Yesterday...

...this beautiful little boy arrived at our house!

Justice Wayne Mallery

Born Tuesday, May 19, 2009

at 9:39 AM

8 pounds, 4 ounces

20-1/2 inches long

All went well with the labor and delivery, and Justice seems to be a very healthy, happy baby! Thank you all for your prayers. I'll write more later. :)

~~~

And now for the story!

Early Tuesday morning I woke up with contractions that were short, not very close together, yet painful. By 4:30 AM I decided to take a shower, thinking that if this was another false start the shower would relax me enough that I could go back to sleep. But the contractions continued after I'd gotten out of the shower, and I began experiencing that very distinct sensation of low pressure.

I kept myself busy with little household chores until about 7:30 AM. At this point I was fairly certain that I was in real labor. I called my mom and the midwife and people started arriving at the house by about 8:00 AM. When my midwife checked me, I was at 6 centimeters, which was very encouraging.

Honour and Remember went upstairs with my sister Emily and my mom and sisters Paige and Anna began helping with preparations for the birth. Ransom set up the birthing tub and I was very grateful to get into the water as I continued laboring. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Raydeemie, arrived as well.

My labor, although certainly painful, was very gentle; the contractions were never closer than ten minutes apart. Because they were staying so far apart I was concerned that they weren't very productive. But they were!

At 9:39 AM, after about an hour of pushing, our little boy was born. I was able to deliver him in the water and he was caught by his daddy. As soon as he was out of the water, he took a breath, immediately turned pink and he and I both cried. What a precious gift from God - I think he delights in overwhelming us.

Our family members took such good care of us yesterday. They helped with clean-up, care of me and the baby and even did some cooking and baking for us. Our dear friends and neighbors the McLeans brought us dinner.

And now, enough with the details, onto pictures!

Father and son, just minutes after the birth


Anna Grace and Raydeemie Grace, both 11-years-old

This was the first birth they attended! When I was 11, I attended my first birth, which was Anna's!

Getting checked out by the midwife

Meeting Grandma Rickel

Meeting Grandpa Rickel

I just love these pictures of Ransom and Mom Mallery!

Rayia, Ransom's sister, came all the way from Moscow, Idaho to meet her new little nephew. Our children affectionately call her "Auntie Sunshine" which describes her perfectly. :)

It was so fun to see Honour and Remember's reactions when they met Justice.

She's now sandwiched between two boys! She's absolutely in love with her little brother.

Honour is such a good big brother. He's very gentle and says often, "I like Justice."

Meeting Great-Grandpa Wayne Schmid - his namesake.

With Grandpapa and Grandmama Mallery

The two following pictures are of the "couples" that we have in the family right now.

Jay and Kacey...she's visiting from California. She helped Emily watch the children yesterday.

Rem and Angie

A few days prior to the birth, I had posted a muffin recipe on my refrigerator, which was sent to me by Rayia, in hopes that when I had the baby, someone would notice it and offer to make it for us. Sure enough, Paige very kindly made us a double batch.

Following is the recipe, posted especially for pregnant or nursing mamas, or any gal who just needs a special treat. :)

Dutch Apple Cheese Muffins

Muffins

2 c. all-purpose flour, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 Tbs. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 8 oz. cheddar cheese - chunked or grated, 1/2 c. butter - sliced into about 8 pieces, 3/4 c. milk, 1 large egg, 2 - 3 Granny Smith apples - cored, peeled and sliced

Mix dry ingredients in food processor and add cheese and butter. Mix until the cheese and butter have been incorporated into the dry ingredients and mixture looks nice and crumbly. Add milk and egg and mix just until combined. Spoon into greased muffin tin, press about 3 - 4 apples slices into each muffin and bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees F. Do not use paper muffin cups! Add glaze...

Glaze

1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, juice of one lemon (about 2 Tbs. - substitute water if you have no lemon), 2 Tbs. butter

Melt glaze ingredients together over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 - 6 minutes. The glaze will darken and bubble a bit and will thicken if you let it cool for a minute or two before using.

Remove muffins from oven and drizzle glaze over them, using a spatula to life up the muffin edges and get the glaze to drizzle down into the sides of the muffins in the tin (this is why you don't use paper muffin cups). Place muffins back into oven for 10 more minutes. Remove and let cool in tin for 10 minutes more before removing.