Artists in the making...

Feeling Fine...

I've had a lot of people ask me how I'm feeling, so I thought I would give a little update. I am doing well. I'm one of those fortunate people who doesn't have much problems during pregnancy. I do get headaches and a lot of them (have one right now in fact), but that is by far my biggest complaint. I haven't felt as good with this pregnancy, but I'm also adding two kids and a couple of years to my life. I'm sure that doesn't help with any of it. I'm sure the boys' and Jason's biggest complaint is my moodiness. Wow--can I turn on a drop of leaf. It seems like Landon gets the brunt of most of that--a fact I'm not happy at all to admit. One day I told Jason that he should be glad he's working a lot because otherwise it would be him. Jason just looked at Landon and said "thanks for taking one for the team, buddy!" Our little girl has been moving quite a bit, and with everything that we've gone through, I welcome each kick and punch!

Jason gave me a treat yesterday--he took the boys grocery shopping with him. Not only did he do the shopping, he gave me a chance to have the house to myself. I just kept looking around and saying "no one's here". It's been a long time since I've had the house to myself for an hour+, and I will say--it was wonderful! It was even better, though, when they came home, and Landon told me to close my eyes. I expected him to give me the candy bar that I had requested (yes, I'm eating chocolate like it's going out of style). Instead, I opened my eyes to a bouquet of flowers (and don't worry-the candy bar was purchased as well). Yes, my husband and boys love me!!!

Fire Station Visit

Last Tuesday (7/8), we went to the fire station for a tour with the playgroup from church. Landon really enjoyed it. Noah liked most of it--his attention span lasts about 2 minutes. He did like the big fire truck, though!

Jet skis!

Even Grandma and Papa went for a ride!

Boat Time

Camping over the 4th of July

For the 4th of July, we decided to go camping for the weekend. Don't think we're crazy--we didn't go "roughing it". We rented an RV (yes, with air conditioning and a bathroom) and went to a lake nearby with my family who all own their own trailers. So, we had 4 different campsites, a boat, and two jet skis that my brother and sister-in-law just purchased. All of that equals fun!!! We loved having our own space to sleep and such, but at the same time we loved spending a long weekend with the family. The boys (meaning Jason as well) had a blast on the jet skis, and our excitement over the weekend is that Landon rode his bike without training wheels. We had raised the training wheels a month or two ago, and we knew he could ride without them since he was hardly using them. He just needed to believe himself. Jason took them off Friday morning, and off Landon went. He had such a blast riding around with his cousins.

The boys being silly...

Even while camping sometimes you need some down time to watch a movie...

Let's just say I was done with my drink after he got ahold of it!!!

The second ultrasound

Well, I can't say that we know a whole lot more than we did before we went to our appointment today, but I can say that we feel good about it all and do not plan to do further testing (an amnio). The two choriod plexus cysts were still there, but like before, everything else looks fine. They found no other abnormalities which makes us both feel like this little one will be okay. I am also comforted by the fact that my AFP test had come back normal a couple of weeks ago. I've also done a little of my own research, and very, very, very few isolated cysts have resulted in a chormosome disorder. The doctor emphasized that even though she appears normal, it does not automatically mean she does not have trisomy 18, and she's still at a higher risk for having this because of the cysts and my age--34; however, the risk is not quite as high as it would be if other things were found. We decided against the amnio because the thought of miscarrying a healthy baby was harder for us to accept than if she has something wrong with her. I truly believe that God will take care of us, and she will come out healthy and ready to take on her brothers. If that's not His plan, He'll carry us along the way. As I sit here writing this, I'm feeling her move, and to me, she's telling me we're doing what's right.

So, now I feel like I can finally be totally excited that we are having a girl! The tech today also said it was a girl, so we're feeling confident that she won't give us a surprise when she arrives. I really can't believe we're getting a little girl. I'm a little nervous b/c I just know boys, but I tend to learn quickly, so I'm okay with having a girl in the house. :) When I start to think of the things we need to buy, my head starts to spin, but at least we don't have to buy the big items--just clothes, pajamas, clothes, bedding and such for her room, clothes, blankets, clothes, towels (at least 1 or 2 that aren't blue and say "Thank Heaven for Little Boys"), bibs (same story as the towels), and did I mention clothes???? I wish you could see my smile right now. Thank heaven for little boys AND little girls!

Thank you to those who called or emailed with encouraging words! You will never know how much it meant to me and calmed my overly active brain with the what-ifs. She's still at a higher risk, so feel free to keep her in your prayers if you can spare a few. For me, my prayers will continue as they did with all of my pregnancies, but with this one, I'm adding a big dose of Faith.