this is worth listening to

my dad sent me this link over email, and it is amazing. it's little things like this that give me goosebumps. this is what life is.

http://www.maniacworld.com/stay-calm-dad.html

i don't have time to blog

this is the harsh reality. when i thought i lost my cell phone last night, i thought perhaps i had lost my connection to the world. why did i feel that way? do i still have five senses, and legs to walk with, and a mouth to speak with? then i still have the ability to connect to the world. thanks, God. here is my family. i love them.

going outside

Ah, it feels good to get out. This past Sunday, we drove to Northfield to hang out with some dear friends and go with them to cut our own Christmas trees. This was pretty much my first outing since Lyle's birth. The air was quite chilly, and the snow was the most perfect, fluffy snow I have ever crunched through. You can't see him in this picture, but Lyle is in the Moby wrap inside my coat, snoozing away. He slept pretty much the whole day. It was so good to be with such good friends. Matt, Amanda, Anne, and Jake......we are so thankful for you. Sunday was a blast, and will always be a special memory for me. Paige, I'm glad you are unlocking the magic already. I think of you everyday. Love you.


Photo by Ingman Photography

This is Lyle Patrick Mulligan. He was born on November 14, 2010. He may look like your average run-of-the-mill cute ordinary newborn, but don't be deceived. This boy was in a HURRY. My water broke at 1am, and Lyle decided to enter the world as we were en route to the birth center at 2:50am. Yes, Lyle was born in the back seat of our Honda CRV. Everyone keeps using words like "brave," and "birth warrior," and "hero," but from my perspective, what else could I do? When a baby is coming out of you, you let him come out. I'm so thankful that he was born so healthy and that everything worked out so amazingly, considering the unusual circumstances. The midwives and nurse were waiting for us in the parking lot of the birth center after a most crazy drive down hwy 100 at approximately 100mph, and then down the wrong way of Excelsior Blvd. But we made it. He made it. And I didn't really care what happened after that. As Bryan and I were debriefing this intense and life-changing event last week, I was rather startled to realize that everything we said about this birth beforehand came to be. I told Fiona (Lyle's big sister of 3 yrs) that when the snow came, our baby would be born. Lyle was born on the night of the first big snow. Earlier in the day, Bryan, Fiona, and I took a trip by bus and then light-rail to Midwest Mountaineering. I told Bryan, "I really hope I don't go into labor while we're on the train......just in case it goes really quickly...." Bryan replied, "What, do you think you're going to have a Hollywood birth or something?" It doesn't really get much more Hollywood than the back seat of the car. As we were walking from the store to the train stop, I said, "Bryan, it feels like this baby is going to shoot right out between my legs." Bryan said, "That would be a cool trick." When Lyle was born in the back seat of the car, he pretty much shot out between my legs. Every single week at my birth center appointments, I told my midwife, "Just so you know, we will probably leave our house for the birth center sooner rather than later since my first labor went rather quickly. I really don't want this baby to be born in the back seat of the car." Oh, friends, the power of our words. Our words have so much power. More power than we are aware of. And now, during this thanksgiving-time of year, I am feeling very, very thankful. Paige, I didn't get to say goodbye to you before you left on your trip. You are in NZ now, and I am thinking of you a lot. I hope your journey has gone well so far, and I can't wait to read your blog. I will do my best to uphold my promise to blog for you. Love you. Later.