37 Weeks

Yesterday, I had what should be my last ultrasound this pregnancy. I think I had 4 all together. They have been keeping watch on one of Abraham's kidneys. One has been retaining fluid and it has not been too much, but just enough for them to want to keep an eye on it. Well, yesterday they said it had more fluid in it than the last time, which is just beyond the level which they want to see it at. Anyways, I don't understand all the technical terms, but basically what could be wrong is there could be a narrowing in the tube, or whatever it is that comes out of the kidney to be causing a buildup of fluid. So, what they are doing is referring us to a kidney surgeon specialist and we are planning to meet with him next week. He will hopefully be able to tell us more...They will want to to do an ultrasound on Abraham a few days after he is born and some blood work. And the worse thing would be that he would need surgery to fix the problem...however, I forgot to ask how soon he would need it...anyways, we're just praying for healing. The Lord is sovereign and in control of this...there is nothing we can do but trust and pray. Please join us in prayer for him.

I am 37 weeks now and feeling oh so ready to have this baby out! :) Again, God's in control and we're waiting for his timing...but it's getting harder every day! --sigh-- I am just a bit achy at night I wake several times to go to the bathroom or to just change position. Like a race the last stretch is the hardest. I need endurance for the end.

Pregnancy Update

Once you reach the last month of pregnancy it feels like you've been pregnant forever! Well, not really, but I have a hard time remembering what is was like to not be pregnant. This pregnancy has actually gone by really fast compared to my first two. The last month just seems long because I want my baby to come! I look forward to the end and holding my new little one. It still seems unreal most of the time even though I feel him move every day. It will be weird to have a baby again. You forget so quickly about all the baby stuff and we have 2 little boys now. Elijah is almost potty trained and Moses is just about 3 1/2! My babies are little boys! It's crazy how fast they grow. I am looking forward to having Abraham--did I announce his name yet? I don't remember...our third son's name is Abraham James. I am looking forward to him joining our family. I think I'm really looking forward to seeing the boys interact with him. Moses is always telling me what is going to tell him when he is born and all the things he wants to do with him. Elijah is a bit less interested. He is still my baby in lots of ways, so it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to him. i know that they boys, Elijah especially will need lots of attention as well. Hopefully there won't be any jealousy.
So, yeah, I am 36 weeks and feeling ready! I hope that he comes early...but of course the Lord knows his perfect timing for him. I am just thankful that we have the opportunity to try for a natural birth. So, though I know it will be hard I am looking forward to labor. I have been taking an herbal supplement, Dr. Christopher's Pre-natals, in addition to my regular vitamins. These herbs are formulated to help give elasticity to the pelvic and vaginal area and strengthen the reproductive organs for an easier delivery. My doula who is a practicing midwife reccamended them as well as several friends I know. I have also been drinking red raspberry leaf tea, which also strenthens the uterus and pelvic muscles and helps those be more efficient during labor. I am not sleeping well at night lately. But I suppose it's just preparation for what is ahead! I have been waking every 1-2 hours because I'm either uncomfortable or i have to go to the bathroom. I nap just about everyday, which could contribute to not sleeping very well. It's a hard thing to know what to do, because if I skip the nap, then by dinner I'm a grouch mamma that wants to go to be as soon as I can! So, if I nap when my boys do I can get through the day much better. I probably need to exercise more.
Yes, I have a midwife for my doula. A wonderufl christian lady. She came to our house for dinner this past week and met Ryan and we got to talk through everything. The hope is that she can come to our house when I'm pretty sure labor is going and she can monitor the baby with her doplar, which would enable us to stay home for awhile longer. Then she'll come with us to the hospital when we're ready to go.

Alright, well I need to get to bed.


Here are a few pictures of my boys

Topic of Mascara

If you're interested, you have to link over to Lindsay's blog and read her post on mascara. Have you ever thought about the ingredients in your mascara? I never have. I used to wear it practically everyday and now maybe just once or twice a week. Which I'm glad since the brand I use has been Cover Girl for some years. Some of the ingredients in leading brands are linked to cancer and are a cause for concern. Anyways, i found it interesting.
How safe is your mascara?

Moses' Finger

Last night Moses got his finger smashed in the door. I shut the door not knowing he was there, let alone had his fingers in the way. It ripped the nail half off, from the bottom. (oh it looked so bad...) We took him to urgent care just to get it checked out. No broken bones thankfully. They snipped the nail back and bandaged it for us. It's probably the worse smashed finger i've ever seen, and we had a few growing up in my family of six kids! He is doing fine today, but it was a a long evening last night. However, God gave Moses much strength and grace, and us too. When it initially happened on his own he was praying, "God please help me." --so precious-- Anyways, so, when we were at the clinic, the dr. came in to examine his finger and he started crying before she even touched him. (he has been calmed down for quite awhile), and she said, "what's wrong?" and he said," i want you to be happy." Kids are so discerning of people. He could tell she either had a long day or was stressed or something. She didn't know what to say to that! Anyways, Moses did pretty well overall. We took him to the store after wards and got him a treat:) Needless to say I'm going to be way more careful from now on when I shut doors. It was so hard on me as his mom to have been the one to hurt him. So hard.

Childlike Faith

The boys are growing and changing and learning so much. It amazes me to think Moses will be 4 in the fall...time flies...i will never cease to be amazed by how quickly the days go by...I am continually learning and being challenged as a mom. Ryan and I both are challenged, and daily feel the ever need for the Lord's strength and grace. But He is SO good and his grace abundant! With that said, I wanted to share what happened earlier this week. The boys have been memorizing John 3:16 and this past Monday I started our morning Bible time off with them saying the verse. Then Moses asked me shortly after where God is. I did my best to explain, and then he said that he wanted God in his heart. Talk about being caught off guard! We pray for their salvation all the time, but I never expected him to earnestly desire it now. But why not? We talk literally every day with our boys about sin and our need for Jesus, so they've been exposed to the gospel quite a bit...but it still surprised me. For a moment I wasn't sure if this was "real," but the gospel is simple and he really gets it. So I shared with him again what that meant and told him how he could have God in his heart and what that would mean. I didn't want to just have him repeat a prayer but encouraged him to pray on his own. And in his precious almost 3 1/2 year old child like faith, he scrunched up his face with his eyes shut tight and said, "oh Jesus, please forgive my sin and come into my heart. Make me your child. Amen!" I can't remember if he said more than that, but that is what I remember. It just blessed my soul and I wished that Ryan could have been there, but he was at work, so we called daddy right away to tell him the news! Oh yeah, so after he prayed, I gave him this big hug and told him how I was so happy, and immediately he got really concerned and said, "mom, don't smash God! He's in my heart!" oh the laughter...

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. " 3 John 1:4

High Fructose Corn Syrup

So I am always interested in learning new things about food and nutrition and I have heard and read a little about high fructose corn syrup but not enough where I could explain it to someone else why they shouldn't eat it. Over the past 2 years I have been preferring more and more things pure and natural and the closer to natural the better, thus avoiding high fructose corn syrup. However, I was checking some blogs tonight and found some info at http://happyfoody.com/ on the subject that I though I'd direct your attention to if you're interested.