Kylie May

Kylie May

Layla Faith

Layla Faith

Zoey Noelle

Zoey Noelle

Boyee

Boyee
Our baby boy, due March 16th.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

"Very Good, Actually"


Music to my ears this morning! We had our 31 week ultrasound with the specialist today.

It was a very long ultrasound for some reason. I was immediately relieved when afterwards we went into the room with the table instead of the couch. (That's usually a good sign.) The Dr. came in and said the baby looks great! He passed his ultrasound with flying colors. There's still a little extra fluid but it's still mild.

*Please note - our specialist does not show emotion. He's a very nice guy we've come to know pretty well.* 
He asked if I had any questions, and I replied, "Nope, as long as everything is good..." He interrupted, "very good, actually" with a smile!

That's huge people. How awesome! We're so very pleased and continuing to trust God with this little boy. Thanks for all your prayers. God is good!

Here is our latest picture.





Monday, January 11, 2016

Google = Death


Ok friends. I’m back. With a long post. Bear with me.

Thanks for reading my last post and for all the prayers. Thursday was a rough day and we were feeling it. I gave myself a solid 24 hours to be confused, disappointed and worried. Surprisingly, I didn’t totally lose it and I genuinely think it was because we were so covered in prayer. Thank you for that. I was feeling comforted by everyone's prayers; I didn’t know what to pray. The emails, text messages, Facebook messages. I reread many of them just feeling your encouragement.

With that being said, I must admit that the struggle is real, but so is GOD. My goodness. The other night, I was home alone and the kids were in bed. I just sat on my phone googling the heck out of everything. You guys, the Dr. even told me not to google stuff. I know better. After looking up a couple medical sites, I forced myself to open my Bible app. I found a devotional and the scriptures were so fitting. I intentionally thought good things and made myself think about God’s promises.

Why is it so stinking hard, though? I literally said to myself out loud, "stop googling!". I was talking to a friend on Sunday and came to an interesting realization about why I was online. I was searching for the outcome. I was trying to read to find out what would happen. I wanted an answer. Something concrete. So that I would know what’s going to happen and be prepared. But, that’s not what you find when you google polyhydramnios or hydronephrosis or achondrogenesis (they even sound bad).

(For my newer friends who don’t know our history. In 2011, we had a little girl who passed away after we had her at 34 weeks. At our 16 week ultrasound we found out that she had a lethal skeletal dysplasia. Every week we had an apt to make sure her heart was still beating. We were blessed to carry her to 34 weeks, much further than the doctors expected. You can read her birth story here or the beginning of our story here.)

Anyway, I wanted to write again to let you all know that we’re ok. Since Thursday I have talked to the nurses with all my questions. I have a better understanding of where we are at with the pregnancy. The normal range for amniotic fluid is up to 8.4. I’m at 9.5 (mild), 10 (moderate) and 20 (severe). Please pray that it stays in the mild range and that we don’t even have to think about the rest! Also, I’m very paranoid about how often the baby is moving. I do my kick counts a couple times/day as instructed. I could use prayers to keep my thoughts focused on the good things. Not the ‘what ifs’.

I feel like I have been through this scenario already. The waiting week to week game to make sure the baby is ok. I need to realize that this baby is different. It’s not the same as Layla. However, I know the trick to getting through this.

Be intentional.

Sounds easy, right? When I was sitting on the couch, looking things up on my phone. I had to intentionally stop and focus on God. When I start thinking about all of the what if’s, I need to be intentional and think about God’s promises.

Pastor Mark talked about this on Sunday. Did you know there is no neutral? If you’re not intentional about what you think about and what you’re filling your head with, the default is not neutral. The default is bad. Good = life. Bad = death. Google = Death.

“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6

I prefer the second one. Life and peace.

That's the update for now. We have appointments on Wednesday and Thursday morning this week. I'm sure I will be posting updates. I appreciate every single prayer and message. Thank you for walking this road with us. You are our support system and hold us up when we don't feel like we can stand.





Thursday, January 07, 2016

*sigh* *breathe*


I didn’t even think about bringing home a baby until Jan 3rd. Not even kidding. So we finally started talking about c-section dates and days off work. Just when I start planning  and allowing myself to get excited…the wind gets taken out of my sails.

We had our 30 wk dr. apt today. The baby had some kidney issues that have now resolved, which is great. But, now there’s too much amniotic fluid. The baby is working overdrive. Of course, the dr said a couple scary words like ‘stillbirth’. Ugh. I’ll be going in every Thursday to monitor the baby’s breathing, movement, heart rate, etc. If he doesn’t pass the ultrasound we will discuss delivery.

With all that being said, please pray for us. We are feeling drained today. Disappointed. Tired. Like we just got knocked down a few notches. Please pray that we can carry him as long as possible and that we won’t need to deliver too early! Also that Bryan and I can feel some peace and be able to navigate through this once again.

Thank you for supporting us. This feels all too familiar.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Ah, November


So it seems that anything monumental in my life happens in November. Check it out:




         I worked my last day at Sentry Insurance in Stevens Point. 
I went to M & I Bank for the next 3 years.    
  
Bryan and I made the decision to move to Green Bay for more opportunities and to be closer to family. How amazing to see what has happened since then. 
We had complete faith and trust that God would do wonderful things. 
It was a little risky, but sometimes it's worth the risk to see what God's plan is. 



Wow, 32 weeks. I often don't believe my own words when I read them. 
I had so much faith that God would show us a miracle. 
Fun to see these posts next to each other...





We shocked the Dr.s! That's always an amazing testimony to our faith in God. 
I remember that was the first time that the Dr. acknowledged that 
 our baby was a baby and asked her name.


What a difference a year makes! This post was right before our
 20 week ultrasound with 'Beanie'.

And we found out about our perfectly healthy 'rainbow baby', Zoey Noelle!



We put an offer in on this house on Layla's first birthday. We had no 
idea it would take as long as it did and we moved in 2 weeks 
before having Zoey. A fresh start. 


And now...how fun it is to see what's happened in the past and be able to reflect on those events. The roller coaster of emotions through all of it. But seriously trusting God though every single one of those job changes, moves, and babies.

Seeing these Timehops helps me realize why November always feels like such a crazy month to me. I'm reflective and sentimental. The seasons change from fall to winter. We celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. The days get busy, but the moments are so meaningful with such good memories and traditions.

It's fitting to realize how my life is shifting again...in November. As most of you know, we're expecting a little BOY in March! And last week I was given a promotion at work. Bryan and I are so so happy and give all of the praise to God. There are couple minor things they're monitoring with the baby, but as usual, we're trusting that it will all be okay.

So, I guess I'm writing this to say that God gives us more than we could ask or imagine. He knows what we need and when. His timing is perfect and He deserves all the praise for everything I've written in this post. The ups and the downs.

God uses it all and to Him be the Glory!



Thursday, June 25, 2015

The Post About Weight Loss

Timehop can be a lovely app, right? My #tbt was so eye-opening today.

I’ve always been an open book. I haven’t written in a long time and I miss it a lot! So, I’ll let you in on a little bit of my reflecting.

Most of you know, I have 3 daughters. Kylie is 6. When she was 2, I lost about 20 pounds before getting pregnant with Layla. She was born in November 2011 and passed away shortly after she was born. (If you want to read my journey, start at the beginning of this blog). Shortly after, I had Zoey who is now 2. There was not much time between Layla and Zoey, so I just ate and acted like I was pregnant between the girls. I realized when Zoey was about 7 months old that I needed to pay attention to myself a little bit.

After having Layla I didn’t eat for a couple months. I was not healthy and I was grieving. I can see right through the smiles in pictures from that Christmas. I didn’t have a hard time eating after having Zoey. I was at my heaviest in December of 2013. I had to make a change.

I’ll cut to the chase. I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I beat myself up when I have an off day or vacation week. But to see how far I've come is reassuring. I know that if I do the work, I’ll see the results. I still have a little further to go.

Here's your before/after pic. Everybody loves these, right? 



In the before picture, I was 39 pounds heavier than I am now. Yes, it took that long (18 months) for me to lose weight. I take days off, enjoy birthday cake, drink Mountain Dew & eat candy (I need dessert after every meal).

The most important thing I’ve learned; you can't out exercise a bad diet. I hit a plateau from June-Nov 2014. I was running over 7 miles/week & not losing a pound. I drastically changed my eating habits & started losing. I began working out and toning my body. I haven't lost much lately in pounds, but the inches are evident.

I have this goofy fear of being selfish. I feel guilty every time I go to the gym. I should be home with my kids, my husband or working. I’ve recently learned that the time I’m spending on myself has made me a better mom, wife and employee.

Why am I sharing this? I guess to say it's hard work & it takes time. There's no magic pill that will work & there's no end. It's cheesy, but it really is a lifestyle change. I am in control of who I am and have taken huge strides in improving and being intentional in so many aspects of my life.

If you’re at the beginning of your journey, be encouraged. Cutting out processed foods, to start, will make you feel incredibly different. It’s shocking. Try it! 

Surround yourself with encouraging family and friends. It’s always good to have a group of cheerleaders helping you stay on track. My family has been a huge support system as well as the Better Body Fitness family keeping me on track & kicking me in the butt.

If you’ve been living a healthy lifestyle for a while, you know what I’m talking about. Always keep a big perspective on where you are. On the days you feel like you're failing, look at how far you've come. You improved your life, intentionally. Don't stop.