I've Got My Priorities Straight....

...trust me.

So after this announcement.......

And after this fun hospital detour.....


...for some high blood pressure.....

....And this fun hospital stay.....


.... for the beginnings of pre-eclampsia...

Baby Hannah decided it was time to greet the world!!! But, I get ahead of myself.

Amanda was admitted to the hospital (for the 2nd time this pregnancy) on Saturday evening because her blood pressure continued to get higher and higher. On Monday morning, her doc decided that it was time (since Amanda was close enough to her due date of July 31) for Hannah to come meet us!! Since I can work from anywhere with a computer, I went up to sit with Amanda while her hubby Brandon had a meeting. This was around 12:30pm or so....

By 2:30pm, this one nurse had stuck Amanda 4 times to get her IV started.

By 3pm, Amanda's parents had arrived with Madison (Amanda and Brandon's 3-yr-old) in tow.



By 4:30pm, Brandon was suited up, ready to get this party started...



By 5:45pm, the doc had arrived (finally) and the party actually WAS getting started...



And then the waiting began (you know, after this 5-ish hour initial wait...) Amanda's c-section was bumped by an emergency c-section, so at 6:25pm or so, a nurse came in and told us that they actually were getting started. After waiting, oh, 30 minutes or so, I decided that I would run and put up my laptop. It was LITERALLY 2 minutes down the hall. I was gone for LITERALLY TWO minutes, and in this time, I missed them rolling the newly-arrived Baby Hannah into the hall! Are you kidding me?? After waiting for 6 1/2 hours with camera ready, I miss the official roll-in?!?!?

But I still got to see her...



...And then she was promptly whisked away to the nursery for some good pokes and prods...



It was amazing to get to watch Brandon bond with Hannah. The look of adoration in his eyes was something I've never really seen before. So amazed, so thankful, so loving. It was incredible to glimpse this kind of unconditional love. I imagine this is about as close as we can get to actually seeing what God's love for us is like...



Brandon announced Miss Hannah Grace Luedke's stats...

So then we decided to order dinner, because, you know, I've got my priorities straight. And after getting tired of waiting for the nursery to bring Hannah into the recovery room where we were sitting with Amanda, I decided to actually eat the dinner I ordered. And I promptly missed Miss Hannah being wheeled back to the room. Really!??!

Then, after sitting in the waiting room for a couple more hours, we decided to move to Amanda's room so the guys could watch the home run derby. Where I proceeded to do this...



Oh, yes, ladies. You're interpreting that look correctly. This is the "I am going to pee my pants" look. I was attempting to pop wheelies in the wheel chair that I'd commandeered from the hall, and was getting pretty good at it, until I got tickled enough to almost pee my pants. I didn't actually, you know, pee my pants.

Then, after getting reprimanded by 3 different nurses, we were told that Amanda was about to be brought back into the room, so we had to clear out so they could do their thing. Which was a mistake on their part, because we actually goofed around in the hall for 30 minutes before they actually brought Amanda in, so we had time to do stuff like:


..Ask hospital employees to take our picture... (BTW, I love Brian's sorority pose here...)


....Act disgruntled about waiting....


...And generally wreak havoc in the hospital halls, you know, because we've got our priorities straight...

Alas, it was about 10:30pm at this point, and we were ready to hold us some baby. It was not to be, because for SOME reason, mother and baby need their rest!! ;-)

So I returned yesterday for some good baby-holding time (Brandon had pointed out that as long as I held her before 6:49pm yesterday, it was still technically her first day...) So if you're counting, you will know that I've blown off two days of work this week so far. But I assure you, I DO have my priorities straight:



How could this precious angel not be a TOP priority?? She is in my book! ;-)

What?!?! You didn't know my life was in disarray??

Ha! Then we haven't been chatting enough...

Well, the time has come folks. I've dropped hints, and those of you who speak with me on a regular basis already know that the poo has hit the fan.

In late January this year, we caught wind of some big changes coming down the pipes at our franchise's corporate office. Once the dust settled, we decided that it was not in our best interest to continue with our current business operation, and were left with the decision of what to do next- we had clients who were currently working on jobs with us, a retail lease and the fact that we'd been marketing as a certain company for 2 years.

So, we began the SLOOOOOOW process of developing a new company brand. There was the retail space to deal with, and a lot of action behind the scenes to incorporate what we had already learned into the new company. Slowly, the name emerged, then the brand and we began to discuss the transition with our current clients.

Just this week, we got the website to a place where it's presentable enough to mention. I won't say "done" because websites should be ever-evolving, but I'm happy enough to at least put it out there. You will see the link on my sidebar for our business blog has changed, and announces our new company: Fresh Look Creative.

So, this is us!!

We're very excited to be wiping our hands, so to speak, of the past, and in private conversation, I will happy to dish the dirt, but for the sake of this public blog, we are MOVING FORWARD!!

Yeah!! Feel free to visit the new website: FreshLookCreative.com

(Yes, I know that currently there are only 2 examples of our work there- I'm working on it. Yes, I know the same picture is on every page, I'm working on it.) Hehehe. I'm just so excited to have something that is presentable. Finally!!

So, if you didn't know that my life was in disarray, don't worry. We're getting back into the swing of things here, so that's actually OLD news now...

;-)

How American are WE?!?!?

So for the 4th of July this year, we went to Lubbock, where Brian's parents live. They live just outside of town where it's legal to blow off fireworks, and let me tell you, the neighborhood is bumpin' every year as everyone's great aunts, second cousins and best friend's great nephews come out to blow off fireworks. I'm serious- my father-in-law Stewart has to put out cones every year to keep crazies from parking on his lawn and lighting his shrubs on fire.

Stewart usually cooks for everyone on the 4th, but this year, Brian asked if he could try his hand at bar-b-que. (My daddy has an awesome BBQ recipe and technique, and Brian has been working up the nerve to try this feat.) So, Stewart agreed to hand over the tongs and oven mitt this year to Brian, and Linda (mother-in-law), Andrea (sister-in-law) and I handled the sides.

Check out the goods!!


Sauce Prep


Equipment (Stewart actually made this grill in his workshop- how cool is that?!?!)


Starting to look yummy!!


My crazed knife-wielding cook, starting to get hungry for some ribs!!


My Pina-Colada Cake, all done up for the 4th of July


Hehhee. Fireworks begin!


My bestie Morgan and beautiful sister-in-law, Andrea


Morgan finishes the night strong

We had so much fun, and the food was great! We're so blessed that Stewart and Linda have such a great place that we could go relax and have fun with friends. Yeah, America!!