First let me start off with a little background story. We have a couple here, named Shannon and Jason, that we have come to be really good friends with over the past few years. They have a beautiful 2 year old daughter named Ava...who we have known since she was around 6 months old. Well, Shannon, was pregnant with their second child and her husband, Jason, found out toward the end of last year, that he was going to be deployed, therefore, I am sure you can figure it out by now, that he was not going to be present for the birth of their second child. Under these unfortunate circumstances with Jason not being able to be here, this is where my nervous, scary, yet amazing, happy, blessed, and wonderfully mixed emotions kind of experience came from....and here is where my story begins.....
It began on 18 February 2009, and I was at work, just like any normal day, performing my normal duties, you know, twittling my thumbs. :) Just kidding, I always work hard. :) Okay, back to the point, the phone rang, maybe once or twice, I don't really recall how many times(that is probably irrelevant, huh?) and my friend Aisling says, "Our friend is in the unit." I replied with, "Excuse me, what does that mean(I am kind of naive when it comes to these things)." Aisling said, "Brandi! Shannon is in Labor!" I was overwhelmed with excitement and was told to come by after work. At 1630, that would be 4:30 p.m. for us "normal people"...I arrived, nervous, not knowing what to expect and I was escorted to Shannon's room where a million thoughts of what I might see was rolling through my mind, but all I saw, was Shannon sitting in the bed, and she said, "Hey, what's up Lady(her fav words, by the way)." I also walked in on the middle of a conversion with her doctor and he was telling her that she would not be eligible for a epidural due to her platelletes being too low....and I thought, I think this might be bad, but I am just going to smile(after all, my mom always told me to smile when I have no idea what else to do). Shannon was taking the news like a champ! She was like, "I am good, I am not feeling any pain right now, at this point she was dialated 5cm. We were sitting there..you know...shooting the breeze...and out the corner of my eye, I saw this chart that showed how big the actual dialation sizes get, and I grabbed it to get a closer view...I soon dropped it, due to shock!! I did not know 10cm was that BIG!!! Shannon had a good time, getting some laughs in with me, oh and the other ladies' in labor were yelling down the hall, we were giggling...like little girls. :) About 8 or 9 pm, I left to get some dinner and go take a shower.
When I returned around 10pm, this is where my experience got scary! She was in PAIN!! And the few meds they were giving her was not working. All I wanted to do was take some of the pain away, help ease her, just be supportive, but I did not know what to do...I was scared for her. At one time I tried to soothe her, by gently rubbing her arm to let her know I was there, and she slapped my hand away....all I thought was, aghh....it is like the movies! She was soon the one yelling like those ladies we were giggling at earlier. After some painful contractions, she told the nurse that she felt like the baby was close to coming out, and sure enough he was. I then got on the phone and called her husband to put him on speaker phone, so he could be a part of the birth. I was behind the bed, by her head, filming the birth, and Aisling was taking photos...so her husband can view it when he returns. About 15 minutes of pushing, everyone soon said Happy Birthday to Cash Ryan!
Born on 18 February 2009, at approx. 11:35pm, 9lbs. 10oz, 21.75 inches long.
This is where the entire experience went to amazing, happy, blessed, wonderful, and every other mixed emotion I could possibly feel at that time. I was no longer scared, because I just witnessed one of the most amazing moments of my friends life and I feel a stronger bond to her that will last a lifetime.
XOXO for you, Shannon!
On April 18th we went fishing at Matsu Bay.
I caught the first fish, it was a flounder, it was a baby, about the size of a fish stick once prepared. :)
Josh then caught two more flounders.
When Josh was done for the day, he started reeling in his line and low and behold, there was this crazy looking fish on there, but we threw it back, because our luck it was poisonous if consumed.
Our Japanese guide caught a StarFish!
It was definitely a beautiful day, but Josh got a little sleepy...
But, all in all it was great, we got to take home some scallops and we cooked the scallops and flounders with friends.
So, our time on Matsu Bay was enjoyable...and I did not even get sea sick..Yay!
I caught the first fish, it was a flounder, it was a baby, about the size of a fish stick once prepared. :)
Josh then caught two more flounders.
When Josh was done for the day, he started reeling in his line and low and behold, there was this crazy looking fish on there, but we threw it back, because our luck it was poisonous if consumed.
Our Japanese guide caught a StarFish!
It was definitely a beautiful day, but Josh got a little sleepy...
But, all in all it was great, we got to take home some scallops and we cooked the scallops and flounders with friends.
So, our time on Matsu Bay was enjoyable...and I did not even get sea sick..Yay!
Apparently, they planned poetry for the evening to entertain all the guests, but we were not aware....we were kind of leary about staying and almost did not want to, but we did, and it was amazing! I think it might get Josh back into the mood of writing poems like he did when we were dating and first got married...if so, I will keep everyone informed. 
I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day this year! 
