Conner's blog

We are hoping to have some prayer cards made up in the near future to pass out when someone asks us about Conner's face. Because of this Billy and I decided Conner needed his very own blog. We have family and friends all across the country, well mostly all across the SOUTH...LOL. It is hard to keep everyone updated all the time hence the start of safe-thus-far.blogspot.com! Hope you all will come read it sometime. It will follow all of our dr. appointments and anyway we see or hear about Conner touching someone else's life! Just wanted to let you all know...

Santa Buddies!!! LOL

So, we watched the movie Santa Buddies last night with the girls and Conner. Well actually Conner just did a whole lot of cooing at the Christmas tree. Anyway, I was amazed to find that a Disney movie had a prayer in it. Granted it was a dog praying but it went something like this. This poor little homeless puppy found some food in an alleyway and stopped looked up to the heavens and said "Dear Lord, thank you for this unexpected blessing Amen!" How very very cool is that?

In other news, Conner's face is looking worse everyday. The doctors tells me it is normal but it has started bleeding, and scabbing all over the hemangioma. I am very paranoid when it comes to my babies, and it is horrible to see little man looking so pitiful. And I can tell that it is becoming more painful, Conner hardly ever cries, but his new recent cry is just so sad. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Tonight is the Morganton Christmas parade. We have never been to the one at night, but we are thinking of braving the cold for it tonight. Think of me while you are in your nice warm houses. LOL! Gotta love the holiday season! : )

Pictures

Just wanted to post these pics of our little man. The first one is from when he was two weeks old. He is headed to his very first Sunday morning church service!!! This was the Sunday we dedicated him!

The second was taken today, 7 weeks later. I was amazed at the progression of growth on his face. When you see it every day it doesn't seem to be growing but the change is very apparent in these pics.

We are still very blessed to have such a beautiful sweet baby boy in our lives! He is such a good baby and he gave his mommy lots of beautiful smiles today!!! God knew exactly what I needed to brighten up my week! : )

Winston Doctor Appointment

Tuesday we had our first appointment with Dr. David at Baptist hospital. I am still just overwhelmed at all the information we learned. Some of this was very good news, and some was confusing news...but all in all it was an informative appointment. Let me see if I can condense the whole appt for times sake.

First of all we were told Conner does not have a port wine stain. His birthmark is a hemangioma. It is a benign tumor that will rapidly grow for the next 12 to 15 months and then taper off and begin regressing. Also the "infection" that has been seen by 5 doctors, is not really an infection at all. Don't get me started on how helpless that feels to know that your child has been misdiagnosed by 5 different doctors and that the treatment I have been doing for 17 days now was probably hurting him. Anyway, the sores that are on his face are the result of the skin breaking down due to tumor growth. Basically the tumor is growing so fast that the skin is not able to keep up with it. Or at least that is the closest I can come to explaining it. Right now they are incredibly concerned about keeping the ulcerated area from becoming infected. That means if you happen to see me out don't be surprised if I am hiding Conner. The best course of action is to keep him quarantined from everyone so he doesn't get anything into the open area.

The doctor was also very concerned about his eyes. With the hemangioma being so close to his eye there is a possibility it can cause a "lazy" eye. In an infant if their vision is blurry, the infant will start ignoring that particular eye and in turn lose the use of it. Thankfully when they sent us on to a pediatric opthamologist in Greensboro, Conner was given an eye exam which was almost completely normal. YAY!!! He has a slight astigmatism but nothing to be concerned about at this time. We will return in four months.

Starting December 12, Conner will return to Baptist for his first of many laser treatments/surgery. Normally doctors take a "wait and see" approach, but because Conner's is already breaking down they want to treat it aggressively.

The really great news was that this new type of birthmark is not in any way associated with the syndrome that causes brain damage. So no more CT scans! We feel very blessed to have Conner in our lives, and although right now I cannot see the big picture and I definitely do not understand why God has chosen this path for us, I still can only say that we are blessed. As I have been researching these birthmarks I have seen some truly heartbreaking pictures and read some stories that made me want to just hug these little babies. It could be so much worse. So I am going to keep a positive attitude and remember that it is HIS hand and not mine that is leading our family right now.

Conner

Hello my blogging buddies! I have neglected you all in the past little bit, but I have been keeping up reading about everything you all post. My prayers and heart have been with you even when my comments have not. I only have a minute, but I am hoping that you all will join me in praying for Conner. As you may know Conner was born with a port wine stain covering most of his right cheek. At first we were told it was bruising, then later a birthmark associated with Sturge-Weber Syndrome, and then now we are being told it is simply a cosmetic disadvantage. How blessed we feel to know that although God would have still been gracious had Conner been diagnosed with brain damage, our Lord chose not to lead us down that path at this time. We will continue to monitor him, and repeat CT scans and X-rays as he grows. Now for my prayer request. On Tuesday of this coming week Billy and I will be traveling to Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem in order to consult with a plastic surgeon. We have been informed that there is a laser treatment that will help remove, or at least fade the appearance of the stain. Hopefully that will allow Conner to face childhood, adolescene and his adult life without the hurtful remarks of curious people. I am not positive what this first visit will include, but later visits will involve general anesthesia on such a little fellow. Right now our prayer is that God will heal the small infection that is on his cheek and guide the physicians as they counsel us in this desicion-making process. I know that when Conner was born and in ICU I could feel your prayers surrounding my family. Although I feel selfish to ask for that same fervency for a cosmetic procedure, it would be such a blessing to our family to know there were such Godly ladies praying with us. Thank you for being my friends. Much love to you all.

Makenna's Birth

We were in total shock at the news that we had another sweet baby on the way. Mallory was 4months old when I got the positive pregnancy test. I was ecstatic but scared. Mallory was in physical therapy and was seeing a neurologist. The neurologist insisted that there was a 99% chance that the same injury would happen with the new baby and that I should demand a c-section. I just took her word for it. Never thought to do any research on my own. Silly me, always trusting medical professionals. (I know, I know I'm working on it!) We had another calm pregnancy. Just tiring, because ofcourse I had an infant to take care of. Billy was working two to three jobs depending on the week and he was also exhausted. Both of us were eager to meet the new baby! But not as eager as she was to meet us. LOL
At 33 1/2 weeks I went into spontaneous premature labor. We had been at church that night, and when we got home I just could not sleep. Billy and Mallory went to bed and I stayed up doing dishes and cleaning the house. (anyone who knows me can tell you that was not normal....I hate cleaning during regular hours. LOL ) I finally went to bed around 4 am and woke up to feed and change Mallory, then dozed until 10am. When I woke up at 10am I lost my mucus plug, and contractions were 5-7 minutes apart. I called Billy home from work, and we went to the OB office. They monitored me and then rushed me off to the hospital! The nurses started me on the meds to stop labor but it didn't work and by noon I was already dialated to a 6. The OB on call (at least one I knew this time....) came in to ask me whether I wanted to have the c-section or not. He told me there was no way of knowing if the baby was big or little, and that if it was his child he would go ahead with the section. I was in active labor and not thinking straight, so I agreed to the section. The OB left to get scrubbed in and the nurses rushed around prepping me. Soon someone came in to inform me that the doctor had been called away to emergency surgery and I would have to wait. I laid in bed until 5:30 at which point a nurse checked me and said "Oh she's a 10!" (No pain meds...Yay!) They rushed me to the OR and made Billy wait in the hall while they put in the spinal. Then they cut Makenna out of my body.
(Sidenote: I am TERRIFIED of knives. I don't cut things ever.....I am just so scared of being cut myself. That by itself made this a traumatic experience for me!) Makenna was pulled out of me and rushed to NICU. She was having trouble breathing. I was sent to recovery and didn't see her until the next day. I remember mom wheeling me down to the NICU and I didn't have any recognition of her. She was only 5 lbs 12 oz. There was no reason for the section. Other than myself and apparently the staff being uneducated about shoulder dystocia and ways to resolve it. I am so thankful for Makenna...and even for her birth. Although I NEVER want to go through a c-section again...I feel like it was an important turning point in my life. Never before would I have dreamed of having a homebirth, or going against doctor's orders. But now I am firm in believing that is exactly what we are being led to do with this birth. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we prepare for our HBAC! (homebirth after c-section) Only 9.5 weeks left!!!!

Mallory's Birth

In preparing myself for the upcoming birth of Conner I have decided that I really need to write out my previous labor experiences. Feel free to read or not....It's mainly just for me and over the past few months I have been asked about my "birth stories" on different forums I participate in both ICAN and the VBAC and homebirth messageboards. So here goes:

I had a fairly uneventful first pregnancy. We found out I was pregnant in August and were ecstatic. It was met with a mixture of disbelief and joy from family and friends. (Billy and I had been married less than two weeks.) The hardest part of my pregnancy was the emotions that came up. My older sister had been trying for five years to have a baby unsuccesfully. I was so happy for us, but so sad for her. Around Thanksgiving, however, we got some wonderful news....Jennifer was pregnant too!!! Our babies would be 3-4 months apart.
I remember thinking I just wanted to stop being pregnant, but my sweet mother warned my how horrible pitocin was so when the OB office offered to induce at 37 weeks I declined. We continued on....
April 23rd was a Saturday. One of my close friends from high school was getting married! Mom and I went to the wedding. It was 6 days till my "due date"! I made it through the wedding but just was not feeling up to the reception, so mom and I went out to eat instead. I got about halfway through the meal and just could not eat anymore. Mom insisted that we go to WalMart and get some last minute things for the baby. Off to WalMart we went. I was so irritable! I remember thinking if you make me walk around this store one more time....AHHH!!!! Anyway, we made it home and into the apartment. I stopped at the TV to talk to Billy and look at the mail and my water broke. It wasn't huge just a trickle, enough that I thought I had peed on myself. I was so embarassed, I didn't tell anyone just went to the bathroom and changed. Around 5, I started getting worried. Mom had left, and Billy and I were clueless (God bless first time parents!), I called half the county till I finally found my sister at a friends house. She told me to go to the hospital, but within minutes I got a call from Mom.
It went something like this:
ME: Mom, I think I'm in labor, and I'm pretty sure my water broke.
Mom: Oh, I'm sure your fine...just lay down for awhile you'll feel better.
ME: BUT, I REALLY think I'm in labor....
Mom: It's fine just lay down for a little while, take a nap, she'll come sometime next week!
ME: (rolling my eyes) ok mom I think I'll just lay down for awhile.
We hang up, I called sis back and we agreed mom has lost her mind. LOL Little did I know she was just trying to keep me calm and home as long as possible...she had thought I was in labor since the WalMart trip...hence the dozen trips around the store. LOL!
Billy and I laid down but couldn't sleep, I was timing contractions to every eight minutes. Billy kept saying, hunny let me take you to the hospital and I kept arguing no mom doesn't think its real. We decided to visit some friends and spent about an hour at their house. Contractions were about 5 minutes apart. When we left I finally agreed to let Billy take me to the hospital. We got checked in around 10 pm, changed into the gown, and a nurse swabbed me to see if in fact my water had broke. IT HAD!!! She checked me and I was a 4! I thought YAY ME!!!! LOL, they put me in the bed and started an IV and EFM. After about an hour labor had "stalled". I was so uneducated. I didn't know that laying in bed could help labor stop, I just assumed I was broken. A nurse came in and informed me that since I was GBS+ and had waited so long to come in after my water broke...Really only about 6 hours....that I was hurting the baby and they needed to speed things up. No offer to get me out of bed or restart things naturally, she wanted to put me on pitocin. I was terrified after that, so I agreed. Pitocin started and by 4 am I was in soooooo much pain. I couldn't breath between contractions, much less rest, so I asked for the epidural. (Ever heard of a "cascade of interventions"? Well if not, here is a classic case, Going to the hospital early led to stalled labor, led to pitocin led to epi. Its only the grace of God it didn't lead to a c-section.) After the epidural, I rested between contractions. Family members that had rushed over went home to get some rest and things calmed down for awhile.
Sunday April 24th: Around 10:30 am I told the nurse I felt like I needed to push....what did I know I had an epidural in....She checked me and said I was only a 9. "Not to worry, I'll just stretch you to a 10!" (WHAT????) The stretching commenced and by 11am they told me I could push. A Dr. came in....who I had never met and didn't even work for the practice I was seeing to catch the baby (funny how this hospital thing works, huh?). I pushed for 26 minutes. At about 22 minutes Mallory's little head came out, Dr. exclaims "Wow it's tight down here!" Cuts me, and then procceds to grab Mallory just under her jawbone and jerk her out. My sister was on the phone with my grandmother who lives about 2 hours away so she could hear the first cry. We waited and waited, finally a little cry. It was a buzz of activity, nurses off to my left cleaning and checking Mallory, the OB helping me deliver the placenta, and stitching me up. And the infamous nurse who "stretched" me cleaning up the room. I remember looking and her and saying please don't let anyone in here, we want it to be just my husband, I and the baby for a few minutes. Her reply..."That's ok just let me get this cleaned up, and then she paraded in the entire waiting room of guests. Over 20 people!!!!!! They handed Billy a swaddled up Mallory, I held her for a few seconds, before some well meaning relative took her and then passed her around to ALL 20 PEOPLE!!!! It was so horrible. I didn't have time to process the birth, much less bond with Mallory. We finally got the baby back and ushered everyone out of the room. I didn't even think about trying to nurse, nor did I unswaddle her, one nurse had remarked "You don't want to get her too cool." Anyways, about an hour later an X-ray tech entered our room. She told us that she wanted to take Mallory for an xray. "Is that normal?" I asked....nervously she left to get the nurse...who finally informed me that Mallory was injured. Possibly a broken collarbone. Definetly numbness in her right arm. (Wouldn't that have been nice to know before passing her around to all those people???) The xray was negative for a fracture, and we were told the problem would resolve before we left the hospital. Seven days later we were finally discharged (problems breastfeeding led to jaundice and the dreaded billi lights!) Needless to say the injury didn't resolve itself. We still deal with it everyday. I am thankful to God for a healthy baby girl, and feel so blessed for the progress her arm has made. It has been 4 years since the birth and it still haunts me to think of all the things that could have been changed that may have prevented the injury at all. My sweet 7 lb 14 oz. baby girl should not have been hurt. I can only reflect that I know more now....and try to dwell on the positive aspects of the birth! Namely our beautiful, independent, little girl!

August!

Today is the first day of August. This is a very special month for our family. First of all Billy's birthday, and my niece Lauren's birthdays are Aug 9th! Then Billy and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary on Aug 14th. We also found out we were pregnant with both Mallory and Makenna during the month of Aug. (Mallory Aug 25th, Makenna Aug 19th!) Last my birthday is Aug 28th. YAY!!!! We have lots to celebrate this month. Since it is our anniversary month I thought I would share our "love story"!

Billy and I knew each other in high school. We sat beside of one another in freshman German class. I had a secret crush on him, LOL and he insists he had one on me. We became friends and always said a friendly hello when we passed each other in the hall but that was about it. Our senior year he dated my very best friend. She had been my friend since third grade. I know, I know I am so mean. LOL (side note this was only a six week high school romance.) When the friend broke up with him right before prom I asked Billy if he would like to go with our group of friends. He agreed and somehow we ended up paired off. Its hilarious looking back because although we weren't a "couple" we have all these professional, and snapshot pictures of us in our prom get-up. LOL Anyways, after prom we didn't reconnect for almost three years. One weekend while I was home from Asheville, my family talked me into calling him up and checking on him. And I guess you could say the rest is history. Within a month we were "dating" and within six weeks of that we were married. God knew His plan for us, even when it seemed to everyone else we were crazy. I am amazed at how wonderful our lives have turned out. Shortly after the wedding Billy got saved and within a year had announced his call to preach. I never imagined that God would bless us so abundantly. So in case I have forgotten to say it lately: "Thank you Lord for providing me with a wonderful spiritual leader for our home, a best friend, and partner in life. Thank you for blessing our family in more ways than I can begin to count. Thank you most of all for taking a sinner like me and saving me in Your mercy and grace!"

Happy August everyone!

Updates...

Just in case anyone is dying of curiosity the Carswell house is still doing wonderful! I have had some preterm contractions, apparently my body thinks this is normal...LOL but we are just resting alot and trying not to stress out. If you think about it just say a quick prayer that Conner will stay right where God wants him! In other news the girls are growing ridiculously big....I took Kenna for her first big girl hair cut...She was ecstatic. I have also found that Mallory is BOY CRAZY....not like crushes she just really enjoys the company of the little fella's in our lives. We have friends that have 4 boys and we finally got to spend some quality time with them over the past week. Mallory was so excited. LOL I just pray that she will not continue this trend as she gets older. Several times in the past couple of weeks we have attended Taylorsville Campmeeting. It has been such a blessing. I am so thankful that there are still old fashion campmeetings like this around. Well I guess that is all the updates for now. Love to all from the Carswell clan!

It's a ....

BOY!!!! For those of you who haven't already heard...Billy and I went for an ultrasound yesterday and were informed that we would be having a baby boy. Billy is ecstatic and I am only slightly terrified. LOL For now I am just super happy that I am having a healthy pregnancy and the baby is doing wonderful. Thank you for all your prayers. We are super excited to meet Conner Levi Carswell!!!!

I'm Back!

Well, I have had to return to the hustle and bustle of normal life. :) But thats ok. I am so happy to have had a week off work to spend focusing on my girls and Billy. And it was a great week. We spend a day with our wonderful friends Jackie and Chris... and their puppy Riley Belle! Then we painted a few other days, spent one day in Asheville/Mars Hill and met with a wonderful midwife who I just adore. Spent one day working in the yard and getting sunburnt...OH well....LOL! All in all it was a wonderful week. I hope you all are happy, healthy, and blessed as usual. Love you all!

Carswell Family Happenings...LOL

Hi all! Just wanted to give you a little update on our life as of late....

This past week we had revival at our church with Bro. Rick Safriet. It was wonderful and refreshing and a meeting our church definitely needed. There was great singing and preaching and just an all around wonderful spirit. I feel very blessed to have been involved!

Sunday morning we were fortunate to be invited to our wonderful friends the Clemmens' church, Temple Baptist in Lenoir. They were honoring police officers, fireman, and any other civil servants. I don't know how many of you know this but after the controversy a few weeks ago with my hubby in the paper he definitely needed to be reminded that his job is important and appreciated. It also was an encouragement to get to hear from other police officers and such how they incorporate their Christian walk into their daily work environment. We heard a wonderful message from Bro. Joel Bixler and then shared in plenty of food and fellowship. I am so blessed to have a wonderful Christian husband who works so hard to provide for our family. I couldn't have handpicked a better soul mate than the one the Lord placed in front of me!

Today was my millionth doctor's appointment. LOL I am not complaining at least they are watching me closely and keeping the baby safe. My blood pressure was lower than it had been in awhile which was a blessing because I didn't have a chance to take my bp meds before I went. I was ecstatic. Plus I had finally gained one pound. Not that I mind losing weight but hitting the 20 pound mark was scaring me a little. I just think the bump needs to grow a little. : ) The baby's heartrate was 140 and it was the first time in weeks we have been able to find it with the doppler and not had to do an ultrasound so that was happy. We go back on June 8th for our big ultrasound. Billy is still praying for twin boys. LOL I am very afraid he is going to be disappointed.

Well now you are all caught up on the Carswell family. I hope that you all are having a blessed and wonderful week. Next week I will be on a blogging hiatus because we are having a mini/staycation. The beginning of the week will find us with our wonderful friends Jackie and Chris (yay!!!!) and then hopefully on Tuesday with Ron and Lauren!!!!! Then at the end of the week we will be working around the house on some much needed touchups to the paint and the kids bedrooms! I'll catch up again soon. :)

Desicions....

Hello lovely ladies! It is almost Mother's Day and I am so excited. I love being a mom, more than I ever imagined I could. My own mom holds such a special place in my heart so this is one holiday that I love celebrating! I hope that all of you mothers have a beautiful day, and remember how blessed we are to be caretakers to these precious little ones. And for those of you who aren't yet mothers I hope you remember how special you are to be a daughter of the King! : )

I was hoping to present a dilemma to you all and get an unbiased opinion from you...
I was raised by my mother and stepfather. My "dad" left when I was in kindergarten and besides a brief two week stay when I was in middle school I have probably only seen him three other times in all these years. Literally I mean my sister and I have probably spend more time with the tellers at the grocery store we frequent than we have him. (BTW He lives in Portland, OR.) A few weeks ago he called my big sis to say....guess what I am flying to Atlanta at the end of May and want to meet my grandchildren. Can we make that happen?
Here is my problem with all of this. #1 Although he claims to be an "ordained minister" (did you know you could get ordained online? LOL!) He is not the type of person we would normally have around any of our children. He drinks, smokes, talks vulgar, and is all around just different from the normal company we keep. #2 Neither my children and definitely not my sister's children have ever been exposed to divorce. In the sense that daddies sometimes just walk away and never look back ( or at least don't look back for 20 years or so!).....How do you explain that to a toddler? #3 I have a dad....I know that sounds callous....but I have someone who raised me, who taught me right from wrong, who listened to me cry and laughed with me, who paid for me to go to college and didn't say a word when I walked away from it, who walked me down the aisle and still helps my husband and I on a regular basis. PLUS He is my children's grandfather, the one who was there when they were born and loves them as unconditionally as if they were blood.
Sorry, I am beginning to ramble my point is this.....as a Christian will I be wrong if I refuse to see this person? I know that the Bible says to honor our parents.....and I am not disputing that....its just that I feel this sporadic trip is more of a fishing expedition because he has run out of people to sponge off of in OR. I am not angry at him for leaving...actually I am thankful....my life would have been so different had I been raised in a divided (unequally yoked) home. I just don't feel like he needs to be a part of mine or my children's lives. Does anyone have an opinion on what the Christian thing to do here is?

My Goal for May!

Hello wonderful ladies! Apparently I have been on blogging vacation. I love reading what all of you say, but have such a hard time thinking of something profound enough to say to you all. (LOL I know I am a huge dork.) Anyone on who has known me for more than a day can tell you that I never run out of things to say, but for some reason when I start typing I am just at a loss for words. There are so many things happening in my life and the lives of those around me that it seems just blogging about day to day stuff would be trivial. But isn't God in the day to day stuff? I think about how stressed out I am about the future and what may or may not happen and I wonder why it is so hard to remember that I serve a BIG God who is always in control of each and ever minute of my life. There are times in my life when I am unaware that the girls are doing something potentially dangerous, like I don't know, getting ahold of the superglue and using it as fingernail polish. But there is never a second that God loses track of me. He always knows what I am doing and when I am doing it and what is even more He knows what comes next.

25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow....

This passage is one I have heard since I was just a child, but I still haven't grasped it. I still haven't figured out that no matter what God is in control of my life. So that is my goal for the month of May. To just remember that God is in control of everything including (but not limited too) my petty day to day life.

I love you all and am praying for you and your families!

Our Bible Verse

Hey hey ladies! We have been busy bees around the Carswell house! Working on the new baby's room, Moving the girls into their new bedroom, Burning brush, and lots of other stuff. In the midst of all this I decided that I lose my temper entirely too much....Its not that I flip out, its just that instead of talking to the girls out of love when I am upset I speak in anger. I don't want their memories to be of me yelling at them or being unforgiving and holding a grudge at every little thing. I forget that they are just little girls. Apparently I expect them to act like grown ups all the time. Sooooo....this week we have started a new tradition. When the girls get in trouble, or if there is any arguing we stop and say our new Bible verse. Ephesians 4:32 "Be ye KIND one to another, TENDERHEARTED, FORGIVING one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us." This helps me to remember the kind of attitude that I need to have and hopefully will help the girls have a good attitude to each other. Keep our family in your prayers as we all get ready for the changes happening! Have a great week! I love you all!

Our Special Blessing!

We have once again had quite an eventful weekend. But God is and always has been faithful. Friday night began with an exciting trip to the ER. I was sure that something was going on with the baby, all the horrible warning signs were there....but thankfully the baby is just fine...not as big as we thought but normal and still wrapped tightly where it is supposed to be. Thank you so much for praying for me and please continue to do so over the next 8 months. Publicly I would like to say: Amy, I can't begin to express how much having you with me meant the other night. You were my rock....and I love you for it. I am so thankful that God put you in my life and has allowed our friendship to grow. You're wonderful!
Have a wonderful week ladies!

Answered Prayers!

Sooooo in case any of you don't know.....we are having a new baby! I feel so amazingly blessed that God would see fit to reward us with this awesome responsibility. Please pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery, and for a healthy baby. The girls are just ecstatice! I couldn't have asked for a better reaction from them. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's weeekend....mine was truly unforgettable!

Random Pics

Just wanted to show everyone what hams my little ones can be! :)

My sweet Mallory....

Hi all! I have a prayer request to share with you all. For those of you who don't know the story...Mallory, my oldest, was born with an injury to her arm. Basically she got stuck in the birth canal and the Dr. simply grabbed her head and yanked her out, resulting in nerve damage to her right arm. (It's called a brachial plexus injury.) We try not to focus on it, and so far she has not noticed that there is anything different between her and any other child. Mallory is very confident and very outgoing and it is crucial to me that she does not lose those defining factors about her personality. With that being said....we just learned yesterday that her doctor wants her to restart physical therapy on that arm. We were at the office for an unrelated problem and he noticed that the range of motion was not where it should be. This will be her third, no fourth round of therapy for this injury. I am so scared that she is old enough now to notice that things are a little different. How do I explain to a three year old that she is perfect the way she is? Maybe I focus too much on it, and maybe it will turn out to be no big deal for her, but as a mother I want her to see herself as I see her. Please pray for her that the Lord will continue to heal her in ways that I cannot even think of right now. He has already done so much for us in this situation. And please pray for her that she will have the strength to rise above this little obstacle as she grows older. And lastly please pray for me......that I will place the whole situation solely in our Father's hands and allow Him to guide my actions, my words and my thoughts regarding it. Thank you for listening to me vent. Have a blessed rest of the week!

Lucky Number 7

Guess what.....I have lost 7, count them 7, pounds since I joined the gym and started Metformin at the beginning of January! I am sooooo excited. Just wanted to share my joy with all of you. It has been years since I have lost any significant amount of weight and I am thrilled. Anyways, I hope that you are all having a wonderful week. Love you all!

I have a goodly heritage.....

First and foremost I would like everyone to know how enjoyable this has been for me. I love getting to read about stuff going on in our lives....especially for those of you I don't get to talk to daily. With that said....let me tell you about my weekend. My grandparents live in TN and we don't visit near as often as we should. This weekend the girls and I got the special privilege of going with my parents to visit. It was so wonderful to get to spend a few days with them without the hustle and bustle that is there around holidays. The girls got to get to know their great grandparents to a greater depth and I got to be amazed at how much my life has changed since I was a little one playing in their floor. There are so many things that have shaped me into who I am today. God's hand was weaving all the different pieces in my life, even when I thought I was in control. BUT I am sooo glad that I had Godly grandparents to look up to. My grandfather never even made it to school past the second grade, he can't read or write, but all my life he has told me about our Lord. He listens to the Bible on tape and memorizes whatever scripture he will be preaching out of. I have heard him stand behind the pulpit and quote verse after verse and no one else even had a clue he wasn't just reading it like they were. I have seen my grandmother pray and cry out to God for her sons to be saved. It is such a blessing to be able to share these two wonderful people with my girls. I am so glad God allowed me to be brought up in a Christian family. I may not be rich in the world's eyes but I am truly blessed beyond measure.

Psalms 127:3

Drumroll please......LOL My big sister is PREGNANT!!!! For those of you who don't know the history let me share the story....My sister and her husband got married in 2000. They wanted to start a family almost immediatly but apparently that wasn't God's will. After five years of prayers they finally had little Lauren in 2005. Shortly thereafter Natalie came along in 2007 and now there will be a new little one to bless our family. I can remember the awe we felt at finding out she was pregnant with Lauren and how it was such a manifestation of God's awesome power. I don't ever want to lose that sensation of knowing that above all our Lord is completely in control. That His time is always the best time. We spent months praying for a baby that would fit into our time frame. But God......(that phrase itself just gives me chills!) But God knew exactly what time was right and the blessings that have followed are immeasurable. I hope that you all will share in my praiseof our wonderful Saviour!

Psalms 127 : 3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

Snow Day!

Today was the first time the little bits actually got to touch snow. It took me forever to get them bundled up enough to go outside and then we were only out for like five minutes, but still they can officially say they have played in the snow. Makenna thinks snow is yucky...LOL she doesn't like being wet and cold. Mallory on the other hand wanted to start a snowball fight and play for the rest of the day. LOL Oh the joy of being a toddler. I am so glad to have the girls in my life to remind me to stop and enjoy the little things. So many times I let life get in the way of spending quality time with the girls or better yet quality time with the Lord. Please pray that I will be the Christian wife and mother God would have for me to be. I hope everyone is having a great day....and please stay tuned tomorrow for some exciting news....: ) Much love to you all!

Precious thoughts....

My favorite co-worker, and very important friend (guess who) has informed me that blogging is what "all the cool kids are doing!" So in spite of my better judgement that no one will even look at this-- I am wasting time and trying to stay awake by starting my very own blog! (Hold the applause...LOL)
Not much new going on right now....thankfully God has blessed us so very much! I have learned that it is always these times of calm in my life that I am most thankful for. I have my wonderful husband that takes such good care of me and the girls. And then I have the girls....what more could you ask for? PLUS on top of all that God saw fit to save me by His mercy and grace. I could never have done anything to warrant this amazing transaction in my life but for some reason when He looks at me He sees me as PRECIOUS and not at all as I am. My family and I sing a song called "I Have Been Blessed" and in the chorus it says--"God's so good to me, Precious are His thoughts of you and me..." Mallory and Makenna tend to sing this song to me at least hourly and I have yet to get over that line. Can you think of the things in your life that are precious....I mean truly precious? My husband and my girls are precious to me...and to think that the God of the universe thinks of me like that.....only more. It is 110% beyond my imagination. Today when you have a minute remind yourself that you are PRECIOUS to our Lord! Have a great one!