My Baby Girls Birthday Week

I know its sounds silly but this whole week I will be celebrating the birth of my beautiful little girl! On Saturday at 11:22 pm she will be 4 years old! I remember my pregnancy like it yesterday, I found out I was pregnant at midnight...I couldn't sleep and knew something was going on. We had been trying to get pregnant for a few months so when the test was positive we were so happy. Then about 6 months in to the pregnancy I had a routine ultrasound that showed her heart was not forming correctly. This was the worst possible news that we could ever get. It was so scary....the only thing that we could do was wait to see if it formed and if not she would need surgery as soon as she was born. There was about 2 months of no sleeping and 4D ultrasounds. I remember that I refused to look when they showed her face, I'm sure it sounds crazy to a lot of people but it was my way of dealing with it. I remember having to walk past the "normal" obgyn offices and had to go into fetal-maternal medicine all the time. Everyone watched you as if they were silently asking "I wonder whats wrong with her baby?" At about 8 and a half month we got the news that her heart had formed correctly and she was going to be perfectly fine!!! Hearing the news that you are going to have a healthy child is better than anything you could ever imagine especially when you were previously faced with the alternative.
I was also blessed to have the same doctor that I had when I had Jerimiah. She was such an amazing wonderful support for me. Together we decided that I needed to deliver at about 36 weeks because of Jerimiah being such a large baby (10 lb 11.8oz) and the complications that came along with it. So I was induced the morning of December 11th at about 9am. The labor came quick and was very intense. By the time I wanted some relief from the horrible pain it was too late! She was coming without the pain meds!I honestly tried to climb of the hospital bed while I was yelling, "I don't want to do this anymore" Ha ha! I went into such a tunnel vision, the only person that I remember being in the room was my doctor. I was so focused on her and getting the baby out that after only like 3 pushes my beautiful baby girl was born!!! She was healthy and big for being 3 weeks early 7 lbs 15oz! She would have been bigger than her brother if I had gone full term!
As every parent knows, immediately you are so in love with your child! I remember when they handed her to her daddy, and he started to cry. We named her Hannah Shelley Bechen after Ben's mother that passed away. I think it was that much more special for him. We were given such an amazing gift from God with this beautiful baby girl!! We are so grateful for her!!
So that's the story....the wonderful story of the little girl I give thanks for every night! I cannot wait to have all our family and friends that are able to come to celebrate her birth!! Hannah and I will be going to Monkey Doos Salon to get all pampered before her party at Chuck E Cheese. She will get her nails, hair and even makeup ;) done! Ill post pictures of the whole day!!!

Holiday Cheer!

I have always been a big holiday person! My favorite by far is the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I love that I get to have my family around, I love seeing my children's faces light up when we put up our tree. This year we are heading to Bluewood to cut down our own tree and play in the snow!
Christmas is going to be light Christmas because our big family gift this year is a trip to Disneyland!!!
We leave March 3rd! We are really excited about it, the kids talk about it all the time. Both Ben and I are so excited to see the kids have a great time. My mom and dad will be joining us down there as well so Ben and I will be able to do some of the adult things later in the evenings.
I normally do my Christmas shopping on Black Friday but since we are doing a smaller Christmas, I'm going to wait. Besides we want to get the kids new bikes and I have never seen bikes on sale on Black Friday :)
If you are going to brave the crowds on Friday I say good luck! Last year I was in line at Toys R Us for 2.5 hours, BUT I did have all my Christmas shopping done by 5 am!
This year has been really hard on us financially, in fact I think this has been one of our worst years we have had in a long time. Ben's work has been slower than usual but I am hoping that since graduation is so close that I will be able to find a job shortly after. I really don't want Hannah in daycare so I am praying that I can find something that is a swing shift.
Although we are not able to do as much as we normally are I am still so thankful for what God has blessed me with. It is easy to get down and depressed but I am determined to keep pushing on. I know that with all our hard work it will pay off in the end!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and remembers what they have, and how important family is. I know I am thankful for all of mine!

Time for dedication!

So, I am going to make a commitment to try and write a blog at least once a week. Okay maybe I wont live up to it but I am going to make a real effort.
So whats new?
Ben is still working for the same company through the Sheet Metal Union, we are really blessed that the company that he works for is so family oriented! If Ben needs a weekend off to just spend with us they ask no questions. Ben will be leaving us again for another two weeks in January for his reserve time :( Its something that comes along with being a military wife I suppose and you would think that after 10 years I'm used to it, but really its not something that you can get used to. Sleeping alone, eating alone, no nightly TV snuggle time...nothing. Its gets lonely!
On to something happier...
I am getting so close to graduation I can taste it! I just got everything in order to transfer right to WSU and begin my dream of being a Forensic Anthropologist! I was going for my nursing but secretly wanted to do forensic science, I told my sister Angie who made me realize that it was my dream and not my families and I needed to follow my passion! I was scared to tell my family, after all nursing is a guaranteed job and its pays really well, but I figure life's too short to live some other persons dream! So wish me luck! Even though I have my kids at home with me I have managed to keep my GPA at a 3.8 and it will be a 3.9 by the end of this guarter! I'm proud that for being in school for almost two years I have managed a A average! I am hoping to work with the Washington State Patrol after graduating and eventually getting my Masters!
The kids:
There is nothing better in this world than being the mother to my children!! There are no words to describe the love and joy they bring to my life! They are turning in to such wonderful little people, I am so proud to be their momma! Jerimiah is doing so great in school!! His teacher tells me that he is a joy to have in class and is learning so fast! Go Jerimiah!! Hannah is full of energy and wears me out!! Her passion for learning is so strong! I have never seen a child so eager to learn and try new things like her. She loves to cook, do arts and crafts and sing! She is gymnastics and is doing really well!
Well that's the update! I will start blogging about things that you ll find more interesting...I promise! hehe!

Welcome to our Blog!

Okay here it is...our Blog! I read so many of my friends and families blog and have been asked to start one for so long so...here it is! Ill update you on whats happening in our life's, I (Stephenie) just started my second year of college, I think I know what I want to be when I grow up :) Ben has been in and out of work but thankfully being a part of a union he gets unemployment when he is not working.

Jerimiah and Hannah completely enjoyed Christmas and received everything that they asked Santa for. Hannah just turned three on the 11th and her personality is as strong as I have ever seen it. She is the complete opposite of Jerimiah. Jerimiah is so easy going and such a great listener. Hannah is out of control and doesn't like to listen to anyone! I just love them to death and actually enjoy watching how different they are.

Sadly the day after Thanksgiving we had to put our baby Chancey down. She was my dog of 10 years, she was 12. We watched as she grew older and realized that it was the time that we had been dreading. Our vet came to our house and Chancey passed away in my arms. My heart is still broken but I know that what we did was the right thing. Sometimes being an adult just stinks! Jerimiah still asks about her but he knows that she is Heaven. I was blessed to receive a book called Cold Noses at the Pearl Gates, its written by a pastor and made me certain that I would see my darling Chance again.

So that's it! Our month has been full of heartache, happiness and headaches...thanks to Hannah! I hope to update our blog often...I might even get Ben on here!