Jet Setter. . .

When we were waiting for Owen's arrival, we always said that we wouldn't let having a baby get in the way of our travels. When Owen was a mere 23 weeks gestation, we went to Romania and Hungary. However, at that point Owen didn't need an entire car full of items to throw up on--I mean, to get him through the trip. Also, JJ and I didn't need to bring more than the essentials. Since we are changing clothes almost as many times as we change diapers in a day, we require about twice the amount of space to go places. In any case, we have made a couple of fun trips with Owen in the last few weeks in preparation for his BIG trip to Hawaii for JJ's cousin's wedding.

First, we went to Seattle for the wedding of a former youth group kid. I say kid, but wow he is an adult! It's crazy to me that he is old enough to be married, but we were not much older when we were married. JJ was asked to perform the ceremony and I thought he did an amazing job. As much as I think everyone in their twenties dreads going to yet ANOTHER wedding (more gifts to buy, miles to travel, Saturdays not spent working on the house--wait a second, weddings are great if only for that reason), I really enjoyed being a part of this happy occasion. JJ's message reminded me of why marriage is such a sacred and precious thing and I feel blessed to be married to a man who listens to his own words and acts on them. Rance and Elle were a vision together and we are so happy for them. Mimi and Poppie babysat for the night and we had our first night out alone. We had good wine, ate good food, had good wine, got Krispy Kreme--did I mention I had some good wine? I also got to spend some good time with my best friend Amanda (Auntie Manders as she will likely be known) and we made great memories at Pike Place Market with Mimi and Poppie.

Did I mention that wine?

I forced JJ to let me take a picture of how darn skinny he is. Hot Ordained-Minister-of-the-Gospel-by-the-Power-Vested-in-Him-by-God-and-the-State-of-Washington, coming through!

Making friends with crustaceans

Enjoying our first date night without Owen. Can't you see the tears behind the smiles? We missed him terribly, I promise.

Mimi and Poppie showing Owen around their city

Stopped to get the last of the dahlia bouquets at Pike Place

Owen LOVES Auntie Manders. She's got the touch.

The following weekend, we took off for Colorado Springs for another wedding of two beloved friends. It's not very often that one knows both bride and groom, but we have been fortunate enough to know these two lovebirds as they both volunteered for the youth ministry at Shiloh Hills Fellowship. We couldn't be happier for these sweet friends who have shared life with us in the ups and downs. The weather was hot, the bride and groom; hotter, and we had a blast with our good friends who came to the wedding as well. We also spent the day in Denver before we left for Spokane and had a great time exploring the city. My favorite memory was going to Goodwill to get authentic Colorado shirts from local schools. JJ is the proud owner of a T-Wolves Soccer shirt from some high school, and I bear the name of a community college in Colorado Springs which incidentally has the same mascot as my high school. Go Greyhounds! We are making that our new tradition.

Owen was a CHAMPION on the airplane trips to and from Colorado. One woman even said, "Oh my goodness! I didn't even know there was a baby on this flight the whole time!"

Yes, we are a model family. Plus, there happened to be a fussy two-year old on the place, so it made us look a lot better in the event that Owen got a little fussy--which he totally didn't.

Dancing at his first wedding

JJ trying to cut in

The fabulous newlyweds, Alex and Emily

Family portrait at Garden of the Gods

Owen, climbing some rock formation.

It was BRIGHT and HOT in Colorado Springs. Luckily, Alyssa had some shades totally appropriate for an infant.

In other news, Owen is growing, growing, growing. He surprises me every day. Just when I start to get the itch to find a job because I get a little bored with my infant son, he does something cool and I'm back just staring at him and playing with him. I forget that he won't stay this way forever sometimes. I miss little things about him from just a few weeks ago and I get excited about all of the new stuff he is doing. A friend of mine, Amy, said, "No one ever tells you that this will be the last time you'll watch your child do this: ______." You'll put a baby to sleep that has never smiled at you and you'll wake up to a baby who gives you a wide, toothless grin. You'll turn around and all of a sudden your baby who could only cry is now cooing and laughing. Love keeps growing more love in this house!

Owen Matthew Vancil

On July 19th, we made our way to Sacred Heart at 6 AM to begin delivering our baby. I was induced at about 6:30 AM with a small amount of Pitocin which quickly got the contractions started. Although my contractions were intense on the monitor, I wasn't feeling any unbearable pain, which is how my body operated the final month of my pregnancy anyway. We had lots of family stop by, we watched YouTube videos, ate some delicious chicken broth and orange flavored "gel" (can't call it Jell-o because the hospital couldn't splurge on the name brand), and listened to a special mix just waiting for the doctor to tell us it was time.

I got to 7 centimeters before I got the epidural, which is funny because I don't know why I waited to get that magic juice if I knew I would eventually get it. I think it was the fear of getting an epidural put in that made me wait. I held onto JJ while my body shook uncontrollably from fear. The woman who gave me the local before the epidural said that the local was the worst part and it felt like a wasp sting. Now, I know that wasps hurt worse than regular bees, so I thought it was funny that she made the distinction. I wonder if there is some rule that if you tell a patient that it's like a bee sting and it hurts worse than that, you can be sued. So, they have to clarify that it's more like a wasp, just to be safe. I get the local, then they give me the epidural which didn't hurt, but I could feel it going through all the layers of my back (whatever those are). I was still lucid and doing a pretty good job shaking. Then they told me that they were putting the catheter in. Catheter? What? Because I wasn't prepared for that minor detail, my adrenaline caught up with me and I said to a nurse, "I can't hear. I can't see and I can't hear. You're gonna want to stand right here next to me." You see, I am an experienced fainter so I knew the tell-tale signs. I came to with an oxygen mask and a shiny new epidural, fully equipped with its own medicine-releasing button I could push at any time. Once that medicine took effect, all I remember thinking was, thank God my sciatica is gone. Nine months of aches and pains just drifted away as I asked for another round of broth and gel.

The doctor woke me up from a nap to break my water, which was ridiculously anticlimactic. The baby's head was so far down that nothing happened when my water broke, like in the movies with the gush and the freaking out. Nothing. Just baby head blocking my Hollywood labor moment. Once that happened, I progressed quickly. JJ and I took the last hour before the delivery to pray and talk. This is when the reality of the day finally washed over us. We were about to meet our son. We held one other and looked in each other's eyes in disbelief that this moment was finally arriving. I was also pretty excited about not being pregnant anymore and that I could stop pretending to love the hospital broth and gel.

The doctor came in to check me and said it was time to push. I didn't even have a second to consider what that meant, but I quickly figured it out. So much of this day had been unknown and happened so suddenly I never had time to think. I'm thankful for that because I never had time to freak out either. In my mind, I knew that my delivery would be easy. I knew that it wouldn't take long. I felt like my body knew what to do and I went on autopilot. Four cycles of contractions and nearly twenty minutes later, Owen Matthew Vancil made his way into the world. We were overjoyed and flooded with the most intense kind of love that I could never describe or imagine. It was incredible to me that only a day before, I was e-mailing and calling about graduate school and jobs and the second they laid Owen on my chest, my priorities completely shifted. There is nothing more important or precious to me than this child. Not even Tucker:)

When we had a moment alone after we went to recovery, we played the song "Love Never Fails" by Brandon Heath. We chose this song because we want Owen to know that his Savior is love and that this sacred love from God will never leave him or our family. Here are the words:

Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all
Matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease
At the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes
When you don't

Love is the arms that are holding you
Love never fails you

When my heart won't make a sound
When I can't turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater than this
Greater than this

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

Love is the river than flows through
Love is the arms that are holding you
Love is the place you will fly to
Love never fails you

So a 7 pound, 8 ounce, 20.5 inch long person has totally changed our lives forever. It has been two challenging weeks of adjusting to having him in our house and of the three of us (myself, JJ, and Tucker) I think the cat is doing the best. Tucker tasted Owen's arm once and decided he wasn't interested in eating the baby like we all thought he would be. It's long days and longer nights, joy mingled with fear, and an overload on love. JJ and I have never loved each other more and we feel so complete with Owen in our lives.

"Month Nine" will be coming, but tiredness has sucked the humor right out of me. I can't even shoot the breeze with strangers at the supermarket anymore.

40 Weeks

Sleeping after the epidural

Cuddling after a long day of being born

Dad is in awe of his little boy

My sister McKenzie was a total pro. at holding Owen. He didn't open his eyes much until she held him which is ironic because she rarely closed her eyes when she was a baby

Auntie Shauna was at the hospital all week waiting for Owen's buddy, Hudson, to arrive

My dad stopped by to hold his first grandson

Mimi and Poppie with grandchild number four

I'm so in love with this little tree frog

Owen is ready to head home

JJ got him in the car seat and he slept the whole way home

Family of three, ready to leave the hospital

He loves his bouncer (little did we know he'd have to start sleeping in it!)

Auntie Manders stopped by for a visit before she headed off to Spain

Yay! Grandma Kathy came by to see Owen

We took a stroll around Whitworth to try out the new wheels and scope out his future dorm

Maybe you wouldn't be so upset if you hadn't peed all over the place

Think about that next time

He loves to sleep in our bed. I think he prefers to throw up in our bed rather than his

It wouldn't be summer without an Arnold Palmer

He has man hands, but they are still super cute

He smiles whenever we kiss him on the lips

Can't wait for those real smiles

He sleeps just like dad

Trying to hide from Tucker

Grandpa's Sidekick

My cousin's son Coleman loved holding Owen

Annika is an expert at feeding babies

Matt, JJ, and Owen do manly things

ANOTHER bath?

Uncle Bob (who gave him the name Hansel) flew in all the way from Madison, Wisconsin

Grandma loves to snuggle Owen

JJ and Owen looking good

We walked down to the neighborhood coffee shop

This is our favorite outfit for Owen. He has it all the way up to 6 months and then a zip-up and sweatpants version for this Christmas. He's a California baby, so it's only right that he should have a beach bum outfit.

Updates and Months Seven and Eight

Well, much has happened since we last posted in April.

JJ took a position with Youth for Christ in the West Central neighborhood here in Spokane. We wrapped up at Shiloh with responsibilities, but we know our relationships will never be "wrapped-up." May and June were months full of reminiscing, graduations, and preparing for transitions. God has been faithful through all of this, giving us a sense of peace about what he's doing in our lives and the lives of the students we so dearly love. We areexcited to see how students will grow and change and to watch the ministry at Shiloh do the same. We know that God works in the walls of churches as well as every other place in the world. We see this ministry at YFC as another way God is using us in his world and we are so excited to be stepping into such an incredible organization of people. If you'd like to know more about YFC in Spokane visit www.spokaneyfc.org

With some good friends from Shiloh

I graduated from Whitworth in May with my M. Ed. in School Counseling. It felt like a cruel joke because I had another month of internship, portfolio, and review board to finish, but it was a great day nonetheless. I am so proud to be a part of Whitworth and it's incredible tradition of excellence. However, if I ever tell you I am going back to school again, please give me a psychological evaluation.

With my brother Matt and my beautiful sister-in-law Kate

I finished up at Seth Woodard which was bittersweet. I can honestly say that working at Seth was the best two years of my life. I couldn't have worked with more amazing people or children. I still think about them all the time and I can't believe that I'm not going back next year. God used that place in my life to show me the worth of every kind of person under the sun and I am so grateful. The kids threw me a graduation/birthday party and then a few weeks later, a baby shower that rivals any shower I have ever been to. I couldn't have felt more honored.

Summer began with a bang as we left right away to go to the weddings of JJ's close friend and his sister. Joel and Jeannie were married in a beautiful ceremony in Snohomish, WA and we think they are a perfect match. We were delighted to sing in their wedding and JJ stood by Joel as his best man.

Emily and Jason were married the following weekend in Seattle, WA. I can't even adequately describe how incredible this event was. Emily and Jason have blessed us so much and we were excited to stand with them at their wedding. Emily was a vision and Jason was the happiest man on earth. It was a perfectly sunny day in Seattle and we had a wonderful week celebrating their marriage. The Soucineks are moving to Spokane in July, so we are overjoyed to have them around.

We got back on Sunday and I had an appointment the following morning. I expected the doctor to say what she said last time which was that I am right on track for my expected due date. However, she let me know that I am currently three centimeters dilated (freebies!) and 80 % effaced. Google that if you are confused. That's what I did. Thy gave me a non-stress test because the baby hasn't been moving as much and his heartbeat looked great and it also showed that I am contracting every seven minutes. My doctor said I'm pretty lucky to have no idea what is going on in my body. But now that I'm aware, I'm all of a sudden always uncomfortable for the first time this whole pregnancy. I feel like I am waiting for a bomb to drop. She thinks I'll deliver this week or next, but you never know.

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

OK, now that you have gotten through all of that, take a break. Here are my interpretations of months seven and eight. I'm not even sure what to think about month nine right now. I have been walking around in a daze ever since my appointment. Enjoy.

Month Seven

Refer to Month Four. Your butt got that big.

However, it will be offset by what some clinically insane people call a “baby bump.” At this point, you will begin to realize that certain activities are nearly impossible. Some are nearly impossible because doing them drives you crazy (dishes, showering, making conversation), but others are nearly impossible because you cannot physically accomplish them without some act of incontinence or simply a general inability to maneuver around said “baby bump.” For example, you may discover a pair of shoes you have not worn in quite some time. Those shoes will look perfect with the new ultra-flattering, tent-like shirt you have just purchased, so you put them on. It’s early in the morning so your feet are still a reasonable shape and size. You bend down to tie them and realize that there is something preventing you from doing so. You stand up. You try again, this time, expelling all of your breath to ensure that you will reach the laces. You will not reach the laces. For the first time since Kindergarten, you will not be able to tie your shoes. This is not because you have forgotten if the bunny goes in the hole before or after he goes around the tree. It is because your “bump” is an impassable fortress threatening the very life of your new fashion statement.

Speaking of Kindergarten, you will being to find yourself doing many things you have not done since Kindergarten. First, as I mentioned before, you might pee your pants. Right when you tell yourself that you just went the bathroom and you couldn’t possibly have to pee again, a certain fetus of yours will do a headstand on your bladder. This is incidentally why you will begin wearing long dresses. Not because you have actually peed on yourself, but simply to erase the fear that someone will notice if you do. Please note, that just because you are pregnant does not mean that you can get away with everything. Peeing on yourself in public is in no way one of those things when people think, “Oh, she’s pregnant, you say? She has every right.” At this point, you only have every right to have cankles and cellulite. Sorry.

You will also continue having outbursts much like you did when you were five. Here is a secret no one will tell you: This is an instance when people will say,”Oh, she’s pregnant, you say? She has every right.”

It’s amazing what you can get away with. Of course, pre-meditated outbursts are still unacceptable, but when the occasional outburst occurs and you feel terrible about it (which you will), you don’t have to tell anyone about your guilt. Let it slide. This may be the only time since you were five that you can say what’s really on your mind and no one will blame you for it.

At this point, you have likely forgotten what it was like to not be pregnant and you probably are feeling pretty good about the way you look and feel. You have likely stopped worrying about eating too much at parties because you can’t possibly have a “food baby.” Also, you don’t even have the option to pull your pants up over your pooch or muffin top, because they have simply disappeared. You might even tell yourself that you look like a goddess because, you actually do. Enjoy it.

Month Eight

If this hasn’t occurred already, this will be the point in your pregnancy when you have exhausted all of your stock responses to baby comments and questions about your pregnancy. When people ask if you know what you are having, instead of responding and waiting for the next inevitable questions (Have you picked out a name yet? and When is the due date?), you will begin responding like so:

“It’s a _______. Yes, we have a name. No I’m not telling you what it is. And the baby is due on _________.”

Or when someone says, “Oh, you’re pregnant,” you will begin resisting the temptation to tell then that it’s just a tumor. You might even try something like,”So that’s what’s going on in there!” or “Yeah, but I haven’t told my husband--I’m waiting for the right time.”

At this point, some things that were never options for you to say and do before are suddenly completely rational. Here is a personal story:

I was at the supermarket looking at lettuce. A woman came up behind me, awkwardly close, and looked at the same lettuce. Every time I moved, she moved with me. So, I went to a new aisle to get some peanut butter. I poked my head around the corner to the produce section and saw that the coast was clear, so I made my way to the lettuce. I am there for no more than 15 seconds when the same lady came back to peer over my shoulder at the lettuce. Eight months ago, this would have creeped me out and I would have just left without lettuce. But this was not eight months ago. I proceeded to turn around and stare her down. I said something like, “I don’t know if you are a secret shopper or what, but you have gotten weirdly close to me twice now while I am looking at lettuce. You need to BACK OFF! Do some other shopping like a normal person until I am done shopping for lettuce. This will take a lot less time if you go away and let me pick a head of freaking lettuce.”

I then grabbed a head of freaking lettuce and walked away feeling completely normal. I finished my shopping with a clear conscience. While I likely destroyed that woman’s life for a night, she probably told someone that she was accosted by a pregnant woman at the store and they surely said something like, “Yeah, but she’s pregnant, you should cut her some slack.”

At least that’s what I told myself so I can sleep at night.

I digress.

This month, you will begin realizing that you will not indeed be pregnant forever. You might even resist the temptation to shop for maternity clothes. This is either because you are tired of thinking of new ways to not look huge or because you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel telling you that you won’t be needing maternity clothes soon. You may begin to feel kind of not so goddess-like anymore. On the plus side, goddesses wear togas so muumuus are actually more historically accurate.

Hopefully by this point, the panic is setting in and you are doing something about it. Like throwing everything in your house out whether it’s useful or not. My husband has been digging through the garbage to find most of his things. He pulled out an alarm clock with coffee grounds and egg all over it and said, “Why did you throw this out? I paid $90 for this in college!”

All I could say was, “Well, I’ve never used it and you shouldn’t have spent $90 on a clock in college. Consider dumpster diving your penance for wasting $90 on a clock.”

Please remember that babies don’t care if your life is totally in order. Also realize that even if your life is organized and everything is in place for another person to live in your house, it won’t stay that way. Not because you will be totally out of control with a kid, but because that’s life. So, give yourself a break and know that projects like painting trim in some room you never use or alphabetizing your DVD collection will in no way help your child. But, if it makes you feel more prepared, then go for it. At this point, it’s all permissible as long as it makes you feel good. On a side note, that last phrase should never be used when you’re parenting. Just a word of caution.