The Hospital

I'm finally getting around to blogging again.  I forget how busy/sleepy/stressed I get the first few weeks after having a baby.  This birth was much different than the others, which is normal I guess, since every pregnancy is different.  I don't like being induced, lets just get that out in the open now.  However, I had the most AMAZING nurse ever, who kept me comfortable, and happy.  Remember how I said I don't really like this hospital because I know so many people who work there?  Well, my fear came true and my nurse was a girl I graduated with, Amy.  However, I will say, I was scared for NOTHING.  She was the BEST nurse ever, and if I have any more kids, I hope she is my nurse again.  She was AMAZING.

We arrived for the induction at 6am, and by 8am, they started the pitocin.  While we waited for things to get in full gear, I read some of my book, while Sexy Farmer took a nap.  By noon-12:30, things were starting to get painful, and Boone arrived at 1:02pm.

 My sister, DJ, kept the boys for us (Lilli was with her dad).  I took them over to her house Friday to spend the night, and then Saturday, they spent the night at my parents house.  DJ sent me this picture of them eating at Wingers.  My kids LOVE her.  They totally look like they are in heaven.

After they ate, they dropped by the hospital to see their new brother.  Hoss told Aunt DJ that he wanted an older brother.  Sorry bud!  It looks like he got over it fast though.

DJ thought Boone's hands looked like he had latex gloves on.

Duke got his first glimpse of Boone, he kept saying, baby.

The hospital has what they call a "celebration meal" for parents of newborns.  They bring it in on a nice decorated table.  DJ came back to see us again the next day and ate with us.  She said we looked super cute sitting at the table.

Amy was my nurse again the next day, and was still just as amazing.  Saturday night Sexy Farmer saw his cousin, Darin, with his wife walking the halls, trying to hurry along their labor.  The next day, they had their baby, a boy too.  We should have gotten a picture of the two new babies together.  Oh well, my mind wasn't all there I guess.  Anyway, they named their son, Zane Lewis Johnson.  So now they have kids one day apart, FUN!

Straight A's!

Lilli came home from school with some pretty nice awards for the first quarter of the school year.  She got High Honor Roll (straight A's), Most Helpful Student, and the Smarty Pants award.

We told her that if she keep up with the straight A's, and with her chores at home, we will allow her to go on the Coast Trip that her class is going on at the end of the year.  So far, she's doing great!

What's In A Name?

As promised, here is the story of my Great-Great-Great-Grandfather, Thomas West Ayers, whom we named Boone after.  His family life amazes me, and I sometimes wonder how he kept going and didn't just give-up.

Back: William Ayers (brother with whom he traveled on the wagon train with), Alfred Ayers, Thomas West Ayers (my g-g-g-grandfather) Front: Prudence Ayers-Basey, Anna West-Ayers (my g-g-g-g-grandmother), Emily Snowden Ayers-Driskell.

Thomas West Ayers was born in Iowa on Mar. 28, 1840.  His father died when he was 5, so he and his mother moved in with his older sister.  He married Sarah E. Bruce on May 1, 1859, and they had 2 kids (George W., born March 7, 1860 & Mary Elizabeth (my G-G-Grandma), born Oct. 8, 1861) before heading west to Oregon.

In 1862 they joined a wagon train, with his brother William, and headed west.  They settled on Big Butter Creek in Umatilla County (later becoming the town of Heppner, Oregon).

After arriving in Oregon, Tom and Sarah added the following children to their family:
William Albert - Feb. 12, 1865
Thomas West Jr. -  Dec. 14, 1866
Ida May - Mar. 6, 1869
Amy Lee - Mar. 5, 1871
Arthur  - Sept. 15, 1873
Ralph - Nov. 3, 1875

In January of 1878, Diptheria hit the family and they lost Amy, Arthur and Ralph, all within 5 days of each other.  Ralph died Jan. 4th, followed by Arthur on Jan. 7th, and Amy Lee on Jan. 9th.  Sarah was pregnant at the time and gave birth a few months later to another daughter.  Myrtle joined the grieving family on April 27th, 1878.

Tom was serving on Jury Duty in Pendleton (60 miles away), in November of 1878 when Sarah became ill.  Tom's brother-in-law, Robert Currin, rode his horse as fast as he could to notify Tom of Sarah's illness, but she passed away (Nov. 6, 1878) before they could make it back to Heppner.

After losing his wife and 3 kids, all with in a few months, Tom sold his business and returned to Iowa for 6 months.  When he returned to Oregon he became engaged in real estate for 5 years.  During this time, his youngest daughter Myrtle passed away, the day before her 2nd birthday on April 26, 1880.

He then married Nancy Ellen "Ella" McClure on Feb. 24, 1881.  Together, they had 3 children:
Elsie Irene - Dec. 12, 1881
Cleva Estella - Oct. 27, 1884
Edgar Bruce - Dec. 31, 1886

His wife Ella passed away on Nov. 26, 1887, and then Cleva passed on Feb 14, 1888.

As I look at that timeline, between the years of 1878-1888 he buried 2 wives and 5 kids.  That's only 10 years! That had to have been really, really, hard.  I'm amazed at the strength he had to keep moving on.  To keep raising the kids he did have left.

Tom with his surviving children.

Back row; Thomas West Ayers, Jr., Mary Elizabeth Ayers-Kirk (my g-g-grandma), William Albert Ayers, George Washington Ayers, Ida May Ayers-Fell.  Middle Row: Thomas West Ayers, Sr. (my g-g-g-grandfather),  Front row: Elsie Irene Ayers-Lassater, Edgar Bruce Ayers

Tom then married Eliza Jane Greenwood on Sept. 6, 1888 in Portland, Oregon.  Not much is mentioned about her, other than she was a widow and had 7 kids.  Another tragedy Tom survived was the Great Heppner Flood of 1903.  The flood claimed the lives of 238 men, women and children, so for a town of 1200 people, that was a big blow.  Tom survived by riding on the roof of his home as it was being washed away through town.

When the wave of the flood crashed into their home, it found 6 people climbing to the roof over the kitchen; Tom, Eliza, William, Tom's daughter Mary Kirk (my g-g-grandmother), and her two children Frances and Earl (my great-grandfather).  As the house was swept west toward Main St, they hung on while the first story was torn off piece by piece and the second story shoved north across the street.  Their journey ended suddenly as the second story and roof lodged against parts of buildings piling up on the May Street side of the Palace Hotel.*

*Photos and info were taken from the book "Calamity: The Heppner Flood of 1903" by Joann Green Byrd.

THE FIRST FLOOR OF THEir HOUSE WAS TORN AWAY AS FLOODWATERS CARRIED THE HOUSE MORE THAN A BLOCK AND DUMPED THE SECOND STORY AGAINST A PILE OF DEBRIS. TOM AYERS HAD THE TOP STORY AND ITS CUPOLA MOVED TO THE EAST BANK OF WILLOW CREEK, WHERE IT BECAME A ONE-STORY HOME FOR TOM AND HIS WIFE, ELIZA.

Here's a before picture of his home.  It was taken the year before the flood, decorated for the Fireman's Tournament.  Tom's estimated flood damage was $20,000, (which in 2007 was estimated at $470,000), when people expressed sympathy for his financial blow, he was quoted by the Oregonian newspaper as saying, "When I found the members of my immediate family safe, I was so rejoiced that money never entered my head."  Spoken like someone who has suffered great family loss.

A few days ago, I wanted to know more about his 3rd wife, Eliza Jane Greenwood.  As I was doing some research, I found that she too, had a pretty tough life, which probably made her and Tom a perfect match.

She too, traveled across the plains by wagon train.  She was first married at age 15 to William Isreal Shaw, who passed away at age 21, leaving her a widow, after only being married for 4 months.  She then married Harvey Smith when she was 18, and gave birth to 7 kids, 6 girls and the youngest a boy, Charlie.  Harvey died shortly after Charlie was born, leaving her a widow, yet again.  When Charlie was 6 years old, he passed.  It would be 10 years after Charlie's death before she marries Tom.  She also had a daughter pass away, at the age of 24, a few months before her and Tom were married. Then after her and Tom are married, another daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter pass away in the Heppner flood, leaving her and Tom to raise their two surviving sons.  Their story is also told in the book that I quoted above.

So there you have it.  The history of the name "West", and why we felt it an honor to name our son after such a wonderful, strong, man, who seemed to be able to survive anything that was thrown his way.

41 Weeks 2 Days

We are pleased to FINALLY announce the arrival of

BOONE WEST JOHNSON

Oct 19th, 1:02pm
8.7 lbs ~ 19.75 inches

41 Weeks

Today was spent getting pumped with iron again.  As I have been doing genealogy, and learning about my g-g-g-grandfather (whom we are naming this baby after), I became more and more interested in the Heppner Flood.  After reading some reviews, I decided this book would be the perfect way for me to pass the time while getting my iron infusions.  Not only will I be learning about history, I'll be learning more about my ancestors too.  So far, it's a good book.

Then tonight I had a Young Women Leadership Training.  I have had so many texts and phone calls lately asking about the baby, I figured I would just reactivate my Facebook account for a few days and just tell everyone at once.  Here's what I posted:

Dear world of Facebook and friends,
Yes. . . I am still with child. Yes. . . I am overdue. (7 days now)  Just living the dream! Going to get Iron Infusions today and attend a leadership meeting . .maybe that will put me into labor?? 
Love, 
Yours Truly

Our Stake Young Women President saw and commented on my post and then presented me with these flowers at the training.  Then she told me I was crazy for going!

She is so sweet and thoughtful.  She was hoping I was having a girl so she got pink.  It's actually nice to see pink, I don't see much of that color.

40 Weeks 6 Days

I'm still pregnant.  I had my weekly check-up this morning and we talked about setting an inducement date.  Here's how that conversation went....

Today?  Well, my visiting teachers are supposed to come tonight so maybe another day?
Tomorrow?  Hmmm...well, I have 2 appointments (iron infusions and a YW leadership training), so that really doesn't work for me, either.
Friday?  YES!!  However, it ends up that the hospital is already booked for inducements.
Saturday?  Sure, why not?  Ok, how about 6 am?

Looks like we finally have a deadline set.  But let's calculate that....I'll be 9 days OVERDUE!!!  Sexy Farmer said that wasn't ok, he wanted me to be induced today.  Guess why?  He has to rewire a swather that caught on fire and wanted to get out of it!  HA!

I was 8 days overdue with Lilli when they induced me, so I can last 9 days, right?  Maybe this little guy will just surprise us and come on his own before then.  If not, we'll just have to wait and meet him Saturday.

Potato Dig

My sister, DJ, came over today to do some stuff with her son and so we could work on our mom's birthday gift (late birthday gift, her birthday was Saturday - oopsie).  While we were working on the gift, Sexy Farmer called and told us to go get some potatoes.  This is how it is done in our neck of the woods.  

You don't drive to the grocery store, instead, you drive your pick-up in the potato field, get in line behind the truck that's currently being loaded, and wait your turn.

Then, you pull up next to the harvester, and fill up the bed of your pick-up with potatoes.  Duke was super excited and hung out the window the whole time squealing with pure happiness and delight.  The kids got dropped off the bus while we were gone, and they noticed Aunt DJ's car, so they immediately called her cell phone thinking we had the baby and that she was there to babysit.  We had to disappoint them, but we did send DJ home with a big old bag of potatoes!

40 Weeks, 3 Days

Sexy Farmer thought it would be funny to take a picture of my legs after church this morning.  He says they look just like Miss Piggy's.

Everyone was a bit surprised to see me at church, and I had to repeat myself about 30 times when everyone would ask, "Weren't you due last week?".  Oh well, he will come when he's ready, although my sister says I have to have him by tomorrow because she is coming to town.  Fingers crossed!

So, I Lied

I guess I can't stay away from the temple.  Even at 1 day, and then again today at 2 days, overdue.  We headed to Boise with our neighbors, and it was a totally different experience than what I had yesterday.  I didn't have any restless legs, and it didn't hurt to stand and sit.  My legs did swell again but, I wore different shoes this time so I didn't have to wait around rubbing my cankles ankles for 15 minutes in order to get my shoes back on.  

My friend is pregnant too (the one I made the freezer meals for) and when we were in the dressing room, she mentioned she would need my help zipping up her dress.  Well, she outgrew it and we couldn't get it zipped at all.  Since the remodel, the Boise temple doesn't have rental clothes anymore, but they do have some clothes for situations just like that.  When we entered the ordinance room, the temple worker walked over and told our husbands that if we needed to go to the bathroom at any time, they would gladly stop the session for us!  We laughed.   The lady next to me made the comment, "What better place to start going into labor than inside the temple."  I replied, "Well, I very well could, I was due 2 days ago."  Her smile turned to a look of great concern, but she didn't say anything.  HA!  Then, she took them up on their offer to stop the session for a potty break, even though she wasn't expecting.  

The lady I performed work for this time is a niece of the woman I did yesterday.  If you look at my last post, I did Leslie Mary Byram.  In the picture of the 4 sisters, the woman in front is Hannah Mason Byram.  My friend and I did the work for two of her daughters, Alice Susanna McCluskey and Elizabeth Beatrice McCluskey.  This picture is of Alice, the one I did.

We left Lilli in charge at home, instead of taking her to my sister's house in Boise, with Sexy Farmer's parents stopping by halfway through to check on them.  They ended up staying until we got home, and my mother-in-law was so sweet that she pampered me by rubbing my nasty, swollen, stinky feet.  What a wonderful lady!

One Last Temple Visit

I woke up this morning determined to attend the temple again before the baby comes.  I'm so glad I did, but at the same time, I KNOW that will be the LAST time before the baby comes.  It hurt to stand and sit so much, and my legs were doing the "restless leg syndrome" thing the entire time.  Then when the session was over, I had swelled so much that I couldn't get my shoes on!  I took this picture of myself when I got out and you can see how swollen my face is.  My eyes barely open, Sexy Farmer makes fun of me saying I look Chinese.

Here's proof that I went, my date stamped name card. Sexy Farmer didn't believe that I would actually follow through, and attend the session.  

Leslie Mary Byram is my Great-Great-Grandmother's Sister.  For me, it really means more when I'm able to put a face with a name.  This is a picture of the Byram sisters.  My Great-Great-Grandmother and her 3 sisters.

Back: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ann Byram-Kent (my g-g-grandma, that my dad remembers as "Teeny Grandma"), Leslie Mary Byram-Estey (the woman I performed the work for), Alice E. Byram-Stroupe.  Front: Hannah Mason Byram-McCluskey.  

There were actually 7 sisters total, but 3 of them passed away before adulthood. They also had 4 brothers, not all of them lived to adulthood either.  Here are their parents, my Great-Great-Great-Grandparents, Peter Oliver Byram and Susan Harding-Byram

She looks really good for having 11 kids!

When I got to the car and checked my phone, I had 5 missed calls, and 4 texts.  I had people offering to watch my kids so I could relax, people wanting to know if I had the baby, and then people calling for other things, not pregnancy related.  As I was responding to people, here's what my sister-in-law had to say.

I was planning on going to Costco to get a few things, but I started having contractions every 20 minutes, so I figured I better go home.  I picked up my kids from my sister's house and started for home.  We passed two of these semi loads, can you guess what they are hauling?  I have never seen them hauled before, they are Green & Red Bell Peppers.

 I had to take a picture to show Sexy Farmer.  However, by the time we got home, my contractions stopped and no baby came. Later that night I lifted up my shirt to show Sexy Farmer how my stretch marks now have their own stretch marks and Hoss walked in.  His reaction was priceless, he said, "WHOA!  You are HUGE!  What are all those red marks?!?!  You need to go to the Dentist to get the baby out!"  We laughed so hard, and then asked him what the dentist had to do with babies.  I think he's a little confused about his doctors and what each one does!

So Close

I almost made it through this entire pregnancy without having to get iron infusions.  Today is my due date and that's what I spent the day doing.  However, they changed it so they are now 2 hour, instead of 3 hour, appointments.  Which was nice in the fact that I wasn't there as long, but not so great because now my arm hurts like crazy.

 I'm not sure if it's the fact that they pump it faster or what, but my vein hurts all the way to my elbow.

I have never really liked this hospital because so many people I know work there.  When I'm having babies I don't really like to have people I know working in that area of my body. (relatives, people I graduated with, mothers of people I graduated with, etc) But today as I was in the infusion center, the nurse who assisted me is a woman I know, and she was so nice and kind and gentle.  Maybe she has changed my fear of people I know working on me.

Hoss' Teeth

The last time we went to the dentist Hoss had some serious cavities so we were referred to a pediatric dentist.  We headed over to Meridian today to to see what all was needed.  Our dentist in Ontario wasn't able to get x-rays done because of Hoss' gagging reflexes, so we really weren't sure how bad things really were.  This office had a remade for the gagging, SALT.  Who would have thought.  Apparently if he licks a handful of salt, then swishes it around in his mouth a bit then swallows, it helps calm the gagging reflexes.  His teeth are horrible!  He now has to have surgery.  He has 6 major cavities, 2 of them almost touching the nerves.  They offered three different treatment options...

1.  pull the teeth

2.  fill them

3.  have surgery and cap them

I didn't want to pull them because then he would have 6 less teeth and his teeth would just move around in his mouth wherever they wanted.  And for those of you that know Sexy Farmer, that is how his teeth were, he was missing 5 teeth, so all the rest just made themselves at home where ever they wanted.

So, we opted for numbers two and three.  They will cap the two major teeth, then fill the other four.  It will be done in three different visits, which I'm not really excited for since I'll have a newborn, but that's life.

He did so well at the pediatric dentist though, I think it had to do with the movies on the ceiling.

We arrived early so we had gone shopping before his appointment looking for him some new shoes, but found they had a sale on their kids clothes.  So, we got him this sweater.  He hasn't taken it off since.

New Trick

Lilli, Duke and I went out to eat with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew on Saturday.  Our waiter showed Lilli this new trick.  Pretty impressive, eh?  She now keeps asking me to go buy toothpicks since we have ran out.