Whitney LeeAnne Steinlage

Well, our life has finally changed and so much for the better!!! After a very long journey, we welcomed our first child into this world. Our little angel, Whitney LeeAnne Steinlage came to us on December 23rd at 2:25 p.m. She weighed 7lbs 8and half oz and was 19 inches long. The labor was a very long and difficult one, but through it all, we were blessed with our Christmas Miracle. Jodi went into labor at 1 a.m. on Tuesday (December 22). We went the hospital at 8 in the morning, although they said they could keep me, I would probably be more comfortable at home. I went home and walked and walked and walked some more and continued to have contractions every 3-5 minutes. We went back to the hospital at 5 that afternoon and they admitted me to the hospital. My contractions continued to intensify and finally at 2 in the morning, they decided to break my water. This only increased my contractions, but I wasn't not dilating (I was only at a 4 after 31 hours of labor) and the baby wasn't dropping . Finally at 6 in the morning on Wednesday, they gave me my first set of medicine to help my relax and hopefully help speed things up. At 8 a.m. they decided I needed to be put on PIT. They did give me a thing similar to an epidural, so I could relax and get some much needed sleep (I hadn't slept for more than an hour since 1 the previous morning. Close to noon the medicine began to wear off and I had only dilated to a 5 and an half. They were beginning to consider a C-section, but still wanted to see how things went. After almost 2 hours of very intense labor (contractions were lasting a minute and coming every minute and half). The doctor checked and I was only at 6 or so, the baby still hadn't dropped and decided to do a C-section. The quickly prepared me and at 2:25, our little angel entered this world. The discovered she had a very small cord (which normally leads to miscarriages or early deliveries) and the cord was wrapped around her neck twice. If she had dropped, we most likely would have lost her as they would not have been able to get her out quick enough. Heavenly Father was looking out for us and a little angel was holding her feet keeping her from dropping!!! She was born perfectly healthy and continues to grow each day. We are celebrating her 1 week birthday today!!! We don't think we could have asked for anyone better and feel so blessed to have her today! Although it was a long 37 hours of labor and much pain, we are grateful that every bad thing that happened, happened the way it did because we wouldn't have our little girl right now!!! We will continue to update as Whitney continues to grow and change each day!!!

P.S. We are very grateful for everything everyone has done for us!! The visitors and presents were very much appreciated!!! I (Jodi) would also like to thank my family for coming out from Idaho and helping with everything!!! It was so nice to have you guys out here and enjoy this very special time with us!!! We love you guys so much and wished we could see you guys so much more!!!!

Life is about to Change!!!!

Wow...I need to be better about writing on the blog, so everyone can know what is going on in life!!! The last blog was from almost a year ago...so I will do some catch up for the last year!!!

Wade was very busy with work last winter and spring seasons and I continued to sub as well as started coaching as an assistant girls' coach at Grinnell High School. It was a lot of fun coaching and seeing the girls improve in soccer. We did a lot of improving and actually upset two teams the soccer team had never beat!

We were able to sneak away at the end of May to Idaho for my little brothers graduation! It was a lot of fun to see the family! We then were able to steal a week away for a cruise to Alaska for our 1 year anniversary. It was a lot of fun and we were able to see lots of beautiful things! We had an exciting trip home as we almost lost a tire on the Monida Pass, but we were blessed and nothing bad happened. Dad was only an hour away, so drove up there with his trailer and brought us home!!! The last week of being in Idaho was spent north of Salmon at a Boy Scout Camp doing some clean up for them and doing white water rafting on the Salmon!!! It was crazy!!!

We headed back to Iowa, but had Jerie along for the ride as she was going to come to Girl's Camp (church youth camp) with me. It was a lot of fun having Jerie for a few weeks!! Camp was a lot of fun and then the parents came out with Jade to take him to college. However, once again, car trouble would change the plans. Mom, Jerie and I took Jade on to Michigan while my dad stayed in Iowa to fix the car. We dropped Jade off and then headed up to the UP of Michigan. It was a lot of fun. We then meet dad in the Twin Cities for a couple of days. We went to the Mall of America, Twins game and a Lynx (WNBA) game. It was sad to say bye, but I knew that I would get to see them in a month or so.

Wade was busy during the summer getting ready for the fall season and for golf. After June, he really didn't get a chance to do a whole lot, but did go to Miami for a golf recruiting showcase. He didn't get any kids, but did have an adventure trying to get back to Iowa. It was a long trip as he spent the night in Atlanta, but finally made it back to Iowa a day late!

With fall sports about ready to start and golf season in full swing, I snuck out to Idaho as Wade was going to be SUPER BUSY! I was able to be out there for three weeks. I missed Wade a lot, but loved being home and spending time with the family. We worked hard on their new condo! We snuck away to Salt Lake one weekend for a Toby Keith/Trace Atkins concert. They have a friend who is a DJ for a country station who got us 4th row tickets and backstage passes. It was so awesome!!!!

I came back to Iowa and started subbing right away. With the flu season hitting early, I was subbing 4-5 days a week making September, October and November fly by. Wade was also busy October and November with lots of home games!!! We spent many nights at the soccer field or in the gym, but he loves his job and I wouldn't ask him to do anything different. I continued to work on my Master's and took two classes this semester. The first class finished up my Middle School endorsement (meaning I can teach anything 5-8) as well as a class called Educational Research. This class was the devil, but I just finished it and actually got 99% in the class. I was very surprised with it as I was going to be happy with a C!!!!

Okay, I haven't mentioned this with the rest of everything going on, but the day after Easter, Wade and I found out we were expecting!!! It was a wonderful, yet scary moment! The pregnancy has been a very easy pregnancy with the exception of morning sickness the first few months. Other than being uncomfortable the last few weeks, things have been really good. I was lucky to have a few baby showers and we received lots of great things!!! The baby's room is ready with the theme being "DUCKS." Long story short, my parents bought a Christmas Duck tree and made it a year round duck tree with lots of different types of ducks!!! It is so cute and makes the room look so cute!!!

Wade and I are excited for the little one (we don't know what we are having), but nervous and scared at the same time!!! We only have 9 days until the due date, so it will be here before we know it!!! We will try to be better about staying on the blog and posting things, so people can know what is going on!!! We hope everything is wonderful with our family and friends!!! May you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well...the new year has began and so we thought it was time for another update on the BLOG! Today is 7 months since we got married! I know it is not as long as many of my friends...but it is crazy how fast time flies!

The life of Wade!!! It has been a very busy school year for Wade. He finished up Fall Sports as well as being the golf coach and headed right into Winter Sports. Luckily, he didn't have as many home games this year for some reason...so I get to see him a bit more than usual! He is still the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency at Church and loves having to get up and speak every third month ;) Every once in a while, I get him to run with me...but he likes to relax, eat all my yummy food, and cheered on his Dolphins to the play-offs even though they lost!

The life of Jodi!!! November and December were super busy with subbing and completing my classes for my Master's. I finished my three classes all with A's and have just started on this semester round of classes. My hope is I will have my middle school endorsement done by the end of the summer. I love subbing, but sometimes hate that I am not working all the time. I use my days off to work out, work on school and organize some around the apartment. I try to work out five times a week, but not sure if my body really shows it. However, it allows me to eat what I want and not gain too much weight! I love spending time with Wade, eating yummy food and spending time with family!

As far as traveling, we had the AWESOME oppurtunity to go to Hawaii for two weeks over Christmas and it was so wonderful! The first week, we spent on a cruise going to 4 of the islands and seeing Hawaii and all its beauty! It was a very fun and exciting cruise, but super tiring! We were running all over the place. We saw whales, dolphins, hiked volcanoes, snorkled, beautiful sea cliffs and valleys, sunrises, sunsets and of course spent lots of money! The next week were were in Oahu and Honolulu. We stayed on Wikiki and parasailed, swam in the ocean with lots of HUGE waves, went to the Polyenesisan Cultural Center,hiked more volcanoes and ate lots of yummy food! It was a trip of a lifetime which ended with the entire island losing power after a thunderstorm (they don't usually have them). It was a 30 hour ordeal to get back to the states, but ended with flying First Class from Dallas to Minneapolis. If you ever get to Hawaii, you need to go to all the islands and not just stay in Honolulu because you miss so much!

We made it home in time to spend a day with Wade's family for Christmas and that was lots of fun, but were sad we didn't spend more time. Next year, we promise we aren't going anywhere, so we will be around the whole time!!

We love being with each other and are so happy to have found each other! The future is ours for the taking and we know it will be exciting! There is no baby news yet, but in the near future we are hoping! We hope all is well with everyone and we miss and love you all! Happy New Year!