Lily's Debut

As you can tell by the title, this is a little about the day Lily was born.


A little background on our birth plans... (Her due date was November 5, 2007.) We had talked it over with Dr. Chesney exactly one week from Lily's due date. My last dr appointment was October 29 and Dr. Chesney said it would be my last, which was exciting/scary. I was more than ready to have her, but at the same time I was scared to death of how everything would go. He talked it over with us and I had made up my mind that I really would rather not be induced if at all possible. We decided to wait until two days past my due date, whcih would be Wednesday November 7, and if I hadn't had her by then, I was going to be induced. I left excited and nervous, yet looking foward to seeing our baby girl.


We went home and waited. I kept thinking I was having contractions, whcih I very well could have been, but they never were regular. I went to bed Sunday night (the 4th), not very early, and wondered if she would come on her due date. We had everything packed and ready so we could leave asap if we had to go. We awoke Monday morning at about 6:00 or 6:30 to the sound of the phone ringing. I was so out of it that I let Adam get it and when I heard him talking I was getting pretty nervous. Then he said "Well, I'll let you talk to her and see what she wants to do." I was so confused and I really didn't want to talk on the phone. I answered and it was Dr. Chesney. He asked if I was ready to have a baby today. I was in shock. He explained the situation, which I had known part of it, and said if I wanted to come in to have her this morning I could. (A doctor that he worked with had passed away over the weekend and his funeral was going to be on the day we had scheduled to come in. Dr. Chesney, I believe, had some other things going onTuesday  and wasn't going to be able to do it then. Also, after Wednesday he was planning on going on vacation. So my options were to go in that moring to be induced on her due date, wait and go into labor on my own and have a different OB deliver her, or wait and pray she came at least a week late so he would be back from vacation.) It didn't take long to decide. We were going to have our baby that day!!! He assured me that everything would be fine and he'd get me the epidural before it got bad at all. I got off the phone with him and smiled at Adam and cried happy tears then called mama on her way to work and told her to turn around because we were about to leave for the hospital. She called daddy and we called Adam's parents. We got ready and left, half scared to death of what was to come.


We got there and checked in before 8am. I got in the ugly hospital gown and layed in the bed waiting. Here we are waiting for our little girl to come.



My nurse was the sweetest woman, and had such a Southern accent. I loved her! She explained everything to me and Dr Chesney came in and did too. They got my IV started, which was the worst part of it all because it hurt my arm so bad (it was bruised for weeks after we came home from the hospital). Anyway, I got kinda dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. That was kinda scary, and I know it scared Adam too, bless his heart. It didn't last long though, luckily Dr Chesney and the nurse were in there so they got me to feeling better pretty quickly. A little while later, he came back to break my water. After watching all the baby stories, I thought it'd be awful, but it wasn't at all. I don't remember the time that every little thing happened, but everything seemed to be going quickly and smoothly. I started having more contractions, and they started getting closer together. So I told the nurse I was beginning to feel them pretty good. She got the anesthesiologist in right away. This was the part I dreaded all along, because I had witnessed one in real life when I was in 8th grade. Seeing that woman give birth didn't phase me one bit, but watching them give her an epidural nearly made me pass out. I handled it pretty well though and didn't feel it since they numb your back, thank goodness. I've heard that an epidural will slow down the process some, but it didn't have too much of an effect on mine, I don't think. I rested well after I got that. I was dozing off and on. I remember being so hungry and wanting to eat but I couldn't. I said, more than once, I was ready to have my baby and eat!!! Haha!
Look How BIG I got before she was born!!!

The nurse kept checking me ever so often. I told everyone that was in there (mama, daddy, Adam, and Diane I know for sure, probably Nana too) that they hadn't checked in a while so I figured they'd be in soon. I told mama I bet I would be at a ten and ready to go next time they came in. She said I doubt it, it doesn't go that fast. Well, I was right. The nurse came in and kicked everyone out to check. She told me to try to push. (I was worried about that too, because since I couldn't feel a thing, I didn't know if I would be pushing good or not.) I did and she had to say "WHOA! Stop! We gotta wait for the doctor to get in here!! You're a good pusher!!" I was glad about that.


On a side note, all my visitors of course had to leave the room for me to be checked. They came back in to get their things and say whatever they wanted to tell me before the birth. They were suppose to go into the waiting room and not be out in the hall of the birth rooms. My mom just couldn't stand it though, She snuck around the hall and listened at our door. So she got to hear Lily's first cries. Adam's Aunt Debbie Christman got a picture!

Dr Chesney got there shortly while they got everything ready. Dr. Chesney came in . (I asked for a mirror because I wanted to see the progress and my baby just as soon as they did. They got one for me, then we started.) I pushed less than 10-15 minutes, and it didn't seem like that long. Then our sweet, little baby girl was laying on my belly, not inside it anymore. I knew right then that she was our little Lily Grace. She was born at 2:47pm. :) Adam cut the cord, then the nurse cleaned her off, swaddled her and gave her back to me. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.
She was pretty mad when she came into this world, but we knew right away she had a good set of lungs!
Some people say that all newborns are ugly, but not our Lily. She was gorgeous. Adam took her to the nursery for them to weigh her and check her out good. She was so perfect. I went to a new room and Lily came back in shortly. Everyone adored her. She weighed 8lbs even, which shocked everyone :) and she was 20 1/4 inches long, and not that anyone ever asks, but her head was 34cm around. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Proud Mommy with a still not so happy baby


She finally got settled down and happier. :)
We spent that night and the next in the hospital, then came home on Wednesday November 7 with our the newest, most beautiful member of our family, Miss Lily Grace Smith.


These were taken right before we put her in her car seat to leave the hospital.

Married Life

This is just some more about Adam and myself. Don't worry Lily's part is coming up real soon! After our honeymoon, we came home and I had a week to prepare to begin my next semester of college. I didn't go back to work after I took off for the wedding and honeymoon. I was just going to focus on school and of course being a wife. When I went back to school, it was okay, but my goals in life and plans for my future began to change. I still went and did my best, but I didn't push myself to try harder. I finished that semester then went back for the next one. If I took and passed all those classes I signed up for that semester, I would graduate from Motlow with my Associates degree. My plan when I began was to graduate and go on into the 2+2 program where I could take classes at Motlow thru TN Tech and graduate with a teaching degree after two more years. It got harder and harder to get up and go to classes though. I just didn't have the desire to be a teacher like I once did. I couldn't keep myself from thinking about having my own children and staying home with them. I had babysat since I was 14 and I kept dreaming of having my own baby. It just seemed like it was the right time for us. I finished the semester and graduated in May from Motlow, three months pregnant. I never applied to the 2+2 program. I just stayed home the rest of the time, waiting on our precious little baby to arrive and getting everything ready. Unfortunately most of that time was spent with morning sickness. Looking back on it now, it was all well worth it. We found out that it was going to be a girl and were thrilled. We both somehow had that feeling all along, actually before I even got pregnant. Thinking of a name was one of the hardest things for us. We went thru baby name books, searched countless hours on the internet and nothing sounded right.I really liked the name Lily Grace, but wasn't sure enough to tell anyone. I said I had to see her before I decided for sure because there were some other names I liked too. We went to New York to visit my dad's side of the family there for the week of the 4th of July. (This was right after we found out we were having a girl.) That was Adam's first trip there. It was extremely exhausting for me. We went in my Nana and Papa's really big, nice conversions van, but nothing would be that comfortable for that long of a road trip. I was glad we got to go and see my family there, don't get me wrong, I just wish it wasn't so far away. I'm sure when they come down here, they think the same thing. Then the next month, we got to go back to Pigeon Forge for our first anniversary. I was six months pregnant by that time. We had a nice time, getting away for a weekend. We came back and got everything ready. We had two baby showers and got all kinds of adorable little baby things. I was so excited I couldn't wait til she got here. I even started reading to her before she was even born. I would talk to her and tell her how awesome her daddy was and how we couldn't wait to meet her. I did all this while Adam was still working nights and I was up waiting for him to get home. Sometimes I would make him read to her too though. I thought it was so sweet. Well that's it for now. Thanks for reading! Here is a picture of us at one of the baby showers. Enjoy!

Our Beginning

I want to let everyone know a little about how Adam and I met and eventually got together. So here goes.
I was about sixteen when I started working at Hillis Market (which was a gas station and little convience store in Centertown). I'm not exactly sure about the date or anything like that but I remember the first time I met Adam like it was yesterday. I know it was a Saturday night because that's the only night I worked usually. It was probably an hour or two away from closing time and there was only one person there sitting in the back. (This was a place where men would sit and talk every morning and some evenings.) The man was Darl Smith, Adam's uncle. His wife, Renee and son Jacob had gone to town for supper and they were picking up chicken for me too. Anyway, Adam came in and sat back there and started talking to him. I went back there, as I often did to talk. I was getting pretty hungry and waiting for them to get back with my chicken. Then Darl said he wanted to introduce me to a "real good man, his nephew, Adam." I believe he told me three or four times that he was a real good man. Of course at this time, like I said, I was so hungry and that's all I could think about. So I just said, "Well it's nice to meet you," then turned to Darl and said, "I'm waitin on your wife and son to get back with my chicken."
I know you're probably reading this thinking How rude!! I really didn't mean it to be but it does sound like it looking back. The good thing is, Adam says he doesn't even remember that.

Well I don't know how long after that night it was but I started seeing him in there more and more after that. Sometimes his mom would call in a pizza and he'd come get it. Other times he would come and stay for hours, just sitting in the back. When I would get the chance I'd go back there and we'd talk about everything. I was just so comfortable with him and I didn't know why but I never questioned it. He became a really good friend that I felt like I had known my whole life, and of course I started developing a crush on him.

One day I was at work and this guy came in asking about something and I didn't know the answer but I knew he would. So I got brave and looked his parents' phone number up and called. His mom answered and said he was in the garage so she gave me his cell phone number. Imagine how happy this made me. I called him and got the information for that guy. Then, of course I stored his number in my phone right away. I got to where I would call him sometimes and we'd talk. It worked out well that he was on 3rd shift then because I could talk to him on my way to school and on his way home from work. We got to where we talked quite a bit but I was always the one calling him. Well in the meantime, I started thinking about quitting Hillis Mkt. I probably stayed longer because I knew I would miss seeing him every weekend. Finally I went ahead and quit. I didn't miss working there too much, but I really missed seeing him.

After that we talked more on the phone then I would go thru these phases where I wouldn't call him for a while because I didn't know if he liked me or not and I didn't wanna bother him. Then after a few months, I'd call again. Somewhere during this time he got on 2nd shift. This was probably when I started college. Then I would stay up later and talk to him on his way home.

Once I called and asked him to look at my car because it was acting up so he drove it and of course I rode with him. I had a good time just riding around with him and talking.

One day I wanted to ask if I could ride with him to Nashville since my Papa was in the hospital and my mom wouldn't let me skip classes and go with them. Plus I had never driven on the interstate so I was scared to drive myself. I had asked my parents' permission to ride with him if he didn't care and one of them could meet us on his work exit. They agreed thinking I would never get the courage up to even ask him and if I did he would say no. Much to their surprise, I did call and he did say yes. I was so excited to get to spend an hour on the road with him. I remember we stopped at Sonic on our way and he wouldn't let me pay for mine. We talked and I had a wonderful time just being with him. Then when we got to the gas station to meet my daddy, he (daddy) got out and came to meet Adam. My parents had heard me talk about him for a year or two at this time and knew how much I liked him.

Probably a year later, things had continued to be the same between us. Just friends. I would call him and we'd talk. That was about it til I kept praying that God would either help me to get over him or to go out with him. I couldn't handle it anymore. I really liked him and I couldn't keep going the way things were. I was either going to go out with him and see if it would work or just move on. I had tried my best to move on, and I would go 3 months max without calling then I couldn't help myself. I had to talk to Adam. I had even deleted his number and remembered it three months later so I HAD to call him. I started getting braver and I talked to him and found out his birthday. I decided to send him a card. At this time I was working at Volunteer Bearing. So I had bought two different cards, one regular, funny one and one flirty one that said Happy Birthday you handsome dog. I decided on the latter, and mailed it off from work adding my own note about how much I appreciated him and our talks and how much he had helped me just by listening lots of times. A few days passed and I called him and mentioned it and said Happy Birthday. Finally, about a week later, which just happened to be April 1, yes April Fool's Day. I decided I was going to finally call and ask him out. Either he would say yes and we would be going on a date and I'd just see if anything was there or he would say no and I made a vow that if he did I would never call him back because if he was interested he would ask me out after that. My plan was that if he said no to say April Fool's and play it off like that but my mom told me I shouldn't. So I called; he beat around the bush for 10-15 minutes. By this time I was pretty sure the answer was no and I was ready to get off the phone, have a nice long cry and find a way to get over him. About that time he said, "Well, let me go take my shower and I'll be over there." I couldn't believe my ears! lol We were actually going on a date...that night!!! Well I waited and waited and waited... I kept thinking he's worse than a girl, what's taking him so long. Finally, he called and asked which house was ours. He said he had been talking and that's why it took so long. We ended up going to Sonic and I got chili cheese fries and we drove around on little old country roads and just talked. We never really discussed our relationship status after that. I know some people discuss whether they are "dating" or "going out" or whatever, but I guess it was just understood that we were together after that night. We were together every weekend after that and we would do the same things, just drive around talking and getting to know each other better and better. Sometimes we would go to the drive-in and watch movies and stuff, but mostly we just spent hours on end talking. We got to where we would talk every night on his way home from work. A lot of nights, well Friday nights since he would work, he'd stop by on his way home and we'd talk, watch tv, and play Nintendo. I loved every minute we were together.

We (my family) were planning a trip to the beach for the 4th of July and Adam was going to get to go. One day my mom had bought him some shorts and stuff for the trip and I had gotten him some shirts and a card that told how I felt about him. I remember when I was signing it, I thought for about five minutes how I should sign it. Finally, I wrote Love, Megen and sealed it. That night, he came over and I gave it to him. He opened it and read it very quietly and I was sitting there, nervous as could be, wondering how he would respond. Then he put it back up, looked at me and said, "I love you too." Then, since I had never audibly said it to him (I said it every time I got off the phone with him, just not where he could hear it.) I said I love you too and of course we hugged and I probably cried and all that.

Time went on and we continued to spend all the time we could together. It got to where we just started saying things like "When we get married...." and that's just the way it was. Finally we got to talking about it more and more. Then once he asked me what kind of ring I wanted and I said I don't know. He said he thought I'd look good in a three stone diamond, he thought they were pretty and I agreed. One Sunday we went and looked at rings and we were on the motorcycle that night. We were just looking and he even told me if he did buy one that didn't mean I was getting it then. We ended up finding one we both really liked and we got back on the motorcycle and had our helmets back on when he said, "Do you really like that one in there? Is that the one you want?" Then he took his helmet back off slowly, got off the motorcycle, and asked if I wanted to go back in with him. I decided to wait out there. A few minutes went by and I looked up and here he came. He looked at me, said my whole name, and asked me to marry him. Obviously, you know I said YES! Then we rode back, went to Church, and showed everyone. That was after just about two months after our first date. Then we decided it would be best to get married before I started classes again so we set the date for August 19, two weeks before I had to start school again. We rushed and got everything together, bought a house, furnished it, fixed it up, especially the bathroom, painted all the bedrooms, and got married in my parents' front yard three days after my 20th birthday. It was beautiful. I couldn't have asked for anything more. We honeymooned in a cabin in Pigeon Forge.

That's about all there is about us in the beginning. My next post will be a continuation of this and our life as newlyweds.

Sorry this one was so long, but I enjoyed telling the story of how we met then from our first date to our wedding day in about 4 1/2 months. It was just right and that's all we can say. I knew he was the one for me and he knew the same about me. I will add this, then I'm finished for tonight. He told me later that he knew I was the one long before April 1, he just didn't know what my parents would say about me going out with him since he was 7 years older and everything. He also said that he knew if he didn't say yes that night, he got the feeling I would never call him again. And that was my plan.
God had it all planned out and I'm so glad! I couldn't be happier with my wonderful husband.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.