Not my will, but your's be done.



Saturday, September 26, 2009

Help me out here, folks!

Josh and I have been tossing around baby names. When I had been pregnant for about a month we had a casual name conversation. I dug up the old list from when I was pregnant with Treyson and we looked over it. We both had a couple girl names we liked and a boy name or two also. But after a few minutes of discussing it we decided to just wait until we knew the sex of the baby and then we would decided. So, when I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks, even though it was pretty early to know the sex for sure, we were pretty sure that we were having a girl.( I know, I know. I'll never jump to conclusions that early again!) It took about 5 minutes of talking about it and we had a girl name that just seemed to fit. So Thursday when we got our little surprise that we are having a boy, we were nameless. When we came home and I dug up the trusty old list, again. This time nothing fit. The problem isn't finding a name that we like. The problem is finding a name that fits. This is where you come in...

Got any baby boy name suggestions? Send them my way! The only rule is: don't suggest a name that you wouldn't want me to actually use. By that I mean, if the name is still on your list for a possible future child, then don't suggest it. I wouldn't want to snatch your baby name. :) But for those of you who are done having kids, or have some cool names that you like that have received the husband veto, then let me hear 'em!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Specialist Appointment

Yesterday was my appointment with the genetic counselor and prenatal ultrasound specialist. I am relieved to say that it went very well! The first appointment was with the genetic counselor. I tried to get out of the appointment ahead of time by explaining to the receptionist that we have already received genetic counseling after Treyson was born, so I really didn't think we needed anymore. But she insisted that the specialist wanted us to have the counseling, so I just agreed to go. The genetic counselors that we went to after Treyson was born were incredible. One of them has done ground breaking research in the field of prenatal and pediatric genetics. She and her assistant had studied all of mine and Treyson's medical records in detail and gave us all the information and answer that they possibly could. Josh and I both left that appointment with a peace that even though there were still several unanswerable questions, we felt that knew all that we needed to know. It has been a little over a year since that last genetics appointment, and I've been at peace with the limited knowledge that we have. I felt that going to genetic counseling again would be a waste of time because we would hear the same information that we've heard for over a year..."We haven't been able to discover the cause....", "Your child's chromosones where all normal....", and yada, yada, yada.

I was very pleasantly surprised though. The counselor was extrememly nice, and we actually walked away from the appointment feeling like we knew a more than we did before hand. She explained that the problems that Treyson had could possibly be linked to a bad gene in either Josh or I. If both Josh and I have the same bad gene that caused Treyson's problems, then we have a 25% of reoccurence in this or any future pregnancy. That may sound like alot, but, that is our absolute highest odds, and most likely they are much lower than that. And no, they can't test Josh and I to see if we have this bad gene because there are thousands of genes and they don't know which one to test. She also said that it may have not been caused by a bad gene, it could have been caused by something as simple as an interruption in blood flow to the baby some time between 10 and 30 days after conception. I know that may not neccessarily sound like good news to any of you, but for us it was good to know. When you've been in a situation like ours where nobody can really give you any answers because no one has any answers, any news is good news. My mother in law said it perfectly, "When you find out all the things that could possibly go wrong with a baby, it is a true miracle that so many babys are born perfectly normal."

The next appointment was the ultrasound. It was a precautionary appointment, just to be on the safe side. Everything up to this point has looked just right with the baby with no reason to think otherwise. The ultrasound went great. The doctor pointed out the kidneys(which were both functioning perfectly), the stomach, and the bladder. He measured the volume of amniotic fluid and the level was great. The brain and spine looked and measured normal. The arms, legs, abdomen, and head all measured right on target.

We breathed a big sigh of relief and were simply estatic. Praise the Lord for a healthy and very active baby. The doctor then asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. Um, yeah!! I don't think I have the patience and self-control to not know.

So the doctor took a look and said, "It's a girl."

Josh and I both said, "We knew it!"
(We though we knew it because a friend did an ultrasound for me at 15 weeks and the baby looked most definitely like a girl.)

My mother in law, who was with us was like, " Are you sure?"
(She has a knack for predicting babies and even though she hadn't said, she thought we were having a boy.)

The doctor kept looking around and paused over something and said, " I'm going to have to change my mind. It's a boy."

WHAT?! It didn't matter to Josh or I one bit whether it was a boy or a girl, but we had already gotten in to the girl mindset after my previous ultrasound. So when the doctor told us(and showed us) that it was a boy we were both SHOCKED. It felt like finding out that I was pregnant all over again!

We left the appointments very estatic about our healthy baby boy! I have to go back for another ultrasound in a month for another look at the baby's heart. I'm telling myself that the doctor is just being cautious and needs a closer look(even though Treyson's heart was perfectly fine), but truth be told I'm a tad bit nervous.
In spite of the bit of underlying worry, my spirits aren't dampened at all! Baby Boy( who has no name yet because we thought he was Baby Girl), is a healthy little wiggle worm. I thank you all so much for your prayers!

Now to find him a name....

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Come What May

In honor of mine and Josh's anniversary today, I thought I'd share a few things that you might not know about us.

1. We don't always get along.
I know that comes as a shocker to most of you...ok well, maybe not. I think any one with common sense knows that all couples argue at least every once in a while. Josh and I actually do get along most of the time, but we have had our share of bickering and even a few knock-down drag-outs along the way. We've yelled and argued,(Some times in front of the kids, even though we said that we would never do that). We've gone to bed mad,(Even though we said that we would never do that either). And we've said things we don't mean. (Like when he called me demanding and said that I want all my demands to be met immediately. I know that he didn't mean that. (*wink*) And then there's the time I told him that if he did not stop talking this instant that I was going to hit him with a baseball bat. We laugh about it now(and we actually laughed about it then too), beacause we both know that I didn't mean it...sort of.) So yes, we do fight, but no, it isn't very often.

2. We spoon.
When it comes to bed time we're like two spoons in a silverware drawer. We rarely fall asleep without being atleast mildly intertwined. This, folks, is true marriage adaptation, beacause we didn't exactly start out this way. I'm the touchy feely one who likes to cuddle and hold hands, and Josh, well, not as much. And to top it off, he's hot natured and I'm not. So when we first got married I stuck to him like a leech and he was less than thrilled. But in just a year's time he began to change. I guess he realized that I wasn't scooting over, so he better learn to sleep with me attached, or function in life with out sleep. Now he unkowingly reaches for me in his sleep if I'm not right beside him. *smile* And he can't fall asleep without me. *sigh* Sweetness, eh?

3. We laugh. Alot.
Josh is hilarious. His sense of humor is what won me over(another story), and he keeps me laughing today. He is gifted with the art of finding humor in almost any situation. The ability to laugh hard and often has made a huge difference in our marriage. No matter how irriated, or upset, or sad, or mad I get, it usually only takes a few comical attempts on his part to have me laughing again. What a great quality!

4. Josh is an encourager, and I'm...not.
Josh is such a good encourager. It truly is one of his gifts. He is my daily encourager in all the little details of life. He is always telling me that I'm a great mom and wife. Even though I know that I fall short in so many ways, he never cease to find ways to encourage and lift me up.
Now me, well I'm just not good at the encouraging part. I really try to make an effort of encourage the kids, but Josh tends to get the short end of the stick with my efforts in this area. I guess I figure that he knows that I think he is an awesome husband and dad and that I love an appreciate him. Why else would I be trying to hold his hand all the time?! (Can you see the two different wave lengths we function on?)

Last but not least,
5. We love each other.
Yup, we do. We really really really really do. May sound sappy, but it's true. I totally and completely love him with all my heart. And I know with 100% certainty that he feels exactly the same way. We're a team. We fit together like two puzzle pieces. No one else could fit with me the way he does.

These five things are just a little glimpse into who Josh and I are as a couple. There is a whole lot more that could be said, but I think I'll keep some things to myself. If I flaunt what an awesome catch I have then I may end up having to fight some girl for trying to steal my man. *heehee* (That laugh was a sorta funny sorta evil laugh, because I'm really not kidding about the fighting thing...if I had to.)

And now, to Josh,

My Josh,

You're my blessing in disguise.

And I hope you don't mind
that I put down in words,
how wonderful life is
now that you're in the world.

Come what may,
I will love you until my dying day.

All my love,
Me

P.S. I hope you like your new yo-yo. :)