Marriage & Family | The Mango Memoirs

Miss Ella Turns Four

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Angela @ The Mango Memoirs • 0 Comments

It’s been a week of celebrating in our house! We began on Sunday with the Duluth celebration of Pete’s residency graduation, which was promptly followed by a backyard picnic to ring in Ella’s 4th birthday. Nana & Papa Olsen, Nana & Papa Scott, Auntie Kristin, Becky & the girls, and the Horns were all in attendance.

It was a pretty relaxed party, complete with a “cake” made of stacked donuts. What could be better for a birthday girl who absolutely adores such baked treats?

Ella, Malena, and Maira enjoyed their picnic in the playhouse.

Nana & Papa Olsen with Sammy

Sammy got a wee crabby, but I love this photo

Becky & Maira

Of course, Ella was most excited about opening presents. They included a lot of princess goodness and pink.

Mama was most excited about this present. I found this a couple months ago in a ‘used stuff for kids’ Facebook group. The bike was $15. A couple weeks later I found a matching helmet and bike bell on in the same group for $5. The helmet is a little too big still, but eventually we’ll pull it out. Twenty bucks for the whole shebang. This mama scored.

When I look at this picture, the realization hits me that I just bought my little girl a bike for her birthday. She’s not old enough for that, right? How is she already four? Whether she lets me say it or not, she’ll always be my baby girl. She’s the sweet little one who first made me a mama and took me through all the trials and errors of what it means to be a parent for the first time. I fully expect to become an expert on it eventually. (Hey, a mama can dream.)

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Tuesday morning, June 25, I snuck into Ella’s room to surprise her with a birthday donut. The night before, I decorated her door with pink and white ribbon, which she had to walk through to leave her room. She loved it.

you can’t see her pinky, but she’s holding up FOUR

Sammy was clearly more interested in the donut than taking a birthday photo…

…until Ella gave him snuggles. He loves Ella snuggles.

In case you didn’t know, I have a girlie who loves to be dramatic. No joke. She’s been dreaming of being on stage since she was little. If you question, just check out this photo. After spending years on stage, I am thrilled to have a little drama flowing through her veins…as long as the drama is more along the lines of cute facial expressions and made-up songs and not sassiness and tears. So far the balance is on the side of the silly songs, thank goodness.

Birthday breakfast leftovers.

Becky and the girls along with Krista and Caleb came over to play in the afternoon. We had planned to go to the zoo, but it was just too hot in the sun. I felt terrible even saying that since we had been waiting for a real summer day. We haven’t had many up here by the lake. Alas, the kids would have scorched in the sun. The backyard is pretty shady in the afternoon. We’ll hit the zoo another day.

After Pete got home from afternoon clinic, we packed up the stroller and headed to Canal Park. It’s always gorgeous in Canal Park, but it’s particularly so in the summer. The night could not have been prettier. We wandered down the Lake Walk, stopped at a little place with mini corndogs for Ella, and watched a gigantic ship come in through the canal. I will never grow tired of the ships in Duluth.

After the ship came and went, we strolled to the shore to throw rocks in the water, one of Ella’s favorite activities.

We had a great time celebrating Ella’s fourth birthday, but the partying is certainly not over! Saturday she’s having her very first “friend” birthday party. She has lots of friends from school she wanted to invite, so we decided to have a party in addition to celebrating with family. I think I have everything we need for the ice cream theme Ella picked a couple months ago. (Okay, I may have coerced her a little bit. It’s a great way to let the kids make something yummy while 1) not making a big cake, and 2) getting rid of a few of the many bottles of cake sprinkles I have. MOSTLY, it was her own choice. Have I ever mentioned how much I love planning parties? I do. A lot.)

Happy fourth birthday week to our Miss Ella!

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* a little glimpse at the week that has passed *

Filed Under: Marriage & Family

Uncle Jake Got Hitched!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Angela @ The Mango Memoirs • 1 Comment

My baby brother is now a married man. This is something I’ve imagined for years and years, praying for the woman he would someday marry. Well, ladies & gentlemen, that young lady was the lovely Valerie Hoven, a woman with grace and beauty who is a perfect match for my brother, Jake. On Friday, May 31, during a whimsical ceremony filled with joy and clear examples of their love for one another and for their heavenly Father, they became husband and wife. I’m teary just writing about it. I simply could not be happier for the two of them.

The formal festivities began Thursday evening for the rehearsal and groom’s dinner. The ceremony took place in the picturesque, sprawling yard of our friend and pastor, John, which is actually the very place Jake & Valerie met a few years ago while attending a small group Bible study. The house and yard are filled with old-Duluth charm, surrounded by trees, and boast a spectacular view of Lake Superior. Perfect for a whimsical wedding.

Thursday evening was chilly but dry. Jake and Sammy had a little time together before the event began.

One thing I knew before knowing who Jake would have stand up in his wedding was that there would be a lot of character in whomever he chose. I was right! Jake has crazy stories with each of these guys. There was a lot of joking and laughing. Wayne, Jonne, Kenny, Nick, and our older brother Mike.

John kept things light during the rehearsal and moved things alone nicely so we could get out of the cold. You just never know what the weather will be like in Northern Minnesota. Last year at the same time was hot! Spring has been late, late, late this year.

My mom and dad. Aren’t they cute? I was so happy for them during all of this.

Seriously, these guys were so fun.

This picture makes me realize that my brother isn’t little Jakey Wakey anymore. Look at him, all handsome and put together. We’ve always been really close.

After the rehearsal, we headed downtown to Tycoon’s, a very cool alehouse and eatery that is located in what was Duluth’s city hall and jail over 100 years ago. How cute are these two?

My mama and my sister, Mama Bex.

My dad and Pete. Pete had his beard, which I loved, until just after the wedding. I think it’s a very “Duluth” look.

I love these two. They’ve been through an awful lot together, and after 32 years of marriage, they are still a beautiful example of love and commitment.

I finally had the opportunity to meet my brother’s girlfriend, Cara. She’s so sweet! They seem very happy together. The fun thing is that I’ve known Cara’s sister since elementary school! We played on the tennis team together in Monticello in junior high and have stayed in touch through Facebook and Instagram.

Jake and our parents.

I have to admit that I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep the night before the wedding. Two days beforehand, I decided that I wanted to make all the cupcakes for the wedding. No worries, I wasn’t throwing things off or ruining someone’s contract. Our friend Anna, who is a fabulous baker, was going to make them, but when the time approached, I realized I did have some time available and really wanted to do it. It had always been the plan that I would make the small cake for them to cut. I already knew what flavors they liked and the whole wedding scheme, so I told them I would take care of everything. We all got home from the groom’s dinner at about 11:30 Thursday night, I slept till 2am and started baking. This may sound awful, but trust me when I say I completely enjoyed it. I had picked up a can of Starbucks iced coffee earlier in the day and had endless episodes of Project Runway on Hulu to play. The house was peaceful and quiet while everyone slept and I baked away. I saw the sun come up, took Ella to preschool, and went home to finish. I eventually squeezed in a nap. It was such a pleasure to provide the cake. I don’t have many photos, so I hope the photographer got a few. Here they were all lined up on my dinning room table, waiting to be delivered. I did about 150 regular size cakes and 75 mini cakes along with the two-tier cake to cut.

Just as I was about to load the Jeep with the cupcakes, this is what happened. HAIL! Goodness, who plans for hail on their wedding day?! It let up after a while, but the pouring rain came and went a few times through the afternoon.

I painted these signs earlier in the week for the wedding route. They were put up the morning of the wedding.

The ladies dressed and primped at the ceremony site, inside the house. I about cried when I saw Valerie. She was stunning. I was focused on being with the girls and having a good time getting ready, so I didn’t take many photos before the wedding. I did snap this, however, of the bride’s necklace. It was a family heirloom and held photos over her grandparents. How beautiful.

At last, I tracked down the man of the hour. We have a photo just like this at my wedding nearly six years ago. He looked so charming!

Ella adores her Uncle Jake.

Again, I didn’t get too many pictures before the wedding, but I did catch this one. Next to the house is an old, stone gazebo with a stone fireplace. It was an ideal location for gifts and the guestbook, which was where my typewriter came in to play. It fit the atmosphere well. I haven’t checked yet, but I do hope many guests wrote notes. I even wrote a little poem to explain how the messages could be done. The gazebo also housed a lovely collection of locally brewed beers, including one that was brewed by the bride and groom for the occasion!

My beautiful Ella, ready to be a flower girl.

My little sister, Jenny, was in charge of keeping the kids together before the ceremony. Not an easy task! All of the nieces and nephews were in the wedding: Hailey (5), Ella (3 1/2), Malena (3 1/2), Maira (2), Wyatt (2), and Sammy (1). They were all pretty adorable.

At long last, it was time for the ceremony! It had been raining most of the day, but at 7pm it stopped and remained dry the rest of the evening. What a blessing. We all lined up on the steps near the house where the guests couldn’t see us. The plan had originally been that Ella would pull Sam in the wagon, but it was tricky because of all the rain. At the last minute, we decided I would carry him since Jake really did want him to be a part of the ceremony. I was happy to have him with me. After Valerie made her entrance, Pete took him for the remainder of the service.

At last, the bride emerged.

And she joined her groom.

A truly beautiful couple.

During the ceremony, the couple served communion to each other. You can see it set up on the barrel behind where we were standing.

After they took communion, the wedding party and parents gathered around the couple to pray.

Finally, John announced the newly married couple and, as they had their first married kiss, a firework exploded from behind the guests!

The fireworks continued as they exited and the band started playing!

We ate and danced the night away. It was absolutely beautiful. The perfect celebration for a couple who has an incredible journey ahead. I’m excited to see where they go together and all that they will do!

Mr and Mrs Scott

To see Jake & Valerie’s fantastic engagement photos, click HERE. Brian Bossany perfectly captured their personalities.

Filed Under: Marriage & Family

Introducing Samuel Thomas Amani!

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Angela @ The Mango Memoirs • 24 Comments

I am now slightly more rested than I was early this morning when I first posted about our little one, so I feel ready to share the details of the last two and a half days. (Has it really only been that long already? Amazing!)

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!!

Filed Under: Down Syndrome, Faith, Marriage & Family

Category Archives: Marriage & Family

Miss Ella Turns Four

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Uncle Jake Got Hitched!

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Introducing Samuel Thomas Amani!

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