Time with Uncle Grizz

We have been blessed beyond belief by the friends God has put in our path everywhere we go. We have some of our most dearest friends at each of the bases we've been to and try our hardest to stay in contact with all of them. That's one of the many benefits from marrying into the military- friends all over the world! The only downside to having friends all over the world is that we may go years without seeing some. Those that are active duty, we have a little better chance to see them sooner or more often, the military is a small place and you can run into people anywhere!

That was the case a few weeks ago. One of our most cherished friends from WA was on his way to his deployment and his last stop before leaving the US was here, at our current duty station. We didn't care if we only got to see him for 2 minutes, at 2am, through a fence- we just wanted to see him. God blessed us much more than that!!! We got to go pick him up as soon as he got to base, take him to get something to eat, and hang our with him for a few hours before he left. He's been through a lot up hard times and we've seen the hand of God working in his life. We're so very proud of him and can't wait for him to get home and celebrate him upcoming marriage!!!

He's never met the wild woman, only through skype and we couldn't wait to introduce them. She took to him instantly and it was something that brought tears to my eyes. Granted, I am very emotional lately but still- it was beautiful. We're so thankful for the few hours we got to spend with him!! Aud still talks about him and his dog, Jacob. She prays for them at least twice each prayer :) Please remember him and the many others that are downrage fighting for our freedom.

Teaching Uncle Grizz how to spit... my little lady.

My favorite.

36 weeks!

This week I hit the 36wk mark!!! We also had another appointment at CHOP for baby's growth scan, echo, tour of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), meeting with the anestesia team, baby's cardiologist, research department,  and my regular prenatal visit. My Mom came over Thursday night to watch the wild woman while we had our all day appointment. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed at the amount of boxes and how little energy I had. There's nothing like your Mom to just make things better!!

Ben and my Mom worked so hard and got a massive amount of work done. Audrey's room is all set up, the kitchen is done, living room is close, our room is set up but has boxes of clothes to be put away and Audrey's play room is set up with just a few boxes of our books. I never would have been able to make the progress they did! I'm officially on extra super light duty until baby arrives so my job was supervisor. Not exciting or productive- but my job is to not go into labor this week :) My sister came over Saturday evening and stayed the night with us. She was such a help and it was so nice to have her here. Aud adores her and the way Nell plays with the wild woman- it's just so special.

So the appointment went awesome! I've been feeling alot of pressure lately with some nasty back pain this past week and on the way to CHOP, I had a honest to goodness contraction. It took me by surprise and Ben knew something was up. We were about a block away from the hospital when it happened and he was like well, that was good timing :) We had the growth scan first and wow was it a good one! At 36wks 2 days our baby is 7lbs 4oz. I have 4 more weeks to go and this kiddo is already 7lbs. At 39wks 1 day the wild woman was 7lbs 14.5oz. My ob gyn came in and said wow! I'm loving the growth of this baby! haha She's a great doctor and I really really like her. She did a quick ultrasound after the tech and was like wow, are you feeling any pressure? I laughed and said it's been getting more and more intense this past week and how I had a contraction that morning. She said well, baby is SUPER low so we're going to check you just to make sure your not like 6 cm's dilated and you have this kiddo on the turnpike on the way home. haha I said good idea.

They checked me and I'm only 2cm dilated (praise God) but I'm at 0 station which means baby is fully engaged. After they found this out she said if I don't go into labor this week, we'll talk about induction this Friday due to baby's size and just to make sure I delivery at CHOP. My job this week is to keep the wild woman and I fed and watered and to not go into labor. I need at least another week, at least! Even though baby is a prefect size, the lungs still need some baking time to be fully developed. I'm so ready to have baby here, but the road ahead is not something I'm excited to dive into. I'm just leaving everything that happens after delivery in the hands of Jesus. That's all I can do, Everything else is completely out of my hands.

We toured the CICU- which was harder than I thought it would be. I wanted to run out of there. I was scared, I was crying, I was hit with the wave of "this is real, and going to be our reality very soon". I think I stopped in my tracks, and honestly searched for the door. Ben and the nurse giving to tour both asked if I was okay with going on. I just kept praying and made it through.

Baby's heart looks good, no change, and we found out who the surgeon will be. It was a long day, but a good one. When we got home my Mom had the kitchen all taken care of, organized, and cleaned. It was so so wonderful coming home to that. The wild woman was in full swing and glory with her Meemim. I'm so thankful for all the hard work they did this weekend!!

Well, it's time for this wore out Momma to go to bed! We'll keep you all updated as things happen! Pray baby waits a little longer to make an appearance (but we know baby will come when baby is supposed to come:)  )

On the Farm

We were able to stop by my Meemaw's farm for a quick visit this past weekend. The wild woman loves the cows and it was such a beautiful day!

The wild woman and her "Meemim"

Watching those cows...

I love how she's standing in this picture haha :)

Meemaw telling the wild woman about the fence.

The cows inching closer and closer

She was throwing them some grass to eat :)

Freezer Meals

I'm not sure why I thought I could do it all when I had Audrey, probably because she was my first and I had no idea. :) This time around, I wanted to be a little bit more organized and prepared- as much as I can be, so I decided to freeze some meals! I have in my mind a plan to really stuff my freezer full but we'll see how far we get. I think I have a pretty good start! Mom's coming next weekend and we have some plans to cook!

So here's some of the meals that are all ready to go in the freezer!
*A big ol' batch of Chicken noodle soup
*1 meal of turkey chili- Ben said it's my best batch yet- too bad I forget what I put in it already
*1 crock pot meal of italian sausage with sauce, peppers and onions
*1 meal of Italian  marinated chicken thighs
*1 tray of mini stuffed shells
* about 40 black bean burritos for lunches or dinner.

The burritos were the only ones I really thought of taking pictures of. I know your cringing Mom, but they really are super yummy, super easy to make, and freeze fantastic.

Black Bean Burritios

(this is a double batch so if you want to make just the normal amount 1/2 all the ing.)

1lb black beans rinsed, soaked, and cooked per instructions on the bag

2 8oz block of cream cheese

2 cans fire roasted green chilies

2 jars salsa (whatever heat you like)

2 bell peppers (red if you want a little sweeter flavor) chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tbs olive oil

3-4 cups cooked brown rice

40 flour 8 or 10in tortillas

1. In a large skillet (12inch works fantastic for a double batch) saute the peppers and onions in the olive oil. -Your could even throw in some garlic cloves if you feelin' wild:) Cook till tender.

2. Add beans, salsa, and chilies and mix well. Dice up the cream cheese and add to the pan.

3. Cook till combined and has thickened a little bit.

4. Remove from heat, grab a huge bowl, dump the rice and bean mix and combine well.

5. Spread mix down the center of tortilla and wrap burrito style. Let cool a little bit if your going to freeze them. Enjoy!

And the blessings keep flowing...

On Friday we had just a regular prenatal appointment at CHOP. My midwife was fantastic and was so sweet with Audrey. She had Audrey help her with taking my vitals and measuring the baby- her favorite. She handed her the measuring tape and asked if she could please measure Momma's belly. The wild woman pulled the tape out and when the midwife went to help place it Audrey sweetly looked over and said "I will do it" :) haha Lilly asked her how big my belly was and she said after pausing a few seconds "one hundred..............and......five" hahaha We all burst out laughing so hard. It was really sweet. The wild woman was so proud of herself. I then had a meeting with the lactation consultent and when I came out from that I was met with the sight of my daughter doing summersaults in the large waiting area, in her sweet little blue dress.

Since we had an appointment on Friday and another on Monday, we were given the okay to head home. It was so great because my Aunt's surprise 50th Birthday party was Saturday and Ben's Dad was in a car accident a week prior and we really wanted to see him- so it all worked out beautifully. We had such a great weekend. We spent time with both side of our family, got to go on a date night and have a few hours with just Ben and I walking around an antique market, sit on porches Wow did we get some deals! :) Not on antiques but some other goodies! Not to mention the weather was outstanding! Then we traveled 1/2 way home on Sunday night and stayed with my best friend from college. We all stayed up till 2am talking and laughing- I knew we'd be paying for it the next day but it was so worth it. We shared breakfast with them and headed out Monday morning for my cardio appointment.

My appointment went very well. Very Well!! After some issues with the referral not being there and that whole mess, I was finally able to see the doctor. Because of the referral mess I saw the doctor before my echo since he was due in surgery in an hour. He talked and he gave me some instructions but said he would call me with the results of the echo and we'd talk some more.I had my echo and we were able to head home. We tried another way home from Philly and will be sticking to the original way. Poor Audrey fell asleep and we took a way home that had red lights every 3 feet. Her head kept plopping forward and she'd wake up then fall back asleep. She had a hard weekend with a napping and bedtime routine and it was catching up with her.

We got home and we were out of milk and things for dinner. Ben kept Aud while I ran to base. As the bagger was putting the bags in the van, my cardiologist called. He said he saw no hole in my heart at all. My pressures were all normal, no enlargement, and he couldn't explain my other echos. He still wants me to call him when I go into labor so he can come and check on me and to have a repeat echo 2 months after baby is born. I was overwhelmed in the best way. I just cried. The entire reason why I was seen by the high risk OB doctor had been because of my heart issues. If I hadn't been having issues with my heart, we never would have had such an in depth scan of baby and the baby's heart defect would never had been caught. Just wait- it gets better. Ben was set to deploy to Afganistan a month before baby would have been born so I would have been in Germany, alone with our 2yr, had the baby, found out baby had a huge cardiac defect, and baby would have been sent to a German hospital to have open heart surgery all without my husband. There's a good chance he wouldn't have found out about baby and what was going on in Germany for awhile because of the type of mission he was supposed to be on. Do you see the mighty hand of God in this? It's right there. We are so thankful for the blessing's God's given us. We don't know the plans he has for our family-all we know is that He is faithful and will provide. We know that.

Another blessing is that we also found out Beretta is not in kidney failure! A nice big bill from the vet later- we found out her levels are all within normal limits and she just has lipid deposits in her eye. Incredible huh? As crazy as she drives me, as much as I can't stand the dog hair, licking, about busting though the glass door because she see's squirrels- I'd be devastated if something ever happend to that crazy dog. That and Audrey simply adores her. Audrey say's she best friends with baby and with Retta-roo-zaa.

Here's one of my newest favorite pictures of the two of them. :)

Outside Pics of the House

Here are some pictures of the outside of the house! They kind of jump around, I tired to organize them but it kept switching them to the order I took them, oh well.

The first thing to go up at our new house!

Welcome to my new house everybody!! :)

The driveway

 Front of the house

Carport, don't mind the carport stash... gotta love moving.

Back of the house

Cornor of the house and shed looking into the side lot

From the carport

From the back edge of the yard

View from the little deck

Storage shed

The side lot...aka the tick infested area that Audrey and the dog love to play. I know.

Another Miracle

We had our all day appointment yesterday at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and it was fantastic!! It was an incredibly long long day but still great. A little background- Audrey had thrown up the entire night on Tuesday and I probably slept hmm... 2 hrs between cleaning up her, me and the sheets. Wednesday she slept okay but Thursday night she was so restless and was just having a hard time. I've been sleeping with her because she's got the only real bed in the house. I can no longer roll out of the air mattress and the couch we have does a number on my hips. I know, I'm a mess. I've been one tired Momma and haven't had the chance to really catch up on my sleep. I was a little restless too thinking about the appointment and didn't sleep much. I was up at 4, an hour before my alarm.

We got started out and the drive to the hospital was great. I'm so glad we printed the directions CHOP sent and didn't rely on the GPS, they were so much better and we avoided downtown completely. We got to the hospital, found our parking garage, and made our way up to the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment and Special Delivery Unit. They had a lite breakfast there for us if we wanted it, complete with Dunkin Doughnuts Decaf Coffee (my weakness this pregnancy...along with a few other things) We were registered and were taken back for our ultrasound that was scheduled to be 2 hours long!

The ultrasound tech was awesome. She was super kind and friendly! They had a huge screen over the bed so I could watch the ultrasound without having to keep looking way to the side- I really enjoyed that. Baby was super cooperative and kept the flips for the very end of the scan. The way CHOP does the scans the tech does the majority and then a doctor comes and does some more. When the doctor came in she was laughing after taking a close look at both of our faces. She said, "baby has YOUR chin Momma" hahaha Just like Audrey, this baby has my chin. Hopefully this one won't get stuck on my pelvis and come out with a black and blue mouth and chin :)

After the ultrasound we met with the genetic counselor and was by far the best part of the day. She said after much study of the genetic study she STRONGLY STRONGLY feels that this is an isolated event with NO genetic abnormality. Did you all read that, NO GENETIC ABNORMALITY!!! They has originally told us baby had a very rare and complicated genetic abnormality. But because the breaking of the chromosomes and reattachment of the the 4 chromosomes only happen in 1 of the 5 cultures, the doctors all agree with the lab that it was a lab error. They still want to run some blood tests on the cord blood and do a biopsy on the heart tissues when they go in for the open heart surgery, which is fine with us. I just sat there in complete disbelief, shaking my head, and holding my emotions intact. She kept repeating the results and saying, you know what this means right? and that they do not see this as an issue and we shouldn't either. I was just praying over and over, Thank you God, Thank you God. This was a MIRACLE, a pure 100%, MIRACLE. God has been blessing us over and over again- in ways that we never could have imagined.

After that great meeting we had the baby's echo followed by meeting with the team of cardiologist, radiologist, social worker and two nurses. They had been watching the echo and further explained baby's condition and what was going to happen. It was pretty much the same that we had been hearing but the cardiologist said that the PFO appears to be large enough that they may not have to tear the atrium septum to allow for oxygen to get to the body, but that it was still a possibility. Also that as of right now and as along as baby does well surgery will most likely be on day 3-5 of life. We'll meet the surgeons next time I believe and get to tour the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit where baby will be before and after surgery.

Then we met with the High Risk OB (MFM) and talked about the possibility of delivering at the Children's Hospital and as of right now that's the plan. This is where we got another blessing, she said that unless I got past 39.5 weeks- I would be able to go into labor on my own- NO PITOCIN!!!! I'm so excited!!! We're starting to make some plans and back up plans for Audrey and how we're going to tackle that part if I do go early since baby is measuring big and a week ahead. 39wks by my date and early ultrasound is the week after the 6th of June but by baby's size is the week after the 30th of May. Um I just had to remind myself to breathe when I did the math just now.... 30 May... oh my word. :)

We went a had some lunch, came back upstairs for a mini prenatal appointment, toured the Special Delivery Unit, and headed home. I'm so very thankful with this kiddo that my gallbladder is gone. I've been able to eat and not have such horrible pain. I'm just a few pounds less now at 132 than when I delivery Audrey. I've still got another 2 months but still on track with healthy weight gain. I'm feeling great but just having a hard time with my hips. I'm carrying this one so much differently than Audrey, as all babies are different, and can defiantly can feel it in my hips and back. Thank goodness I have a fantastic husband who gives great back rubs, and gives up his comfort so his super pregnant wife and sleep as best as she can :)

Our next appointment is in two weeks for just a routine prenatal visit and then on the 18th we go for another echo, meeting the surgeons, touring the CICU and another prenatal visit. After the 18th I'll be going weekly for checkups until baby is born!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and continued prayers! We'll keep you updated!