Summer Update

Hey friends and family, the subtitle of the blog remains true: "rarely updated." lol. Here's what's current with the Sudhoffs:


Andy is working part time landscaping after parting ways with Northbridge (amicably) in April. Northbridge is headed in a direction where they desire someone with a different mix of gifts and talents than Andy has, so in order for the church to be well served and for Andy to be in the sweet spot of ministry the way God has designed each of us to do, he is no longer the second pastor there. We continue to pray for a new full-time position, hopefully in pastoral ministry, but Andy is open to whatever God has for this season. We are praying, too, that God would bring our beloved Northbridge just the right person to complement Mark and the staff. We Praise Him, even in the bittersweet time of transition.


Nicole and the kids are getting into a daily rhythm, with Elijah extending naps, awake times, and eating baby food, and Micah continuing to be the energetic preschooler he has always been! 


We have our house on the market, which can be challenging! We are praying for the right buyers to come along in the right time, and for us to know where we are headed next. We have a great in-between place to live (at the Thomas ranch in Merton), so even if we don't know where Andy's next job is, we are ready to sell this place! If we do stay in the Antioch/Trevor area, we still want a bigger place. We have moved 2/3 of our belongings to Andy's mom's, so it is easier (but still not "easy") to get ready for showings with two little ones! It helps us realize what we can live without, and I think we'll be quite selective about what we bring in to our next place!


We said goodbye to Nicole's mom in March of this year. She was ready to go, even if we were sad to let her. Nicole's brother Bill was with her when she passed, quite peacefully. She and Nicole's dad were buried together at the cemetery of the church where Mom grew up in Genoa, WI. 


We are excited to say hello to a new family member soon! Nicole's sister Jen is pregnant with her first child (Nicole really thinks it's a girl) due on the 4th of July! We're praying for a safe and healthy delivery and for the baby to be smaller than Elijah, at least by a few ounces. ;)


We walked in the Vince Lombardi Walk for Cancer Research again this year, and raised $595 with your help! Thank you to all of you who donated, we continue to hope and pray that other families will not need to go through losing a parent at such a young age like we lost Andy's dad almost 3 years ago. 


Below are a few recent pics. Praying that all of you are enjoying summer, and that God is blessing you and yours with health and gratitude, two simple things that go a long way toward a happy life!

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Waiting eagerly for Elijah!

Well, we're waiting eagerly for Elijah to arrive! We are really getting excited about the birth. When I saw Kate (my midwife) on Tuesday, I was 80% effaced (thinned out) and 1 cm dilated! I am feeling very positive about this progress, since many of the horror stories and long, induced labors seem to begin with very little thinning and softening of the cervix. (sorry if that's TMI for some of you readers!) I am working hard on keeping a positive attitude about the pregnancy, the labor, and the birth itself. I am getting the "are you ready to get that baby out" question a LOT, and I am using that as an opportunity to reinforce my desired state of mind, which is, "I'm ready whenever he's ready, but I'm not anxious."


Today, Andy and I are going to see Harry Potter 7 (part 1), and then REALLY -  I'm going to pack my bag for the hospital and the bags for Micah and Elijah for Grammy's house. :)


Hopefully, we'll have some news soon about this little one entering the big wide world!

Recent preggie pic with my friend Kristi, who now had her little guy! (Ezra)

Micah's Birthday

Hi there!  Just wanted to post a little about Micah's birthday.

We celebrated as an immediate family on the actual day, with cupcakes and presents just from Mommy & Daddy. Micah loved it! One of his gifts was Rintoo, the final "Kai Lan friend" that he's been missing. We also gave him a Thomas the Tank Engine electric toothbrush (he's been fascinated by Mommy's electric toothbrush for some time). He loved it! He visited his friends Cael and Karys and brought their family some cupcakes, too, while Mommy went to the midwife (again!). We had dinner as a family and had a wonderful time.

On Saturday, November 6, we had a family party for Micah at Grammy & Papa's house! Great Gramma was able to make it along with our family and Grammy & Papa. We had pizza, veggies, fruit and an AMAZING Brobee cake! (If you saw Micah's Halloween costume, this cake was the same character as the costume.) Momalla is a wonderful cake baker, and we appreciate it SO much!  Below are some pics.

the Midwife!

Well, I got to visit the midwife this week, and I am so excited! She is very supportive of the kind of birth I'm looking for: no drugs, minimal techno/medical interventions, and personal support throughout labor and birth. One of my big questions was: "What if I go past my due date?" and she was so in line with my own desires in her answer.  If I get to 41 weeks, they will do a biophysical profile and a nonstress test, and make sure everything is OK with Elijah and me, and there are no signs of an aging placenta - which can cause serious problems for the baby. If everything looks OK, they'll keep monitoring me every other day or so until 42 weeks, and if I stay pregnant that long, I will need to have a repeat c-section, since the risks of a Pitocin or prostaglandin induction, including uterine rupture, are too great. So, if I make it to 41 weeks, I will be trying every natural method to induce labor that I can find!!

My midwife is partners with an OB/Gyn, and they cover each other's births. He is supportive of her and her patients' birth plans and will not try to push me to take an epidural, induce or augment labor with drugs, or jump to a c-section at the drop of a hat. On the other hand, if a c-section is MEDICALLY NECESSARY, then he will be on hand to perform it, and the hospital has an anesthesiologist on staff 24/7, and is always ready for an emergency c, should it prove necessary.

I am trying to continue to eat healthy, get exercise, stay active, read about the labor and birth experience and pray. I am praising God that Elijah is head down (the ideal position for vaginal birth) and that I am measuring "just right" for this point in my pregnancy, and that our insurance company will cover either the midwife or the OB and the hospital!

Thanks to all of you who have had supportive and challenging things to say as we seek "Our Best Birth." I am so excited to enjoy this blessed event in our lives!

Baby Prep and the Move Toward Being a Hippie

Well, I'm 27 weeks pregnant today, and almost to the 3rd trimester! I've been reading and researching a lot since Micah was a scheduled C-section due to being breech, and I would like to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceasarean) with boy #2 (who, incidentally, does NOT have a name yet, we are having a really hard time with that). In my studies, I watched "The Business of Being Born" - a documentary by Ricki Lake (yes, the talk show host - she's quite the advocate for birth and women as a result of her own experiences). It opened my eyes to some interesting information about the American health care system, hospital birth and obstetrics, and midwives. I then read Ricki and Abby's book, "Your Best Birth," and I am just starting "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth," a book by America's most famous midwife. These, along with a lot of internet reading (taken with a grain of salt, of course) are causing me to lean toward a birth with a midwife and possibly even natural birth (without pain meds!).

I have to admit, I'm feeling like a bit of a hippie all of a sudden. I've never been one of these granola types before. Although, as I think about it, I have been a recycling nazi for some time; I've been composting our veggie waste and yard trimmings for as long as we've had our own home; I've been trying to buy organic, free trade, etc, whenever it makes sense and is relatively convenient for me; I've purged my home of chemical cleaning products and started taking natural vitamins; I've been trying to eat a lot more whole foods and green things; and my sisters will attest, I only shower as often as a lot of hippies (lol)... I guess my move toward being a hippie has been in process for some time. I still drive a gas powered car, but I have dreams of a hybrid minivan; I still use a lot of electricity, but I dream of a home with solar panels or geothermal heating and cooling...and now, as I am on a journey with Something Edmund and his impending birth, I find myself thinking about leaving a great OB practice and a hospital and delivering "for real" for the first time with a midwife! I know there are those of you who are going to feel, and maybe express, deep concern for this type of decision. I encourage you to communicate with me about it, and do some research of your own. I definitely recommend watching "The Business of Being Born" to start.

26 weeks

More soon, as I continue to process this information and take more steps on my journey toward birth #2. :)

Citizen Sudhoff #2 on the way, remembering Grandpa Don

Hey blog world, sorry it's been OVER A YEAR since I posted a blog entry... yikes! Well, I'm trying to get back into the swing with this one.

We are very excited to welcome Citizen Sudhoff #2 around Thanksgiving this year. I'm about 18 weeks pregnant right now, and I'm feeling pretty good! We will find out if we're having a boy or a girl on July 12th (assuming Citizen #2 is as cooperative as Citizen #1 was). We're taking the whole family to the ultrasound, and Micah is excited to see a "video" of the baby in Mommy's belly.

Last Saturday, we went to the Milwaukee County Zoo to participate in the Vince Lombardi Charitable Funds Walk/Run to raise money for cancer research. We walked in memory of Andy's dad, Don, who went to be with Jesus in November 2008 after a long battle with cancer. We raised $340 including our own registrations and a matching gift from one donor's company, along with many individual and family donations. We are so grateful to all those who donated! Here's a few pics of our adventure at the zoo. We had a great time, and Micah had as much fun running up and down the ramp by the giraffes as actually looking at the animals. :) We decided to put off the zoo pass for a year. ;)

Micah loved the Safari Train - we got to ride with the steam engine AND the diesel engine!

Chrissy sponsored one of the water tables in memory of Dad/Grandpa Sudhoff.

Watching the steam engine come down the track!










Chrissy and Micah looking out the window of the train. So cute. :)

The shade was perfect for this pic! Micah had such a sweet setup in Grammy & Papa's wagon. He was chillin' all day. :)




Here's the fam, decked out in Hawaiian gear in honor of Don.
Chrissy, Micah, Andy, Nicole, Janece, Nathan, Craig.