Hope Clinic Banquet

Many of you prayed for Jen and I last Thursday. I thought I'd share a little bit about that night. We estimated there were about 240 people in attendance, and from our conversations with the men and women afterwords there was quite a mix of people (yes, including the Amish family that came up to share about the 3 sons they had lost). I wished somehow we could have presented the gospel more clearly, although, Mike assured me that people could not deny hearing the different ways we shared about having a personal relationship with Christ that night...NOT a religion, but a relationship. I do pray that Noah and Owen's lives continue to speak to the hearts of those that heard that night. He is truly the God of the Calm and the Storm. I have to say I could totally feel your prayers, as I was speaking, the words seemed to flow more as in a conversation and less rehearsed and read (which I wasn't sure would happen considering all that is heavy on my heart about baby #4). I looked down to see steady hands-not the trembling fingers and knocking knees- as I turned page after page...I guess by the 5th time around I'm getting more comfortable in front of a crowd. Can I just say - GRACE of GOD. I do have to say it was nice to see some familiar faces. My good friends parents, one of Mike's co-workers, and even a mom I met at support group almost 2 1/2 years ago.
Thanks again for your prayers...I look forward to seeing/meeting the lives touched by our boys when we reach heaven.

OUTSIDE!!

After Trent's soccer game a couple of weeks ago, we let the boys play on the playground...just a few happy pics...

Down this road before...

Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers! I really drew strength today knowing we'd be lifted up before our Father's Throne. This follow up didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. The specialist and his ultra sound tech looked at the heart first. The pattern was still irregular and the heart rate was 112 (normal being from 120-160). The doctor said it was too early to see the actual structure of the heart to see why the heart is misfiring. He reassured us by sharing that, "the baby is not in heart failure." Of course I swallowed really hard at this comment wondering if that is where we're headed. I'll go back again in 2 weeks to hopefully get a better look at the heart's structure.

The tech also found a bit of fluid collecting at the back of the head. She measured it at .8 and under 1.0 is considered in the high range of "normal." Memories of Noah's diagnosis flood my mind, but I remind myself that we'll must take one step at a time and face each hurdle as it comes...not before.

The specialist left us by saying, "just continue to think happy thoughts these next two weeks." "Oh great, yeah sure," I thought at first - "that's how your leaving things with us?" But I know that we have something even better that we can do than "think happy thoughts." We'll be on our knees asking, probably more like begging, the CREATOR to help our baby mature and grow into a healthy child

As I lay on the ultra sound table, a very familiar face came in to let me know Mike had arrived. It was my wonderful nurse Susan. I looked forward to seeing her each visit with Noah. She gave me a big hug and she said how often she thinks of us. With tears welling in her eyes she shared how we had impacted her personally by carrying Noah. What an encouragement...she is a dear lady who is a shining light in an office where so often it is suggested to terminate a pregnancy. She has been an advocate there and shared with me a few times how she has used Noah's life as a reminder to the doc that we DO bond with our baby and enjoy that time being pregnant because often that is the ONLY time some women may get. She said she would fervently pray for us the next two weeks, and we would ask you to do the same as well. It's really hard not to think that we may be headed down such a familiar path, one that is so treacherous. But as I sat in the car listening to the radio, I realized I had zoned out until I heard these words...

But the voice of truth tells me a different story

the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"and

the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"

Out of all the voices calling out to me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

There were/are so many things going through in my head, but the truth is I need only to listen to one voice and He says, "Do Not Be Afraid! This IS for MY GLORY! I am with you always."

Good News...

Mike and I are excited to share that we are EXPECTING baby #4. I'm 13+ weeks and we are due October 24. We covet your prayers tomorrow as we go see the specialist for a follow up ultra sound. I was sent down to see te specialist when I went in at 11 weeks because they were concerned about a slow heartbeat. The u/s tech did a lot of measurements of the head and was able to tell us that everything was measuring normal at that time. We were told the slow heart rate could have been caused by an immature electro impulse system. The specialist said, "I could scare you with all the possibilities, but I remember you don't scare easily." Maybe I did make a small impact last time with Noah :)

We left 2 weeks ago not with terrible news, so that was good. I was at peace with "wait and see." Tomorrow we'll see baby again! We are praying that their heart continues to mature and that they got our good genes and won't have Meckel-Gruber Syndrome. We have confidence, however, that God's plan is GOOD and He will take care of us no matter what the outcome may be.

A couple Drew-isms...

On Monday we got up and were busy getting Trent ready for school. It was time for the bus to pick Trent up and we were watching and waiting by the front door. Time was getting late and I began to wonder if we had missed it. Trent reminded me that his teacher told them on Friday that there was no school on Monday, but it was not a holiday and I hadn't read anything in the class newsletter, so I did not believe him. So I found the school calendar and low and behold...it was an inservice day and the students had no school...when I told Trent and Drew this, I saw Drew look at Trent raise his hand over his head and say, "PRAISE THE LORD! Trent, you don't have school today!"

Then this morning while we were waiting for our friends to come over, I asked Drew to look out the front door to see if they were here. He came running up to me and said, "I see no sign of them, mom!" I've never heard him say this before...must have been from the Underdog cartoon we got from the library or something.

Crazy quotes from my 4 year old!! He's always good for a laugh!!

Another dollar store find

Drew and I stopped quickly at the dollar store last Friday, and I let him pick out one thing. He wanted to get those capsules that "melt" in water and turn into a little sponge animal. He remembered doing this on vacation at the cabin this last summer and so he wanted to try it again. Here is a look at some good quality entertainment...

CHAI

Well I just finished my second batch of Chai mix since November. I got this recipe from a friend in MI, thanks Jen H! I love sipping it at night (well anytime really) snuggled under a blanket watching tv. This is hands down the best I've tasted, no coffee shop can beat it. A few of you have asked for the recipe, so while it's still out on my counter, I thought I'd better post it.

Chai Mix

1 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 c. powdered non-dairy creamer

1 c. Vanilla flavored powdered creamer

2 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cardamom

1 t. ground nutmeg

In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. In a coffee grinder, blender, or food processor, blend small amounts at a time until mixture is the consistency of powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping Tablespoons into a mug of hot water.

Makes about 36 servings.