In Case They Ever Wonder

Well, Miss Lucie White Roden finally exerted enough energy to get around to meeting her family! After being told I was dilated to four on October 18 and to expect her "any day," by Halloween, I was briefed on what to do if she was born in the car! By November 7, I was dilated to six, and even my conservative midwives began to talk about induction! In fact, one of my favorite midwives wouldn't give me the "recipe" for the labor-inducing concoction because she felt sure I would never arrive at the hospital in time! So, after having contractions for most of the day on Tuesday, I went back to the midwife so they could monitor me, and I only had two contractions the entire time I was there! They did agree to induce me early Wednesday morning, but with the warning that if I went into labor that night, to make haste to the hospital! With visions of Will's labor dancing in my head, I quickly made arrangements for a hotel at the Vanderbilt Loew's (thanks, only t...

Though Zoe has only been here for six months, it is hard to remember life without her. She is such an important part of all of lives, and we are amazed by how much and how deeply we love her in such a short period of time. We wonder exactly how this little girl from thousands of miles away has worked her way so quickly straight into the center of our hearts. To say that Zoe is a lot like her mama is quite the understatement, and that makes me love her all the more deeply. I can't imagine that Tori could have given birth to a child any more like her. Both of these girls are crazy competitive, sharp as tacks, full of mischief, and overflowing with love. Not to mention that both of them will laugh their tales off if they happen to see you fall! They are quite a pair, and I wonder as I watch them that even though Tori didn't give birth to Zoe, they are as much mother and daughter as any two could be. And I'd love to report about all the amazing things Zoe has learned to say i...

As school begins next week, and I think about the summer, I'm amazed by all the kids have gotten to do. I'm even more amazed by how much I've not blogged about all they've done. This has been a rough pregnancy, and I haven't been able to keep up with the events as they've happened, but I want to be sure to remember all the fun memories we've made during this long, hot summer! Summer Highlights Finishing up ballet and Sophie's dance recital - Sophie was a "confused chicken" in the ballet! It was the perfect part for her, and she did a great job! Will's first season of t-ball! - I could not have been a more proud mom as my big #6 took the field for the first time this year. It took Will a good while to get the hang of batting. (We kept telling him to hit the ball like he hits Sophie!) And he got a little better at fielding once the cicadas went away! By the end of the season, Will was getting the hang of it, and we look forward to ...

I really still have a hard time believing that in around six months, there will be four children sitting in this window seat. It's even harder for me to believe that in six months, we will be a party of six whenever we go anywhere! But I went for my 13-week ultrasound last Friday, and I think I've finally found the strength to actually blog about the fact that we are adding another baby to our family! I still feel pretty certain that we just did that, (added a baby, I mean), and I'm 100% sure that I had a still-nursing, not-yet-walking infant when I learned this news a couple of months ago. I've definitely had a bit of an adjustment period to the news of our growing family, and this pregnancy has been very tough sick-wise, second only to my pregnancy with Sophie. All this has resulted in very little blogging, even less cleaning, and close to no cooking. Only the very strong (i.e. Aunt Pammie) would dare to visit the Roden home right now! In addition to hyperemesis, I se...

Well, in most children's books, Z stands for zipper, zoo, or zebra, but at our house, Z stands for only one thing - our cousin Zoe (well, maybe for zebra too, since zebra has become the unofficial theme for Zoe's, room, clothes and accessories)! Sophie, Will, and Lillie could not be more excited about meeting their cousin, and though we still can't show her pictures online, buckle up, because once we get the go ahead, there will be no shortage of photos of this beautiful girl! We pray for her daily, and Sophie and Will can both find Ethiopia on the map (or at least somewhere near), and even Lillie is learning to find the "zebra" on the map. We are all dreaming about all the adventures we will go on together! Sophie is planning slumber parties, Will is planning on showing Zoe the ropes in preschool, and I've already got a stack of books I can't wait to read her! But for now, we would greatly appreciate your prayers for Tori, Derek and Zoe's adoption ...