Miracles

Well, I saw the high risk OB today and was given a very bleak diagnosis. The baby is measuring a week ahead and looks great but there are several issues going on. I have a low lying placenta, which is causing some bleeding, but it may move up so it's not a huge concern at this point. I also have a massive subchorionic hematoma that is surrounding half of the baby and sac. There is blood and blood clots pooled up everywhere and he said I'll probably bleed throughout my entire pregnancy. This hemtoma is a huge risk to the baby and if it grows any bigger the baby could die. It is also causing part of the placenta to detach from the uterus as well as the sac layers to separate and if either of these two things continue or get worse, the baby will die. The specialist said things look "very bad". It looks like I will need to be on bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. I have a follow up appointment on April 6th to see if things have improved. Apparently this is another fluke. Wow, what are my chances, right? Please pray for miracle!


This diagnosis makes me realize even more what a miracle Benjamin is. Sometimes I still can't believe he is ours and we got to bring him home!

Prayers Appreciated!

Well, I was definitely expecting a little bit of craziness with this pregnancy, since I'm supposed to get the cerclage in a few weeks, but was really hoping for some smooth sailing! Guess I was a little too optimistic. :) I'll be 11 weeks on Saturday and this past week I started bleeding bright red! I was quite shocked but actually stayed pretty calm and was wondering if maybe I was going to have a miscarriage at 10 weeks. I went to my OB and had an ultrasound and the baby looked great and the heartbeat was strong, which was such a relief! So I was told they don't know why I'm bleeding and to take it easy. Everything was good for about 48 hours and then I had another bleeding episode yesterday. So I'm back to laying on the couch. I honestly am thinking maybe I have a sub chorionic hematoma, but they told me it was too early to tell, which I find interesting because many people are diagnosed with this as early as 5 or 6 weeks. So it just makes me think my doctor's ultrasound machine isn't good enough to see one. Anyway, I already had my high risk appointment scheduled for Monday so I'm hoping they can tell me more after an ultrasound with their high tech equipment. I've never had bleeding in the first trimester before but hey, there's a first for everything right? I've been praying a lot and I am definitely feeling the prayers of others so I know that is giving me peace. I'm just trying to trust in Jesus and am really hoping this baby makes it home this fall! One fear I have is that I don't think I can get a cerclage if I'm bleeding so if this keeps coming, we might be in trouble. Prayers are definitely appreciated!

HUGE news!

So, just a few weeks after we got certified, we got the call! I can't believe it happened so fast, but we got a call for a little 2 month old baby boy. He is SO adorable and Benjamin is loving him too.  He is so thick and weighs 14 lbs. already and is wearing 3-6 month clothes. He wakes up a few times a night to eat, which is already better than Benjamin ever was, but it sure is an adjustment! He has just a bit of fuzzy hair and big blue eyes. We were told this was only temporary (1-2 months) and they were right. We only had him for three short weeks and then he went to live with his new foster/adoptive family, who has already adopted his 15 month old sister. It was really hard to say goodbye and I cried the first night, but I know that we'll be fine. I also get to continue to pray for him and even though he is with his possibly adoptive family, he is still in reunification with his mother so this family does have to fight to try to keep him and it may not be an easy road for them. So right when we had to give him up, our social worker asked if we wanted to take another little baby boy who is 6 weeks. We would only have a few days in between the two babies and I was told this would be a 6-12 month placement. We thought and prayed about it for a day and had to give an answer and we said yes! So I was really excited about another little one coming to join us and a few days later received a call that he was unexpectedly being reunited with his birth father, so he won't be coming here after all. I've learned this process is definitely an emotional roller coaster, but we are just rolling with the punches!

Here is a pic of Ben holding the little guy. It's not a great picture of him but I didn't think I should really show his face, since this is public.

In other big news, see the picture below. We found out right after we got certified. I know, right?!? Huge miracle! :)

Had an ultrasound today and saw the heartbeat! I'm due very early October, which probably means baby will be here late September. Prayers would definitely be appreciated!!

It's Official!

So it's official that I am a horrible blogger! I cannot believe I haven't written a post since June. So life has been crazy and fun. Being at home with Benjamin is amazing and fulfilling and there is not a dull moment around here. I am very much embracing my inner homemaker and loving it!

 Ben at 18 months

 These are a few pics that we had taken over the summer by a friend of Rob's sister. They turned out great! (Taken by Lovelock and Co)

Here's Benjamin trying to pick up a giant pumpkin!

God has also been blessing our business abundantly and it is so awesome to see. We keep having to hire new employees, which is so cool, especially in this economy! I believe we now have 8 full time employees, not counting Rob. It is so amazing to look at it all now and remembering how we started working right out of our garage with Rob doing all of the work.







Benjamin turned 2 in December and I can't believe it. He is getting so huge and he talks up a storm. He loves to talk and he has been singing, which is so cute. He also now asks me to rock with him and sing to him before nap and bedtime, which I just love so much. I used to rock him to sleep when he was a baby and then around 1 he stopped letting me so I am really enjoying my cuddle time. He also loves to throw, destroy, and take apart everything, as well as wrestle.



It's also official that we are finally certified for foster care! I laugh when I see we thought it would be done in August. :) It took quite a bit longer than expected but I am happy to report that it is done and now we just wait for a phone call. Very excited, and a bit nervous but we know this is what we are supposed to do.

This is how he sleeps in the car :)

Changes!

Ok, I can finally talk about the changes that we have going on with our family and I'm seriously bubbling with excitement as I type this! :)

1) Some of you already know this but Rob and I are in the process of getting certified to become foster parents with the hopes of adopting. Adoption has always been in my mind but over this past year so many things have happened to move us in that direction and God has really put it on our hearts to do this. We are working with a local agency to first become foster parents and then hopefully adopt as well. We know that this will not be an easy road and can be very scary, but we know it is what God wants us to do. These children are in foster care due to some kind of trauma, abuse, neglect, etc and it breaks my heart. We hope to be certified sometime around August and then we just wait for a phone call! The process is very intensive and we have a lot to do to get our house ready and answer an insane amount of very personal questions about our entire life up to this point. Please pray for us as we go through this process and that God would hand pick a child (or children) to entrust in our care. :)

2) This is something we have been praying about for YEARS and I seriously can't believe it is happening! We've decided that I will be quitting my job and staying home with Benjamin. This has been on my heart for SO long and I am so blessed to be able to do this. We have been praying for years that our business would flourish enough for us to support our family so that I could quit my job and that time is finally here. In a tumultuous economy of ups and downs and watching other businesses in our industry go out of business or downsize, it is so very obvious to us that God is blessing us right now. I've also been revamping our family budget for awhile now to help. We've cut cable a long time ago, I'll be canceling our landline and I've been saving hundreds of dollars by couponing and getting stuff for free at drugstores. (You can see more details on this by clicking on "blogs" at the top of my page). This is going to be a huge adjustment for me, as I've been working for the same company for 8 years, but it will be a very welcome change. I've already started looking for activities that I can take Benjamin to, like toddler storytime at the library, the zoo, museums, etc and I can't wait. I've also been thinking about ways that I can be a better helper for Rob, like making him coffee and helping him get going in the mornings, which he's going to LOVE. This is a huge test of faith for us, since we've never really had to rely on God for all of our needs before but He has confirmed for us over and over that He will provide for us. My last day of work is June 16th and then I will officially be a full time domestic engineer!

So there you have it! Big and exciting changes for our family. :)

Life

Wow, it's been awhile since I've post...oops! Life has been crazy and is just flying by. Benjamin is growing up so fast into a little boy and he's just adorable. I can't believe he's already 16 1/2 months. He's talking up a storm and says new words every day. Right now he can say Bailey (our dog), airplane, car, truck, up, outside, please, thank you, more, cracker, water and he makes some animal noises. :) He talks in long sentences all the time but we have no idea what he's saying and lately you can tell he gets frustrated that we don't understand! He also loves to play with anything that makes a ton of noise and if it doesn't make noise,  he crashes it into something so that it does. He loves to line up his toys too so I'm hoping he'll be an organized little guy. I can dream! He loves to get dirty and to be outside and he cries when I make him come inside. He has turned into an amazing sleeper as well and I'm loving it! He sleeps 12 hours every night and sometimes wakes up once (around 6am) and I still nurse him and then he goes back down. This last week though he has been sleeping 12 hours straight with no waking and it's amazing. On top of that, he takes a 2-3 hour nap each afternoon. I guess he's catching up after 12 months of not great sleep. :)

We just got back from a crazy, whirlwind trip to Italy. It was amazing and exhausting and I will now say that I would not recommend international travel with a toddler to anyone. It was a long trip in the making  that my sister had been planning for years to celebrate graduating with her PhD. It was a fun time with family and awesome to see the sights but I'm glad we're home!

Easter was also a fun weekend hanging out with family and celebrating our risen Savior and reflecting on what He did for us. We didn't go an easter egg hunt, but my mom got Benjamin some plastic eggs and a basket and he played with them for hours!

We have a lot of changes going on in our family right now, and I can't talk about all of them yet, but I'm really excited about them all (and no, I'm not pregnant!) Not to leave everyone hanging or anything, but I'm sure I can say more in my next post. I'll try not to go three months before posting again!

He walks!

And just a few days after this, he started running...and then flying headfirst into the ground. :)