11 Years into Eternity- and Loving It!!

Many of you are wondering who those two kids are?! We wonder sometimes ourselves.

If you can see the date stamp on the side you will see that it was taken Aug. 22, 1997.

Peter and I had stopped fighting our destiny and been dating for a few weeks.

This photo was taken on a camping trip with his family.

Aw, now Peter is home from his mission and we are more accepting of our destiny but must have one last battle before deciding if eternity is really for us!

Yes, eternity is most definitely for us!

This picture was taken August 19, 2000. What a lovely, young couple!

And here we are 11 years later and still smiling!

I am so grateful that years ago this amazing man was willing to give my stubborn heart and mind another chance to be by his most amazing side! He was so cute, sincere, honest, and spiritual (truly this is one of the things that caught my eye- spirit might be a better word- first) that I was humbled to be with him. We left the rest up to the Lord and so far things are working out splendidly! The rest of Eternity will be a great adventure!

I love you Peter! Thanks for the great week of surprises!

Love,

Missy Magoo

A Birth Story with a Man's Perspective

(Warning: this is long due to me wanting to get it down for posterity's sake.)

The chain of events in photos.

Description below.

Above: Thursday night as I was checking in.

Below: Me in the final stage (minutes) of Labor- I did not know this was taken.

Lily's birth has a unique story as does each child's but the above picture is the way Peter has described her entrance into this life.

Joey was my first and so I did not know what to expect. I was induced the day before my due date and spent 4 1/2 hours off and on pitocin. I got an epidural and Joey was born 15 minutes la

ter by the doctor. For a first timer, it was pretty quick and gave me valuable knowledge to tuck away until the next delivery.

Jon, I had been having contractions all day long off and on. It was getting later and so we headed to the hospital to see if it was real. My contractions pretty much stopped but Jon's heart rate dropped low after one last contraction so we stayed. I got antibiotics and then they broke my water and started pitocin and 1 1/2 hours late he was born without the doctor. This time I went all natural because I had almost made it the first time so I knew what to expect.

Arabella, due to the previous speedy deliveries I was a bit nervous about making it to the hospital for her delivery. Again, I had some contractions during the night, headed to the hospital for them to stop and get sent home. I slept. I had a good hard contraction about 1:30 and had one about every 20-30 minutes until about 3:15 when they got a little closer. At 4:05 my water broke at home and we made a mad rush to the hospital where the nurses did not believe I was ready to deliver until they saw the head was crowning and I was ready to push. If anyone ever tells you to just keep your legs closed I encourage you to laugh in their face. Anyhow, Arabella came into the world at 4:54 and was caught by a nurse wearing one glove that was only about 3/4 of the way on.

Now Lily. Her pregnancy was complicated by my anti-phosphlipid syndrome (clotting disorder). Due to this, my OB and my peri-natalogist did not want me to go over 39 weeks so I was induced at 38 1/2. I had to stay overnight at the hospital where I was given some cervix softener and antibiotics (strep positive).

About 6:30 am I was started on pitocin and my doctor broke my water about 7:00 at which time I was only about a 1 1/2 to 2 cm. It did not seem like a whole lot was happening and so they kept increasing the pitocin. About 9 am they had me roll on to my side and that seemed to do the trick. I began to have stronger contractions. About 9:56, according to Peter, I started to really complain of pressure. I was a 5 but would go to a 7 with a contraction and I was nauseated which is an indicator for me that the end is near. I asked them to call the doctor and they gave me some Zofran for the nausea. My doctor showed up about 10:15 and checked me, I was an 8. She told me not to push yet- good advice but begins to get tricky when you are getting medications that causes your uterus to contract on its own and you don't really have control over that muscle anyways.

My nurse (who was training a new nurse) came in and I told her that I was really uncomfortable and did not think I could make it any longer. She said okay, put on a glove and opened my legs to check me and there was no stopping the inevitable. My doctor who had stepped into the hall came in and saw the head was about 1 inch out, turned to put on her gloves and missed the delivery. Yes, that is right. The picture above is how Peter described what happened "A great white shark launching out of the water". I asked if he could not at least call it a whale (it seems more majestic), he said, "No it really was more like a great white."

Now, mind you I did not push- except for what my body was doing beyond my control. So, basically once the head was out past the widest part, Lily "launched" into this world and almost landed in the nurse's lap. (The new nurse said later that she was really glad she had not come in to check me because she did not think she was ready to deliver a baby. The nurse who delivered worked in California where apparently it is not unusual for doctors to miss births and so she had done dozens.) My doctor was stunned to say the least and after checking me said, "Now, Miss Lily you could not have waited for me to get my gloves on."

It was quite the experience. I was so relieved she was here and healthy! We both were healthy-

I did not have any major bleeding which was a risk due to my blood thinners but I was in great hands. Lily came out wanting to eat- she is still a good eater but initially she lost weight. We came home on Saturday night and she weighed a mere 5 lbs 13 oz. (A whole pound lighter than any of our other kids.) She is filling out though- by Monday she was back to 6lbs even.

Lily and I ready to go home and her foot is as narrow as and as long as Peter's thumb.

My parents came on Thursday night and stayed until the next Saturday. We loved having them here. The kids had a great time with grandma and grandpa. Jon and Arabella cried when it was time for them to go- as did I. I love being with my family and having the extra help was wonderful. It also helped that my dad has an i-pad with angry birds and my mom has an i-touch with angry birds and a few games for Arabella. My boring non-gaming phone just can not compare.

Lily gets held plenty by all of us. Jon is especially doting. He will just wonder over by her and give her a kiss or rub her hair. She looks most like him. I think she is going to be a blond. Her hair now reminds me of Peter's baby pictures and he was very blond as a kid.

Our life is an adventure and we are trying to make the most of each day-with these 4 kids!

She is here!

Lilian Grace Rabner arrived this morning at 10:26 am quickly (not unusual for our children).

She weighs 6 lbs 5 oz and 19 1/4 inches.

She has a good amount of hair and it is lighter in color with a slightly red tone to it; more like Jon than Joey. The kids have only seen her through the nursery window but will see her again tonight. We will post pictures of all of the sibling love.

She is adorable and we are so relieved she is here and healthy!

Proud dad!

A little skin to skin time to keep her warm.

Checking out this bright new world.

So peaceful!

Counting Down the Days

At my appointment on Monday, my doctor scheduled me with the hospital for my induction.

I need to be at the hospital next Thursday night at 8:00 pm. I will be monitored all night long due to me not being able to take my blood thinners that night to reduce the risk of hemorrhage. No blood thinners means an increased risk for baby so I will be monitored during the night and the induction will begin Friday morning.

It is here! This experience seems a long time in coming.

She is a blessing and I am so excited to meet her! (I am also intensely curious to see how big she is and what color hair she will have- red, brown or something new?)

The kids are doubly excited because Grandma and Grandpa are coming and the baby is finally almost here.

Peter is just amazing- he has completed the to do list and is now working on a few other things that I wanted to get done before October when we have more family coming for Joey's Baptism and Lily's blessing. I am such a lucky woman!

One week- hurray!

Baby To Do List

So I have 17 days until I deliver this baby but who is counting!

As with any other pregnant woman in the world, I am nesting. I have done my usual cleaning of things but a little more extensively and I find myself wanting to do some odd things. For example, the other day while in the shower I came awfully close to deciding that was the day to replace the caulk around the shower. I did not do it because it is better to have Peter do it, I may have done something wrong and he would end up doing it again anyways.

Anyhow I am sharing a few of the things on my to do list with you:

1. Stay cool by eating lots of popsicles and shaved ice!

2. Keep the kids happy and cool by playing with the hose in the yard and swimming at friend's pools regularly.

3. Play at the zoo or museum or Bass Pro Shop to see the fish for something different to do when it is 102 or higher outside.

4. Lose a tooth- well that was on Jon's to do list. For me, I needed to get him to the dentist to get a chipped tooth fixed. Peter ended up being the lucky one to take him and the other two kids while I was at 2 doctor appointments of my own.

5. More staying cool when it is too hot!

6. Eat ice cream when it is hot and share with Sasha if you are Arabella.

7. Get Arabella a big girl bed. She loves it and has done really well going to bed in it. She has not taken a nap since we got it but oh well.

8. Paint the boys room. This was a project that took a week but we are all happy with how it turned out.

9. Have a baby shower. We had a duo shower for me and my 1st counselor who is delivering a boy 3 days before me. So much Fun!

10. Fulfill traditions. We have eaten at a new restaurant just before the births of each of our kids. This time we ate at Hard Eight a delicious BBQ place by Peter's office. Yummy!

11. Wash baby clothes.

12. Pack diaper bag and my bag (this is not completed yet). I am taking both outfits to the hospital because I can not decide which to bring her home in.

13. Organize Arabella's closet- including sorting several bins of clothes .

14. Peter built and installed the shelves on the left in the girls' closet. They will be so handy!

15. I still need to finish organizing this room - although since taking this picture it has already had some work done. I still have 2 bins of boy clothes to sort and food storage to put away that I bought today.

16. We will be cleaning carpets this afternoon and evening.

17. I will be making freezer meals this week.

18. Peter and I will be going on a date Friday night to see Harry Potter.

19. Get out the car seat, swing, and bouncer and wash them (this is one that Peter has reminded me he could take care of if the baby did come earlier than already planned-he is the BEST!).

20. Continue to enjoy being pregnant, in case this is our last. I am trying to love my swollen feet. I do love feeling her kick and move- that is a great feeling.

Well, there you have it and I am glad that so much of it is done.

4th of July

What is sad is that I do not have any pictures from the actual 4th of July.

What is not sad is that we had a great extended weekend of fun!

Saturday our ward had a pancake breakfast with bike parade. The pancakes were plentiful and yummy with all sorts of baked in treats including: gummy bears, chocolate chips and various fruits. Decorating bikes was a great deal of fun, so was riding them. Jon only wanted his decorated- he did not want to ride. Peter had pulled Arabella in the trailer and the boys rode their bikes to the church. It was a true test for Jon and Peter. They made it though!

After the kids rode around there was shaved ice. We have tried to find block ice here and have been unsuccessful so we bought some molds and have made our own. We stockpiled and shared in the shaved ice goodness with the ward. Of course, everyone loved it!

Does she look good or what!

Peter the master of ice mutilation. Although, the kids and several members of the ward were impressed to see that I could make a decent shaved ice.

Joey decorated all by himself and is a great rider. He rides his bike almost every morning when Peter takes Sasha for a run.

Arabella's favorite part was having little girls to play with!

We simply enjoyed the rest of Saturday and Sunday.

Monday, we had Peter's sourdough pancakes with Magelby's syrup for breakfast- Jon says they are dad's super special secret recipe pancakes. Then we went to a friend's house to swim and grill and yes we took the shaved ice machine. We swam for almost 4 hours. It was wonderful! The kids had a great time and Jon did some superb swimming. We through some ice blocks in the pool and timed them to see how fast they melted. It took about 6 minutes. Thank you Ostermillers for the funnest day. Finally we stuck with the tradition of the past few years and went to see a movie. When you live in places where it is blistering hot it is nice to do something cool and air conditioned. We saw Cars 2 and it was enjoyed by all. As we left the theater, the fireworks in various cities were going off and we watched them over the trees as we drove home. All in all it was a great day! This is a great country and I am so grateful I live here.

Rangers Game and a Storm

On June 20, we were lucky enough to go to a Rangers game. It was really fun and they won!

Peter's boss gave us 4 tickets. We took the boys and left Arabella home with a babysitter, which at first Jon thought sounded like more fun- he changed his mind after we got there.

Joey eating his frozen lemonade- he loves them!

Happy to be out to a game!

This is the treat that Jon chose and made him very happy. Yes, that pretzel is bigger than Peter's hand. We all enjoyed it and it was a mere $12.50.

A bit of a funky angle but we were having fun!

Our tickets were on row 20, third baseline- GREAT seats!

We only stayed until the bottom of the 7th and then it was late enough so we headed home.

On the way home, we noticed a great deal of lightning over the Lewisville area.

About 2:30 in the morning, that lightning turned into a full on storm.

The rain was pounding so hard that it woke both Peter and I up. The kids slept through it due to the direction the rain was hitting the house- their windows were not getting pounded like ours.

We headed downstairs to check out what was happening- that is hail and Sasha's bowl that had been empty was full and overflowing with rain and hail.

Peter showing the size of the hail. It rained so hard, so fast that it flooded into our garage and the road in front of our house was a river.

Our garden took a beating. It was looking so nice and then it looked as though it was destroyed.

Those were cantaloupe and watermelon plants. You will be relieved to know that much of the garden is making a come back. We lost a cucumber plant.

Joey really wanted to help clean up. He swept our neighbors driveway. I also took this to document the squash plants that had grown up and over and down the fence, in case they did not survive. These plants are still alive and the vines that are on the ground have started to take root- crazy!

I posted a picture of my lilies a few weeks ago. They looked so sad and still do not look so great. Almost every leaf was broken or torn. They survived a freeze this last winter so I have not given up all hope.

I feel this need to get caught up on my blogging- it could not possible have anything to do with a baby coming very soon (4 1/2 weeks)!