Just Like Daddy

Hudson has been real into ties lately. One Sunday morning, he wanted to wear a tie but couldn't find his clip on one. So Ben used one of his ties and wrapped it around Hudson's neck several times and made it work. Hudson was so proud!

Colson's bathtime

Colson loves his baths! The boys love to help wash him. With the other boys, I had a plastic tub but it made more of a mess than what it was worth. For Colson, I would just put a towel in the sink for cushion until I found a foam turtle that fits right in the sink. I got it at Babies R Us for $5 and it works like a charm.

Rodoe Day

The Houston Rodeo is the 2nd largest rodeo in the world. In honor of it, the boys' school has rodeo day. The boys were so excited about dressing up! BB (my mom) got Colson a cute cowboy outfit that he wore that day, as well.

Family Visits

I have been so thankful for all of the help that I received during Colson's first weeks of life. My mom was here for 9 days and was such a big help taking kids to school, TaeKwonDo, playing with them nonstop and even keeping the boys' monitor in her room so if one woke up she would handle it.

She left on Saturday morning (Jan 30) and Ben's parents drove in that night. Since Ben's parents live in Omaha we don't get to see them as often and the boys were so excited! Papas told lots of stories to the boys, which they love, helped Ben on a household project and Ben's mom made delicious meals complete with pies for dessert - YUM!! Joy, MoMo aka Ben's mom, read to Hudson's class at school and he was so proud to have her there. They also got to see Hudson at TaeKwonDo and see how great he is doing. He is now a blue belt. :) Ben took his dad to the Houston Rockets basketball game to celebrate his 60th birthday. It was so nice to have them here and we sure appreciated them driving 15 hours through the snow to get here and help out - Thanks!!

About a week after Ben's parents left, his youngest sister, Beth, flew in from Nashville. She even timed her visit so that she could be here over Valentine's Day so we could go out - so thoughtful!! We had a great time with Beth and the boys loved having her to play with and Colson loved cuddling with her. To see all the pics from these visits check out the picasa site - http://picasaweb.google.com/brothermclain

Refreshment

I have a tendency to try to do it all. I have always been this way and the Lord has been working on me in this area for the last year and a half. Apparently, I am stubborn because I am still dealing with this. :) I have a hard time sitting still and letting others help me. I guess I am more of a control person than I thought. :) I want things done a certain way and the ugly truth is that I want to say I did it myself. The problem with that is I am not relying on God, but on myself.

My mom was at my house for 9 days and then my in laws were here for 5 days. Everyone was so helpful, but I still wouldn't stop and let them do things for me like I should have. The Lord is teaching me to STOP and allow others to help and not be so self reliant.

At the root of all of this is pride. I think as moms, we try to do it all and for some of us it is to show that we can do it all which is pride. The Lord is teaching me that it is okay to have a strong work ethic, but to know when to let others help. In a way, I am robbing others of the blessing of service when I insist on doing it myself.

I hope I am not the only one that deals with this. :) I was just thinking on this topic this morning, because I was supposed to go to Bible Study after I dropped the boys off at school but decided that I needed to take a break. I felt so bad, because I am a small group leader and part of me feels like I shouldn't miss even though noone expects me to be there but I put high expectations on myself. So I told myself that it was okay to miss and I came home, made coffee, and spent time reading and praying. It was so good to just REST in the presence of the Lord and allow Him to refresh me! I hope you can stop and remember that no one can do it all and we aren't supposed to. Allow God to walk with you and carry you through each day!!

Sweet Sayings

I really need to be better about writing down all of the things my boys say. Hudson can come up with some really deep thoughts, as well as, sayings that leave you laughing until you cry. :) While in the hospital, Hudson was looking out the window and he said, "Mommy, I see Granddad and Jesus watching baby Colson." Of course my heart melted. I think the Lord has given Hudson a real sensitivity in regards to my dad. I am so thankful for that. While at Robyn's graduation, Hudson was playing with my brothers cell phone. Rick's phone has a feature that lets you draw on it. Out of nowhere, Hudson wrote "ron" and said "BB look what I wrote". Ron is my dad's name and I don't even know if he knew that and no one asked him to draw those 3 letters. It was as if God was reminding us of Daddy.

Landon loves to call Colson just Baby. Many times he calls him Baby Jesus, but then remembers his name. :) Hudson tells me multiple times a day, "I just love the new baby". I am so thankful that the boys are in love with their new baby brother and hopefully those feelings will stay. :)

Colson James McLain

A week ago yesterday, our 3rd baby boy entered our family! Here is the story of Colson James McLain.

Last Thursday I took the boys to school and headed to the doctor's office. I prayed in the car that the doctor would have wisdom and discernment as I was 39 weeks and 3 days. I was so hoping that I had dialated more and prayed that if I hadn't I wouldn't be discouraged. Sure enough I got in and I was almost to a 4. Dr. Pinkerton felt confident that I would go into labor in a day or so. Then she started feeling my tummy and how low Colson was and seemed a little surprised that I wasn't having regular contractions. I had been having contractions for months, but nothing that I felt could be timed. She seemed to think that I was probably in labor and just didn't realize it. I was also Group B Strep positive and would need to have antibiotics in me for 4 hours before delivery. I had quick deliveries with both Hudson and Landon and she was concerned that I might not have 4 hours. She decided that I should just get to the hospital for fear that if I waited I wouldn't make it in time. So I called Ben and my mom and left the doctor's office and headed to my hospital. Ben was at Hudson's school because it was Dads and Donuts day. The nice thing is that Hudson and Landon's school is about 30 sec from the hospital. He told Hudson's teacher that I was in labor and met me at the hospital. I got into my room about 10:00am and by 10:15 the contractions started and began to be regular. They were coming about every 5-7 minutes, but not too intense. Dr. Pinkerton wanted to give a small amount of Pitocin to regulate the contractions and to slow me down some so that I could get the full amount of antibiotics in me. It seems odd that Pitocin gets you going, but for a lot of people it then slows you down. Anyways, Ben picked the boys up from school and brought them over to the hospital around 1:40. They enjoyed being in the room and apart of all the activity. We had a tremendous nurse, Wilma, who was Scottish and showered the boys with all kinds of stuff. She got them Big Brother stickers, doctor's hats and masks, popsicles, a big mat to play on, and paper to draw pictures. By this time the contractions were becoming more intense, but I decided to keep going without any medicine. My mom arrived around 2:45 and was such a help! By about 3:30ish, the contractions were super INTENSE! Ben was on one side and Mom was on the other and I was gripping both of their hands. I really wanted to try and go natural, but the pain was pretty severe at this point and the contractions were coming about every 1-2 minutes. The nurse checked me and I was only a 5 which was disheartening. I didn't know how much more I could take. Then things picked up even more and the contractions were back to back with no relief. I continued to debate what to do and finally I broke and said "GIVE ME THE DRUGS". I had wanted to be checked first just to see where I was and there was a sliver of me that still considered going natural if I was already an 8 or 9, but everything was happening so quickly and the "drug doctor" showed up and got the epidural in me quickly. Wilma checked me right after and I was fully dialated. :) So I just want to point out that I basically had a natural childbirth, except for the pushing part! :) Dr. Pinkerton was called and after about 5 pushes Colson was welcomed into the world at 5:08pm. He weighed 7lbs. 13oz and 20 in long. Surprisingly, he doesn't have much hair and the hair he does have is blonde. Both Hudson and Landon had quite a bit of hair and it was dark. My mom and the boys came back into the room just minutes after he was born and they were immediately in awe of their new brother. They love to hold and kiss him. Hudson constantly says, "Mommy I just love him".

Colson seems to fit right in with the family. He doesn't mind the boys being all over him and the noise of wrestling, sword fighting, and riding stick horses doesn't bother him at all. :) Having 3 boys has been a joy so far. I love thinking about raising 3 godly men who will grow up to be terrific husbands and fathers.

Colson's middle name is James and that is after Ben's brother whose name is Jordan James and then the initials CJ are in honor of my Papa (my mom's dad) whose name was Clarence and his initials were CJ.

To see all of the pics go to http://picasaweb.google.com/brothermclain