I'll post another nursery post after we have some more decorations and such.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Nursery Post #1
Since many of you want to see pictures of the progress we've made in the nursery, I figured I would post them here. We haven't bought much of anything in terms of decorations and so the room looks plain. As we have our baby showers (all 4 of them!) in March, we will be adding and updating the room. Also, Joey still has to make the centerpiece of the room- a tree!
Bookshelf, Crib & Changing Table
Another angle of changing table. The door you see on the right is his closet.
Close up of the crib with the monkey from the nursery set that we're planning to use.
Glider Rocker with Ottoman and his dresser. (We are thinking about covering the fabric on the glider rocker...anyone familiar with how to do that??)
I'll post another nursery post after we have some more decorations and such.
I'll post another nursery post after we have some more decorations and such.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Bringing Home Their Boys
If you read nothing else that I write on this blog, I pray that you will read this and allow God to soften your heart to give in some way.
Some dear friends of ours from church have a heart for adoption like nothing I've ever seen. I will do my best to give you a quick overview (Joy- please forgive me if my details are incorrect). Joy and Stephan got married and had two precious children. Unfortunately, they lost their little boy as an infant (I believe, SIDS?). Losing Jacob did not stop them from wanting more children; in fact, I believe it was through this loss that God began to build a desire in their hearts for many children. They adopted a little girl several years back. All of these things happened before Joey and I met this phenomenal couple. Two years ago, when we met this family, they were starting the process of adopting a son from the Phillipines. As we prayed for them through this time, I learned of Joy's heart for hurting children, or "littles" as she calls them. We prayed for them and celebrated with them when they finally brought Aaron home early last year.
But their hearts and their home were not full yet. Not long after Aaron came home, Joy and Stephan began praying for their next child(ren). There are lots of rules associated with adopting that I don't understand. But they kept praying (and us with them) for an open door for them to walk through. A few months ago, a door was opened that can only be explained as God's hand and favor upon them. The rule for adoption in the Philippines is that you have to wait at least 2 years before you can adopt again. Since Aaron has only been home a year, this would mean it would be at least 2015 before they could apply to adopt. However, the adoption agency approached Joy & Stephan about adopting 3 more boys (a set of brothers), if the government would grant them a waiver from the rule. They prayed and said yes. The government granted them the waiver.
The catch to this situation (although we know God will provide) is that the oldest of the three boys just turned 17. In order to adopt all three, the process must be completed before he turns 18. (Though, it is a miracle that he is still eligible for adoption; without siblings he would have been booted out of the system at 16) God has obviously covered this whole situation with his blessings; there is no doubt about that. However, Joy & Stephan need financial support to make this happen. Below, I have placed a link to Joy's blog. Please, go read a few of her posts. And, if you feel so led, donate to their Bringing our Boys Home account from the link at the top of her blog. Let's help bring these boys home!! They are just starting a Picture Puzzle fundraiser. This is a simple way to donate to them. Joey and I will be buying some pieces!
Part of me wants to brag about the hearts of this whole family. We have served with Joy and their oldest daughter at RFKC (the camp for foster kids that we serve at each year). We have served with Stephan at several different events at church. They all have wonderful hearts. However, I know bragging about them too much would make them uncomfortable, so I will refrain. But just look at their faces; you can see the wonderfulness of their hearts through those beautiful smiling faces!
Also, they are going to need a bigger house in order to add 3 more boys. Please pray that their house (which has just gone on the market or will be very soon) sells quickly. They have found a house they are interested in, but must sell their current one first. Pray for a miraculously fast sell.
Some dear friends of ours from church have a heart for adoption like nothing I've ever seen. I will do my best to give you a quick overview (Joy- please forgive me if my details are incorrect). Joy and Stephan got married and had two precious children. Unfortunately, they lost their little boy as an infant (I believe, SIDS?). Losing Jacob did not stop them from wanting more children; in fact, I believe it was through this loss that God began to build a desire in their hearts for many children. They adopted a little girl several years back. All of these things happened before Joey and I met this phenomenal couple. Two years ago, when we met this family, they were starting the process of adopting a son from the Phillipines. As we prayed for them through this time, I learned of Joy's heart for hurting children, or "littles" as she calls them. We prayed for them and celebrated with them when they finally brought Aaron home early last year.
But their hearts and their home were not full yet. Not long after Aaron came home, Joy and Stephan began praying for their next child(ren). There are lots of rules associated with adopting that I don't understand. But they kept praying (and us with them) for an open door for them to walk through. A few months ago, a door was opened that can only be explained as God's hand and favor upon them. The rule for adoption in the Philippines is that you have to wait at least 2 years before you can adopt again. Since Aaron has only been home a year, this would mean it would be at least 2015 before they could apply to adopt. However, the adoption agency approached Joy & Stephan about adopting 3 more boys (a set of brothers), if the government would grant them a waiver from the rule. They prayed and said yes. The government granted them the waiver.
The catch to this situation (although we know God will provide) is that the oldest of the three boys just turned 17. In order to adopt all three, the process must be completed before he turns 18. (Though, it is a miracle that he is still eligible for adoption; without siblings he would have been booted out of the system at 16) God has obviously covered this whole situation with his blessings; there is no doubt about that. However, Joy & Stephan need financial support to make this happen. Below, I have placed a link to Joy's blog. Please, go read a few of her posts. And, if you feel so led, donate to their Bringing our Boys Home account from the link at the top of her blog. Let's help bring these boys home!! They are just starting a Picture Puzzle fundraiser. This is a simple way to donate to them. Joey and I will be buying some pieces!
Part of me wants to brag about the hearts of this whole family. We have served with Joy and their oldest daughter at RFKC (the camp for foster kids that we serve at each year). We have served with Stephan at several different events at church. They all have wonderful hearts. However, I know bragging about them too much would make them uncomfortable, so I will refrain. But just look at their faces; you can see the wonderfulness of their hearts through those beautiful smiling faces!
Also, they are going to need a bigger house in order to add 3 more boys. Please pray that their house (which has just gone on the market or will be very soon) sells quickly. They have found a house they are interested in, but must sell their current one first. Pray for a miraculously fast sell.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
First Disappointment
So far, I've been a pretty boring pregnant person- wasn't sick, no cravings, etc. Things have been going along pretty smoothly. Doc says my weight gain is good, although I feel like I'm way bigger than most people who are 6 months pregnant. Everything seems to be developing the way it's supposed to. He (who still does not have a name) moves around and kicks a lot. He even kicked the Doppler (used to listen to his heartbeat) off my stomach last week at the doctor. All has been good in Baby T world. This mama needs to work on her iron levels, but little guy is fine.
Then, last week, it was time for the glucose screening test. For those who aren't sure what that means, it's where they check pregnant women for gestational diabetes. You go in, drink this overly sweet orange drink, wait an hour and have some blood drawn. Yesterday, I got the call that my number was higher than they were comfortable with and that I needed to come to do the 2nd test next week (same general process except you have to fast for 12 hours before, get to have more blood drawn and it lasts 3 hours instead of 1). Yay! Not.
And so, in my pregnancy hormone laden state, with no students because of a snow day, I sat at my desk and cried. And cried. And pulled myself together. And then cried some more. Most of the time I'm able to rationalize myself out of the crying thing, telling myself that it's just hormones. But it wasn't happening yesterday. In fact, I'm pretty sure that if I had been at home and not at work, I would have crawled into bed and bawled. All I could think about is that I've not been eating right and now I'm putting our little guy at risk. Even though it's "only" gestational diabetes, I have set our son up for a lifetime of worries concerning will he or won't he develop Type 2 Diabetes since research has linked the two. The first couple of websites I looked at said the number one cause of GD is an obese mother. I knew I didn't lose the weight that I needed to before I got pregnant, have I now caused this problem for my son? I felt like a complete failure of a mother.
Now, after I got the crying out of my system and was able to think rationally again, I first reminded myself that I don't actually know that I have gestational diabetes, only that my sugar number was a little high on this particular test. So, I read online about glucose screenings and gestational diabetes. The nurse I spoke to on the phone said that our doctors like to see a number under 130 and that mine was around 141 (I don't remember exactly; I was a little devastated at the time). According to online sources, the "acceptable" number completely depends upon the doctor. Some doctors say as long as it is under 150, everything is fine. My doctors, apparently, just tend to lean with a lower number. Also, a relatively large percentage of women who "fail" the first test have no problems when it comes to the longer test. Only about 4-6 percent of pregnant women wind up having gestational diabetes, according to one source. And, even if I do have it, a large percentage of women with GD are able to treat it with diet changes, without medication.
I am incredibly thankful that I was able to take a step back and find a rational place to stand. I'm choosing to focus on the fact that the doctors have said that Wookiee is growing just fine and has a great heartbeat. I am thankful that modern medicine is able to identify problems and help us treat them rather than allowing them to because life threatening issues. I am thankful that this is the first bump we've had along the way and that we have been blessed with an easy pregnancy so far. In my rational state, I know that there will be other bumps to come, before he gets here and after. He is a boy, a Totherow at that, so I know he'll fall and get hurt and I'll feel like a failure then too. And I know that there will be many times throughout his life and the lives of any other future children that I will miss what I felt like was the mark and will be sad and upset with myself. But that is part of parenting, or so I'm told. I'm excited to be starting this adventure with this little guy and I know that he is going to teach me so much about myself that I am unaware of.
Side note- I'm guessing with the impending ice storm, we may be finishing the painting part of the nursery in the next couple of days. Maybe by the end of the weekend we'll have a crib in place. I'll post some pictures soon!
Then, last week, it was time for the glucose screening test. For those who aren't sure what that means, it's where they check pregnant women for gestational diabetes. You go in, drink this overly sweet orange drink, wait an hour and have some blood drawn. Yesterday, I got the call that my number was higher than they were comfortable with and that I needed to come to do the 2nd test next week (same general process except you have to fast for 12 hours before, get to have more blood drawn and it lasts 3 hours instead of 1). Yay! Not.
And so, in my pregnancy hormone laden state, with no students because of a snow day, I sat at my desk and cried. And cried. And pulled myself together. And then cried some more. Most of the time I'm able to rationalize myself out of the crying thing, telling myself that it's just hormones. But it wasn't happening yesterday. In fact, I'm pretty sure that if I had been at home and not at work, I would have crawled into bed and bawled. All I could think about is that I've not been eating right and now I'm putting our little guy at risk. Even though it's "only" gestational diabetes, I have set our son up for a lifetime of worries concerning will he or won't he develop Type 2 Diabetes since research has linked the two. The first couple of websites I looked at said the number one cause of GD is an obese mother. I knew I didn't lose the weight that I needed to before I got pregnant, have I now caused this problem for my son? I felt like a complete failure of a mother.
Now, after I got the crying out of my system and was able to think rationally again, I first reminded myself that I don't actually know that I have gestational diabetes, only that my sugar number was a little high on this particular test. So, I read online about glucose screenings and gestational diabetes. The nurse I spoke to on the phone said that our doctors like to see a number under 130 and that mine was around 141 (I don't remember exactly; I was a little devastated at the time). According to online sources, the "acceptable" number completely depends upon the doctor. Some doctors say as long as it is under 150, everything is fine. My doctors, apparently, just tend to lean with a lower number. Also, a relatively large percentage of women who "fail" the first test have no problems when it comes to the longer test. Only about 4-6 percent of pregnant women wind up having gestational diabetes, according to one source. And, even if I do have it, a large percentage of women with GD are able to treat it with diet changes, without medication.
I am incredibly thankful that I was able to take a step back and find a rational place to stand. I'm choosing to focus on the fact that the doctors have said that Wookiee is growing just fine and has a great heartbeat. I am thankful that modern medicine is able to identify problems and help us treat them rather than allowing them to because life threatening issues. I am thankful that this is the first bump we've had along the way and that we have been blessed with an easy pregnancy so far. In my rational state, I know that there will be other bumps to come, before he gets here and after. He is a boy, a Totherow at that, so I know he'll fall and get hurt and I'll feel like a failure then too. And I know that there will be many times throughout his life and the lives of any other future children that I will miss what I felt like was the mark and will be sad and upset with myself. But that is part of parenting, or so I'm told. I'm excited to be starting this adventure with this little guy and I know that he is going to teach me so much about myself that I am unaware of.
Side note- I'm guessing with the impending ice storm, we may be finishing the painting part of the nursery in the next couple of days. Maybe by the end of the weekend we'll have a crib in place. I'll post some pictures soon!
Friday, December 13, 2013
Gender Reveal Party
After some dear friends of our had a gender reveal party a couple years ago, I'd been thinking about having one for our own little one. So, we had the not-so-friendly ultrasound technician place the gender revealing sonogram picture into an envelope and I delivered it to our dear friend Dorothy who had been planning a gender reveal cake for a couple months. Since we've called the baby Wookiee since the beginning, she created a baby Wookiee cake!
We invited a bunch of friends and families over last Friday night for the big reveal. We had a ton of food.
We asked people to wear pink or blue to show what they thought the baby was. We didn't really know, but felt like we needed to embrace the gender "argument." So, we had shirts made. The backs (not pictured) have Daddy or Mommy and the #1 (like a jersey).
It was a mostly split group. My parents were a split decision (although Daddy wouldn't have worn pink even if he thought it was a girl). If we had to guess, there were slightly more Team Boy people than Team Girl.
So, after everyone had eaten their fill of the yummy food, it was time to cut the cake and figure out if Baby T is a boy or a girl. (Note the super cute monkey plates & napkins!
There's quite a bit of pressure with everyone watching you do this. But we managed to make it without making too much of a mess. But, there was no doubt in the cake. We will be having a little man next spring-
The second one is his face looking at you. A little creepy with the hollow eye sockets, but I'm certain that he is already a beautiful little guy! (SMUG ALERT)
Since I was only 18 weeks along at the ultrasound, and little man wasn't really interested in having his picture taken, we get to have another ultrasound done in January. They weren't able to check his heart and make sure everything was okay with it. But everything they were able to see looks great. So far so good with his development. He was measuring two days bigger than his due date (or however that's supposed to be worded), but two days isn't a big deal.
I have started feeling the little guy moving around. Everyone's description of this feeling is different, which makes it hard to figure out what to expect. For me, it feels kind of like a really strong twitch like you would have in your eye.
I guess that's about it for this update. I'll be 20 weeks on Sunday, which is the "official" halfway point. We will try to get a belly bump pic up soon!
We invited a bunch of friends and families over last Friday night for the big reveal. We had a ton of food.
We asked people to wear pink or blue to show what they thought the baby was. We didn't really know, but felt like we needed to embrace the gender "argument." So, we had shirts made. The backs (not pictured) have Daddy or Mommy and the #1 (like a jersey).
It was a mostly split group. My parents were a split decision (although Daddy wouldn't have worn pink even if he thought it was a girl). If we had to guess, there were slightly more Team Boy people than Team Girl.
So, after everyone had eaten their fill of the yummy food, it was time to cut the cake and figure out if Baby T is a boy or a girl. (Note the super cute monkey plates & napkins!
There's quite a bit of pressure with everyone watching you do this. But we managed to make it without making too much of a mess. But, there was no doubt in the cake. We will be having a little man next spring-
Now it's time for name picking (we don't have any idea yet) and blue outfits. And for the fun of it- here are a couple of pictures from the last ultrasound. The first one is a picture of his full body- his head to the right and his body to the left.
The second one is his face looking at you. A little creepy with the hollow eye sockets, but I'm certain that he is already a beautiful little guy! (SMUG ALERT)
Since I was only 18 weeks along at the ultrasound, and little man wasn't really interested in having his picture taken, we get to have another ultrasound done in January. They weren't able to check his heart and make sure everything was okay with it. But everything they were able to see looks great. So far so good with his development. He was measuring two days bigger than his due date (or however that's supposed to be worded), but two days isn't a big deal.
I have started feeling the little guy moving around. Everyone's description of this feeling is different, which makes it hard to figure out what to expect. For me, it feels kind of like a really strong twitch like you would have in your eye.
I guess that's about it for this update. I'll be 20 weeks on Sunday, which is the "official" halfway point. We will try to get a belly bump pic up soon!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
In memory & honor of grandparents
Maybe to my own shame, but I forgot my grandmother's birthday was yesterday. And I forgot that today marks the 15th anniversary of my other grandmother's death. But when I realized these things this morning (thanks, Mom), it put me in a very reflective mood about grandparents. Some background for you about my grandparents:
As this was our experience, I decided that it was important to me for my children to know their grandparents. It's why I get so upset when my father-in-law doesn't take his medicine like he's supposed to since his stroke. My grandmother died from a stroke. My grandfathers died from diseases that can now be treated, high blood pressure and heart attacks. I want my parents and in-laws to do what they need to do in order to stay healthy. Not for me but for my kids.
Our little Wookiee will know his/her grandparents, God willing. He or she will get spoiled by grandparents. My parents and in-laws will do things with Wook that will drive me crazy, but at least he/she will have the experience of having grandparents who are involved. I am so incredibly thankful for that blessing in our lives.
Granny and Meme, I miss you both.
- My paternal grandfather died in the '70s. My parents were barely dating when he died.
- My maternal grandfather died 6 months and 2 days before I was born. The last thing he and my mother talked about was me- his baby was having a baby.
- My paternal grandmother lived in Rhode Island. She was as involved as she could be from that far away. We were always pretty close to her.
- My maternal grandmother was the grandparent who lived closest to us. But due to a variety of reasons, she never spent much time with us. She was also sick most of my brother's life and most of what I can remember.
As this was our experience, I decided that it was important to me for my children to know their grandparents. It's why I get so upset when my father-in-law doesn't take his medicine like he's supposed to since his stroke. My grandmother died from a stroke. My grandfathers died from diseases that can now be treated, high blood pressure and heart attacks. I want my parents and in-laws to do what they need to do in order to stay healthy. Not for me but for my kids.
Our little Wookiee will know his/her grandparents, God willing. He or she will get spoiled by grandparents. My parents and in-laws will do things with Wook that will drive me crazy, but at least he/she will have the experience of having grandparents who are involved. I am so incredibly thankful for that blessing in our lives.
Granny and Meme, I miss you both.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Blog Entry #1
Well, everything says that we should start a website to update people about the baby and how things are going. This is my attempt at this. I'm hoping to be able to update regularly about how little one is developing and how we are doing as we go along.
I am almost 15 weeks pregnant. I noticed this week just how pregnant I am starting to look. I have definitely made the almost full transition to maternity pants, and I'm having to sort out some shirts. I had wanted to wait a little while longer to tell my students, but I couldn't have hidden it much longer than I did. (I told them 2 weeks ago) We waited until after telling our TeenWorks kids to make it public knowledge. I'm happy that it's public now! We have been wanting to shout it from the rooftops since we found out in September.
Let's see, answers to the typical questions- yes, we were trying; yes, we're super excited; no, we don't know what it is yet (well...a baby); our ultrasound is December 5; we have not decided on names (although we agree that a junior is out of the question); I have not been sick (thank you, Lord!), just sleepy; I don't feel the little one moving around yet, still a little early for that; our nursery theme is monkeys (Toys R Us registry is already started if you'd like to check it out); yes, our families are excited (excited might be a calm word...thrilled is a good one); while it doesn't really matter to us if it's a girl or boy, we each have our hopes and people in our camp (currently most old wives tales lean boy, heartbeat leans girl...obviously these are not accurate decision making tools, but interesting points).
What did I leave out??
Fun, nerdy fact. The baby is due May 4th, which is commonly known as Star Wars Day in the nerd world (May the 4th--force-- be with you...). In honor of this, we decided the baby would be called Wookiee (the correct spelling, according to Wookieepedia.com) until further notice. Unfortunately, I did have to explain to my students that would not be it's legal name.
My students have been fantastic. Most of them have their own names for it, though lima bean is my favorite. They don't want to let me hand things out, so they are being much more helpful. Now, if only that would translate to them doing their work so that they can pass and not stress me out.
In non-baby news, I'm going back to school. I am going to get my master's degree in English from ECU, as they have a completely online program. Not sure when I'm going to start at this point, but soon I hope. I decided I was ready for a new challenge; I just didn't realize I would get two new challenges at once.
Looking forward to a long weekend!!!
I am almost 15 weeks pregnant. I noticed this week just how pregnant I am starting to look. I have definitely made the almost full transition to maternity pants, and I'm having to sort out some shirts. I had wanted to wait a little while longer to tell my students, but I couldn't have hidden it much longer than I did. (I told them 2 weeks ago) We waited until after telling our TeenWorks kids to make it public knowledge. I'm happy that it's public now! We have been wanting to shout it from the rooftops since we found out in September.
Let's see, answers to the typical questions- yes, we were trying; yes, we're super excited; no, we don't know what it is yet (well...a baby); our ultrasound is December 5; we have not decided on names (although we agree that a junior is out of the question); I have not been sick (thank you, Lord!), just sleepy; I don't feel the little one moving around yet, still a little early for that; our nursery theme is monkeys (Toys R Us registry is already started if you'd like to check it out); yes, our families are excited (excited might be a calm word...thrilled is a good one); while it doesn't really matter to us if it's a girl or boy, we each have our hopes and people in our camp (currently most old wives tales lean boy, heartbeat leans girl...obviously these are not accurate decision making tools, but interesting points).
What did I leave out??
Fun, nerdy fact. The baby is due May 4th, which is commonly known as Star Wars Day in the nerd world (May the 4th--force-- be with you...). In honor of this, we decided the baby would be called Wookiee (the correct spelling, according to Wookieepedia.com) until further notice. Unfortunately, I did have to explain to my students that would not be it's legal name.
My students have been fantastic. Most of them have their own names for it, though lima bean is my favorite. They don't want to let me hand things out, so they are being much more helpful. Now, if only that would translate to them doing their work so that they can pass and not stress me out.
In non-baby news, I'm going back to school. I am going to get my master's degree in English from ECU, as they have a completely online program. Not sure when I'm going to start at this point, but soon I hope. I decided I was ready for a new challenge; I just didn't realize I would get two new challenges at once.
Looking forward to a long weekend!!!
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