update

Hey ladies,
Everything is going good here at our house. Megumi continues to change every day, sleep during the day, and likes to be wide awake at night! At her 2 week doctor appointment, she had gained all her weight back and grew a whole inch. She likes to pee when we change her diaper, and poo as soon as i get her pants back on. Yesterday I went through 3 diapers in 3 minutes, geesh! This week we made the very emotional decision to switch to formula. I nursed Meg for 2 full weeks, and as she was growing, i couldn't produce enough milk to keep her from screaming all night long. She would nurse for over an hour and still be hungry... but by then i was empty! So, after a week of sleepless nights filled with a screaming, unhappy baby... we switched to formula. And now, i have a happy, content little girl with a full belly! Here's a picture of the world's most beautiful baby! Oh, and with the birth of Meg, I think i forgot to update you all on the biopsy results of the breast tumor... the cells are A-typical but non-cancerous. I have a follow up with the surgeon in January, and expect to have another ultrasound then to see if and how is has changed. ok, on with the pictures!

update

Hey girls, I'm gettings bored of checking the blog and there being no new posts. So I guess I will post something. There's not a whole lot happening here. But I did have a my doctor appointment today. I'm 37 weeks now and am scheduled to be induced at 8am on Monday (the 17th). As of now, I am dilated 2-3 cm and am 50% effaced. My fundal height is measuring 41 weeks. That makes me a little nervous. I'm hoping this one isn't too big for me to deliver vaginally. I'll keep you girls posted as we get to the time next week. =)

no baby

more stretch marks, an insanely itchy belly, a few sleepless nights, and still no baby! Tomorrow i'm 41 weeks, and will have an ultrasound and non-stress test. still not dilated at all as of tuesday.

Some pics

So when we were in Ohio last month, we had Sarah Newman take some family pictures. I just got the disc this week and wanted to post a few. The rest are at Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaylind/sets/72157608120191441/), in case you want to see them.


I was incredibly impressed with all her creative ideas and I love all the expressions of Violet that she caught. She also managed to get pictures of my dad smiling, which means she must be magic.



I know it's early, but these pictures have me excited to make our Christmas cards this year!

Love you girls -- hope you have great weekends!

4 Months!

Hi girls!

Only 4 more months until we meet in Frisco! I am getting very excited. Nick and I went up to the mountians two weekends ago, and found the house we are staying in. The pictures on our Wiki site show it perfectly. We are within walking distance from the free shuttle that can take you to Breckenridge, Copper, Dillion or Keystone. (Anyone up for some night skiing? Keystone is your place!) We are getting so excited!!!

I do have an offer for you all - if you would like to make another 25% payment over this next month, I can send that up to them. Nick and I were talking and realized with all this finiancial talk in the media, it is going to be benefical for us to begin to slowly set aside some money. :) Let me know if you want to do that... I'm keeping track of what each of us sends for the house.

Let's see... nothing else is going on in our lives. I've been on Fall Break last week and this, which has been wonderful. I have been working on our scrapbook this week and it is coming together nicely. I need more pictures from you all. If you could send me, or direct me to, a picture or two from each event since this summer.

I love reading about all that is happening in your lives! I love you lots and can't wait to see you.

Pictures of our trip to Beaver Creek (about 60 miles beyond Frisco)

Surgery Scheduled

Ok well, Katie had her appointment today with the plastic surgeon, who said that the hemangioma on her neck is a good candidate for removal. I was very impressed with everyone in his office, and they were all excellent with Katie. It was the first appointment for her hemangioma that hasn't resulted in screaming and tears. On the contrary, she was quite happy and everyone loved her (I have my suspicions that it was also attributed to Nathan being there...what is it about girls and their daddies?). Anyway, he was very good and will take it right off, and offered to take the other two on her torso off as well. Nathan and I are thinking about that, but don't want her to have even more scars. There is one other large-ish one on her clavical that we might do...mostly because the large ones are scarier with ulceration.

So they've scheduled her surgery for Nov 19. I'm a little bummed it's so close to Thanksgiving because I know she'll still be in pain, and she has to wear braces on her arms which prevent her from bending at the elbows so she doesn't mess with the dressing. I was hoping to have it done sooner than that, but it could be worse. At least it's not close to Christmas I suppose. She will be kept overnight. Definitely keep her in prayer that week. It is a serious surgery, as hemangiomas are blood-filled, but they do more now than they used to. So I'm anxious and nervous, and hate having my baby on the operating table again, but relieved at the thought that hopefully, by Christmas this nasty experience will only be a memory. So we're just praying and believing for the surgery to go well, minimal bleeding, and an easy recovery.

Gramma Ruth and a lump

Hey ladies, I have my 39.5 week appt today and they will "check" me, so stay tuned for if i'm dilated at all!
Wanted to keep you posted on a couple of things going on with us right now. First, my step-grandma, Gramma Ruth, went to be with Jesus on Saturday morning. She had been in the hospital on and off for a few months now... congestive heart falure, infection in the kidneys, and pneumonia. Her lungs could no longer work to breathe through the fluid in her lungs, and she did not want to be put on a respirator. So she went to be with Jesus and her husband with 3 (of 4) of her children at her side. the fammily is doing visitation and funeral stuff today and tommorrow, but i could not travel to be there being so close to my due date.
Second, I had an ultrasound done today on my right breast. A month and a half ago I discovered a lump, which my OBGYN has been watching. It didn't change at all, which ruled out the possibility of it being a milk duct. The ultrasound showed today that it is likely a Fibroadenoma, a kind of tumor. You can read up on it yourself, but long story short, they are 95% of the time NOT cancer. I meet with a breast surgeon on the 23rd (next thursday) to see about getting a biopsy done. Girls, at this point, would you just pray that I would keep my heart/mind/soul focused on Christ and not on the circumstance? I would greatly appreciate that!!! We have enough to think about right now!
girls, please do your monthly breast exams!

good week

Hey girls! I'm glad to hear everyone seems to be good. Steph, I'm happy that you're procedure went well and that they found out was wrong and that it wasn't too serious. =) Although I'm very sorry about the diet changes you're having to make. Cutting out chocolate, caffeine, and tomatoes would just about kill me. I'm also so happy for you that you got into school and will be kicking off a great new educational adventure. I'm jealous, I love school. =) 

So things have been great for us this week. Josh has been on vacation and it's been wonderful. I had forgotten what it's like to have a husband who is rested enough to stay awake with me in the evening and watch a movie or talk or whatever. Josh is usually so exhausted that he gets home from work at 8 or 9pm and is alseep on the couch by 9:30pm at the latest (or studying, which still means I can't talk to him or bug him). He's gotten a couple things done around the house that needed to be done and we've done some fun stuff with the kids. We went to Cosi Science Center on Wednesday and watched a 3D movie called "Fly me to the Moon." About 3 little flies who hitch a ride to the moon with Apollo 11. The kids liked it and Lilah sat there the whole time trying to catch the flies or touch the space ship. It was funny. Then we went to the Sesame Street "Learn about the Body" exhibit. It was fun until seth got attacked be some crazy kid who clawed his face. They kind of got into a traffic jam going into a toy thing and the other boy clawed Seth's face. Seth was bleeding and has some pretty serious scratches on the side of his face and eye lids. It was crazy. We had to take him to the bathroom to disinfect his face since they were pretty deep finger nail scratches. Anyways, it was a fun day other than that. =) Today we went to the Zoo and it was an absoluetly gorgeous day for the zoo. The kids had a lot of fun and are now supposed to be sleeping (I emphasize the words "supposed to be.") Josh and I get to go on a date night tonight while his mom babysits and then tomorrow is a harvest festival that I think the kids will enjoy. That's abut it for us. It's been a nice week and I'm already dreading next week when Josh has to go back to work. I also posted some pictures of my belly since you asked for them, Kim. It's good you did because I think I would have forgotten to take any belly pics with this kid if you hadn't. You really do start to neglect your children more as you have more of them. =) I also posted a picture of Seth's face. It actually looks a lot better now (in the picture) than it did before. It was pretty bad on Wednesday. People were stopping and asking us about it then. He looked like we'd beat him. Anyways, hope you girls are good. Have a great weekend!

Results

So, everything seemed to go pretty well with the testing on Wednesday. They found out that I have a hiatal hernia, which is pretty good news considering the other possibilities. They also took biopsies of the tissue in my espophogus, stomach and colon. They said the tissue in the colon looked pretty healthy and they just took biopsies to "make sure" and to have a baseline for future colonoscopies. Now I shouldn't have to get another until I'm 35.

The hiatal hernia I have is basically part of my stomach that has come up above my diaphragm instead of the whole thing staying below it. Basically, what I can do is take my Prilosec OTC, and stick to a regimented diet that excludes any caffeine, chocolate, alchohol and even tomatoes, in addition to some others. They said that I can slowly reintroduce these things into my diet in order to see what upsets it.

So anesthesia is a funny thing. Here's a quick story of my experience with it. :-)

I was quietly laying in the scary room with all the monitors hooked up to me and I was patiently waiting for someone to come in and start the dreaded procedure. Finally, after about 25 minutes, the doctor poked his head in and said, "Ok, we're going to give you the medicine to make you go to sleep now." That was it. A few seconds later a nice looking nurse came in, didn't say a word to me, and injected something into the IV coming out of my arm. After a few seconds I realize I was getting a little fuzzy and it became more of an effort to blink. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again and the same nurse was right there. There were about 4 other people in the room at this time and they seemed very loud. I asked the nurse, "are you sure you gave me the medicine? I'm not going to sleep." She giggled and said, "Yes, honey. You're all done now. We're going to get you back into the recovery room." And that was it. I was done.

There are a few more stories of me not remembering things and repeating things two or sometimes three times that gave us a few laughs.
So that was my experience. Part of it, anyway.

And then I got a call that I got into school. And that made my week. I can finally feel some things coming together.
Ok, that's it. :-)

What a wonderful way to spend a day...

Hey ladies! It sounds like you all have a lot going on! It's so fun that everyone has been posting - its awesome to be able to feel a little more connected. Kim, you have done a great job updating our sacred site. :-)

So, as most of you know, I have been having stomach troubles again, similar to what I had in college, but it is now affecting my lower digestive tract as well. SO! Fun times for me, I am heading into the hospital tomorrow morning for a upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy. The doctors obviously have the "better safe than sorry" attitude because of my mom's colon cancer, so they decided to just go in and check out what's going on in there. Part of me hopes they find something, part of me doesn't. I would really like some answers, but I don't want it to be anything bad. And let me tell you, it better be worth it. :-) I don't know if anyone knows what the process is for colonoscopies, but it's horrible. Basically, you're drinking super-ultra-nasty laxatives for the whole 1/2 day before and spend the whole evening on the toilet. Sounds like a great way to spend the night, huh? But on the bright side, I'm almost done with my first Jane Austen book (Persuasion) and I'm really proud of myself. :-) It's not the easiest reading, so I feel a little smarter. Lol.

Anyway, onto more pleasant topics...I finally got my financial aid all set for school, which was my biggest concern. Yay! I am so excited to start back, even though I haven't been officially accepted yet. (hold on - gotta drink more nasty stuff...) I am hoping to get the acceptance letter in the mail this week since our orientation/registration is October 27th.

The other thing we're looking forward to is purchasing our tickets for Colorado! We've found a great deal on Southwest, but we have to wait until this Friday to purchase them, so let's hope the rates are still there!

OH! And we went to Branson, Missouri with some friends this past weekend and had a GREAT time. We stayed at a beautiful resort, which is what I enjoyed the most. It is in the Ozarks right on a huge lake. We did a little canoeing and hiking, mini golf and more hiking. It was gorgeous. As soon as I get pictures up, I'll post them on flickr or something. Ok...well that's enough of my rambling...Love you girls! Jen - I am anxiously awaiting your call/text about Megumi!

Da da dum...

So I think it's pretty much finished. I have a few tweaks I'd like to finish up here and there, but that will probably just be an ongoing process. This has been a lot of fun. I got to search back through all our old photos -- I found a bunch I had forgotten about and man did that bring back some memories. :) I'd love to scan in some of our old college photos to add at some point, but we don't have a scanner, so I guess I really can't.

We just got back from a weekend in San Diego. We went to an air show on Saturday, which was a lot of fun but very loud. And today we went to the Wild Animal Park. It was awesome. I know Violet won't remember anything, but she really seemed to enjoy it -- especially the petting zoo part. And okay, I loved the petting zoo too.

Anyway, let me know in the comments if there are any other websites I can add to our links area. I'm sure I'm missing some, and I'd love to include everything that's connected to our lives.

Also, if anything shows up weird on your computers, let me know that too. I haven't had a chance to test the new design on other browsers or computers or anything.

Jen, we'll be waiting anxiously for the call or text. Any day now!
Liz, keep us posted about Katie's appointments this week. We're praying for all of you.
Julie, you should post some pics of this supposedly huge belly. :) I hope we can make it back to Ohio to see Isaac when he's still a newborn. We're hoping to fit a trip in before the Sapphires ski trip.

Love you and miss you all!

Twenty Nine

Hi girls,
yeah, i made it to age twenty nine!
Julie and Kim, thank you both so much for the good tips for labor and packing! I have my labor bag all packed but have yet to finish the overnight bag for recovery.
Julie, I love what you wrote about starting your gym workouts after baby comes to take advantage of the time without kids... I, too plan on doing that very same thing! Gyms with child care... what a great idea! I can't imagine why a gym would not have child care, really.
I finally have a mother's line on the top half of my belly. And just to even things out on the bottom half, Megumi has blessed me with many late stretch marks.
Kim, love the new blog layout!
well, hopefully you'll hear from me soon!

nice website Kim!

Kim, I love the new website look. You're doing a great job on it! =) Liz, we've been praying for Katie and her hemangioma situation. Jen, we're so happy Chris is doing well and hope that you are as comfortable as possible for your last couple weeks of pregnancy. You asked for ideas of things to pack for the hospital... Take some munchies. You get meals, but I found that I had the munchies a lot with all the nursing. Take your nursing pads, nursing bras, and Lansinoh cream (believe me you'll need them if you start breastfeeding right away). Take a nursing cover of some kind. You will probably have lots of visitors and it can be really hard to coordinate nursing times when you actually have privacy. I also recommend taking your own pack of super absorbancy, overnight sized maxi pads. The hospital might provide you with plenty. But when I had Seth they only provided normal sized pads and I needed something with better coverage. Not to be gross or freak you out, but the bleeding following childbirth can be pretty intense for the first few days. Those are the biggies I think. Take your focus object for the labor and delivery to help with the pain. I'm sure you learned all about that in your childbirth class and it really does help. You'll do great! I hope the rest of you are doing well. Everything is same old thing here. Josh has been working quite a bit, as usual. He had a killer day yesterday where he started at 6am and then got stuck in surgery all day. He didn't get home until 9:30pm. His last surgery of the day was 6 hours long, so he was pretty sore and exhausted from standing that long. Altogether, he was stuck in the O.R. for 12 hours yesterday. yuk! I can't even imagine having to stand statue still under hot lights in full surgical garb for that long. I think I'd be done after an hour. =) Anyways, on a bright note Josh has a week of vacation next week. So that will be awesome. We're looking forward to doing some fun stuff with the kids around the Columbus area. And getting some things done around the house before baby #3 comes along. By the way, I think we've decided to name him Isaac Jase. I've just always liked the name, Isaac (means laughter). And Jase means Healer. So that's kind of our way of passing down something special to him in honor of his papa and Josh, and even my brother, Ben. Daniel likes to remind us that he is a healer of souls (he's the theology major brother). So, healing has kind of been the ministry/heritage of the men in my family. So, everything is good. We are pretty excited because we got a gym membership for a really good price last week. Josh has been using it. I won't start mine until january after the baby is born and I'm off restrictions. I certainly won't be working out right now as I'm barely waddling my way around the house, let alone excercising. I'm getting pretty huge and uncomfortable. I've finally hit that point where I can't really roll myself over in bed anymore. I can't reach my feet and am saving up for my one pedicure right before the baby comes (so that when my legs are in the stirrups and my heels are in the doctor's face, my feet will at least be cute.) If the baby kicks me wrong, I pee my pants and I have finally gotten stretch marks around my belly button. The third one has done me in. I will need my gym membership after this baby arrives because my "given birth to 3 babies" body is starting to fall apart. Not that I even need that as motivation to work out. The only motivation I need to go workout is that I get to take my 3 little monsters with me and drop them off in the kids program for 2 whole, glorious, child-free hours. I will workout and take a shower without any children screaming at me or each other. It will be heaven! So that's it for us. Just trying to keep up with Seth and Lilah and get things ready so that there will be no extra stress when Isaac finally arrives. I miss you girls and hope you're all doing great. Love ya!

Update

It's looking good already Kim! I'm glad some of us are technologically savvy. I think I do ok, but I'm definitely not into making things on the web look pretty. That's what my husband is for:) Although his current work has him just writing the code, but he's still pretty good on the design.

Ok well, I'm giving an update on Katie, and asking for continued prayer. The last week has been a nightmare with this hemangioma. It is till infected, despite the antibiotics. I had to take her into the pediatrician on Saturday (while I was supposed to be at a shower), where they did a culture and gave her another antibiotic. So now she's on two (neither of which has worked), and she's got tummy aches and aweful diarrhea from the antibiotics stripping her system (I've had to take her off all solid foods). So we were into the pediatrician again today (because the dermatologist wouldn't get me in before my next appt), where they said the culture was skewed because of the first antiobiotic, so they cut out one oral antibiotic and put her on a topical one. (sigh) One more thing to rub on her neck, which is painful. The good thing is that the pediatrician told me to call the dermatologist again and to make them get me in because he said so.

So we go in on Tuesday to see the dermatologist, and will see what he says. Everyone has a different opinion. The peds don't really like any of the options, but this waiting and seeing method isn't working too well at this point. And the more she ulcerates, the more scarring there will be down the road. And the more infections, the more she will become resistent to antibiotics. So my opinion is to do something. We will see. Anyway, continue to pray for poor little Katie who's little body all out of whack, and for wisdom with the dermatologist (and anyone he refers us to), and for wisdom for Nathana and I as we make this decision of a possible surgery for our baby. And also for sanity and peace for me, because I'm running on E these days.

On a quite and positive side note, we were at the neurologist yesterday for a check-up on her head (which went great and we don't need another MRI, which is fabulous because that means no unnecessary anesthesia...just another ultrasound), and while sitting in the waiting room there was a baby boy a bit older than Katie who was wearing a helmet. I don't know what what wrong with this adorable little boy (he seemed a bit delayed in motor skills), but I can't imagine it's a good thing if you're wearing a helmet and sitting in a neurologist's office. So that put things into perspective for me, and God always does when I'm freaking out. It can always be worse, and although difficult, Katie's medical problems are not life threatening at this point, and she is a smart little girl who is developing normally and will be able to live a great little life. And God always shows you there are those with bigger problems who you should be praying for instead of thinking about your own problems.

New design

I'm kind of working on a new layout for the blog. So things might look a little funk-a-delic for a few days.

Just FYI...

:)

Worth reading

Hi girls, I know we don't usually just post links, but this article is kind of amazing.

http://www.zenmoments.org/the-cab-ride-ill-never-forget/

If you get a chance, it's worth the read.

Love you all!

A Fib

Thank you lovely ladies who prayed for us today. Here's the low down on what happened!
10:30PM - chris woke me up and asked me to check his pulse. It was clearly irregular to me, and i was half asleep. I started to pray but Chris didn't let me finish. He got up and said "Meggie needs a daddy, let's go to the ER!" OK!
They discovered very quickly that chris' blood pressure and heart rate were too high for comfort, and diagnosed him immediately with Atrial Fibrillation - where instead of the top part of the heart having a definate pulse, it flutters. It causes the heart to work overtime (creating a high heart rate), and produces a very funny looking EKG. At the ER, they decided he would have to be transferred to their sister-hospital, about 5 minutes away, in order to be treated in a cardiac unit. they started some meds there while they registered him and found a bed at the other hospital.
3:00AM - after the meds, benadryl (we hada scare of an allergic reaction to the meds at first), and something else to calm him down, we began the transport to Trinity West campus, a hospital not far from our home in Rock Island.
4:00AM - after argueing with Chris for the last 4 hours, I finally submitted (though after 4 hours, can you really call it submission??) to Chris' wishes and headed home. He was admitted into the hospital and in his room at this point.
7:00AM - I woke up, made the necessary calls for prayer warriors, parents, and work places, showered (i think, anyway), and headed back to the hospital. Chris' parents were my first call and they both beat me to the hospital this morning.
12:00noon - I again, lost the battle to stay awake and headed home for a rest.
1:30PM - I had slept for about an hour and a half when Chris called me to tell me the doctor we had been waiting for, finally arrived to review Chris' case. As soon as he walked into Chris' room, the nurse at the heart-monitoring station yelled in "He's in normal sinus!" BAM, just like that, his heart re-set and started beating normally once again. I called everyone with the updates and we were told Chris may come home in a few hours. yea!
4:00PM - I arrived back at the hospital.
4:15PM - The results from a blood test were back (negative for whatever they were testing for) and Chris was told he was going home. yea!
4:20PM (I kid not... 5 minutes later!) - the nurse walked Chris, myself, and his parents out of the hospital.
We will have a follow up appointment with this A-fib specialist in 4-5 months. But very soon, chris will be completing a sleep study. One of the reasons A-fib can occur is from sleep apnea. that's the first thing they want to rule out. other reasons include: binge drinking (not our lifestyle), smoking (again, not us!), eating too large of a meal (ok, we all do this sometimes), or having an old heart i guess. For now, we were told that Chris can do whatever he feels like doing, which is sleeping and resting this evening. and of course, loose some weight, which we were both planning on doing in about 3 weeks or so anyway ;) His diet just starts now, and mine gets to wait.
So, for now, we are all home, healthy, and safe. Despite all the stress I had these last 24 hours, megumi seems to be doing very well. She's still kicking me, sticking out her butt, and having regular aerobic exercise sessions :) Hopefully next hospital visit will be for me, and will be a much more joyous occasion. thanks so much for praying today. I could feel all day that we were being held up in prayer, and i cannot tell you enough how much that helped get me through. We love you all.

New Prayer Request

Yes, you're not going crazy, we have yet another prayer request for Katie. I think you're all aware that she has the birth mark on her neck called a hemangioma. Well, about a week ago, two spots on it started to scab up and bleed. Hemangiomas can ulcerate, or bleed, so I was not surprised when this happened. It didn't seem to be too worriesome at first, and I had her pediatrician look at it, who referred me to a dermatologist. Well, now it's infected and her neck has broken out in a rash (not sure if the rash is related?). Anyway, she's on an antibiotic now, and I've been taught how to care for it while it's ulcerating. But it's a killer for me, because she screams when I wash it, or put ointment on it, and it's so hard to do something that you know causes your child pain, even though they need it.

So we're now faced with what to do about this. The appointment was good and confirmed a few things I had researched. This could ulcerate again in the future, so there are two possibilities. The first is to inject steroids into her neck, which I'm going to research some more, but I know oral steroids come with many problematic side effects, esp. for babies. I really don't want to do that. The other option is to have it surgically removed (Julie, you can tell Josh laser isn't an option for us because I guess it only affects the top 1-2 mm of the skin, and hers is a deep hemangioma). The dermatologist does know of someone he could refer me to. After meeting with him today and doing a lot of thinking, I think this is really the best option for us. She has a follow-up in 2 weeks, and at that time I'm going to push to be given the name of a surgeon. I'm nervous about it because it is the most extreme choice, but I just can't continue to deal with this over and over, and then decide to remove it. Plus, the more it bleeds, the more scarring it will leave. I hate the idea of surgery and recovery, and she's at such a difficult age to deal with it, but I think it would be best. The other thing is,we're really hoping to get it done before we have to change insurance Dec 1.

So if you could please keep this in prayer for us, we would greatly appreciate it. Just prayer for Katie as this is healing, and that the infection would go away quickly. And also for favor with the doctor when we go back. He didn't seem opposed to going that route, but of course they like to be as conservative as possible. But on the other hand, I've been conservative for 6 months, and now it's getting to be too much I think. Also, if we do have surgery, that God could just expedite the process so we could get it done in November.

I really appreciate the support in the past, and it's good to know we've got prayer cover for Katie.

Also, keep the updates coming. Jen, we're all waiting to see pics of little Megumi once she arrives.

37

hello and good morning beautiful ladies!
Wow, hearing Angie talk about plane tickets makes me feel really out of sorts. It just doesn't seem like our Colorado reunion is that close! I suppose nothing in my mind really exists past October 19th. We have not purchased plane tickets yet simply because we are waiting for some frequent flyer miles to finish piling up before doing so... Chris flies to Denver non-stop quite a bit to see his partner, so we may be able to get out there without paying cash for our tickets. wouldn't that be nice!
So I have made my final Wal-Mart shopping list for things to pack for the hospital. Any of you moms who have been through it have any suggestions on what to bring?
better yet, any of you ladies tried doing this whole birthing thing without the assistance of drugs and have any advice for me!? i know, i know, i must be insane!
nothing going on here except waiting for little Megumi to come meet us. I'll be sure to text at least one of you as we go to the hospital, hopefully prior to the 19th of October :)
Miss you all, and truely wish you were surrounding me now as i get ready for this adventure. sure would be nice to have 6 extra aunts to help out around here :)

I guess we are committed...

So I started tracking the flights to Denver a couple of weeks again and found a good deal today. I got both Aaron and I's tickets for $438 and was ecstatic to see them under $300. I was expecting to pay more than $600 for our tickets, so when i saw the price today I couldn't put it off. So yea... We'll be there, not sure if we will be skiing or doing anything that costs money - but we will be there. :)

Update on the house... Things have been going very smooth and we are working on getting the last bits of paperwork in to finalize everything. Settlement is 10/27 and we plan on doing the painting and other stuff that week and then move in 11/1-2. I feel like God has been carrying us through this whole process and we are so looking forward to moving into the house He has just for us. Once we get in and settle I'll be sure to post some pictures. I can't wait!

See you all in Denver in just a few months!
Love you tons!

MS 150

OK, friends. It’s been a while. It’s been so good to hear your updates. Liz – Katie is getting SO big and she looks so great. What a miracle she is! Ang, you know I am totally thrilled for you and the new house adventure. You’ll have to keep me posted on that. I hope you and Aaron had great birthdays! I’ve got some stuff I need to send to you…
Jen, I am glad to hear your shower went well. I know we all wish we could have been there. Julie, I hope you’re doing well with baby #3! And keeping your sanity! Kim, I so enjoy your blogging and the pics you post on Flickr. I have been meaning to shoot an email back to you for a LONG time. Jamie – I hope the school year is going by without a hitch! Thanks again for all the planning you’re doing for our next reunion. I can’t tell you how excited I am for it! :-)

We’ve been busy, as usual, lately. I think you guys all knew that we were training for the MS 150 bike ride, so that took a lot of our free time. We finally had the ride this weekend, and it was really fun, albeit miserable at the same time. We got to ride through Ike, then a tropical storm, on Saturday. I only rode 70 miles that day, but Shawn did the whole 82. It was pouring for the last 3 hours and water was squishing out of my shoes with every pedal (and my padded shorts). We got to the recreation center that we were staying at, showered, dried off (yay!), then we had to head back outside to get food. It was all under tents, but the ground was so saturated that it was a swamp. After I ate the food that was soggy and cold, I decided that I didn’t want to do the next day. We weren’t sure if Ike was still going to be on us, or if we would get any sleep in the cold gym that we were sleeping in, and my emotions just couldn’t take it any more. We called some pretty dedicated friend of ours and they drove over to pick me up and take me home. Shawn is my hero, because he stayed and did another 65 miles on top of the 82 from the day before. Sunday was beautiful, but windy, which apparently made it 10 times more difficult than the day before. Shawn was out of commission for the rest of the day. :-) He did the WHOLE thing. I’m so proud of him. As soon as I get some pictures from the photographer, I will post them. I would do it again, crazy as it sounds. Next year, though, I’ll be in the middle of my internship, so I don’t think I’ll have time to train, but I plan on volunteering in the support staff. It was a great benefit and so fun (if I hadn’t been miserable, I probably would have really enjoyed it.) Lol.

So that was our weekend. We both took Monday off, and I really enjoyed having a day with little or nothing to do. Now it’s back to the grindstone – I’m at work all week. I have a baby shower that I’m throwing at work on Friday, so I’m preparing for that. I have my grad school interview on the 29th, so I’m preparing for that, too (if that’s possible). I’m also dealing with some stomach issues again and I’m seeing a specialist on Thursday. I think we’ll be deciding if I need further testing or not. We’ll see how that goes – I’m trying not to focus on it. Those are the big things, and of course the little things are still filling up our time, but I don’t feel as stressed at the moment as I did before. So, that’s me venting and sharing a little. Hope I didn’t bore you to tears! As much as I don’t write anything on here, I check it ALL the time. :-) I love you, my Sapphires!

Getting ready for fall...

So that's what we're doing around here. We spent a lot of time this summer working on our landscaping, which was a complete mess before. So now Nathan is trying to finish up some jobs before he packs it in for colder weather. It's nice to actually have grass now instead of weeds and some decent plants. Bella likes going potty and playing in the grass now too:)

Along with colder weather, I'm stocking up on warmer clothes for Katie, who seems to be growing all the time. I can't believe how heavy she's getting. When did she make that transition from being a little newborn baby to being a big, active baby? She's doing well. I spend much of this month going to countless doctor's appointments for her because she's due for routine checkups with all her specialists, and a few tests as well. I'm expecting everything to go well. She is becoming more active all the time, and I can really tell I'm going to be exhausted once she becomes mobile. Thank God for naptimes. And while her dexterity is lacking still, everything she gets in her hands finds its way right to her little mouth! I've been keeping up with her baby website if you want to see any pics.

Not too much else going on. We are looking forward to the fun stuff fall brings (and the newness of doing it with Katie), and going out to visit Nathan's family in October. The picture I included was taken Labor Day weekend when we went up north and stayed in a cottage. Katie really liked standing and sitting in the waves from the lakes. It was a nice relaxing weekend and a great way to end the summer:( But, I do have to say, the summer ending is not quite as sad for me as it used to be now that I'm not going back to work. While I miss it a little, I hear it's been a really rough start to the year with some tough kids, so I'm happy being home with my Katie-Bug.

Ok well, I've enjoyed the recent updates from everyone else. Keep them coming. Ang, keep us posted on the house. Jen, hang in there these last few weeks. Sleep, rest, and enjoy quiet times with Chris while you still can. And Julie, you keep us posted on baby progress too, and send pics of Lilah's b-day.

Finally some news...

For those of you who didn't know we were looking (casually), this will probably be a bit of a shock.

Apparently we bought a house. We weren't looking for very long, but got pretty excited about this one. It is the first one we put an offer on and we feel we got a really good deal. Things went very fast. We really only started looking seriously about 2-3 weeks ago. This one popped up last week and we had a chance to check it out on Sunday at their open house. We went through it again yesterday with our realtor, who informed us that it already had one offer on it. So we had to act fast. We came up with an offer, submitted it and found out at 6ish last night that they accepted. We have an inspection on the house on Tuesday, and unless we find some major issues, we'll settle October 27th.

Anyway... check it out. It's the one at 45 Spencer Ave., Lancaster.
http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20080821014832919481000000&id=1&s=5

We are still kinda in shock, but really looking forward to making it our home.

pregnancy pics

hi girls!
Jaren was in town last weekend and took some pregnancy photos, check out her blog!
here
two posts about Chris and I, and therefore 2 posts with pictures of my belly!
much love, Jen

Just an update

Hi girls. I thought I'd write a quick update since no one has posted anything in so long. Ok, I guess it's just been a couple weeks, but still. I need my Sapphires updates!

Things are really starting to look up out here in California. I'm starting to find my way around a little better (although I did get pretty lost last week and had to call Adam for help). I joined the MOMS Club here (thanks to Julie's suggestion) and it has really been a Godsend. I've already met so many people and there are bajillions of kids Violet's age and playgroups and outings and just all kinds of stuff. We're also doing Gymboree, which is completely cute and ridiculous (singing songs about rolling balls back and forth) but Violet loves it, so we'll probably stick with it.

I've sort of resigned myself to the fact that we're going to be here for a while so I might as well make the best of it. We've been exploring a bunch and have found some really fun places. There are a lot of really kid-friendly things to do here, if you know where to look.

Adam's mom was just here for Labor Day, so we took her to Hollywood and some other touristy places. We also went to the zoo, which was great. We actually decided to become members, it was such a nice zoo.

We went to Colorado a couple weeks ago for family time and to go to Adam's high school reunion. It was a lot of fun meeting his high school friends and hearing crazy stories about him, although I temporarily forgot about the whole altitude and alcohol thing, so I was kind of worthless the day after.
We got to hang out with Jamie and Nick for an evening as well, which was so much fun. We also did a photo shoot with Violet and her cousins at the park and got some really cute shots. I just posted them on Flickr too, if you want to see more (and you know you do).


I'm still working on The Daily Puppy photos. I've also been getting some contract work from my old contacts at Onlineshoes, which has been great to help pay for trips and things, like the one coming up this month to Ohio.

Violet's pulling up on everything and "cruising" along the couch and furniture. She takes a few steps while holding on to our fingers. I think watching the bigger kids at playgroups really encourages her to try things, which is good and bad. I think she ate some bark yesterday.

Hope all is well with you girls. Love ya!

checking in

Hey Girls! I just thought I'd pop in quick and post a quick update. We're all doing pretty well around here. At least we are now... I got struck with the flu bug this past week. yuk! It was awful! I got sick on Thursday afternoon and spent the next two days with the horrible vomiting and diahrrea that goes along with the flu. I thought I was going to die. The stomach virus is significantly worse when you're pregnant I have discovered. (One of my friends here who was pregnant got the bug this week and it put her into labor, she had her baby at 36 weeks, which is ok but a little early). You just don't have the energy reserves to recuperate when you're pregnant. Today is the first day I'm feeling pretty good. By Saturday afternoon I was so weak I couldn't hold my head up and my blood pressure was dropping. So Josh brought home 2 liters of IV fluid and hooked me up to an IV drip to try to rehydrate me. It helped quite a bit. Josh got alarmed when he walked into the living room and found me laying on the couch with a half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich sitting on my chest, dripping all over my shirt... and I didn't care. He had tried to carbo load me to boost my energy but I was too tired to keep lifting my arm up to eat my sandwich, so I just put it on my chest and went to sleep. I guess Josh decided that anytime I've suddenly lost my will to keep sticky peanut butter and jelly from staining my clothes and the couch... I must be seriously sick. =) That's when he put me on the IV drip. But the good news is that the kids didn't seem to really get it. They had a little diahrrea, but have been feeling pretty good. So, I think we're all past it now and hopefully won't deal with something like this again for the rest of this pregnancy. Other than that, everything has been good. Seth and Lilah are getting so big. Lilah is talking sooooo much now. She repeats everything and is adding to her vocabulary daily. It's nice because it helps cut down on her frustration level, so she doesn't scream as much. Seth is doing pretty well with the potty training (still won't poop in the potty very often, but we'll get there.) I'm going to send Seth to grandma's for a day so that I can work with Lilah on potty training to see how she does. She likes to wear pull-ups and LOVES to sit on the potty. She will often tell us when she's going to poop and even did it in the potty once. So, I think with some concentrated work, she might enjoy potty training. It would be really nice if the kids were both out of diapers before baby #3 comes along. She's a little young, so if it doesn't work out, we won't stress about it. But it might be worth a try. We still haven't picked a name for the next baby. Boy names are seeming to be difficult for us this time around. It looks like they will probably be inducing me on Nov. 17th (or right around then, at 38 weeks). That will be nice because we will have the baby before Thanksgiving that way.

So, speaking of books (Kim's blog)... I haven't read that one Kim, but maybe I will because I'm always looking for a good book. but I have been a reading a couple of non-fiction books lately that are really good that I have to recommend for those of you looking for a little self-help reading. =) haha... I just finished the book "Captivating" by John and Staci Eldridge the other day. I thought it was really good and especially valuable for moms who have daughters. It's the female counterpart for Wild at heart. It's a good reminder of how the female soul is kind of wired and how that relates to our personal walks with Christ and how to really reach our full potential as women of beauty in Christ. It was good. Some interesting insights. And now I'm reading "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian. It's not a new book at all but I'm just now getting around to reading it. It's really good. It's a powerful reminder of how vital it really is for us as women to be bathing our husbands and families in prayer. I don't know about you guys, but my husband goes to a job every day and lives a life of stress that has a tendency to really beat the life out of him. He's faced with difficult situations daily and is constantly surrounded by opportunities to compromise or just grow apathetic in his walk with Christ or to allow his personal relationships to deteriorate. Josh needs to be covered in prayer and I think most men face the same kinds of things Josh does, just maybe in a different venue. Anyways, it's a really good book and it helps to put prayer into a more practical way so that it's easier to pray effectively. Well, this blog is way to long now. So I'm going to go do something more productive. =) Love you girls and I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the rest of your summer!

Vampires and werewolves ... oh my

Has anyone else read the Twilight series? I just finished Breaking Dawn, the last book that just came out last weekend, and Oh. My. Goodness. If anyone is looking for something to suck you out of reality for a few hours a day, these are the books to do it.

It's a boy!

Hey girls, just a quick note to tell you all that baby #3 is a boy. We had the ultrasound yesterday and got some very good shots of him. Seth and Lilah and the our moms came in with us. So it was fun. Seth thought it was pretty neat getting to see the baby on the screen. He kept insisting that the baby was coming out and asking why the lady was putting sunscreen on my belly. (The ultrasound jelly). So now we have to pick a boy name and start getting things organized for the baby. I have to pull out all of Seth's old clothes and stuff and start getting rid of Lilah's stuff, since we're thinking we're probably done. Although I will probably hold onto her cutest things just in case we spring for a fourth and it happens to be a girl. =) Josh is excited it's a boy and I'm happy too. It will be fun. Well, I gotta go take the kids to a playgroup thing. I'll catch you girls later! Love ya!

New haircut

Ok, girls, so I've got this new haircut and I need some feedback. I tried to upload pics but it didn't work. So the back is long-ish while the front is short -- it's a shag cut, apparently. It's actually quite a difference in length, which I'm not used to. Adam likes it, but as long as I'm not taking away the lovin' he would like me with any haircut.

And (I already told Angie and Julie this, so sorry, but it's just so darn cool), the guy who cut my hair also cuts hair for Faith Hill, Charlize Theron, Christina Applegate, and a couple other stars that I can't remember. He works in Bev Hills in a salon but also in Santa Monica at this walk-in place that Adam and I happened into. Adam's hair looks like David Cook's, by the way, which is so hot. Anyway, despite living out here, I very rarely come close to brushing with anyone famous or cool, so I was pretty darn excited about this. Apparently, Faith Hill was just given this cut a few days ago.

Ok, back to the real world.

Love you girls!

Special day

Hey girls, I just have to share my day with you all. It was a special day because it the first time Lilah and I got to spend the whole day together by ourselves since she was a newborn. Vicki took Seth overnight and kept him for the day. Josh is working of course, so Lilah and I had our very first mommy/daughter day. I was surprised at how much she got into it because she's only 21 months. But she really seemed to enjoy the undivided attention and one on one time. We had a lot of fun together. First of all, without Seth here to wake us all up at the crack of dawn, it turns out Lilah sleeps until 10am. So she and I slept in and then got up and shared a bowl of fruit loops in the living room while we watched an episode of Jon and Kate Plus Eight. (It was funny how Lilah was really captivated by the show, I think she liked all the kids) Then we got dressed and ready for the day. We packed our purses and put on our lipstick. Lilah insisted on carrying her purse with her everywhere she went after that. We went to the mall and shopped around a little bit. Lilah played for a while at this really nice indoor play area that she loves. Then we went to Build a Bear and Lilah built her own little bear, complete with outfit and accessories. She picked out this pink camoflauge outfit that says "Girls Rule." and then she put bows on the bear's ears. She named her Lulu and has not put her down since we "adopted" her. She loved it and now she loves her bear. Then we went to the food court and shared a steak hoagie and fries. It was special for Lilah because I let her have her own ketchup for her fries, which we don't usually do. It was funny because she is normally really messy and disgusting when she eats, but today she was clearly going out of her way to be clean and ladylike in the way that she ate. She was very into being a "big girl" with mommy. Now we're at home and Lilah's taking a nap. I bought a pink princess cookie for her for after her nap. We're going to have "tea" and eat our cookies. It's been a nice day. It's amazing how her little personality comes out when she's alone with us. She was definitely calmer and more cooperative today than usual and I think it's just because she was getting all the attention she needed. She didn't need to act out over anything to stand out from Seth (he can be a bit of an attention hog.) It was good for us both and we're going to do our best to make sure each of the kids get that special one on one time with me and Josh more often. Especially with baby number 3 coming. I think that might help the transition to a bigger family go a little smoother. Anyways, just thought I'd share. Particularly for you girls who already have little girls or have little girls on the way. There is a very special bond between mothers and daughters and it's amazing how you can start to enjoy it even when they are still babies or little toddlers. We all have so much to look forward to with our little 2nd generation Sapphires!

Another update

Hey girls!
Thanks for praying for my aunt and her family. Things are getting better by the minute, so far. Apparently the docs keep saying how amazed they are at Cindy's recovery. She has had some minor (and temporary) short term memory loss, but that seems to be improving already, too. That's really about it. She hasn't had any major deficits from the aneurysms or the surgery. She really is a miracle - she was even up walking around a bit yesterday. They say she still has a long road ahead and she will still be in the hospital for a couple of weeks, but she's had a pretty positive start so far.

Thanks again for the prayers - they're working! I hope this finds all of you well! :-) Love you!

Update

Hi ladies - below is an update I got from my mom earlier this morning. After I received this, she sent another saying that Cindy's surgery was postponed until between 2 pm and 3 pm due to the surgery before hers being more complicated. Thanks again for all your prayers! As you read this, you'll totally see how God has been at work here!


Some of you you already know some of this, but I am including all the info for those who don't ...
Greg's sister Cindy collapsed at work (in Duluth) was taken to the hospital there, and then airlifted to St. Mary's in Rochester yesterday afternoon.
She underwent angioplasty and they found 4 aneurysms in different locations in her brain.
They are going to do surgery today...scheduled for around 10 or 11 this morning to repair two of them. The other two are very small and located in areas that they won't be operating. One is very large and is probably the one that leaked into her brain. It is in the front ...behind her forehead but deep in. She has a great amount of blood on her brain. Some of it will be washed out (in the area that they are operating), the rest will have to dissipate in time. The second one that they will repair is behind her left eye.
The surgery will last 5-6 hours and she will be in ICU for at least a week. This is because of the blood on the brain that can't be washed out. This causes "vasospasm" which in turn can cause stroke. About 80% of people in her situation have at least minor problems with stroke. She is already being given a calcium channel blocker to try to prevent that from happening. Then she will be in the hospital for at least one more week, possibly two more.
As far as her condition goes, we all believe it is a miracle that the aneurysm didn't actually burst. After it leaked, by the grace of God it clotted on its own, keeping her from having any deficiencies in any part of her body (and that after taking aspirin daily for some time!) Yesterday she was alert, talking and making witty comments, which the doctors all agree is amazing.
We are also very grateful to God that she was at work and in a meeting with other people. Normally she would have been alone in her office, or it could have even happened when she was at home alone. As it happened there were emergency personnel in her building that could help before the actual paramedics arrived.
Cindy's coworkers reached Ben in the early afternoon, and Nicci was reached by a friend's mom later...around 3:30. So neither of them could get there before she had the angioplasty, but were there when she came back to her room. They will be staying with us as long as they need to. Greg and I got over there about 1/2 hour before the procedure so we got to visit with her for a short time. Her spirits are good....I don't think she realized how critical the situation was. After the procedure she said she was nervous about it. We were grateful also that she had no deficiencies...all of the neuro-type tests were normal. She has a teeny bit of short term memory loss that they think is due to the morphine she is receiving for the pain.
We are praying for God's hand to be continually upon her and for Him to guide the surgeons hands as well as all the other staff involved with her care. Also for Him to be noticably present for Nicci and Ben, for His comfort and peace to get them all through this challenge.

PRAYERS PLEASE!

Hi girls! I had a great time seeing all of you last week! And Jamie, we missed having you there SOO much! I will be sure to share my pictures soon!

The reason for writing today is that I have an URGENT prayer request! My aunt (Dad’s sister – only 56 years old) collapsed today in a meeting at work. Long story short, they think she had a brain aneurysm, and now her brain is hemorrhaging. She’s in Duluth, MN but they don’t have the technology that they need up there so she may be air lifted to Rochester, MN to the Mayo facilities there. She has no history of any medical problems and this is obviously completely out of the blue. She has 2 kids (Nicci is 25 and Ben is 22), and she lost her husband to liver cancer about 6 years ago. So…I would really appreciate any prayers for healing and restoration, peace and comfort for her and our family! I’ll keep you guys posted on what happens. Thanks for the prayers!

Blogs, Wikis and other stuff

Hi girls,

I'm sad that I won't be seeing you, however, can I tell you how thankful I am for this blog?! I'm currently sitting in a session at a Technology Conference in Copper, CO where we are talking about blogs. :) Hooray! I am sitting here, I can read our blog and write to you.

So, here are a few details to wet your appetite for Sapphire 2009. We are going to storm Breckenridge! It seems to be the best town for us to base in. There are lots of shops, lots of ski runs, ice skating isn't far and tubing is just around the corner.

I should have some specific dates for you to begin looking for plane tickets into Denver by next week. Denver is the closest airport, but you could look into flying into Vail, which isn't far either.

Take LOTS of pictures this weekend for me. I've got a page in the works for Joe's wedding! Get those baby girls together so we can get the 2nd generation documented. :)

Wedding bells

Adam, Violet, and I spent the day in Laguna Beach yesterday with my niece Anna and her brand-new fiance, Justin. I had to blog about their getting engaged because I know a lot of you have met Anna a few times and probably remember her from my wedding.


I'm extremely excited and thrilled for her as Justin is a great guy and obviously loves her very much. And he got her an amazing ring, which always helps too. But quite honestly, I'm having a hard time getting it to sink it that my little niece is getting married. And that I live so far away from everyone during all of this.

They haven't set a date yet but are thinking of December '09 in order to wait for Justin to finish school and save up some money. They're already more responsible than I was -- we sort of just jumped in and hoped we wouldn't have to live on the streets. Luckily, all has worked out so far.


Anyway, we had a great time hanging out, even though it was incredibly hot. Laguna is gorgeous. It's funny how all the beaches around here can look so different for some reason.

Ok, gotta run ... I'm so excited to see you girls in just a few days!

first major injury

Hey girls, I just wanted to post a few pictures of Seth with his first big injury. We're all quite proud of the manly wound and it's one to go in the baby books. =) It actually happened last week, but I just got the pictures from mom and dad. Seth got his first set of stitches on his forehead. We were at my parents house and I had just left to go pick up Josh when my mom called me about a mile down the road and said "everything's under control, but Seth bumped his head and it might need a couple stitches." So I turned around and went back to see how he was doing. His head was gashed open and it was so deep you could see right down almost to the skull. yuk! Apparently, he was running into my dad's office where uncle Dan was waiting to tickle him and then he would run out into the foyer where my dad was waiting to hit him back into the office with a pillow. So, dad hit him with a pillow and bounced him headfirst right into a marble coffee table. Everyone felt pretty awful. We weren't mad though because even if we had been there, we would probably have just been waiting on the other side of the room to hit him with another pillow. lol... I'm just glad I wasn't there because I think when his forehead popped open I would have freaked out at all the blood. My dad put in the stitches, which was nice so we didn't have to make a trip to the ER. So, Seth got 5 stitches in his forehead and is forever manlier from it. Josh took the stitches out yesterday and it looks pretty good. I don't think it will scar too badly long-term. So, anyways... here are a few trophy pictures from Seth's first set of stitches. The one of him playing guitar with Daniel was him and Dan singing the "Papa hit me with a pillow and I busted my head open" blues. (Seriously, Daniel taught him a whole song so that he could sing it to my dad and rub it in.) But the guitar session seemed to cheer Seth up. Well, I can't wait to see you girls in just a few days (except Jamie). =( Hope you all are having a good weekend.

Sapphires storm DC in 7 days!

Hey girls, can't wait to see you all in a week!

Seeing that we are going to all be together (minus Jamie - so sad), it is only fitting that we set aside some time for Sapphire lunch and pampering. From what I see (wk-end schedule on previous post) the best time for this would be Saturday afternoon. I'm thinking a light quick lunch with possibly some manis and/or pedis if time permitting.
There is a mall adjacent to our hotels (how convenient for us), so I was thinking we could meet up around 12:30 at the Marriot and hed over to the mall. We should be able to make it back to hotel by 3ish to get ready for the wedding, which starts at 4.
I know it will be kinda a quick thing, but at least we can set aside some time for us. It just wouldn't seem right if we don't.

Well, hope this works for everyone. Let me know if it doesn't work, or if you have a better suggestion.

Love to all - see you in a week!

Colorado

Hey girls,

Colorado is very iffy for us this year. Chances are we will not be able to do this one for financial reasons. If we just get lucky and are able to save some extra cash it might work out, but I don't really see that happening. Josh can't really moonlight his second year and I doubt I will be doing a ton of extra work at home with having the baby, etc. My due date is Nov. 30th. So, if we are able to make it, I should be fine traveling at the end of February and and will definitely have baby #3 in tow, not sure about Seth and Lilah. We would probably try to unload the older two on mom and dad. =) So, that is where we stand on it.

So it has been an exhaustingly busy week because Vanessa and her husband and baby and Josh's mom have been here since last Monday. My house is full of people and stuff and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. But josh has been working ALLLLLLL the time, so the company has been nice. I got the flu this past weekend. Let me tell you, that is not fun when you are pregnant and already sick. But Vicki and Vanessa were a big help with the kids. Much appreciated. The kids and I are going to King's island on Wed. with my family, which will be fun. Josh has to work of course. It was an interesting and stressful weekend in that on top of the flu and all the company, Josh was offered an ER residency position at his hospital. We had been very interested in switching specialties for better hours and more family time and because ER allows way more time for moonlighting and is one year shorter program. Several months ago Josh had mentioned it to someone when he was particularly frustrated with surgery. Since then, he has kind of found his niche in surgery and his attendings and chiefs have been going out of they're way to point out his strengths and have been telling him that he's really talented and has a good future as a surgeon. On Saturday Josh got to remove a gall bladder solo and did a really good job and his superiors were impressed. Immediately after, ER called to offer him the spot. They had an open spot and and knew Josh and a few others were interested in it. So the ER chiefs and attendings had a meeting and unanimously voted to offer the spot to Josh. It was quite the ego-boosting day, which let me tell you is much needed these days as a lowly intern. =) So anyways, we had the weekend to decide and Josh feels (as do I, much to my chagrin) that he is supposed to stay in surgery. We will probably regret this decision for the rest of our lives. You don't even know how much easier our lives would be like immediately if we switched. But we feel like God wants us to stay in surgery and so I will continue to be a surgery widow for the next 10 years of my life. Please pray for us that we don't regret this. The hours will be more bearable if I know we are doing what god wants us to do. Well, that's the update for us these days. love you girls!

Colorado '09

Here are my thoughts on the reunion for '09....

I thought we had agreed on inviting the men to this one because of the skiing... I figure that they are the ones that want to ski the most. So... if Chris can get away from work...we'd love to have him!!

Definitely bring the babies!!! I'm going to need some cuddle time with each of the girls. Plus, they are Sapphires too!! :) I'm looking at getting us a house that will have a bedroom for each family. No details solidified yet, but I'm working on it.

As for dates... I thought I would just check and see what the cheapest was. Julie, I can't remember when your due date is, and I know that you all coming is still up in the air, but when would the earliest that you could travel?

Take lots of pictures during the wedding!! I can't wait to hear all about it.

various

Hi ladies,
hopefully you all got my email already :) I'm just thrilled to pieces tha we're having a little girl. So nice to finally call the baby "she" or "her" instead of just "it". I'm going to embrace the temptation and buy a little girl outfit this weekend, probably hang it in her room or something.
So tonight we took our two 'kiddos' to West Lake in Davenport. We met up with two other couples who have labs and let all the dogs go swimming. This was Nobu and Fujiko's first ever time swimming. They LOVED it and we had a blast watching all 4 labs swim until exhaustion. Lots of laughter was had by all. We'll definatley be doing more of that this summer.
Concerning DC, we are available starting Friday afternoon to do whatever. I went ahead and reserved a rental car. And though we have seen much of DC two years ago, we'd still be interested in seeing some sites if everyone else is interested.
Concerning the next official reunion in Colorado, is this supposed to be one where the men are invited, or is it just a girls event? Either way, Chris will likely travel out west with me since just this last week he officially hired his new partner who lives in Colorado (i think around Denver). This partner, Peter, will not be moving to the Quad Cities so Chris and Peter will do lots of traveling back and forth for several years. So, if it IS or ISN'T a guys event, Chris will go out and probably work for most of the weekend or week, whatever. But anyway, Praise God that Chris has found a partner. Jamie, i think originally i told you i'd fly into whichever airport was closer to the location of our reunion. But, Moline recently added a direct flight into Denver so I will likely fly into Denver airport. What about kids/babies at the colorado reunion? am i thinking too far ahead? yeah Jen, get through DC and childbirth... THEN think about February!!
Oh, and i don't think i posted this, but May 30th was Chris' last day working for Fidlar. He now works for himself and his own company! the new company hasn't technically been formed but they 'close' on it mid June. Did any of you know that it's "double points weekend" on 'Call of Duty 4 - X-Box 360 Live' this weekend?!?! well, apparently it is, so i will be spending a lot of alone time this weekend while Chris racks up the points. perfect time to shop for little girl things :)

DC trip prep...

Jamie - so very sad you will not be joining us in DC, but we are all looking forward to the trip to Colorado in February. Last week of Feb should work for us. If Aaron is still at Toyota the last week isn't always the best time to go, but February is usually a really slow month, so it shouldn't be a problem. Although, chances are he won't be at Toyota by then (fingers crossed).

For all those making the trip...
I was in DC last weekend and managed to get the low-down on the weekend plans, etc. It looks like the wedding will be formal to semi-formal, so cocktail/sun dresses are a go. For the guys - probably a tie, but a jacket is not required.
For those in town Thursday night, the guys will be going out for Joe's bachelor party. We are still working out the details, but it looks like they will be heading downtown to a comedy show, dinner and possibly a club afterwards. We should have all the details for that, including estimated costs sometime this weekend (look for it via email Julie, Kim & Liz). Us girls are on our own that night, which means girls night in? Maybe we could get take out and rent a movie on-demand in the hotel. Just an idea.
Friday is wide open for those who don't have husbands involved in the wedding, so enjoy the sites of DC. For Liz and I, Joe is taking the guys out in the afternoon (he didn't have the details yet on time/place etc), so looks like you and I are on our own. Maybe you could join me on the jaunt to BWI to pick up Steph and Shawn? Then the rehearsal dinner is at 7, which means the rehearsal will probably start sometime around 5. I think he is sending invites for the rehearsal this week or next. I'm thinking we could skip the whole rehearsal thing and go straight to dinner at 7. We have plenty of time to work out the details. Unfortunately Joe could not invite all the out-of-towners the the dinner - about 70% of the wedding guests are coming from out of town. :)
Saturday is also wide open for those not involved in the wedding. Notes for Liz and I - I think Joe said pictures will start around 2ish, but they are doing all the bride and groom pics after the ceremony. I'm guessing the guys will start getting ready around 1 or so. So I guess you would have the morning to see some sites.
Then of course, Sunday is free for all...
For those coming back to my place on Sunday. I'm anticipating that we will leave DC sometime after dinner. Julie - are you planning to stay in DC on Sunday night, or come back to PA for the night? We would definately have a room for you.

Well, guess that's it for now. I'll keep you posted as I get more info.
Can't wait to see you in 18-21 days!

:(

Hello beautiful women! I've been missing you girls lots lately. So, I started working on our scrapbook. I'm not sure if that is helping or not, but it is fun to see your smiling faces everyday. I do need more pictures... or at least pictures that you want to include. If you have some on Snapfish, could you send me a link again. I can't remember how to get to them. :) I have all the Kodak ones... and I'm picking through to find the best ones.

Now for some sad news... I won't be making the trip to DC with you all. We are just unable to do it finiancial this summer. Plus, Nick and I have decided that this is our "Summer of Rest". We are trying to stay low key and not travel too much. (Plus, I think I may be ovulating that weekend and Nick won't be able to come with me.....) So... take lots of pictures, send me lots of stories and have a drink (or soda) for me while you are all together.

We are planning to head up to Breckenridge this July to find a place for our ski trip. We'll be letting you know as soon as we find a place. :) I'm doing my best to keep in with a reasonable budget. Any votes for the last week of February as our week to go? That will be right before the Spring Break crowd shows up. I'm not able to ditch school the first week of March at the moment (huge state test stuff). I think all the babies will be here by then and everyone will be able to travel.

Let me know what you think! Enjoy DC and Joe's wedding!! I can't wait to hear stories. Love you all!

More plans

It sounds like most everyone has already made their travel plans, but I thought I'd post just in case...

I just booked the Marriott for us and got it for $63 / night with our AAA discount. They also offer a rental car discount for booking through Hertz where you get a free tank of gas, which is actually kind of a big deal right now with gas prices being so ridiculous.

Now if someplace just offered free babysitting services, we'd be all set... :)

our plans

Hi girls,
We are flying in Friday to IAD airport (Dulles) at around 2:20, and leave Sunday from IAD at around 2:20. Will be a short trip, but we've seen all of the DC sites so didn't need extra time to spend in town. We are staying at the Marriott and are seriously thinking of getting a rental vehicle. In fact, I'm supposed to be checking out those prices right now. So, if anyone else is using IAD close to the times we are, you're welcome to ride with us!
A guest has just arrived at our house, i must go...

So excited!

OK, so I'm so excited to see all of you plans in writing. I can't wait to see you all and spend some time together. It should be a fun weekend, especially since none of us are actually in the wedding, which leaves plenty of time for play.

I thought I would post our tentative plans and try and answer some of the questions you guys have. Aaron and I are planning to make the drive down to DC on Thursday morning. Aaron is planning the bachelor party, which will be Thursday night, and I wanted to let you all know that your husbands are more than welcome to join the fun. I'll let you guys know the plans when we have them set in stone.
Those flying in may want to check into taking the trains from the airport and maybe sharing a rental with one of the other couples. This may help in keeping the costs down. Aaron and I will have a car and Josh and Julie are driving as well. Another money saving tip, Marriott gives AAA discount on top of the already low rate that Joe got, so if you have AAA you can get the room for like $70, and I think it includes breakfast (not sure about that though). The date to book by for Joe's rate is 6/5, so make sure you do it before then.

Jamie - It really isn't hard to get to DC from Baltimore. It's basically all highway if you are driving, and like I said, you may even be able to take the train down.
Julie - It's totally OK for you guys to stay at our house Tuesday night. You can stay as long as you wish in fact.
Steph - I'm planning to come down on Thursday now, so I'm not sure if we will be able to pick you up, but I know that Chris & Jen are coming in on Friday, but I don't know what airport. The train may also be an option.

For those of you staying around afterwards, I think we are going to come back to PA sometime Sunday evening. Aaron has to work on Monday (its the last day of the month), but we plan on staying in DC for most of the day to do some site-seeing and such with the rest of the gang. I'm taking off work the rest of the following week, so feel free to come up and stay as long as you want.

Well, guess that's all for now. Call or email if you guys have any questions.
I'm so excited to see you all in June! 5 weeks and counting...

Katie update and trip plans

Ok, Katie had her MRI this past Tuesday, and thankfully, the report was generated very quickly. I met with her pediatrician today who was able to explain the portions of the report to me that I did not understand....

Basically, it's very good news overall. Her bleed is gone now...it has probably broken up and absorbed, which is exactly what it should have done. So that's great news! From what I can tell, there is seen to indicate that she has too much spinal fluid, or that the exit of the fluid is blocked. The pediatrician told me that these reports need to be read in conjunction with her growth chart. We want her head to continue to measure normally. So for it has. Hydrocephalus causes the head to become large beccause there is no where for the spinal fluid to go. So instead of Katie going back in 2 months, she will go back in a month just to have her head measured. But I think that is just more precautionary. The pediatrician stressed that we will just watch her now as we would any other infant.

The report did show something else completely unrelated, but it's not a problem unless it's in conjunction with other things. So that made us a tiny bit nervous, but that is fine as well. The pediatrician said it's something we never would have known about if she hadn't been premature. So everything should be fine. I don't really like the fact that we need to watch her head though. I didn't actually see my normal pediatrian today because he was at a conference, so I'm going to see what he says too when I go in next month. But really it's good news. One more thing we've overcome:)

As far as the trip to DC is concerned,all 3 of us are coming in on Thursday early afternoon until Monday. We're hoping to have some time to see the sights on Friday and Sunday. We haven't booked out hotel yet either, and haven't figured out yet if we're renting a car. But I'll need to look into that stuff relatively soon now that things are slowing down again. I can't wait to see everyone. And thanks again for the prayers. Everytime something pops up, it's like the first time. It's so good to know we have such amazing friends who keep us and Katie lifted up in prayer.

Our Trip

Ok so we've had our tickets for a while. We will fly in and out of Baltimore. We come in on Friday June 27 and we fly out on Saturday July 5. Ang - were you still going to try to pick us up on your way to the wedding? If not, we can probably just get a car and drive down ourselves. Jamie - I think it's pretty easy to get to DC from Baltimore, but I've never done it. That's just what I've heard from Joe in the past. I would love to see some of the sights in the DC area since I have never been there. I just don't know how much we're going to get in. I am REALLY looking forward to relaxing with my friends, as well! We've had such a busy schedule recently, its going to be great to catch up with you guys!

We are headed to Minnesota tonight and will be back to Tulsa on Monday evening. We almost didn't get to go. Apparently they thought that my neice had whooping cough, which spreads like wildfire, I guess. So since everyone that we were going to see had been exposed to it, we would probably catch it. Which in turn would make us take extra days off work until we weren't contagious anymore and we just couldn't afford to do that. I guess they are finding that the vaccines that we got when we were little have a tendency to wear off, or they just don't work sometimes. Which is what they thougth was going on with Madeline. Anyhoo...the good news is that she was tested and it came back negative for that, so we're good to go. :-)

I am so excited to see all you girls! And I'm can't wait to meet the new additions to our little group. See you soon! What is it - 5 weeks and counting??? Woo HOO!

Wedding Plans in the Making

Here are my thoughts on the wedding... I'm thinking about using my free air miles to make my way out there. I have nothing concrete yet. I am teaching at a technology conference the week of the wedding, but I think our final day is on Friday so that is when I'm looking to fly out there. I am thinking that I will leave Monday afternoon. If I fly in to Baltimore, will I be able to make my way to DC pretty easily? I wish I knew more about the east coast!! Let me know what you all think. :)

Wedding plans

Hola chicas,

So Adam and I just bought our tickets to DC. We ended up getting a pretty good deal, thanks to this website that Adam was watching which told us when to purchase. Anyway, we are getting in to DC on the Thursday before the wedding and are staying through the following Tuesday.

We haven't booked a hotel yet since we weren't sure about the after-the-wedding plans. We don't have a lot of time afterwards, but would love to hang out as much as possible. We'll most likely rent a car since we'll have the baby and all the things that come along with her.

We just spent a lovely weekend with Adam's mom. She kept Violet in the room with her so Adam and I were able to sleep in, in the mornings. It was amazing. Better than sex. Really.

We also took Violet to the aquarium, which I'm sure she won't remember, but I loved it.

Violet's giggling and cooing pretty much nonstop now. I feel like she's almost ready to sit up on her own and she's sure giving crawling a pretty good try, kicking her legs and scooting on her tummy. I've started signing with her, just some basic words, like milk and dog. She hasn't really caught on yet, but hopefully within a couple months.

Love you girls and miss you lots!

plans

Hey girls,

Ok, so Josh and I have settled on some plans for Joe's wedding. We are going to drive in (since our Skybus tickets are no longer valid) on June 24. We were planning to stay that night in PA if Angie and Aaron have room for us. If not, we can get a hotel. Just let me know Angie. =) And then I think we're going to head to DC a bit early on the 25th through the 29th. We wanted to see some of the sights in the Washington DC area. We are staying at the Extended Stay America in Fairfax the whole time because we got it on Hotwire for a really good price. We have to drive back to Ohio on June 30th. So that's it for us. Unfortunately, we can't hang long after the wedding with everyone. But Josh's work schedule simply won't allow it.

Liz, we're also praying for you guys and Katie and I'm sure everything will be fine. We're praying for good reports when Katie has the rest of her testing. And we've got all of our family and their churches praying for Katie. You will soon be on the other side of all this stress and will be able to just relax and enjoy the beautiful little girl you have been blessed with. I'm naming it claiming it! =) Seriously, we are and we love you guys!

Making plans...

We're looking at about 6 weeks till Joe's wedding and the impromptu sapphires reunion, and yes, I'm starting to think about making plans. I can't wait to see you all and of course meet the newest additions.
So yea, I wanted to find out your plans. When are you getting in? How long are you staying? etc... I've actually heard from most of you, but not specifics. Jamie are you coming? I really hope so, cause if not, you'll be the only one we are missing.
OK, well email me or post it on the blog. Can't wait to see you all in 6 weeks!

Liz, you know I'm praying for you. God is stretching and molding you and Nathan into the parents you are meant to be. He has great plans for Katie and we are believing with you that she and you will get through all this stronger than you were before.

Love and prayers to all.
Ang.

It's always something...

You all are going to be tired of reading our not so good news and prayer requests, but we have more...
Just when we thought we were out of the woods, we got some results back from some follow-up tests Katie had done. After Katie was born, they looked into many things, both because TEF kids can have many other defects, and because she was premature. She didn't have any of the other defects associated with TEF, but there were a few things they were keeping an eye on due to her prematurity. They discovered some things with Katie's head and kidneys, both of which were very common, and both of which typically resolve themselves. Her head had a grade 1 bleed, which is not bad and pretty common in preemies, and they say many full-term babies could be born with them as well, and no one would ever know. This type of bleed typically resolves itself and goes away. For her kidneys she had mild hydronephorsis (not sure on the spelling) of one of them, meaning one kidney was a big larger. Again, they weren't too worried about this, and Katie's system is working just fine and everything passes through her system. Well, she did have to have follow-up ultrasounds last week just to follow this stuff.

I haven't heard anything yet on her kidneys, and really am not too worried about they seem to work just fine. However, the head ultrasound indicated that she has large ventricles (the area that hold the spinal fluid). Her pediatrician said the reports from radiology were pretty vague, and he had several people look at them before calling me, and called some other specialists as well. Basically, the report was very vague, and we don't really know if this is a problem or not, so we need to get a head MRI done. They said it very well could be a normal variance, which is of course what we are praying and believing for. But because she already has the one defect, we can't ignore it and really need to look at it more closely. The doctor wouldn't give me any info as to what it could mean if it's not a normal variance. In looking things up and talking to some people, it seems that it could basically mean too much fluid results in pressure on the brain, and when that happens it's typically necessary to get a shunt put in to drain the pressure to prevent problems. I don't know much else. I don't know if this is something that develops, and that's why we didn't see if on the previous ultrasounds, and I don't know if it's related to the grade one bleed. I think I'm just in for a wait for a while, because right now the MRI is scheduled for next week, and it sounds like it will be a week and a half or so before I will know the results. Her pediatrician was very good about making sure the MRI was necessary before calling me, since it requires her to be under anesthesia. So of course, I am nervous, but trying very hard not to think about it, and to just believe it is all withing normal ranges. So please keep us in your prayers once again, and hopefully this will be the last time. Sorry to always be bringing rough news.

I know I seldom post good things, but we really are enjoying every day with Katie. She's growing so fast. She's got to be between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds now, and it's crazy how fast she grows. She's hit the stage where she's a bit fussy sometimes now because she's awake more, but doesn't really play yet. But she smiles a bit more and enjoys being on the ground to move around a lot. She's rolled from her stomach to her back twice, mostly because she hates tummy time:) And she's just now waking up, so I need to go. Thanks for your continued prayers. This is another big one.

funny

I noticed the coincidence of the middle names as well. It's funny that they all have the same middle name. I think they're all named after family members as well. Ann is a popular middle name! And lovely... =) haha... Love you girls!

Is it coincidence?

I just realized something the other day that I thought you all may be interested in. A funny thing has happened in our little group of girls that I find quite interesting. So far we have 3 baby girl sapphires ALL WITH THE SAME MIDDLE NAME! Is it coincidence?
Lilah Ann
Violet Ann
Katherine Anne
FYI, Ann or Anne means gracious, merciful.
Yea, just thought you all would like to know this little bitty fact about our group. No pressure to those having baby girls in the future. :)

Love you girls.

So thankful...

So we got our praise report! Yesterday we had an appointment with an ENT, who was very knowledgeable and knew all about TEF and even knew Katie's surgeon. She was also very knowledgeable about hemangiomas, and thankfully, we don't have to worry about the one on Katie's neck! She said it is not attached to the larynx, and it cannot attach itself because there are layers of tissue separating the hemangioma from the larynx and they are not permeable. So there is nothing to worry about. She also looked in to Katie's files to read about a scope done prior to her surgery the day after she was born, and there was no indication of any hemangiomas at that point either. The specialist also explained the breathing difficulties, and they are related to her trachea, and how because she has TEF it sometimes I think folds or something. I don't remember exactly how she explained it, but it's something that can also just happen to any kid. So it's nothing to worry about at all as long as she is gaining weight and thriving. And she'll always catch her breath...she won't ever just not breath.

Thanks so much for your prayers. The thought of losing Katie for weeks again to the operating table was more than I could handle. You have no idea how grateful I am to just have her home in my arms where she belongs. My Myspace has a quote about being a premie parent, and how you learn to really appreciate life. It's so true.

So in other news, we're just enjoying watching Katie grow so quickly. Her weight gain is no longer a concern, and she gains more than a half pound per week. She's now about 6 1/2 pounds, which to us is huge! She's taken to nursing pretty well now, and we only do bottles at night now (mainly because she'll eat more from the bottle, thus sleeping longer, giving me more sleep in the process:). She's a tiny bit behind her age developmentally. She'll kind of fall between her gestational age and her true age for a few months I guess. But she's catching up. She actually even rolled over from the stomach to her back last week, so we're not too worried. She also has all of her follow-up tests next week, so we'll finish checking into the other premie concerns at that point. But we're not too worried. Nathan is an awesome father, and I couldn't imagine doing this without him! And the dog is adjusting. She gets jealous, but is also quite interested in the baby, and doesn't like it if I leave Katie upstairs sleeping in the morning when I come down. So that's us. I think thing are finally calming down around here now, and we can just enjoy our little baby. Thanks again for everything, and I can't wait to see you girls for Joe's wedding. Jen, you'll really be showing by then. I'm sure you're just too cute. Julie, you might be showing a bit by then. And I'm glad this pregnancy is going better for you.