Double-Trouble!

Guess what tomorrow is?! John and Mackenzie's birthday. Yup, both of them. Mackenzie was born on my husband's birthday, which happened to be Thanksgiving that year.

November 26, 2003 I left my job for my last day and headed home to use the next two weeks (or so I thought) preparing for the baby to be born around December 10th. We had begun work on the nursery, transforming John's dimly lit and "den-like" decorated office into a brightly-colored, visually stimulating baby's room. John ended up finishing it fast on his own, because that very night/morning at 2 a.m., I went into labor. I couldn't believe it, in fact I didn't really do anything about it for two hours. I just laid there thinking, "I'm not ready yet!" Finally, I called the doctor and apologized for waking him at 4 o'clock in the morning on a holiday, but I thought maybe I should, and he told me to "just come in and see" (if I was truly in labor).

We finally arrived at the hospital just before 6 a.m., after calling my mother & John's mom - mine to stay at the house with Caitlin and his to come along to the hospital (my mom was there for Caitlin's birth and my mother-in-law was out of the country, so we asked her to be there for our 2nd). I hadn't packed ANYTHING yet and I wanted a shower, so we had taken our time...something my doctor would rib me about later. We got checked in and settled in, then prepared for the wait...

Mackenzie didn't make us wait, though. She was born three short hours ON THE DOT between check in and birth time. We noted our check-in time was 6:18 a.m. and she was born at 9:18 a.m.! I was so happy. She was healthy, I did well, I felt great, and knowing I was missing my mother-in-law's FANTASTIC cooking (not to mention John's birthday dinner planned for the next evening), I immediately asked if we could just get up and go home! I even promised to be good and come back if anything went wrong. To which my doctor replied, "Yeah right! Your water broke and you didn't even show up for FOUR HOURS. I don't trust you." ((hee hee)) Actually, because certain congenital heart defects don't show up until after 24hrs after birth....we were staying put no matter what. So I missed Thanksgiving and the birthday party, but of course I gained OH so much more! I would not have traded that time of just the two of us for anything.

Mackenzie has been a HOOT to raise. She is fun, creative, a total free-spirit, and a lover of anything that makes her stand out. Mackenzie is the only child I know who would rather make a dollhouse out of cardboard, old wrappers and used carpet & wallpaper pieces, rather than have the store-bought kind. She will recycle/re-purpose anything she can. Mackenzie wants to literally save the planet, and anything on it. I have comically often called her "our little democrat". Above all, I love the heart she has for others; she has a passionate desire to help those in need & I love that in her.

So tomorrow we will celebrate NINE years of having Mackenzie in our lives and several more of John. haha! Just because this post is mainly about her, don't get me wrong...I am SO BLESSED to have this man in my life and am HONORED to get to call him mine. <3 I will never be able to convey how much I love him, now more than ever.

Happy Birthday, Mackenzie, and Happy Birthday, my LOVE. I love you both and can't wait to celebrate you guys tomorrow!

With all the love in my heart,

Kelly (aka "Mom")