BOY oh BOY do I have news to share with you!

Yes... here he is, the newest addition to our family!!!

Please welcome... Roarke Michael Rhoton... we have fallen in love all over again!

As you know, I went in on Tuesday morning for a scheduled induction. However, after 28 hours of being in active labor I could not get dilated enough to have a natural delivery. 

I was scheduled for a c-section in the afternoon on Wednesday and our baby boy was born at 1:05 PM on June 10th!

(Dont let me kid you... this pic was taken at the beginning of the induction... I wasnt all smiles later in the game)

Roarke weighted in at 8 lbs 2 oz and measured in at 20 inches long!

The past few days since he has been born has been an adventure and some of the best of our lives. It is shocking how something so small can take up so much of your heart. Dan and I are learning what this "parenting thing" is all about, but I have been pleasantly surprised with how easily we have taken on our new roles.

Speaking of Dan... he has been my rock through this entire thing. Everyday all I can think about is how lucky and thankful I am to have married him and get to live the rest of my life enjoying our family together. He has stepped up as a husband and father so much these past few days... I could never repay him for all he has done for me... I love him so much!

And of course... you are all wondering how the other love of our life is getting along!

When we finally came home with Roarke, Remington really didnt give him much attention. But it didnt take long for him to figure out that this little human was quite interesting and LOUD! Remington enjoys laying close to Roarke and visiting him in his nursery every night before bed. And if Roarke begins crying in the middle of the night, Remington races in there to check in on his baby brother. I have a feeling they will be best friends for a lifetime!

A big THANK YOU to all my friends, family, co-workers, etc. who have shown their love and support to us these past few days. We are very blessed to have you in our lives and are excited to share Roarke with you in the years to come!

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Many of us have recently seen the movie that just came out called American Sniper. Of course, being married to a SWAT sniper, my husband and I were really excited to see it as well. I must say that the movie was outstanding and boy did it tug at my heartstrings since I could relate in many ways to things that were portrayed in the movie. However, one of the things that has continued to float in my head is the story of sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs that they touch on in the movie.

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The following is an excerpt from On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs by Dave Grossman

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

“Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

If you find yourself with the sheep…please hang with the sheepdogs!

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Being the wife of a police officer I have heard this story many times before seeing it played out in this movie, but it is so true of the world we live in today. For me, it is tiresome to constantly hear all the cop bashing on the news, in social media, and even from people I come in contact with every day.  When did our society turn our police officers... the men and women that put their lives on the line for you and me everyday... into the enemy?? When will our society lift up the sheepdogs instead of the wolves? All I know is how incredibly thankful I am for the sheepdog in my life!

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