Our Little Brock

Just a quick update about our sweet nephew Brock. He is continuing to do better and better every day. He is eating more and more through his feeding tube and getting stronger and stronger. He most likely will be moved to the "next step up" nursery sometime next week if all goes according to plan.

I went to visit him yesterday and Aunt Stacey continues to think he is the cutest and sweetest little baby. He had been awake and looking around prior to my visit but decided to nap while Aunt Stacey was there and that is just fine. I know that I will be his favorite and there will be plenty of time to talk and hang out with me! : )

Thank you all for praying for Brock and please continue to pray for him and his parents.

My Boys

The past few days I have been in awe of how big my boys are getting. Logan is 3 and Luke will be 1 in 7 days! It seriously seems like yesterday when Dustin and I were trying to have a baby and were unsuccessful for 4 1/2 years. Then the Lord provided and we got pregnant with Logan. I was so thankful for Logan and for being able to get pregnant. I felt that if the Lord decided to bless us again with another child then that would be great but I was just so thankful to have been pregnant and to have given birth to a healthy baby boy.

Dustin and I decided to start trying to get pregnant when Logan was a little over a year old. We didn't know if we would be blessed again with another baby but we thought we would try. After deciding it was time, we got so busy with life and didn't REALLY start trying. We talked again and figured we would wait until after the first of the year and get serious about it. God had another plan.

I had gone to the doctor for my regular yearly check up and began talking about another baby and asked some questions and so on. Again, wouldn't you know it that the very next month (to our surprise) I was in the doctor's office again and this time I was pregnant! What an amazing gift and now we have our Luke. They say that after struggling trying to get pregnant and then finally getting pregnant, most women are able to get pregnant again without any trouble because your body now knows what it is supposed to do. I am living proof of that!

It touched my heart to reminise about my boys. Again, they are getting so big. Logan is talking like crazy and some of the things he says are hilarious. Luke is now pretty much walking all over and also starting to talk a bit. Both boys just LOVE each other. They are best friends and Dustin and I couldn't be happier. Right now as I type this the boys are playing together and it is just precious to watch.

I meant for this post to go in another direction but it didn't and that is O. K. By remembering all of this, I am able to see how truly blessed Dustin and I are with our family. Our issues with infertility were so hard to deal with (especially for me!). I know that there are so many other couples out there who are dealing with the same thing. My heart truly goes out to them. I pray that I never forget what it felt like to want a baby so bad and it not happen right away. Please think about people you know that may be experiencing infertility in some way or another. Keep them in your prayers and be sensitive to them. Also, let them know that you care about them. There is nothing you can say that will make them feel better, but just being there for them will help.

Our Visit With Baby Brock

Dustin and I went with Jenn and Ryan, the new Mommy and Daddy, to see Baby Brock yesterday afternoon. What a visit we had! Jenn and Ryan were able to hold Brock for the first time yesterday and we were able to be there for their moment. Only two people are allowed in the "pod" to visit Brock at a time but the nice nurse allowed Dustin and I to be in there with Jenn and Ryan for 2 minutes. I took the first family picture and how sweet it turned out.

Brock just amazes me everyday. What a strong little guy he is. He truly is a little miracle and oh so cute. He was stretching and opening his eyes looking at Jenn and Ryan. A couple of times he started to cry because he wasn't happy with everyone messing with him.

It is crazy for me to think that he was born a little less than a week ago at roughly 10-12 weeks early. It was such a scary time last week when we found out the Jenn was in labor and was going to deliver. We just didn't know what to expect. We knew that Brock was going to be little and that he was going to be in the hospital for a while, but Brock came out screaming and fighting and hasn't stopped since.

I don't know a lot about premies but from what I have heard from other people and their stories, Brock is doing just fine! He doesn't have a lot of tubes and wires at all. In fact, it seems that every day they are taking him off of one thing or another. He even was able to eat through his feeding tube a bit yesterday. I thank God for Brock and for how well he is doing.

Please continue to pray for Brock and his Mommy and Daddy in the weeks to come. Please pray that he will continue to progress as well as he has been and that he will grow to be strong and healthy.

Did I mention how sweet he is?! : )

He's Here!

A new member of our family arrived this week. He was about 10 weeks early but we are thrilled that he is here. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law welcomed their baby boy on Tuesday night. Baby Brock was born at 9:58 pm much to the surprise of everyone. He came out crying with his arms and legs moving all around. He weighed 3 lbs 1 oz and was 16 inches long. Because he was so early he was transported to another, bigger hospital with a NICU.

Before they transported Baby Brock, we were all able to see him for a few minutes. I know that I am a bit partial but he seriously was the cutest little peanut. I started crying when I saw him because I was just amazed that he was here and amazed at how sweet and adorable he looked.

Baby Brock has been doing just WONDERFUL. The doctors are all very pleased with how well he is doing. He is get stronger and stronger every day. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were told that the doctors do not believe there will be any long terms effects on Brock because he was so early. They also believe that he will be able to come home sooner than the "normal" stay for premies. Did I say how sweet and cute he is?!

So, as you can imagine, Aunt Stacey has been doing a little shopping here and there (I am not allowed back into Babies R Us for a while!). Both Uncle Dustin and I hope to go and see our new nephew this weekend and I will be sure to blog about our visit.

Please pray with us that Brock will continue to do as good as he has been doing. That my sister-in-law will heal and that both she and my brother-in-law will be able to rest and feel refreshed and strengthened to go and take care of their baby.

Thank you all in advance for your prayers. I will be sure to keep you all posted about our precious new addition to the family.

We're Home!

As I type this post I am in the comfort of my black mold-free home. I can't believe that it has been 12 days since we left. I actually sort of enjoyed being away from home for a while. It was a bit much loading and unloading the car several times but nice to be able to spend time with our parents. It didn't get too bad for me until yesterday. I had expected to hear from the mold company yesterday with our clearance testing results, but when the call didn't come, I was a bit disappointed and overwhelmed with not being home for another night.

The boys and I have been home for about 3 hours now and I haven't unpacked anything but the refrigerator items that we took with us. Dustin went to the store after work to buy the staples that we needed. You know like toilet paper, milk, food for the boys, etc. So, we should be all set for the next day or so!

We are getting settled in for the night and I am praying that the boys fall asleep soon and sleep well throughout the night. Mommy and Daddy sure need a good night's rest!

Hope you all have a good night's rest too!

**Luke has started taking some steps since we've been gone. His birthday is 2 weeks from today and I am betting that he will be walking by then. Let the fun begin or actually continue! Luke is a fast crawler and into everything so I guess him walking won't change too much for us!**