Wren: Party of Three

I realize there has been a huge gap in my blogging over the past 4 months. Let me tell you my reason: Jonah Graham Wren. He entered this world on May 20, 2014 and life has swept us into a whirlwind (in a good kind of way) ever since. People tell you being a parent changes you, but hearing it and experiencing it have been two totally different things! It's been an amazing journey so far. Let me fill you in on the highlights of the Wren family since I last blogged.

Jonah's arrival. Our boy was 1 week and two days past due date when he came into the world. I ended up being induced on a Sunday evening and Jonah did not arrive until Tuesday morning at 9:20am. Long story short, I am incapable of birthing a child larger than 5lbs. That was the reason Jonah never "dropped" and why even after all the induction and contractions and fun stuff like that, along with finally being ready to push and doing so for three hours and still no progress...we ended up "airlifting" him out via c-section. It was such a beautiful journey through it all though. As exhausting and tiring and painful moments of the journey were...it's our story. The story of how Jonah and I first met. And the story of how Jon and I became a family. And I will forever cherish it.

I'm not sure how to summarize four months in a blog entry, but I will try. If I had to describe Jonah in words, it would be: content, peaceful, attentive, patient and oh so very sweet. He did not cry a lot as a newborn. He was gracious to Jon and I as we got our feet under us as parents. And although he was and continues to be so patient and sweet, the first several weeks were extremely tough for one major reason: breastfeeding. I thought after having Jonah, I would finally get my body back to myself since pregnancy is like renting out your body to baby for 9 months! I had no idea how many things can go wrong and what type of hurdles can occur in feeding your child. Jonah and I had our fair share of hurdles but I was determined to do as much breastfeeding as I could. That required tons of support, tons of tears and in the end a smiling mom and happy baby. It was a battle I chose to fight through. If you are a formula feeding mom, I totally respect that avenue as well. But for me, I had decided long
before Jonah was born I would do all I could do to give him as much from me as possible. I had no idea what that would look like played out.

Which brings me to another thing learned on this journey of motherhood: let the ideal picture go. Before I even got pregnant I saw myself running half marathons up until the time he was born. And when it came to labor and delivery I was going to have a wonderful natural child birth and recover in record time (thanks to all the running I did while preggo) and get my pre-pregnancy body back by the time I got home from the hospital. And once home I would happily continue breastfeeding my baby while simultaneously folding laundry and keeping a perfect home. Not to mention all the money I would save our family by cloth diapering Jonah. I had this ideal picture in my head. Now let me tell you how it really looked: I was sick as a dog the whole first trimester. It felt like I had the flu for 12 weeks straight. There was no running going on. Or exercise at all. And I ended up having so many medical interventions in my labor and delivery, and it turned out that one of my favorites was the epidural!!!!  Contractions cannot be defined. After 12 hours, I got one and the amazing feeling of not
feeling anything was priceless. I told the anesthesiologist he was my new best friend. And when it comes to pre-preggo body that was just nuts of me to think old clothes would fit immediately. And due to breastfeeding issues and having to become an exclusive pumper in order to give Jonah breastmilk, the cloth diapers went out the door as an option. (Like I mentioned previously, each mom picks her battles to fight. You can't fight them all).

But back to Jon and I and what's been going on with us. I failed to mention previously that the same week we had Jonah, we closed on our condo. We finally SOLD it!! So needless to say between having a baby and moving, the past few months have been full. I left for the hospital on a Sunday evening from our condo and came home with a baby on Friday evening to our apartment since we were closing on the condo days later. The amazing thing is that some very sweet families who go to our church wanted to help us move and so approximately 50 people came to help us and moved us from our condo to our apartment in 1 hour!!! There were so many people helping us, some stayed to clean our condo so we wouldn't have to before closing. I was in tears because of the kindness we experienced that evening (and it wasn't the post-baby hormones). I was overwhelmed by true,
genuine love. And the love and kindness continued for weeks to come. People bringing us food and checking in on us to see if we needed anything for those first several weeks. I can't adequately describe in words how much we love the people around us, who love us so well. And while an apartment is not our end game, we rejoiced that God had finally answered our prayers and brought along a buyer for our condo and we were now free to move to a bigger space for our growing family. A house is in our future, but for today we give thanks for where we are. Oh and I failed to mention that the people who moved us didn't just get everything to our apartment and leave it...they arranged everything to look homey and move in ready so that we would feel at home with our baby. I'm telling you, these people are some the best around. Their hearts are beautiful.

So it is now almost 4 months later and I can say we finally feel like we have found our rhythm as a family of three. For now at least.  Some advice that I was given while pregnant, which I have found to be priceless, is that I need to let Jon find his own way as a dad to Jonah. I don't need to tell him how to get Jonah to stop crying or how he should spend time with Jonah...I just need to let him be. And I have thought of that advice hundreds of times the past several weeks. And although I didn't always get it right, I tried my best to step aside, and I have seen Jon evolve into an incredibly amazing dad. He has his own relationship with Jonah that is so neat. Jonah hangs out with his dad and interacts with his dad differently than he does me. It's so fun to see that how I soothe Jonah is different than how Jon does. But both ways work. One of the things I have loved most in the past four months is watching Jon fall in love with our little boy. I knew him in my womb, but Jon didn't get to know him until he was on this side. Their relationship is so cool. Sometimes Jonah looks at me like "I'm hanging with dad right now, mom. We need some guy time" :)

Well there's tons more to write but this is at least a start in me hopefully keeping you better updated on our family. I want to post pictures but Google is being weird and I am having technical difficulties (aka I can't figure out how to make it work). So find me on Instagram and follow me there in the meantime if you want picture updates. The whole purpose in me getting an Instagram account was to keep friends/family updated via pictures. My username is: michellewren83

We hope each of you are doing well. Thanks for journeying with us.

Jon, Michelle and Jonah

Waiting on a Baby

As I type this blog entry, I am sitting in the nursery, in the rocking chair, where our sweet boy will soon call home. Belly is large. Cat is laying by my feet. House is quiet. Husband still sleeping. And all hearts in this family are full. Of excitement. Anticipation. Love. Gratefulness. And if we are being completely honest...a little anxious about what this next chapter looks like! If I think about it too long I will get teary eyed. God has been and continues to be so very good. Seasons like this one are what I carried hope for during the years in the wilderness and tough times of life. Thank you God for all seasons. They mold us. Make us. More of who we are desired to be.

I am 38 weeks preggo this weekend. Here in about an hour we leave for the doctor to have our weekly check-up to make sure all is well and to find out if progress is happening yet. We received news a couple weeks ago that the process towards labor is officially underway, we just don't know when it will really start up. I can't believe we are so close. It feels like just yesterday we were talking about plans on becoming a family. And then shortly after, telling Jon I was pregnant (and him making me take THREE tests before it fully registered for him) ;) What a journey. Sick as a dog the first few months. Pretty good the second trimester. And even though I waddle now and have heartburn a bit at night, the third trimester has been the best. I really have no complaints. It's crazy because this child has gone from a desire. To reality. To a kidney bean. To now a full baby boy squirming around in my belly all throughout the day. I am prepared for my heart to explode when I finally SEE him. And even thinking about it, I know I am not prepared at all for how overwhelmingly beautiful that moment will be. Will he have Jon's eyes and smile? I hope so. My sense of humor? Hope so too. :) This beautiful little boy that will be our hearts in human form.

All things are laundered and put away. Diapers are stacked and ready to go. Grandparents have bags packed for the call to come to the hospital. Mom and dad are spending the days going on last minute dates and soaking up the remaining time of this chapter of our lives, before the next one begins. We are surrounded by oodles of love from family and friends. A ginormous amount of encouragement. And the promise from God that He is with us always. What more could a girl ask for? :)

We love you.
Jon, Michelle and Baby Boy Wren

Back From The Holidays!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! A lot of life has happened since our last blog. We have traveled to Wichita to visit Jon's parents for Thanksgiving and then traveled to Chicago to see my family for Christmas. It was so great to see family on both sides and spend time with those we love during the holiday seasons!! I also have some exciting life updates to share with you all!

First off, I should start this blog with what you probably care about most. On Friday, December 20th Jon and I found out that we are having a BABY BOY!!! The ultrasound very clearly showed us his gender!! We are so excited about a little boy! Also, at that ultrasound, baby had his 20 week anatomy scan. This is where they take about 20-30 minutes and scan in on EVERY major area of growth for baby. They check his brain, his heart, his stomach, his kidney, his face, etc. It was awesome to see baby for so long and so close in detail! At one point of the ultrasound scan, we watched the valves of baby boy's heart open and close and function as they should. It was incredible. With each scan, baby kept getting the clear. The end result was that he is doing wonderful at current stage of growth and there were no markers of concern in his development. At one point, the ultrasound tech just let us watch our baby interact in my womb. He was so hilarious...sucking his thumb, kicking his legs and trying to get his thumb back in his mouth after it would fall out. He is beautiful. And full of spunk. The tech ended our time with her by saying, "What a fun baby to begin my day with!" Already baby boy Wren is making a difference in peoples' lives. :) Here is one of my favorite photos from our 20 week ultrasound.

Also, in other exciting news, I PASSED MY LICENSURE EXAM!! In late November I took the marriage and family national licensure exam (all 3.5 hrs of it) and found out a month later that I passed it!! This is hugely wonderful news. This means the only thing I have left to complete before being a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist is to finish my 1,000 post graduate clinical hours...and I only have about 150hrs left to get!! My goal is to finish these hours before baby comes in May so I can head out on a maternity break (for as long as we would like) before beginning to work again. Having a licensure means I can function on my own as a therapist (no longer will need ongoing supervision like I do being an associate) and am capable of billing insurance (which means more client opportunities since most people prefer to pay via insurance) So this is wonderful news. And if you know about my lack of test taking ability you can appreciate this even more. Tests have always been more difficult for me. And this test was a biggie. I just prayed God would honor what I had diligently studied and walk with me through the exam. He was faithful as always.

One of my most favorite moments since the last time I updated the blog, was on Sunday, December 8th when Jon and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary!! We had planned to go to the Village Anchor (the restaurant where we first met) but it had really snowed that whole weekend here, so we decided not to drive that far. We instead bundled up and walked down the sidewalk to a local café for brunch  which is in the neighborhood where we live. It was wonderful. I cannot believe it has already been a year but I have loved every difficult, amazing, stressful, wonderful moment of this past year and am looking forward to many, many more!! Jon honors me and loves me in a way that makes me feel so treasured and so beautiful and I strive everyday to honor him and love him in a way that he feels respected and appreciated. I am constantly grateful to God for bringing Jon and I together. He was definitely worth all the years of waiting. :)

Well, there is much more to write but I feel these are the highlights of what has happened since our last blog. I hope to blog more frequently and include more photos in the upcoming year to keep us all connected. In the meantime, my sweet baby boy is kicking and a moving in my belly as I type. So I am gonna wrap this blog up and go on a walk! We hope this blog finds each of you happy, healthy and well!!

As always, much love--

Jon, Michelle and Baby boy.

BABY, it's cold outside!!!

I am SO EXCITED to officially announce on our blog that the Wren Family becomes a FAMILY OF 3 come May 2014!!!! Dear world, please meet our sweet baby Wren:

As of today, we are 15 weeks along! The picture above that you see is from our most recent 13wk ultrasound. At first, baby was so relaxed and cozy that he/she wouldn't move at all. The ultrasound tech  pushed on my abdomen a little and that's when baby really started moving and a grooving! Here is our favorite photo from the day. The crazy thing is that only 5 weeks earlier, baby was just the size of a little bean.

When I saw baby on the screen I couldn't help but tear up! I was holding Jon's hand next to me and we just stared at the screen in awe of this baby that will be pieces of us. It was truly incredible. My heart, at that moment, walked out of my chest and into the screen with that little one and immediately I felt so much love for the life growing inside me. We won't get to know, for sure, the gender until week 20 ultrasound. But one of the shots of the day did allow the ultrasound tech to take a guess. She said it was a 90% guess. We are thrilled she at least tried to find out, and we can't wait to have it confirmed at next ultrasound. That is when we will let everyone know! Oh, and that ultrasound day will be on December 20th. So MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US!! ; )

This journey started out with a lot of excitement, followed by tons of nauseousness and fatigue, and then my belly started to take on a life of its own, and brings us to today where I am feeling good and continuously excited as baby grows bigger. And no matter the symptoms, I would do all of this for the joy of having a healthy, happy baby at the end of this journey. Jon has been amazing through all of this so far as well. I mean, I experience the changes but so does he in his own way!! He is wonderful and I am reminded over and over how blessed I am to live life alongside him. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for our little family and I am excited for all the fun family traditions and memories we will have and make, and journeys we will take, just the three of us. 

We will definitely keep you posted on the blog of how life is progressing around here!! Thanks for celebrating with us during this wonderful season!!

All our LOVE!

Jon, Michelle and Baby Wren 

NEED.

You probably thought we dropped off the face of the planet. Sorry about that. Since our last blog post in July we have had a WHIRLWIND of life happening around our home and in our lives. Let me update you.

We have been selling my condo and Jon's house that we each owned before we got married. Neither are places we could grow into as a family someday. So we have been working our little hind ends fixing up both and maintaining them for showings, packing up all our life into cardboard boxes and living with things scattered everywhere. And I enjoy a good, organized home where everything has it's place and it feels cozy...so that's been a struggle for me. And Jon's pretty organized too so I know it has not been thrilling for him either. However, as I type this blog, we officially have a contract on the condo and a contract on his house. The hard work and prayers are coming full circle, and it is hopeful we will be free of both properties before Thanksgiving dinner.

I was intending to take the MFT Exam in August, however I failed to realize the testing site didn't have me registered under my new married name. Which delayed registration. Which means I missed the deadline. Which means I didn't get to take it as expected. So still gotta knock that exam out. As of this week, I officially have approval from the MFT Board to move ahead and register for the exam window coming up and I will be passing that test as Michelle Wren.

A few weeks ago, we had a scare. One of my mom's tests came back with a spot. They wanted to do a biopsy to declare if her breast cancer had returned or if it was a benign spot. 7 years ago she had fought against cancer, and the thought of that ugly, horrible, disease invading again all but took the life out of me. I was pretty down for a couple weeks while in the waiting. We recently got official news that the spot was a 3/4" in diameter piece of fatty tissue. We are so grateful for this wonderful news. I can now joke with mom that now I know where she hides all her fat, since she's such a little bitty thing: under her armpit ; )

There are other things up in the air and happening in our lives and I am sure I will be giving more updates again here real soon. But in the midst of all that is going on God continues to remind me of my complete and utter dependence on Him alone. One of the things that is wonderful about being married and then going through stressful times is that Jon is able to remind me of my faith and trust in God when I don't feel it. And I am able to do the same for him. It is such a priceless gift we can give each other. But it is also difficult to realize how out of control and powerless we are to fix or change what the other person is going through. When I was so sad about mom, Jon could only do so much and come so far in meeting me where I was. And that wasn't due to him not doing everything he could to reach me. I realized there is a space for each of us, all of us, in which the only person who can completely join us in those moments whether they be filled with sadness, hopelessness, frustration, disrespect, or hurt...is God Himself. There is so much in life we cannot control. There is so much yet ahead that will be difficult times for Jon and myself. And one of the best things we can learn early in our marriage is how to take the other before the Throne of God in prayer. Taking each other to the One who is everything we need, recognizing we can never be all each other needs.

There's a song that keeps resonating with me during this season of life. Despite all the stressful times and difficulties we are experiencing, this is also such a sweet and wonderful season for Jon and myself as well. For all the times, Matt Maher's song "Lord, I Need You" keeps playing on repeat in my headphones and my heart. I hope it encourages you too!

We look forward to sharing more SOON!

Love you all.

Jon and Michelle

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

For full disclosure, I must mention that as I type this blog I am sitting in our office at home, sipping on some deliciously warm Ethiopian coffee my hubs graciously made for us this morning, and listening to James Taylor's Christmas CD. It's perfect. On top of that, I was organizing some photos from the past year and came across this one: Jon and I in front of our "Palm Christmas Tree" this past Christmas. Our very first Christmas together. I love this picture. I love Christmas.

And most of you probably think I am crazy because it is far from Christmas time around here: we are in one of the hottest months of the year and far from any chill in the air, nevertheless, snow. But I am ALWAYS in the Christmas spirit. I LOVE that time of year. But not because of all the gift giving, although that is fun, it is far from my love language. I am a quality time/encouraging words kind of girl. And that is why I love Christmas. People stay in and hang out by the fireplace together a little longer, have chats about life and love and everything in between, play board games more, listen to great music, eat good food, sip on extra cups of coffee, cider or hot chocolate. It's the best. People soak in the moments together a little better during the Christmas season, I believe. And I absolutely love it. Which gets me thinking about our family of two. And what I desire for us to be as a family. I want our home to be filled yearly, like it tends to be at Christmas time: filled with a warm welcome; a good smelling candle always burning; always space at our dinner table for a guest; less technology turned on and more time in conversation with one another or company; the closet always full of board games; a slower paced environment that encourages us to not miss the simple things; and a desire to reach out in service to those in need around us.

God has a purpose in why He brought Jon and I together. We have already seen so many reasons of why He put us in each others lives. But I am finding if we are not intentional, we will slide into cruise control of what "married" life is and "family" life is according to the world, and miss out on what God's intentions and plans are for us. We desire more than this world. We want to be a family focused on what God has for us. To build His kingdom, not our own. His ways are good and pure and true. We want that. And on this hot July morning if some Christmas music and hot coffee can help remind me of what we want to be about...then... "Let It Snow!" ; )

All our love!
The Wrens

Summertime, Summertime!

It is hard to believe June is almost over and July is on its way. Yeesh. Time flies. Jon continues to stay busy with church stuff and I am studying for my Marriage and Family Licensure exam and obtaining the rest of my clinical hours before OFFICIALLY being licensed. This journey has been so long, but the finish line is close and we are looking forward to having Fall 2013 as a huge celebration of being DONE and LICENSED!!

I have some pictures of what has been going on the past 6 months for us, and will share them on the blog here once I can download them from Jon's phone. One of the sweetest photos is from when Jon and I went to go visit a couple at the hospital who just had a baby. In the midst of me handing the baby to Jon to hold, I caught him smell the little baby's head. It was SO SWEET!! His response: "What...babies smell good." It was adorable.

Let's see. Other news around here. I have been doing a Crossfit workout at the Y the past few months and absolutely love it. I can now do more push-ups than ever in my life and feel stronger each time. Jon continues to run his miles and lift weights. We love the fact that our YMCA is part of the neighborhood we live. Also, I got on a kick of watching documentaries and watched "Forks Over Knives" and "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices." Due to this fact, I now am trying to eat more of a plant-based diet and am trying to find good deals anywhere but Wal-Mart. Jon lovingly supports me. ; )

And to end this post, here is what we are reading these days:

I am currently reading "Counterfeit Gods" by Timothy Keller and Jon is reading "Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love To Attend" by Andy Stanley. We'll keep you posted on our reviews of each.

Hope this finds each of you happy, healthy and loved. Let us know how we can be praying for you!

The Wrens