Grama & KK

The weather was so nice the week grandma and KK came to visit... so nice that trace went fishing naked one day. Thank goodness we live off the beaten path. Grandma cooked lots of comfort food, washed lots of dishes, and held lots of Honey. KK became Trace's latest girlfriend... or actually more of a slave to him. Trace roped her into catching bugs, playing in his redneck water park, and chasing the ducks... all day long... for the whole week. What a babe. She deserved her epic 4 hour Benadryl induced nap. In the tradition of Grammy Ronda, Grandma Barb slept on cushions on the floor. What delicately rugged women we have for moms/grandmas. They could have made it across the plains, and in style. Although only 2 weeks old, we blessed Honey at church. We are so grateful that we had family there during that time that reminds us of who's we are. Dinner at Catfish Country was, as always, epic. Lots of catfish and other southern fried caloric goodness. The tornado warnings we had later that night turned out to be one little gust that we would have missed had we not been waiting for the "big storm". I know I'll eat my words when we're blown away in our trailer, but it is beginning to seem like tornado warnings are more of an exciting social topic and less of a threat... or so I hope! Grandma and KK left too soon! Its strange to think that the next time we see them will be in November when we move home. Thank goodness the days are flying by because we miss our families so much!

Hunington's Baby Blessing

Some gReat Outfits

Grammy Comes to Town

Grammy braved two long plane rides, a frantic layover in Texas, and a ride past scenery that would make her consider moving to the south, just to see her baby granddaughter, Honey. What a lucky girl she is! Grammy brought a bit of the farm with her as well as some goodies for the kids, and it couldn't have been better timing. Shayna and her mom are more like sisters than parent and child when they're together. Since these two get pretty creative sometimes, I was obviously worried I might come home to more ducks in our kitchen, but surprisingly there were no new additions to our little trailer. Grammy helped Tracer hunt easter eggs on Sunday, hung outside while he played in his white trash (homemade) water park on Monday, stayed inside all day watching the rain on Tuesday, helped Shayna perfect her bread making skills on Wednesday, ate at the illustrious Catfish Country on Thursday, spent the night at her childhood friend's, the Ross', on Friday, and said some tearful goodbyes in Memphis on Saturday. And thats not to mention taking care of Honey, Tracer, and Shayna the whole time.

There's a reason Kraig calls her her Rondi Babe. She camped out on cushions on the floor, cooked a string of meals that are still sticking to our ribs, cleaned, did dishes, and tromped through the mud to meet up with me and Tracer after our walk... We are a lucky family to have her for a Grammy, and we are all blessed to have her as the one that raised our wife/mother. She is missed by us, but now those at the farm can stop missing her.

Hunington "Honey" Ryder

We couldn't have hoped for a more perfect day. Friday, March 29th, Shayna's contractions started at 8 am, and since she wasn't due until April first (and planning on an even later birth), we didn't think it would happen so fast. By 12 noon she was having serious labor pains, and at 2:40 pm our little Honey Ryder was born. There were so many things that made it perfect for us. We are so thankful to have her here healthy, early, and small.
Since Honey was born on Good Friday, I had the day off, and didn't have to return to clinic until Tuesday, which means I didn't need to take any personal days off. On top of all that, this rotation is an easy one with really good hours.
Labor lasted 6 and a half hours, Honey is a girl, doesn't need to be circumcised (our most traumatizing experience with Trace), has a small head, and there was minimal "trauma" to Shayna's body (if that's possible with any birth).
Our midwife got there 10 minutes after the birth, so I got to catch Honey and hand her to Shayna. Turns out I'm better at catching babies than footballs, thankfully. She was really slippery, but we managed.
Meanwhile, Trace watched Tangled, 2 and a half times, before falling asleep in the "other room". He woke to the sound of Honey's first cries, and stumbled up to the bedroom saying "baby, baby".
The midwife did all the clipping of cords and checking reflexes so we could just enjoy being together with our new baby. She was 100% healthy from day one. We are most thankful for that.
Grandma Ronda arrived the next day, and with all the work out of the way, we get to party for a week with her.
There is nothing that we would have changed. Being able to have the baby in our home, without distractions, was amazing. Shayna did all the work, and I feel very privileged to have been able to help her. Some people might call us weird, but because of that we have had some amazing experiences. We love our little Honey; born in Booneville Mississippi, in our trailer, caught by her dad!