Jones Family Blog

Almost Spring...

2011-03-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

... and since the last blog update was, um, last summer, it's about time. So here's what's been happening in the last eight or so months...

Kids are growing up ... fast... Luke is almost 2, and has begun splitting wood for next winter. Poppa Messer, in the background, turned 100 back in September... pretty cool.

Avery is pushing 14. (-10). Here she is with buddy Taryn after attacking some Icee's after a long afternoon of shoe shopping.

Avery with Ashley at a snow trip with the PRBC Awana kids.

Luke looking to fix something that ain't broke... yet.

Tailgating in Oakhurst after visiting with the Mackinga's.

Still bath buddies...

Luke peeking at the zoo animals from his strategic vantage point.

"Uncle Steve" graduated from the academy and is working in LA. He made a special appearance with Justice at Foothill to visit some of his old students.

And you thought they only protected your hands...

So we're a happy little family, blessed beyond measure.

Yes, Rudy still calls the shots (but refuses to look at the camera).

Summertime!!!

2010-07-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

"The days are long, but the years are short." Ashley brought this quote home from a moms and more group and it hits the nail on the head. Seems like every night we crash land into bed exhausted at the end of a seemingly endless day. But then we look back at pictures from just a few months ago and barely recognize the faces!

Luke turned 1 on May 5th, and Avery just turned 3 on July 26th. Yeah. Wow. We're getting old too, I suppose. With the weather being really hot, we have been spending lots of time in the pool -- hence Avery's green hair. Other than that, there's been some trips to the waterpark, library, zoo, and even a backyard camping trip. We did have a visit from Tina and Alexandria (Justice's mom and sister) in June, and we headed over to Yosemite for the day.

The rest of our days are spent cleaning up the house and picking up toys, only to repeat the process 20 minutes later.

Laundry time is always a hit with the kiddos. Who doesn't love a warm load of laundry dumped on top of them, knocking over a nicely stacked pile of clean clothes, and playing in the basket!

A little different celebratory style between 1 and 3 years old!

Swim Time!

Sleepy Time!

Exploring Time!

Mommy Time!

Patriotic Kiddos!

Well, it's about time!

2010-03-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

So we've been a little busy since our last update - Christmas - so here's the most recent news... in reverse order. My (Justice) family came up to visit last week, including my mom - out from Boston, and my aunt Linda and uncle David (San Clemente). We jumped on the opportunity to have Luke dedicated while all the stars were aligned; and had a great time - thanks to our family and friends that came out and shared with us. For the rest of you that couldn't make it, we've posted the video on youtube. This is the picture that the church had up on the screens during the dedication. He's a little heart-breaker already.

Here's a picture of "Gramma TiTi" with Luke...

The little ones are growing like weeds, as usual. Avery has graduated into a "big girl bed" and her crib has been dismantled and stored. She spends much of her time rearranging the icons on our phones and computer. Luke is now fully mobile, having perfected his version of the army crawl/worm, and getting wherever he needs to go.

Avery is in the full-fleged "why?" stage, and still insists on a daily basis that she doesn't need a nap or to go to bed at night. Oddly enough, she is dead asleep within minutes. She has a tumbling class each week and enjoys exploring the property, especially feeding the neighbor's "horsies" ...

... and feeding ducks half naked in the frigid waters of Shaver Lake with her cousin Kinley ...

We just had a slew of birthdays, Ashley, Justice, and yes, Rudy turned 5. We were able to take a nice little vacation over to the Nystrom's "cabin" at Hume Lake back in the beginning of February, and had a great time with good friends. I use the term "cabin" loosely, it's more like the Ritz Carlton than a cabin. Here's Mommy teaching Avery how it's done...

We captured on the way in, from the side of the highway, just as the sun dipped behind the clouds. Really beautiful picture, absolutely majestic in person!

After Hume, we trekked over to the coast and spent a week in Avila Beach, hanging out and mooching meals from old friends and family! [thanks!] Here's Avery and Luke with Great-Grandma Theda...

Avery flying a kite with uncle Moe!

Clearly, Carey was more impressed with his skills than Avery...

And finally, a couple more beach-ish pics...

That's about all for now, I gotta go weed-whack. Expect our next blog update sometime this summer. Luke turns 1 on May 5th, Avery is 3 on July 26th... hmmm.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe that we’re already at the end of another year, what a whirlwind it has been! We feel more blessed (and exhausted) every day. Here’s the short and sweet version, feel free to read past blog entries if you want more juicy details.

We were blessed with little Luke Grayson’s arrival on May 5^th, a month ahead of schedule. It really seems like the second child grows up a lot faster than the first! He’s just turned seven months and is in a really FUN stage of his development. He’s sleeping all night (WooHoo!), laughing and babbling a LOT, drooling everywhere, and eating lots of food (much sooner than Avery did), and has two bottom teeth coming in. He is very attentive to what Avery is doing, and learning quickly to defend himself from her pokes and choke-hold hugs (see below).

Avery turned two years old in July, and boy is she ever a two-year-old. She loves jumping on the trampoline, tumbling class, reading with mommy and daddy, playing with her babies, pestering Rudy, and smothering her little brother. She took a spill in the hallway in September and cracked her front tooth, so her first visit to the dentist resulted in a pulled tooth. The good news is that it will grow back – in seven years or so. She has finally nailed the potty training (another WooHoo!) and now we get to take her potty EVERYWHERE we go, about every half hour.

Ashley and I celebrated our sixth anniversary in October, we often laugh about not being able to remember what it was like without kids (or Rudy). What did we do with all our spare time back then? Ha! Not that we’re complaining – we do have more fun now than we ever did before. It’s amazing how much entertainment you can get from two toddlers, a pug, and a laser pointer! :)

We hope this season finds your family doing well this Christmas season. We pray for our family and friends often, some of whom are in the midst of very, very difficult times. It is in these times especially that we pray you find rest, comfort, and peace in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. May you and your family have a blessed New Year!

Here are a couple of pictures from our recent trip to Knott's Berry Farm. Avery and her cousin Kinley had a blast at Camp Snoopy!

Much to be thankful for

2009-11-26T10:48:00.000-08:00

We spent the majority of the last week being sick, and are glad to be over the sickness. Avery is potty trained now, woo-hoo, and wants to go potty every twenty minutes. Luke is starting to get teeth and has taken a liking to eating cereal. He is really at a fun age where he's starting to make lots of happy faces and noises. He sleeps very well, but both of our kids like to get up early in the morning. Oh well, I guess that's the price we pay for having some quiet time in the evenings.

Here are a couple recent pictures:

Avery helping daddy put the laundry in the washer.

Avery and Rudy on the lawn (covered with fallen leaves).

Luke on the floor in his second favorite spot.

Luke on Ashley's lap (his most-favorite spot)

Avery took her first pony ride at a friend's birthday party a few weeks back.

The ending of an era...

2009-10-18T08:18:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago Avery took a face-first header into the floor and chipped her tooth. Well, the chip was actually a pretty serious crack that required the dentist to remove the tooth. So now we have a little two-year-old with a missing tooth, the new tooth should grow in fine - in about 5-7 years... So the mouth-full-of-teeth era has come to an end.

Luke is also past the put-me-down-anywhere-and-I-won't-move phase. He's rolling over now, just started eating some rice cereal, and will be asking to borrow Dad's keys any day now. Fortunately he's sleeping through the night - going to bed around 8:00 and making it till about 6:30am or 7:00am.

Everything else is wonderful, we are blessed.

Where did the summer go?

2009-09-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't know it by the weather (still 100 degrees outside), but the summer is gone. We spent some time having fun, we had a bunch of friends up in the beginning of August, here's a pic of some of the kids on the trampoline.

Our friends, Mindy and Aaron, let us borrow their motorhome and we took a trip up to Dinkey Creek then over to the coast. Here's Avery chasing birds in Shell Beach.

We also took a road trip to Las Vegas for the annual softball tournament, visited the free aquarium (with mermaid) at Bass Pro Shops, watched planes land at the airport, and hung out at the park. Oh yeah, there was also the hundred hour drive...

One Saturday we took a quick jaunt up to Big Creek, just below Huntington Lake, and had a picnic at the elementary school...

Here are a few more pics from weeks past...

Happy Birthday Avery!

2009-07-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hard to beleive it, but the little one just turned two today. We had a nice little party and made a mess of grammy's house. When the little ones grew weary of that, we moved the party down to the pool and swam for a while. Lots of sugar, heat, and running around should make for some heavy sleepers tonight (we'll be two of them)!

Here are a couple recent shots...

Feelin Hot, Hot, Hot...

2009-06-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially arrived, and much of our time has been spend playing in the pool and trying to stay cool. Luke is growing like a weed, and Avery is following suit. Looking at this picture makes me wonder if Luke is really that small or if Avery is just getting that much bigger. It's Avery. Luke's tipping the scales at about 9lbs these days, hard to believe. Even harder to believe is that Avery has finally passed Rudy in the weight category.

Avery took swim lessons in April and May, and at her age, there wasn't much swimming being learned. What we have on our hands now is a little girl that loves the water, but has no fear or respect of the water. We have to keep a close eye on her because she'll just jump in the water without warning. So we're extra careful to keep the gate locked...

And she's at that age where you really gotta watch what you say or do because it gets repeated without warning. Take this picture for example (forgive the bad focus). I mean, what almost-two-year-old doesn't sit at the dining room table with no shirt on and read Sports Illustrated? I don't think she saw Ashley doing that... "Ba-kit-bawl, DaDa, Ba-kit-baw!"

Not much else to report. Just some pictures of how these little ones are growing up way too fast.

Luke in his preferred napping position.

Something catches the little guy's eye, probably his big sister's finger about to poke it.

Avery watering the newly planted grass, just seconds before she waters Dad and camera.

The three stooges enjoy the afternoon ritual, Otter Pops (aka "Pot-skit-o, Mom, Pot-skit-O, peeeze!" (cousins Cole and Kinley)

Avery Meets Luke!

2009-05-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Because we got home from the hospital after Avery had already gone to bed, she had to wait until morning to meet her little brother.

Here's a 3 1/2-year-old's account of what happens when a woman goes into labor, by our nephew Cole, who Ashley was babysitting when her water broke...

He's here, already!

2009-05-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Little Luke Grayson Jones made his entry about one month ahead of his scheduled arrival date. More to follow when we get home from the hospital. Mom and little Luke are fine. He is 5lbs 14oz and 19.5" born at 3:45 pm on May 5th. Pictures can be seen on Justice's facebook page.

April Flowers...

2009-04-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we missed March, I'm not sure how that happened. We had a nice Easter break, and life is just peachy up here. Ashley is away at Hume this weekend with the ladies and I'm home with Avery, scary thought. Had Cheetos for dinner last night :)

Not sure if you noticed our little pregnancy tracker in the sidebar below, but we're getting close. Not sure if Avery comprehends that there's a little brother inside there (I barely believe it), but she's always willing to give kisses to little bro. We're still undecided on his name...

And, I (not Avery) got a trampoline for my birthday. I mean, seriously, what kind of Dad would I be buying a 21-month-old a grown up toy? And what 32year-old wouldn't want one (a moped was a close second choice)?

And yes, Avery likes it too. We just zip her in and throw a few fishy crackers every couple hours. (j/k, but she would spend all day in there if we let her) It's a great wear-out tool at the end of the day. So now I get home, eat dinner, jump on the trampoline with Avery until we're both tired, take a bath, and throw her tired little toosh into bed. Bada-bing. Another excellent appropriation of funds. Turns out adults like it too, here's Steve jumping over his wife. Safety comes first here in the Jones household.... And yes, us larger adults can "bottom out" the trampoline... just another reminder of how old we're getting.

Cruisin' for a[nother] Bruisin!

2009-02-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

Well, we had an eventful last week in Hawaii and now we're trying to recover (I know, poor us). The day we left, Auberry got about 4 inches of snow, which is a lot for these parts. We went from "Ahhh, that's pretty" to "Uh, oh. I hope they don't close the highway." Fortunately for us, we were able to get on the road without much fanfare. Flying out early, we drove down the night before and stayed in a hotel. This was the scene when we left. We did come home to a huge oak tree in the back yard that collapsed from the snow/rain/soggy ground. Next year's firewood!

We got to LAX, like good little travelers, about 2 hours before our flight. So the kids were up at 5am, and running rampant through the mostly-empty airport for a few hours. We tried to keep them up with the hope that they would sleep through most of the 5 1/2 hour flight. No such luck. Avery slept about an hour and a half, and would be up for the rest of the long day. She did good, considering. Here she is with her cousin Cole as she waits for the plane to arrive.

So after a long day of travel and a weak-sauce nap on the plane, we finally get checked into our room in Maui. Three kids in our room, exploring every imaginable nook and cranny of their new playspace. It took Avery about ten minutes (while I was still bringing up luggage), to fall and whack her eye on the side of a mean wooden chair. It didn't seem like much of a fall, but she had a scrape and immediate swelling. It didn't help that she was obnoxiously tired and needed sleep. She only cried when we tried to hold ice on it, so we let her go to bed with some children's motrin. It didn't look too bad when she went to sleep (well, actually, it did look pretty nasty).

She woke up with a terrible looking shiner, the second one she has had (the first came back when we were moving in September). Her eye was pretty much swollen shut, but she was happy as a clam. Didn't seem to bother her much, nor did everyone who would stare at her (us) wherever we went. Oh well, we still had fun. The weather over there was a bit windy, and cooler than normal, but still warm by our standards. The pool and spa were fine, and that's where we spent much of our day. It's amazing how your vacation style changes when you have to plan for kids' nap-time. Dinners were also pretty rushed - by the time we would go out, it was late (expecially considering Hawaii time is 2 hours behind CA), so the kids were very tired. The restaurants are very good at getting the kids meals out fast, but by the time the kiddos are done eating and the adult food shows up, they have no intention to sit and wait for you to finish your meal... Ahhh, I'm finally getting paid back for all of the meals I ruined for my folks!

Anyway, we had a great time. The flight back and drive home after the flight was a long day for kids and parents, but we hammered through and got back around 3AM on Sunday morning. Needless to say, we barely made it to the 5PM service at church. The adjustment back to CA time has been tough, Ashley has a cough and Avery has the sniffles. Fortunately, I don't have to go back to work until next Monday so I can slowly try to motivate myself to get out of bed before 9AM again.

More Pictures...

Checking out the "shish-shees" with Ashley.

Admiring Justice's blue Shaved-Ice-colored tongue.

Learning to fly in the pool with Justice.

A little hiking with Justice.

Hanging out on the patio with cousin Cole.

Waving "Hi" with Ashley.

Taking the rental car for a spin with cousin Kinley.

Swingin' at the Park.

On the beach with the Fergusons.

In the pool with Dad.

Enjoying her first Shaved Ice.

Donner Lake Trip

2009-01-28T20:29:00.000-08:00

The Wisner's were gracious enough to invite us up to their family cabin last weekend with some friends, and we had a blast. There was plenty of snow, though it didn't snow on us while we were there. Dave took us on a snowshoeing expedition and just about killed us. There was a gorgeous view when we finally did reach the top of the mountain.

Avery finding the only way to get stuck in a bench.

Avery looking more and more like a big girl.

The highlight of the weekend, for me at least, was re-connecting with my old buddy Jason Glunt, who now lives in Reno. Jason and Shauna drove over and had dinner with us, we got to catch up on old times. We hadn't seen each other since 1996ish, reconnected recently via facebook. We had a great time. He's still a stud.

12 Things I did on Vacation

2009-01-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

I (Justice) had a great couple weeks off. Got to do some fun stuff like:

Learned to drive a snow plow. Yep, Ashley's Dad took me to work and I got to drive a snow plow and a smaller snow thrower. Though I was tempted to bury someone's car, I left with a distinct appreciation for my regular job.
Got the flu. I swear it was food poisioning, but whatever. I won't be able to eat a BBQ pork sandwich for about another 8 years. I just recently started eating enchiladas again after puking them up 5 years ago when I had the flu last time. I suspect I didn't get much sympathy from my morning-sick-for-the-last-three-months-wife.
Started running. We'll see how long it lasts this time. At least Rudy likes it. Both of us hate getting up at 5:20.
Had lots of food and fun with family. Too much. That's why I'm trying to run (so I can continue to eat junk food).
Grew a beard. Well, if you call 1/4 inch a beard. Turns out all it does is accentuate the fact that I no longer have one chin.
Hooked up our computer to our TV. Geek Alert. I ran a cable under the house so now we can watch stuff from the internet (like Netflix movies) on the TV. Not the best quality, but you get what you pay for at $16/month. Turns out that there's 3 network antennas up on the mountain above us, so we get fox, cbs, and abc (and telemundo, of course). HD? No. Cheap? You bet. There's a little part inside of me that LOVES the fact that some cable company isn't getting any of my paycheck.
Got hooked on Facebook. I blame Ashley's Cousin, Kara, for this one. She shows up at Christmas dinner with a high school friend she found on the site. So I go on and spent the next three days looking up old friends from Palmdale, Minnesota, and the central coast. Ashley grounded me from the computer... and rightly so. But not after I got a bunch of other people hooked. Just what I need, something else to steal my time. And I get it on my phone too...
Got to hang out with Avery a lot. So much so that when I went back to work Monday, Avery drove Ashley crazy with "Da, Da?" all day long. She's running everywhere now. Loves standing on top of what ever precarious little object she can find. Really likes spinning herself in circles until she gets dizzy and falls over.
iChatted with my brother in San Simeon. Unfortunately, the conversation was drowned out by the sound of Rudy barking at the screen and the two pugs on the other end barking back, one of which is his Dad, Cheech. We laughed until we cried. Hilarious [you probably had to be there].
Realized, again, that I am not getting any younger. My "little sister" Alex just turned 21... Wow.
Oh yeah, I'm learning that certain stuff can make Avery vomit instantly (or within 3 seconds). This time it was Propel, the vitamin water stuff. Don't know what that was, maybe it was the flu she passed on to me.
Found out we're having a baby boy. It was pretty surprising to both of us, but now we're trying to pick names. There are few things that drive me crazier. Turns out I'm the picky one, I guess. Any recommendations are welcome.

Anyway, hope you all are doing well. Take Care.

I had to throw this one in... funny how we're both standing the same way.

It's a Boy....

2008-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we found out yesterday that #2 has boy-parts... as depicted from the bottom-up shot above...

Christmas Time!

2008-12-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the Christmas Update - (formerly sent in the mail)

We hope this Christmas season finds you and your family doing well. It has been an eventful year in the Jones’ household(s), here’s the highlight-reel version (cue the ESPN theme music).

Avery passed the 1-year-old mark in July and is growing every day. We recently went through pictures of 2008, and hardly recognize our little girl back in January. She’s now mastered the skills of the “high-speed-out-of-control-walk-not-yet-run,” “drink-from-big-cup-and-spill-half-down-neck,” and “feed-Rudy-over-side-of-high-chair.” Her favorite words [with pronunciation] are currently “All Done” ["ahhh-dunn"], “Hot, Hot, Hot.” ["ha, ha, ha" - with hand raised towards a fireplace or anything lit up], "Mom" ["ma, ma" -- usually said to Justice whenever she means to say Dad], "Rudy" ["ru, ru" -- anytime she sees any dog], "Peek-a-Boo" ["haboo, haboo" -- with face partially hidden behind her hands], and the infamous“Uh-Oh” [perfectly pronounced hundreds of times a day]. Just last week, Justice taught Avery the finer points in blowing bubbles underwater in the bathtub. She'll be slurping Jello through a straw before her 2nd birthday!

January
December

Avery has also learned the belly slide down the stairs, a necessity in a two-story home. We moved from San Miguel to Auberry in October, a result of Justice transferring to Central Division in Fresno. Justice is still doing pretty much the same thing as in SLO, just in a different, bigger, and busier location. We’re about 30 minutes east of Fresno, at an elevation just under 2,500' (above the fog and smog, below the snow). Life on a dirt road in the foothills is much different from what we were used to. It has been a blessing living so close to family (Ashley’s folks and Hayley/Stephen are very near). Did I mention free babysitting? One of the many benefits of life on the hill.

We celebrated our fifth anniversary with a cruise to Alaska in September. We had a great time and saw some amazing sights. Avery spent the ten days with Hayley and Stephen. We had tons of great food and desserts, and did lots of fun stuff at the places we stopped. We visited Ketchikan, AK, where we did a float-plane trip; and Juneau, where we took a helicopter tour and were able to walk on a glacier. It was awesome… looking straight down into a thousand feet of the deepest blue ice we’ve ever seen. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get on all-fours and drink water directly from a glacier! We took tons of pictures, none of which came close to what it looks like in person. We also stopped in Haines, AK, and Victoria, BC, on the way home.

Well, the only other BIG news to share would be Ashley’s pregnancy. Yes, #2, (#3 if you count Rudy), should be arriving in the last week of May. Subtract nine months from that day, and you’ll probably find us somewhere off the coast of Alaska ☺. We hope to find out the gender around New Years, after that we’ll start the beloved “name game.”

We’d like to close by wishing your family a truly Merry Christmas. Especially in these turbulent and uncertain times, it is our hope and continued prayer that you know the peace and joy that comes from belief in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We did get a little snow/hail a few days ago --- nothing like playing in the snow in your jammies.

Fall, Fall, Fall.

2008-11-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

Fall is here, and it seems like we're all ready for bed by 7PM with the sun going down so early. Avery is talking more and more, and has finally stopped calling everybody Mom (especially Dad). She was a flower for Halloween, and even did a little trick-or-treating past her bedtime. Rudy had his first visit to the vet up here, got some shots, and had some sort of allergic reaction and got all swollen in the face again. A little Benadryl and some sleep fixed that little problem.

Avery's favorite words are currently "Up" and "Hot." We hear "Up, Up, Up" anytime she wants to climb up on something (or someone). And we hear the "Hot, Hot, Hot" anytime she sees a fireplace, oven, or barbecue. She hasn't burned herself yet, and we're trying to avoid that "lesson" if we can.

Well, aside from our utter dissatisfaction with the electoral results, and the disappointment that comes when we open the 401k statement, things are going pretty darned good for us. These days are truly an opportunity for us to rest on Romans 13...

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

2008-10-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today Ashley and I went to the little Dr.'s office and confirmed that we have another little one on the way! Kind of hard to tell if it's a boy or girl at this point (I'm guessing GIRL), since the little one is only about an inch long at 10 weeks along, but you could see the little heart working away on the ultrasound screen. So if you do the math, you'll find that this blessed little child was likely conceived somewhere in international waters between Alaska and California. Some say it's the "motion of the ocean," personally, I think it's the Love Boat re-runs that they show on the cruise. Either way, your prayers are appreciated. Ashley has been feeling pretty icky in the mornings (I know this because I awoke this weekend to the sound of my bride munching saltines in bed at 7AM). Yummy.

Looks like mid-May for the expected arrival date, they'll be scheduling this one ahead of time since Avery was a Cesarean birth. We WILL be finding out what we're having sometime in January. Until then, the name game has been suspended like a World Series game. :)

Country Livin'

2008-10-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been off the grid for a while now, so hang onto your seat for the quick ketchup!

We got back from our cruise and had a whole week to get ready to move. We had a BLAST on our cruise, Avery didn't even realize we were gone. Time flew, and before we knew it the moving truck was outside and we were saying goodbye to San Miguel. We're blessed to have the Rusco's renting our house from us (especially in this crummy real estate market). Neat, but still strange seeing their family pics in our old house :)

Avery got her first 'shiner' during the moving process, a little fall against a planter and bada-bing, the next morning it's purple, by Sunday it's black. Ouch!

So the first week at church here and we show up with a 14 month old sportin' a black eye. So much for first impressions. That's OK, the next week she busted her lip, so last week the church had us meet with a social worker (not really, but wouldn't blame them if they had).

So here's the latest. We're living in Auberry, which is about 25 miles east of Fresno, in the foothills. If you've ever gone to Sierra Summit to ski/snowboard, you've driven right past our place. Life on a dirt road takes some getting used to. First, there's, well, DIRT everywhere. Every nook and cranny. That will last until it rains, then we'll have mud everywhere. Oh well, praise God. We're above the smog and fog, below the snow. It's a great house that belongs to Ashley's folks -- they live in a new house on the other 5 acres (about 300 yards away), there are plenty of projects around to keep me busy. It's been a blessing. Work is also going well, I have about the same distance drive that I had to SLO, and work with a great group of people.

Everybody asks how Rudy is adjusting (not once has someone asked how Avery was doing BEFORE asking about Rudy!). He's good, a city boy at heart. We had quite a scare one afternoon when he turned up "missing" while we scoured the property and surroundings for the little guy. He showed up about 20 minutes later, when I decided to look in Trish's car (he jumped in the car when she showed up, nobody noticed). Uh!

Church life is a lot different, we're attending the Well, at a "satellite" campus hosted at an elementary school. There's live worship music, then they pipe in the speaker on the big screen. Different, but the preaching is solid. There are a number of satellite campuses, the ideology being that it's better to have multiple small church locations instead of one mega-gargantualic-sized church. It's nice, and different, and there are a LOT of folks in our "stage" of life - young kids at home ... Contrary to popular belief about Fresno, not everybody is barefoot and pregnant (some are wearing shoes).

I must say that living so close to Hayley and Steve has been a blessing. Avery thinks so as well. Some think I'm crazy to move this far for free babysitting (though we do miss our PRBC sitters!), but it is a nice benefit.

We'll try to keep you a little better up-to-date from here on out now that we're semi-settled. We miss you all, and we know that you miss Rudy and my meat slicer. Ha ha.

Ketchikan, Alaska

2008-09-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

We set sail, so to speak (as there are no sails on a cruise ship), from San Francisco on Thursday on our way to Alaska. The first afternoon and last two days have been spent at sea... and basically entailed much eating, sleeping, and more eating. It's nice to see Ashley catch up on some naps that she has missed since Avery came along (Avery is spending time with Auntie Hayley and Family while we are away--- God Bless them this week!). Ashley only cried for twenty minutes when we left, and now only for a minute or so whenever someone asks if we have any children.

The seas were a bit choppy for the first day, and while we weren't sick, there were many long-time cruisers that complained that it was worse than they had experienced before. Wasn't too bad, though. We have gone to a bunch of the shows they have onboard here, and are trying foods that we normally wouldn't order elsewhere ... Ashley had Crawfish the other night (remember Sebastian from The Little Mermaid? mmm... tastes like shrimp.) The only eerie thing was the little eyes looking up at her. I had veal last night, again, something I wouldn't ordinarily order. The food is clearly why folks love this cruise stuff.

This morning we docked in Ketchikan, our first stop, and were greeted by unusually clear skies (they get some 30 feet of rain here annually). So where's Ketchikan, you ask... it's the place that they were going to build the "Bridge to Nowhere." Turns out, it actually would have gone to an airport, but not a very big one. So we wandered off the boat in search of some sightseeing deals (Mr. Wisner advised us to get our tours off-boat... turned out to be a money saver, thanks!). So we jumped on a float plane and flew to the Misty Fjords and saw some of the amazing Creation that the Lord has fashioned. We saw mountain goats on top of a huge peak, and landed on a glassy-smooth lake where we took this shot. Very cool.

So is it a small world? We would say so. Ashley had planned on looking up a past player from Cuesta that was from here (Ketchikan), but didn't remember her last name or know even if she was still around. She went into the first little store to ask for a phone book to look for her, and the first cashier didn't have one. That cashier asked another woman who was standing behind another counter, and needless to say, she didn't need to look for the phonebook since SHE was the gal that used to play at Cuesta. Marissa was her name, and Ashley and her had a short chat. We went outside to wait for our tour and told the guy who sold us our tour about what a small world it was. Well, he asked where we were from, and before you know it, his brother and sister-in-law go to our church in Paso. Huh. Cool.

Some would call it coincidence... not us.

Please pray for us on this vacation, and especially for the Fergusons as they care for our two most prized possessions... Avery and Rudy.

Next stop, Juneau.

Reading to Rudy...

2008-08-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Reading to Rudy turns into driving him crazy. Rudy says, "Just leave my bone alone!"

Rudy is sooo patient with Avery. I think all the mealtime rewards make the torment bearable.

Daddy's Girl!!!

2008-08-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

Like father, like daughter:) This is what happens when I try to do the laundry.

This girl could live outside...too bad it's hot!

2008-08-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Avery has been fascinated by Rudy's dog door for quite some time now. Unfortunately, the other day she discovered that she too can fit through and can escape with her partner in crime.

Avery loves sitting in the corner "reading" her books.

G.G. Lucille

2008-08-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

I had to go back and post this sleepy eyed picture of Avery with her Great Grandma Lucille. On August 16th, Justice had the privilege of officiating the wedding of his cousin Nicole as she married Gerald. This picture was taken two hours past bedtime and after a full day of running around. Avery was a trooper!

Catching Up!

2008-08-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already the end of August. I'll try to catch up all our friends and family on our growing little girl.

Avery with her cousins Cole and Kinley at our house this past weekend.

Playing in Rudy's toy basket.

Avery with her cousins at her birthday party on July 26th.

Avery and Kinley. Avery can't wait until Kinley can run with her.

Drinking milk with dad.

Running from mom!!!

Clapping!

Giving herself kisses in the mirror. That full length mirror provided Avery with lots of entertainment at the hotel we stayed at recently.

Already a Year Old...

2008-08-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is Avery's first attempt at a cupcake... doesn't look like she needs too much instruction (probably got that from Dad's genes). See if you can figure out just when the sugar starts to kick in (tip: look for the boisterous head-banging around the :50 second mark).

Been slacking a little on keeping our blog up to date, but here's what's going on:

Avery is now walking like a maniac. She still tends to fall head-first into anything hard, blunt, or immovable... it's amazing to see a little one go from 0-60 in a day. One day, whe has no idea what's going on, the next, she's walking everywhere and wouldn't even think of crawling.

We're Moving... Oh yeah, did we mention that? Justice is starting in Central Division (Fresno) on October 1st, so the commute will be a little long from San Miguel. Don't worry, neighbors, we found a great family to fill in. More on that to come.

We're going on a cruise for our 5 yr Anniversary... The hardest part will be being away from Rudy (and Avery...) for 10 days. We're going to Alaska, and we'll take a picture or two of our trip to post. Avery will be staying with Auntie Hayley and family, our prayers will certainly be with them while she attempts to keep up with 3 infant/toddlers. Fortunately, Avery's now off the boobie, so at least Hayley won't have to deal with THAT. ;)

Crazy Avery vs. Crazy Rudy

2008-06-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Folks always ask how Avery gets along with Rudy. You decide. All he wants to do is watch the end of the baseball game in peace...

Fun Times!

2008-06-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Justice takes a day off from work. As I cleaned and organized Avery's closet, he got every single one of Avery's stuffed animals out and "organized" them in her crib. He then proceeded to put Rudy in the midst of the animals for a perfect photo opp. This is one of the pictures. The best one will be revealed in our 2009 Rudy calendar. By the end of our fun family day, we decided Justice had to return to work on Friday:)

We have a water baby on our hands... The other day we played in a little pool with some neighbor friends down the street. The 3 year old and 1 year old were instructed by their mom to "not splash and play easy" when Avery was in the pool because she was a first timer. Needless to say, Avery was the crazy one. She splashed like crazy. Her most enjoyable part was leaning over anytime she wanted to slurp up some water.

Today after church we were cruising through Target and couldn't pass up the $7.99 pool for our backyard enjoyment. And boy did Avery have a good time keeping cool this afternoon. I'm sure we will spend many hours keeping this water baby cool this summer.

It's that time of Year...

2008-05-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, doesn't seem like it's been two years already, but we're very proud to say that Alexandria graduated from Cuesta College last Friday. She is going to take some more classes there at Cuesta then ... who knows?!?

Here's Mom, Moe, Alex, Stevie (Our Niece), and Justice.

Tagged, Ashley's It

2008-05-27T15:18:00.001-07:00

4 Jobs I've Had:

Waitress (Mono Wind)

Assistant Volleyball Coach (Cuesta)

Substitute Teacher (Paso)

Wife/Mom (my favorite job)

4 Places I've Lived:

Auberry, CA

San Luis Obispo, CA

Paso Robles, CA

San Miguel, CA

4 Shows I Watch on T.V.:

Dave Ramsey Show (Fox Business)

Angels Baseball

Biggest Loser

Sport Shows/Any sports

4 Blogs I Read:

Fergusons

Grindys

Wisners

Hartrufts

4 Favorite Foods:

Tri-Tip w/ Yoshidas

Tacos

In-N-Out (no onion or tomatoes)

Costco w/ Justice

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:

With my Lord and Savior

Pillow talking with my husband

Enjoying the day with family or friends

Engaged in a good conversation while on a walk

4 Things I Look Forward to this Year:

Celebrating Avery's 1st Birthday (7/26)

Celebrating 5 years of marriage (10/4)

Memorizing a whole chapter of scripture (Romans 12)

The unknown

Parenting Lessons

2008-05-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

All too often, Dad runs off to work and Mom is left at home with the little one. Though both know that the other person is busy throughout the day, they don't know exactly what the other person is going through. For us, when I get home, we sit down at the dinner table and have the typical "How was your day?" ... "Fine, how was yours?" ... "It was good." We're both exhausted, but Avery still has two hours left in her tank. By the time the baby goes down (which is an early 7:30 - but I'm not complaining) we're both ready for bed. And that's where wife wants to talk about the day and husband wants to sleep (or NOT sleep, but NOT talk...).

The reason I bring this up is 1) So that you will pray for us - since this is HARD to do - and we both want to get better at communicating, and 2) To share the reason for the video below. If we would have had a more in-depth discussion about our day, say, at the dinner table, I would have heard how many times my patient wife had to tell our daughter to stay out of dog's water bowl. So, in filming what turns out to be quite a funny video (you need to watch it to the end), I inadvertently un-did the effort that Ashley put in to teaching our daughter. Argh. Like everything else in the Christian walk, easy to say - hard to do.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. In the event that you don't want to watch it, I will be showing it at Avery's wedding someday (sometime after she turns 40).

Toofers, Dedication, Food, and catching up...

2008-03-07T19:17:00.002-08:00

Already Flirting? And in Church!?!

Avery was dedicated at PRBC back in the end of January, and we're hoping the video clip below isn't a preview of her teenage years to come! Dad had to take some quick action, but very cute...

Some more pictures of the last few weeks/months (click to enlarge):

Head hits the pillow, thumb hits the mouth.

Hanging out with Auntie Alex.

______________________________________________

Sneezin' or Squeezin', you decide.

Yeah, always happy on the tummy.

______________________________________________

Food goes in, food goes out, food goes back in, and ends up in the diaper.

The first tooth makes an appearance in late January.

______________________________________________

If I don't keep squeezing Dad's head, it won't fit in that funny looking hat.

"Not much gets by us" -- (at friend Rob's Graduation in Dec).

______________________________________________

No bath is complete without a rubber ducky.

Future so bright, she's gotta wear shades (also pink... so as not to confuse anyone).

January in Review

2008-01-31T15:09:00.000-08:00

Wow, January flew by. The highlight of the month had to be the addition of our niece, Kinley Kate, on the 18th. We enjoyed spending time with Stephen, Hayley, Cole and Baby Kinley. It was precious to witness the confusion that Cole went through trying to understand where this new baby came from and that she was his sister forever. Quite a few times he called her "Baby Avery" and told us "no sister, no sister." He is adjusting well now and will be a great big brother. Avery is excited that she will have a cousin so close in age.

Avery is doing great. She turned 6 months old on the 26th. This month has brought many new changes to our little girl. Here are a few: started eating solid food, got her first tooth, and rolls all over the living room. Some of her favorite things: bath-time, jumping in her jumperoo, laughing at Rudy as he ferociously shakes his toys, and going on walks. Avery's favorite toy in the bathtub is the washcloth. With a number of toys to choose from she prefers to chew on the washcloth. Her other favorite includes shaking the blinds as I change her diaper on the changing table. She continues to be such a happy, outgoing baby. She is such a blessing to Justice and I.

Another highlight was having Avery dedicated at the baby dedication at church on the 27th. With 3 other babies and their parents, Pastor Dave prayed for us as we parents dedicated ourselves to raising our child in "the training and admonition of the Lord."

Justice is enjoying work. He is also enjoying getting out and reffing a few high school soccer games every week. He is looking forward to a weekend with the high schoolers up at Hume Lake in February.

I am enjoying spending time with my little girl. We do fun stuff everyday: play on the floor, read books, take walks, clean, make dinner, and sing songs. The highlights of our week are Tuesday morning bible study, Wednesday night youth group, and running errands. I never thought I'd enjoy grocery shopping so much. I am playing in a women's volleyball league on Monday nights in Paso with some ladies I used to teach with. It is so nice to be able to get out and get some exercise/alone time.

We hope you are all doing well. Keep in touch.

2008-01-03T18:27:00.001-08:00

The Year in Review!

2007-12-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

Did you happen to notice the postmark on our Christmas card this year? No, we haven't moved to Yosemite, but we did just take a mini-vacation there, and there was plenty of snow falling for Avery's first time in the snow.

With 2007 quickly coming to an end, we have had a little time to reflect on the happenings of the last year. It is hard to remember not having a little one around the house, even though Avery is a little less than 5 months new, it seems like she has been around forever.

The Lord blessed us with Avery Anne on July 26th, after a bit of excitement. She is growing like a weed, and is just now learning to roll-over (which is currently a one-way trip). She has also recently learned that her hands are very effective at grabbing anything within reach and stuffing it in her mouth.

Ashley is doing a great job as a mommy, which is a full time job with four "kids" to take care of at the house (Justice, Alexandria, Rudy, and Avery). She missed coaching volleyball at Cuesta for the first time since she finished playing there 10 years ago. She is continuing to help out with the book-keeping for SLO JRS, and is taking the year off of coaching there as well. Ashley is looking forward to spending some time with her sister Hayley next month as she gets ready to have their second baby, a little girl named ___ (we have been sworn to secrecy as to the name).

I am still working at Coastal Division as a network administrator (uh, computer geek with a gun, as I am so fondly named), and still spoiled by a normal work schedule and plenty of work to do. Ashley and I are still working with the high-school youth group at PRBC, it's been fun to see those kids change over the last 2 years as well.

Alexandria is rounding third base at Cuesta and should have her associates degree by this summer. She finished her second season on the soccer team, and is keeping busy working as a soccer referee for the high-school season. She is still not exactly sure what her four-year plans are, but she is leaning towards taking classes through Columbia College.

And yes, Rudy, the man of the house, is doing just fine. He is great around the baby, and would rather play with her toys than his own. Rumor has it that his 3rd calendar is in the works, though a little behind schedule due to some computer problems.

On a rather heavy note, my father Jack passed away in June. Though the circumstances surrounding his death were difficult to comprehend, we have peace in knowing that all things are under the control of a just and loving God. There was a very nice memorial at the coast in Cambria, and his remains were spread offshore. Our family is very thankful for the thoughts and prayers received during the time after his passing.

Though the saying has become cliche, it is our prayer that we all would remember the reason for the season. So often, we find ourselves running around like crazy, taking less and less time to reflect on why it is that we give gifts in the first place. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world; that all who believe in him would be forgiven for their sins have eternal life. Without faith it is impossible to please Him; our prayer is that many would have faith to believe in him, to experience the gift of life which only the Lord, Jesus Christ, can provide.

May your family be blessed this Christmas season, and through the coming new year.

With Love,
The Jones Family

Christmas Pictures

2007-12-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

This is Avery's cousin Cole.

December 5th

2007-12-05T16:37:00.001-08:00

Avery sure does love looking at the bright lights on our Christmas tree and loves looking at all the lights and yard decorations throughout the neighborhood. These are some of her new favorite things, right up there with licking her fingers and kicking her socks off. Within the last day or two her newest activity is blowing bubbles. She thinks it's pretty funny.

November

2007-12-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that November has come and gone. On November 26th, Avery turned 4 months old. The time is going by so fast. We are enjoying every second as she is coming into her personality. She is a very happy, smiley baby. The day after turning 4 months old she turned over for the first time. Recently she is enjoying taking baths in the big tub where she kicks and splashes mom.

October Update

2007-10-28T18:54:00.002-07:00

October is almost gone, things are as busy as they've ever been... Avery is doing great, and is up to 14 pounds and is now three months old. Her personality is starting to come out more and more each day, and she is much more responsive and aware of what's going on around her. She doesn't particularly care for getting her shots, but who would? Ashley and Justice are doing well and continuing to adjust to doing everything with a little one. And everyone wants to know how Rudy is doing... he's fine - Avery's in the crib and he's still in the bed!

September Already!

2007-09-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

Not sure where August disappeared to, but here we are in September already. Avery continues to do great, and is on a pretty regular routine now. She wakes up about every 3-4 hours for a feeding, but aside from that, is sleeping very well (even through last week's BIG thunderstorms!). Ashley is also doing great, and can't wait to get back to some more strenuous exercise like running, etc.

Alexandria started her second year at Cuesta last week; and is back playing on the soccer team (The picture below was in the Tribune on Friday).

She is one of only 3 returning players on a team of 25! She also has a full load of classes, including speech, math, geology/astronomy, and early childhood education.

Finally, pictures from the Lemm's Labor Day Party (Old-Time Radio Production) have been uploaded to http://picasaweb.google.com/highwayjustice for your viewing/downloading pleasure.

Home Sweet Home... for a little while.

2007-08-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

Rudy welcomed Avery, Ashley, and I home on Sunday morning. The four days at the hospital went well, and Avery slept quite a bit, and woke up an average of twice a night. It was VERY nice to be back in our own bed. Avery has been breastfeeding very well, and sleeping most of the day and night. We've had a bunch more visitors, and some great dinners provided by some families from church. Rudy has taken to Avery quite well, he's getting more attention than he was before since folks assume he's now #2. He's a smart little guy.

Avery had her first Dr. appointment with Dr. Lemm on Thursday. Aside from two diaper changes before the Dr. came in (not because of a long wait, but just because she had to go), it went well. She's up to 7lbs 14oz, and healthy. She travels great in the car, and likes walking around the block too. We've been able to take short walks in the evening when it cools off, Ashley is doing well and healing great. I've been keeping busy with small tasks around the house, putting in some ceiling fans and painting Alex's room. Avery did great on Sunday morning at church, and didn't make more than a peep through the whole service, or one the drive to Fresno/Auberry afterwords. We're staying with Hayley and Stephen for the week to help out around their place and hang out.

New pictures have been posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/highwayjustice

2007-07-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

Avery’s Birthday Story

2007-07-30T19:31:00.001-07:00

Avery Anne Jones

Hello Eveyone! I know you don't like mass emails, but this one is worth it. I was born yesterday (July 26) morning at 2:50 AM after a looong day and night of excitement. The short version is that I'm a healthy gift from God, 7lbs 11 oz, 20.5". The longer version is below.

Daddy and his dumb camera have been driving me nuts for my first two days, and he put a bunch of pictures for you to see in two places, (http://picasaweb.google.com/highwayjustice/ and http://slojrsvolleyball.com/ - both have same pictures, use Picasa if you want to order my pictures!). I also attached a couple, so if you like what's attached, you'll love the rest.

So the long version goes like this… I'll let my dad tell it:

Ashley and I went to her Doctor's appointment on Wednesday morning at 8:45 AM, knowing that she was a week overdue, but still not expecting much since she wasn't feeling anything major. At the appointment, Dr. Stanislaus, did put Ashley on the monitor and she was having consistent contractions, but couldn't feel them. She was dilated to a 3 at that time. She also did an ultrasound and didn't like the lack of amniotic fluid around Avery, so basically she told us we that this was the day, and we were going right over to the hospital. Bummer since Ashley only had a bowl of cereal and banana for breakfast!

We arrived at the hospital, pretty much in disbelief, at 11:00, checked in, and were put in a birthing room. There were two other women in labor, both of who eventually gave birth before us later in the afternoon, so we pretty much settled into our little room and watched ESPN and the Angels game (her choice--I love my wife) until 1:00 in the afternoon when they started the Petocin drip. We watched the monitor and steady contractions, and Ashley didn't really start feeling them until about 3 PM. From that time until about 8:30, there was a steady routine of back labor- Ashley sitting on the exercise ball bouncing along to Avery's heartbeat on the monitor until a contraction came along, then she would lean over the bed and tough it out. My job was to stand next to her and press on her lower back during the contraction, and she let me know if I wasn't doing it in the right spot! My other job was to eat her meals, since she couldn't, after all… we wouldn't want to waste Blue Cross' money! The food was surprisingly good, though, I probably would have eaten newspaper if I had to.

Ashley's water broke, on its own, about 4 in the afternoon. She was measured and had progressed to around 4-5 cm, but was increasingly uncomfortable. She stayed on that ball for 5 hours, only got into bed once for the exam, which she did not enjoy. We all quickly learned to obey Ashley's one rule during this time, which was basically "keep your mouth shut during a contraction, not even a whisper." Our good friend from church is a respiratory therapist at TCCH, Cort Thompson, and made the mistake of poking his head in during a contraction at the beginning of his shift. Oops! He felt bad, but understood completely. More to come on Cort later… I tried to send text message updates along the way, which may have been too often, because each time I sent one, a bunch of well-intentioned friends would send a reply back encouraging us and reminding us that they were praying for the three of us. Ashley didn't like hearing my phone vibrate, but we certainly appreciated the replies and prayers (after the fact). Thank God I called AT&T and bumped up the plan!

After much pain and discomfort, along with persistent recommendations from Tery (Ashley's Mom), Ashley ordered up an epidural. Relief came almost instantly. Her quote, jokingly, was that the epidural was "a miracle from God." It was true in more ways than one, foremost, the pain immediately subsided. She was able to rest up for pushing, and she even got her sense of humor back (I was cracking jokes all along which she did NOT find any humor in). Her nurse Patricia, who just "happened" to be a very-good-friend-of-some-very-good-friends, (we really hoped she would be working that night- and were VERY blessed to have her assigned to us) stayed late after her shift, even as the next nurse, Lindsey, also awesome, showed up. They pretty much had to make Patricia go home around 1 AM. We had awesome nurses throughout, and those nurses are awesome at a very tough job. I don't remember all of their names, but that doesn't reflect on anything other than my poor memory!

About 30 minutes after the epidural came, Patricia examined Ashley and she was completely dilated to 10 cm. We suspect the leg tremors Ashley was having before the epidural were actually because she was transitioning into the final stages of labor… at the time she just thought they were due to exhaustion – which was also true. Whatever the case, it was now time to start pushing. Contractions came about 1-2 minutes apart, and I stood on one side of the bed with Hayley (Ashley's sister) on the other side, each of us holding a foot or leg. Ashley held onto a sheet draped around a bar which was over the bed, and pretty much did three to four one- minute-long crunches during each contraction. Hayley and the nurse would count to 10 as she pushed, and we'd feed Ash ice chunks (fortunately the hospital has "turd" style ice – a volleyball coach's preferred style of ice) during the breaks. Ashley had an unquenchable thirst because of the labor, and also because Hayley and I had a great game of "pass the Vomit Cup" going for most of the pushing. Depending on which side Ashley was facing, she would puke into the first cup (the catcher), which would then be passed to the open player (receiver), and occasionally handed off to the washer, and returned, all the while puking into the other cup! They should televise THAT in Jr. High and High schools to teach abstinence!

About an hour into the pushing, Patricia coaxed me into looking "down there" during a contraction, and we could see the top of Avery's head (about the size of a quarter at first). After much more pushing, we eventually could see about a tennis-ball sized portion of the top of Avery's head, but she just couldn't get past Ashley's pubic bone. Dr. Monroy (the on-call OB for the night) came after Ashley had pushed for about three hours. A little bummed that Ashley's OB wasn't working for the delivery, Patricia assured us of how good Monroy was because most of the nurses there on a Wednesday night did so because he was on call every Wed., and they loved working with him. They were right, he was a stud. He didn't mind that we packed 5 family members into the room while he was working on her with two nurses. He probably would have let Rudy come in too, but I didn't want to press my luck. Fortunately, the room was about the size of a Chinese take-out box, so we all got REALLY friendly.

Dr. Monroy presented us with two options; first we could try using suction to help deliver Avery, or go straight to a C-Section. After explaining the suction procedure (which was nothing like the Shop-Vac procedure I had envisioned in my head), we set up to do the suction. By this time Ashley was physically and emotionally exhausted, but she still wanted to try and avoid the recovery from a C-Section. Dr. Monroy assured us that he would only try the suction as Ashley pushed a maximum of three times, but stopped after the second try and told us a C-Section was in our immediate future. I had a hard time watching the suction part, and picked a nice spot on the wall/floor to sit before I nearly passed out. That near-miss would be my only "catch" of the day. By now, about 14 hours in, we were very confident that we had tried as hard as we could, and just wanted Avery to come out healthy, and for Ashley to be done dealing with the pain.

It was about this time that Ashley became very, VERY, uncomfortable. The epidural stopped working for some reason, and she had excruciating pressure on her left side. The wait for the O.R. to be ready and for all of the surgery team to arrive seemed to last forever, though it was probably only a half-hour. I was given a set of scrubs, hat, and booties to put on so I could go into the surgery. I crammed down a leftover sandwich so I wouldn't pass out in the O.R. (I have a tendency to be a sissy for that kind of stuff- I know, I know—wrong line of work…). Anyway, they wheeled Ashley over to the O.R. and I stayed behind as they prepped her. I was escorted to the O.R. by another nurse, but right before going in I was told that I couldn't go in because they couldn't get her epidural to numb the incision site and were going to have to put her completely under general anesthesia for the procedure. A little defeated, I walked back to the OB section where the family was in the waiting room.

No sooner after telling the family why I was back so soon, a nurse came in and told me that they were waiting for me in the O.R. I told her that I had just been sent back, and she walked me over there again. A second time, just as I was about to go in, they told me again that I couldn't go in. I was not very happy, to say the least, and sarcastically told the nurse that I would wait outside the door in case they changed their mind (again). They were apologetic, and I wouldn't know their reason (a very good reason, mind you) until later. Shorlty after Ashley went in, Cort walked up and talked with me for a while before going into Ashley's procedure (he is in the room for C-Sections just in case there is a problem with the baby after delivery). It was very encouraging knowing that I had a brother in the Lord on the "inside," looking out for my girls. I sat down on the floor and waited (prayed and pouted and prayed… but mostly pouted!) for about a half-hour, and was eventually joined by Ashley's family until the doors we were staring at finally flew open.

Nurse Lindsey came out holding the most precious little girl I have ever laid eyes on. She said sternly, "come with me, we're going to the nursery" and we quickly jumped up and followed her to the nursery. I asked how the baby was, still not believing she was really here, and she said she was fine but "had a rough start." She said Ashley was also doing well, and would be in recovery for a couple hours until she woke up. We got to the nursery (fishbowl) and they put her under the warming lights and quickly put a tube down her mouth and suctioned some nasty stuff out from her stomach. She had ingested some meconium (fancy word for baby poop) while she was in the birth canal, and was also running a little bit of a fever.

I noticed that the nurses seemed to be working pretty intensely, hurriedly but not frantically. I overheard one of the nurses make a call to some sort of on-call person to let them know that they had a "full-resuscitation" birth. I don't know much, but I know Avery was the only baby being born at that time, and I know what full-resuscitation means… it means CPR. Lindsey explained Avery's "rough start" as needing help with breathing and some chest compressions. I asked her how long, and she told me it was for about two minutes. I don't remember saying anything much after that, but watched as the other nurse worked on Avery. They put an oxygen saturation sensor on her foot, and I watched in terror as the nurse had to flick Avery's feet to startle her when the reading dropped down and her breathing seemed to slow. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for those few seconds, but it only happened once and she bounced right back and began crying regularly and getting a nice pink color to her. I asked someone who did the resuscitating in the O.R., and pretty much found out that it was Cort and Lindsey.

They cleaned her up, took the tube out pretty quickly, and gave her a bath. I stood there watching with my arms crossed and mouth hanging open, trying to figure out what in the world I was looking at. The nurses took a picture of me holding her and printed it right there so Ashley would have a picture to see when she woke up in recovery (it's on the Picasa site). Cort came into the nursery and I asked him what happened (after I got done with my crying strangle-hug). He explained very courteously, just like Lindsey did, that she had a rough start. Because of the general anesthetic they had to use on Ashley to knock her out, Avery got some of the meds, and when she came out and they cut the cord, she needed a bit of a "jump-start" to get going. Cort said it doesn't happen all that often; but it's not extremely rare, and that's why he (resp.therapist) is there for C-Sections. He gave a humble, "no-biggie, just-doing-my-job" kind of explanation (albeit very heartfelt), and I went back to watching Avery make noises and cry.

With Avery doing well, the mood in the nursery lightened considerably, and the nurses joked about how blood from the cord sprayed when it was cut, and how other nurses had "meck" (poop) on their uniforms from the melee. Dr. Monroy came in and told me what happened, and basically Avery was not coming out the old-fashioned way. Her head (13 ¾") just wasn't didn't fit through little Ashley's hips, and she was so stuck in the birth canal that they had to pull from the top and push from the bottom to get her out. They measured the oxygen level in the cord blood after the delivery, and it was normal, so she wasn't without oxygen for long, the slow start was a result of the anesthesia. He was very gracious and professional, and told me that future babies in our household would be scheduled ahead of time via C-Section.

In an instant I went from dumbfounded-dad to tecno-geek-dad and thought the world would end if I didn't start taking pictures of everything, especially since Ashley still hadn't met Avery. They swaddled her up and I carried her into the hallway and took some pictures of Avery with the nurses, doctor, then with Grandma Tery and Cathy (Tery's sister, Ashley's Aunt). We put her in the bassinet and took her to the room, she was pretty awake and alert most of the time. Ashley was wheeled in shortly thereafter, and got a kiss from her mommy for the first time. Ashley was a little groggy from the meds, but looked great, and was telling me I did a good job – as if I had anything to do with it!?! They got her settled and I gave Avery to her mom. She held Avery for a little while and she immediately latched on and began breastfeeding (whew! Have you seen the price of formula lately!?!).

I've been able to stay in the room with Ashley since there's an open bed, and it's looking like we'll be there until Sunday morning. Both are doing fine, and Avery's first night went great. Not sleep-all-night-and-let my-parents-rest great, but very good indeed. She's a poopin and a peein' and a eatin' and a sleepin'. And there's a little cryin' mixed in there, but it could be way worse (as it is across the hall!). Ashley has been doing great, she was up and walking later in the evening on the day Avery was born. Avery looks just like her mommy, she has a nicely rounded jaw and cute little cheeks. Her hair is brown (light at the ends), and we're betting on a toe-head blond within a month or two, just like her folks.

Thanks to everybody that has been praying and supporting us. I am extremely grateful to the staff at TCCH, especially the nurses (who we all know do the REAL work in and after a delivery), even for not letting me into the O.R. (I can't imagine what I would have done). Also, Ashley's sister "Hay" and my "Twin Brutha Steeb" and Avery's cousin "Co-Co Bean" for being here and taking care of us; and the rest of our family who was been here or called often, texted, and prayed their buns off. And above all, thanks to our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, who gave life to my little girl and has already fashioned every moment of her life. In that short amount of time two nights ago, I couldn't imagine losing my little girl, yet, we have a God who willingly gave His Son to die on our behalf. My prayer is that He will call Avery His own at a young age and save her again; that also is our prayer for those of you who do not know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. A well known and comforting verse, James 1:17, reminds us that "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow…"and Avery Anne is proof of that. It breaks my heart to know that some who we know and love are hopelessly perishing apart from the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. We pray continually that you would have the faith to believe, to be called sons and daughters of God.

As I finish, so I can get cleaned up and go back to hang out with my loved ones, thank you again. My heart overflows with thanksgiving for all that everyone has done for us. Please feel free to stop by the hospital, by the house, or give us a call any time. We are here for you.

Our Thanks, Love, and Prayers,

Justice, Ashley, Alexandria, Rudy, and Avery Anne (yes, like Green Gables) Jones