Everett Lewis Dinkins

THE STATS:
8-Feb-2008 3:32pm
9lb 11oz
21.25 inches

THE TIME LINE:
3:00a contractions start - consistent but never came at regular intervals
6:37a grandma's called to come over and watch roxy
7:50a breakfast at cracker barrell
8:45a shopping at target
9:20a call to dr office and instructed to go to the hospital
10:30a leave for hospital after going home to say bye to roxy
11:20a admitted to labor and delivery room
11:36a trish 5-6cm dilated, 80% effaced, -2 station
2:40p 8cm, dr breaks water, pain intensifies exponentially, and screaming commences
3:10p pushing begins
3:27p everett's head is out but shoulders stuck
3:32p everett born (more labor and delivery details to be posted)

THE PICTURES
Laboring on the big, yellow ball
Cutting the cord
And then there were four
Standard
Going home: take one

Take home: take two

Due Date

Due
As you can see, Trish is still pregnant... we are guessing February 8th...

Snow play

We got about 8-10 inches of snow the day before and we spent a good portion of the day sledding, building an igloo, throwing snowballs, and building snowmen.

Filling the Gap

I still love the idea of blogging, but I have been lazy in the endeavor to keep it up to date... we'll see what happens from here, but to highlight the last 5 months:

After getting pregnant and graduating from school the idea of moving near family started to appeal to us. We ultimately decided to move to St Louis where Trish's parents and eldest sister, Jen, live. Jen is married to Jason and they are expecting twins due June 3rd. Sheila, Trish's other sister lives about 3.5 hrs away with husband Joe and Michael, Roxy's four-day-younger cousin. Sheila is, I mean was, due yesterday so we'll have another niece here any day now.

We weren't sure of timing, but I was able to transfer with Graybar so we moved sooner instead of later. We couldn't sell our condo in time so we are renting it out (that was a stressful, time-consuming process). So Trish and Roxy flew Dec 4th and I drove with my friend Don Weber (who married us and lives in St Louis) and arrived Dec 9th.

We stayed with Jen and Jason for a couple weeks and now we are renting a 2Br/2Ba apt in the same neighborhood . Tomorrow Trish is working her last of seven shifts as a barista at Starbucks. She is due Feb 3rd.

We loved Seattle and miss our friends, but we are hopeful for this next season.

So those are the highlights. Give me a call or email me if you want the details.
Emerging

First Haircut

She is almost three and this is her first haircut, seriously...

She did so good. We were amazed.
So long
In process
Reward
Finished product

Seattle Condo

In case you ever wanted to know what our condo looks like...
RENTED.

roxy play

by Meredith Dancause

Graybar new hire

Have you ever heard of Graybar Electric Co.? I hadn't either till May of this year when I applied for a job there. Well I got it and started on June 11, 2007. Graybar is a Fortune 500 company with branches all over North America. We are an employee-owned company that is a "provider of electrical and telecommunications service solutions and products." Seattle is the NW District headquarters.

I work in the Financial Department. My job is quite diverse, which I like, so it is hard to explain what I do. My main duty is that of financial manager for about 300 commercial accounts. I establish creidt lines, ensure payments are made, and do a lot of problem solving to resolve payment issues. I also create financial reports, set up new accounts, and work with other departments as it relates to finances, especially accounting.

I realize this may sound boring to a lot of people, but I enjoy working with numbers and analyzing things so I have been enjoying my job. As well, I am getting the experience I desire which I believe will help prepare me for my long term goal of doing Business as Mission.

All Done

This not so interesting photo is the final moment of my Mars Hill Graduate School - Masters Of Arts in Christian Studies degree. With the click of the mouse at 3:32am on August 7, 2007 I turned in my final paper via email to Dr. Carl Raschke.
This is all my assigned reading for my degree. It represents so much...

Oops

Trish fell asleep and this is how I was greeted when I came home from school. It's diaper ointment!

Jocie is 2

Koen, Samuel, Jocie, Roxy, Matia

Guess what???

2-9er

That's our hotel behind my left hand
For my birthday present we took an overnight trip to Victoria, British Columbia. It was a three-hour ride on the Victoria Clipper. It was a relaxing time in a beautiful city.
Tanning by the pool

Class of 2007

I graduated today! I earned a Master of Arts in Christian Studies from Mars Hill Graduate School. I do love my school. It is unique and it is a gift from God.
I had the privilege of being one of the three student speakers. Click here to read my speech. I actually have three more classes this summer, but they only have one ceremony a year. I think my last assignment is due August 3rd. I enjoyed the ceremony much more than I thought I would. The chapel was beautiful, but it is hard to tell from the lighting in this picture. I was extremely nervous giving my speech, but I think it came out okay. I am glad it is over and thankful to be a part of the story of Mars Hill.

Me with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Dwight Friesen

Our Easter

We went to Vineyard Community Church which is the church we have started attending somewhat regularly. For dinner we went to the Dancause house for a tasty potluck and fun time with about a dozen friends.

Easter Progression

I

One minute in the life of Roxy

By popular demand, a Roxy video clip. It is nothing extraordinary - actually pretty standard.

Mom time

My mom came to visit us Thursday through today. We had a good time, nothing really out of the ordinary, just enjoyed food, shopping, nature, and time together. Mom, thanks for making the trip - we appreciate it.

26

Again, not too many birthday pictures. These are the only two - the coffee shop two blocks from our house where we ate breakfast and cherry blossoms on the walk back. For Trish's birthday present we went to the Melting Pot. YUMMY!

2

Yep, Roxy is TWO. We had two parties to celebrate our 29 lb, 36 inch daughter who has never had a haircut, talks non-stop, and loves putting anything or anyone to sleep.

Sadly, we didn't get too many good pictures, but we still have the best toddler ever.