Baby Shawn Arrives

Shawn is finally here!!! It all begin on Tuesday (7/24) when Kristen began early labor at around two in the afternoon and it intensified throughout the night. At around 4:00 a.m. the labor just stopped. Needlessly to say we were both exhausted and frustrated. Then over the next three days labor continued off and on and we kept thinking each day was the day. Well, Saturday (7/28) morning Kristen began labor again at about 1:30 am. We of course thought Shawn was 'crying wolf' again, so we didn't think much of it. By 4:30 Kris' contractions had intensified and had reduced to 5 minutes apart so we left for the hospital. Once at the hospital everything checked out, the baby was healthy, Kris was healthy, and they moved us up to labor and delivery. We knew it was finally going to be the day (which coincidentally was Shawn's due date).

Everything was going smoothly until about 11:45 am when they came in to do a quick ultra-sound to see if Shawn was facing forward or backward. That is when the nurse informed us that Shawn was breech and that Kristen was going to have to have a C-Section. Talk about shock! Shawn had been head down since 30 weeks and at our doctor visit the previous Tuesday we were told he still was. So, in those last four days he suddenly decided to switch directions. Within an hour we were in surgery and Shawn was born at 1:06 pm. He was 20 inches long and weighed 8 lbs and 1 oz. Thankfully he is a cute brown-haired, blue-eyed boy that has already stolen our hearts and made the whole week worth it. GOD IS SO GOOD!!!! :)

We can't wait for Shawn to meet all of you.

Kristen's last day of work!

Today was a bitter sweet day for me...it was my last day as a working woman. I am officially one week from my due date and I am starting to feel the exhaustion from working. I have been working at Allied Insurance for two and half years as a Commercial Underwriter. It has been a great job and I have learned so much. Probably the best part of my job is working with my husband, Bryan. He is a Personal Underwriter and worked on the floor above me. It was great to drive to work together each day, eat lunch together, and share in the day-to-day happenings together. The second best thing about my job is working with my Agents (especially you, Lee!).

It was very hard to say good-bye to my friends and co-workers (although it was nice having the farewell parties and being taken out to lunch everyday my last week!). I admit I cried as I drove away for the final time as an employee. But I know I will still be in the loop because of Bryan. Thanks for all the great memories!

Update

Well, I have finally broken down and started a Blog page. I figured it would be a great way to communicate our family happenings and to share photos with everyone. Since this is a new source of communication for me, I thought it would be good to start off with a quick update.

Bryan and I have been married for five and a half years now (Dec 15th, 2001). We decided to wait until we had been married 5 years before starting a family, and so our little bundle is on his way. We are expecting a son at the end of the month (7/28). We are currently living in Lakewood, Colorado--a suburb of Denver. We moved here three years ago when we finished our MBAs at Harding University in Searcy, AR. Bryan and I are both working at Allied Insurance for the time being, I will be staying home when the baby arrives. Bryan and I have started a Photography business--Thompson Photography. We do a little bit of everything--weddings, families, babies, etc. The business is growing quickly, and I will be handling the day-to-day operations when I get home.

We are so blessed. I love everything about our lives right now!! God is so good! :)