Our Summer in a Nutshell

This summer, writing on the blog has become a little more of a challenge for me time-wise. However, there is a lot to share, so I think it's time for an update! Here are the most recent happenings in our world...

Celebrations...In July, I was given two amazing parties by my Hannah's Hope girls to celebrate our miracle. The first one was all of the current gals. We had a super yummy, rich lasagna dinner, decadent dessert, and enjoyed catching up with each other since it had been a while. The second one was the "alumni" gals and we had a Mexican themed meal, homemade Baby Ruth Bars and tons of other goodies.We decorated margarita glasses and just had a fabulous time hanging out. Both groups spoiled me to death with presents.

Hood River...We've spent quite a bit of time in the Hood with Mom and Dad this summer. Here are some pics of a summer day around our 11th anniversary. We had a nice lunch at Indian Creek Golf Course.



Winnie...Tuesday July 26th we said goodbye to our dear little friend. She was not eating and we were unable to keep giving her dialysis because she was bleeding like crazy whenever she'd get poked, which the vet said was very abnormal. We spent all day up in Hood River at my parents' loving on her and vacillating about the painful decision, but in the end, she could barely move and it was the loving thing to have the vet come to the house and put her to sleep. So very hard, but it was the right thing. She went peacefully in the back yard of her favorite place on earth...Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Baby...Thursday July 28th we said hello to our new little GIRL!!!! Our wonderful friends Paul, Gretchen and baby Noella gifted us with a sneak-peak ultra-sound. Paul is a PA at Southwest Medical Center, so we met them there after work and he took his time searching every angle imaginable on our little tyke In the end, he was about 99% sure it was a girl. We kept it a secret until the first week in August, when we gave our parents and siblings gender-revealing cupcakes (a great idea I stole from Dana). They were chocolate with pink raspberry cream cheese filling.  August 19th, I'll have another ultra sound and chance to make sure no boy parts were hiding! We have heard all of the stories of those who have painted everything pink, just to give birth to a bouncing baby boy, so no warning is required.

Vacation...Monday August 1-Saturday August 6th, we went on our annual Ruth camping trip. This was the second year in a row we have camped at the Cove Palisades by Lake Billy Chinook in Central OR. The weather was in the 90's and we had fun playing at the lake, sitting around the camp fire, and going on walks. We really enjoyed hanging out with 2 1/2 month old baby Rylee too. It was very cool to practice being around an infant 24-7 for almost a whole week!



In back: Aubrey, John, Heather, Sophie, Chip
In front: Josiah, Lorinda, Rylee, Amy, Dustin, Jenny, Brady, Hallie, Nala, Bryan, Cherryl, Mike

 House...Thanks to the Lord, our house sold in 3 weeks! We are going to be closing by August 22nd, so we've begun the process of packing and putting things in a nearby storage unit. We are looking at staying in an apartment for 3 months at the most as we look for another home to purchase. We are not sure where it will be yet, but we're on the lookout for a spectacular find. Thankfully, Bryan has his real estate license and is really good at hunting for deals!

Jen's Work...Also moving, but one weekend earlier than our house-move and just down the street from the current location. Thankfully the boss has already said I'm not to lift anything heavy. My job is going to be keeping people from scratching the floor by making them use felt sticky things. We will be in a very cool-hip-industrial type of space, and there's lots of excitement in the air, so it should be a very good move for Macadam!

Bry's Work...He has been on vacation from the staff assistant position for the summer, which has given him a chance to explore some other job territory. Please pray for direction as he is trying to figure out the right career path. Being a jack of all trades comes in handy sometimes, but it's not always easy when you're trying to get focused!

Ecclesiastes 3:

1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

And a time to go to bed...good night world!

Baby and Winnie

Hi all,

My most recent doctor appointment was last Thursday morning. We got to hear the baby's heart beat and it was about 150bpm. I've been feeling little flutters here and there, which is super exciting. It's so reassuring to know that he or she is really there. Surprisingly, my weight had not changed since the last appointment, but the doctor wants me to start gaining now. I doubt that I'll have any trouble with that! Mac and cheese is on the stove as we speak. It was the only thing that sounded bland enough for me right now as I've had a tummy ache all afternoon. Our next visit will be "the big one" where we'll find out the gender.

Baby is on my mind a lot, but recently I've been thinking about my furry kid Winnie 24-7. She is 8 years old and we just found out at the beginning of the month that she has chronic kidney failure. My parents are taking care of the two dogs for us right now, as we are also trying to sell our house. My dad has been giving Winnie an IV every day which helps keep her hydrated. She does really well with it. The biggest challenge seems to be getting her to eat. We tried special canned food, but she didn't like it. Then I made her some low protein food and she ate it for a while, but now she won't touch it. Even though she seems to be energetic and wants to play, she's getting really skinny and I'm not sure how long she'll be OK. Unfortunately my parent's dog, Lottie isn't doing very well either. She's not eating much and she is having trouble getting up. It's really sad to see your beloved pets getting old and sick! I am not sure how I'll be able to say good bye to either of them. Praying God will just grant us all the peace we need for the times ahead.

Winnie and me in Hood River

Baby is 16 weeks here.

Baby Names

We'd love your help naming this wee one on the way. We don't know the gender yet of course, so would like ideas for both boys and girls. I put a list up on www.thebump.com which you can get to through the button to the right on the blog. Feel free to throw out more names in the comments section and tell us what you think of any names on the list. Thanks!

I forgot the baby!

Back on Monday June 13th, I had my12 week ultrasound and OB appointment. Bryan was in class, so my mom came along for the ride, which was really cool. A technician did the ultrasound (very nice lady) and baby was doing great, moving around and just the right size for our Dec.25th due date (yikes). Why I forgot to share this and show a picture before, I have no idea. I forgot the baby! Hopefully this is not a pattern. The OB, Dr. Romina Dunham is so nice, I felt really comfortable and definitely want her to deliver me. She said she would, unless I went in to labor on a weekend and she wasn't on call. She was very excited our IVF worked and remembered all about our situation. I had been entertaining the idea of switching to a midwife before so I could do water birth, but now I've decided to stay where I'm at. I can still labor in the water, but I'll go the more traditional route for the actual birth.

This week I have started to feel little flutters. I'm only 13 1/2 weeks now, but I'm 99% sure it's the baby. It's like there's a little tiny goldfish inside hitting the edge of the bowl once in a while.



Random Day

Today a gentleman I was helping at work asked me if it was my first baby...and I didn't even tell him I was pregnant! That was the first time anyone has assumed I'm not just eating too many Krispy Kremes. I guess I really am showing! Either that, or one of my co-workers warned him ahead of time not to mess with the pregnant lady (which is a good idea--and don't ask me to do math either. Pregnancy brain is a very real thing).

Life is funny. Tonight a Chinese Buddhist monk called me up at about 8PM. He had picked up a brochure at New Heights for the Hannah's Hope Infertility Group. I don't think he had any idea what that was, but he just wanted to talk with someone. He was very sincere in his new found Christian faith and wanted to talk frankly about philosophy and such. I hope he gained some encouragement from our little chat. I was so caught off guard, I don't think I said anything too deep. I'm really hoping he'll try some other avenues at New Heights and find some people to talk to that do not have pregnancy brain.

13 weeks~ junk in the front!

Lime in the Coconut

Ok--I was going to wait till the end to show the profile pics, but couldn't wait. It is fun to see this little munchkin growing. Can't wait until Monday when we have our 12 week ultrasound.  This is what I call the "Lime in the Coconut".

10 Week Wiggley Baby

Our ultrasound Tuesday was super fun to watch. Baby is swimming around in the amniotic fluid wiggling around like crazy. Skinny little legs and arms have sprouted and we even caught a glimpse of the cute tiny toes. At 10 weeks, baby has graduated from embryo to fetus. He or she measured 1 3/8" long and the heartbeat was 167 bpm.

The only unpleasant thing was looking at the subchorionic hemorrhage I still have. (At the top right corner of the photo). This time it was larger and much more visible. Dr. B thinks it will diminish as the gestational sac expands. I am praying that it does! I am supposed to take it easy for the next several weeks. My blood work came back great and I've been instructed to take my progesterone tablets down from 3 per day to 2. I'm very happy, because these are nasty and I'm blaming my worse-than-Jr-high-skin on them as well.

I have been imagining myself larger for weeks, but about a week ago, I could no longer button my jeans, so I think I'm officially growing (although this may be due to my crazy cravings too--who knows). Nonetheless, I bought some skirts in the maternity section that feel much more comfy. Why didn't I discover this section earlier? My current mantra--if it ain't knit, it don't' fit. I'm taking pictures of my profile, but I think I'll share them at the end in case anyone wants to make their own scary flip book (and to spare those who do not think pregnant bellies are the most adorable things on this planet).

Toes are to the left, head is to the right.

I know--it's not the most attractive baby just yet.

It's ok if you don't think it's cute.