." ~Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, 184-5.

"How can we as imperfect, though improving, individuals know that the Lord is pleased with the course our lives are taking? The Lord's pleasure is manifest by the gift of the Holy Ghost endowed upon each of us. In addition to providing revelation and guidance, the presence of the Holy Ghost is an indication to each of us that our lives, though still needing much improving, are headed in the right direction, and thus pleaseing to the Lord. The comfort and peace that accompanies the Holy Ghost encourages continued progress down that same path that has brought us to this point." ~Richard K. Scott, Celebrating Celestial Marriage, 144.

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ. . . And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father." ~Moroni 10:32:33)

"Why is non-endurance a denial of the Lord? Because giving up is a denial of the Lord's loving capacity to see us through 'all these things'! Giving up suggests that God is less than He really is . . . So much of life's curriculum consists of efforts by the Lord to get and keep our attention. Ironically, the stimuli He uses are often that which is seen by us as something to endure. Sometimes what we are being asked to endure is His 'help' - help to draw us away from the cares of the world; help to draw us away from self-centeredness; attention-getting help when the still, small voice has been ignored by us; help in the shaping of our souls; and help to keep the promises we made so long ago to Him and to ourselves . . . Whether the afflictions are self-induced, as most of them are, or whether they are of the divine-tutorial type, it matters not. Either way, the Lord can help us so that our afflictions, said Alma, can be 'swallowed up in the joy of Christ' (Alma 31:38). Thus, afflictions are endured and are overcome by joy. The sour notes are lost amid a symphony of salvational sounds. Our afflictions, brothers and sisters, may not be extinguished. Instead, they can be dwarfed and swallowed up in the joy of Christ. This is how we overcome most of the time - not the elimination of affliction, but the placing of these in that larger context."

-- Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, 112.

the 5:1 ratio

Thrilled as can be! For those who are wondering, Jackson is a tiny-bit disappointed, but knows he plays an important role in family now as the only son. We are excited to be receiving one of Heavenly Father's choice daughters to come to our house to live.

brown

Maegann: "Mom, why are you painting the whole house brown?"

Mom: "Because brown is a very nice neutral color.

Maegann: "But brown is not a color with any fun in it!"

Mom: "Exactly!"