Anxious

That word describes exactly how I felt this morning. I had a doctor's appointment for another cervical length measurement and I was really worried about it. I was laying in the bed before I got the kids up for school and anxious is the word that kept popping into my head and it was like I just kept telling myself "that's what it is Kelly, you are just anxious", like I was trying to convince myself it was ok to feel like that, but then as clear as I was hearing that I heard God tell me "Do not be anxious in anything." I couldn't remember the exact verse at that moment, so as soon as I got the kids up I looked it up. Philippians 4:6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. So immediatly I thanked God for this little life He is allowing me to carry and let Him know that I was worried about today and asked Him to calm my fears. I honestly began to feel the anxiety leaving me almost immediately. I continued to quote the verse throughout the morning, so as not to let the fears creep back in (at least not as much!)

So I guess you are wanting to know how it went?? Last week my cervical length was 36mm and this week it was a little over 46mm!! The doctor was thrilled with the measurement! Remember we don't want it to go to 20mm or we could be in danger. So today I just want to Praise the Lord for giving me peace. I know that He wants me to continue to trust Him in all things and that includes this pregnancy, so I may get worried over the next two weeks as I wait for the next doctors appointment, but He has given me a peace for the present time and that is what He asks. Matthew 6:34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

And on a sidenote...the ultrasound tech TRIED to get the baby to cooperate and show us if it was a boy or girl. Well, it finally moved a little and it is very possible that we are having a boy, however, she told us not to go out and buy anything yet, cause she wasn't absolutely sure and would probably be able to tell for sure in two weeks. So...we continue to wait for the time being.

Sharing a Shake....Sugar-Free That Is!

Well, some of you know that I am Type II diabetic, so I am "not allowed" to have the normal pregnancy craving of ice cream (boo hoo hoo!).

However....................my dear sweet husband stopped at the store to pick up the salad I forgot to get yesterday and brought home a surprise for me......

So after we put the kids to bed last night we shared a milkshake. Thanks sweetie for being so thoughtful!!

Time to Pass It Along

Ok....I had to take a little time to think about who I was going to pass the "Nice Matters Award" too. So many of the blogs I read are also ones that my friends read and they passed it on before I got the chance! ; )

So....I wanted to think about this a little bit. I would like to pass this honor on to:

• Jen at http://xtxjxtxex.blogspot.com/ -- Jen is a young mother of two that I met on another board. She is a very sweet Christian girl that has really made me think about why I do what I do with my children...not just because a book or a doctor says it is the right/wrong thing to do. I really appreciate that! Thanks Jen for helping me to open my eyes and ears!!
• Christine at http://www.thislittlebabygoestomarket.blogspot.com/ -- Christine is a young mother of two also, one VERY newborn baby girl (who is just gorgeous by the way). She has two blogs, one for her family "stuff" and one the one that I am honoring. Christine takes the time to pass along lots of neat "freebies" that she finds to everyone via this blog. It is really neat and she seems to find a lot of unique items! Thanks Christine for taking your time to share these with us!
• Bryn at http://takingupmycross.wordpress.com/ -- I know that Bryn has already been honored, but I just couldn't leave her out!! We met over two years ago on a www.fertilityfriend.com, then she invited me to another board and we began a friendship. She is a wise, young mother of an adorable and very smart little girl. I appreciate the friendship that we share...through our age difference we are able to share experiences and viewpoints that hopefully inspire each other to be better mothers, wives, and Christian women. Thanks Bryn!

Nice Matters Award

A sweet friend of mine, also named Kelly has honored me with the "Nice Matters Award". This is such an honor and blesssing to me. I started my blog, just mainly thinking that I was the only one that would read it or pay attention to anything that was said in it. So it is really an honor to know that others do really read it...it definitely makes you think about your witness for Christ and how you come across to others! Thank you so much Kelly for thinking of me! Be sure to check out her website www.thebarefootmama.com. She has sooo many cool crafts and great recipes, not to mention her adorable little girl!!

Just a funny to share....

My mother emailed a joke to me the other day and being blonde AND pregnant, I found it pretty funny and just had to share with you! Just so you know, I take no offense to blonde jokes and many times find that they fit me to a tee! Although I must say I am soooo glad that this one is NOT me!!

The other day my neighbor, who is blonde, came running up to me in the driveway just jumping for joy! I didn't know why she was jumping for joy but I thought, what the heck, and starting jumping up and down along with her.

She said, "I have some really great news!" I said, "Great. Tell me why you're so happy." She stopped jumping, and breathing heavily from all the jumping up and down, told me that she was pregnant! I knew that she had been trying for a while so I told her, "That's great! I couldn't be happier for you!"

Then she said, "There's more." I asked, "What do you mean 'more'?" She said, "Well, we are not having just one baby. We are going to have TWINS!" Amazed at how she could know so soon after getting pregnant, I asked her how she knew.

She said, "Well, that was the easy part. I went to Wal-Mart and they actually had a home pregnancy kit in a twin-pack. Both tests came out positive!"

105 Degrees!!!!!!!!

Yes, that is what the temperature was here yesterday! It is so miserable right now. I am just thankful that I am not 8 or 9 months pregnant in this, because it is killing me right now!! Most all of the school sports have been cancelled thank goodness! Conner is running Cross Country this year and their practices have been very sporadic, so I am hoping they will do ok in their first meet next Thursday...if they even have one. We are supposed to get a bit of a cooler spell next week I think. Please pray that the temperatures drop some and that we get some rain (which we have had none in---FOREVER!!) It is scary when they start telling you that you can't use the water for this and that and when you know that your a/c is working overtime to keep the temperature in your house at 75 or above!!

What's For Dinner??

Tonight we are having homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. I got this recipe from my good friend and next door neighbor and it has been a hit at my house as much as it was at hers! So I thought I would share it with you too...especially since it is sooooo SIMPLE!! And fairly cheap to make too!


1 lb. chicken cut up in small pieces (I used boneless skinless to simplify my process, but that does make it cost a little bit more)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk
1/2 - 1 whole bag of wide egg noodles


Boil the chicken, save the broth, let the chicken cool a bit then cut up into small pieces.
Using the chicken broth, add the can of cream of chicken soup and milk to it and bring to a boil.
Add the noodles, return to boil, then reduce heat some. Add cut up chicken and cook until noodles are tender. So easy and so good!!


Ok, so now I need to figure out what to fix for dessert!!

Introducing..........

Baby H!.....since we don't yet if it is a boy or girl, we'll just leave it at that. Maybe at my ultrasound in two weeks, we will be able to tell, who knows??

I labeled the picture so you could tell what/where everything is, since it is hard to tell sometimes. This picture was taken on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 and I was 12 weeks 3 days. The baby has really grown even since last weeks ultrasound...from 4.2 cm to 5.6 cm! That's quite a bit, but right on schedule.

They were able to get the nuchal translucency measurement this time. The doctor takes this measurement and combines it with my bloodwork and determines what my percentages are for Down's Syndrome. Since my pregnance is already considered already high risk because of my diabetes and previous miscarriages, it already increases my chances of Down's Syndrome. Down's Syndrome is not inherited. Here is some very helpful information regarding Down's Syndrome. According to my doctor, the figures that he gave me before the testing said that my chances of having a baby with DS were 1 in 56. This number seemed pretty high (and somewhat scary I must say), however, what this really means is that I have about a 2% chance, but a 98% chance of a healthy baby. HOWEVER, after my testing yesterday, my chances went to 1 in 80 or almost 99% chance of a healthy baby. Of course they offered me the CVS test (which you will see has quite a bit of risks involved with it) right now or an amniocentesis around 14-15 weeks, which also has its risks. These are definitive tests, however, they are not risks that we want to take. Finding out that our baby had Down's Syndrome, would in NO way change the way we feel about the baby, nor cause us to terminate the baby. That is not an option to us. Obviously we are praying for a healthy baby, but we are ready to accept the child that God blesses us with. I truly believe in my heart that everything is ok with the baby and that it is just a matter of me holding this baby in until it is time for its arrival! Please continue to pray that with us!

First Day of School......Already??????

Can you believe it is the first day of school already??? I can't!! Although I must admit that I think I am ready for it!! ; ) My children are extremely tired of each other, the pool is now closed, we watched all the movies, and it is just too hot to even think about being outside!

Conner started middle school this year! Can it possibly be that he is really in 6th grade already! It seems like just yesterday that I was walking him in to Kindergarten!! And I walked him (and stood at the back of the room so no one could see--haha) in to the Auditorium this morning for his first day at a new big school. They only went until 10:00 (what a waste!), but they got to change classes, but didn't get to go to all their classes yet. But he loved it! I new he would!

Mari Cate is in 3rd grade this year!! My baby can't be that old, can she?? This is the first year that she is going to get to have one of Conner's former teachers (all of his others left after him--haha, not because of him, I don't think--???, but seriously all of them are retired or teaching somewhere else now). So we have begged Mrs. Calfee to stay at least until after Mari Cate has been in her class!! She is a wonderful teacher and actually graduated from high school with Frank, so that is kind of neat. She was great with Conner and I am sure she will really encourage Mari Cate with her creativity. I can't wait to show some of the neat things they make in class!

Tomorrow is a full day for both of them, so we shall see how that goes. I am sure they will both love it. I will have a busy day in Chattanooga at the high risk ob for my nuchal translucency ultrasound and genetic counseling. If you think about it, please say a little prayer for me, I am kind of nervous about it. Thanks!

A Little Change In Plans....

Well, since most of my family now knows, I guess it is ok to announce it on here too.

Our "Simpler Life" plan, just got changed around a little bit. So we are just going to have to work around things a little differently...but that's ok.

As my Frank quoted to me when I was a little stressed over all this "The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9. He will direct us and guide us through this new phase of our lives, even if it wasn't exactly the one we were thinking we were heading on. ; )

On June 19, I found out that I was pregnant! This came as a surprise to us, believe it or not! Obviously with my history we are a little nervous about what is to come, but we are trusting God to take care of everything. I am scheduled for a cerclage (click on the link to read more about it) on Saturday, August 11, so please be praying for me during that time. As of today, I am 10 weeks 3 days, my due date is Feb. 24th (which also happens to be my cousins birthday!). And one of my very good friends from high school is due the day before me--how neat! I will be having (and have had) lots of doctors appts. with my regular ob and with the high risk doctors. They are "co-managing" me as they call it. I will try to keep you posted on what is going on, especially for those of you who live far away and I don't get to talk to very often! Please just continue to pray for our family and this little one on the way!