Four Years Into Forever

It seems like it was just yesterday, January 19, 2008....

I had just started at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg and was living with my best friend Claire and two other girls. Our roommate Jen was good friends with two guys named Dan and Andrew. They had been over quite a bit and we had been talking about how fun it would be to have a group get together, have some food, and watch a musical. We decided to watch Newsies because let's face it, it's fantastic!

We went over to the guys' apartment and I saw this cute blonde boy and said: "Hey you! I like your hoodie!" He was wearing some cool skater hoodie and he told me he liked mine too. I was wearing a purple Boys Like Girls hoodie I had bought at Warped Tour the previous year.

I remember Claire leaned over and said: "Wow he is really cute!"

Craig and Claire both hate when I tell  this part of the story but it's an integral part! Claire thought he was cute and I was ( in theory) busy with my classes and running and not interested in dating after just getting out of a relationship. Soo...I attempted to get Craig over to our apartment so I could do some matchmaking between Craig and Claire.

I am fairly oblivious to things and did not know Craig liked me. We invited him and the rest of his roommates over the next evening for dinner with all of us girls.

Craig added me on Facebook and started texting me. That should have been one of my first clues he liked me. It was a long weekend so since we did not have school the next day Craig asked if he could come over. He came over and stayed all the way until curfew (At BYU-I everyone has to be back in the apartments/dorms by midnight). I had been complaining for some reason that no songs are ever written about girls named Jessica. So Craig and I spent hours listening to music and finding songs with my name in it.

Now, I have no idea what those songs even were. I just remember having a really fun time listening to tons of music and laughing.

Craig proceeded to come over every single day that week. And the next week. He was extremely persistent. In fact up until around our second wedding anniversary we had been  together every single day since the first day we met. Even now there have only been 4 instances where we have been apart for over 24 hours. We just genuinely love being together.

Needless to say, Craig and I started dating. Claire was my Maid of Honor. To this day she says if she really had dated Craig they would have killed each other. Hahaha.

I always swore I would never get engaged my first semester of college and certainly not after knowing someone for only a brief amount of time. I definitely did not think I would get married at 19. 

But the best laid plans of course often go awry.

By the middle of February Craig and I had fallen in love. Craig, Claire and I drove to Boise during a long weekend after really needing a break from the Burg. Claire's birth Mom lives there and Craig's whole family is in Boise so it made sense. I stayed with Claire but we went to Craig's house  for a BBQ and met the ENTIRE family. I still remember Nancy showing me every photo she had of Craig as a little kid.

I totally got a kick out of it. 

 I watched Craig play with his nieces and nephews and thought: "Wow, this guy is going to be a great Dad someday."

That night or maybe the next Craig and I stayed up all night talking. I don't remember exactly how it came up or why but we started discussing marriage and I remember feeling this total peace and certainty that I was supposed to be with Craig. 

On March 2, 2008 I came home from church and found clues all over the apartment.  I followed the clues and when I got to the the end I found a laptop with a video set up asking me to play it. Craig had made a beautiful video full of  photos and set to one of our favorite songs "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional. When I turned around he was on one knee holding out the ring. The computer screen read out: "Jessica, I love you. Will you marry me?"

I was so excited I didn't even see the ring at first and he had to hold it out to me and say "Don't you want this?"

We were married on a beautiful, sunny day in the Seattle LDS Temple on May 24, 2008. 

It was perfect. I will always remember smiling at Craig over the altar with tears in my eyes. I married my best friend for time and all eternity.

I still feel butterflies when I look at Craig and I love him more and more every day. I am so lucky. He is such a great father and husband. We have so much laughter in our lives even during the difficult times.

Four years, two baby boys, 5 homes, 3 cities, 2 universities, surgeries and hospitalizations, career changes...it's been a crazy time and a blessed time. We're following our dreams and looking forward to the future!

 In honor of the way Craig proposed to me, I made Craig a video of the last 4 years comprised of photos and songs that hold special meaning for us. It was a fun project to work on while I've been recovering.

The first song is of course from the movie that started it all.....Newsies.

The song we danced our first dance to is "Take My Breath Away" (cover by Copeland) because we both share a great love for the movie Top Gun.

(For the best video quality, click the little settings icon on the clip and view in 1080p.)

Connor's Birth Story

Connor Nash Lane was born Monday May 7th, 2012 at 10:42 AM. He weighed in at 7lbs 14.4 oz and was 20.25 inches long. Big blue eyes and hair that can't seem to make up its mind between being blonde or light brown.

Connor is a stubborn little guy. Around April 13th, we were sure we were going to have him. Even the doctor was convinced it would be that weekend. I was contracting and dilating and we walked, walked, walked. Nothing helped. The labor would not progress. For three weeks we tried basically every safe at home method for helping labor along.

Seriously, we spent hours walking along the river, our neighborhood, and the track at the Y. This is me showing what a strong, super pregnant lady looks like!

Finally, at my 39 week appointment (on a Friday afternoon) my doctor asked if I wanted to schedule an induction for that coming Monday morning.  Under normal circumstances I would have kept holding on and let him come on his own but it had been a very long pregnancy.I was completely exhausted and ready to be done so I readily agreed. After 3 weeks of contractions and 9 months of complications from Hyperemesis Gravidarum we all agreed it was time to be done. She stripped my membranes anyway hoping that I would go into labor on my own that weekend.

After my appointment I drove straight to Craig's work and told him to come to the Y with me so we could walk for an hour.

Saturday morning came and I was in so much pain. I was contracting like crazy but not enough to warrant going downtown to Labor and Delivery. So....we got up and walked some more. Go figure.

Sunday morning came and my contractions had stopped. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I would be induced Monday morning. I spent part of the day relaxing and then I went into a total cleaning frenzy making sure everything would be nice for when we brought Connor home.  I also had our home teacher come by to help Craig give me a blessing. That night we had a nice family dinner and went for a drive to look at the Super Moon that was going on.

We all had so much nervous energy we could not sleep. It was really a very odd day. It felt so weird knowing for a fact that the next day we would be having a baby. I went into labor with Keegan spontaneously so it was just a very different experience and feeling.

Since we knew so much would be changing shortly we decided to have some special time with Keegan and let him stay up late with us and we camped out in the living room together.

Craig and Keegan eventually fell asleep but I don't think I got more than a couple of hours sleep since I was feeling so nervous.

We had to be at the hospital by 7AM but I woke up around 4 unable to sit still any longer. I took a really long shower, did my hair and makeup and made sure we had everything we needed.

We dropped Keegan off with Craig's sister, picked up a smoothie for me to drink for breakfast, and headed downtown to St. Luke's.

Labor and Delivery was pretty crowded but they were expecting us and had a room ready. I had a nurse that stayed with us the whole time. Her name was Lori and she was absolutely amazing.

Last pregnant photo! Ready to go!

We got all settled in the labor suite and Lori got an IV started. Further proof of her awesomeness: she got the IV in on the first try. I have bizarre veins and this NEVER happens. It was the first sign of good luck!

We got the Pitocin going at around 7:50. My doctor came in around 8:15 and broke my water and told me all the walking we had been doing must have helped because I had progressed over the weekend.

By 8:30 I was starting to get uncomfortable but nothing major. Every 10 or so minutes they would increase the Pitocin. By 9 I was really starting to feel contractions and they were around 5 minutes apart.

After my water had been broken my doctor had said I could have my epidural at any point. Since I wasn't feeling anything yet I was not too concerned and figured I would tough it out for a bit and see how the contractions went.

They were getting pretty painful but I decided to breathe through them and get in the whirlpool first and see if that helped. I think I lasted maybe 5 minutes before all of a sudden the contractions got to be about 2 minutes apart and ridiculously painful. At that point I asked for the epidural. I think it was around 9:30.

Lori called anesthesia and increased my IV fluids so I would be hydrated for it. The nurse anesthetist came in and placed the epidural while Craig held my hand and helped me breathe through the pain which was getting very intense.

Luckily for me, epidurals seem to work really well for me and like with Keegan the placement was perfect. I cannot even describe the relief as I felt the effects start to kick in and the pain lessen. For me, the epidural after awhile takes away ALL the pain. Some people can still feel some pain or pressure for me it is very numbing.

Once it started working Lori was hanging around chatting with me about history books and joking with me and Craig. We had been watching Boy Meets World all morning which has always been a favorite since childhood.

It was after 10 AM at this point and my doctor was in the hall so the nurse figured we should have her quickly come in and do a check and then I could relax and maybe nap and plan on getting ready to push in the early afternoon.

My epidural had just barely kicked all the way in at this point and I was blissfully numb. The doctor and nurse lifted my gown, looked shocked and asked if I felt any sudden pressure. I told them I had felt some but didn't think it was big deal.

That's when they told me his head was right there and it was time to push. All of a sudden a bunch of extra people came in really fast to take the bed apart and the doctor had to call the office and tell them she would be a little late getting to the next appointment.

 Craig and I were in a state of shock. We had been told inductions could take hours and hours and with Keegan after getting my epidural we still had 9 or so hours to wait before he was actually born.

I had agreed to allow a family medicine resident come in and witness the birth of Connor. She happened to walk in right in the middle of the chaos just to introduce herself when they told her she was just in time to see  me deliver!

I could not help it, the situation seemed so ridiculous that I started laughing really hard right when they told me to start pushing.  It seems every laugh helped with the pushes. I only pushed a few times. The doctor told me I was going to laugh him right out and that's basically what happened! All in all, between the time the doctor and nurse told me I was at a complete and I was holding Connor in my arms, only 8 minutes had elapsed. We had been at the hospital only 3.5 hours. Apparently, I seriously got my epidural just in time.

We were able to call my Mom right away afterwards and she happened to be on the phone with my grandmother so they got to hear Connor's cries immediately after his birth. It was really neat.

It was such a relief having such an easy and uncomplicated delivery after such a difficult pregnancy. The doctor told me she felt it was my reward and I honestly feel as though it was a gift and blessing from my Father in Heaven. It's amazing how much better I felt within moments of his birth. I was able to drink and eat freely for the first time in months and actually feel like myself.

I am so grateful for a supportive and loving husband who got me through those 9 months and was also once again the best labor coach ever.

First picture of Craig and Connor

It's been a crazy last couple of weeks but so worth it. I love having a house full of boys. It is so much fun!