More pictures...

We will be without internet for a little while, so posting will be sporadic. I just wanted to post a few more pictures before taking a break for the move and all.



My brother took this picture our first day at home. I just think it's really sweet.



Sweet baby!



We met our friends, Will and Kaely, in Fredericksburg this weekend...



... and ate chocolate buttercream cake at the Rather Sweet Bakery. YUM!



getting a lift from dad



We figured out he doesn't like having his hair washed. Baths go great until his head gets wet! With all that hair, I think it must make him really cold. Last night, we blow dried his hair for him. That he liked!

Changes and a Big Weekend

I don't have much to say today but did want to post some new pictures. Somehow my week feels more complete if I've updated this blog at least once! We've started spreading the word that we're moving to Louisville, KY. Derek is going back to school! He'll be getting his Masters of Divinity degree from Southern Seminary. We're really sad to be leaving such great friends in Austin, but we're also very excited to see how God provides for us and changes us through this. I'll have more to say on that later. For now, here's some fun pics...



Me, Ben and Charlie... doing what we all do best.



Derek and Benjamin... the two most handsome men. Man, I love that kids hair!!



Our first Sunday at church! It only took me like three hours to get us ready, but we made it!!



Yea for weather that's almost cold enough for footy pajamas!



Benjamin's first party!! We spent Saturday watching football at Jim and Natalie's place. Here's Matt, Natalie, Benjamin and June. Benjamin spent most of the afternoon asleep in Nat's arms. So sweet!



Benjamin made his first little friend! Judah Pulley is exactly one month older. Aren't they adorable!!



Our little family

Not in vain...

I keep telling people that nothing would have prepared me for how much I love our little Benjamin or for how very hard this would all be. Derek and I have been really excited the past couple of days to get almost four straight hours of sleep! The lack of sleep is tough! It has brought out the best and the worst in both of us! We are loving being parents, though. We are so grateful God has chosen us to be Benjamin's mom and dad.

I've been working on a Bible study during some of Benjamin's naps. It is about being a mom, and there are some great scripture verses I've been learning about. One is Genesis 1:28... God commands us to be fruitful and multiply. A great reminder that what I'm doing is by God's design and even a command. Nice to remember there's more to this than just feeding a baby and feeling sleepy all the time!

Another verse I've read is 1 Corinthians 15:58. "In the Lord, our labor is not in vain." So, being a mom is a job God has called me to, and in the Lord this work will not be in vain! What other job has such lasting results... for good or for bad! We're praying that raising our children will be for good and believing it will be.

Here are a few new pictures from the past couple of weeks...



My parents were here this past weekend. We spent Saturday watching college football. Benjamin even dressed for the occasion. Derek is convinced that Ben will be a Tennessee fan... I'm still betting on A&M.



We're getting better at the bath thing. His first few did not go well! We were trying to do this in the tub, and I think he was just getting too cold. The kitchen sink works much better, but it does take two sets of hands! He's actually starting to like bath time!



I swear we weren't pinching him. Sometimes he just likes to fuss! Pass him to mom, though, and all is well... as long as I'm nursing him. That is his absolute favorite thing to do!!



I love this picture!! Sleeping soundly on dad's chest... another favorite of Ben's.



me and ben

One Week!

Benjamin is one week old today! Man, it goes by fast. We have had a great week. Derek and I are loving being mommy and daddy. I could just sit and stare at him... he's such a miracle. My days are spent feeding the baby, sleeping, and eating. That's about all I do on a regular basis. I'm loving having this moment right now to update the blog. I'm pretty sure either my mom or Derek is about to tell me I need to go take a shower so I'm ready to go to bed the next time Benjamin eats. They are making sure I'm taken care of.

My mom has been awesome this week. She has taken care of me so I can take of Benjamin. She's brought me drinks while I'm nursing him, vacuumed the floor, cleaned our bathroom, given the dog a bath, taken the dog for walks, kept the kitchen clean, cooked some meals for us, labeled garage sale items for me... I would be going crazy without her.

Derek is an awesome dad. Last night he sat up rocking Benjamin for over an hour when he didn't want to sleep, changed countless diapers, read from the Bible while I fed Benjamin, given me lots of hugs when my hormones take over and the tears poor out... He's really great with the little guy. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband who loves me and our son very well.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our first week at home...


My men.


Such a sweet baby!


Sound asleep after a good feeding... limp as a noodle.


me & Ben


I just want to pinch his little cheeks!

A good friend of ours, Lindy Willis, is a photographer. We had her take these back in July. I just thought they'd be fun to post... you know before and after shots.

Benjamin Hughes Hall

After 18 hours of labor, Benjamin Hughes entered the world on August 14, 2009. Everything went so well... such an answer to prayer! I started feeling contractions on Thursday morning. They were short and nothing worth paying too much attention to until about 10 pm. I think that's when labor actually started. I took a benadryl and tried to sleep, but the contractions were just too painful at that point. Still too short to do anything much about, but enough to keep me awake!

I was really frustrated by Friday morning, thinking that things weren't progressing and not really knowing what to do. My doctor said to come into the office and get checked. To my surprise, I was already dilated to 5 cm and my water broke in the office! They took me straight over to the hospital.

The nurses told me, most women would hate me if they could see my at 5 cm. I was still laughing, whereas most are screaming in pain. We got all checked in, and Derek and I just hung out for the next few hours. I sat on the birthing ball and he would rub my back anytime a contraction would come. By 7 centimeters, I was definitely starting to feel a lot more uncomfortable. I had an IV combination of Stadol and Phenergan. That totally knocked me out within about 5 minutes.

I slept pretty soundly from 7 to about 9 centimeters. I feel like that is only possible because I prayed for the decision to get an epidural to be an easy one. By the time I woke up good, it was already time to push. No sense in getting the epidural at that point! I will say that pushing a baby out is the hardest thing I have ever physically done. But, it was an amazing experience.

Derek got to announce that he is a boy! We were both surprised at a boy... for some reason we really thought girl. I have to say, though, that I couldn't be happier. Of course we had a boy. Somehow it just seems right.

I had no idea how amazing it is to have a child. I just have such an overwhelming love for him. His little cry absolutely breaks my heart... I just want to cry with him! Though so far he hasn't cried much. He's been very sleepy today, but I have a feeling that won't last long.

So here we sit. Benjamin is sleeping soundly in my lap while I type this. I can hardly take my eyes off him! Derek and I feel so blessed by this gift from God. I know I'm hormonal, but I could just sit and cry buckets of tears of gratitude for this life that has been entrusted to us. Our prayer is that we would be able to give him a vision of the glory of God and that he would point others to Christ.

Here's a few pictures...