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Girls Weekend!

This past weekend, I got the chance to spend some quality time with one of my absolute BEST friends!  We are both mama's of some pretty amazing boys and felt that, even though we love them with all of our heart...we needed a quick little get away.

So what better way than a girls weekend?!  I must say, that although our trip away from our boys and husbands was quick, it was packed full of good times. 

What prompted this girls weekend?  Josh Wilson, of course!  (you may remember in a previous post I mentioned a song of his that came at a monumental moment in the birth room)

So we packed our bags and headed down the mountain.  Our first stop, once we got to Winston -Salem, was at my old stomping grounds, The Village Tavern, in Reynolda Village.  If you've never been, you must go.  Seriously.  Walking through the restaurant doors brought back some pretty good memories of my days as a waitress there.  And who should greet us as we walked in but a very dear lady, Miss Sherrie!  When I first started there, about 14 years ago (can that be right!? I was 17, so I guess so...) Sherrie was the one who took me under her wing.  So I was, of course, ecstatic when she was the first face I saw!

                                              (so glad I got a pic with this sweet lady!)

 

 

CJ and I began to peruse the menu...although I knew immediately what I wanted.  Over the past 2 nights I had dreamt of their Spring Rolls and so my decision was made.  CJ ended up getting the yummy Greek Salad.  Which I appreciated, because she gave me all of her kalamata olives...just one of the many reasons our friendship works out so well, haha!

 

 

 

 

These are just two of the amazing items on their vast menu.  (I am in no way getting any compensation for this rave review...I just think it's that amazing)

Before we headed out, I had to document the moment with my best... so far, a GREAT start to what can only be described as a great weekend!

 

We get back on the road to my parents house to visit for just a few minutes.  We didn't have too much time before we needed to get to Greensboro in time to grab some dinner before the concert.  We visit then hop back on 40E...ugh...if you've ever traveled 40, you know and can probably relate to my hatred for it.  Upon arrival into Greensboro, we decide to quickly locate PF Changs for dinner.  I have never been so I was very excited to give it a whirl.  I mean after all, I have heard some pretty amazing things about it from everyone I know who has ever eaten there.  Alas...there was almost an hour wait by the time we got there and we really didn't have time for that!  Josh Wilson was a-waitin'!

 

So we settled for the next-best-thing-only-because-it-was-the-only-decent-restaurant-within-five-miles, Mimi's Cafe.  Honestly, I have eaten there before - a long time ago...but something in me was craving some yummy Chinese food.  I blame "Jethro". 

 

*side note* To my readers who don't know who Jethro is...that is the nickname my husband and I have given baby boy #2.  I don't think he's ready to commit to the name we have picked out just yet. ;)

 

Anyway...back to Mimi's.  We started out with some A-MA-ZING stuffed mushrooms.  I have no words for how delicious they were, except to say that had they given us more than 6...they would have been gone in 2.5 seconds! 

 

 

Since we both had our hearts set on Chinese food, we ended up ordering the only Asian inspired entree on the menu - Sweet and Sour Chicken.  I will admit it was pretty tasty...but I'm still super bummed I didn't get to experience PF Changs. Next time...oh yes, there WILL be a next time!

 

 

Are you guys tired of all of this food talk?  Yeah, me neither.  ;)  But I must digress because it's time to go to the highlight of our evening... We arrived at the Greensboro Coliseum about 30 minutes prior to the start of the concert and we were a bit surprised to find ourselves not in the main arena, but in a much smaller room, where car and jewelry shows are apparently held.  I felt like we were at an underground concert, actually, and it was kind of cool that there weren't SO many people.  Don't get me wrong, the room they had us in was packed full of people...all ready to listen to some great music and worship our Lord and Savior.

 

We had floor seating, which I am usually not a huge fan of, but it was nice.  With me being "with child" I found myself having to sit. A LOT.  And the floor seats were cushioned....so no complaints form this mama!  And we surprisingly had a descent view of the stage.  I will say the only part I struggled with was the sweet couple behind us.  They were enjoying the concert so much that the gentleman felt compelled to give a high pitch whistle every few minutes...it hurt our ears so bad, but bless his heart, he was having such a great time I couldn't bring myself to ask him to stop making my ears bleed.  And his dear, sweet wife...or girlfriend...or whatever she was, was enjoying herself so much that she laughed.  A LOT.  At EVERYTHING.  Not one of those sweet girly laughs, but a very hearty laugh that brings me back to my fondness of elementary school when chalkboards were actually used and kids would scrape their finger nails on them just to get a rise out of their classmates.  Again, I could feel her extreme happiness and didn't want to reign on her parade and inform her that her constant "joyful" laugh made me want to find the nearest cliff to jump off.

 

Again....I digress. 

 

I'm so glad I had the chance to spend this weekend with my best.  Regardless of the whistling and laughter as described above, it was so amazing being in such a place with so many different types of people....all worshiping our ONE savior, Jesus Christ.  I sat in amazement, watching people of all ages, races and backgrounds, lifting their hands to the Heavens, praising the Lord.  At one point in the night, I noticed a little curly red-headed girl...couldn't have been more than 3 years old.  She was perched on her grandpa's shoulders, free as a bird, arms waving around, using her grandpa's head as a drum, having such a great time.  Watching it, one couldn't help but smile. I wish I had gotten a picture or video of that to share.  Sorry I failed you in that department.  Here are a few pictures of the night...

 

 

We ended up leaving during the encore...just so we didn't have to sit in traffic as we left the coliseum.  But we had such a great time... LOVED Josh Wilson, Colton Dixon did and amazing job and was thrilled to finally see Third Day in concert, after having grown up listening to their music for the past 20 years!

 

The next morning I had the pleasure of taking newborn pictures for another great friend (that's 3 newborn's I have gotten to snuggle in the month of April...be jealous).  If you want to see pictures of all of the sweet newborns  (Eva's will be up soon!)  you will have to check out my facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/bwhitsonphotography

 

A quick little plug for my business...if you like my work, I would love for you to "like" my facebook page and tell your friends and family to do the same.  Once I reach 500 likes, I'll be giving away a FREE photo session to ONE lucky winner!!

 

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our fun Girls Weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

It's the Little Things...

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As I sit here and reflect on my week I look back on the vast spectrum of emotions I have felt:

Energetic
Complacent
Reflective
Proud
Blessed
Exhausted
Betrayed
Ecstatic
Self-Pity

(I could go on....but I think you get the gist)

I realize one thing...how great God is. No matter which emotion I am experiencing, I am usually able to find that reasonable place in my brain to tell myself that God is taking care of me. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Brenna...because God cares about YOU.

So what if I tend to get left out of things (either intentionally or unintentionally) or if my birthday seems to always be the one amongst friends and co-workers that gets overlooked, or if that lady in the red Subaru decided to pull out right in front of me and go 5 miles per hour, when I'm already late for work. What does it matter?  In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't.  What matters is how blessed I am.  I have a loving, God-fearing husband, an amazing little boy, expecting amazing little boy #2, great family, and handful of faithful friends, a roof over my head, food in my belly, a vehicle that gets me from point A to point B and most important of all....a God who loves me very much.

                                      ( I just wanted to post a pic of a few of my blessings)

 

The things and people that hurt me don't matter...they don't need to.  I don't need to point out to them how they hurt or offended me.  I don't need to hold a grudge.  I just have to remember to pray for those people and learn to forgive them. 

Yesterday morning I experienced something pretty cool.  I was on my way to work and had a sudden pregnant lady craving of a cajun filet biscuit from Bojangles.  I don't know what it is, but those things are freakin' amazing.  As I pulled up to the window, the cashier said to me, "Your total WAS $3.19, but the gentleman in front of you just paid for your food."  What?!  I don't know what the look on my face was, but I can only imagine it was one of complete surprise.  I do not know who he was...just a guy in a grey Ford truck.  But for me, at that moment, it was a huge blessing. 

I never want to forget how blessed I felt at that very moment.  I thanked God for showing Himself to me that morning.  He showed me that no matter what, He is taking care of me.  Even through a little thing like someone picking up my tab for my chicken biscuit.  But I think that's important... to be thankful for the little things in life.  Because you never know how God will use that "little thing" to make a HUGE impact on your life.

So today...I'm going to let go of the hurt, and remember how blessed I am and thank God for everything in my life. Because let's face it, it's impossible to stay in a bad mood when you are being thankful...even for the little things.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

Josiah's Birth Story

Pin It Now! As a photographer, I am eagerly awaiting THREE of my friends, whose little babies are due...literally, any day now.  I feel like I am the official newborn photographer for all of my friends having babies, and I LOVE it. Having just wrapped up one newborn session last week and anxiously awaiting the three that are to come, I have been having feelings of nostalgia of my own birth story, from my first son, Josiah. Now I'm sure, as everyone says, baby boy #2 will have his very own and unique story, but I felt the need to share my (currently) only birth story with you all.

The date: August 22nd, 2011
The time: 6:45 am

I have just woken up to get ready for work and my water has just broken. I feel like the next few moments are a blur...all I can remember was a feeling of excitement (and slight terror), as I wake my husband up to tell him that "it's" happening. I took the 'normal' next steps for any first timer...I called my doula (which, by the way....I highly recommend as something to look into. But I will get into that on a later post) who asked me a variety of questions and began calming me down - because let's face it; a woman whose water has just broken and is ablout to have a baby for the first time, can be a little panic stricken. She prayed with me and encouraged me to try a few things to get my contractions started, since they haven't started on their own at this point.

So my husband and I got dressed and decided to take a hike up and down our driveway a few times...if you've ever been to my house, you would understand the insane feat this is for a normal person, nevermind a woman who is in labor. After about 3 trips up and down our road (with no signs of any contractions) I called my doula again. She encouraged me to try to relax, as often times contractions will start and can progress the more relaxed you are. Well, "what better way to relax than to take a nap?" I say to myself. Ha! That was a joke to even attempt. My mind was racing with so many thoughts and wondering if every little thing I felt was a contraction. (Little did I know that when I actually had one...I would KNOW it and not have to wonder).

After a few hours of no progression, we decided it would be best to head to the Midwife's office to have her check things out. Once we arrived I did receive a bit of a slap on the wrist for not contacting her sooner, but once she found out that my tests for group B strep were negative, she wasn't as mad. Oops. Pointer for you ladies who test positive...do. not. wait. If your water breaks, go to your doctor or hospital immediately!

My Midwife then gave me an additional 2 hours to go and do whatever we needed to, to get those contractions started before she induced me that evening. This terrified me. I had read story after story about women being induced and not being able to handle the pain, that they succumb to the epidural (even though they vowed not to get one). This was my one big "issue". I was bound and determined to have a natural birth with no epidural, so naturally I had some anxiety.  My midwife gave me until 5pm...I decided to head over to the local Greenway and run laps for the next few hours. Yes, I said run laps. I had lots of strange (and some scared) looks, but I was bound and determined to get those contractions started! Sadly...this produced nothing. So at 4:45 we headed to the hospital and by 5:00 they had me hooked up to Pitocin to get my contractions started.

Let me just preface this by stating that my birth plan did NOT include being induced...for fear (a really big fear) of the pain. I always heard that Pit increases the pain of your contractions immensley and I most certainly did not want to go back on my "No Epidural" birth plan. In fact I didn't even want that horrible word metioned in my birthing room.

Thankfully I was given a "mobile IV and fetal monitor" that allowed me to walk around and do pretty much whatever I needed to during labor. My contractions started out nice and slow...with the pain only increasing gradually. I found a ton of comfort walking the hospital halls with Daniel and my doula (we will call her M for this scenario to make it easier on us all). Each time I experienced a contraction, Daniel was there to hold me up, to help me breathe through each one and encourage me. M would help in the same way.

Finally, I believe around 4 or 5 cm, the pain began to increase exponentially and I felt like I needed the privacy of my birthing room. The continued to increase my Pit  - at one point a nurse came in to ask about my pain level and when I told her, she began mentioning the "E" word...the word that shall not be spoken...the word I did not want to hear. I looked to M, because this nurse would NOT stop talking about it. M kindly reached over and told the nurse that it was my desire to this naturally but if I happened to change my mind, I (me and only me) would let them know. The nurse got the hint and the word was never mentioned again (at least not in my presence).

Then I hit 7 cm...my contractions came hard and fast. Every minute. Literally. No more than 60 seconds rest in between. I was not progressing, and I thought I was going to hit the ceiling. I have never felt pain like this before. And I felt the urge to push. Nope. Not an option at this point. My midwife became concerned and (ok - I really don't remember this part, so I have to take M and Daniel's word on this) pulled Daniel and M out of the room to talk. She said she didn't think I would have the energy to continue and she encouraged them to try to urge me to get an epidural.
Both having full knowledge of my desire and strong opposition of getting an epidural (for strictly personal reasons), agreed they would let me continue until I asked for it. I am so thankful they did! Don't get me wrong, there were moments I looked into my husbands eyes and the word was on the tip of my tongue...almost begging to "give me the drugs!" But he was so supportive and so encouraging, I just knew I could do it.

At around 8 cm, they gave me a drug called fentanyl. This drug had zero affect on the baby and absolutely ZERO affect on the pain. It was strictly used to help me try to relax in between the fast coming contractions. And it worked! I can remember vividly almost being able to fall asleep between the contractions. And guess what?! All that business about being relaxed helping you progress...so true. I went from 8 to ready to push in no time.

*sidenote* I had my favorite artist, Josh Wilson, playing on repeat the entire time...and when the time came to push, this one song, Before the Morning, came on. Listen to it. It was definitely from God...at the perfect time that I needed it.

When the time came, I was so ready and surprisingly, energized. I focused on my midwife, listened to everything she told me to do and pushed my sweet boy out in 30 minutes. I feel like the shortened pushing time was a gift from God, after having spent the last 12 hours in the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my life.

Josiah was born at 5:44 am on August 23, 2011.

Would I do it again? Just like it was? You bet. Every contraction, every ouce of pain I felt was totally worth it. I have learned to love another human being like never before. I cannot describe the love a parent has for their child. It's unexplainable and awesome. I have a handsome, intelligent, sweet boy - whom I would give my life to protect. Yes...my labor was painful - but to be surrounded by an amazing husband, my amazing doula and friend, M, the wonderful staff at the hospital and most of all, God's promise in John 16:21 "²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world" helped me through the most painful, scary, beautiful and joyous moment in my life.