Layna Aleese 2 weeks old

I wasn't planning on doing a photo shoot....but then I got carried away with the camera of course. Unfortunately her bows and outfit don't match, but I'll do better next time. Layna is a growing girl. She weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz at her 2 week check up last Wed. I was surprised she had gained so much weight, but thankful. She is a really good baby. She usually goes at least one 4 hour stretch at night, and last night she actually did two 4 hour stretches back to back! I am so thankful for her sleeping habits! I have been very blessed to have a lot of help, which makes it easier for me to try and get some rest. Braelyn is still doing a great job being a big sister. She is always asking about Layna and concerned about her well-being. We have had some beautiful weather the past two days. We actually got outside this afternoon and went for our first family walk! It was very encouraging to be outside walking....just a reminder that winter will not last forever and I will not be stuck inside my house forever either :) Hope you enjoy the pictures! There are more on facebook, just couldn't upload everything on here.

Just a few pics

Here are just a few pics...kind of random, more to come soon! Braelyn picked out this outfit..and was so proud to show Daddy!

Can't wait to see more of that smile :))

This pic was from the hospital. I just really liked it bc it shows her hair in the back. She looks so chubby in pictures, but in real life I have a hard time seeing it.

Going to go give Layna a bath! more pics coming soon!

The story behind the name

Braelyn loves to give Layna hugs and kisses. She is doing a great job as a big sister.

Layna enjoying the car ride home.

Getting ready to leave the hospital and head home. Very cold and snowy outside.

I wasn't sure if I would ever be writing this blog.....about a name for our baby girl, a name that I liked and was excited about. But, Praise the Lord, God provided a name for her, in His perfect timing and we are so happy about it. I think finding a name for her was the hardest part of being pregnant.

So, before we had Braelyn I had decided that I would like for our children to have a "spiritual" name and a "family" name. When I started thinking and praying about a name for this baby girl, I kept thinking of the verse, Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify our Father in heaven." I started looking up names that meant "light", but didn't really find anything I was excited about. Finally, one night I was thinking about the name Alayna, which I knew meant light, but I wasn't crazy about it. That night before we went to bed (Aaron was half asleep already)....I told him the name Layna Aleese, but we didn't talk about it. The next day I looked it up to see what it meant, I was just hoping that Layna would mean light since Alayna does. When I looked it up online, I couldn't believe it.....it means "light and truth"!!! I had also been looking at names that meant "truth", since I couldn't find any that meant light. I called Aaron who was working and told him how excited I was.

I love the name Layna because it is simple, but not common. I think it sounds sweet and beautiful and, of course, I love it's meaning. We pray that God will use Layna's life as a light for Him and that she would know the truth of God's word and share it with those around her.

After we decided the first name, I knew I wanted her middle name to be after my Mom, who is Mary Alice. I had a few different names I was considering, but finally decided on Aleese, which is similar to Alice. I chose this spelling because my middle name is Lee and Braelyn's middle name is Evangelee. So now, both my daughters have "lee" in their middle names too. I didn't plan on this, it just worked out that way.

And that is why we chose the name Layna Aleese Jones! I have some more cute pics of her smiling that I took the other day, just need to get them on the computer. She is sleeping and eating well. And she is starting to sleep a little longer at night. Thank you for all your prayers.

Welcome Layna Aleese Jones!!

Welcome Layna Aleese Jones. Born at 9:18 AM, Jan 12th, 2011. Weighing 7 lbs and 1 oz. 19.5 in

We are so excited to finally meet Layna and officially announce her name to everyone! I wanted to use this post to tell how she came into the world and how we decided on her name. She is such a good baby and we think she looks just like Braelyn did.

So here is how it all happened....

Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 I thought I started feeling some contractions, about every 15 minutes, but wasn't sure. They weren't painful at all. So I called my Mom and told her to come on to Bristol because Aaron was already at work and would be at the hospital all night. As the evening continued they slowly became a little more obvious, but still not bad at all. In the midst of it all, it started snowing....a lot, and the roads were getting bad. My mom got stuck on the interstate behind a wreck and so I was starting to get a little nervous. I decided to call our friends from church and so she came over and stayed with Braelyn while her husband took me to the hospital around 10:30 pm. Thankfully they had four wheel drive.

Once I got to the hospital I felt much better. I still wasn't having painful contractions, but was having some every 7 or 8 minutes. I decided to just hang out with Aaron in the call room instead of being admitted. I ended up just laying down in Aaron's call room bed and the contractions spread out some more, so I rested a little. Around 4:30 am I felt a little more intense contraction and they were every 10 min for about an hour, then they went to about 8 min apart and around 5:45 I had a really intense one and called Aaron (who was sleeping in another call room) and told him I thought we might need to check in. I was 5 cm dilated at that point.

So we got checked in to a room and they started getting me ready. My contractions were getting more intense and I went ahead and asked for an epidural. I was SO THANKFUL that I was able to get the epidural in a timely fashion. The nurse I had was SO GREAT, she made sure that the epidural guy came to our room first. He was supposed to go to start a scheduled c-section, but she said that they could wait and I needed it first since I was in labor! My epidural went so much better this time. He did a great job. I was just so thankful. It was only about an hour and a half later that I delivered. If the nurse had not insisted on doing me first, I would have delivered without an epidural! which I never want to experience :)

Around 8:15 am the Dr checked me and I was 8 cm dilated and he broke my water. Then about 9 am I started pushing and pushed about 8 times and then we were able to meet Miss Layna Aleese! This was my first time being able to feel anything while I was pushing. With Braelyn I was totally numb and felt NOTHING while I pushed. Overall, it was a great experience and delivery. It all went very smoothly.

Well, that was a longer post than I expected. But I wanted to document it all and share with everyone. I will post again and share how we decided on her name.

We are all doing well and getting adjusted to all the changes. Thankfully Aaron is at home this week and that is making the transition much easier. More later.....

Videos!

Well, we are still waiting for baby sister to arrive. I had an appt today and the dr said I was 3 to 3 and 1/2 cm dilated! So we were excited that I am still progressing, it could be any day now.
Below are a few videos. Braelyn got to go sledding for the first time at her Mamaw's house a few days after Christmas. She loved it! She seems to be more of a risk taker than her Mommy :). And the other video is our attempt to get her "Joy to the World" song on video. She is still asking to sing it, which is kind of fun, even with Christmas being over. I'm hoping to post some pictures of baby sister's room soon. It looks just like Braelyn's nursery :)....just organized a little differently. It is so nice to have everything already and not have to buy new things.

New Year's Sermon Challenge

I just wanted to post some points from our pastor's sermon last Sunday. I felt like it was very straightforward, powerful, and convicting. I pray that God will use this to challenge you and make you reevaluate maybe what type of goals/priorities you have set for this new year.

How to Set Your Priorities for LIFE
What is the first commandment? "You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3
-The principle: God gets FIRST place in my life.
Definition of a "god": ANYTHING or ANYONE that has first place in my life.

Insight #1: The key to freedom is to choose the right master. (Matt 6:24)

-The promise: "Seek FIRST God's kingdom and his righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS will be given to you as well." Matt 6:33

Insight #2: If there is worry in our life something else or someone else has taken FIRST PLACE.
-The procedure: How can I make God the number one priority in my life? I must know what God expects. (Colossians 1:18)

Where does God want to have first place in my life?
F- Finances....it all belongs to Him, evaluate our giving, spending, acknowledging His ownership
I- Interests.....are you interested in the things of God
R- Relationships......are your relationships Christ centered and God glorifying
S- Schedule.....does God get the best of your time, or does He get the leftovers, evaluate where you are spending the most of your time, are you available?
T- Troubles....we should cry out to God FIRST in our troubles, trusting Him to care for us, shows our dependence on Him

Insight #3: When you and I forget what we started with(which is nothing), we tend to push God aside and something else or someone else takes FIRST PLACE.

Insight #4: The key to setting goals is to obey the RIGHT MASTER. (Luke 6:46)

My purpose in life is to glorify God by SEEKING Him with my whole heart and building my goals around HIS priorities.

What are 5 key areas in setting goals for my life?
Spiritual Goals
Personal Goals
Family Goals
Practical Goals
Vocational Goals

Commitment Prayer: By faith, I desire to choose to obey the right master: The Lord Jesus Christ. I surrender my life completely to His Lordship. By the grace of God and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit I desire to give God FIRST PLACE in these areas of my life.

Happy New Year!

Well, looks like there will be at least one more blog before baby sister gets here :) We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with our families. Braelyn got a new kitchen, some play food, a leaptop computer, and some other things....I have hidden half of her new stuff in an effort to keep her from getting tired of everything too quickly. I just hope I remember what I hid and where I hid it.
I had a dr. appt last Thursday and I was 2 and 1/2 cm dilated, and the week before I was 1 and 1/2, so the dr said he wouldn't be surprised if I don't make it until 40 wks. Also, my stomach was measuring the same as last week's appt, so he scheduled me for an ultrasound on monday morning just to check and make sure she is growing and all is well. He wasn't really concerned about it, and figured the measurement is most likely due to the fact that she has already dropped so low. So, I feel like I am getting pretty close to meeting this little girl.
Good news! We do have a first name and have shared with a few people, mostly family. But we are still trying to figure out the middle name.
Here are some pictures from our Christmas travels....enjoy!

We celebrated our own Christmas on Christmas "Adam"....the day before Christmas Eve, in Bristol.

These snow pics are from the Monday after Christmas, at Mamaw's house. Braelyn went sledding for the first time with her cousins, Colton, Jackson and Hayden. She loved it! And she made a snow angel too. The snow was so pretty.



We do Christmas at my mom and dad's on Christmas evening. Here is our annual family photo!
All the grandkids!
This is at Aaron's Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry's house. We go there for lunch on Christmas day.

We do Christmas at Aaron's parents on Christmas Eve....we had a small crowd this year, but we still had a good time.





And finally, a few pics from a trip to the playground that Aaron and Braelyn were able to take Friday morning when the weather was so "warm"! She was needing to get outside and play!


Just a cute shot of Braelyn... my Mamaw actually made this cute little toboggan :)
Playing in the snow at our house with Daddy! She had a great time. Braelyn is eager to meet baby sister. We have been talking about her a lot and what it is going to be like. I think she will be a great big sister. Almost every morning the first thing she says when she wakes up lately is "I'm going to be a big sister"! It's so cute. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year! I'm looking forward to all God has planned for us and our growing family this year.