It's a Boy!!!!

He has finally arrived! A little bit later than Courtney had hoped, of course, but I'm pretty sure that was all forgotten once she got to see this precious boy! My mom talked to Courtney on the phone this morning, and said Courtney was telling her she was laughing as she pushed him out!! She was just so relieved to have that moment there, but the doctor was a little shocked. 

Anyways...his name is Sawyer Patrick Cassada. He was born at 9:54 am, weighed 8 lbs 1.5 ounces, 20.5 inches long, and is as calm as can be (for now). The whole time we were in the room with him he was awake but so quiet.  He is precious. 

When Pat came out once he was delivered, as he always does, to announce if it's a boy or a girl, the weight and all that, he always has a little trick but in the exciting moment I guess we always forget. As soon as he walked out (which we had been watching the door for SO long it seemed) Joshua ran up to him so Pat picked him up and we were all gathered around him, and he says, "Well Joshua...it's just you and me.....looong pause............................and your brother!" All our minds were like, "aw, it's a girl, ok..." and trying to process that..STILL exciting, but THEN we all just burst into whatever, realizing it was a boy. Haha, it was great. Especially the grandma's reactions. AND the kids. They are all so cute about it. Bailey just keeps saying, "the baby is out!" Rebekah is always writing his name out, asking how to spell it, and this morning she said, "I was thinking about baby Sawyer last night." It's precious. Hearing Joshua and Bailey try to say his name is pretty cute too. And oh yes, in case you haven't gathered, the kids are staying at our house for a couple of days. Which is such fun but the energy level around here is pretty intense! Haha, it's just a constant party...you know how those grandparents just love to spoil the grandkids. It's fun to spend so much time with them. 

Courtney looked amazing when we saw her right after, I mean...she did not look like she had just given birth. She looked as beautiful as any other day. She's definitely feeling a little worse today (the epidural has of course worn off) but is loving having some relaxing time with her new son.

 

It may take some time to get used to being a family of 6 now!!  When we were in her labor room afterwards she said, "Yea, we got a picture of all 5 of us already.......I mean 6!" She has done a few posts on her blog cause Pat brought his laptop to the hospital, so if you want to read more about it all AND see more precious pictures, just click here for her blog. Ok, love you all and will talk to you soon! 

P.S. Yesterday was a big day for babies. Phill and Christy had their ultrasound yesterday to find out if they are having a boy or girl, and....they're having a boy too! They are ecstatic. Phill is thrilled to get to have a son, and Christy was literally screaming! She's excited to get to have a boy, too:) His name will be Ayden Phillip. Cuuuuute:) 

 

This Road...

 It's been awhile!! Quite awhile. and I thought it was about time to fill my favorite people in on what's going on in my life:) Well, to be quite honest it's been kind of hard recently. I feel ridiculous saying that, because nothing is WRONG...nothing horrible is happening, I'm completely healthy, I'm just at a really hard place right now. I feel totally lost and am so clueless about where God is leading me and what I am supposed to do with my life. (kind of a big thing to wonder about, huh?) I feel like we've wondered that our whole lives, but then once we graduated college we were going to know and everything was just going to start happening. Hmm, guess not. 

 Anyways, just practically talking about jobs, plans, and all that...I've been saying for awhile that I just need to pass my test (did that), then I just needed to take this psycho Advanced Cardiac Life Support class that some units ask for which I thought there was no way I was going to pass (but thanks to another couple weeks of more studying and being put in a great group, I got through it)- which actually got me thinking a little bit about possibly applying to some ER jobs (who knew?). So, those things are done...now it's just back to focusing on trying to get a job. And trying to really figure out where God wants me- as far as I know we're talking about San Diego or Virginia/D.C. here. I was thinking yesterday...all I want to know is 1. Where I CAN be (who is going to give me a job and where I'm going to find an optimal living situation), 2. Where I really WANT to be (what job I am actually going to end up enjoying and where I am going to enjoy living), and 3. Where SHOULD I be?! (where does God want me to be- where I will be able to serve Him best as well as where I will be able to grow and learn more about Him personally). That's ALL I want to know- haha...just a small thing. But, that's why the title of this entry is what it is, Ginny Owens' song, "This Road" definitely hits home for me right now. One day I will look back and see "why this road," but it seems impossible and silly right now! Like I said, I feel crazy complaining about stuff when there is really nothing WRONG- sure there have been some major disappointments so far- it just doesn't seem like there has been anything positive going on. and that's just frustrating. I'm now stuck at home, left simply to focus on trying to get a job now (no other little tasks to complete first), and I love my mom...but let's be honest- it's not helping the frustration. I'm not someone who enjoys sitting around over-analyzing every little part of every little thing (at least not talking about it out loud with someone). Unless it's you guys of course;) And she's not getting that. 

 Of course, if God just smacked me upside the head and told me what I should do, I would have no problem doing that...but I am definitely having a hard time patiently seeking Him and trying to decipher what He wants for me. And bottom line, I just can't live here for much longer. I at least need an end in sight to know I for sure have a plan of where I am going and when. But for that to happen I need a job. And that doesn't seem so simple. Anyways, I think I'm going in circles now. So I'll bring this to an end. 

 I have a list of potential jobs to apply to, and I just applied to my top choices and am going to see what I hear back from them. I'm pretty pessimistic. At least about San Diego jobs. But we'll see. I'm clueless, but I'm trying to be trusting. God is good, and He loves me, and He knows what's best for me. I love you all. and I'm praying for you all. and I miss you all. Seriously, I miss you all!!!! So much. We're going to need to talk some more about this coordinated trip to Norfolk soon! K, adios.

-Hannah

p.s. My sister is due THIS week with her baby! Seriously, any minute now she will be having this precious baby! She definitely cannot wait (she's pretty miserable) and we can hardly stand it either! I'll send out a note to let y'all know when she has it and whether it is a boy or a girl!!