2 days late on a very special day

Part 1:

Dear Paul,
First off...Happy Birthday. I wanted to write you this letter for your birthday, but it is 2 days past and now I just simply want to write you a letter. I know you and I havn't met but I feel like I know you... mostly through Joe and also through watching your family videos before you passed away. Joe and I were married on this special day and celebrated by going to a movie and eating Red Robin. It's intresting how much I hear Joe is like you. He is an amazing man and a wonderful father. We had little baby Ryah on June 22. We feel so blessed to have her here. Joe and I could feel your spirit so strong when she came into the room, almost like you were guiding her safely into the world. So I would like to thank you for that. I think you and I would get along. (especially because you married Jackie). we have a similar sense of humor. Jackie is still beauitful as e.v.e.r and will still light up the room when she walks into it. Your family has all grown to be so wonderful. Bekah is brilliant and so creative, you would be so proud of her...her daughters are beautiful and her choice of husband is perfect. They go so good together. Joe is the man of my dreams and such a gentleman.(i could go on and on) I love him so much. Jessica is beautiful and so nice. her and darrel are a match made in heaven. She calls me to talk..like real sisters! Kate has become one of my best friends. You would love Landon...Mostly because he keeps Joe busy...Kate is wonderful. James is tall, athletic and handsome. Also quit the ladies man. I wish I could see you two wrestle...maybe through Joe in there too. See who would come out crying first. Laura...sweet Laura, she is all grown up and beautiful. She is full of love and light. All the Denhalter bunch of kids have grown to be strong in the gospel. They have strong opinions and love to laugh. I have heard so many good stories of you being a father. I truely can't wait to meet you. Sorry this letter is late. I love you Paul.
-your new daughter...Chelsea Denhalter

Part 2:

My dear sweet Joseph,
I can't believe we have been married for a year and have a baby! We are on the right track for a lovely bunch of little Denhalters to be running around. Joe, I just want you to know how much I love you. You are the greatest husband and truely my best friend.Thank you for always making me laugh and teaching me so many new things...(like the fast way to do laundry)-not sorting...haha. the sad thing is I listen.. No, but you have taught me valuable things and I appreciate it. I couldn't believe how much I missed you when we were apart for a week. I wanted to come home so bad to see you. You are the fun and life of everything! a few things i love about you.
I love when you tell me to look at you in a serious voice and you are looking completly away to the side of my forehead.
I love that you like to be out doors.
I love how hard you work
I love watching you hold our sweet little Ryah.. you are so good with her!
I love being close to you. I always have to have on hand on you while we are sleeping.
I love when you act like a 10 year old boy who is begging his mom for something new (like a dog).. it cracks me up.
I love how you joke so openly with everyone..even the cash register at walmart.
I love you you make everyone feel nice about themselves...even the cast register at walmart.
I love your big hands and long arms that surround me and comfort me.
I love the way you talk about hunting, and how you get all lit up about it.
I love how athletic you are and your smokin hott body:)
I love your farmers tan and when you part your hair to the side.
I love that you don't like a messy house.
I love that almost every single piece of clothing that you have has paint on it.
I love that you try to make everyone feel welcome wherever we may be.
I love that everytime we go home your neighbor boys come running out of the house knowing you will wrestle with them.
I love that you know how to grow a garden and how to keep a yard.
I love that you sing different words to songs and make them silly.
I love that you try to pop anyones toes who have their feet sticking out.
I love your smile when you see me after a long day of work.
I love the way you talk about your dad.
I love the way you talk about your mom.
Joe I love you more then anything! Thank you for bringing me such joy and happiness! You are the best in the world! I can't wait for round two!!

Talking & Sleep

1. Joe.


2. sleep talking.


3. very intertaining

Last night toped it off. I have to write about it. I have waited long enough and I have been dieing to write it down. I keep telling myself I need to keep a booklet by the side of my bed to write down all the funny things Joe says and does in his sleep....and now I think I will, I want to remember these forever.

this one happend when we were watching the kids at Tom and Angie's house. Gavin comes running in telling Joe and I that he just had a really bad dream.

{A} Joe: Don't worry Gavin- see these big strong muscles? These muscles will protect you, now nothing can get you-I will protect you...

the next morning. Me: Joe, that was really cute last night when Gavin came in...

Joe: What? Gavin came in?

Me: Yeah I carried him back into his room in the middle of the night.

anyway...Joe had no idea what had happend and does not even remember a little of the things he told Gavin. haha, it was so cute.

{B}

Joe: Listen here, can't we just settle this one on one? why do we have to blablabla....(back to sleep)

{C} turning to me with his eyes closed and a stern face. Joe: I am very dissapointed...

{D} getting up to go to the bathroom..Joe: Chelsea, it is a very bad idea to ride a bicycle down the freeway durning rush hour.

AND TO TOP IT OFF

{E} Joe: isn't it so cute?

Me: ya...

I turn to look....and find my husband cuddled with our side bed lamp...

Me: Joe, why do you have the lamp in your hands?

Joe looks down and says: WHY do I have a lamp in my hands?

i just start giggling

Oh boy, he is a hooot and a holler...There are so many more, I wish I could remember... the things I get to look forward to when my sweetheart falls asleep.haha...sometimes true...

a miracle>.this.to.this.

This...

to this...

to this...

It is amazing what a womans body can do. how does it know so well? How can it work so hard? a belly can turn into pushing and pushing can turn into a baby...wow...I thank heavenly Father everyday for this miracle of life. :this is what its all about:

Alright, so I was told to give details, and I am finally getting around to it. First of all being a mom is so much fun. 5 days isn't the longest time, but I deffinatly can feel the love a mother has for a child.

details start.

Joe and I went out to Krista and Jeffs house saturday afternoon for a bar-b-que. My family was down so we thought it would be nice to get together. I had been BEGGING joe to see if we can get this baby thing going (even though i was still 2 weeks away). He had just been super busy and didn't want to start it quite yet. Anyway I went and bought castro oil...just in case he changed his mind. Saturday morning we talked about it again and joe finally gave in and said, okay...lets try it. (i had been having labor pains the past several nights in a row, but kept stopping them).

we get to krista's house.

So we drove out to queen creek, called my sisters-got all excited to go walking and take castro oil and get the baby moving. I had been having some good contractions on the way out there and was just Sooo ready to have a baby. I ate lunch- a turkey sandwich (thats it) then drank the castro oil with some leamonaide.(yuck) almost instantly the drink kicked in. it took about 2 hours to really get my cantractions going. My mom had me running up and down the stiars, marching with all the grandkids, it pretty soon i was down on my hands and knees having contractions ever minute for about a minute and a half long! Joe and my dad gave me a blessing and then we were out the door to the hospital.

the drive.

My dad was driving with the hazard lights on because we didn't know how close i was...It felt SOO close. but he was going fast, we made it to the hospital in a good time. Joe and I were just praying that everything would go okay. I was so nervous thinking i was going to be having a baby very soon. We got to the hospital at about 5 p.m. as soon as we got there the nurses saw that something was wrong, so instantly they got me in got the monitor hooked up and gave me an epideral. (what a blessing) I got back to my room and they checked the babys heart beat...

the scary part.

All a sudden they start rolling me every which way, getting me on my hands and knees- not to mention i cant feel my legs... so theres 5 nurses all holding me up trying to rock me back and forth. I had no idea at the time what was going on, but soon came to find out they couldn't find the babies heart beat. in the mean while...while they were rocking me back and forth another nurse was giving me a shot of something in my arm...they put an oxygen mask to my face. The shot was to speed up my heart beat so the contractions would die down and stop. Finally they flipped me back over onto my back and asked me if i took castro oil. I told them yes, and they briefly explained to me how dangerous that can be. When your uterus contrats that much that fast, the baby doesn't have time to breath between each one. So it tottaly slowed her heart beat down and she wasnt doing to good. Later the nurse came up to me and told me i was a minute away from having an emergency c-section. (luckily for that shot in my arm!) My doctor told me that doesn't happen often, but when it does it can have serious consequences. ahh... then Ryah still wasn't tollerating me contrating...so they gave me another shot. every hour they gave me a shot in hopes to tottaly stop my labor.

the 30 hour wait.

since they had already given me my epideral they wanted to see if my body would start labor naturally on its own. then if Ryah still wouldnt tollerate those contractions they would just automatically do a c-section. Joe and I had been praying and praying in hopes to know what to do and in hopes that the doctor would know what do to. So doctor huish came in, everything was looking good, my body had started labor on its own, I was dialating very slowly, but surley. what a miracle! They kept a close watch on Ryah's heart beat...it only dipped a couple times after they had given me 3 shots. so we waited and waited and waited...

my water broke.

Sunday night all mine and joes family came to visit. It was so good for me because I was so stressed out and so frustrated that she still hadn't come and I was still feeling my contrations. an hour before I had talked to joe and I just cried and cried...telling him how done I was. He gave me another blessing and we read from a book together..he calmed me down and reasured me everything was going to be okay. so both of those combinations really helped me to relax and have paitence. Once everyone had left- Joe went to use the restroom...so it was just my mom, the nurse and I sitting in the room...the nurse had just checked me and I was dialated to a 7. but seriously it took me like 3 to 4 hours to dialate to the next number- because they had just slowed me way down. (thank goodness...because ryah is here). Anyway, everyone left the room and not 2 minutes later i felt and heard my water break! Wow, it was so interesting, the nurse checked me again and in 2 minutes I was dialated to an 8. Joe walked in my room and he knew something happend because we were just all so excited! My family got there and by that time i was dialated to a 9.5. It all happend with in like 15 minutes. They called the doctor, then the nurst started stretching me.

at 10:33

I had been pusing with the nurse for about 30 minutes, then the doctor walked in...and I was ready to go! The baby was crowning and everything. My epideral started wearing off and i could feel some horrible pain in my back, but the kind nurse put more meds and and it soon became very easy to push. so thats when our sweet little Ryan came into the world!They put her up on my chest and joe and i were just weeping with joy! Literally weeping. she was perfect. We came to find out she had 2 knots in her cord. and that was alot of the reason why she wasn't getting enough oxygen. My poor baby. but she is here now, in our hands..and how greatful we are to have such a blessed spirit in our home! it is the most joyus thing!

recovery

I am actually recovering quiet well. still very sore, but nothing unusual. i've already lost about 20 pounds. wahoo! haha, breast is best! but everything is looking good and healthy. I am really tired too...but again, nothing unusual. I love being home though. and whoever brought the present by when i wasn't home thank you so much! I dont know who it was, there was no name. but thank you! and thank you jordan and amber for the Delicious meal and the cute welcome home poster! You guys are the best! all i can say is...thank you thank you thank you! AND THANK YOU RYAH FOR MAKING IT SAFELY TO OUR HOME...

Our Beautiful

welcome home ryah jane

7 Pounds 4 ounces

21.5 inches

beautiful

perfect

sweet

our everything

--thats not even 1/2 of it--

Every woman who has ever had a baby I'm sure can relate to this. And I am almost positive a watermelon is a little bit of an underestatement. But seriously, I don't know if guys get it...(sorry boys) And too bad for them, they will never know. I know, I know I have been a huge complainer lately, but it just makes me feel so much better to get it all out-to get a "womans" compassion vs. a mans. Once again- sorry boys...Plus, I don't know what male will be reading this.

--So--

so...it seems like Joe and I have been on a streak of bad luck or it could be good luck, depends on wether you are feeling optimistic or not---me I'm just feeling pregnant, so...I'm {grouchy}Yesterday Joes tire fell plum off his truck while he was driving.-luckily he just got off the freeway and was going only 30mph instead of 80mph + he is alive, im loving that....then 12:30 rolled around last night and I couldn't seem to get back to sleep-I started having some pains in my back and some nice contractions about every 5 minutes, couldnt wake Joe up, so I went and drew myself a hot bath and sat in there for an hour...The pains went away. I shaved my legs, that was good...ha ha ha then, I finally fell back to sleep around 4'0 clock this morning. woke up at 6 got ready to go to a dentist appointment to get 2 root canals done...come to find out the people forgot to call my insurance and get it pre-approved... so drove 20 minutes back, tried to get my name changed on my licence went to Social Security--waited 45 minutes, they no longer do the change I needed at that location, then I went to old navy to return swim shorts that were too short for Joe--waited 30 minutes for the dang place to open...[ugh] [ugh]

But after that things started to turn around and were looing ..up.. I went to walgreens...just to look if they had "castro Oil" they did! so i bought it.. who knows if i will use it... but It is now in my posession...oh my goodness..shhhhh dont tell {joe} he might flip. then as I was walking out of walgreens a UPS driver was parked outside and i just happend to have the package sitting in my car that I needed to return back to the wall paper place --So he took that off my hands...thank you mr. UPS man. I owe you big time.

i feel so unprepared for baby ryah to come, but i am soooo ready for her to come. its a love hate thing...I think my hormones are writing this post for me, I truely am sorry. I think im just tired and f.r.u.s.t.r.a.t.e.d. with a lot of excitement and craziness. in a few days, maybe a week, maybe two... I will be looking at this post with a baby in my arms and it will all be worth it. p.s. thank you to my wonderful moms and sisters for letting me call and vent to you about "things" I appreciate it. thats all for now---Im out like a big fat pregnant woman

---i love joe---