Happy Surprise

So I went to see my doctor today for the monthly check-up. I felt torn between wanting to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler and hoping that she couldn't find it with the Doppler so that I could see the baby by ultrasound. I mean, a good strong heartbeat on Doppler is a good thing, but seeing your baby and having that extra assurance that everything is all right is better!

And wouldn't you know it, the nurse could only find a faint heartbeat for the baby, so she decided to go ahead and take me to the ultrasound room where I saw Vavoo moving around just fine with a nice strong heartbeat, not super fast, which continues to make me believe we'll be having a boy.

It was a good day.

Big News

For those of you who don't know, we've been in the process of applying for work visas to return to Russia. I would explain that process, but it would take way too long and probably not make a whole lot of sense anyway. So, I'll cut to the chase and say that it was a long process, a stressful process, but in the end a successful process.

While we expected our passports to be returned to us on Friday, complete with visas, the Lord saw fit to have us wait another 24 hours or so, and still see an empty mailbox this morning. Thomas suggested that I call the post office to check the status of the package. Praise the Lord, I was told, "it just came in a few minutes ago." Thomas rushed out of the house and made it to the post office in record speed, I am sure, to find it closed. Slight panic set in before we realized that a worker would indeed let you come in to pick things up. Whew!

Thomas brought home Starbucks to celebrate (decaf stuff for me, of course).

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during this time of growing in patience for us!

An Early Christmas Present

Before Thanksgiving Thomas and I got to enjoy a Christmas present from my parents: A trip to Colonial Williamsburg. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it! I had spent many summer days enjoying the colonial city with my great aunt and great uncle who lived nearby, so the place is full of good memories for me. Thomas had never been, and I was thrilled to introduce him to some of my favorite things!

While we were enjoying Williamsburg, Isaiah got to enjoy that same time with Grandma and Grandpa! And boy, did they ever live it up! I'll have to get some pictures from my mom to share because they're just too cute.

But back to Williamsburg:

Thomas and I in front of the reconstruction of the Governor's Mansion, which had been destroyed by fire. Thankfully Thomas Jefferson had made extensive floor plans of the house when he was first governor, which made it possible for the reconstruction to be done.
Thomas took this pretty shot of Bruton Parish and the lovely golden leaves. Everyone attended church here back in the day, even if they weren't Christians. The church is still an active Episcopalian church.
This was actually in Yorktown, VA, a new spot for both of us. We toured the Battleground at Yorktown one morning. In this house the designated representatives of the American and British armies met to sign the cease fire for the Battle of Yorktown.
A side road led us to one of the redoubts built by the British to defend Yorktown. It has been left untouched, and I think pretty much ignored by tourists as well, except for people like us. We enjoyed seeing a beautiful doe not far from the redoubt.
And what would a trip to Williamsburg be without someone being put in the pillory? I have tons of pictures of me at different stages of life spending time in the pillory or the stocks, so Thomas had to have his turn as well.

This was probably one of the best gifts that we have ever received. You know I love my son, but to have 4 days with my husband and no responsibilities except to rest and enjoy ourselves while knowing that our son was in very capable and loving hands was something that I will treasure for years to come!

Thank you, Mama and Daddy!

50-50 Chance

Just for fun I put a poll over on the right sidebar for those of you who like to guess the gender or unborn babies. Some of my friends have done this, and it's fun to read the reasons that people give for their guesses, so be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Here are some clues for the answer that I don't have:

~Morning sickness--yes! I was also really sick with Isaiah for almost 6 months.

~Cravings--not really, but I have wanted pickles and haven't wanted sweets.

~My gut feeling? I think I'm having a boy, but that's probably because I already have a boy, and he's so much fun!

Have any other questions that could help you make a better guess? I think that we'll know for sure about mid-January, and we will be telling! Happy guessing!

With a Touch of Lime

So twelve weeks. Vavoo and I have made it to twelve weeks together. And I threw up this morning, which is actually a good thing and brought congratulations from my patient husband. Every time I get sick I remember that means that Vavoo is still growing and that I can thank God for another day of life for our baby. Maybe that sounds fairly dramatic, but that's what I do. Vavoo is two weeks older than our second child, and we are thanking God.

Thank you for praying for us, all of us.

Oh, and according to certain sources, Vavoo is about the size of a lime today. Just a fun little fact to throw out there.

It Feels Different Somehow

So, it's probably being back in America, but Christmas feels different this year. Or maybe it's because we still feel like we're running around like headless chickens and keep forgetting that Christmas is coming.

However, we're doing our best, and here's the proof...

Isaiah really likes our tree this year. Every time he goes by (nearly) he says "Tree" so cutely and wants to touch it. He's been really good about not pulling things off the tree, for which I am thankful.
I'm not sure how this happens, but every time we decorate our tree, we never look that great, so please excuse our appearance, except for Isaiah who always looks cute no matter what, and appreciate our Christmas spirit.


I've always wanted a cute little tree at least one year, and this year we did it. Our tree is just over 5 feet and looks great in our little home. It's a special treat to have a live tree this year!



Perhaps another reason for Christmas feeling different this year is the fact that we're trying to make our focus different. My husband has a satire blog that some of you already know about. After Thanksgiving he did this post that helps sober us as to what is really important, and not just at this time of year but all year long. Check it out and think about it. Who knows what God might lead you to do differently this year?

Merry Christmas! Glory to God!

A Nickname is Born

You might have noticed a great slacking on my part when it comes to posting. I have several reasons for this that I won't bore you with at this time, but let's just say that life in Russia is much slower than life in America, and I somehow have more time for writing there than I do here.

But I wanted to tell you a funny story, so I'm breaking the silence, for at least a little while, and we'll see what happens.

Lots of you are praying for our newest baby, currently 11 weeks old, and I want to tell you about our baby's nickname, because I think it's cute.

I found out I was pregnant while we were in California in October. Yes, we kept it a secret for a while, being a little skittish after our last 2 babies left us. But I was with my college friends in one part of CA, waiting to meet Thomas in another part of CA, and feeling quite suspicious that something was growing. I mentioned my thoughts to my friend, who just happened to have a pregnancy test. How could I resist such an opportunity? And there it was, a faint but confirmed line. I was speechless, and probably cried, but I don't remember perfectly.

At last I could surprise Thomas with the good news, something I had fantasized about before, being someone who loves surprises.

My friend and I brainstormed a bit and finally came up with an idea. I already had a surprise for Thomas, so I decided to include a special card with the surprise that he was already expecting.

Now I have to tell you a little bit about Russian. In Russian the polite way to tell people you are pregnant is not to say "Oh, by the way, I'm pregnant." Russians say what would literally be translated, "I am waiting on a baby." So on the outside of the card I wrote the word for " we are waiting" and on the inside I used these cute puffy stickers my friend had to spell the word baby. Now baby was in English, so we've got Russian written on the outside and English on the inside. You should also know that baby in English could be read in Russian, but as a different word with different sounds.

So, Thomas finds the card and opens it up, naturally having read we are waiting as the Russian in which it was written and continuing to read the inside in Russian as vavoo, the way the letters would be pronounced in Russian. He looked at me with the most confused look on his face. I told him to read that word in English, and realization began to set in. You probably had to be there to really appreciate the humor of the situation, but now you'll know why you might hear us refer to our baby as Vavoo.

And that's my story.

No, That's Not a Shark

That's our 7 week 5 day old baby swimming around in my womb!

Please pray with us for the safe delivery of a healthy, full-term baby in June 2010. To God be the glory!

Because I Forget Who I've Told

Well, a couple months ago I asked my friends to pray about some tests that I was going to have run, and I actually have the results, but I can't remember who I've told. While I could keep this info to myself, I realize that there are people who would like to know but who I probably won't see and therefore won't remember to tell the scoop.

So here goes...

My doctor tested for all kinds of "normal" things like thyroid, blood sugar, etc. She also tested for "not-so-normal" stuff like Protein S and MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase). Turns out that I have a double genetic mutation of MTHFR, which basically means that my body doesn't absorb folic acid or vitamin Bs properly. So now we know why Isaiah has spina bifida. It also means that I am likely to have blood clots, which is probably what happened with our first miscarriage.

So what does this mean?

Basically for the rest of my child-bearing years, whether or not we're "trying" to get pregnant, I need to take an exorbitant amount of folic acid to help prevent any further neural tube defects. I've been taking this for several years now. Also when God blesses us with our next child, I need to take a mild blood thinner in order to lower the chances of having another blood clot. If I have surgery of any kind I also have to take something afterwards, but I don't remember what that is.

So that's the general gist of it all. I included the links in case you more medical types wanted to know more details. Me, I'm just thankful for copy and paste because there's no way that I'll ever remember what MTHFR stands for!

So when I have told people about this, they always ask about my reaction. Part of me doesn't want to answer this question, but perhaps my honesty about my learning during this time will be helpful.

When I first heard the results I felt relief. Whew, we have an answer and something that can be done. Then for some reason when someone else asked me how I felt, I had this yucky reaction: Oh yeah, it's great knowing that my body can either give my babies a birth defect or kill them. Yeah, that's great.

I'm not proud of that reaction at all, but it's the truth. For a couple weeks I really struggled with these thoughts. I firmly believe that God has created me the way that He wants me, and all my children are designed by Him as well. But I was upset that He made my body the way He did, and not just the body image issues that people have, I mean this effects more than just me. With lots and lots of prayer sessions with God, some less than restful nights and buckets of tears, I was finally able to set aside those thoughts and praise God for the way that He made me and pray that I will be used for His glory no matter what happens with the babies that He gives to us. His way is perfect, even when I don't understand.

He is worthy.