Pity Me

Introducing Samuel Ronald Michael Johnson!

Sarah — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:25:47 +0000

After a long day yesterday, I am happy to announce that at 12:10pm today January 6, 2012, we welcomed our son Samuel Ronald Michael Johnson into the world! He was born 7 pounds 14 ounces, I don’t know the length (they don’t do that at this hospital). Both he and Sarah are doing fine. He cried before they had even cut the cord (which was great to hear) and he is a very healthy eater. We are so blessed! For the record, it might interest you all to know that I (Ben) changed the first diaper and didn’t get peed on (he was nice enough to aim it at the midwife!). Since, I know you’d rather I showed you than told you here are some highlights from the day:

Results of today…

Sarah — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:16:28 +0000

Well, today they tried to turn our little guy with no success. He just wouldn’t turn, and would only really move part way before stopping. It’s a bit tough as I’m running out of space for him to be turned, and he must be pretty set on being born breech! I felt really confident in our doctors skill, and he gave the most amount of pressure he felt comfortable giving without doing any damage. I have to be honest, it was the strangest feeling. My head was more down than my feet, in hopes that gravity would assist and they gave me a muscle relaxant. Then, he used his skill to try & get him to turn. But first, he had to bring him up towards my lungs which was perhaps the most uncomfortable part of it all as it made me sweat profusely, and made it difficult to breathe. Then, he tried getting him to turn but he just wouldn’t budge despite all the efforts. It was just so strange & uncomfortable. But, it’s over & he’s healthy & okay so that’s all that matters! I’m still hoping he’ll decide to turn on his own but I somehow doubt it. We’ve decided to go ahead with a scheduled c-section next Thursday, the 5th, unless of course he flips on his own or I go into labor before then. Stay tuned for more details later…

38 week update

Sarah — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:25:35 +0000

Well, I can hardly believe I’m over 38 weeks. I don’t know where the time has gone, but it has completely flown by. Maybe it’s due to Christmas, and now New Years, but I don’t feel like the time is dragging on – which is great! I’m so excited to meet this little guy, and although I am feeling rather large these days, I’m trying to still enjoy every minute of the pregnancy & get things done before his arrival. However, I do feel a little like he’s running out of space in there. And I’m just so curious what he’s going to be like – and what we’re going to name him! We still haven’t decided, and at this point, I think we’re waiting to meet him to make the decision.

As of last Friday, he was still breech, and weighing approximately 6 pounds, 11 ounces. And of course, his head is still in the 95-100% percentile. I’m hoping that’s not completely accurate! Tomorrow I’m off to the hospital for them to try & manually turn him. Please pray it’s successful, but most of all that he tolerates it well. If it doesn’t work, we’ll most likely be scheduling a c-section shortly after 39 weeks – which isn’t that far off. But, I’ll think about that if & when that is to happen. For now, here’s praying he flips.

38 weeks, 1 day

Some of baby J's gifts from friends...

Nearly ready!

At just about 38 weeks

Happy Christmas, British style

Sarah — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:35:36 +0000

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11

“That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”

This is our third Christmas spent in Durham. I can hardly believe it’s really been three years. Ben & I had fun trying to remember all of the Christmas’s we’ve spent together & we realized that this was our eighth Christmas together – that’s counting our first Christmas together in 2004, which was the year he proposed. I will always remember this Christmas a little differently, with Baby J on the way. We do miss family back home, and would love to be celebrating with them next Christmas. But, we have been so blessed by friends here in Durham, even being included in their family’s Christmas traditions.

Christmas Eve we spent with the Kirschenmann’s, an American family that also lives here in Durham. They have two teenage daughters and we had fun eating, playing games & bantering together. Being around teenagers just makes things feel like home to me. I guess that means I’ve been gone from home a long time – because all but one of mine and Ben’s siblings are out of their teenage years (don’t worry Syd, you’ll get there).

Christmas Day we spent with the Briggs’ & their three kids, along with two other American couples. They have a tradition of eating curry on Christmas day & it was great! No point in spending all day in the kitchen when there’s playing to be had. I was grateful they don’t have the tradition of eating Christmas pudding (a.k.a. dessert). I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan. It’s okay – but tastes more like glorified fruit cake, which I’ve never been keen on. One British tradition that we did partake of was of course opening up our Christmas crackers before our Christmas meal. For my American friends that aren’t in the know, Christmas crackers are little presents which look like a toilet paper rolls wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper & have ends to hold onto. They are usually filled with a bad joke, a trivia question, a little present, and then of course the best part – a crown which you wear through the entire meal. Everyone crosses their arms while holding onto a cracker on either side & then you all pull & see what you end up with. And like Dr. Who, it’s a silly and fun tradition that doesn’t take itself too seriously. (As a side note, many British families have the tradition of ending their Christmas day by watching Dr. Who, although our preferred poison is ‘Downton Abbey’). Also, many British families listen to the Queen’s speech Christmas day. Although we didn’t do this Christmas day, we did listen to it on you-tube today. And that my friends, was our British Christmas this year. Happy Christmas!

Christmas Eve at friends, the Kirschenmann's

My cute hubby trying on his new shoes

Almost ready for Christmas dinner at our friends the Brigg's - notice the box at the end of the table filled with Christmas crackers?

Opening our 'Christmas crackers' & exchanging bad jokes before our meal

Orrey & Kristi

Ben & Matthew having fun with the top from Ben's cracker

Richard makes a good trifle, and Orrey loves it. It's a yummy British pudding with several layers - one of fruit salad mixed with jello, another of pudding, and then topped with cream. I'm sure there's other things in there too, I just know I like it!

Random update

Sarah — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:24:00 +0000

One month from today, this little guy is due to arrive! I can hardly believe that it’s really only a month until January 10th (not that I expect him to arrive on time). The last few months have absolutely flown by. I’m off work now & on maternity leave. I am so grateful for the amazing maternity leave in this country & my job the last two years to enable this. It is such a blessing. Right now however, I feel awful. I have this horrid cold & earache that keeps me up at night. I’m excited to feel like my healthy self again.

In the meantime, I’m trying to keep getting stuff done, but at my own pace. I’m almost done with his room, and today we got our pram (a.k.a. stroller for my American friends) & car seat and a few other majors. Wow, I actually had to stop and think what a pram is called…does that mean I’ve been here too long? And as of Friday, he’s still breech. There are exercises & positions you can try to help him move, some of which I’ve done. But, I’m really not so sure he’s going to listen. He’s been in this comfy position since 28 weeks, and doesn’t appear too keen on moving. We’ll see. I’ll give it a few more weeks.

As for other updates, Thanksgiving came & went. We celebrated three Thanksgivings, the last being with our cell group from church. We are the only American’s & they all decided they wanted to know what this Thanksgiving stuff is about. Who wouldn’t anyways? It’s an amazing meal, shared with friends, followed by more amazing food, and then amazing leftovers. I unfortunately, don’t have any pictures for evidence of the occasion. I love thanksgiving, and love the time to reflect on what I’m thankful for. This year, I’m particularly thankful for this little baby and what an amazing miracle he is. He truly is a miracle from God, and I can’t wait to meet him. I’m also thankful for Ben and his amazing support, and family. For old friends, and new friends. For a job. For God’s continuing provision in our lives, and that we always have enough & more. And most of all, I am ever thankful for Christmas, and what that means for us.

I’m off to get some rest – maybe a bath, movie, & sleep. I’m a bit sad as I’m missing a Christmas party tonight…but sharing this would just be mean but thankfully for everyone else, Ben is forcing me to stay home. ): However, I’ll end happily & show you our lovely tree. Merry Christmas!

Our tree

OH, man

Sarah — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:03:49 +0000

I didn’t feel this big until I saw this picture!! And, I’m only going to get bigger with 6 weeks left to go. We had a 34 week ultrasound today & all looks good so far. As much as can be accurate – here are the stats they gave us: head circumference is in the 95% percentile (yikes!!), abdominal circumference is 60% & femur length is 85%. And according to the scan he weighs 5 pounds 7 ounces. Unfortunately, he is still breech. I’ve been hoping & praying he’ll flip! Well, I suppose there’s still some time, so flip baby flip!!

34 weeks

Weekend festivities

Sarah — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:42:36 +0000

This has been a fun weekend. Saturday my friends Angie & Helen threw me a baby shower. It was so fun to see so many friends in one place, and of course to celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby j. I did miss family & friends from back home, but Ben secretly managed to get a few messages my way just for the shower which was special. Thanks Lisa, Becca, Cheryl, Lauren & Lucy! You guys are great. I loved hearing from you…it made you not feel quite so far away. I feel so blessed by everyone’s generosity. Baby j has some adorable little clothes & will be well dressed! Better than me at least.

After the shower we had pizza with Angie, Steve, Charlie & Helen & went to the see the bonfire & fireworks as it was Guy Fawkes night. I can’t believe this will be the third year that we’ve done this. Our time here has flown by. We also met up with some new friends who have recently moved to Durham – Cullen & Pamela. It didn’t rain on us this year which was nice. The last two years we’ve gone with Aaron, Lucy & Eleanor & were definitely missing their presence. Last year Eleanor wasn’t so happy with the fireworks & they had to leave early. The year before, she was only tiny (5 months old or so)! Time seems to move extremely fast when measured by a child’s growth. I’m learning that as each week my belly seems to get larger. Thankfully, it’s not from too many pies! Below are a few pictures of the weekend…

Some of the yummy food...more arrived later

Angie's amazing cake!

Baby bump at 30+ weeks

Charlie & Helen

Cullen & Pamela with Charlie in the background

Angie & Steve

Paris, France

Sarah — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:11:56 +0000

Ben & I recently got back from a five day trip to France. We had a great time exploring Paris for three days, and then made our way to the coast of Normandy to see the American Cemetery and Memorial for the day. We wanted to do one last big trip before baby j makes his grand appearance, and I’m so glad we did. Also, so glad to have done it before being too much bigger. I did find it more difficult to travel being pregnant – mostly due to the lack of energy, and a sore back & belly – but we just took things at a slower pace & weren’t fussed (look at me being British) about not seeing everything. The first two days we had amazing weather, around 29 Celsius, so naturally I wore sandals…and in exchange my feet swelled up quite big each night. Ben was amazing and gave me a foot massage each night, sometimes one during the day too. What a guy. Besides the fat feet, Paris was great! It’s a beautiful city, albeit a bit polluted & dirty, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there…in exchange Paris has enjoyed our money. Paris makes London look cheap in comparison. We stayed on the outskirts of Paris & took the metro in each day and found everything to be much less expensive near where we stayed.

I’ll post some pictures of our time below as it’s always easier to narrate to photos. And, I’ll give our Normandy day trip it’s own post as it’s more than deserving of that. But for the most part, I left having really enjoyed our time there. I don’t think Paris would be a place I’d go back to as there as so many other places I’d love to go. I think I’d love to see more of the quaint small towns around France if I were to go back, especially those along the coast. I wouldn’t say the French are the most friendly people in the world, especially Parisians…although I didn’t expect much, and they lived up to their stereotype. I’m sure there are very friendly French people, I just didn’t happen to meet many of them.

Ben scoping out goods from the street vendors

Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, front view

Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, view from the back

Crossing the bridge with Notre-Dame in the background. Notice the hundreds of padlocks attached to the bridge?

Notre-Dame in the background

Overlooking the 'Palais du Luxembourg'...which is surrounded by the 'Jardin de Luxembourg' which was gorgeous. It was a nice place to rest after lots of walking.

The Louvre

On a hop on & off boat tour along the Seine...this was one of my favorite things. The ability to see the city without walking! The sun was also a bonus, but that depends on who you ask.

Tour Eiffel

Around Sacré Coeur on our last day. We explored the church, then had a leisurely time walking around the shops & enjoyed some good food.

We miss Eleanor!!

Sarah — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:38:15 +0000

We’ve been really missing our neighbors Aaron, Lucy & Eleanor lately. It’s especially remarkable to see how much Eleanor has grown since we’ve last seen them in May. Growth is now measured through conversations on skype instead of in person. We miss lots of the every day stuff, but thankfully we do catch a few of them through Lucy. Lucy told me that the other day that Eleanor told her she likes to kiss boys. When Lucy asked her “which boys?” – she thought for a minute and then said, “Uncle Ben!”. Love it.

Secrets

Happy Birthday Ben!

Sarah — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:55:56 +0000

Today is Ben’s 29th birthday, and for one whole month we’re the same age & I can make fun of how old he is. The other eleven months of the year, he seems to enjoy not letting me forget what an old lady I am. But, I’m not the one getting grey hair!

I feel so blessed to have him in my life. In so many ways, he helps make me a better person & I am so grateful for him. Besides the fact that life with him is just fun. Thank hon, I love you!

We had a few friends over Friday night for a low key evening of pizza & his favorite birthday cake (which I think he’s just about had every year of his life since he can remember). Not that there’s any pressure or anything. As a result, I’ve been attempting to make this cake the last seven years, and you’d think it’d be easy as it’s out of a box & then you just make a fancy frosting to decorate it with. But, I have never seemed to manage very well with the frosting before this year. I was so excited to see the frosting stayed on the cake…it looked much nicer than years past cakes. Not that it hasn’t always tasted good in the past…but still. I always think of the part in Sleeping Beauty where the three fairies make the birthday cake from scratch, instead of magic, and the layers just slide off each other. I’ve always needed a little bit o’magic. Anyways, here are a few pictures of our weekend.

His cake, and served on a cutting board. No gold platter this year....

The first birthday cake I tried making him in 2005. Very sad.

This year...

Playing a game of Banana-Grams with friends Angie & Steve, and Charlie & Helen