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!
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