Cow Appreciation Day

Samuel made his first trip to the mall today! Chick-fil-A's across the country celebrated Cow Appreciation day on Friday! Anyone that dressed up as a cow got free food! We sent our cow around the mall saying hello to all our patrons and passing out coupons. We stopped by so everyone could see Samuel and so we could get our free lunch!

Ryan with Ms. Brenda, our GM! She is totally awesome...we love her!

Getting ready to go inside! Samuel's outfit has a cow on it and it says "udderly adorable". I thought it was appropriate!

Dad ready to show off his cute little man!

I think he is in love already! Can we change the child labor laws, when can he start working?

Time flies by!

I can't believe it, but Samuel is 1 week old today. I was up feeding him at 5:45 this morning and realized that it was about this time that I was getting to hold my son for the first time. It was such a special time and something I will remember forever. He seems to have grown so much already! He is such a content baby and seems to enjoy being on the outside! Here are a few pictures from the last week!

Samuel loves his daddy, Ryan is pretty infatuated as well!

After his first sponge bath. He did pretty great, but didn't really enjoy it too much!

Samuel and his Bebe. She was so amazing to stay a few more days after the rest of the family left! We had a great time together and Samuel was pretty excited to have here here too!

Samuel's first trip out, and what better place than the beach? We want him to love the beach so we thought this was appropriate! He seemed to enjoy the sea breeze a good bit!

What's in a name?

Well, Ryan and I had a lengthy time deciding what to name our special boy! We had decided to keep his name to ourselves until he entered this world, and it was so special to be able to finally tell our family his name. When we were deciding what to name our son we wanted him to have a solid name that stood for something and even was named after an amazing man!

First, biblically speaking Samuel means "heard of God". Samuel was a gift to Hannah after her many prayers and petitions to the Lord for a child. Ryan and I really feel like Samuel is such a gift from God and that he has heard our prayers the past couple years and provided us with this amazing life when he knew we were ready! Samuel was called by God to do many things during a major turning point in Israel's history and God was able to use him because he was willing to serve his Lord. He demonstrated that those whom God finds faithful in the small things will be trusted with greater things. We pray that our Samuel will have a childlike faith throughout his life, knowing that God not only takes care of the big things but the little things too! A verse from 1 Samuel that I love says "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." Please pray with us that the Lord would work through us and in Samuel that he would be a man of God.

The second reason we chose Samuel was after a person that has had an impact on both of our lives (directly and indirectly). Many people know that we have both been involved with Chick-fil-A for many years. Ryan and I both were part of the WinShape program, sponsored by CFA and created by Truett Cathy. Ryan also is now a CFA operator. We love this company and the Cathy family and what they stand for. Truett is an amazing man who loves everyone around him, he is a servant and a great business man. Truett's first name is Samuel and we thought it was a great way to teach our son of a great man's life and the legacy his name will leave.

Our Samuel has some big shoes to fill and we are excited to see how he lives up to his name!

Our Little man is here!

Samuel David Powell has arrived. I am just writing a short update now because the family is here, but soon I will give you some history behind his name! Now just for some fun new baby facts. I went to the hospital on Wednesday and was admitted at 7:30am. They broke my water around 9 and started the petocin around 11. It took a while for me to reach 10 cm, but at 2am on Thursday we thought we were ready to push. Unfortunately after 45 minutes we found out that he really hadn't descended as much as we had thought so I stopped pushing. by this point my epidural had worn off for the 2nd time so they gave me a little bit more and also an antibiotic for something, i was a little out of it! I started pushing again around 4:45 and by 5:18am Samuel had made his appearance into this big old world! He weighed 8lbs 15.4 oz and was 21.5 inches long! Needless to say, he's a big boy, but is absolutely perfect! We stayed in the hospital until Friday around 5 and then made our way home!!!

He's Content

Well, baby Powell has not made any real move toward making an appearance! Ryan and I went to the doctor yesterday, and nothing really to report! I am dilated 2 cm, but I have been there for 3 weeks now! They will induce me July 1 if he hasn't come by then, so we know it will be no more than a week away! We have enjoyed time in the ocean-the weightlessness of the water is incredible, time in the pool, and lots of time under the fan and cool AC! The heat here is pretty miserable, but not too deadly!

I have been told to try the following-if you have any other thoughts please share!

Squats (check-nothing), spicy foods (check for the past 3 days-nothing), Walking (check everyday-nothing), going up and down stairs (check about 50 times a day-nothing), being patient (kinda check-this is a hard one!!!)

Update

Well I went to the doctor on Tuesday and all looks good. I am officially due in 11 days (the 27th) and it is looking like he's going to hold out until at least then! I am dilated, but just barely. Ryan and I are trying to savor our time with just the two of us. We spent the afternoon on the beach tonight, going out for a final romantic dinner tomorrow and maybe to the beach again a few times in the next week. I am feeling good, still no swelling or major pains! I did have some braxton hicks contractions the other day-it was a little weird, but not too horrible! We'll let you know when he comes or at least begins to make the move! Thanks for the prayers~

2 weeks and counting

Well I went to the doctor this past Tuesday and everything seems to be going well!  I am about 2 weeks away from my due date, 2 cm dilated, and super ready to go!  We've got the nursery mostly together, just waiting on a few odds and ends but are ready for this baby!  Some things you can be praying about:

Safe travel for our families as they come to Wilmington for the birth.

My dad as he will be hiking and unable to come or really even be reached.

Ryan, he is really excited and seems to really be ready to be a dad-I know he'll be awesome!

Grace, I am feeling great, no swelling, not really sleeping (but that's not going to change any time soon!), not really scared or anxious now, but think it will probably happen once I get to the hospital!

Please pray that the delivery goes smoothly and that our little son is healthy!

Ryan and I are both so excited, can't believe he is almost here, and still shocked about the fact that we are about to be parents!

Below are some more recent pictures!  Not all that glamorous, but you can see the belly!

This one was taken about 2 weeks ago, I've gotten a little bigger, but not too much!

A baby shower with the girlfriends!  It was such a special night and a great weekend home!

About a week and a half ago, not a great picture by any means, but you get the profile and can see that I'm getting bigger!