Blessing

Well, on the 16th of December, we blessed Jackson in church while Brian's parents were in town. For those of you who may not be aware of the procedure of blessings done in the LDS church, new born babies (usually about a month old) are given a blessing by the father which includes words of guidance, hope, faith, and love. Those blessings are promised to the child as he continues to grow. It is a beautiful experience and I'm so grateful to have experienced that with Jackson and KennaDee. Here are a few pictures of Jackson on that day. He was only 3 weeks old.

2 weeks old and growing

Well, we are finally pretty much adjusted to our new home and the new addition to our family. He turned 2 weeks on Friday the 7th and has gained one whole pound since he was born. I realized that a lot of the pictures we put up on the website were ones of him at the hospital.....naked. So, I thought we should include some pictures of him with clothes on. Right now, he pretty much just sleeps, eats, sleeps, eats, and "poos." - oh, and spits up. (As all newborns do) As you see on the far right, our little boy is already a poser, even in his sleep.

Before he was 2 weeks old, he was able to go to the White House. Every year, Brian's work and their families are invited to go to the White House to see the Christmas decorations. We are also able to invite friends or other family members. So, we went with some friends of ours from Gaithersburg. Brian, however, was unable to go this year because he had previous engagements in York, PA with work. Unfortunately I don't have a picture with Jackson at the White House, but here is KennaDee and I with Jackson in the stroller fast asleep. I wanted to take him out of the stroller to get a picture but I knew he would have woken up and I knew he was going to be hungry. (And there isn't anywhere to nurse at the White House.) The Christmas decorations were beautiful and they had people there singing Christmas songs which added so much to the tour.

This was one of the prettiest trees in the White House. It was sooo big and it even had dimension to it. It was beeeauutiful!!

KennaDee, however, was much more interested in the furniture than the decorations. We were in the "Red Room" and as I was trying to take a picture, KennaDee let her curiosity take the best of her and headed underneath the rope and started to climb on one of the chairs. When I noticed her, she was half way up the chair, I called her over and she came running, lost her balance and hit her head on one of the end tables in there. There was a lamp or something (I can't quite remember) on top and it started to topple. The security guard for that room saw her and started to come closer as she bumped the table. I grabbed the object to keep it from falling over and I had to reach under the rope to grab KennaDee. What excitement!

Here we are on our way back home from downtown. KennaDee and her friend, Carmen, LOVED the metro. They thought it was the coolest thing when we went in the tunnels because it got dark outside the windows. They would say "It's dark outside, what are we going to do?!" I said, "Close your eyes." So, then from that time on, everytime we went in a tunnel, they would squint their eyes, so they could still see out the window. It was really cute.

Well, in these last two weeks, my testimony on prayer and the power of the priesthood in the home have been strengthened. It is amazing how much our Heavenly Father loves us. In Sunday school class today we studied from 1st John about the love of God. There are a few things that impacted me and I thought I would share with y'all. The love of God is linked very closely to obedience. When we obey Gods commandments, our love for God will increase as well as love for our fellowman. I always knew this was true but after having a newborn and going through the recovery process, my prayers to Heavenly Father have been more sincere and thoughtful. There are times in our lives when I think our prayers become just words instead of meaningful expressions. He has heard our prayers and I have felt his love He has for us and in return realized how important it is to stay ever so close to our Heavenly Father so that in times of need or trials, He can assist us in the most powerful way. I am grateful for his love, for His Son, Jesus Christ, and for the blessings he gives us everyday. I hope that we can continue to recognize His hand in our daily lives and express our gratitude to Him.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Jackson Brian Rust

We welcomed Jackson to our new home today....Finally!! He was born Friday, November 23rd at 10:22p.m. It was quite the experience, let me tell you! I was having contractions all that day but they were very sparatic and bearable to deal with. We were even out shopping in the morning. I had a feeling we would end up in the hospital sometime that day but I wasn't sure because I was having contractions the Sunday before as well but they died off in the afternoon. Anyhow, we had some friends come over that night to see our new house and play some games. Well, the contractions started coming on heavier about 5:30 and more consistent, but since our friends were there I wasn't timing them exactly. 8:00 hit and they started coming very quickly so I started timing them and they were coming every 3-5minutes for 30 minutes straight. They were getting intense so I said let's go. By the time we got all the kids gathered up and a few last minute items we would need, it was close to 9:00. We arrived at the hospital about 9:45. They checked my dilation and the med student said I was completely dilated and ready to go so they moved me quickly to another room. A certified doctor checked me agian just to make sure and I was only at an 8. However, because of this, I was unable to get an epiderl. I kept saying to myself , (but outloud), "I can't do this, I can't do this without an epiderl. How am I going to do this? I can't, I can't, I can't. " I was soooo scared for what lied ahead of me. I kept telling the doctors that I was ready to push and they said no, you have to hold off and I kept telling them, I can't. Well, 12 minutes after getting me into the delivery room, Jackson Brian Rust was born. Brian said that he was scared as well because at times, my eyes were so big that they looked like they were about to pop out of my head. After he came out and I heard his little cry and looked at his little body, tears started to fill my eyes because I realized how beautiful he sounded and looked. It's amazing how even after the first child, it's still emotional. Well, I will stop rambling on and get some pictures for y'all.

Getting a little extra oxygen here.

This is how I felt during contractions.

This is how I felt while pushing.

Here's Brian cutting the cord on the left and on the right is Big Sis KennaDee and baby brother Jackson.

Our little boy has a heart murmur. They say that he may have a hole in between his left and right atrium. In a lot of cases, they close by themselves and there is no problem. However, some of them, depending on the size of the hole must undergo surgery. We will be seeing a cardiologist this next Tuesday to see what they say. Poor buddy.

This is us waiting to leave the hospital. YEAH!!

Here is Jackson at home asleep and all cuddled up in his blanky.