2015 has been an amazing year!
Emersyn had many firsts this year, including her first birthday. I can't even believe how much she has grown this year and everything that she is continuing to learn.
We welcomed a niece, a nephew, and a sister in law into the family!
Elliot Ishi and Azelie Jean
#longlivemorganondorf
We also found out we were having a boy and then had him!
This is where I want to stop for a second. On July 1st at 9:25 pm, after hours of natural labor, I gave birth to Zion Alexander. It was painful and it was hard but before I knew it, there he was. He was perfect. 7 pounds 9 ounces, 20 1/4 inches. 24 hours later, they were taking him from me and admitting him to the NICU. This hurt worse than any labor pains I dealt with. I kept noticing him breathing funny and told a nurse who said it was normal. After a shift change, I noticed it again, told the nurse (who also said it was normal), and then let her take him for some type of routine test. When she came back, she informed me that he definitely was breathing strangely and that they had admitted him to the NICU. That night when we visited him, they said he was fine and that they just needed to monitor him. The next day when we visited him, he was on 100% oxygen and they had no idea why he couldn't breathe. For the next few visits, he didn't seem to be getting better and we still had no answers. If you've ever had a child in the NICU, you know this pain. I couldn't hold him (for the first week). I couldn't feed him (shout out to moms who exclusively pump because that was some work lol I was so happy to be able to just nurse instead of pump once we took him home).
When you walk into a room and your baby has gone from fine to a machine breathing for him, it's scary. The two weeks of him being there taught me so much. We knew he was fine but it was so much back and forth from "he's better" to "he's worse." God sure did use this time to speak to us. He taught me a lot about faith and who He is. He used us to pray for multiple nurses at the hospital. He sent a man all the way from the other side of the world to preach for a service that I would be at while my son was in the NICU and my family had just moved 10 hours away to teach me a lesson that would change my life, and then called me to pray healing over Zion's NICU nurse that night. I have no idea if she was healed but thats not even the main point. I was growing. He sent me siblings who would wrap their arms around me and pray for me and friends who would sleep in the hospital with me while I cried because I just wanted to hold my son. He gave me a daughter who would light up the room the second she walked in the door every single time. He gave me a husband who was willing to do whatever he needed to do to make sure I could stay at the hospital to be near my son and a mom who helped as much as she possibly could before moving away.
Growing pains hurt. I grew more in those two weeks than I had in a long time and it wasn't always fun, but now looking back, I can see everything that was going on. I can see where He was crying with me and hurting with me. I can also see where He was admiring this little boy that He had created and holding him when I couldn't. Zion got to come home on a Friday and on that Sunday, we got to dedicate him to the Lord right next to two of my brothers. Definitely one of my favorite moments. Now I have a chunky, smiley 6 month old who breathes perfectly fine and God is still admiring him with me every day.
"When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you; and through the rivers, they won't sweep over you. when you walk through fire you won't be scorched, and the flame won't set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2
Anyway, my family moved to Missouri. We love it there and we've been able to visit a few times already. I am thankful that they found a place that they love and even though Im sad when we aren't together, I love the excitement of every time I get to see them again.
My brother got married and this is my favorite picture ever of all of us.
I work for the best company ever, TruVision Health, and we had our first ever convention. It was awesome!
I learned more and more about sewing and absolutely love it!!! Not to mention how much I absolutely love the two ladies that help us learn more about it, even when they have their own jobs to be doing. MawMaw and Granny, y'all are amazing. <3
I celebrated 3 years of marriage to my favorite human being ever! Ive never known a more loving, goofy, Godly, compassionate, kind, energetic, helpful person in my life. 3 years of marriage has been interesting and awesome. Sometimes our life is wild, but I love every moment of learning life with this guy.
Zion celebrated his first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas which were all a blast even though it rained on Halloween and he slept through Christmas morning lol.
I started this year off with one kid, I'm ending it with 2.
I started this year off with hobbies, I'm ending it with passions.
I started this year off with a love for God, Im ending it with more faith than ever before.
I can't wait to see where God takes us in 2016 and I can't wait to follow Him with my 3 favorite humans by my side.
>Murray Mania<
