June 29th 2002

Six years ago I had no idea. June 28th, 2002 I went to bed wondering if I would ever go into labor. I was weeks overdue and felt so huge and clumsy. It was our first summer in Colorado and one of the hottest on record we were told. We had no air conditioner while I was pregnant. I woke up at 3 am and felt some mild cramping. I got up, ate something, took a bath and sure enough when I got out they had picked up. I called the hospital at Ft. Carson and they said it would be a good idea to head up there and be checked out. The nurse said since I could talk through the contractions that it might be false labor. When we got there they said the same thing, that they didn't think I was in active labor but they had to check me. Good thing, I was 9 1/2 centimeters dilated. I was rushed into a labor room, given an epidural and started pushing. 4 hours later something was wrong. The head physician was called in. He immediately told us the baby was too big and we could use forceps or opt for a Cesarean. She was stuck in my pelvis and wasn't moving. We chose the safest option. At 5:55 pm on June 29th Annika Elizabeth was lifted from my body into my heart forever. Six years later she has grown into such a wonderful young lady. She makes parenting look easy because she is so eager to please. She helps me around the house and is so smart I am amazed at how much she knows before I can teach her. We are so lucky to have her as our oldest child. Happy Birthday sweet Annika. I wish you happiness beyond what I can even imagine for you.

This slide show is very long. I did not realise how long each picture would stay up. But it took me an hour to find all the pictures I wanted to include to please just fast forward to take a look at the pictures. Still getting the hang of this. Thanks so much guys, take care!