An Amazing accomplishment

Well, last night Dillon slept through the night! You know what the best part is? It was my night to get up with him, and I didn't have too! It was great. I fed him at 9:45pm and then put him in his bed, he woke up at 5:48am, and my alarm goes off at 5:50am. I was so happy. Will was not excited at all though, because when it has been his night to get up with Dillon, he has gotten up 2-3 times every time. HA! I told him he should feel flattered, Dillon just likes him better and he just wants to hang out with his daddy more, so he gets up more.

In case anyone missed it today...... A great change has come

My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.


President Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

Like it or not a change has come. I hope he goes down in history as one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever seen. Not because he is a democrat, and not because he is an African-America, but because our country needs this right now. Rather you agree with him or not, rather you voted for him or not, I hope that this brings our country together. I hope that we as Americans can all get behind our new President and unite as one. I hope..........

Back to work......

Many of you know that started back to work last week. UGH! I had to leave my precious baby boy in the hands of other individuals so his mommy can take care of other people's kids all day, sometimes I liken my high school teaching job to a glorified babysitter...... yes, on many occasions my high school students are not much better behaved than my 3 month old, but there's just something different about it when it's your own kid.

The first day that I went to work I made Will drop him off, he is staying at my aunts right now and while that is definiately better than going to a day care, it is (was) still very hard and I was fighting back the tears as I left bright and early last Monday morning. My aunt emails me several times through out the day though to check in about what they are doing that day. I am still looking for somewhere for him to go from February to May, and then since my wonderful job allows me summers off I will get to stay at home with him all summer! I can't wait.

Going back to work I had definite mixed emotions. A part of me was ready to get back to normal life and get back into my routine. That feeling however, made me feel bad for wanting to leave my baby. Then there were times when I was at home that I would feel bored, but I would not be bored enough to want to go back to work. What's so boring about wathing a new baby sleep the day away? It's rather relaxing and they are only little once. I always asked my sister how come she never stayed at home with her kids, and she would respond, "I feel like I'm a better mom, when I don't stay home with them all day." I never understood this statement until I had a kid of my own. I sum it up like this, when you stay at home with them all day, you almost take for granted the little things that they do, and their little looks, and little coos. When you are away from them all day and get precious few hours at home with them you hang on every moment and can not wait to get home to be with them.........

I LOVE (HATE) Winter......

Can someone please fast forward time to around March or April? Or better yet, June....... Winter is totally ruining me. I have never been one for all the seasons, and have just recently (maybe the past 5 years or so) have found myself enjoying Fall..... Hmmm.... let's see, I love spring for everything turning new again, new babies, and the fact that it symbolizes life in general, but I HATE the allergies that it brings, and the tornadoes. I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer, the hotter the better, swimsuits, lake time, and swimming..... love it can not find a single thing to hate about this time of year. Fall brings football, long sleeved clothes, the smell of leaves burning, and a little bit of crisp in the air. Then there is Winter.... what can I say about Winter, anything that symbolizes death, well, that's enough said about that. WHat is to love except for Christmas? After that it should go straight to Spring, there is no real need for Winter to ever stick around. Can someone talk to Mother Earth about that? By the way, about Global Warming.... Global Warming my butt, talk to any one that lives in dakotas, or illinois or somewhere about that. today the temperature in Davenport, Iowa, (where my wonderful sister-in-law lives) it is -22 degrees, with a wind chill of -44, and the high is -8....... tell them that the planet is in dire straits and there is global warming going on and see what they do.......

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We rang in the new year with Mika and Jeremy. We had a great time playing Rock Band and eating and drinking and being merry. I went to bed at 2:30 am, and I think Will finally strolled in to bed at 4:30am. We stayed the night at Mika and Jeremy's and just had an all around good time. 

Happy New Year to everyone. I'm excited about the things to come, hopefully we sell our house in OKC (yes, still haven't sold it yet), and I can not wait to watch Dillon grow up, crawl, walk, talk, all of the new things he is going to do. Will also starts back to school in March after taking some time off. 

Happy New Year from the Maxwell's!

The Maxwell's Year in Review......

Okay, so I realize I started this in September, and a lot has happened since then. Some people have become concerned that I have not updated my blog with all the goings on, and with good reason. So here it goes, one blog to catch everyone up and hopefully I can keep this thing updated from here on out. 

In September I recapped the year to date, so I'll start this one from September til the present. 

the post that is before this one, I realized I typed up on Oct. 5th, and never published, so I went ahead and published it, this sets the tone for what would prove to be a very exciting time. So on Tues. Oct. 7th, I went o my doctor's appointment, I was dilated to a 1+ and was still just 50% effaced. We had already set our date for induction, so it was pretty much a formality for me to go. My doctor whom I love dearly says, "whatever you do don't go into labor this weekend, because I'm going out of town to go to OU/Texas game....." then she laughs, and says, "I don't anticiapte anything happening though so you should be good." Boy, I had no idea how fateful those words would be. Because this seemed to be just a formality, Mika attend

ed this visit with me while my mom and Will, were at our OKC house packing stuff up since we were going to be moving into our new house in Ada. After the appointment I went back to the house and was packing boxes of dishes and things that were not to heavy for me to be doing. We got everyting packed up and headed back to Ada. We dropped all the trailers off at the new house and decided to wait until Wednesday to unload the trailers. So Wednesday we head over to the new house and unpack, the living room, everything in the kitchen, the washer and dryer bathroom stuff and our bedroom stuff. All of Dillon's things were already in his room just waiting for him to come on the 16th. On Thursday we had our last child birth class, my mom attended this with me since Will had a conflict and could not come. Friday, Oct. 10th, we worked, then went over to my grandma's for some dinner. After dinner, Mika, Ge

hrig, Abbey, mom, grandmommy, Will, and myself were going to go to my mom's house and pack up the last of the things that we had there to take to the new house, and we were going to stay our first night there! We were so excited. We got there at 6:00 pm and started packing. I very clearly remember saying, "don't worry about keeping Will's and my clothes separate, we'll figure that out when we get to the house, just throw them all into whatever bag and let's get this done." (another fateful saying) At 8 pm (two hours later) we were all packed and ready to go. We had 3 vehicles loaded down and 7 people. Will was in his truck, I was going in my car, and my grandma was riding with me, and my mom, mika and the kids in Mika's car. I get into my car and I feel a little like, I peed myself or something, I didn't think much of it as anyone who has ever been pregnant realizes that when you are 37 weeks, this is not a rare occurence, so I went ahead and climbed on in, and felt a little more, well this time something triggered in my head and I jumped out of the car, and when I did, I felt this GUSH!!!! and I said, "

we're not going anywhere, my water just broke!!!!" I start running back up the sidewalk to the house and the reality of what I have just said has hit everyone, so they start running back to the house. At this time I realize that Will doesn't know what's going on and is pulling out of the drive way, I say, "stop Will!" So Mika takes off running and flags him down and says Story's water broke. Well, apparently 4 child birth classes did not have much effect as my husband says, "okay, and that means?" Mika says, "that means you have to go the hospital RIGHT NOW!" So he throws the truck in park, and runs into the house, I'm changing clothes, and mom and mika are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Will took this time to say, " ALRIGHT! every body calm down...." and when he had everyone's attention, he said, " WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?!"  It was quite humorous. Remember earlier when I said "thro

w all the clothes together, it won't matter" yeah, this is where it comes back to bite me. I had all of Dillon's stuff packed and had had it packed for about 3 weeks. I didn't have any of my stuff packed. My mom says, where are your clothes?" then we all realize that all the clothes have just been packed in random bags in random cars, so Mika, Will and Mom go to the cars and bring in all the bags we just packed and start throwing them open and throwing clothes all around. They said, okay you've got a bag packed, and so does Will so take off. (It wasn't until I got to the hospital that I understood just how random everything had been packed, it's amazing to see what people will pack you when they are under pressure). Well, all of Dillon's stuff was at the new house, 15 minutes away. So Will, mom and I load up in my car and head to OKC, Mika takes the kids and grandmommy to the new house to get Dillon's bag, then Mika dropped the kids off at Roger and Debbies, took Grandmommy home, and was on her way to meet 

us at the hospital. We get checked into the hospital at 10pm on the 10th. The check to make sure that my water really is broken (and it was) and I get checked in. Well, we thought we had 5 more days, and we had lots of plans for those days, like I was going to get my hair cut, Will was going to take me out for a steak dinner the night before, we were going to buy a video camera, not to mention we were still moving into our new house...... They hooked me up the machines, and I was only having contractions every 20 min or so, and I could not feel them. So they had to hook me up to pitocin.  From 10pm-4am my labor was pretty uneventful, it wasn't very painful at all, but it was really uncomfortable, and I was trying to sleep so I was getting shots of nubain every hour on the hour. At 5am I was only dilated 3-4 and the nurse said, "you can have your epidural now if you'd like" I said, "I think I'll wait one more hour, I've been doing really good with out it." She said, "alright I'll be back about 10 til 6 to check on you." Well

, that last hour was UNBEARABLE, the nubain wasn't helping at all, and 6 could not get here fast enough. I got the epidural and slept til 9am. at nine am I was dilated to a 5. (Side note: for anyone keeping track the date is now Oct. 11th. Don't know if anyone realizes this but that is OU/Texas.) So I've been kidding with the doctors saying, he has to be out by kickoff..... lol. so at 10:30 she comes and checks me (another side: this is a doctor I've never met before because my doctor said whatever you don't go into labor cause I'm going to be at OU Texas....) she says, alright let's do it......  Will was like RIGHT NOW?!?!?!? She said yep, let's have a baby. I said, alright turn the TV on ABC so in case I'm not done pushing I won't miss kickoff at 11. Well, at 10:45 I was cleaned up, and Dillon was here. I only pushed for 11 minutes total. He weighed 7lbs. 10 oz., and was 19 inches long. it was the most amazing thing I've ever done or b

een apart of and Will and I both cried at the sight of our beautiful baby boy. When my induction date was set, I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought that he would come before the 16th...... he surprised us all. I must say that this made for a much more interesting story than if I would have just went in and got induced. We stayed in the hospital until Monday the 13th and then we brought him home. We were so paranoid on the drive home, Will wouldn't even drive the speed limit at first, and every car that came close he said, if you hit this car I'm going to beat you up..... it was so cute. So since we left Ada in such a chaos, I wasn't sure what we'd come home to since our first night in our new house was going to be with our brand new baby, but we

 have WONDERFUL family and friends, and Jeremy and Aaron had moved all the rest of the stuff into the house, Debbie had stocked our kitchen and fridge with food and drinks, and our sunday school class brought us dinner the first two nights we were home. We are truly blessed.  Well the next few weeks was us adjusting to being new parents, and it was wonderful, and hard all at the same time. babies are a lot of work, we loved every minute of it. 

Okay, So November rolled around and e were pretty much in our routine with Dillon, and we were anxiously awaiting his cord to fall off of his belly button. They said it would take 7-10 days, well, we were on day 22 and it still hadn't come off. The doctor said that my cord was really thick which was good for two reasons, one cause the the thicker the cord is the more nurishment the baby is getting, and also, my cord had a knot in it when Dillon came out. If the knot had gotten tight Dillon would have died. Since my cord was thick, it didn't get tight........ Thank you Lord for protecting my precious baby. I still go crazy when I think what might have happened. We celebrated Dillon's first Thanksgiving, and he wore his camo just like his daddy did. This also marked the time that Dillon started smiling on a regular basis......

Then came December and Dillon's two month appointment and his first set of shots. At two months he weighed 12lbs 5.5 ozs and was 24 inches long, he had doubled his birth we

ight and grew 4 inches. He's such a big boy! We were anxiously awaiting our Christmas trip to Florida. We drove, and I was worried about how the 18 hour trip would be on a two month old baby, he handled it like a champ, I on the other hand was a pain in the butt and do not travel well in the car. Will said he would take Dillon to Florida again, but the jury was still out on me......lol. 

We made it to Florida and stayed 11 days. It was a great trip, and we had so much fun with Nana and Papa, and Dillon's first Christmas. 

Dillon did come home from Florida sick though. When we got back I had to take him to the doctor. It was the 31st, and he now weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz. so he had gained over 2 lbs in 2 weeks...... WOW! Dillon has bronchitis and has a lot of congestion in his chest so we are giving him breathing treatments every four hours. 

I had a bittersweet feeling bout Christmas this year, I did not want it to get her to be over, usually I can not wait. This time however, Christmas coming and going means that it is time for me to go  back to work and leave my precious little bear.... So it is with a heavy heart that I return to work on Jan. 5th.... UGH!!!!!!! I have seen several students on and off through out the break though and they miss me and are ready for me to come back so we'll see. I only have til May so it will be a fast semester. (I hope)