Happy New Year!

I'm a resolution person, always have been. One year (many, many moons ago) I was so determined to accomplish my yearly goals that I made my resolution, signed it, then had the thing laminated. And I STILL didn't accomplish my goals for the year. I've been giving it some thought as to what I wanted to accomplish this year... and only one thing comes to mind, but it's not something I only just thought of, it's something I've already been working on and will continue to work on when this new year passes. It doesn't have to do with my weight (for once) or anything physical, for that matter. It has to do with my spiritual development - which will, in turn, affect the rest of me. I came across something in someone else's blog, I hope she doesn't mind me reposting it. It was just so inspiring and made me think much more clearly, that I've even written it in my journal. This is it:

"This year, I find myself thinking more about what I AM rather than what I WANT... And I know that when the end of the year arrives... it is more likely that I will want to craft a written statement that explains my world view at this time in my life... rather than write a list of things I want/should be working on. I guess I just feel like I KNOW what I should be working on, and every day I try to get a little closer... without needing to declare it in a brash, year-end promise." (italics added for the parts that really struck me)

I've come across several people this year who've seemed to lose their way, even after knowing where they were going for so long. I've come across people who claim they're "trying to find themselves" and therefore use that as an excuse to do things they normally wouldn't. This breaks my heart as I'm very close to a lot of these people. I turned 30 this year, so did a lot of my friends. A lot of them had a hard time with this. I didn't. I'm not trying to brag or say that this is a great accomplishment on my end. I'm only trying to say that I'm so incredibly grateful for the knowledge of WHO I AM. I chose this life. I chose to be a mother instead of a career woman. I chose the man I married. I chose to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I still choose it. This is me, this is who I am. And I'm proud of that. I don't need to set unobtainable goals every year in order to have self-fulfillment. I can do it every day by choosing happiness and realizing the things in this life that will TRULY make me happy, not just here on this earth, but in the eternities to come. I love my life and will always strive to reach my potential, but won't wait till another new year arrives to do so. I had to say this publicly, as it means a lot to me. I hope everyone has had a great 2008 and embraces 2009.

5 Things I Love - Been tagged again!

Ok, Becka, here it is: (I've pretty much already posted the most interesting things that have happened to me in the last month, so I'll stick with what you were originally tagged to do...)

1. I love sunshine. It's so energizing! A day can be colder than cold but as long as the sun is shining, it's all good.

2. I love how much my husband is being so helpful and understanding this pregnancy. What a good man I have!

3. I love my kids. I know that's a given, but I really do love them, so much it makes me ache.

4. I love blogging. :) I love reading other people's blogs, too!

5. I love reading. What better way to escape from doing laundry! (Not that I EVER do that.)

I'm not much of a tagging type person, so if you want to do this - go for it! :)

Links!

Sometimes I talk about things I've posted previously, but one may not know what the heck I'm talking about, so I asked an old friend of mine how one might link words to previous posts so I could refer to what I've talked about before without causing confusion. So, if you see a word in a post of mine that is a different color from others, it's a link to what the heck I'm talking about in the first place. Thanks, J! It worked! :)

Guess who's dryer works?!

Mine!! Woohoo!!!

Just over a week ago, our dryer broke. So, we bought a new one, only to find we might be able to replace the part... SO, we looked into that, and were able to take the dryer back, order the part and get it within a week (no thanks to Fedex who was supposed to have it to us in TWO days, AND we had to pick it up OURSELVES. Geesh!) which saved us a large amount of money. Well, my wonderful mechanic smarty-pants husband was able to not only identify the part we needed, but was able to successfully replace it!!! I've never been so glad to be able to do laundry! Actually, I have. Back when we bought the dryer in the first place! Yay for working appliances!!

Christmas 2008!

We had a very good Christmas this year! It's always good, though, right? We didn't take many pictures, as usual, but here are a couple:

A playing with some of his spoils...

N sporting some of her new make-up. Look out boys!

Here's one of the kids reading Santa's note:

My favorite author, Richard Paul Evans, has a little book I found on a discount table once upon a time entitled "The First Gift of Christmas". It talks about the four "seasons" of Christmas - The Advent, The Eve, The Morning, The Night. I don't want to drag on this entry, but I really want to put in an exert from this book. I read it every year and am so grateful I have it. Here it is (well worth the read):

The Fourth Season of Christmas: The Night.

Christmas Night.

As the evening falls

like the curtain on a

long-awaited show,

I hold my daughter,

just one last time

this season,

In the warm bath of the

Christmas-tree lights.

And I wonder.

Did the Yuletide parties

and gatherings fill her

with a sense of family?

Did the Christmas rituals

unite her in a shared

commonality with

her fellowmen?

Did the music of Christmas

heal her of a cynical world

and inspire her with hopes

of something greater?

Did the gifts she shared

teach her that the greatest gifts

are received in the giving?

Did the once-wrapped

presents of Christmas remind

her of a greater gift given

many Christmases ago?

And I wonder.

Is there enough awe

in my child,

enough magic left,

to save a world?

For within my heart

I lament a great truth -

That the only

promise of childhood

is that it will end.

And I wonder what

I have given her

to take its place.

And is it enough?

I can't even type this without getting all teary-eyed. This year, like every year, I'm so sad to see Christmas end. I'm never satisfied that it was good enough to let it go for another year. I've been thinking about this a lot these last few days and have come to a conclusion: I depend too greatly on the commercialness of the Christmas season to fulfill my experience of the holiday. It's not enough. I know the true meaning of Christmas and value it greatly, but I never do anything about it. I try to teach my children the meaning of it all and that giving is better than getting, but I never do anything to really teach them this. Every year is filled with threats of Santa's watching and stop that or you lose a present... what does this teach my kids?? I've written this down in my journal and will remember to do better for next year.

I hope all had a wonderful holiday and that it was everything you hoped it would be!

Our Christmas FHE

M was in charge of coming up with something for FHE the Monday before Christmas, and he had such a cute idea! We made our very own Nativity scene from craft supplies we had (and a few acquired at the dollar store)! The kids helped and it was really fun! And oh-so-messy...

This is me (made by N). The red glitter glue to the left of "me" is the baby. Very creative. :)

The finished product:

There's the star, two shepherds, two sheep, a big brown cow, a little gray donkey, and of course Mary and Joseph and Jesus in the manger.

Two different views:

Oh so glad!

Our dryer broke the other day... like died. So, yesterday, when we went to buy a new one we saw a little paper giving information on replacement parts and such... which we didn't think was possible. WELL, we bought a dryer, anyway, because they had one in stock and we didn't want to have to wait for one, but took one of these papers home to see if we could just replace the part. I'm so glad I'm married to a mechanic! M was able to identify the part we need to replace and order it to be here by Friday for $200 LESS than the price of the dryer! So, we took the dryer back last night and were able to save money!!! Woohoo!!! (I'm chalking this one up to tithing, too!)

What's in a name?

Picking out a baby name isn't as easy as I thought. We had a name picked out (Davin Peter) but just saying it didn't feel right. I don't feel like I'm carrying a Davin. I'm always anxious to get a name picked out, either due to my impatience or because I think people who wait till AFTER the baby's born to name it are weird. No offense to them. Just my opinion. So, at our family council yesterday, M and I were trying to come up with something better. Of course we were searching his Star Wars Encyclopedia (see previous post) but I really felt the name we needed wasn't in there. Not that it wasn't a Star Wars name, it just wasn't in the book we were looking at. We found nothing. I still needed a name, so I kept thinking about it. Then, last night, M was laying there very quiet... I thought he was trying to go to sleep. Then he suggested a name... my first reaction was "he'll get made fun of". But as I mulled it around in my head, it sounded better and better. Then I prayed about it (yes, I pray about names). It was indeed the right name. It is a Star Wars name, and was NOT in the book we were looking at... the middle name we came up with was actually something my daughter suggested, not a family name (that we know of) and it felt right, too. So, here it is:

Quinlan Thomas Hamblin - we'll call him Quin for short.

I looked up the meaning of the name online this morning and Quinlan is Irish/Gaelic and means fit, shapely, strong. Quin means counsel. Exactly what I was looking for! I felt I needed a name that was strong and would be the name of a leader. (I feel a special spirit growing inside me - very intimidating!) So, there it is. For sure this time. :)

The Last Day of School Rocks!

My kids had their Christmas parties today. I love how they schedule them one right after the other so I don't have to miss one or go back and forth.

This is A making a little popsicle stick puppet and posing with the completed project in front of the "Pin the Nose on Rudolph" game:

This is N posing - she hears the camera turn on and she's ready! The last one is when they were playing "Pass the Candy Cane"... they couldn't use their hands, only the candy cane in their hand. It was pretty fun to watch!

Making up for lost trials...

A few posts ago, I said "everything happens in threes"... well, one of those things was I thought I had diabetes. Since I don't, I'm thinking the universe had to make up for that to complete my theory.

Our dryer died this morning! It was working better than it has in months and then POP. Dead. Wires fried. Non-replaceable part. Super. Thankfully, at the end of that post, I mentioned a positive in my life right now - my husband's raise... which should help us get a new dryer next week. And I thought I wasn't getting anything for Christmas this year!

Dumb dryer.

Isn't it pretty?

Our tree!

The results are in!

Woohoo! I passed the test! Yay!!

Now for the waiting game

I went to the hospital bright and early this morning for a fasting 3 hour glucose test. For those of you wondering how that works, this is how:

One isn't supposed to eat after 8pm the night before (in my case, with all the church things going on yesterday starting at 5pm, I ate last at 4:30pm) (so, yeah, I was hungry) (to say the least). Then, one goes into their doctor or lab at the hospital the next morning (completing roughly a 12 hour fast) where they draw one's blood.
Then they get to drink about 8 oz. of a less carbonated, much more high fructose corn sypup-enated soda-like-beverage that when cold, is supposed to taste OK. Whoever decided that either never drank the stuff or wasn't pregnant with an empty stomach. Bleh. Oh, and you have to drink the stuff in less than five minutes. The nurse watches the clock and everything. No pressure.
Then, they draw your blood again, an hour after the first blood draw. I'm glad the laboratory waiting room had cable TV and a comfy couch.
Then, they draw your blood AGAIN an hour after that.
And an hour after that, guess what they do? They draw your blood AGAIN. (4 times total over a 3 hour period... all without FOOD and some yucky bleck stuff sitting like a rock in your stomach)
All of this just to see if I have diabetes. Don't diabetics generally do poorly if their blood sugar drops from not eating or spikes from, say, drinking some nasty sugary syrupy goo?? Maybe that's why they didn't want me to leave.....
So, this was my morning. I'm eating right now (duh) and loving it.

I should find out the results this afternoon. I hope. *fingers crossed*arms folded*knees bent*

It could happen to you...

My mom used to say everything happens in threes...

First thing that happened: the power pack in our computer died (after only a year) and needed replaced.

Second thing: not really a huge deal, but could be - I might have gestational diabetes.

Third thing: our pipes froze yesterday. And they're still frozen. It's -14 degrees here, for the HIGH. The problem: the vents on the ABSOLUTELY FREAKISHLY FREEZING COLD WIND side of the house are missing, due to said wind, allowing said wind to freeze the innards of our house i.e. the pipes. Lovely.

THE GOOD NEWS: Matt got a raise!! And our medical/dental benefits got better!!! Woohoo!!! Life is good, folks. Nothing we can't handle, right?

Maybe it was inevitable...

I had gestational diabetes with my first baby, who was a boy, but not with my second baby, who was a girl. Now, I'm having a boy again and my glucose test came back a little too high... *sigh*

SO, on Monday, at 7:30am (after fasting since 8pm the night before) I get to go back in for ANOTHER test that will verify what I'm thinking is already known. I get to be there for 3 hours. yay. fun. here we go again. Nothing I can't handle, though. It's actually almost a relief, really, because my silly thinking is this: well, if I have diabetes, I won't have the really scary pre-eclamsia. I can do without sugar and be healthier because of it and poke my fingers several times a day and all that. No problem. I've only gained 10 lbs and I read that average weight gain for this point in a typical pregnancy is at least 15, so we're good there. My baby's not TOO big, he's just right, so I'm not worried about that, either. Just a bump in the road that is my typical "normal" pregnancy-ness.

Prayers would still be appreciated, though. :) One can never have too many of those!

You wanna know, don't you?

I was shocked! I didn't know either way, but was leaning more towards girl... I'm so happy, though! Yay!!!! He's healthy and growing just as he should, which is a very good sign!! My BP's great/normal, and everything's normal so far. I did the diabetes test and should hear the results of that in a a week or less. Been there, done that, so I'm not too worried. The name we have decided to go with is: Davin Peter. Davin is from a Star Wars novel (of course), and Peter is from way back in my family history. Peder Mortensen is the one who brought his family to America from Denmark. He had a son named Peter, who died when he was 8 before he ever left Denmark. So, we chose that. :)



Here's the evidence:





So, there you have it! My boy! Yay!

What, oh, what is it going to be?

So, tomorrow's the big day! My appointment is at 10:30am and lucky for me, at 9:45am I'll be drinking that lovely orange goo that tells them whether or not I'm diabetic. Bleh. BUT, shortly after I'll be doing an ultra sound - IN 3D, no less!! Yay oh yay!

Tonight I told my kids that tomorrow we'll be able to see whether we're having a boy or a girl... N wants a girl, A wants a boy, naturally. Then, during N's bedtime prayer, she says "Please bless that it's a girl. Please bless that it's a boy. Please bless that it's a boy or a girl."

So, folks, we're set. It's either going to be a boy or a girl.

I do have to say, though, I've had TWO dreams of ultra sounds being done... the first dream was a girl. The second dream started out as a boy, but ended up as a girl as the final result. I'm good either way, as long as it's healthy and well-developed.

Yay for tomorrow!!

My Sunshine is 7!!!

Seven years ago today, at 6:43am in the morning, my stinky boy was born! I went over the memories I have of that day with my husband and it's amazing how clear they all still seem.

Here's his life in a nutshell:

The baby shower!

15 days old!

1 year old! (He loved wearing his daddy's hat and "pretties"!)

2 years old! (This is how he used to smile for pictures! Love it!)

3 years old!

4 years old!

5 years old!

6 years old!

7 years old!

All those times I've been in a public place with him wishing I wasn't... all those times I said to M "he's YOUR son"... all those times that would've made someone older and wiser say "This, too, shall pass"... all those times I had to take a time-out myself, just to keep my sanity... I'm glad I've had them. They do pass... all too quickly. It's been a life-altering, wonderful, enlightening, patience-testing seven years... and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Happy Birthday A!!!

Just an FYI

I'll be doing THE major ultra sound next Wednesday, December 10th. I'm really hoping the baby cooperates because I'll be 24 weeks and running out of patience to know what we're having. My gut won't tell me!!! I knew with my first two, but this one is just being stubborn. (I hope that's not a sign of things to come!) I'm excited because my husband will be able to go with me! I just hope it's not one of those "hey, watch what the baby can do" just for the baby to NOT cooperate. Wish us luck!

Overheard after tucking my kids in tonight:

A had a stuffed dog (christened "Muppy", by N) wrapped in his blankie and was making it say "I was just born" in what a baby's voice might sound like.... N replies "You can't talk, you were just born." Then, A, in all seriousness, says "He's an animal, he can talk."

I love my stinky kids.

Did you know?

On this day, in 1945, Flight 19, a squadron of five Avenger TBM torpedo bombers of the U.S. Navy, disappeared in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle. (If you want to know what really happened, the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" explains everything.)


I know. That's boring. LOL

I'm showing finally!!!

It's amazing how within a week's time, I went from just looking a little pudgy to "hey, I think I might be pregnant!"

Yay!!

23 weeks on Thursday, yeah!

I'm still full!

We had a very wonderful Thanksgiving!

M's parents were here from last Tuesday to today, and we were very sad to see them leave. This is a public THANK YOU to them for coming and spending some time with us, for buying us things we needed, watching our kids so we could go "visit Santa", teaching my kids to do the dishes, making meals for us, bringing lots of food to share, and just helping our holiday week be most fun! We'll miss you guys! I wanted to get a picture of you and the kids, but, alas, I forgot. We're excited to see you again in March and will start praying now for good weather and a cooperative baby. :)

THANK YOU K & D!!! We'll miss you!!!

Last two Thankful days...

I'm going to have a hard time coming up with things to blog about now... but at least I can still come up with two more things to be thankful for:

Wednesday's thing(s): I'm thankful the weather was nice and my in-laws were able to come join us! They've been here since Tuesday afternoon and it's been fun ever since! We've been playing games, watching movies, eating oh-so-yummy foods (M is actually NOT hungry, that's how well we've been eating), bumming around Gillette, doing Christmas shopping... it's been so awesome!

Thursday's thing(s): This is a big one........ Are you ready for this? Are ya? Ok, here it is... the final and most profound thing I could ever be thankful for: (drum-roll, please....)

Pants that fit!!!!!! Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo!!!! Thank you, K, for buying them for me!!

So, there you have it, folks... 27 days of things to be thankful for. I originally started this because my mood swings were looney-bin-divorce-causing-someone-please-shoot-this-crazy-insane-woman-I-can't-take-it-anymore-worthy (I'm not kidding, they were bad) and I needed something positive to focus on. It worked! That or the insanity phase has momentarily ceased... either way, life is good.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! :) Thanks for sharing my life with me!

Only 3 more Thankful days!

Today I'm thankful for some little things... getting everything done on my list in preparation for my in-laws to come.... TODAY! WOOHOO!

I'm thankful for the sleep I was able to finally obtain last night... my kids, bless their stinky little sleep-interrupting hearts, got me up a total of 3 times last night, N twice, A & N together once. AND, I was sleeping on the fold-out couch bed because I made my own bed all nice and clean for my in-laws so I wouldn't have to do it today... AND, with all the cleaning I did yesterday, my hips were really achy, which wasn't helped by the bar that was exactly where they were when laying down, AND since I'm at a point in my pregnancy where laying on one's back or stomach is a no-no, I was forced to sleep on the bar. With my hips. Ouch. BUT, the pain went away, and I would finally doze off... then a kid would come find me. Again. Whatta night! So, yay for sleep!

I'm also thankful that Natalie is not as sick as my middle-of-the-night-sleep-deprived-self feared she'd be. All night long, between sleep and interruptions, I feared I'd have to take her to the doctor, get her a prescription (taking away from Christmas money), the rest of us would get sick... it would be a horrible, horrible Thanksgiving. But, my all-night-praying-instead-of-sleeping paid off... she's just fine this morning!

Did I mention my in-laws are coming today?? WOOHOO!

Sunday and Today (Thankfulness Catch-Up)

Sunday's thing to be thankful for: The opportunity M had to work overtime on Saturday... now my kids will have a Merry Christmas!

Today's thing to be thankful for: Everyone who reads my blog... it's nice to know I'm not doing this in vain. :) So, here's to my friends and family!

Today, I'm thankful for...

...financial stress. I was thinking the other day as we were driving and about to turn a corner "What if a car plowed into us at this very moment?" and how many stories I've heard of that happening... it would more than turn our world upside down. I found myself almost in tears at how thankful I am that the biggest stress in our lives right now is the extreme tightness of our budget. I could have a seriously sick kid or a disabled husband or (heaven forbid) NO husband or I could all of a sudden lose my baby... I'll take restricted funds ANY DAY. Let my car break down, let a bill increase, let us have boring meals... I can handle that! I'm so thankful for the health and well-being of my family and myself!

Only 7 more days to go!

I'm so thankful for the holiday season!!

I love fall, the smells and memories they invoke! I love being with family and friends and first snows and the MUSIC (yes, I'm already listening to Christmas music!!! - makes the baby kick like crazy -ha ha!) and the food and the excitement and the niceness of generally everyone... I just love it all! YAY!!!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

For some reason...

My posts don't show all the way sometimes... all one has to do to remedy this is click on the post "title" and it will bring you to the entire post... then, you can back-page and it SHOULD load all the showing posts correctly... dumb.

Day 20 of Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful that my husband got fired January 23, 2007. Had he not gotten fired, he would still be at a job he hates, working 12+ hour days, we would be in a bigger house that we could NOT afford, in a ward we would NOT like, in a school I would HATE... needless to say, it was a blessing. Now we have a great job that pays great, has great benefits, great people, great location, we have a perfectly small size house in the most perfect neighborhood, in a great ward, an awesomely great school, it's just great! I love blessings in disguise! So here's to L&H for firing us! And here's to Wyoming Machinery for being GREAT!

I'm so GRATEFUL for...

...the opportunity to pay tithing and the blessings that come from it.

Lately, our budget has been tight, to say the oh-so-very least... so, the other day, when we got a monthly bill for something that has ALWAYS been the same and saw that it had gone UP $10, I freaked out a little. Just a little. I mean, our budget is TIGHT. So tight, that a $10 increase really did make me freak out. Anywho... yesterday, we got a bill for something ELSE that has ALWAYS been the same... only to find out that it had gone DOWN... guess how much? $10!!! I know this is a little thing, but really, the little things are what keep me going most days. I know this is a blessing of paying my tithing and not just a coincidence. Say what you will, but I believe that 100%.

One of my favorite scriptures:
"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." - D&C 82:10

Today, I'm grateful for this:

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Priceless

My kids have made me crack up a time or two in my life... I've been meaning to just add a little blurb about some things they've said to me lately that made my day a little more interesting.

Right after Halloween, A comes up to me and says "Mom, (boy at church) said something that was funny but makes me a little sad." I said, "What was it?" A says, "He said, 'Your mom's so ugly, she has to trick or treat over the phone!' " (M and I got a good laugh outta that one!)

Yesterday at church, during the passing of the sacrament, N turns to me and in a loud enough to be heard voice exclaims "I can't believe Obama won! Why DID he win?" Oh, to know the thought processes of a child...

Weekend Catch-Up:

Here's my "thankful" items from the weekend:

15. I'm thankful I only have 10 more days to do this - I'm getting bored. lol

16. I'm thankful for my 2 hour nap I got yesterday, thanks to my wonderful husband. (His words to the kids "do NOT go downstairs for ANYTHING unless you have to go potty".) (I swear I'm not grumpy when I'm tired............) He even made dinner for the kids and had them clean up their mess. Isn't he so nice?

17. I'm thankful for my SWEATPANTS!!! They should make a National Sweatpants Day...

Day 14 of Being Thankful for Stuff...

I love how, if I think about it, there's always something to be thankful for!

Every morning at 5:30am, my husband kisses me goodbye just before he heads out into the cold, dark day. He leaves me sleeping and warm and doesn't give going to work a second thought. He just does it. He often wakes BEFORE his alarm, never, ever pushing the snooze button. Every day he does this for me and our family because he knows that's his job. I know he could say "um, today I'm sleeping in" or "You know what? I want a different job, I quit" or "you should work, I'll stay home". But he doesn't. He works so I can stay home. He goes out and faces the world for us and that means so much to me. Then, he comes home and doesn't say anything about the laundry I DIDN'T get done, or the dishes I DIDN'T do... but asks if there's anything he can do to help ME. I got a good man, yo! That's what I'm thankful for today. :) (And everyday.)

NO SCHOOL!

My kids are being "creative" with ALL THEIR FREE TIME.

These are pics I took last night... they're playing in my coat/blanket closet. This closet is, oh, I don't know, 2' x 3' in size, packed with blankets that have been folded oh-so-nicely maybe 3 times their whole life. I just don't bother folding them anymore. Everytime I do, this happens:

Turkeys!

We made turkeys today! I'm trying to keep my kids busy... they're starting to drive me nuts!!

Here are the finished products:

Now my kids are flying them around the living room/dining room... and making lovely noises. Thankfully, a friend just called and invited us over... now we can go to their house and drive THEM crazy. :)

Thankfulness - Day 13

Is anyone getting sick of this yet? LOL

Today's topic of thanks: Parent/Teacher Conferences

2 Reasons:

1. I get to see how smart my kids are (sorry, brag moment).

2. My kids have no school today and tomorrow and had a half day yesterday.

This is N displaying her, um, I'm not sure if this is boredness or just an expression of freedom...

It's Official!

Baby day is March 26th!!

I am overwhelmed with gratitude today...

I'm grateful for how grumpy I've been!

Actually, grumpy doesn't even cover it, but I'm grateful nonetheless.

Ok, so I'm not actually THANKFUL for the grumpiness, but if that's the only thing that's been bothering me lately, I'm good. So, maybe I should rephrase that - I'm grateful for a healthy, normal pregnancy. I had a doctor's appointment this morning (no ultra sound, dang it) and while I was in the waiting room, I overheard the receptionist on the phone with another patient complaining about pain... her liver was enlarged. I know this pain. This is the pain that sent me to the E.R. a week before N was born. I was in Washington, visiting, actually about to leave for home that day. After a week of pain and tests, they figured out that I had pre-eclampsia with HELLP syndrome. (Wikipedia could explain all of this...) My blood pressure was through the roof, my urine had so much protein in it that it couldn't even be measured, my brain was swelling - causing me to be unconscious through most of this, my platelet (blood clotters) count was scary low (they had to give me 10 transfusions of platelets during the surgery just so I wouldn't bleed to death), my enlarged liver meant it could rupture at any minute - also causing me to bleed to death, and all the while I could go into seizure. SO, things were intense, to say the least. N was born via emergency c-section 5 weeks prematurely in a state we didn't live in. Her little lungs were fully developed and she was out of the hospital in a miraculous two weeks, weighing a whopping 4 lbs.. (Yay Priesthood!) We weren't trying to get pregnant this time, or last October. I believe things happen for a reason. I believe, as I've said before, that this is all in the Lord's hands and am honored that He's given me the opportunity and trusts me to be able to raise another special spirit. Today's appointment was uneventful and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. My next appt. brings on the oh-so-yummy glucose test and the BIG ULTRA SOUND!!! Yahoo!!! M gets to be there with me due to his night schedule. So exciting!!!! Yay!!!!

***Side note: This is how much I'm NOT showing yet - the nurse who brought me back had it wrong in the chart about how far along I am (she had 8 weeks) and didn't even question it by looking at me. The last ultrasound a month ago showed the baby growing right on schedule, so I must just hide it well. :) (It's all because of my super abs of steel, baby! Yah!)

Today I'm thankful for:

Thursdays!

Every Thursday puts me one week closer to baby day!

This Thursday I'll be 20 weeks! Half way, baby!! Yah!

If you didn't know I was pregnant, you wouldn't be able to tell, except for the way I walk sometimes when my pesky ligaments are buggin'.

I can feel the baby kick from the inside and this morning, I felt it on the outside! Yay!

Want to check out what's going on this week in my world? Check out this website:

http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/20-weeks-pregnant.html

I have my next doc appt. tomorrow - I'm hoping the heart thingy doesn't work again, that way I can get a "free" ultrasound... and perhaps see what name we need to pick!

Here are the names we have chosen:

Girl: Myri Ann (pronounced Meer-ee, not MY-ree)
Boy: Davin Peter (pronounced Dah-vin, not Day-vin)

I know, we have to make things difficult. Our choice. So there. :)

Yay baby!

Giving Thanks - Day 10

I want to say thank you to my parents... thank you for the foundation you gave me, for helping me find who I am, for teaching me everything you felt you needed to, for always helping me when I've needed you, for raising me in the church, for teaching me how to pray, for teaching me that families can be together forever, for loving me unconditionally, for my strong character, for your examples of humility, for loving the Lord, for teaching me to choose for myself, for giving me the confidence I needed to make those choices, for teaching me to appreciate the little things in life, for setting a good example when I needed it... I could go on. I miss you guys!