Baby Contest

I think it's time for another contest.  Sorry it's been so long since the last one!  This time it will be guessing when our little boy will be born.  The time has been narrowed down considerably though, so it makes it easier.  My doctor will induce me on January 14th, when I'm 37 weeks, unless things get worse, and then she will induce me sooner.  So he will be here sometime within the next two weeks.  There will be a cool prize for the person who wins.  Josh and I had guessed later in January, as had our neighbor, so we're all out of the running.  Good luck everyone! :)

The Week of a Thousand Years

Have you ever had a week that just seems to go on forever? That's how this last week was for Josh and I. Last Sunday, the 12th, we received a call that my aunt had had a massive stroke and was in the hospital.  She wasn't able to walk anymore and would never be able to live alone.  Josh and I headed up there to see her and found that it was much worse than that.  She couldn't talk or hardly respond, and the doctor had come in just before we got there to say that she would be leaving this world soon, so this time would most likely be one of goodbye.  I was stunned by this!  It was so sudden and we had just seen her a week earlier at the family Christmas party.  How grateful I am that we went to the hospital that night! Amid my tears, I was able to hold her hand and tell her how much I loved her and thank her for all that she did for me.  She did move her head towards me, so I think she knew I was there.  She passed away the next day.  She was an amazing woman!  She was so loving and kind and was more like a grandma than an aunt to me and my siblings.  She is dearly missed!

With the passing of my dear Aunt Carol, our anniversary plans changed.  Our second anniversary was on Friday, the 17th, and we had booked two nights at The Castle Creek Inn to celebrate.  The funeral was planned for Saturday, so we knew we wouldn't get all the time together we wanted, but figured it would still be a wonderful weekend.

Friday rolled around and I had the day off, but Josh had to work, so I worked around the house for awhile and then he came home and got me so we could go to our prenatal visit.  At the visit, my blood pressure was high.  It had been high two visits before, but the last visit it was fine, so we hadn't worried about it.  We went through the visit and the doctor ordered lab work to check for preeclampsia and then rechecked my blood pressure.  It had shot up very high at that time, so we went directly to the hospital to be monitored.  We stayed for about two hours at LDS Hospital while my blood pressure and the baby were monitored.  The labs were done there and once the results came back, my doctor came and talked with us.  The labs were all fine, but my blood pressure had stayed high the whole time we were there.  Not as high as it was at her office, thank goodness, but still higher than it should have been.  She said that I had preeclampsia and explained all the possible complications that came with it.  She also said that from now on, I was on strict bedrest until the baby came.  She sent me home, but I think it was only because we had hotel reservations.  I had to do a 24 hour urine test, which they usually keep patients in the hospital to do, but I'm so glad that she trusted me enough to do it on my own and we didn't have to stay overnight. 

We did get to the hotel that night, but later than we had expected.  It was a really nice room and we were glad we had the chance to enjoy it.  Saturday was the funeral and I wasn't going to miss that, bedrest or not.  It was a beautiful memorial of her and it was nice to be surrounded by the love of my family. We went back to the hotel afterwards, but to a different room.  This one was really nice as well and the staff treated us like royalty.  We couldn't do anything except lay in bed and relax, but it was nice to have that time together.  Josh was so sweet to stay with me and not complain about our sudden change in plans.

Needless to say, I am very grateful last week is over!  This week has the promise of being a much better one with Christmas.  Josh and I definitely have a lot on our minds now, but we need to have faith in Heavenly Father and His plan and know that He will take care of us and Drako. 

Bring on The Turkey!

Sorry that this next post won't have any pictures. They accidentally got erased from the memory card before being saved on the computer. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great day and it was nice having Josh at home and not working. We ended up having three Thanksgiving dinners this year and I am proud to report that I only gained three pounds in those two weeks between prenatal visits. 

I love that there's a holiday dedicated to counting your blessings. Thanksgiving is such a neat time of the year and I always reflect on what I'm grateful for. We have been blessed so very much and I am eternally grateful for a Heavenly Father who watches out for his children individually! I can't believe how much He cares for each one of us and provides for our specific wants and needs! It's an incredible feeling to realize just how much He loves me!

We were able to spend the holiday this year with each our of families which was really nice. My family is one of the things for which I am most grateful and I love being with them at this time of the year. Our first Thanksgiving dinner was with my family. Ryan, our brother-in-law, is a police officer and had to work on Thanksgiving, so we had a dinner for him the Sunday before. My mom and sister decorated the kitchen at my parents' house so festive with a turkey tablecloth and dishes and cute place cards. All of my siblings and their families were there as was my sweet aunt Carol. We enjoyed each other's company as we ate the traditional, mouth-watering food and had fun playing games afterwards. It was also cute watching part of "Ernest Scared Stupid" with my nephews. Maclain just wanted to see everything, whether it was scary or not, but Payton would casually stroll down the hall when he felt things were getting too scary. lol. I love those two boys so much!

Our second dinner was on Thanksgiving day. Josh and I had decided to have dinner at our apartment with his family. His mom, Kim, had had carpal tunnel surgery a few days before the holiday and we wanted to make sure she was able to enjoy it anyway. We took over most of the cooking, but she still insisted on bringing rolls and pies which were very delicious. It was the first time either of us had cooked Thanksgiving dinner and I think we did a great job. Okay, so Josh did a fabulous job! He cooked the turkey and mashed potatoes while I did the easy things-the Stovetop stuffing and heating up the gravy. Josh's family came over a few hours before dinner so we had time to visit and watch football. Besides Kim, Josh's brothers came as well as her boyfriend, Steve.

We did have one mishap with our cooking. The turkey had cooked faster than we anticipated, so we were scrambling around trying to finish everything else and in the process forgot to stir the potatoes as they were boiling. They ended up burning on the bottom but Josh was able to scoop out the not burnt parts and you couldn't even taste that anything had happened. We did find out one thing for sure that day though: our fire alarm works. lol.

After dinner everyone except Josh and Steve fell asleep. It looked like a huge slumber party was going on because there were blankets all over the front room. The two of them stayed awake to watch the second football game of the day. Silly boys!

Our third tryptophan-filled dinner was the night after Thanksgiving. Josh's ex-stepdad invited us to their belated holiday dinner. This is the dad of Josh's brothers and he raised Josh for most of his childhood. The food and company were nice, but I'm not sure how I feel about him wanting to be a bigger part of our lives.