One site in Colorado we were set on seeing in January was Pikes Peak. I had imagined we would simply drive around and look at it because of all the snow, but then we learned about the little cog railway that takes passengers up the mountain. Sold! Anything that remotely resembles a train is an instant win in our family. Sam is absolutely in love. So after we had all acclimated to the elevation, we booked our tickets and hit the mountain!
As we waited to board the little, red train car, Sam excitedly signed train over and over. Day. Made.
There are just two, little, connected cars that make their way up and down the mountain. Big windows, vintage pictures hanging inside, and a fantastic tour guide all added to the fun of the trip. An added bonus for me? The guy on the speaker sounded exactly like Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation. Who knows Ron Swanson? Made me laugh the entire trip!
One very excited little boy!
His big sister was pretty thrilled, too.
Winter trips up the mountain don’t go the complete 14,000 feet because of the snow. The 12,000 feet we did travel, however, offered incredible views. Like here at Inspiration Point.
I’d love to see this again in the summer.
I get to see these boys every day! Lucky me!
On the way back down, we made a half-hour stop to get out for photos and such. You know what wasn’t available at that stop? Food. And guess what Mom forgot to pack? Food. And you know what time it was? Past lunch. Amateur move, Mom. I did, however, have this little packet of salmon in the bottom of my bag, so we ripped that pouch wide open and ate it with our fingers. (PS My girl is so quick to pose these days. My little actress. All the heart eyes for this one, I tell you.)
Sam was all about the salmon.
Our dear Nikki joined us on the trip up the mountain. We met Nikki at training and instantly connected. She is an amazing young woman who also has an enormous heart for children with special needs in Kenya. She’s already been working for a while in Nairobi. We can’t wait to hug her again when we all meet up in Kenya in just a few months!
So glad we got to take on Pikes Peak! God did a pretty incredible job creating these majestic mountains.
Have you been to Colorado? What’s your favorite place? We could have explored her sites for weeks and weeks!
A year ago, Ella asked us if she could be baptized after seeing a baptism at our church. We talked about what baptism means and why people choose to do it. She was very enthusiastic, but we wanted to wait until she was a little older to make sure she fully understood the choice. She continued to ask about her own baptism about once a month through the entire year, and near the end of the summer, we decided it was time. We made sure Pete had the weekend off for it in October and invited Ella’s grandparents and godparents. We were getting ready for a celebration!
Baptisms are done at our church every few months during the regular service. This particular weekend was especially fun because the incredibly talented group The Neverclaim was in town for a show and led worship the morning of Ella’s baptism.
When it was time for the baptisms, our lead pastor and good friend, Michael, explained what it means to be baptized and invited those who wished to be baptized to head to the front of the auditorium. Most of them had previously met with a pastor to talk through the scripture behind baptism and to pray.
A few days before, I had asked if Pete could be a part of baptizing Ella. Watching this scene right here while snapping a few pictures made me cry. How could it not?!
And this. The moment she came up out of the water. Ella was so excited and the entire auditorium was cheering! You can see Luke & Hannah holding Sam, my dad in the background taking pictures, and the kids’ long-time nanny, Donna, and her husband clapping. Pete’s parents were there, and Ella’s godmother, Kristin. All people who have taught our girl about Jesus, helped guide her, and have been a part of shaping her into the beautiful young woman she is becoming.
After the service, we went back to the community room in our old condo building for pizza and cake!
Ella with her grandmas. I so wish I had a picture of the entire group, but I never seem to capture those photos. I need to carry a big, laminated note to all special events reminding me to get group pictures.
The Friday before, Ella came home from school very excited. She said she got to tell her whole 2nd grade class that she was going to be baptized and what that meant. I just adore this girl’s heart.
A very special, incredibly memorable day for our Ella!
WE’RE BACK! To the classroom…to fall…to the blog!! With the start of school comes the return of a bit more structure, quiet, and time to write! Things were quiet here on the blog for a good part of the summer, but now that school is back in session, so is the blog. Yay!
Jumping right to it, Miss Ella landed herself in second grade last Tuesday! This year looks a bit different for her. As we’re getting closer to our big move, we decided to send her to public school. We loved her Montessori school, where she’s attended since she was three. With just a few months before Kenya, though, we thought this might be a good opportunity to be in a large school where she can experience what a different kind of education is like. Honestly, I was so nervous about this change. I prayed about it a whole lot and was worried it would just be too big a change for Ella. Pete and my sister kept reassuring me she would do beautifully. And they were right. She has loved it! Each day, we talk about what she ate for lunch in the cafeteria, the books she found in the big library, and what games she played during gym class. She even spent Saturday afternoon at a new friend’s house. I’m incredibly thankful she was able to build her base for learning at the Montessori school, and I’m glad she’ll be able to round that out a bit with a few months of public school. Homeschooling is up next, so you better believe I’m soaking in every moment of ‘off you go to school’ I can get.
We took her to the school a week before classes started. We weren’t sure if anyone would even be in the building when we dropped by, but we did manage to find one teacher in the office. And guess what? That teacher turned out to be Ella’s 2nd grade teacher! Thank you, God, for your amazing timing.
This is what happens when you suddenly realize your child needs school supplies for her new school. Target, I love you, but Walmart won in the last-minute-back-to-school shopping department. Target would have been able to provide for me had I only needed Trapper Keepers and Kleenex. (They still make Trapper Keepers?! My childhood dream come true! Though they are banned from Ella’s school because they are way too loud to constantly open and close. Just Velcro doing its job.)
Ella put this on the day before school and told me she was ready.
First day of school!!
Sam did not want to leave his sister’s classroom. I don’t blame him. I felt the same way. (Why yes, he was still in his jammies during drop off. This mom is getting used to the earlier start time.)
Sam wasn’t sad for too long. After taking Ella to school, we went home, put on more presentable clothing, and swung over to his preschool for the open house. Was he excited when we arrived? I’ll let you decide.
To say he loves his school is a slight understatement.
Later in the afternoon, we walked up to get Ella at school. We now live within seven tenths of a mile from school, so she’s a walker. At least it helps me get my steps in everyday! And I’m thankful we likely won’t still be in Minnesota when it gets really cold this winter. Who wants to walk half a mile to school when the air hurts your face?! No thank you. For now we’re enjoying, though.
Sam’s big day came on Friday. This year, he’ll be there Monday, Wednesday, Friday and will stay through the end of lunch. Last year he was there just two days a week and came home before lunch. He’s growing up!
Sam loves the kitchen and babies at school.
He also remembered right where this table was, though it was completely covered when we arrived. He pushed the cover onto the floor and got right to work.
He’s in the green group this year, hence his green shirt. (Sorry, Uncle Adam, it’s John Deere and you work for Case. Had he been in the red group again, a Case shirt would have been perfect.)
This guy cruises with a walker! I love seeing him be so independent. Sadly, though, this is his last week with it in the classroom. Sam has yet to walk on his own but has the strength and balance to do it. We’ve decided to remove anything that might be holding him back from stepping out – literally – on his own. I’m quite sure once he realizes he can walk, he’ll be chasing the kids in his class. He’s ready!
This beautiful girl told me she loved her first week in her new elementary school, and that makes this mama’s heart so happy. I had no idea how difficult parenting decisions could be until we had to start making them. Could what I do change the rest of her life? Yes, it surely could. But I have to remind myself that I am not pulling decisions out of a hat. When we pray and ask for God’s guidance and we seek the wisdom of those who have gone before us, I believe God blesses our choices. And that makes the hard decisions a bit easier to make.
So we’re into a new school year! We think the kids will continue in their current schools until Christmas when we’ll head to Colorado for a month of training and (hopefully!) leave for Kenya the beginning of February. Please continue to pray with us on our journey!
Update on Sam’s ears: Last Wednesday, Sam had a CT on his ears to check for growths that we first discovered in July. We haven’t heard the CT results yet, but his doctor will be back in the office tomorrow. We’ll post results as soon as we can. Thank you for your prayers!
Four years ago this week I wrote a post that marked a significant turning point for our family. I remember wondering how we would share the unexpected news of our baby boy’s arrival in a way that could include all the beautiful parts of meeting him, the deep love and protection we immediately felt for him and the sincere trust we continued to have in our Heavenly Father. In Sam’s first two days, we called family and close friends to tell them the news. A simple It’s a BOY! message along with his name and stats was posted on Facebook, but no pictures accompanied it. Pete and I both needed time to process. And then, just before leaving the hospital while Sam stayed in the NICU, the words came. Without question, that was the day I was most thankful to have a blog. We could share the full story, all of our thoughts and emotions, along with photos of our beautiful boy. We wouldn’t need to repeat the story over and over and all details would be articulated. With a single click of the publish button, we shared our precious boy with the world.
I will always treasure the words I wrote in the quietness of my hospital room. All the fresh feelings of love and surprise and joy. It was the beginning of a journey I didn’t expect but am now incredibly thankful to be on. I can’t imagine life without the events of that night four years ago.
So again, four years later, I want to share those words along with a few more photos and follow-up notes. These are the words that introduced our Samuel with the world.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Things first began on Tuesday night (May 22) when I crawled into bed at about 10pm and I began to feel small contractions. They didn’t really catch my attention, though, since I had been feeling Braxton Hicks contractions (a sort of fake contraction) for about 15 weeks. A few of them did wake me during the night, though. On Wednesday morning I decided to go about my regular schedule and see what happened. While shopping at Target for a few last items for my hospital bag, I had to stop multiple times to lean on my cart and let a contraction pass. In the afternoon, Ella & I went to Becky’s to watch Malena & Maira while Becky went to the dentist. At that time, the contractions continued to strengthen and were only about 4 minutes apart. Let me tell you, it was not comfortable having the three little girls crawling all over me while the contractions hit. But it kept me somewhat distracted! After Becky got home, I paged Pete out of surgery, telling him things were getting more intense. I drove the 10 minutes to the hospital (perhaps I should not have been driving at that point, but I wasn’t completely convinced I was in labor) and let Pete drive me home. The beauty of being married to a doctor is that he was able to check my progress while we were home. Much to my relief, he confirmed that I surely was in labor and had made it to about 5cm. Yay! We took our time gathering the last things for the hospital and headed in.
After a brief stop at the store to pick up a plant (so nice to have in the room during labor) and a magazine (to fill the time during labor before the actual delivery), we arrived at the hospital at 7pm. I was definitely needing to breathe through the contractions at that point and even got to ride in a wheelchair to the OB floor. I dropped off the cupcakes I had made that afternoon for the nurses and settled into my room. I have to tell you that from the very moment I got to the room, I asked if an order could be put in for an epidural. I’ve never felt that I’m a mama who needs to go without meds, and I was worried we would miss the window if we didn’t get going on it. Shortly after that, Pete checked me again and I was between 7 and 8cm. Things were moving fast! Before 9pm…and before I was given an epidural…I hit the complete 10cm and my window for meds was closed. I have to honestly say that I wasn’t excited when I was told I would have to deliver without meds. It scared me, and I really wondered if I would be able to handle the pain. With Ella, I never made it past 6cm and, therefore, never got to push at all. The opportunity for a VBAC had come, and that did make me happy. I wanted to have the experience of pushing and breathing and being coached by Pete. I wanted to have a chance to push a baby into the world the way women have been doing it for years and years and years.
And push I did. For 2 1/2 hours I pushed. Without meds. That was a lot of work! I really focused on putting all of my energy into the pushing, not yelling or crying or cursing out my husband, as I’ve heard can easily happen. Instead, I felt incredibly close to Pete through the whole experience. He was an amazing coach. When I was discouraged, he looked right into my eyes and reassured me. I found a lot of strength in that. I also found myself talking to Jesus between contractions and pushing. I know He was giving me a great deal of strength. Everything looked like it was going well until we reached the 2 1/2 hour mark. Then our little one started to show signs of dropping oxygen levels and my cervix began to swell a great deal, to the point that it looked like it may actually be closing again. Pete & I jointly made the decision to do a c-section for the protection of the baby. I was taken down the elevator on a bed, groaning the entire way as super strong contractions ripped through me.
Though I ended up in another c-section, the entire experience was far different than when I had Ella. This time I completely dilated, pushed for a long time, tried many different positions, and really gave it everything I had. I got to experience everything I wanted to with child birth. It was time to get our baby out while he or she was still doing okay. So that’s what we did.
My mom made it to the hospital just in time to join us in the OR for the section. Pete stood next to me the entire time, looking over the sheet for the moment our little one would enter the world. I felt great peace in those moments before the birth. I was able to pray for the doctors in the room before the section began (most of whom I knew from the residency) and hummed one of my favorite camp songs about seeking Jesus’ face. Everything was perfect as I excitedly awaited the announcement of our little one’s arrival. And then it came! Pete proclaimed, “It’s a boy!” and we were both ecstatic as images of my dear Pete with his long-awaited son filled my head. I announced to all present that our son’s name would be Samuel Thomas Amani Olsen as I held back tears of joy. And then I realized how quiet the room was.
The doctors – our friends – huddled around our Samuel on the warming table while I heard only a small, weak, peep of a cry. It was a tiny sound. Though I felt peace, not concern, I asked one of the doctors to take a small step to the side so I could get my first glimpse of our little one. And that’s when I saw the first sign. His body wasn’t clenched like Ella had been when she was born. Sam’s arms were floppy. I asked Pete to bring him closer so I could see him. I longed for the first real view of my son. When Pete held him close, Samuel opened his eyes and looked right at me. And it was in that tiny instant that I knew it in my heart. Was it my mama instinct? Was it the fact that I had been carrying this beautiful little boy inside me for so many months prior to this moment of introduction? I don’t know, but it was instantly clear to me. Our little Samuel has Down syndrome.
I was wheeled into the recovery room while Pete and my mom and the other doctors took Sam up to the NICU to give him a complete exam. I don’t know how much time passed before Pete and my doctor, Maria, came through the door, quiet and serious. My thoughts were confirmed in that moment. In an instant, many things changed. But in that same instant, many things were peacefully confirmed within me. God is good. God has a plan. God created our little Samuel, and we were chosen to be his parents. What an honor.
The last 2 1/2 days have been the beginning of journey down what a doctor recognized yesterday as our “new normal.” Samuel remains in the NICU while he works through the transition from the warm, safe place of my womb to the outside world. His oxygen levels have needed the most time to adjust. He was most comfortable in a warm incubator without much handling the first 24 hours. We haven’t been able to have him in our room. We haven’t changed any of his diapers. And I just got the all-clear to try nursing him. So far he’s been getting my pumped milk through a feeding tube in his nose. Each little step he’s made forward, we’ve celebrated. Late last night, Pete sat with me as I held him on my chest. His sweet little eyes looked up at me a few times, completely melting every ounce of my heart. Pete held him for a little while, too, and Samuel eventually fell asleep cuddled with his daddy. It was so hard to leave him in the NICU to return to our room. There will soon come a time when we won’t have to leave him for a single moment. We’re praying that the time comes very, very soon.
I’m now packing and getting ready to head home…without my sweet little boy. First we’ll try nursing, though. Pete & I will both be back very often to rock Sammy and I’ll nurse him. Miss Ella is excited to see him, too. We tried having her visit him in the NICU two days ago, but it was all a bit too much for her. We’re praying Samuel will be discharged on Monday or Tuesday, though we have to keep a very open hand about that in case anything unexpected pops up.
Please pray with us for our little Samuel. Pray that his oxygen levels will get to a good place so he can breathe all on his own. Pray that he will quickly adapt to nursing. Pray that he’ll get to be home with us in the next few days. And please pray for Pete and I as we learn what this new beginning will entail and how all of this will draw us forward. Thank you!!
In the end, Sam spent two full weeks in the NICU. In that time, we continued to try to nurse, but his little jaw just wasn’t strong enough and there were so many distractions from the alarms and cords and other babies. (At that time, the NICU was a large, open space with 18 tiny babies. A year later, Sam & I attended the opening of the brand new, very private, NICU!) After 24 hours breathing successfully on his own, Sam came home. In the peace of his own room, we worked on nursing a little bit every day. A week later, he latched on and at seven weeks he had his first full feeding. After that, he was pretty much an eating champ! That was the first time he showed us his determination on his own timeline. Countless times since then, he has worked and worked and worked on a skill and eventually mastered it with great success. Sitting, clapping, crawling, and now he’s nearly walking. This darling boy has surely changed our pace of parenting and expectations. I think it’s safe to say he was born to be spectacular!
