today jonathan robert is 4 years old....

I remember the day he was born....right on my due date. I went in on a Thursday afternoon for a check because I had not slept in 2 days, and was having contractions. I was 4 centimeters dilated. Knowing how quickly I've had some of the other babies, and this being my 15th child, (counting Robert, who was "born" the previous June), the midwife sent me directly to the hospital. Please can I go home and get my stuff, I asked. So I drove home, and Emily went back with me to the hospital. I remember it was a beautiful day and the kids were outside, and when I shouted to them that I was going to the hospital to have the baby, they didn't believe me...When Sonja was born, two years previously, my sister came to visit me during labor, with 7 teenage girls: a few of her daughters, a few of mine, and a few of my brother's....I was so near to giving birth, and was in a huge birthing room, I told them they could stay if they wanted to. They did. They were lined up on the side of the room....and Sonja's birth was amazing. I kept it secret how each contraction was bringing her so far down.....then I told the midwife it was time, and she pretty much fell out. Just amazing. The girls all held her before I did. They were pretty awed...Emily really liked it and started thinking about being a midwife. So, she came with me for Jon's birth. She is such a comforting presence. She is low-key, she rubbed my back, and encouraged me. Paul was there too, and Em's being there had no intruding feeling to it. She got a bit queasy once, seeing me in pain near the end, and had to leave, but she was back for the birth. Then she came with me when Charlotte was born, and was again quite a comfort. Camille was born too quickly after my arrival at the hospital, and Emily was at Walmart with Jon and Charlotte, and missed it. Anyway, she is still going to college along with her job as a nurse, she wants to be a midwife....

Anyway, I guess my body got tired, and I got stuck at 6-7 centimeters. I was just exhausted. I had been in labor for days....I had resisted pitocin, I wanted to go on my own with no medication. But by 6:30 in the morning, my resistance was wearing out....so, pitocin was started. The contractions got stronger quickly, and Jonathan was born at I think 8:10 am on April 30, 2004. He cried for the first hour, but boy was he cute. He had a full head of dark hair, and beautiful blue eyes. The kids all came to see him when he was just hours old. A boy, after 5 girls in a row! I felt that God was being extra merciful to send us a boy, after losing Robert. One thing that surprised me a bit though, I was still sad about Robert...anyway, Mr. Jon has 5 sisters directly older than him, and two younger.....and he still loves cars and trucks and tractors. He has 11 sisters altogether, and 4 brothers. But Samuel, closest brother in age to Jon, is 12. At least he saved most of his toys.

In honor of Jon's birthday, we are going to Lowes, the toilet store. Our kids really like that store. I absolutely love it, but try to stay out of it because it makes it hard to be content. It just fills my head with ideas of all the improvements we could make...but today, we have a purpose. We are buying a microwave. I have looked at Target, Wal-Mart, and BJ's online...I have a $10 off coupon for Lowes, and they sell some bigger microwaves for reasonable prices....And, they have really nice car-car carts. Race-car carts, Jon says. I've been trying to get going all day, but after being gone yesterday, I keep finding things to do here....