Full

Happy Weekend!

 

We have had a full week around here.  Lots of diaper changes, feedings, naps, laundry, book reading, walks, and cuddling. 

 

Reese had a checkup with our family doctor on Tuesday, and she was up to 6 lbs 3 oz!  She left the hospital last Thursday at 5 lbs 10 oz, so she is gaining well!  That was the thing I was most concerned about after leaving the hospital, so I was happy to see she was gaining.  We will go back for another weight check next week just to be sure, but it looks like she has the eating thing down.

 



After having Harper, I definitely realize how fast the time with little ones goes, so I am trying to soak up all I can with Reese.  This is Reese and her future best friend, Shiloh (our neighbors' little girl).  Shiloh was born the day after I was admitted to the hospital, and she was exactly the same weight as Reese at birth (5 lbs 12 oz).  And look how big she is now! Another reminder how quickly it goes.

Big sister Harper also wanted to get in on the picture...she just laid herself right down next to the babies.

She continues to do well with the baby.  She got in the habit of pulling up one of her chairs next to the changing table to talk to Reese while I change her diapers.  She holds her hand or kisses her when she cries...very cute. 

I am slowly emerging back into society :)  It was surreal for me to go to church for the first time, see people in the grocery store, and just be free to go where I want.  Harper went to daycare two mornings this week, once for our doctor's appt. and then again yesterday.  I took that opportunity to go to school and introduce Reese to some of my coworkers.  While I don't miss working right now, I really do miss all the great people I get to work with.  They have prayed for us and helped out so faithfully, and it was wonderful to go back and get to show off our end result.  I felt the same way at our church...so many people have invested their time in helping and praying for our family, and it's just so humbling to be able to take Reese there. 

Our cup overflows.

Happy Labor Day weekend, people.

Life With Two Girls

Hi Friends,

 

Sorry it's been awhile! I realize my blog might not be as interesting now that Reese and I are home, but I plan to keep writing and have this be my little diary of our family.  Feel free to drop in (or not :) anytime.

 

Things at home are going well.  Jason and I both are getting used to the newborn schedule again (we never stayed in the hospital with Reese overnight, so that's a new thing for us again).  She is a very good baby, but her awake periods seem to be at night instead of during the day.  Hopefully that changes soon, but it's better waking up five or six times in my own bed than sleeping through the night in the hospital!

 

Harper loves her baby sister.  She calls her "baby" and asks where she is all the time.  Every time I change Reese, Harper pulls one of her little chairs into the nursery and stands next to Reese's head and talks to her and holds her hand while I change her.  So cute.  She has also started to take her baby doll everywhere and have her do the things Reese does.  Here are Harper and her doll at dinner last night.

 

 

I was most worried about entertaining Harper while I was changing or feeding the baby, but she has done a good job of entertaining herself.  Here she is this morning looking at her books.  Of course this was before she took off her clothes and tore out all the pages of her coloring book, but still. 

 



 

Jason and I have really just enjoyed being home together.  I've never been so excited to do my own laundry and eat homemade food :)  We have been getting back into a routine with naptime and bedtime and all those good things with Harper, too.  

Daddy and girls at bedtime last night.

 

Thanks again for everyone's support and prayers throughout our six-week ordeal.  I love remembering and looking back on all the acts of kindness.  We are so ready to enjoy the next chapter and our two girls.

First Night at HOME!

Hi Friends,

I am writing this from the Valley!  We had known all week that if the caffeine did the trick for Reese's breathing, we could leave on Thursday.  But she had to go episode-free for 48 hours, and we didn't even dare write or utter the word "home" until we knew for sure that we could go :)  She hasn't had a spell since Monday afternoon (they started her on caffeine Monday night), and so yesterday morning, we got the all clear and headed home. 

 

Reese all ready to go in her carseat--she's so little!



 

We stopped in Larchwood on the way home so Reese could meet two of her cousins. Easton and Jax were very proud!

 

 

Walking through the door!

 

Harper had been at daycare that morning, so after we unpacked the car, Jason went to get her.  She was VERY excited to meet her sister.  This morning when I went to get her out of bed, her first words were, "Where baby?"  When we came upstairs and saw Reese in her swing, she goes, "Hey baby."  So cute. I love watching them interact.

 

 

First family photo!

 

 

Me and my girls (and some chocolate)

-

 

I couldn't wait to get back to normal life.  We went for a walk after supper and it felt so good to walk around my own neighborhood. 

 

Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragment, especially after posts like my last one.  We didn't want it to be this way, but we are so glad we are this far and that Reese is doing so well.  Even if it means I have to carry a bulky monitor around for awhile.  God is good.  Can't wait to keep you updated on life at home!

If You Want Me To

Ginny Owens :: If You Want Me To from andy4qts on GodTube.



Jason and I talked tonight about some of things we have been through in the last 5 years and what they have done to us.  While we would not have chosen the paths God has led us down, we have experienced Him in ways we would not otherwise have had the opportunity to through our trials. 

I was telling my husband at dinner that I am having trouble letting go of how I wanted Reese's birth to be.  I wanted her to be completely healthy. I wanted to enjoy our nice big room in the Birth Place instead of trekking to the NICU every free moment.  I wanted to go home.  I wanted that picture-perfect moment where she got to meet Harper for the first time.  I didn't get any of that. And I'm sad about it.

Jason responded in a way that put things back into perspective for me.  He said that if things had gone that smoothly, we wouldn't have had the chance to rely completely on God.  Wow.  It might take me awhile to get to the point where I am grateful for this particular trial, but I am getting to a place where I am OK with it. 

I came across this song by Ginny Owens several years ago, and I play it often.  I think it captures how we ought to approach the valleys in our lives, and I strive to make it my song, too.  I hope you enjoy it.

Setback

Hi People,

I wish I was writing from home!  We got some not-so-great news yesterday, though, which means that we will not be saying goodbye to Sanford quite yet. 

On Sunday afternoon, Reese's doctor told us that there were some inconsistencies in her sleep study that he needed to look into.  But he was hopeful that they would be explained and we could go home yesterday or today.  Well, yesterday passed with no news of discharge, and a different doctor did rounds yesterday afternoon.  She had studied the test as well, and she concluded that Reese is indeed having several episodes of apnea at night (and daytime too).

Basically, she stops breathing for 15-20 seconds, causing her oxygen level and heart rate to dip.  I've seen her do it a few times, and her lips and face turn a little bit blue.  She also has a lot of periodic breathing, which means that she takes very shallow breaths and then deep ones to catch up, which also drops her heart rate and oxygen level.  She usually comes out of these episodes on her own, but she has had to be stimulated a couple of times too (rubbed or sat up so she remembers to breathe).

Obviously this would be dangerous if we took her home.  Right now the monitor alerts the nurses when she desats, but we would have no way of knowing at home whether she was doing it until she turned blue (or if we were sleeping, we wouldn't know at all).  I take that back...I would never sleep.  Ha. 

I asked the doctor why she is having this, and she said it is a symptom of Reese's prematurity.  Most babies outgrow it by 42 weeks gestation (she is 37).  So we are looking at about a month.  Instead of staying here for another month (NO! PLEASE NO!!!), they can treat it by giving Reese a dose of caffeine every day to stimulate her to breathe.  Then we will go home on an apnea monitor that records her vitals and alarms if she stops breathing or desats.

The caffeine will hopefully take care of the episodes enough so that the monitor will never alarm, but I am glad they are sending it home because I think it will give me peace of mind.  We will get the green light to go home as soon as her episodes decrease and they know the caffeine is working (as early as Thursday). 

It was hard to hear yesterday that we had to be here for 4 or 5 more days.  Very hard.  I-cried-in-front of-strangers-and-I-never-do-that hard.   But I've had a little time to digest it, and I'm feeling better now that I talked to my case manager and got a better idea of what the monitor will be like.  It really shouldn't be that big of a deal, and she only has to wear it when we are not watching her (nap time, bed time, carseat). 

SO...we are here for a few more days, but at least we have a plan.  At least we caught this while she was here instead of taking her home and being unsafe.  At least I don't have to worry about having caffeine in my diet while I breastfeed :) 

Thank you again for all your prayers...they are getting us through.

The Latest

First of all, we want to wish a VERY happy 60th birthday to a VERY special Grandma today!  We love you so much and are grateful for all you do for us! She had a fun weekend surprise trip capped off by a nice family lunch today at Red Lobster.  We wish Reese could have been there too!

This weekend has been hard for us.  Reese is doing so well and looks so healthy, but Friday night and Sat. she had several "episodes" where she would desat, which means her oxygen level would dip because her breathing was shallow or slow.  The doctors want her to be safe before she goes home (which we do too, of course), so they did a 12-hour sleep study on her last night to try to gather more data. Basically they hooked her up to another machine besides her monitor that records her breathing in more detail.

We are still waiting for the doctors to round today, so we don't know the results of that study.  If it shows that her breathing patterns are still immature, she might have to be on caffeine to stimulate her to breathe or possibly go home on a monitor so that it alerts us if her oxygen gets too low.

They did a CBC (blood test) to rule out any underlying cause for her episodes, and that came back clear this morning.  So it's probably just a result of her prematurity and something she will have to outgrow.  We hope she does so quickly!

Harper has been up here with us this weekend and spent some time with each of her aunts, uncles, and cousins at some point while Mom and Dad were at the hospital.  Thanks guys!!  We are picking her up at Tim and Joni's on the way home tonight. 

I will sleep at home and come back in the morning, and Jason is working again this week.  We are trying to get Harper back into a routine as much as possible, but it's hard when I'm not there and Jason works long hours. 

We will keep you updated as best we can--sometimes it's hard to find enough time in the day between feedings, visitors, etc :)  I can't imagine what it will be like at home, but I can't wait. 

It's a Beautiful Day

After Reese's 12:00 feeding today, I went to the lobby and had some leftovers from the takeout Jason brought me last night.  Then I went outside and just sat in the sun outside the Sanford Surgical Tower (where the NICU is housed) and soaked it up.  What a gorgeous day!  Summer is my favorite, and I missed so much of it.  Even though my view was a parking lot today instead of a lake, I am so grateful for those few minutes and what it did for my soul.

As I was sitting, I saw a very pregnant woman walk from her car to MB3, presumably for an OB appointment.  It occured to me that if I had not had my condition, I would probably be coming for my 37 week visit today.  What a very different road we have gone down instead.  Jason and I are tired.  He is tired of driving and packing up and being without a helper.  I am tired of sitting in this hospital and eating takeout and having to rely so much on other people, no matter how wonderful and selfless they are.  We really thought that would be over tomorrow and we would get to go home.  But when the doctors rounded today, they were a bit more conservative in their estimates.  Her bilirubin is still a little high, her weight is still a little down, and her oxygen level still dips a little too often.  The result: we might get to leave on Monday.  I could hear Jason's heart sink as I told him on the phone.

But it's a beautiful day.  And I delivered a beautiful baby girl.  I have met wonderful people here and been shown God's love through strangers and friends.  So many people have helped us.  Last night Jason and Harper came up after Jason was done with work, and while he spent some time with Reese, Harper and I walked over to Labor & Delivery to see "Ya Ya" (Auntie Joni) and all our nurse friends.  They (and my amazing doctor) are all so sweet, and I am giving thanks for their care and for their love, which made my 4 weeks there so much better than it could have been. 

And I am thankful she is ok.  The nurse practioner today was talking to me about some of the long-term effects preemies can have and how to counteract them.  She added at the end of the conversation that it's a good thing they took her out, though, since her environment was starting to get hostile.  And Jason ran into one of the peri's in the hallway last night (the high-risk docs who saw me before I delivered), and all he said to Jason was, "You're lucky."  Yikes. We have said it before and I know it's true, but I have to remind myself that things could be so much worse. 

And it's a beautiful day.

Progress Report

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for missing a post yesterday--it turns out life as the mother of two is much busier than sitting in a hospital alone :)

Ok--Update on Reese:

1.  She is off of all breathing help!  They took her off her nasal cannula Monday afternoon, and she has been breathing on her own ever since.  She still has occasional spells, but is doing awesome.

2.  We started bottle feeding her on Tuesday morning, and she started slow, but she has been picking up in the last day or so.  We started giving her 10 mL and she is now up to 50mL at some feedings.  Hopefully this continues to improve.  She has also nursed a couple of times and done well.

3.  Her bilirubin count went down enough that she is off of her blanket. It went up a bit again today, but the nurse said they expect that.  She shouldn't have to have any more light therapy.

4.  She moved out of her incubator to a crib!  This means we can pick her up anytime we want :) :) :)

5.  They pulled her feeding tube, so now her beautiful face is visible all the time.

6.  Her IV came out and they didn't start a new one! The only thing left on her is her little stickers that monitor her heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels.


SO, as you can see, she has made tremendous progress in the last 2 days. The nurse practioner got my hopes up this morning that she could go home as early as tomorrow,  but then she came back later and said she had missed a couple of decelerations in Reese's heart rate/breathing rate on her chart.  Ideally, she should not be having any more of these "spells" for a few days before she goes home...but each doctor handles it differently.  We are going to do a car seat test this afternoon (she sits in her seat for the time it takes us to get home--so an hour) and see if she does well there.  Tiff, the nurse practioner, called it a "gray area" of neonatology, so it's really up to each doctor's discretion.  I will know more after rounds this afternoon, but we would LOVE to be home by the weekend.

I have been busy feeding her, cuddling her, and trying to take care of myself.  Tuesday night was great being home with Harper, but it was also busy unpacking and organizing.  I had horrible guilt about leaving Harper again on Wednesday morning--I feel so torn between home and this hospital.  But she seemed to love going back to daycare yesterday, and Jason says she is doing well.  I just want her to have some stability and routine again, but it looks like it will be a few more days.  I would love if you would include Harper in your prayers (and me too...and Jason :).

Speaking of Jason, he has been a rock star taking care of Harper and keeping things up at home.  He went back to work today, but I don't think he will be able to stay away for long. 

I could not stay sane without the help we are getting.  I am so grateful.  I will try to be better about posting timely updates!  Now for some pics.

Progress!

Reese has made awesome progress since I updated yesterday morning!  Even though we are just sitting around in a hospital, I feel like I haven't had time to even write on the blog--so she has accomplished a lot since I posted last :)

She came off her CPAP (mask) around 3:00 yesterday afternoon, and started on 3 liters of air through the tube to her nose.  By this morning, she was down to 1 liter of air at 21% oxygen, which is the same as room air.  She has been keeping her stats up great!

She still had a feeding tube in yesterday and last night, and they started giving her formula every 3 hours, which she tolerated well.  By the time Jason showed up early this morning, she had pulled out her tube (I'm telling you--she's fiesty!), so they let him bottle feed her at 9:00.  She did great! We will continue to bottle feed her every 3 hours and hope that she keeps taking all her milk so that they don't have to put the tube back in.

Her bilirubin count is also up, which is apparently common in preemies, so she was under a light yesterday.  Today they switched her to a blanket so she can be wrapped up, which she likes.

Here she is getting her first "bath" last night...we wiped her down and she was not too happy about it.

If only Harper was here for a family pic!

It feels SO good to hold her after all of this time.  I can't get enough of her.  Harper will probably have my whole house torn up when we get home because I won't be able to put this baby down and corral her :) 

I get discharged today, so Jason and I are planning on going home for a night.  I haven't seen the outside of this hospital in a month, so I am anxious to go but yet also sad to leave Reese behind.  I know she is in great hands, and we will be back tomorrow.  We are very much hoping to be home as a family by the weekend, but we'll see how things go.  She has definitely turned a corner, though, and we pray she continues to improve rapidly! 

We love all the prayers being said for her and cannot thank you enough for your support!

New Every Morning

"Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness."  Lamentations 3: 21

I don't know if I've ever felt a verse apply so literally to my life!  I was exhausted and sad last night, and I sometimes regret posting when I feel like that because I don't want to seem ungrateful or gloomy. But I also feel like I want to reflect my reality. When I write things down, I can't escape them, and hopefully I can use them to learn.  God taught me again today that things are always brighter in the morning, literally and figuratively, and once again showed us His faithfulness.

Our outlook with Reese is much better this morning.  I got to help with her "cares" last night and this morning, which meant that I got to change her diaper (through the armholes in her incubator), lift her up while the nurse changed her bedding, massage her head while they adjusted her mask, and see her pretty face uncovered for awhile.  She is a fiesty little thing :)  She does not like to be messed with and lets you know about it.  I think that's a quality that will come in handy for her as she fights her first little battle in life, and as she continues to grow.

Although they did start her on antibiotics, the nurse practioner we talked to late last night said her numbers are not really indicating that she has an infection.  His opinion was that her issues are most likely because of premature lungs and/or fluid on the lungs.  We will know more later in the day when more of her bloodwork comes back.  We hope that there is no infection so that she won't need a prescribed 7 or 10 day regiment of antibiotics and can hopefully improve and come home sooner than that, but we will see. 

She did seem to turn a corner last night with her breathing.  She is slowing down and is on only on 21% oxygen through her CPAP, which is the same as room air.  The nurse told us they will slowly turn down the pressure today and maybe take the CPAP off tonight and switch her to a nasal cannula instead, which is only a small tube with nose prongs (instead of the big CPAP head gear and mask). She is also going to start getting some formula through her tube.

I know that's a lot of detail, but I want to give everyone a clear picture (hopefully) and also record this for my own memory.  I would still love to pick her up and take her home, but I am happy to be making progress. Thank you for all your prayers!

Harper playing in my room

Baby Reese just hanging out :)

Update on Reese

I wish I had the energy to write something eloquent, but I pretty drained tonight.  I want to give you all an update on our sweet girl, though, and I will hopefully be back with a more thoughtful post tomorrow.

Reese did not improve like we had hoped last night...she actually went up a little in her oxygen needs and they also had to turn up the pressure on CPAP (device that blows air into her lungs).  She has held steady all day, but not improved.  Her chest x-ray today looked better than the one yesterday, so the doctors are now thinking that she has some sort of underlying infection that is causing her to work so hard to breathe. They started her on antibiotics to hopefully help clear it up, but it could take awhile.

I have to force myself to think about how tragically it could have all gone so that I don't break down every time I see her. I am trying to look at the bright side, but I ache to hold her. I wish I could see her gorgeous face behind that mask.  I want to fix it so that she doesn't have to work so hard to breathe.

But I am grateful that she is here and has such great care.  I am grateful that so many people love her and are praying for her.  I'm grateful for the support I have.  I am grateful for pain meds :) 

We are going back to see her now, and I will update again tomorrow. Thanks for checking in.

Delivery Day :)

She is here!!

We are so thankful that she arrived via scheduled c-section this morning, right at 36 weeks, instead of an emergency situation.  My sister kept Harper overnight last night so Jason and I could have a little alone time (and pack up my room after 4 weeks of living in it :)  and prepare for the day.  They wheeled me into the operating room at 8:50, and Reese arrived at 9:31!

She let out a few very loud cries when she came out!  Although we were hopeful that she would avoid the NICU, her little lungs are not quite ready to function on their own.  She is a month early, after all, and the c-section meant that the fluid in her lungs was not forced out at delivery, so she needs some help breathing.  She is on a machine called a CPAP, which is a little mask that has prongs into her nostrils and forces air into her lungs.  They are slowly trying to wean down her oxygen levels and get her to breathe more slowly--her respitory rate is too high right now.

We are sitting with her in the NICU, and the nurse just explained that she is going to try to leave her alone tonight as much as possible so she can rest.  They did a blood culture that will come back on Monday to make sure she is infection free, but the early results of a CBC/white count test came out normal today, which means no antibiotics (at least not yet).  We really hope she will turn a corner tonight and be able to come off the machine tomorrow.  Of course she could always turn the other way, which would mean intubation (a tube into her lungs), and we are praying that does not happen! 

We are just SO SO THANKFUL that she is here and is relatively healthy, all things considered.  My doctor showed me the placenta this morning, and there were two big unprotected vessels that could so easily have teared or ruptured, meaning a much different outcome.  My nurse today saw a picture of it (courtesy of my sister, who went and photgraphed it this afternoon--did you know they keep the placentas in a fridge for a week? crazy).  She told us afterward that Reese is just meant to be here...she could so easily have been taken from us.  We are so thankful she was not.

I am feeling pretty good considering I got cut open this morning.  I was wheeled up to the NICU in bed first after I left recovery, and then after I got settled in my new room, I wanted to come back in a wheelchair.  I think I pushed it a little too hard and I got pretty lightheaded, so I spent most of the afternoon back upstairs in my bed.  I've been in Reese's room now since supper, but we are trying to let her rest as much as possible, so I have not held her or really even touched her all that much yet.  That part is the hardest...I want so much to cuddle her right up, but I am trying to keep things in perspective and be grateful we are here. 

I will keep updating as we get news.  We want to sincerely thank you for all of your concern and prayers for this tiny girl.  We love her so much already.

Last Weekend!

I'm back with another posting, just like I promised :)  I better be careful--I think I worried a few people when I missed my entry last night! 

Things are still the same here.  I think my nurse last night was a bit overzealous...the contractions she was so worried about have been coming and going all week, and I haven't felt them, so my doctors have not been concerned.  I will admit that I was a little annoyed that she made me lie down all night, but I know she was just doing her job.  I guess I am just so sick of everything by now that my tolerance is not as high.  Oh well...the weekend shift is here now for 3 nights, so I won't be seeing her again any time soon :)

I did realize last night that things could be worse.  I could have to lie down all the time, be stuck in my bed, etc. etc.  And I have been blessed with lots of fun visitors in the week, so I am very blessed.  AND I finished Season 2 of Downton Abbey today and cried my eyes out...the ending is so good.  But I digress.

Harper got picked up from my mom's yesterday by her Aunt Misty and went to visit Grandma Sally (Jason's grandma) in Hull, then came back to Sioux Falls with Misty to stay the night at their house.  Jason was glad to have a night at home to get things done and catch up on his chores, but he admitted to me today that he was awfully lonely :)  He is on his way up here now and is picking up dinner from Applebees on the way.  I'm excited to have my family here again--hopefully it's the last weekend in a long time we will be spending in a hospital.  I turn 36 weeks soon, so we are counting down the days. It's surreal to think about a baby being here, but we are so excited to see her. 

I will end with a few pics I took today of Harper and her cousins...Misty brought them up to see me, which was a nice distraction and great way for me to get some extra Harper time.  They are all so dang cute :)  Have a good weekend!!

Still Here!

Good Morning,

I apologize for not posting yesterday...the day kind of got away from me, and then I intended to post before bed, but the baby had other ideas.  I was showing some contractions on the monitor (but not feeling them), so my cautious nurse made me lie flat and on my side for the rest of the night.  So no post.

Better safe than sorry, but I was kind of annoyed :)  I'm ready to be done being monitored, poked, and looked after.  I know I have a few days of hospital time ahead where I'm actually going to need care (after my surgery), but I am so ready to be in charge of my own self and my family. 

Yesterday went pretty quickly because I had all kinds of fun guests.  I also got a delicious lunch delivered which was big enough to last me through dinner, so that was a perk. 

I will come back and post more about today, but I thought I better get this up to dispel any myths that I delivered.  Ha.  Only a little while left!

Party Night

Hi Guys,

I've had a busy day watching Downton Abbey, visiting with guests, and doing Sudoku puzzles.  I think the longer I'm here, the lazier I get :)

Harper had a great day at some friends' house, and she got to my room with Jason around 6:15.  She was in her glory...Grandpa Larry stopped by with a new book, one of Jason's coworkers sent her some candy and cool sunglasses, and Auntie Joni came to work with a new "big sister" Dora doll for her.  SO cute. 

Our friends Jason and Jason brought us subs for dinner and stayed awhile tonight too.  Yes, that's three Jasons in one room. 

The countdown to delivery continues...not much longer!  One of the specialists did come in today and gave me a little bit of a reality check.  He said that even though NICU time is not automatic once I get to 36 weeks, it's still very likely.  So he told me not to be brokenhearted if she doesn't get to come to my room right away after delivery.  Of course I will be brokenhearted anyway, but I guess I'm glad I am prepared for that.  If she does get to avoid the NICU, we will be so thankful, but for now I guess we are realizing that it's still a good possibility. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  We love it!

Countdown

Hi Everyone,

I'm posting a little later than normal today because I've been obsessed with this TV series and watching it whenever I have free time (which is actually quite a bit, turns out). 

It's a British series set in the early 1900s that has aired on PBS for two seasons (with a third coming in January).  My friend Kara suggested it, and it's highly addictive...and free on Amazon Prime.  

I've had lots of visitors the last couple of days between episodes of Downton, which has very much helped pass the time and been fun for me. Yesterday was the first anniversary Jason and I spent apart, but he sent me some gorgeous flowers to make up for the absence.  I am very grateful that I am not forgotten!

Things with the baby are still the same, which is what we want. We are counting down to a delivery date soon, which is so exciting.  It helps me to have an end in sight.  Despite how well things are going and how well my family is doing, there are still moments where I am extremely homesick.  I had one of those tonight when I talked to Jason, and I am very ready for life to get back to normal.  Even if it means that no one makes my bed, cleans my room, or feeds me whenever I call for room service :)

We continue to appreciate everyone's prayers and look forward to hopefully sharing good news soon!

Joyful, Patient, Faithful

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
     
                Romans 12:9-13

Romans 12: 9-13 was the passage we chose for our wedding, which was seven years ago today.  We chose it because it encompassed everything we wanted our married life to be.  We wanted to be sincere, unselfish people who were enthusiastic about our faith and generous to those around us.  But most of all we wanted to be content no matter our circumstances...joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 

At 22 years old, we had no idea what that meant.  We have failed miserably at times to live up to our goals.  We are both terribly selfish.  We have not been as devoted to or enthusiastic about our faith as we want to be.  We have kept time and money for ourselves that we should have freely given away. We have failed to be joyful, lost our patience, and stopped praying.

But as we approach the wise old age of 30 :) this year, I think both of us would agree that we are better people because of what God has done in our lives.  The frustrations and heartaches have taught us to be patient through the hard times and enjoy the sweet ones that much more.  We learned to pray because at times, that's all we could do.  Our goals with this passage were ambitious, but our faithful God is making sure we get there.

Today, I am grateful for a wonderful partner on the journey.  I promised Jason I wouldn't get too "flowery" in this post, but I am often quick to reprimand him in public (like when he is pushing Harper full speed through the labor & delivery floor on the luggage cart :), so I figure I should also dedicate a post to praising him.  Here are some of my favorite things about Jason:

1.  He makes me laugh. Every day. Hard.

2.  He makes other people laugh...I love to watch the "Jason show" when he gets going in a crowd.

3.  He doesn't get mad when I buy things off of Etsy, even though he constantly checks the bank account and asks me who on earth I am transferring money to through PayPal.

4.  He makes up songs ("Work Three Days" and "Hey Big Belly" are my favorite classics).

5.  He's a hard worker.

6.  He gets up with Harper on Saturday and Sunday mornings so I can sleep.

7.  He is outgoing.  I get annoyed when he acts like he's best friends with the waitress sometimes, but overall I enjoy this quality, which is good since my daughter definitely inherited it from him.

8.  He makes Harper just light up.

9.  While I've been gone, he's been keeping my house cleaner than I usually do.

10. He's in great shape! (all that stupid Tough Mudder training had its benefits :)

I hope that's not too mushy for you, J.  You are one of a kind! Love you.



Anniversary Fun

Happy 36th anniversary to my mom and dad! We used to take a picture every year on August 5, and this one is an olden goldie I had scanned into my comptuer from a photo book I made for them awhile back. I couldn't resist sharing. I'm not sure what year it is, but I'm guessing '88 or '89.

Isn't this great?  I'm not sure what my favorite part is...Joni's and my coordinating suspenders, our matching bowl cuts, my dad's blue pants, or my flipped up collar.  Didn't you love the 80's?

I just said goodbye to Jason and Harper again for the week, but we had a great weekend together and are nearing the end of the road, which made it a little easier this time.  My sister is also working tonight, so I know I will see at least one other familiar face soon.  I have loved having her here for the last 4 nights!  Harper has also loved going to find her on the floor and hanging out with "Yaya."  She says a lot of words clearly, but that's as close as we get to "Joni".  Here they are after Harper stole her shoes.

She really was happy, despite the look on her face :)

Joni, Jason, and I ordered Red Lobster last night, which was a delicious treat.  I think I've eaten more restaurant food this month than ever, but I've been enjoying that part!  Much better than hospital food over and over.  After dinner, my parents stopped by with dessert to celebrate their anniversary and ours (which is tomorrow).  It was a peach crisp made by my aunt Anita, and it was delicious.  Here is Harper helping herself.

They also brought us some balloons to celebrate, and the flowers are from Grandma Sally.

This is Harper showing Grandpa Ted her favorite new pastime...watching videos online.  So far her favorites are the Cookie Monster spoof of "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jespsen (www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTIGg3I5y8)   and an episode of "Yogi Bear."  The second one is rather ironic...we camped with my family and some long-time family friends at Yogi Bear campground earlier in the summer, and she was TERRIFIED of the characters.  It was "Easter" weekend there in June (random, right?), and she still gets all worked up about the "Easter Bunny".  But she made me show her pictures of the weekend on Facebook (thanks, Amanda!) over and over, and she talks about Yogi a lot. So I downloaded and old episode and she loves it.  Crazy girl.

This was the Yogi episode.  Grandpa was also a fan.  

Today was nice and laid back.  We didn't sleep in, but Harper fell asleep again around 9:30, so we were able to watch our home church online in relative peace.  She likes to cuddle with me in my hospital bed.

We also had a nice lunch today with Jon & Misty and their kids.  Here they all are...and Uncle Jason, who fits right in.

We spent the rest of the day taking naps, visiting with some guests from church, taking a walk around the hospital, and watching the helicopter.

I have to share one more picture.  One of the specialists ordered an ultrasound for me today just to make sure things were still stable and I could make it through the week.  Everything looked good, so the plan is to get to 36 weeks and deliver sometime next weekend or the following week!  Baby Girl had her arms tucked around her face so we couldn't get a profile, but here is a 3-D picture of one of her little hands.  You can see part of her face scrunched up behind it (but don't feel bad if you can't. Jason still can't make it out :). 

It's so exciting to think that soon I will have pictures of Harper AND her sister sitting out in my frames at home.  Can't wait!

Hope you had a great weekend.