Sir Nigel D

1. I love her smile.
2. I love her blonde hair.
3. I love her her patience.
4. I love her impatience.
5. I love her child-like naivete.
6. I love her her honest to goodness common sense.
7. I love her handwriting.
8. I love her determination.
9. I love her love for her family.
10. But, most of all, I love her taste in men.

Simon Andrew

11. She is selfless.
12. She is hardworking.
13. She isn’t quick to get angry or stressed.
14. She is considerate and careful.
15. She is a good steward of possessions.
16. She sees the positive side of people.
17. She isn’t interested in gossip and makes a noise to acknowledge she hears what is being said but doesn’t wish to comment.
18. She is energetic.
19. She doesn’t use 200 words when 20 will do.
20. She has a servant heart and shows she loves people through cleaning or gardening.

Sally Olivia

21. I love the way mum potters about in the kitchen in the evenings until it is sparkling clean.
22. I love the way mum always thinks of others before herself.
23. I love the way mum has always encouraged us to go to church.
24. I love the way mum says mm, mm, mm, when she talks on the telephone.
25. I love the way mum cuts the hedge.
26. I love the way mum gels her hair to look all trendy.
27. I love the way mum looked after Marco.
28. I love the way mum lets me squeeze into bed next to her on special days like her birthday and mothers day even when I am no longer a little girl.
29. I love the way mum has worked to earn loads of money to pay for me to do so many exciting clubs and activities and have great family holidays.
30. I love the way mum smiles and squints too! I love my mum very, very, much.

Emily Clare

31. I love that she collects postcards from every place she visits.
32. I love that she doesn’t know her left from right.
33. I LOVE that she looked after Marco and Toby for so long and took them on the train.
34. I love that she taught the children’s groups at EFCC even though it was a hassle sometimes.
35. I love that she likes camping so much.
36. I love that she continues to work on the computer even when it drives her crazy.
37. I love that she wanted to work in Africa.
38. I love that she enjoys the details in life like counting how many cars there are on a train as it drives past.
39. I love that the contents of her letters and emails are so random.
40. I love that she is the only one to consistently comment on my blog.

Hannah Polly

41. I love her smile, her beautiful eyes and rosy cheeks!
42. I love her selflessness.
43. I love her enjoyment of nature.
44. I love her cuddles.
45. I love her laugh.
46. I love the way she has taught me so much.
47. I love the way she gets excited about unexpected things – like freshly cooked play dough!!
48. I love the way she hordes everything and therefore always has what you need!!
49. I love her potato cakes!!
50. I love the way she loves me. I love her!! She is like sunshine.

Beau-fils

51. I love that she insists that “commingled” is not a real English word.
52. I love that she once made me go dumpster-diving near the Theydon Bois station.
53. I love that she speaks French.
54. I love the face she makes when someone says something stupid. (She’ll probably make it when she reads this line.)
55. I love her sense of wanderlust.
56. I love how she swoops around, even if not doing anything super important.
57. I love that she wears Christmas sweaters.
58. I love that she allows her kids to poke fun at her.
59. I love that she loves me.
60. I love that she married Sir Nigel D.

Happy Birthday, Mum! We Love You!

Grandpa and Grandma Hayes traveled from Rundu, Namibia, to South Africa to Nigeria to New York to Raleigh to Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to Williamsburg, Virginia, and back to Wake Forest again. Aunty Sally spread her wings and flew from London to RDU and rode the nine hours to Greensburg, then to Williamsburg and left from Richmond, Virginia. Aunty Hannah and Uncle Simon landed in Pittsburgh rode to Greensburg, drove to Williamsburg and left from Richmond like their sister.

Quite the Christmas, Poppy’s first Christmas. Christmas Eve through Boxing Day we spent at Granny and Gramps Mausts’ in Greensburg, all Poppy’s closest family together in one big cozy house for Christmas. Allow me to cite Uncle Simon’s Christmas morning tweet:

@simonhayes2: enjoying the best in American hospitality. Sister Emily did well when she married into the Maust family! Merry Christmas to ya all.

So many people under one roof. So much hospitality. So much love. So much to be thankful for.

Sorry for the long delay in finishing this story! Starting back at Nursing school has been my number one priority for the last 3 weeks, but I have a couple of days off this week so I’m getting stuff done!!

Poppy was 7 weeks old yesterday so my memory of the events that took place that day are a bit faded but I will hit on the main points and you can use your imagination for the rest, haha. Oh, and be sure to read parts one and two first if you haven’t read them already.

So back to the story…

At around 1-2is in the afternoon Drew’s parents and little brother arrived.  We chatted for a while before they went out to find some lunch.  The afternoon went quickly but I wasn’t progressing and I was getting more and more nervous that they were going to come in and say that they’d done everything they could but it was time to just take the baby out!  I’m unsure exactly what time it was but the doctor came in and said “lets break your waters”.  WATERS!!  That’s right I still have that card to play!  I had totally forgotten about the waters!  I was so relieved that we had something else to try.  So after the doctor broke my waters we waited some more. (I was still at 3cm, oh and probably by now it was confirmed that Michael Jackson had died).

Here is where the story gets amazing for me.  It turned 7pm and guess who walks through the door, nurse Mary, the nurse who I first saw in the morning when I first arrived.  She had been on call that night and seeing as the day had turned out to be really busy they had phoned her in!!  She said her husband wasn’t very happy about it but we were super super happy!  She came in so determined to get Poppy out naturally that I felt like she was my hero, like God had sent her in to rescue me.  She then did more for me in the space of a couple of hours than any of the 3 nurses who I had during that whole day had done for me.  She put me in to various positions with my legs up on the stirrups, 30 mins on my left side, then 30 mins on my right side.  Then the doctor came in and checked me again….9cm and roughly 90% effaced!!  We could not believe it, I had gone from 3-9, praise the Lord!!  The doctor said in about an hour I could start pushing. He told me what to do and how to count and I felt really ready to get this show on the road!  So after a bit Mary got the bed in the right position and we started!  Drew was at my left side and my mother in law was sitting back eagerly waiting to meet her first grandchild.

I really enjoyed this part of my labour.  I felt like everything was really organised and under control.  Mary would tell me when a contraction was imminent and then she’d tell me when to start pushing because obviously I couldn’t feel them although I did slightly feel some nearer the end.  Mary did most of the work for the doctor, she got Poppy’s head right to the point where if I pushed anymore Poppy might pop out.  I would be pushing and Mary would say “ok stop stop lets wait for the doctor!” lol.  So we paged the doctor and obviously seeing as it was so busy he took a little while to come.  Eventually he came in and we started again.  I pushed and pushed while Drew was encouraging me and doing what supportive husbands do best.  At one point I had to tell him to stop talking because he was distracting me!  Then we came to a bump in the road.

Skip this paragraph if you don’t want to be a bit grossed out! There was a piece of skin that was stopping Poppy from coming any further.  Every time I pushed she would come up against this piece of skin and then when I relaxed she would bounce back.  So the doctor had to snip a little bit to allow Poppy to pass through.

Once this was done Poppy was on her way!  I think it was at this point where everyone was going crazy at the sight of Poppy’s hair and so much of it!!  The doctor asked if I wanted to reach down and feel her head, I wasn’t sure at first but I did in the end.  This was where I lost it!  I could feel my baby!  She was finally here!  A few more pushes now and she was out.  Drew was in tears. My mother in law at this point had come to stand next to Drew and she was sobbing too, but the room was so peaceful. It was a beautiful atmosphere.  The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she came out blue, but Drew said the doctor went swoop swoop swoop and she was free.  She was put on my tummy and we were all crying and overwhelmed with joy. Then she got carried over to the warmer where another nurse was waiting to clean her off a bit and wrap her up.  This was the time that we phoned Africa and got my Mum on the phone.

Drew held the phone up to Poppy so Mum could hear her crying, a very special moment for my Mum.   While Poppy was under the warmer the doctor was fixing me up.  I was bleeding a lot and he was vigorously massaging my uterus and getting the nurse to take over while he gave me stitches and gave me a medication to contract my uterus to stop the bleeding.  I later found out that my EBL (estimated blood loss) was 750ml which the doc said was more than they usually see.  Thankfully they got the bleeding under control and nothing else came of it.

Poppy was then put it my arms and I met my little girl for the first time.  I was exhausted and in a daze but the moment was magical.  Drew’s Dad and brother came in and Poppy met everyone.  Lots of photos were taken and it was a special time for everyone.  Then a nurse came in and we watched Poppy get her first bath.  A little while after that I got into a wheel chair and we went down to the post-partum unit.

Here ends my labour story.   As I write this I can’t help but want to cry because it was such an amazing day, from the moment I realised I was bleeding in the beginning to the moment she was put in my arms all bundled up.  I look back at it fondly and love remembering how our angel came into the world. – I love you, Poppy.

Well evalo ewanawa is what Georgina will hear if anyone in Namibia wishes her a happy birthday in Oshiwambo. That could actually be Nigel. I hear he is now in the process of acquiring his ninth language. The real question though is has he learned Georgina’s language? I’m sure he’ll find a way to wish her happy birthday while the two of them are a continent away from their Si, Sal, Em, Han and ingrafted Drew.

Happy Birthday, Momma G!

About the only thing newsworthy I can think of as I sit here is that I had a cold shower this morning. Well, it was more cool than cold, but heat mostly definitely significantly reduced when compared with a normal day’s shower. Our hot water heater seems to have been acting up. I can say “have been” because I called the maintenance people this afternoon and they were able to come over soon thereafter and work out whatever was the malfunction. Though this is the second time this has happened in the past two months, we’re grateful in this case that we rent an apartment and can call a maintenance man to come fix the problem because it’s not our water heater.

Over the weekend we watched Chariots of Fire which turned out to be a fairly touching, moving and interest-keeping film of yesteryear. We recommend. Here’s what’s perhaps the most well-known line from the movie apart from the theme song:

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.

Lastly, Nigel and Georgina are beginning to make posts on their blog at Hayestack.co.uk about adjusting to life in Namibia where they’ll be living for the next two years.

The Mausts to Pennsylvania

It’s an odd thing to have both our parents moving at the same time and both farther from us. My parents are migrating north to Pennsylvania where my dad has taken a new and exciting job as a land agent for a gas company. I think they’re really looking forward to the move; well, maybe not the actual move, but the being in a new locale will be a refreshing change. They’re hoping to move over Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The Hayes’s to Namibia

Emily’s parents are also moving as of today, September 5th. They’re migrating south to Namibia where Georgina will serve with Voluntary Service Overseas as a volunteer and will be working with visually and hearing impaired children in Rundu in the north of Namibia. See Georgina’s Got No Hair for more info. Once they’re on the ground, we can expect to find regular updates on Nigel and Georgina’s blog at Hayestack.co.uk.

Pictures and Videos

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As I mentioned above, I have added two new videos to the videos page. Further, I have added a bunch of new pictures, some from our weekend with my parents in Beckley and some from our lovely friend Fontaine’s fiesta mexicana which she kindly hosted at her house. Here’s a foretaste, but as always, the money’s in the photo gallery.

I guess now that our family’s have abandoned us in both northerly and southerly directions, we’ll need people to come visit us in Wake Forest. You might have to entertain yourselves because school’s in full force right now, but, hey, come on down and we’ll work something out. Maybe you can cook and clean for us, eh?

Actually, she does have hair, but-and this may be a first-my mother-in-law and I have the same haircut. While people are fond of saying that a shaven head is “you don’t any hair,” Georgina and I will insist that we have just as much hair as anyone else; ours is just shorter. Check her out and head on over to her JustGiving.com page where you can read about what she’s up to and why she shaved her head. Crazy!

So I’m on the phone to my Mum, shes in England, I’m in America. I’m telling her about the classes I am taking right now and she asks what my first class is, here’s how it went.

Emily: Oh my first class is English

Mum: Haha…well thats funny shouldn’t you be teaching them that.

Mother you can’t say that!