This should be easy enough!!!!! Happy birthday to me!!!! But then again it's my mom working on this "easy" project- be warned!
*The idiot strikes again... it's too late for you to run, so don't even try. I can't seem to edit (cut and paste) my text- so the order is random and doesn't appear to be my finest litterary moment... also- I can't seem to get my photo program and blogspot to join forces and play fair- so there are no pics. A picture tribute to Jocilyn is coming- maybe i'll have put her baby pics onto a disc by then... we'll see- Anyway- enjoy it for what it is!!! ~T. (of course it's me, who else fights this much with machinery?)
One beautiful Sabbath morn.... an amazing little princess to us was born..... 
Jocilyn LoRee Gibbens joined our family, our first born- and what a blessing! Due Friday July 13, 2001- I was hoping she might come early, like on my favorite day July 4th... but if not then- I was really rooting for her due date. Some people frowned on that because of all of the superstition and negativity the date is shrowded in. She decided she'd come when she was ready. So, Saturday the 14th we had a neighborhood couple who seemed to need friendship over. We watched 7 Days, the Kevin Costner movie about the Cuban Misile crisis. Our guests left around midnight and we climed our tired bodies into bed. Matthew was already asleep when i joined him. I got all snuggled in and thought, "that was strange, dare i move again?" so i did a little wiggle and sure enough there was a little "trickle" with each wiggle. There was no flood, or breakage of dams, opening of the heavens kind of water works..... well, at least not until i made it to the tile floor (thank heaven for the little things!). I said, (in a tone of voice that is only known to have ever been made by a woman who knows that something inevitably painful and beyond backing out of is about to happen..... that was me at the time!) "Mattheeeewwwww! You need to wake up, my water broke and we'll be needing to go... " He mumbles,
"Are you sure? Let me see- we already went once for this and it wasn't really your water..." I said, "Oh,but this is like pee i can't stop... I don't think that's natural- even for a pregnant person!" So, once we agreed that yep- that was not natural, nor should we ignore it- I hopped in the shower and cleaned up, got out and put my face on (I wanted to look good for all of the pictures during and after labor- that's important stuff!!!). This being my first, I was really trusting the whole 18 hour average labor time. That was a mistake. My water broke at about 12:45 a.m. and i had her by 08:30 a.m. My shower and makeup took only a short minute- but labor was in full painful swing midway to the hospital- all of a sudden i was not comfortable. I wanted to see if i might be able to do this without an epidural, I don't know why.... I guess i thought I'd get a badge, or an extra good kid or something.... or maybe i was just on crack- Anyway- the nurse sent us walking, after having to stop and die every 3rd step and duck into bathrooms to be sick- i was done with that!!!! We returned to the room and i asked for just a little something- Stadol was worth a shot, right? So, the nurse went to get me Stadol (IV pain med). She returned with it and said, "do you want this? It's 50/50 on whether or not it helps. OR you could go ahead with the epidural, the annesthesiologist is heading into surgery so he could do you now, or after (she estimated 2 hours)." Screw the stadol, get me the annesth. This crazy nurse kept telling me to rest between ctx's... there was no "in between"... there was only one very long contraction and my mantra had become "I'm a wuss, I'm a wuss..." I think positive self talk had flown the coop along with any pain threshold i thought i had.... Bless that romanian annesthesiologist!!!!! Bless him, bless him, bless him!!! I was only dilated to a 3... but my body relaxed and i was able to move speedily along. From 8-complete in about 1/2 an hour and when the nurse asked me for a practice push, she hollered, "stop!!! the MD just left to go home, don't sneeze, or cough until i get her back here!!!" Okay, no problem thanks to Dr. Romania.... The rest is history!!!
Jocilyn was born in the old days. We didn't have a digital camera- only 35mm rolled film. I carried the camera with me at all times, 2 cameras actually, one with black and white film- we have some great pics, i just can't paste them in because i don't have a scanner.... so the picture tribute will be lacking birth/baby pics... I need to work on that- note to self......
When we first discovered we were pregnant we couldn't have been be more sure that we were having a boy.... we weren't even going to have them confirm it at the ultrasound. But while we waited for the u/s (ultrasound) tech, we studied the picures of other u/s babes and kinda learned how to differentiate. So, when little missy forgot to show any other parts- we asked if we "read" the u/s correctly and it was confirmed. Our little man, was a little lady- and is she ever!!!! Very much the pink of perfection, she is the consummate and indefectible little girl. That said, don't forget who her daddy is- because he'd put money on her against any boy... she's a tough little rugger!!! How blessed she makes our life- both her and her sister- our family is so perfectly wonderful- this mamma far to often fails to recognize it through all of the laundry, dishes, candy wrappers, toys, etc.... I needed to take a minute to realize how blessed i am through my family, and at this time particularly~ Jocilyn LoRee....
things that the party she began to 
plan over a month prior didn't happen until about a week and a half after her actual birthday.... The party was a huge success and Jocilyn kept saying afterwords, "mom, i really had a great party- thanks- i know that was hard for you.... " yep.... i get stressed out hosting things at my house. I just don't like it, never have... So, it was a swim party. There were 2 kid-o pools, 
one pretty small inflatable type, 
and another 8' round and about 2' deep (still small, but big enough). Aside from cousin Hunter, there were to be all girls. As I (trish) planned for this i ordered "lots" of things off of ebay. I got little purses with cute little designs on them, little wallets to go in the purses, and then a lot of $ store items to add in... lip stick/gloss, nail polish, princess pencils and stickers for example. I have to admit, they were the cutest party favors i've ever seen- oh, and a headband with a scarf. The original idea was to make them into the type that you can purchase, it was going to be a crafty thing to do at the party... but i tried to do one prior and couldn't figure it out so the girls each got the headband and scarf to do with what they pleased. Hunter got a napsack full of "boy stuff," and the poor neighbor boy who decided he'd like to come- (rang the bell that day and asked if he was invited to the party he'd heard about from another little girl in the neighborhood- so i called his mom and said sure he could come, but the favors were all purses, if he didn't mind- but put on a suit, bring a towl and we'll have fun- and they did, he and Hunter were the resident "sharks" in the pool...) went home empty handed, but wet and happy.
