no i am not going to write about the end of the world so if that is what you were hoping for i would turn back now.
i am talking about the end of this pregnancy. the plan is to deliver baby on the 12th unless anything goes haywire before then. baby will be 4 weeks early and though most babies born that early are tiny- this one should be about the size of most people's full termers. i would guess this baby is probably going to be around the 7lb. mark. i guess we will see very shortly.
this week we have had many people come over to help me around the house. it has been really great to watch people love on my kiddos. they made puppets with yarn for hair, did puppet shows for me, they created with perler beads and have read tons of books. ladies have made sure my laundry was done, dishes were clean, floors vacuumed, car was filled with gas, fridge was washed and clean and even made sure that the clothes the kids had grown out of were packed up and put in the garage. it is so very hard for me to sit back and watch people do this stuff but i must say that it has blessed me immensely!!
it's the end of the week so ross will be here with us and i must say that that man is the best! he has such a servant's heart and so i want to do something special for him for father's day. any ideas??
i guess i will get back to writing my thank you notes- there is NO excuse for not getting those to people!!
have a great weekend.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
graduation day...
today i was actually out of the hospital (i got to come home tuesday afternoon) and so i was able to go to henry's kindergarten graduation. i can't believe my boy has finished his first official year of school. what a wonderful year it has been! i have seen such growth in him throughout this year.
the kindergarten teachers gave out awards of excellence based on character traits they saw in each individual child. henry was awarded for the character trait of joyfulness. here is what his teacher had to say about him.
this time last year my sister and i were searching the web for different assessments for kindergarten readiness. we were wondering if our babies were going to flourish or be bowled over. let's just say that both chloe and henry have done a phenomenal job this year and at times have exceeded expectations we had for them.
when i look at henry i see a little boy who can now read, write, add, subtract, even multiply (though he doesn't realize that is what he is doing) but even more than that i see a little boy who God has blessed with a sweet spirit and a love for those around him. he has come away from kindergarten more confident and yet not arrogant. his teacher once said to me that henry was a quiet leader. he did not have to tell people what to do or how to do it but rather there was just something magnetic about him that caused the other children to follow his lead. i am so thankful for how God has grown and continues to grow our little man.
now it is summer! school is out and there is lots of playing to be done!
the kindergarten teachers gave out awards of excellence based on character traits they saw in each individual child. henry was awarded for the character trait of joyfulness. here is what his teacher had to say about him.
this time last year my sister and i were searching the web for different assessments for kindergarten readiness. we were wondering if our babies were going to flourish or be bowled over. let's just say that both chloe and henry have done a phenomenal job this year and at times have exceeded expectations we had for them.
when i look at henry i see a little boy who can now read, write, add, subtract, even multiply (though he doesn't realize that is what he is doing) but even more than that i see a little boy who God has blessed with a sweet spirit and a love for those around him. he has come away from kindergarten more confident and yet not arrogant. his teacher once said to me that henry was a quiet leader. he did not have to tell people what to do or how to do it but rather there was just something magnetic about him that caused the other children to follow his lead. i am so thankful for how God has grown and continues to grow our little man.
now it is summer! school is out and there is lots of playing to be done!
Lord, thank you for a fantastic year in school. thank you for providing a way for us to be in a school that seeks you and seeks to glorify you in all areas of learning. thank you for the friendships that have begun and for the ones that were strengthened throughout this year. thank you for a teacher who loves our son and challenged him to grow in all areas. thank you that she loves you and has a personal relationship with you. to you all glory and honor are due for this year and for all things. we love you. amen
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
mondays at the hospital...
yes you did read that correctly. at 2 am yesterday morning we were back at the hospital.
ross and i both ended up with some kind of bug sunday night that made us really sick. i started the evening with the throwing up and he still doesn't fell much better. i probably only feel better because they gave me meds to stop the nausea.
this time i was in the hospital because i had been throwing up for a couple of hours and my contractions kicked in. at 1:15am i was pretty sure we were going to have to make the cross town trek but i called into the dr. just to be sure. the dr. agreed that it was probably a dehydration issue but because of my high-riskness ( not a real word, i know) we had to go in. it was a good thing i did because the contractions were actually pretty big and painful.
they gave me magnesium sulfate all day to get them stopped and thankfully it worked. i am back on my other meds now and might be able to go home this afternoon- if not then tomorrow morning. i might still make it to henry's graduation!! that's what i am hoping for.
this baby is quite the wild one. it never likes to be monitored which can make for fun times. about every half hour a nurse comes in to readjust the monitor...this means rare uninterrupted time to sleep. my nurse last night finally just let baby stay off the monitor for a while so i could get about 4 hours of sleep. that was great. when baby was moving around in dramatic fashion yesterday i just smiled and thought about how much i am looking forward to meeting this little one.
often times life is so busy that i forget we are having another baby but with all this focused attention on this pregnancy i have been able to really anticipate who God is making this little one into. who will it look like? what kind of temperament will it have? is it a boy or girl? when will it get here? will it be chubby and have lots of hair?
ross and i both ended up with some kind of bug sunday night that made us really sick. i started the evening with the throwing up and he still doesn't fell much better. i probably only feel better because they gave me meds to stop the nausea.
this time i was in the hospital because i had been throwing up for a couple of hours and my contractions kicked in. at 1:15am i was pretty sure we were going to have to make the cross town trek but i called into the dr. just to be sure. the dr. agreed that it was probably a dehydration issue but because of my high-riskness ( not a real word, i know) we had to go in. it was a good thing i did because the contractions were actually pretty big and painful.
they gave me magnesium sulfate all day to get them stopped and thankfully it worked. i am back on my other meds now and might be able to go home this afternoon- if not then tomorrow morning. i might still make it to henry's graduation!! that's what i am hoping for.
this baby is quite the wild one. it never likes to be monitored which can make for fun times. about every half hour a nurse comes in to readjust the monitor...this means rare uninterrupted time to sleep. my nurse last night finally just let baby stay off the monitor for a while so i could get about 4 hours of sleep. that was great. when baby was moving around in dramatic fashion yesterday i just smiled and thought about how much i am looking forward to meeting this little one.
often times life is so busy that i forget we are having another baby but with all this focused attention on this pregnancy i have been able to really anticipate who God is making this little one into. who will it look like? what kind of temperament will it have? is it a boy or girl? when will it get here? will it be chubby and have lots of hair?
Lord, i know you know the time, day and location for this baby's birthday. i trust that you have all that figured out and so i will rest in knowing that You have it all under control. thank you for being the man with the plan!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
home...
i have been sent home to do bed rest! hallelujah!
after a very busy wednesday at the hospital doing dr. consults and then an MRI it was decided that i could come home if and only if i would do nothing. i know that many of you are laughing at that but in reality i do not, i repeat- do not, want to have this baby at the hospital that is in our area. i am praying that we would have enough time to get to ours on the other side of town. this being the case i am getting my days lined up with help that can come over and be my hands and feet with the kids.
today i have been able to not do much but even in just getting my own lunch prepared and then cleaned up i have found that it is not a good idea for me to really do anything.
i will say though that the MRI results showed that my placenta has not attached itself to my bladder so that is a huge praise!! i am still taking meds to keep contractions at bay and baby is still baking at this point.
i will keep you all posted on how things are going. keep praying!
after a very busy wednesday at the hospital doing dr. consults and then an MRI it was decided that i could come home if and only if i would do nothing. i know that many of you are laughing at that but in reality i do not, i repeat- do not, want to have this baby at the hospital that is in our area. i am praying that we would have enough time to get to ours on the other side of town. this being the case i am getting my days lined up with help that can come over and be my hands and feet with the kids.
today i have been able to not do much but even in just getting my own lunch prepared and then cleaned up i have found that it is not a good idea for me to really do anything.
i will say though that the MRI results showed that my placenta has not attached itself to my bladder so that is a huge praise!! i am still taking meds to keep contractions at bay and baby is still baking at this point.
i will keep you all posted on how things are going. keep praying!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
ahhh....
so i learned a major life lesson on monday. monday morning after dropping kids off at school i had my scheduled non-stress test. i didn't feel great when i woke up at 6- i was having some pretty painful cramping but not contractions. i didn't think it was a big deal so i didn't take a shower or shave my legs. i figured i could do that once i got home. let's just say that it is tuesday night and i am still at the hospital. life lesson...just take a shower and shave your legs no matter what you think your day will be like.once i got to the dr. and they started the monitor there was definitely uterine irritability and my blood pressure was higher than normal. the nurse even made a comment about my lack of smiles. i was ushered into an exam room and my dr. told me she was sending me over to the hospital so that a test could be done on my bladder and steroids could be started. after being in the labor and delivery triage for a bit i started having regular contractions. these were actually pretty uncomfortable. so needless to say i wound up being admitted for 24 hours for observation and monitoring.
now after 24 hours of meds to keep contractions at bay, 2 doses of steroids and being cared for wonderfully both in the hospital and my family being cared for in amazing ways outside the hospital i was told i would be here for the duration of this pregnancy or until the perinatologists say i can go home. tomorrow i will have a perinatologist consult and an MRI. from there we will see what is ahead. my dr. said i will have baby by 36 weeks but she is pretty sure before then...
i also found out this evening that i have a heart murmur. i had never been told that but i have wondered since i read an article relating heart murmurs and migraines. interesting. i guess i have to let my dentist know!
so this has been my last 24 hours. for ross however it has been much more hectic. God has been so wonderfully gracious to provide friends who have stepped up to the plate in our need. friends have been helping take kids to and from school & activities. others have provided meals. others have begun rallying the troops so that there is food on the table for ross and the kids. i am so very thankful and so humbled by it all. thanks just doesn't seem enough.
on another note... we are the proud new uncle and aunt of another little boy. ross' brother scott and his wife carrie brought home their newest addition, anthony. carrie is recovering after having to have an emergency c-section. she and baby are doing well and from what i have been told scott will be able to be home to help for a couple of weeks until her mom can come out. she is going to need all those extra hands!! i can't wait to meet this little guy. i saw a picture of carrie holding him and he looks pretty cute and she once again looked phenomenal. she is a beautiful momma.
well that's it for today. i am off to get some more meds and some rest for my busy day tomorrow. please continue to pray for all of our family in the days and weeks ahead! we will keep you posted.
Friday, May 2, 2008
10th annual shakespeare festival...
today was a really neat day at henry's school. each year the children- kindergarten through sixth grade put on a fantastic array of shakespearean productions.
the kindergarteners always do the maypole dance. the boys hold ribbons and walk in one direction while the girls hold ribbons and walk the opposite direction until the ribbons wrap all the way down the pole. it is quite adorable. in fact when the announcer said he was going to call out each child's name i got a little misty eyed...must be these hormones!!
i am including a clip from their performance but just know that at the end the world tips on its side...on my camera it worked just fine but somehow it didn't convert the way i thought it would...sorry.
the kids were so adorable! as you can see the boys all wore khaki and white and the girls wore their pretty dresses. their heads were all adorned with laurel wreaths for the boys and floral ones on the girls. here's a picture of henry and callie (one of the other kids had to get in on the shot too).
the festival was fun too! each grade level hosted a carnival booth- we had the cookie walk- we made snickerdoodles, mmmm. the high school kids from our sister school came and ran the games and then the festival had third party vendors for food. there was a local coffee shop, a bbq place, baskin robbins and everyone's favorite with the mile long line, chick-fil-a. a group of adult fencing experts were there showing off in mighty duals and our headmaster and his wife were dressed in the full costume...they were all over the place and so i never caught a pic of them. every time daphne would see them she would ask me if they were santa and mrs. claus.
what a great tradition!! we are all looking forward to the 11th annual festival!!
the kindergarteners always do the maypole dance. the boys hold ribbons and walk in one direction while the girls hold ribbons and walk the opposite direction until the ribbons wrap all the way down the pole. it is quite adorable. in fact when the announcer said he was going to call out each child's name i got a little misty eyed...must be these hormones!!
i am including a clip from their performance but just know that at the end the world tips on its side...on my camera it worked just fine but somehow it didn't convert the way i thought it would...sorry.
the kids were so adorable! as you can see the boys all wore khaki and white and the girls wore their pretty dresses. their heads were all adorned with laurel wreaths for the boys and floral ones on the girls. here's a picture of henry and callie (one of the other kids had to get in on the shot too).
the festival was fun too! each grade level hosted a carnival booth- we had the cookie walk- we made snickerdoodles, mmmm. the high school kids from our sister school came and ran the games and then the festival had third party vendors for food. there was a local coffee shop, a bbq place, baskin robbins and everyone's favorite with the mile long line, chick-fil-a. a group of adult fencing experts were there showing off in mighty duals and our headmaster and his wife were dressed in the full costume...they were all over the place and so i never caught a pic of them. every time daphne would see them she would ask me if they were santa and mrs. claus.
what a great tradition!! we are all looking forward to the 11th annual festival!!
***********
this week i caught this pic of all three of the kids snuggled up in our bed and they all had their thumbs in their mouths. i couldn't resist the photo op!!
this week i caught this pic of all three of the kids snuggled up in our bed and they all had their thumbs in their mouths. i couldn't resist the photo op!!
***********
pregnancy update- baby is continuing to doing well and is still baking. my specialist called my placenta previa "a vascular mess" so we continue to keep a close eye on everything. she did say that baby is "chubby" and that "most white babies don't have that much hair". all in all it sounds like baby is a chubby, hairy little thing! not too endearing in theory- i guess it is a good thing that it has a cute profile like the rest of our kiddos!! we will begin our steroids on the 15th and "if we make it to 34 weeks" we will do our mri at that point. all in all, nothing has really changed so we wait and pray for a safe and healthy delivery sometime in the coming weeks.
oh, for posterity's sake, i have two very weird quirks during this pregnancy. i can't stop chewing ice...i know very bad for the teeth and most definitely a sign of an iron deficiency. i am working on it. the second quirk might actually be the weirdest of all quirks. i love, and when i say love i mean crazy love, the smell of safeguard soap. this is probably the cheapest soap on the shelf but when i smell it i get this strange physical reaction to it. something in my nazzle passage gets all funky. i truly love to take a shower so that i can just smell the soap...in fact, writing about it makes me want to go get the soap and lather it up on my hands for a good sniff. crazy!!! i know but i thought i should document it. i have looked it up and there are far weirder people in the world than me. some people actually like to eat the soap...now that is beyond quirky, that's down right abnormal!
i am going to try to take more pictures so that you all can see the kids. i know that is really why people read the blog! have a great weekend!!
pregnancy update- baby is continuing to doing well and is still baking. my specialist called my placenta previa "a vascular mess" so we continue to keep a close eye on everything. she did say that baby is "chubby" and that "most white babies don't have that much hair". all in all it sounds like baby is a chubby, hairy little thing! not too endearing in theory- i guess it is a good thing that it has a cute profile like the rest of our kiddos!! we will begin our steroids on the 15th and "if we make it to 34 weeks" we will do our mri at that point. all in all, nothing has really changed so we wait and pray for a safe and healthy delivery sometime in the coming weeks.
oh, for posterity's sake, i have two very weird quirks during this pregnancy. i can't stop chewing ice...i know very bad for the teeth and most definitely a sign of an iron deficiency. i am working on it. the second quirk might actually be the weirdest of all quirks. i love, and when i say love i mean crazy love, the smell of safeguard soap. this is probably the cheapest soap on the shelf but when i smell it i get this strange physical reaction to it. something in my nazzle passage gets all funky. i truly love to take a shower so that i can just smell the soap...in fact, writing about it makes me want to go get the soap and lather it up on my hands for a good sniff. crazy!!! i know but i thought i should document it. i have looked it up and there are far weirder people in the world than me. some people actually like to eat the soap...now that is beyond quirky, that's down right abnormal!
i am going to try to take more pictures so that you all can see the kids. i know that is really why people read the blog! have a great weekend!!
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