23 Weeks

...and time continues to fly by!  Mackenzie is 23 weeks and the size of an ear of corn.  I went to the doctor this morning and it could not have gone any better.  I wasn't going to have an ultrasound, but as she checked Mackenzie's heartbeat, it dropped a little.  This baby does not like me laying on my back!  Either that or she just wanted her picture taken ha!  She is a busy little girl and loves the right side of my stomach.  I feel her the most around 11:30 every night.  Her kicks and movements are getting stronger everyday and I can actually see my tummy "jump."  So precious!  I can not believe this little miracle growing inside of me.  I am so thankful for her life and can not wait to hold her in my arms.  

I am feeling great.  I will return to work in the morning and will work 20 hours per week for the next four weeks.  Bleeding has not come back and after the ultrasound today my placenta is no longer covering my cervix.  It is still low lying, but they will check again in four weeks.  I can not believe I actually get a four week break from the doctor's office.  This will be the longest I will go without going to see my midwife, I'm pretty sure she was getting tired of seeing me ha!  

I am so thankful for the past almost 9 weeks.  Although I had moments of craziness, God always kept me calm.  He has provided and blessed us greatly.  God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, family, and friends who came together to help us out.  Thank you all so very much!  We could not have made it with out you all.  I will miss our Sunday breakfasts with mom and dad, unless they come a little earlier before we leave for church (hint, hint).  But I am thankful we will still have our lunch with the family on Sunday afternoons.  I will definitely miss seeing my mother in law every other day!  She is an absolute blessing!  Words can not say how unbelievably thankful I am for what she has done the past few weeks.  This afternoon when I picked up the kids from school, Josiah asked where his nonny was.  I guess he wasn't as excited to see mommy ha!  Thank you so much Charlene.  God could not have given me a better mother in law.  I am so thankful for your life and for loving me as one of your own!  Love you!!!!

Thank you Papa Rob for keeping our lawn maintained and up to par with our neighbor's yard ha!  

Well it's off to work tomorrow.  The late nights and sleeping in are no longer an option since I will be leaving the house at 7:15 in the morning....sigh....  I am just so happy!  God is so good! 

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope."

Psalm 130:5

22 Weeks

I feel like it was yesterday when I posted that I was 20 weeks.  Now I am 22 weeks and time continues to fly by!  Mackenzie is the size of a papaya.  She weighs about a pound and is between 8 to 10 inches long.  She now has eyebrows, eyelashes, and maybe even some hair on her head!  She can also perceive light and dark.  I'm slowly feeling her a little more each day.  Last night Joseph and I were able to see my tummy jump from her kicks.  

Bed rest is still awful....there are days where I just want to get in the car and get out of the house, but thankfully Joseph has been great.  The other day I looked over at him and said "honey I am soooo bored," and his response was  "I'm sorry, but at least we are doing it as a family.  We are all here and bored."  I thought that was funny and sweet of him to say.  We have definitely gotten a lot of family time and I would not trade that for nothing.

God continues to bless the locksmith business.  Friday was a great day.  Joseph and Daniel normally ride together and work, but Friday they were so busy they both had to go separate ways.  It's amazing what God has done with the business in one year.  Keep on praying!  God is working!

"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always."

 1 Chronicles 16:11

Pray Pray Pray

Bleeding has completely stopped since Saturday evening!!!  My next appointment is not until Tuesday, but I wanted to call to see if they could see me before then. With the holiday weekend coming up I would love to be able to get out a little.  Not to mention I would love, love, love to go to church on Sunday.  I called and they asked me to go ahead and come in.  I go in tomorrow at 10:15 a.m.  I have been praying so hard this week, and asking God to let me get back on my feet.  We will find out tomorrow!  Praying, praying, praying for some good news.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God:  that if we ask anything according to His will,

 He hears us" 1John 5:14

20 Weeks

Well we are finally half way to meeting our precious Mackenzie!  She is 20 weeks and the size of a small cantaloupe.  Where has the time gone?  Being on bed rest I am so thankful that time is moving right along!  I am so ready for the end of this journey and anxious to begin our new chapter of life as a family of five.  

I am still not feeling her as much as I would like, but she does give me a couple of "thumps" per day to let me know she is there.  

Perinatologist Appointment

Yesterday Joseph and I went to the Gainesville Perinatal Center.  It was such a calm atmosphere.  I sat in a leather recliner to have my blood pressure taken....very comfy!  They took us into the ultrasound room and we were able to see Mackenzie once again.  I think she is getting tired of everyone looking at her because she was not cooperative at all.  Her face was away from the ultrasound wand, making it impossible for us to see her cute little face.

The ultrasound tech performed a detailed check of Mackenzie.  We were able to see her her brain, heart, kidneys and other parts as well.  Their machine was a little more detailed than the one at our OBGYN.  Joseph and I were upset she didn't cooperate because we weren't able to see her little face in 3D.  Mackenzie is doing great!  All her organs are perfect, and her growth is right on schedule.

The reason we went to the Perinatal Center was to check out my hemorrhage.  We learned that the hemorrhage is not a risk to Mackenzie because it is not attached to my placenta.  That was great news!  But now for the "not so good" news.  As they did my ultrasound they found that my placenta is too close to my cervix (marginal placenta previa) and I'm at risk for pre-term labor.  Joseph asked if that meant that I could go into labor a few weeks early and her response was "she could go into labor now"....  Okay not what we wanted to hear, but they told us that my placenta could still move.  So for now we are praying that my placenta will move away from my cervix and no pre-term labor.  If that happens and the bleeding stops I can go back to my normal activities.  I'm not sure when that will be or if it will happen, but I will continue to wait on the Lord.

Up until yesterday I did not know that I was at risk for pre-term labor.  It scares me especially to know that I am only 19 weeks.  Please keep praying for us.  We still have four months to go and I am praying and believing that we will make it!

"...call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." Psalm 50:15

19 Weeks Doctor's Appointment Update

This is our little girl, Mackenzie Eliana.  Today we went to the doctor and had our  "big" ultrasound.  They checked all of Mackenzie's organs and growth.  It all looked great.  She is perfect!  Her heartbeat was good and let me tell you this girl loves to move.  She was all over the place and I can not help but smile as I write this because I am so in love.  In the picture above she had her hand in her mouth, can you believe how amazing that is?  God is so awesome!  

Here is another picture of our baby girl.  We also had a DVD made that we can not wait to show the kids.  Mackenzie looks great and I am so thankful that she is healthy.  She weighs 10 ounces so she is almost a pound.  Let me tell you, she already has us wrapped around her little finger.  I can not wait to meet her.

As far as my status goes....the hematoma is still there.  During the ultrasound they found a new bleed as well as placenta previa.  My mid-wife went ahead and referred me to perinatologist.  We will see him on Wednesday and are praying that he will have some good news for us.  So bed rest will continue...I really hoped to see some kind of improvement, but I know God is good and it is all in His hands.  

Please continue to pray for us.  We are going into my fifth week of bed rest and fourth week without my pay check.  Joseph is exhausted and it's hard not being able to help him.  I am so blessed to have him as my husband.  Him and his mom have done so much in the past month.  Joseph gets the kids up, gets them dressed, takes them to school, works all day, picks the kids up, brings them home, and some days goes back to work.  His mom comes over after work and cooks dinner, washes clothes, cleans my house and helps Joseph get the kids ready for bed.  It is so hard watching them do all this while I sit on the couch, but I am so unbelievably thankful for them.  God has blessed us so much and has shown us that He has everything under control.  Joseph has had more work than he knows what do with (praise God!) and is constantly making new contacts for future jobs.  As every week goes by we are continually in awe of what He's doing in our lives.  

There are days when I feel discouraged and become anxious about the future, but I continue to cast my anxiety on Him.  I can not get down and I can not let myself doubt His almighty power.  Do I believe He can heal my body and make it all better?  Of course He can, but that's not His plan right now and I'm okay with that.    If all of this makes me stronger in Him and brings me closer to Him than how can I complain.  I can not take this into my own hands it has to stay in His.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  

Romans 12:12

18 Weeks

This week Mackenzie is the size of a sweet potato.  At 18 weeks she has become amazingly mobile, passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing.  I should be able to feel her very soon.

Monday, Joseph and I went to my weekly appointment.  As always I had an ultrasound, which I look forward to every week.  But this week's ultrasound nearly scared us to death!  The ultrasound tech (I really should know her name we see her weekly) set the ultrasound wand on my tummy.  Normally as soon as we see Mackenzie she is bouncing all over the screen.  Monday she was very still and her heartbeat was at 60 bpm.  I kept asking our ultrasound tech why baby wasn't moving and I could tell she was trying to discreetly keep it together.  She finally excused herself and went to get our midwife.  Joseph and I just looked at one another and I confirmed with him that I wasn't imagining things.  "She isn't moving is she?"  I asked him.  My mind goes crazy and all I can think is "I'm losing my baby!"  I am trying very hard to not breakdown and as I look over at Joseph I can tell he is doing the same.  Tiffany (our midwife) and the tech came back in and Tiffany asks me to lay on my side.  She assures us that this sort of thing happens and it's probably the way I was laying.  In a couple of minutes Mackenzie's heartbeat is back up, but her movement was still slow.  The tech looks at her to make sure she's okay and lets us know her heart's four chambers look good.  After an appointment like that, Tiffany decides to continue our weekly visits.  She wanted to set me up on biweekly visits so that I would not have to come in as often.  Since I am not feeling Mackenzie on my own she decides to stick with weekly visits.  

Joseph and I leave the doctor's office speechless.  As we left I became more and more anxious about Mackenzie.  Not being able to feel her move makes me worry more.  I am so scared and feel so helpless that she is inside my tummy and I can not hold her and make everything better.  All I want is for the next 20 weeks to fly by so that I can finally see her and hold her in my arms.  

I am reminded everyday that my trust has to be on God.  As soon as I take my eyes off of Him, anxious thoughts and fears come tumbling down on me.  I can not take my eyes off of Him, I can not!  

My mother in law called me tonight as she was leaving our house.  She was listening to a preacher on a CD and something he said made her think of me.  "Spirituality is most deeply developed in the desert."  I'm in the desert, bed rest that is.  What better opportunity than to seek God's face, be still, and listen to His voice.

"So do not fear, for I am with you;  

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Lazy Saturday Morning

We let the kids stay up a little later last night thinking that they would sleep in this morning......well we were wrong!  Bright and early at 7:00 AM, Josiah and then Mary Elisabeth were up and going.  We spent the morning being lazy....that's all momma can really do at the moment ha!  

Joseph had a few jobs to do this afternoon and now he is out unlocking a car as I type.  Praise God!  He has definitely shown up since I've been on bed rest and not bringing home any money.  

We also had our new dishwasher put in this morning.   Since I've been on bed rest Joseph and his mom have done the dishes.  I know they are happy that we finally have a dishwasher that works!

This afternoon Beth, the kids, Nonny, and Papa Rob all came over.  Beth and Nonny fixed dinner, it was delish!  BBQ Chicken, Beth's pasta salad, rolls, rice, and salad with Beth's dressing.  It was soooooo good.  The kids had a blast playing with each other.  I'm really upset at myself for not taking a picture of Cooper and Josiah.  They were both wearing their spider man suits.  It was too cute.  Clay and sissy had a good time too, they hugged and loved on each other, sooo sweet.  Clay was excited to see Uncle Jojo.  Beth said that was the only reason Clay wanted to come was to see his Uncle Jojo.  Thank you Beth and Nonny for dinner and taking a couple of hours out of your Saturday to come and help us out.  

"A friend loves at all times..." Proverbs 17:17

Mommy's Day Out

This morning I had an appointment with the cardiologist.  What I was thinking when I said yes to an 8:00 AM appointment, I do not know!  Thankfully we made it on time.....well sort of....more like 15 minutes late, but thankfully did not have to wait too long to see the doctor.  I went in, they checked my weight 127lbs (thank goodness, 3 weeks of sitting on the couch and I'm still on track).  Next was my blood pressure, 100/50.  Thank God!  That's the highest it has been in weeks.  They did an EKG, which was normal and then sent me to the hospital for an echo cardiogram.  They also gave me a monitor to wear for the next 30 days.  Whenever I have a symptom, I have to press a button and then call in to send in my results.
The echo cardiogram was so neat.  They hooked me up and we were able to watch my heart on the screen.  It was amazing.  Joseph and I both thought about how perfectly God designed us.  All of our organs and their functions as well as every single hair on our head were perfectly designed by our Creator.  I just had to stop and Praise God!  Can I get an AMEN??!!
Think about our bodies for a second.  Think about all of the birthmarks, stretch marks (if you are blessed with them like me ha! Joseph calls them my battle scars from having our babies), every hair, every nail, every tooth, every wrinkle, every little detail....God knows them all.  Of course He does because HE created us!  Oh can you feel the chills! Makes me want to get up and do a Hallelujah dance and shout Praise God!  That's my God! He knows me completely and He knew me before I was in my mother's womb.  There is nothing that I can keep from Him, all my thoughts and desires...He knows them all!

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  

You Know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thought from afar.  

You discern my going out and my laying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord...

...For you created my inmost being; you knit me, together in my mother's womb.  

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, I know that full well..."

Psalm 139:1-4; 13-14

Bed Rest

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday. I came in and signed in at the front. The nurse called my name and did all the usual things. Checked my weight, which is always higher there than it is at home....I don't get it. She checked my blood pressure 87/62, lower than last week. My blood pressure is normally between 110 and 115. After going to the bathroom, they took me straight to an exam room. Tiffany came in and tried to find Mackenzie's heart beat with the Doppler. I was so freaked out when she couldn't find it. I forgot to mention that I was up all night the night before "googling," and on mommy boards. Something I shouldn't have done because I only freaked out more when she couldn't find the heart beat. She took us to the back waiting room until our name was called. The ultrasound tech found the heartbeat right away, nice and strong. Mackenzie was all over the screen doing flips and bouncing around. It was so good to see that baby girl was okay.

The hemorrhage is still there and still on the larger side. So same instructions for me....bed rest. They went ahead and referred me to a cardiologist to check on my blood pressure and the constant dizziness. It's hard to function when I'm so dizzy.

We went to the front, scheduled an appointment with the cardiologist for Wednesday at 8:00 am and scheduled our follow up for the following week with Tiffany. I will be spending my birthday at the doctor's office. At least I'll be out of the house and off the couch!

So here I am, back on the couch trying to make the hours go by. I've got a couple of ideas for projects that I will be working on, as soon as Joseph gets me the materials. I'll post pictures soon!

Praying for a good appointment tomorrow morning and waiting patiently on the Lord.

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him..." Psalm 37:7

Couch Potato

.....and so this has been my spot for the last two days! Not too bad huh? I've spent the day reading, on the Internet, and napping. Sounds nice, but I'm going crazy. Praying my doctor's appointment goes well and I'll be released to go back to my normal activities. So until tomorrow morning.....I will continue to wait.

"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart;Wait, I say, on the Lord" Psalm 27:14