Sunday, December 20, 2009

Jonathan Perry Ashworth



This picture was taken right after my water broke at home before we went to the hospital. This is our last picture as a family of 3. We were so thankful to have Grandma Shirley and Papa Dale here to care for Trey while we were at the hospital with Jonathan. They are a very dear couple to us - they are from Kansas, but they have come to UIM the past several winters to help with the orchard. They stay in their camper just steps away from our place, so it worked out so nicely to have them here to stay with Trey. Trey loves them.


Our sweet friends Bill and Sandee Abbott came to the hospital to be with us while I was in labor. They came the morning after he was born and brought me flowers. Sandee took this picture of me and Jonathan doing some skin-to-skin.


God has blessed us with another baby boy. Jonathan Perry Ashworth was born December 10, 2009. He weighed 8 lb. 7 oz. and is 19 1/2 inches long - he weighed over 1 1/2 pounds more than his big brother. I was 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I was 5cm for a couple days before my water broke at home. My doctor had stripped my membranes a couple times to try to get labor going. I was contracting irregularly before my water broke, but once my water broke, my contractions subsided a bit. My labor with Trey went pretty quickly once my water broke, but my labor with Jonathan went a bit slower. It may be because he was so much bigger than Trey - my doctor also thinks he was turned a bit sideways early on in my labor. My water broke at 5:30pm on Wednesday December 9 and I gave birth about 11 hours later. I only pushed about 15 minutes, so I am thankful for that. I had planned to try to do labor this time without an epidural because my epidural with Trey hadn't worked very well. But after they started Pitocin at the hospital because I wasn't contracting very much, the contractions were too intense for me to handle. My epidural worked wonderfully this time, and I was so thankful for good pain control. My friend Mary was my labor nurse, and I received excellent care when I was in the hospital. I had another nurse friend in the room to take pictures for us. When Jonathan came out, my doctor left his umbilical cord attached and placed him up on my chest. I can't tell you how amazing it was to hear him cry for the first time. He was absolutely perfect. I couldn't get over the size of his cheeks and his little dimple in his chin that is just like my Dad has.



Jonathan is a sweet baby. His big brother Trey adores him (sometimes almost too much). We can hear him talking his crib at night saying "baby" and the first thing he asks for in the morning is "baby". It's challenging to teach a 2 year old the meaning of "gentle".

We chose the name Jonathan because it means "God has given; gift from God". When I was 16 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound revealed cysts on the baby's brain. We were told that this could either be nothing of concern or it could be a indicator of a significant genetic abnormality. The name Jonathan came to David and me separately, and even though we considered other names, this name stayed with us. We believed that no matter what the outcome was with our unborn baby, that he was indeed a "gift given to us by God". The name Perry was chosen as his middle name to honor my family as it is my maiden name. By the way, Jonathan was born perfectly healthy with no evidence of the cysts.




The gift of a baby near Christmas time causes me to ponder much more on the birth of Jesus - what must his mother Mary been thinking and experiencing as she held her newborn son? We have so much to rejoice in!

I had to share these 2 pictures with you - one is Trey right after birth and one is Jonathan right after birth - they both sucked the same two middle fingers just on different hands. I thought that was so amazing.
Trey

Jonathan

Dale and Shirley with Trey and Jonathan

Bill and Sandee Abbott with Jonathan

Monday, December 7, 2009

A little time to rest


Since I have been taken off work by my doctor until the baby is born, my body has been able to rest. I am so thankful for that. Sleeping all night long is such a blessing. I was so concerned about working all night, going into labor, and delivering him while sleep deprived and then going into the newborn phase the same way. I believe this time off work enforced by my OB (I see all of them in the group - they are all great but primarily see Dr. Mayer and Dr. Hebets) is a gift from God. I found out the other day that it doesn't cut into my maternity time either. My maternity time starts when the baby is born - this time off before he is born is categorized as medical short term disability. So God is also providing for us financially during this time of rest (why am I surprised at this provision?).

What I am most thankful for right now is this extra time I have had with Trey. I thought I was in labor last Tuesday, and I was pretty emotional about it being my last night with Trey as my only child (not that I don't consider our new baby to be our child yet but you know what I mean). I wanted to savor every moment with him. So on Tuesday night, while contracting regularly, I gave him his bath and read to him. I was able to rock him to sleep. I was so happy for the time with him. I have had all this past week to spend with him, and I am so grateful to God for this special time where I am not in a zombie-like state from staying up all night working. The contractions come and go - nothing regular. I am okay with that. For being almost 39 weeks pregnant, I feel remarkably well.



I went to Dr. Hebets on Friday and am now 4 cm dilated. I am almost halfway there and not even in labor yet - how cool is that! Pray for David - he is so stressed that we will have the baby in our car.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

38 weeks

pregnancy calendar

I am now 38 weeks pregnant, and I am so thankful for a healthy pregnancy where I have been able to continue to work full time night shift (which is no easy task even when not pregnant). I haven't called in sick one time this entire pregnancy, but that is only because God has continued to give me physical and mental strength and also because I have an incredibly supportive husband who does most of our cooking and housework for us.

Overall, I feel pretty good. I worked last night and went to the doctor today. Dr. Hebets said I was 3cm and 80% effaced. So that's a pretty good start. I've been slowly changing each week that I've been at the office. I also had a couple of high blood pressures, some generalized swelling, and had protein in my urine which she was concerned about. Initially, she talked to me about cutting my hours back but then she decided that she wanted me to not work the rest of the week. She wants me to rest. I will say that I am relieved a bit - I didn't feel like I could just say I didn't want to work, but having my doctor say I couldn't work right now made the decision easy for me. The plan is that if I am not delivered by next Tuesday when I am 39 weeks then they will induce my labor. I really prefer to labor on my own and not be induced. After the exam today and Dr. Hebets stripping my membranes, I started to contract more regularly and intensely. I waited a few hours - the contractions continued. I thought for sure we would be going to the hospital - I was even texting a couple of nurse friends at work tonight to tell them how I was progressing. But then the contractions spaced out. So I guess it's not time yet - I'm okay with that. I am still having contractions but they are irregular. I go back to the doctor on Friday, so I guess I will see if I have made any change and how my blood pressure is.

We are ready for our new baby to come. I am so blessed to have had 2 baby showers for him - one by the girls in our Sunday school class and one by the girls at work. We already have a lot of things for him because we are reusing almost everything from Trey, but it is always nice to have new things too. I still need to go get him an outfit for when he is first born - I may do that in the morning. I am so excited to meet him, hold him, and smell his sweet newborn softness.

We are doing some things different this time around. We have decided we are going to cloth diaper him. I have been the grateful recipient of 33 small and size 1 cloth diapers by BumGenius and FuzziBunz diapers - each one costs about $16 new, so that is a huge savings for us. A girl I work with used them with her baby, and she has given the ones to me her baby has outgrown. I must say that we haven't received a ton of support in this cloth diapering endeavor (most people think we are a little crazy to give up the "convenience" of a disposable diaper), but I am really excited about it. It will be a tremendous cost savings to us as well as better for our baby's bottom. David is totally on board with this - I don't think I could do it if he wasn't. We may do a little of both - maybe disposable while we travel, but cloth when we are at home. It will be a change for us, so I will keep you posted on how it goes. By the way, we will wash them at home - not use a diaper service.

I am most excited about my Moby wrap that I just purchased. I hope to do more babywearing with our new baby especially with having a toddler to chase around and play with. I've been wanting one of these since Trey was a baby, but I just never bought one. I received it in the mail the other day and have been practicing using it. I can't wait to hold our new little one in it.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Happy 2nd Birthday, Trey

We had a fun family day together on Trey's 2nd birthday. We sang to him several times throughout the day which he seemed to love. David took him on 3 tractor rides (his all time favorite thing to do), and we played with bubbles (his 2nd favorite thing to do). We were able to talk with his Gigi and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa (skyping him from Africa), and most of his aunts and uncles. We are so grateful that Trey is loved by so many people.

We were going to take him to a bounce house, but when we went there, it wasn't open. We then opted to go to a park to play but as we were driving to the park, we drove by a Chuck E Cheese. David thought that would be fun for him. We went in, bought a pizza and some tokens, and played for a couple hours. It was really fun, but Chuck E Cheese is probably too much for him at this age. There is so much to do and be distracted by that he didn't know what to do or to focus on. Trey is easily entertained (which I am thankful for) - when we left, we thought we would have had just as much fun at the park. But we are still glad we did it.

I made vegetable soup for dinner, and then made him a chocolate cake. Once again this year, he was mesmerized by the candle on his cupcake. It was almost like he was in a trance, and he couldn't take his eyes off it nor would he smile. He did the same thing last year. He had some cards with gift cards from Grandpa and Grandma Perry, Great Gramma Estes and Parker Riese. Gigi and Papa sent him a fun train set that he loves! Aunt Faith and Uncle Tom sent him a fun pretend camera that says "Ready? Smile" and "Cheese" - he wanted to sleep with it, and I still randomly in the night or early morning hear the voice on the camera talking from his crib. Pretty funny. Uncle Phil and Aunt Brenda sent him a dump truck and a book of nursery rhymes that he insists on reading before bed. And we gave him bubbles and a potty chair - not something David was thrilled with getting him at first, but Trey loves his potty chair! We are in no way thinking he is ready for using the potty, but we wanted to get him used to the idea. He loves to sit on it. Sometimes he carries it around the house (not sure if that is such a good idea). Trey had such a fun day, and we loved being together.

This is part of what I wrote to Trey in his birthday letter that I write every year:
Trey, we love you so much. You have brought so much love and joy into our lives - you have helped us to grow closer as a family, and you have helped us to know and understand better the love that God has for us as His children. Somedays are more challenging than others, but everyday with you is a blessing. You are going to be such a good big brother to your new brother. You love to point at mama's belly and say "baby" - sometimes you point at Daddy's belly and say "baby" too - that always makes us laugh. You love to read and color. You have so much fun playing outside especially when Daddy takes you on a tractor ride or plays with you in the orchard. You are a good eater, and you love to crunch on ice like mama. You love all sorts of vegetables and fruit. You light up a room wherever we go, and I hope you will always be the happy, loving boy that you are today. I love seeing you talk on Skype to our faraway family - it makes them so happy when you blow kisses or try to talk with them. You are loved by so many people - your family, people here at UIM, friends at church. We pray for you every day that you will grow to be the kind of man that loves God and loves people. We are so thankful that God gave (lent) you to us for this time.


Playing at Chuck E Cheese
Looking for the balls to come out


Playing with the train from Gigi and Papa - it makes such fun noises
Opening the present from Uncle Phil and Aunt BrendaWe hold hands when we pray before dinner - this is one of those moments I treasure in my heart - many times we will sing our prayer

Playing in the bounce house at the church fall festival


Some updates on Trey :
He is 33 3/4 inches tall (33%) , and he weighs 26.4 pounds (30%)

He is not saying a lot of words that we can understand, but his vocabulary is increasing every day. He says please, thank you, Dada, Mama, baby, dog, cheese, shoe, Gigi, Papa, ice, brother, book, door, uh oh - he jabbers nonstop but we just don't always know what he is saying. We are working on that with him - the pediatrician sees nothing wrong with his vocabulary either.

He attends the toddler class at church on Sundays and seems to enjoy that. He comes home with a craft every week. He and I attend MOPS every other week, and he has fun there.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Inviting the Glorious into the Mundane

My friend Tiffany who is a mom to 2 precious children shared this with me last week - I was really encouraged by it so I wanted to share it with you. I so much want to be the wife and mama that God wants me to be, yet I find I am always feeling like I am falling short of my own expectations. I am challenged and encouraged to make my days about seeing His great purpose - not to get discouraged my the monotony of my life but to realize that God has a plan and a purpose even in the mundane things. I want His plans to be my plans - I want to see each day through God's eyes. I hope you will be encouraged by these 2 videos.

Being A Mom {Part 1} from christy nockels on Vimeo.




Being A Mom {Part 2} from christy nockels on Vimeo.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Thank you, Mom

pregnancy calendar


Trey loves Grandma


David went to Europe to 2 1/2 weeks with his parents. I was so happy that he was able to spend this time with them. I would have loved to go with him - we had had the cash for the trip saved since April. But we decided that it would be a lot more work than fun to try to travel with a 27 week pregnant me and a toddler (who normally transitions and travels very well but not when he is tired - we would have spent much of the trip getting adjusted to the 9 hour time difference). They were doing a lot of traveling through 4 countries in a short amount of time, and I think the decision for me and Trey to not go was a good and wise decision. There will be days in the future when we don't have little ones and then we can go on trips like this together. Thank you, Tom and Barbara, for taking David on this wonderful trip - I know the trip meant a lot to him - more than any of us probably realize.

So the dilemma with David going was how would I work while he was away? Who would watch Trey while I worked at night and slept during the day? My mom graciously offered to come out to Arizona and stay with me and Trey so that David could go. If she had not offered, I don't see how he could have gone. I really appreciate her willingness to come out. She flew in the day David flew out. And then she left the day David came home - they even had layovers together in the Detroit airport.


Mom cared for Trey in a wonderful way. They went to McDonald's together and on little errands. She took him to the library for ToddlerTime. She helped make dinner on nights that I worked. She cleaned the house for me - even washed the windows inside and out. She bought Trey some new plastic plates and new sippy cups. She helped me purchase and hang new blinds for our bedrooms - the other ones had been up for years and were all sun-damaged. She cooked some meals ahead for us for when the baby is born (her lasagna is the best). I am so thankful for this time we had together. I have been really homesick lately - worried a little about having a baby so far away from all of our family. This time really encouraged me. Mom gave up a bunch of things at home so that she could come help us - thank you, Mom, for coming to stay with us. We love you.
Bath time - Trey loves a captive audience

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Projects

It seems we have been working on projects since we moved to Arizona last summer. I have made a list of what I wanted to get done. I wanted to put pictures up of some of what has been done. Just for a quick reminder, this is what our place looked like about a week after we moved in (click here)


This is a dresser that I sanded and stained to match Trey's crib - this is before I started
This is during the sanding - it took me about 4 days to sand it down

We have bought all of our furniture for Trey (and for ourselves) used, so our crib didn't match his dresser. I have been wanting to stain his dresser to match his crib since he was first born


The finished product - the dresser matches his crib perfectly
I have painted the entire house - 3 bedrooms , kitchen, bathroom, and family room. It took me a couple months during Trey's naptime and around my night work schedule. But it is finally done and we are happy with the results. We are so thankful that God has provided us a place to stay. We used to think to that we had "free housing" - but it is anything but free. David puts in a lot of hours as the caretaker in exchange for our rent. And putting in a lot of outside hours mowing, tending to an orchard, etc in the Arizona heart is no easy task. If he was actually paid for all the work he does, his pay would be much more than our housing expense. I am so thankful for his hard work to provide us this place to live.

David changed all the outlets and the lights switches in the house. He changed out ceiling fans. He also pretty much gutted the bathroom - the drywall had gotten wet above the shower and he had to rip that out and put up new drywall. He did a great job.

I am looking forward to some day have our own place to do projects in. But for now, I am content to be here. We have more than what we need, and it is such a blessing in this economy to see God's hand providing for each of our needs in an abundant way.

The bathroom completed - we found the vanity, sink, and mirror on a closeout on Craigslist for 1/8 of what the retail price had been


Painting the kitchen cabinets was tedious but it brightened up the kitchen a lot

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

{sigh}

David is outside mowing and raking in the 105 degree, humid, monsoon-season weather. Trey is asleep for his nap - he's been down about an hour so he'll sleep probably another hour or two. David took care of him this morning - they went on errands to Lowe's, the credit union, and Sprouts (my favorite place to buy produce). While they ran errands, I slept because I work tonight, tomorrow, and the next night. When I woke up, Trey was already down for his nap, and the house was clean - the dishes were done, the floor was mopped, the toys were all picked up in the family room. So I sit here sipping my coffee enjoying the quiet waiting to start dinner in a little bit.

It all sounds wonderful, huh? It IS wonderful - it's wonderful that my husband grew up watching his Dad serve his Mom and their family around the house the same way David helps around here - he had such an incredible role model. And I appreciate David, and I make a point to verbalize and express that appreciation. But more often than not, instead of feeling that it's wonderful, I struggle with my role as the (for now) breadwinner. I actually feel lost most of the time. I love my job - I completely believe that for me, being a nurse is a calling from God. But more than that, I believe being a wife and a mom are my first and second callings and priorities, seconded only to loving God and striving to live in a way that pleases Him. I love being home - I love caring for Trey and spending time with David. But when I'm at home, I don't feel like I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing either due to usually being exhausted from working full time nights. I feel like I do everything halfheartedly. I grew up in a wonderful home too, but my mom did all the housework (not that my dad wouldn't help but my mom just usually did everything) and my dad brought in the income. Sometimes I think those very traditional roles are stuck in my head, and if I am not doing all the things I expect I should do, then I feel like I am failing as a wife and mom. I know that to say that sounds irrational, but these are the thoughts and feelings I am struggling with.

I also know that this is just a season in my life. Our plans were for me to work while David goes to school. Our plans have been altered a bit - we knew nothing about our living arrangements when we left TN a year ago, but God provided an amazing opportunity for us here at UIM for David to work as a caretaker. He hasn't been able to attend traditional classes like he intended due to responsibilities at UIM and caring for Trey. But he has started an online course that he should finish around the time the baby is born. We are anticipating with this training that he will get a full time job, and I can stay home with our boys. Eventually, we would like to move back East to be closer to family, but we are trusting God for His timing in all of that.

Is this internal struggle abnormal? I work with a lot of women who don't seem struggle with working full time and being moms. They see work as an outlet for them - some have even told me that they are better moms when they aren't around their kids all the time. That is not me at all. I get confusing messages from society about the kind of wife and mom I am supposed to be instead of who God wants me to be. I want to please God in my heart attitude and my actions. So I am seeking Him for what His Word says about what a Godly wife and mom looks like. When I see what He says, then the turmoil within me settles some. God talks about a wife being a diligent, hardworking, trustworthy, respectful, loving, always looking out for the good of her household. I think that looks different for each woman and family. Our situation right now has me working outside the home and David working at home and caring for Trey while I work. God has provided amazingly for us, and I am so thankful for that. But in my heart, I am so looking forward to being home full time and caring for David, Trey, and our new baby boy. If you could pray for me that I will be patient and trust God in this process, and that I won't believe the lies the enemy throws at me about not being a good wife and mom. This has been a discouraging last couple months as I struggle with all these thoughts and feelings, and I wanted to be honest so that you could pray for me and for us.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Some new things...

I am trying to get a little more structure into our daily routine. Trey is great about eating and sleeping, but other than that, we don't have much of a schedule. I am trying to take advantage of some community resources that is available for us to be involved with. I think a little more structure will help him especially when the baby is born. Last Sunday at church, he was promoted from the infant nursery to the toddler class. They have a lot more structure in the toddler class - they have Bible story time, play time, and craft time. He really seems to enjoy the class. His teacher Mrs. Ruth said he was very good but very busy - the only time she said he sat still was during snack time (go figure).

I took Trey to Toddler Time at the library near us today. There were 8 other little kids in there - they all sat nicely on their mom's laps and did the motions to the songs. They all listened to the 2 stories that were read. The first few minutes, Trey clung to me and wouldn't turn around to face his peers. But then he warmed up to his new environment ... and he was off and running. He ran around the room the rest of the 20 minutes. Toddler Time is in a room with a door so he couldn't escape which I was very thankful for. He didn't quite understand when the librarian was reading the book why he couldn't hold the book and turn the pages himself. He did laugh and clap when the other kids laughed and clapped. He enjoyed the bubbles that were blown. But mostly he ran in large circles from one side of the room to the other. I think with us going to this every Wednesday morning, he will become more familiar with the songs and stories. He must have expended a lot of energy cause he took a really great nap this afternoon.

Also, tonight for the first time, we went to a restaurant and Trey didn't eat the crayons. I was so happy because every time, we have to fish crayon particles out of his mouth. I always check before I let him use them that they are non-toxic. I bought him some jumbo crayons last week so that we could color at home. He has enjoyed sitting in his booster seat up to the table and coloring on paper. He even made his friend Parker a birthday card. So maybe becoming more familiar with crayons at home has helped him when we are out. I still don't trust that he won't try to nibble on crayons in the future, but this was a big first for us tonight.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Family Time - Part Two

On July 15 (my birthday), we left for Pennsylvania for 2 weeks. I had been anticipating this trip for several months. It was so good to be home for my birthday, and to see my parents, my Grammy, my sister, and the rest of my family. I was able to see some friends while I was home - Colleen, Becky, and Judith. My sister Faith and I weeded and mulched my Gramma's rose garden - that was a true labor of love. We spent well over 5 hours in the sun that day - I actually forgot I was pregnant and probably overdid it a little because my back hurt for days after that. But I was so happy to help my Gramma. She loves her roses, but she has not been able to get out and care for them this year. Trey slept really well at my parents - my mom has a pack n play for him. He usually sleeps well in most places but it takes him a little bit to get used to new surroundings, but he adjusted immediately to his new sleeping arrangements. He loved running around their yard and playing with his cousins (my sister's and brother's kids). He had to learn new boundaries while we were there at Grandma and Grandpa's house because there is lots of new stuff to touch and get into. He did pretty well for the most part.

My brother Mark and his family came to PA our last 4 days there. Mark and his wife have 3 children - their youngest is Victoria - she is 7 months older than him. Trey really liked playing with her at first, but a couple times she took a toy away from him and he didn't like that very much. He would just look at one of us and cry. He seemed to be afraid of her after one that, but he got over it our last day together. I had been so homesick to it was so good to be there for a couple weeks and be able to sleep at night instead of during the day for 2 weeks.



Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook: PA family trip
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Family time - Part One

We had a really fun July. I'm sad that it's over. On July 7, my brother Phil and his wife Brenda and my nieces Rachel, Abby, and Olivia spent 2 nights with us on their way to Tuscon to visit Bren's family. Trey loved having his cousins to play with. I lost my camera sometime during their visit, so I am waiting on Bren to send me some pictures of their time here. On the night they arrived, I made Mexican for dinner and then we went to a double feature drive-in movie at the 9 screen theatre about a mile from our house. It was a lot of fun, but the pavement radiated the heat from the day so it was a very warm 2 movies to sit through. The next day we went to a water park about 30 minutes from us called Big Surf. We all splashed around for several hours - Trey enjoyed the big wave pool after he got used to it. He really loved the little kiddie water area where he could walk around. David and I were able to go on some water slides together which was super fun. We all had so much fun together, but the time was too short (as always).

On July 14, we had a follow up level 2 ultrasound to further assess our baby's cysts in his brain and to get detailed images of other body parts that could be affected if there is something else more serious going on (like Trisomy 18). The perinatologist (Dr. Lam - I work with him at Good Sam) told us that everything with our baby looks perfectly normal. He is not concerned about the cysts - he called them a variation of normal. It was very reassuring to have this ultrasound. All the rest of my bloodwork has come back normal as well. Dr. Lam said that there is no guarantee that the baby is perfectly normal unless we do an amniocentesis, but I am not wanting to take the risk of the amnio just to find out. Dr. Lam said he wouldn't even recommend that we get one because he is not concerned about there being a problem with the baby. We are thanking God for this good report. I will still have followup ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy, but my doctor expects the cysts to resolve on their own. Our little guy was opening and closing his mouth during the ultrasound and moving all over - looks like I am growing another busy little boy :-). The tech gave us a CD of pictures and took 3D pictures for us. I loved seeing him.


Profile

Both legs

His knee bent and his foot

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Trey's Little Brother

pregnancy calendar

We found out yesterday that Trey has a little brother. We are very excited that we will have 2 little boys. I (Joy) was hoping to have a girl for the sole purpose of naming her after my Grammy, but other than that reason, I didn't want a girl over a boy. David really preferred to have another boy. We are able to use the same clothes as we used for Trey because they will be born in the same season, so that is a huge blessing. My sister and my brother both had 2 little boys first, and I love that thought that these boys will be buddies and great friends.


Everything looks good on the ultrasound except for some areas of concern on the one side of his brain. There are several choroid plexus cysts that by themselves are not a problem but the concern is what they are often associated with - Trisomy 18. On ultrasound there are usually other abnormalities like clenched fists, heart defects, foot malformations, and kidney defects - none of these were seen. My OB is going to have me go for a more advanced Level II ultrasound in a couple weeks to check on the status of the cysts and to see if there are any abnormalities that they missed on yesterday's ultrasound. We are praying that these cysts resolve on their own as most of these types of cysts do. I am so thankful to know that Jesus loves this sweet little boy more than we do, and He is caring for and protecting him even now. Please pray for us that God will calm our hearts - we as parents want to know that he is okay, but ultimately there is nothing we can do to control or change the situation. We love him regardless of any outcome but we are hoping and praying for a completely healthy baby boy.

He's a boy



His foot - you can see his 5 toes spread


His sweet profile

Another profile picture



His face - I'm not a huge fan of the face shots because they kind of scare me a little but I had it to share so I thought I would