Redemption

A portion of your date with your husband is spent dropping library books off and picking out Arthur movies.

Last Monday I began experiencing what seemed to be the beginning of a miscarriage.  I immediately called the doctor and they told me to go to the ER because they were unable to fit me into the ultrasound center.  So, Jared and I went over to the ER with all kinds of thoughts swirling around in our heads.

After waiting for a couple of hours for the ultrasound people, we were finally called.  We thought we would have an answer right away, as the ultrasound was performed.  But, we were wrong.  The techs are not allowed to share any information about what they see.  So, I watched Jared’s face, as he watched the screen ( I wasn’t able to see), and tried to guess if he was seeing something hopeful.  He began reporting what he saw, informing me that he could see a baby, and that it looked like a sea monkey.  He also thought he saw a heartbeat.  The tech, of course could not confirm any of this.

We were sent back to the ER, where we waited for a bed.  I really didn’t care about having a bed.  I just wanted them to tell me if I was having a miscarriage or not.  I don’t even know how long we waited for a bed, but we were finally called, and I was told to put on a gown and lay down in the bed.  We proceeded to wait another couple of hours before we saw anyone.  Finally, a nurse came in, who was acting like I already knew something about my condition.  I finally interrupted her and said, “Wait a minute, did they find a heartbeat?  I have no idea what is going on.”  She immediately pulled up my chart and said that the doctor would tell me more, but that they had found a “viable life with a strong heartbeat”.

Another hour or so passed.  By this point I was furious, and Jared had just summoned a nurse by telling her that his wife was ready to yell at someone, so to please send someone that his wife could yell at.  So, when a woman arrived, I assumed she was the nurse Jared had summoned.  I looked at her and said, “I’m really pissed off right now.  We have been waiting for 6 hours to hear if our baby has a heartbeat. When will the doctor be here?  I’m assuming he will be in here next, right?”

The woman responded, “Well, I am the doctor.”

I sheepishly said, “Oh, okay.”  Oops.

She then proceeded to tell us that the baby’s heartbeat was strong and that he/she is placed at the correct location in my uterus.  The baby has a 95% chance of surviving, just as they told us with Shea.  We were relieved to hear all of this news after hours of not knowing anything.

Eight hours after arriving at the ER, we went home with good news for our boys.  Shea asked me within minutes of walking in the door, “Mommy, is there a baby in your belly?”  My eyes fought back tears, and I said, “Yes, honey, there is a baby in there.”  He then asked his classic “Why?” and I responded, “Because God wants that baby to be there right now.”

I’m learning to be thankful for each day that I get to be pregnant.  I’m one of those weirdos that actually likes being pregnant, and so I marvel at the thought of all that is happening within me as I go about a regular day.  In the past, I’ve always been a really impatient pregnant girl, because I’m nervous about the baby and just want to get to the next stage so that we are closer to meeting a life that I can be more in control of.  I don’t like having to trust God to take care of the baby.  I just want the baby to come so that I can take care of it. Sounds like a really healthy pattern of thinking, huh?

Somehow, God is changing all of that inside of me this time around.  I’m learning to thank Him for another day that I got to carry a baby He is in the process of making.

Sidenote:  I promise to not make this blog a baby blog.  There is nothing wrong with baby blogs.  I have plenty of friends who’s blogs are for that very purpose.  However, that has never been my intention with this blog.  So, don’t worry, all you baby blog haters.  I’m not going to do it!

Jared just wrote on his blog about a midnight trip to the drug store. Go over to his blog and check it out. I’ll write more later! Oh, and make sure you read the WHOLE post.

Here’s how a conversation went between Gage and I tonight:

Gage: “Mom, you’re being so mean to me right now. Why are you so irritated?”

Me: “Gage, I’m exhausted, my back hurts, and it’s past your bedtime. I just need you both to be in bed.”

Gage: “Why do you have to talk to me in such a stern voice? Gosh, Mom!”

Me: “Maybe one day you’ll have a kid just like yourself and then you’ll understand. Some days are just hard, Gage.”

There will be much more to come in this little piece of the blogosphere. Hopefully tomorrow. But, as of now, I will just say that today was particularly hard because my son decided to climb up a tree to hunt down a possibly rabid bat. And, he succeeded. We will be taking him to get the beginning of a series of shots tomorrow. Yep, life with Gage is NEVER boring!

Stay tuned for the full story. Pictures included.

Your kid didn’t do this today!

Yes, it’s real.  Gage and his friends discovered this snake behind a shed and, guess what?  My son decided to capture the snake and carry it around his neck like a trophy, with all of his friends tagging along behind him, begging for a chance to touch it.

He and his friends came over and knocked on the door and I could tell something exciting was happening based on all of the noises I heard in the hall.  The door opened, and I heard Gage saying, “Mom, you’re gonna wanna see this.  It’s gonna be worth it.”  And, there he was, standing in the hall of our apartment building, holding a snake.

Later, Gage described to me in great detail, with sound effects and everything, how he captured the snake.  He even used an accent like the Crocodile Hunter and said, “Now this is one amazing creature!” This kid never ceases to amaze me.

Any tips from veteran parents on how to bridle some of his passion?  I mean, hello?!  I’d like for my child to have a little reservation when it comes to picking up snakes!  We just talked to him a few weeks ago about the importance of NOT picking up snakes.  We told him that we don’t want him picking up snakes unless he has had extensive training in how to differentiate poisonous from non-poisonous.

You wanna know how he justified his decision?  A few days ago, he sat with the laptop, looking at pictures of snakes in our area on the MO Dept. of Conservation’s website.  He thought that gave him the “extensive training” we had mentioned.

I feel like superwoman today. Since 7:15 this morning, these are the things I’ve managed to do, in order:

1. Make pancakes

2. Babysit for Andrew (Emily and Matt’s precious baby)

3. Direct Gage’s schooling and do some reading with him.

4. Fix a fabulous lunch.

(not my photo.  From Cooking Light.)

5. Prepare dinner for tonight in the crock pot.

6. Take a shower (Does anyone else notice that all hell breaks out in your home when you decide to do this? I took a shower in the boy’s bathroom today b/c Andrew was napping in our room and as soon as I turned the shower on, Gage was banging on the door yelling that he had to do some business in there. Anyway, that’s another post in itself.)

7. Go to Wal-Mart with both boys and buy various items that require thought. That’s not easy with my boys tagging along.

8. Haul the bike with us on the bike rack and go for a bike ride at Tower Grove before Gage’s art lesson. Gage followed Shea and I on his skateboard.

9. Drop Gage off at art and take Shea with me to Aldi for some grocery shopping.

10. Pick Gage up and drive home with an exhausted 3 year old, who claimed most of the way home that he had to poop. In the middle of Shea whining that he needed to go potty, I was trying to move over into the lane beside me before I missed my exit. I’m not sure what happened, but apparently I did something to make the guy in the lane next to me mad and he found it necessary to blow his horn at me and shake his head as he passed me. Sometimes I just wish I could say to the person doing that to me, “Look, buddy! You should realize what a miracle it is that I’ve managed to make it this far! Would you be able to manage passing back animal crackers to your 3 year old, listen to him whining about needing to poop, along with an 8 year old talking non-stop in the back, all while changing lanes in traffic?! Okay then. Back off!”

Whoo! That’s a day, and I’m glad it’s almost over! I’m also so glad that I finally feel well enough to have a day like today. Last week’s sickness was getting old fast.

Gage:  Full force, 150 miles per hour, act first, think later.

Shea:  Cautious, take it slow, let me think about it first, then I’ll decide.

Jared thinks it was mean for me to stand there taking pictures, with Shea in such agony.  But, as soon as I saw what was happening, I knew I had to capture the moment.   Shea knows I love him!

Yes, our kids use the forbidden word in our house.  When I was growing up, my Mom wouldn’t allow us to say “fart”, but these boys belong to Jared.  Need I say more?

My Mom came through the surgery great.  Everything went as expected.  Thank you for all your prayers.  She will be very sore when she wakes up tomorrow, but, as far as the doctors can tell, she should have a normal recovery.  Thanks, again, everyone!  Your e-mails and messages were very comforting.

My Mom (”Mama” to her kids) will be having heart surgery Friday morning at 6:45 Eastern time. This is a scheduled procedure to correct a micro-valve prolapse. Recovery time will be 8 weeks, and they are planning on keeping her at the hospital for 6 days after surgery.

Please pray that the procedure goes exactly as planned and that she will heal quickly, with no infection. I’m sure everything will be fine, but it is a little unnerving to be so far away from her during this time. I love this woman dearly! I’ll post an update once I hear. (Oh,yeah, her name is Sandy) Thanks!