This Past Week

My father-in-law ended up having gall bladder surgery last Monday evening. He was not able to have the laparoscopic surgery, they had to make a large incision to get it out. He was so gracious to show us the incision site and it is HUGE. He has 33 staples across his abdomen. The surgeon told my mother-in-law that the gall bladder was "dead." The surgical nurse told her that the gall bladder was gange green. So, as you can imagine it is going to be a long recovery for my father-in-law. He was able to come home last Thursday morning and has been recovering well since then. We have visited with him twice and while he is moving slow and very tired, he is doing well. Thank you to all who prayed for him. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.

My next subject is my 10 hour/week daycare job at the gym. WHAT WAS I THINKING? I have actually given up one of my mornings for an evening shift. During the evening shift, I work by myself as opposed to the morning shifts when I work with another lady. Let me just say the kids are crazy! The older kids come in the evening and can be hard to manage in the tiny space we have. Plus the evening shift is an hour longer. Now, I know that a big 4 hours doesn't sound like much but trust me is seems like 8 hours. This past week I worked 2 evenings back to back (I filled in for a girl). It was very hard and wore me out for the rest of the week. Not to mention that my own child was out of control during the first evening I worked this week! Hopefully this week will be less tiresome.

Lastly, as I have mentioned before my brother and his family are getting ready to move to another state. Actually, they will be moving in about a week. Saturday morning, my sister-in-law, Amy, and I went for a double pedicure. Our sweet husbands bought us gift certificates for Valentine's Day. We had a blast. It was so fun and relaxing and nice to spend time just the two of us. Then later that evening we had a going away party for Scott, Amy and the boys. It was a lot of fun. I must admit that I haven't thought too much about them leaving, but Saturday before the party it hit me that they are leaving and leaving soon. No more running down to their house at night on the spur of the moment to watch a t.v. show or game, etc. I won't be able to see my precious nephews as much as I do now. As I type this I am a bit emotional. I am so thankful for my brother and his family. Amy and I have become the best of friends and I will miss having her so close and miss seeing Zachery and Caleb play so well with their little cousin Logan. I know that Scott and Dustin will miss watching sporting events together too and making fun of Amy and I! But, God has a plan for them and I am so happy for them and know that God will bless them as they go and they won't be that far away, so we can visit a lot...right Scott?!

Well, that it is for now. I am praying that we all have a quiet, calm and easy week ahead of us!

God Bless.

I Have A Confession...

I have done something tonight that I have never done before. I can't say that I am proud of it, but I do find it very amusing!! So, we all know that I am pregnant and have been sick for the past couple of months. Yesterday I started feeling a bit better and today was another "good feeling day." I am excited at the thought that I am turning the corner and will no longer be gagging and "icky" all day. Although I am feeling better the one thing I can not tolerate is potatoes of any kind. So, tonight Dustin and I were visiting his dad in the hospital (I will explain more at the end) and on the way home he suggested McDonalds for dinner. I must admit that my stomach did turn a bit at the thought of fries. Some of my family was over and we all decided to go ahead and get McDonalds. The majority of people wanted chicken nuggets. I must admit that I couldn't decide between a Big Mac and chicken nuggets, however, I was very sure that I did not want fries. Well, I ended up getting both the Big Mac and some chicken nuggets! I thought I would eat half of the sandwhich and a few chicken nuggets. WRONG!!! I ate the WHOLE sandwich and a 6 piece chicken nugget. I promise I am not just saying that to make this post more interesting, but it doesn't stop there. After the Big Mac and 6 piece chicken nugget I proceeded to eat an apple pie also from McDonalds. My brother was pretty impressed! So far I haven't felt sick, but we will see what the night holds for me.

**Please pray for Dustin's dad. He is in the hospital waiting to have his gall bladder removed. He went to the emergency early Friday morning with severe stomach pain. They released him Friday afternoon because all of the tests came back fine. They thought he had a case of the flu. He was quite ill yesterday all day and Dustin's mom called us this morning saying she took him back in this morning real early. They are sure it is the gall bladder and the surgeon will see him tomorrow. He will most likely have the surgery tomorrow. There may be a complication of an infection which will entail more procedures than just the surgery. Please pray for God's guidance with the doctors and staff and that Dustin's dad will make a full and fast recovery. Thanks!**

Dustin

As a teenager I never really dated a lot. I always dreamed of the day that I would have a boyfriend. I was "in love" with the idea of being "in love." I was always attracted to the wrong guys. I remember being in high school and thinking that I would never get married. I longed for the day that I would meet my Prince Charming.

I remember seeing Dustin for the first time at a walleyball outing. He passed me, and I swear, this is the thought that went through my mind..."oh, I'll probably marry someone like him." I had never seen him before and surely didn't talk to him. I was not drawn to him when I first saw him. It is funny because Dustin doesn't remember seeing me that night.

Dustin was the best friend of a guy that I have known since birth. Dustin and this person went to school together and worked at the local market together. This friend of ours had a bible study for young adults at his house and over the next few months Dustin and I saw each other there occasionally.

We did eventually go on a date and let me just tell you that I was one of three dates he had within two days!!! Can you say "player"? So, we went out a couple of times and then I moved away to do missions work for 6 months. Before I came back home, I started thinking about Dustin. I came home in June of '06 and we started dating that summer and have been together ever since. We will celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary this year. Looking back, I am glad that I didn't have a lot of dates when I was a teenager. Dustin was my first real boyfriend and I am happy with the way things turned out! : )

I say all of this because at times I know I take him for granted. Especially lately when I haven't been feeling good due to this pregnancy. I just want to publically say that Dustin is the best husband in the world. He takes such good care of me and Logan. He has helped out so much around the house these passed few months. Just being with him makes me feel better. I also love to watch him with Logan. He is such a good daddy. Logan just lights up when Dustin is around. I can't wait to see Dustin with our new baby. He truly is my Prince Charming and I thank God that he brought us together.

I love you, Dustin and appreciate all you do for me!


**Just wanted to let everyone know that Dustin's grandmother passed away 2 weeks ago. We know she is in Heaven for eternity and find comfort in that. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for her and the family.**

Pregnancy #2

This pregnancy has been quite different than my pregnancy with Logan. I have felt much more sick and have started gagging at EVERYTHING these past few weeks, along with having a horrible taste in my mouth constantly. I must admit that there have been many days where I haven't taken a shower and sometimes haven't even brushed my teeth. I know that is gross, but this is where the gagging comes in (brushing my teeth). Please forgive me if it sounds like I am complaining. That is not how I want to come across. I am very thankful and excited to be pregnant, it has just taken more of a toll on me than my last pregnancy.

In saying all of that, I have had some things go on with this pregnancy that have caused a bit of a scare. Specifically, last Saturday night when Dustin took me to the emergency because I started bleeding a bit. Now, let me say that this was a day when I did manage to take a shower, but did not do my hair or shave my legs...need I say more!!

Let me go back a few days before last Saturday, actually to last Monday (a week ago this past Monday). I had my normal prenatal appointment and we were able to see the baby for the first time on an ultrasound. The heart was beating great! So, fast forward to last Saturday night. I called my doctor and he didn't seem too concerned because of seeing the heart beat earlier that week. I was told that once you see a heart beat that the miscarriage rate drops to 5%. This was 11:30ish pm on Saturday and I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep until I knew that all was O. K. with the baby. Off to the hospital we went.

I mistakenly thought that they would take me back into the ER and do an ultrasound and we would be on our way. WRONG!! I was taken up to maternity triage. After a bit of a wait the doctor came in and examined me and said that all looked good. They did an ultrasound and again saw the baby's heartbeat and it was strong. The ER doctor told me that he was not concerned about the threat of a miscarriage and thought that the bleeding would diminish after a while. They ran a blood test and because of my blood type, specifically the Rh factor, I had to wait and get a shot. So, we arrived at midnight and left at 2:30 am. Oh, did I mention that on the other side of the curtain where I was there was a 20 year old in labor with her first child, throwing up!! Remember my problem with gagging!!! It was not very pleasant, but I did feel for the girl.

Sunday I relaxed all day, meaning no shower! Monday I worked and all appeared to be fine. I did call and check in with my doctor and explained that there was still some spotting. He assured me that he was not concerned and said that if I wanted to come in, he would absolutely see me. I told him that I would give it a few days.

Today, I went in and saw him. He did an ultrasound, again (praise the Lord) the baby was fine. The heart beat was strong. He did however say that he thought the placenta was low. He said he believed that I had placenta previa. This is when the placenta lays completely on or partially over the cervix. When this happens, a vaginal delievery is not an option. This means that most likely I will have to have a C-section.

My doctor assured me that the baby would be fine and I would be fine as well. He said that I may have more spotting issues throughout my pregnancy. This particular condition cannot be completely diagnosed until I am 20 weeks along in my pregnancy.

So, as you can tell it has been quite an eventful couple of days. I feel better knowing what is causing all of this, but on the other hand I am nervous about a C-section. Most importantly, I am thankful that the baby is great. All I can do now is put all of this in the Lord's hands. I pray that if God allows it that the placenta move (I know this is not likely to happen, but we can pray for a miracle) and that God would be with me and the baby during a C-section delivery. As long as the baby is healthy and that I am O. K. then all is good.

My main concern is the recovery from a C-section with a new baby and a toddler that runs around like crazy! I know that Dustin will be here and that both sets of parents and siblings will be here to help too. Thank God for family.

Well, that is my long story for the week. Thanks for reading it all. I pray that you all have a blessed day.

The Party is Over

Logan has been a night owl since he was born. I have said before that I believe it is because he was born at 2:29 am. Logan likes to stay up late and sleep in in the mornings. All of my friends know not to call our house before 10 am. Well, that is all going to change now! You see, I am a working woman now. I started last Friday and I am working at a local athletic club in the day care center. It is only 9 hours a week, but we have to get up and be there by 9 am, 3 days a week.

Friday I went by myself to learn the ropes and today was the first day Logan joined me. I must say it was a bit hard for both of us to wake up and be ready that early. All in all, it was a good time. Logan did very good. I am excited that he will get to interact and play with children his age. Really the only consistant interaction Logan has is with his cousins and as I posted last time, his cousins are going to be moving away. So this is a good thing for us both. I am praying that Logan will learn to share with other children and see his Mommy interacting with other children so that when his baby sister or brother comes along, it won't be such a shock to him.

So, day 1 with Logan went well. Hopefully day 2 will go even better and day 3 even better than that!!

**One a side note, I had posted a little on Dustin's grandma who is in the hospital. They have taken her off of all the machines and medications she was on. She is fading fast and it is just a matter of time. She is a Christian and that brings us comfort to know she is going home to her Savior. Please pray for the family during the weeks to come. Thanks.