34 Weeks (Nursery Pics and Update)

Well, I've made it to 34 weeks! I can't believe it's come so quickly and am really starting to wonder if we're ready for these babies. Per everything I've read, they would be healthy if they came now; although they may have to stay in the NICU for a couple days to a week. We asked Dr. W. at last week's appointment and she said that usually after passing the 36 week mark (Jan 10th) the babies would be able to come home with us from the hospital. Through this pregnancy I have followed many twin blogs with the hope that I can learn and see when their twins were born. Most of the babies that came before 36 weeks came on their own due to prior complications or the woman's water broke. I guess we need to keep in mind too that complications could develop at any time that would mandate an early exit.

This last week's appointment wasn't that exciting (how can they be when you see the Dr. every week!). She wants me to stay on an antibiotic for the rest of the pregnancy because she feels that I will continue to get bladder infections if I don't. Take it from me; bladder infections are no fun! My goal for my next appointment on Thursday to gain some weight since I didn't at my last appointment. We are really looking forward to our appt on January 7th (if we make it..). This would be our final growth appointment to see how much the boys weigh. I'm hoping that they both would be 6 lbs. We'll be continuing to pray for the best.

Lastly for this post... here is a nursery picture. Christian surprised me with KU Jayhawk(what else!) baby crib bedding and then we bought stickers for their walls. He has been quite the organizer as he had spent a lot of time in there organizing and getting things ready.

Here's the picture:

32 Weeks!

Here is the much awaited 32 weeks post... I'll divide it so it's easier to read.

Doctor's Appointment

Last Thursday we went to our much anticipated doctor's appointment. I say much anticipated because I had been released from the hospital on the Sunday before on strict bed rest. We were really hoping it would be relaxed to modified bed rest. That way I can still take Maddie out for her bathroom breaks during the day.

Thursday's appointment:

• Baby A is 4 lbs 6 oz ; Baby B is 4 lbs 13 oz
• Both look to be healthy
• Baby A is still head down and Baby B is in the process of getting there. On Thursday, he is in the fetal position with his head buried in his brother's stomach with his legs lodged in my ribs. Hopefully he'll turn all the way and finally be head down
• My Cervix went from 3.6 to 2.5 which is pretty common after all the contractions last week. However now every week they will be checking to see if I'm dilated and how it looks from the inside. Thursday's the official verdict was a "softish" cervix.
• Doctor told us that as long as we can hold them in another 2 weeks, she would be fine delivering them Christmas week IF I went into labor then. This is so good to know that IF they do decide to come early... they will be healthy!!!
  

Saturday Baby Shower

On Saturday, my wonderful ward threw me a great baby shower. The whole morning before the shower and through it all I had to keep pinching myself. I couldn't believe that this baby shower was for me. We have waited so long for this our moment to come!! It seems like I have been to baby shower after baby shower for my siblings, friends and the like. Some I have had to hold back tears wondering when it would actually be for me and my baby. Never did I dream I would have one for me and my babies!!! People in my ward are so kind; we were really blessed. I know that we'll continue to be blessed when they arrive.

Here's a sampling of what we received

• Countless adorable outfits
• lots of diapers (we definitely will need more but it's a start)
  
• baby bath tub and bath supplies
  
• diaper genie
• blankets
• and much more!

Plus, we received a big box of gifts from my husband's mom which I'm so excited for. Next step is to cut tags off and wash all the clothes and get them situated in the babies' room/ nursery. I think that is the plan for tonight's Family Home Evening.

The Twins first Hospital Stay

Ok.. so I know I should have informed you all sooner about this but everything is now under control...

Friday evening some things started happening. For one, I was going to the bathroom every 4-5 minutes (not fun) and wondering what was happening. First I wondered if it was amniotic fluid but then 10 minutes passed and now there's blood. I really started worrying! I called to my husband in the living room and we called the doctor who told me to go the ER. Turns out... I had a very serious Bladder Infection. I was thinking, now problem, they'll write a script and then home I'll go. Not so fast!!!

While they were doing all the lab work, they had me hooked up to 3 monitors. One for contractions and the other 2 were monitoring the heart beats of the 2 boys. Come to find out... (I didn't know this) I was having contractions 3 and 5 minutes apart which wasn't good. So they told me they were keeping me the rest of the night in order to give me medicine and slow the contractions. Because it was already midnight and my husband had been sick, he decided to go home to bed and come back early in the morning. It was good thing too because I ended up staying in Triage until 4am (when they had a room ready for me). All in all this meant no sleep on Friday night...

Saturday was a long day as we spent it in the hospital. I slept (when I wasn't prodded by nurses) and Christian was by my side watching College Football games on the flat screen. Good thing the Labor and Delivery unit has ESPN. It made for a happier husband. They were all great games ending with Texas barely escaping from Nebraska which made me mad. I finally got to go home on Sunday morning and Christian was so very helpful. The house was a mess and he set to cleaning while I relaxed on the couch.

Since Sunday, I've become quite good about counting contractions and making sure they are under control. Plus I'm on a ton of medications. Unfortunately this has meant a stricter bed rest but I know it is for the best. I'm so grateful for my husband and members of my ward that have made this easier. Hopefully this will be relaxed a bit after my appointment on Thursday... More to come on the next post... maybe this afternoon!

Productive yet Modified Bed Rest

When my cervix began to shorten, my doctor recommended that I discontinue work at least until the 36th week. After a couple weeks resting, my cervix went back to normal but the doctor thought if I were to return to my normal level of activity, it would surely happen again.

My husband predicted I'd be really bored but I've surprised him. The days have seem to flown by as I have learned new things and made things for these babies. I have so much left to make and buy for these little guys. Hopefully they don't come before Christmas!!

Here's a quick list (as per the attached picture

• 6 Crocheted newborn hats
• Crocheted baby blankets
• Fleece blankets in Jayhawk crimson and blue
• 14 burp cloths
• 1 crocheted baby onesie (I just finished it last night; I was surprised it was so easy).
  

As my trips out of the apartment are quite limited to small jaunts out to eat or to JoAnn's; I have made most of them out of scraps of yarn/fabric that I had in the house. Going out is an adventure; I tire so easily now and can't make it very far. When I asked the doctor about it, she said it was because I was so little that the weight of the babies are pushing down and wearing me out.

This week has been a bit of a tiring one for me. My husband came down with a virus on Sunday night. The fever lasted for over 2 days and he was miserable. He doesn't get sick very often. I think this is the 2nd or 3rd time in our whole marriage (6 years). As I was wearing myself out taking care of him; he said to me at one time: "I need to do more for your when you're not feeling well." I thought, well if that's what it takes...then it's been worth all the effort for me! It was so hard to see a 31 year old so sick with the chills and just so weak; thankfully it wasn't the swine flu.

Thanksgiving and More

Here are some bullet points from out last Doctor appointment. (29 weeks!) --

• Gained another 2 lbs
• My cervix is lengthening - my doctor still recommends bed-rest as it is helping this problem immensely
  
• Protein found in urine and now I am being tested for preeclampsia. I guess we'll find out next week if will be a problem.
  
• Measuring 34 weeks! (5 weeks ahead)
• In the ultrasound, we found a little baby's foot just centimeters away from his other brother's head. Come to find out, one little one is being kicked! As my husband says, "and so it begins.
• Baby A is still head down but baby B continues to be breech with no desire to flip
• Due to previous bullet point, a C-section is looking more like our option as our doctor WILL NOT deliver vaginally unless both babies are head down (vertex) position.

Now onto Thanksgiving...

Another purpose of the doctor appointment yesterday was to see if my doctor would allow us to travel to Whidbey Island for Thanksgiving with Christian's great Aunt and Uncle. Earlier I realized that I wouldn't be too upset if we didn't go and was surprised when my husband brought up that same issue before I said anything. Our doctor didn't exactly nix it but said that it would probably be safer if we didn't go. I have been cramping a lot lately when I have been overly active and we thought it would be better if we just stayed at home. Plus we didn't want to fight the ferry traffic on Thursday morning.

Our Thanksgiving this year was held with some people in our ward. I had learned on Sunday they had invited us over if we didn't go to Whidbey Island. It was a lot of fun. I brought our families' traditional cranberry salad and we had a scrumptious feast. Dinner was wonderful and the turkey was just how I wanted it (moist and tender). The wife and I discussed baby stuff as she has 2 and one on the way.

This holiday I couldn't help thinking how many things there are to be grateful for this year. These babies are on top of that list. It is funny as I type because they are going crazy!!

Now as the day after Thanksgiving, everything points toward Christmas. It will be a different Christmas this year as we will spend it for the FIRST time every at our own apartment. Since I will be 34 weeks at Christmas, there will be definitely no flying to either family. If the babies don't surprise us by then, we are looking forward to a yummy Christmas Eve Feast with family here in town. One thing I will miss this season is the Christmas shopping; since I'm no longer allowed out on my feet. It makes my husband excited though, he is quite content shopping for his own gifts for me to wrap. He's almost done buying for me and I can't think of one thing I told him that I wanted!!

Here is the picture of the little one's foot... If you look closely, it's next to his brother's head.

Takin' it easy on Doctor's orders

Yeah, I know the title of this post may make my readers jump but let me explain how it happened.

After cooking dinner on Tuesday night, I all of a sudden got these horrible cramps. They felt like menstrual cramps but worse. I went to the bathroom thinking that was the problem but it wasn't. I went into the bedroom where I laid on my side and drank plenty of water. It alleviated them some but not by much. After a 1/2 hour of this, I called the on-call doctor at my OB clinic. She recommended a couple things and said to come to the hospital if it didn't let up. About 10pm, we decided to go the hospital. It was great when we go the ER because they just escorted us up to Labor and Delivery. Oh the perks of being pregnant!
We got the room and they started hooking me up to monitors so we could hear the boy's heartbeats and to see if I was contracting. I was contracting but not that much. The doctor gave me a dose of terbutaline which only accelerated my heartbeat and made me feel really weird. After an ultrasound to check my cervix length, it was determined that all was ok. Before leaving, I was perscribed procardia to help my uterus relax. I was still a little confused as I was still cramping and a little scared. As we left the doctor gave me a note to miss the next couple of days of work; at least until I saw my doctor on Thursday.
Thursday's appointment went ok. My cervix changed from 3.2 down to 2.5 which isn't good. For those that don't know, this is called an Incompetent cervix where the cervix shortens prematurely and can bring on labor. This can be due to genetics or even the pressure of the babies in the uterus pressing on the cervix. We were disappointed to learn my regual OB wasn't there but the doctor who was told me to again take it easy and to not return to work until my next appointment on Monday.
The doctor told me: no shopping, no grocery shopping, and no laundry. Christian has been so good. I am so grateful that he has been willing to do all of that these few days. As I speak he is doing dishes which I am so grateful for. He told me that without work, I was going to be bored out of my mind. After 3 days of being off there are two words that easily come to mind: relieved and grateful. Maybe that opinion will change but right now I'm sticking to those two.

Ob Appointment stats:

• Yay for the Swine Flu shot!! (my doctor told me initially they didn't have enough but then they received another shipment.
  
• I gained 2 more lbs
• Baby A is still head down
• Baby B is lying horizontal right under my rib cage; creating horrible heartburn. I can't wait until he decides to join his brother in the head down position
• Baby A is 2 lb 5 ounzes
• Baby B is 2 lb 15 ounzes
  

I'll update more after my appointment and ultrasound on Monday.

27 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain? 20 lbs! (Hopefully 4 more to add to it at my Thursday's appointment).

Maternity Clothes? Most Definitely

Stretch Marks? Not yet!

Sleep? I wake up at least 3-4 times a night either to go the bathroom or change positions. Sometimes, it's Maddie who's cold and wants under the covers. I consider waking up at 4am; a good sleep.

Best Moment this week? Last week, I was sitting in a long, boring meeting at work. All of a sudden, I felt a kick but it seemed to come out of my stomach. It felt like a little foot, I pushed it back in and out it came again. What a stubborn little guy!

Food Cravings? Hostess donuts, chocolate,

Labor Signs? back pain but I don't think it is anything to be worried about.

Belly Button? To begin with, I had the greated Innie and now it has disappeared. However, it's not an outtie quite yet.

What I am looking forward to the most? Holding both my boys in my arms; knowing that I am finally a mother and my dream of 28 years has come true.

Milestones? Yay for the 3rd Trimester!

And here are my boys from our last ultrasounds.

Baby A: (most active baby)

Baby B

21 Weeks and Counting

Last week we had our big 20 week ultrasound. It lasted for almost an hour.

Here are some highlights:

• I GAINED 4 lbs. (and couldn't be happier!)
  
• Baby A is 12 ounces and Baby B is 13 ounces
• When the doctor measured me, I was measuring 24 weeks (4 weeks ahead) which is normal with twins. (at my 18th week, I was only measuring 2 weeks ahead)
  
• Baby A's heart rate is 160 and Baby B's heart rate is 148. (we were told the more active they are the faster the heart rate is).
  
• We Saw lots of hands and limbs this appointment.
• Learned that the placentas are anterior attached to the uterus (however you say that). This is why I haven't been able to feel them. With it as anterior, the babies have quite a cushion to kick in order for me to feel them. My doctor said soon enough, their kicks will be hard enough

A Question to all:

I had a talk with my doctor and asked her when she thought I should be slowing down and taking it a little more easy (Maybe not walking as much, continuing to work... etc.) She told me to stay strong until something happens that would give a "reason" for me to slow down. This concerns me as I'm thinking there should be some kind of prevention before and not after the fact. Maybe my doctor isn't as strict as others but it still concerns me. Believe me, I'm not wishing to be on bed rest but I want to the absolute best for these babies in order to have them stay in there as long as possible. If that means more rest that so be it! What do you think?

It's Twin Boys!!

Last week we had the most amazing ultrasound. We came in and the technician started doing the scan and of course they were pretty active. She started getting measurements of Baby A. I think every body part ( head, body, arms, feet, stomach and even the brain) was measured. While she was getting the arm, his little hand floated up and waved to Mom and Dad. I just wanted to cry. The hand was completely formed and definitely had little bones shown by white on the ultrasound. About 20 minutes later she looked to determine Baby A's gender and HE looked as if he was sitting on the screen. It couldn't have been more clear. Then she moved on to Baby B and took all the measurements. Right away though, he was also sitting clearly on the screen. We learned that Baby A was measuring right at 15 weeks and Baby B was measuring ahead at 16 1/2 weeks. What a relief! I was so glad that everything was going okay for them.

In between the ultrasound and our doctor appointment we had about 15 minutes. We sat and called and texted every possible person we could about the good news. When we finally got to see the our doctor, she was hesitant to confirm the gender because she said it was still early. She said that it will be final on September 21st, at 20 weeks. We both thought that the pictures were confirming enough for our two little boys. I posted them below so you can see for yourself.

After the ultrasound it has become more and more real. We took a Saturday to go to Babies-R-Us and the reality of it hit us in the face. We walked around the store saying to each other, "we'll need 2 of these, and 2 of these." For the time being, we've only bought 2 car seats and a double stroller that will hold both car seats. Next up is more maternity clothes and a baby crib and we probably should get started on diapers!

9 Weeks! (First OB appointment)

Today is my 9 week mark! A lot of exciting things happened today, so I'll keep it until the last. That way you'll have to hang on till the last word.

Yesterday, we returned from our 4th of July trip. Since we both didn't have work on Friday, we decided to escape to Whidbey Island. Christian's great Aunt and Uncle live literally a block from the coast and it is so beautiful. Of course they spoiled us and Maddie with wonderful food and kept us very entertained. After driving there, we went out to the dinner at a little restaurant right on the pier in Coupeville (the closest town) and then we came back home and relaxed and talked and later cooked dinner. The next day, Saturday, Christian and I drove in to Oak Harbor (Naval Air Station) which is about 20 minutes and sat through a very long parade. I think there were approximately 60 entries. Besides getting hot, sunburned and tired, we had a lot of fun plus collected a bag of candy. We returned that afternoon, took a nap and then went into Oak Harbor again to go out to eat and watch the beautiful display of fireworks over Oak Harbor.
Maddie absolutely loves Aunt Connie and will follow her around like a Pied Piper. We both think that she would be perfectly fine if we left her there. Every where she would go, Maddie would go to. When she would open the fridge, Maddie would fall to her haunches and bark until her request was satisfied with either roast beef or chicken.. When we returned home from our little jaunts into Oak Harbor, we'd return and she would be sound asleep on the couch, curled up next her Aunt Connie.
Now on to our cute little babies. Today is my official 9 week mark and it feels good. I feel like I am getting better control of this nausea and learned more how to keep it at bay. One of the things right now that isn't my favorite is riding in the car. Hopefully that will get better. This morning we had our "graduation" appointment with the fertility specialist, Dr. D. He has been so nice and been with us from the very beginning. We got to each of our little babies. I couldn't believe how much they have grown!! From 11 mm to 2.5 cm in one week is really good! They are just under 1 inch and are starting to look like little babies. Both of their heartrates have really sped up also. Baby A (closer to the cervix) was 174 and Baby B was 172.
Then this afternoon, we had our very first OB appointment. We had a long ultrasound and then met with the nurse practitioner and then the actual OB doctor. Dr. W. seems very nice but I thought her visit with us was entirely too brief. I did have a list of questions but wish I had more! I asked about bed rest and she said it is case to case basis. She explained that she has one patient with twins on bed rest at 20 weeks and another with twins at 38 weeks working at Nordstroms. Then she told me that she would be VERY happy if I was still pregnant in the new year, 2010...
Also she said that if the babies haven't come on their own by 38 weeks, they'll take them then. I asked about if I had to have a C Section or could deliver vaginally. She said that with twins it is totally up to the babies. If both are in the "head down" position that vaginally delivery would be possible but if one is in a different position that C Section it is. Then as we left the office we made 9 more appointments. I'll have one in 3 weeks and then another 4 weeks after that. After the 16 weeks appointment, it will change to every 2 weeks. Also, she wants me to have an ultrasound, every 2 appointments for growth measurements...

And for the BEST news of all!!! The ultrasound tech let us listen to their heartbeats!! I really felt like tearing up when I heard them beating.

To the side you'll see our cute ultrasounds:

Twins! (Our little bursts of sunshine)

Hi!
If you haven't noticed my new widget to the right, I'M PREGNANT and it's Twins! We can scarcely believe it! Starting off, my hormones were 3x what they should be and I have been so nauseated. Work has been hard and I have learned to always have crackers nearby. Hopefully It will only last until the 3rd trimester.

Today was our first OB ultrasound; much anticipated might I add. After what happened last time, it was such a tear-jerker as we watched for the first time, those little pictures come on the screen. As our Doctor was measuring them, we saw their heartbeats flickering and almost their whole bodies were moving. They were very healthy and doing well: measuring 11mm and both had a 144 beats per minute. We are so excited to become parents! They are due the first week of February, however with them being twins, most likely they'll come a month early!

Below is our first ultrasound picture. It makes me cry looking at it and truly knowing that the Lord knows what he's doing with our lives if we just will patiently wait upon him. There really is sunshine beyond the clouds.

An Update at last.. .

Ok, so it has been forever since I have made a blog entry. The date can attest to that. February was a crazy month for us. Earlier in the month, we had learned that Christian’s Aunt Cheryll had a tumor in her pancreas that has progressively gotten worse. Well on Valentine’s Day, the tumor had blocked off her bile valve and causing her liver to shut down. We went to the hospital that day where doctors placed a shunt in order for it to work properly. We spent the rest of the evening there, spending time with her husband, Christian’s Uncle Jeff. After this surgery, she never recovered from the anesthetic and her body began to quickly shut down. Christian’s dad flew out, since it was his sister, and spent 7 days with us. It was good to spend time with him when he was here. His dad then flew back last Sunday for the funeral that was March 3^rd. I came away from the funeral wishing I had known her better but also grateful for the plan of Salvation that makes it possible to get to know her better in the future.

In the amount of time we spent at the hospital, Christian and I realized how precious life really is. We don’t know how long we’ll be here on this earth and we need to make the best of the time that we have. As we walked out of the hospital, one night, I met a teenage girl, waiting for her someone to pick her up from the hospital. She didn’t look more than 16 or 17 years old and she was holding a brand new little baby that was born the day before. I watcher her face as she was truly in awe of this little life. As I walked away from her, my heart full, it brought tears to my eyes as I contemplated the true circle of life.

Also in early February, we spent time on Whidbey Island where Christian’s great Aunt and Uncle live. In visiting them we confirmed some genealogy so we could begin to work on his family line. I learned that Christian’s great grandparents were born in Italy and were married there and then immigrated to America in 1920. It was incredible to see the scanned pages from Ellis Island that shows their names. We took 4 individuals (his great-great-grandparents) and were baptized in the temple in behalf of them. What an experience that was! Neither of us had done family names before in the baptistry and it was amazing. We felt like we really did something and felt they had truly accepted our service. The next month, March, we did the initiatory, endowments and sealings for one of the couples. It was a very sacred experience for us and we plan to return soon to complete the same for next couple. Just knowing that I have their name cards sitting on my computer, it is so very real to me that they are waiting for US to complete their work. It is up to us to complete their ordinances here that they can do there in heaven.

25 Random things about me....

I did this on Facebook, and thought my non-Facebook readers might enjoy it.
It's just 25 random things, facts, memories, goals, ideas etc.

Here goes:

1. I grew up the 5th of 11 children. I had siblings born when I was in 1st grade, 4th grade, 8th grade and 12th grade.
2. My littlest sister, Brittany was born the day of the Highland, Homecoming dance.
3. I met my husband in a Church history class at BYU. Our first date was on April 19th and were engaged 2 weeks later. We just knew.
4. I don't have a middle name. None of my sisters do.
5. I love to watch Lost, American Idol, and movies on the Hallmark channel.
6. I've lived in 4 states: Idaho, Utah, Kansas and Washington.
7. This year marks 5 years that I've been working for UPS. Currently I help to coordinate Boeing's Ocean Freight.
8. I love to put together puzzles and think I better start doing ones with 1000 piece because ones with 500 are too easy.
9. Last month, I was called to be a Laurel adviser and I love it.
10. I am the pianist for the ward choir and enjoy learning new pieces. I hope to teach piano lessons as soon as I have a piano of my own.
11. I have darling pug named Maddie. I don't even want to think of life without her. She's our little girl.
12. I love to watch Kansas Basketball games with my husband.
13. I love the milder winters here in Seattle. It is nice not have to worry about snow and not have to scrape our windows in the morning that often.
14. My mom was my 4-H leader as a kid. I can crochet, knit, sew, walk the fashion runway, name trees, and know the names of star constellations. So much of what I can do and know I owe to my mother.
15. I absolutely love to learn new things. My husband thinks I'm crazy that I loved going to school so much.
16. I have a brother on a missing in Sacramento, California. (It is the same mission that my husband served in). He'll be home in May!!
17. My husband is a cancer survivor. The summer before his senior year of high school, they found cancer in his brain. It came back a year later and threw him in a 6 month coma. He was 2 years late going to BYU but because he was late, he met me just in time.
18. I've recently got really interested in family history. My mother-in-law is a convert and there is a lot of temple work to be done.
19. Referring to 18, I'm excited to attend the temple this weekend in behalf of my real ancestors.
20. I love reading however once I start I can never put it down. If it's good, I'm up all night finishing it.
21. I yearn for children of my own.
22. Regarding 21, we attempted a round of IVF but I miscarried at 10 weeks last July. We plan to start another in another month. We almost have the first $12K paid off.
23. I am the proud aunt of 17 nieces and nephews.
24. I love facebook because it is so much easier and fun to keep in touch with people.
25. I love any kind of sweets and always have something close by that I can grab.

Catching up...

Okay.. so it's been awhile since my last post. Here is a little about life as we know it.

Last Saturday, while we were shopping at Old Navy, we got word that his mother was in the hospital with abdominal pain. It came on really sharp and she thought she better go to the ER. It turned out that her pancreas was enlarged and causing a significant amount of pain. She spent almost an entire week there and just came home last night. The doctors did many types of tests and nothing could explain why her pancreas was enlarged. I'm grateful that she is doing better now, but it was hard to have someone you love in pain but be so far away from them. When this happened, you realize how truly precious life is.

Then Thursday night, our pug Maddie had a series of 3 seizures. She has had a few before; it's been nearly 14 months since her last one. As we held and comforted her, it was so hard to watch her jerk and listen to her moan. She is all we really have and don't know what we'd do without her. I always get a little taste of how helpless my mom felt when I had febroric seizures when I was younger. Thankfully, I grew out of them. This morning, we took Maddie to the vet because we were so worried and felt like these were worse than her other ones. She gave us a dose of valium to give her at the onset to stop another one from starting. Hopefully for our and Maddie's sakes, it will be a while before she has another one.

And now for some good news....As Christian was paying bills this week, he called me at work to tell me that we have only $2900 more to go on our IVF loan of $12,000. I'm so grateful that we have been blessed financially to have children this way. Hopefully within a couple months, we can start a second IVF cycle. We can't wait to give Maddie a human brother or sister some day.

Christmas Season to Remember

We had a Christmas Season to remember. It was action packed: full of funny and happy moments and then moments of absolute fright.

We began our drive to Chubbuck, Idaho on Saturday, December 20. On the Snoqualmie pass, the roads weren't totally clear but they were passable. On the other hand, our drive through the Blue Mountains in Oregon was just plain scary. Many times we couldn't see the road and other times, we would hold our breath as semis would barrel their way past us. Christian and I were very grateful, 12 hours later, to finally arrive in Chubbuck. We had a quick dinner, spent some time with the family and then spent the majority of the evening with Beverly and the kids watching BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. Unfortunately BYU lost and our hope was suspended until next year.

During the days leading up to Christmas Day we did so many things: visited and hung out with family, finished our Christmas shopping, put together many puzzles, and watched the snow as it continued to fall. Unfortunately Christmas Eve didn't begin as well as we'd hoped. Christian had the flu for most of the morning and couldn't keep anything down. He slept most of the morning and early afternoon while I took care of him, and hung out with family. I was happy that by Christmas Eve dinner, he was able to keep down dry toast and our infamous 10-layer jello that we had made. My favorite part of the evening was when we sat in the living room and listened to Amy and Brittany play duets and sing Christmas carols around the piano. It reminds me of the many times we would act out the Nativity and run around trying to find just the right costume to play our part.

Christmas morning brought a lot more snow and a strong wind to blow it all around. It literally was an adventure for Mom to dig out Grandma and bring her over for Christmas morning. We enjoyed the morning unwrapping presents and staying warm and cozy inside away from all the snow. Then we spent a good part of the afternoon playing my new DVD game of "Who's smarter than a 5^th grader." Some of the questions, I don't even remember learning about in the 5^th grade. I think my little brother, Bryan was better than all of us. :)

The day after Christmas was so busy. Busy with doing as much as we could before leaving Saturday morning. That night (Friday) Christian and I went to a High School Party that was hosted by one of my friends. I got to see so many friends from high school, meet their children and husbands. Despite the snowy roads getting there, we had a lot of fun talking to people there. Christian was a little bored but soon got talking to one of the guys there that was very similar to him.

Early Saturday morning, the roads were relative good. However by the time we got to Boise and Mountain Home, snow was blowing all over the road. Entering in Oregon, we could no longer see the roads. We passed a sign telling us the necessity to chain up. We tried to follow the instructions but finally asked a worker (he was helping the semis) to help us. We drove on them for about 50 miles at about 30 miles an hour. However they broke and we ended up removing them. We stopped in Baker City where ODOT had shut down I-84 because of the wintry conditions. After stopping at a Les Schwab, we learned 1) that we weren't supposed to keep our chains on that long, 2) we weren't supposed to go faster than 30mph, and 3) we were told that supposedly our little Honda would be "just fine" without them. We finally found a hotel and got some much needed lunch. After lunch, we watched college football in our room and took a long nap. The next day, we got up early and headed out on much better roads. The last leg of our journey (Snoqualmie Pass) was all snow packed and quite scary. We made it through safely and just in the nick of time. We found out later that they were closing down the pass 15 minutes later for some Avalanche work. We were so grateful to finally be home after 2 long days of traveling on icy roads.

Even though Christmas time was stressful due to the weather, we didn't let the weather dampen our spirits. We really enjoyed spending time with family as we celebrated Christmas. We loved making Evelyn smile and even hearing her giggle. I realized that I got addicted to puzzles when I was home because I started one here immediately and haven't stopped doing them since. We look forward to this New Year and hope to have our IVF loan paid off in another month. Then we'll start the arduous process again with hope the timing is right.