Bonnie Doone Plantation

This Saturday Joe and I took the boys and Granny Faye out to Bonnie Doone Plantation for their fall festival. It was the first time that we had been back since we got married there five and a half years ago. We had a great time exploring and remembering. It cost us $5 for the entire family to get in and we all ate lunch for about $10. I think we will try to go again next year. Since the plantation is owned by the Baptist Association, there is no alcohol or tobacco use allowed on the property. That makes for a great family outing!
Noah was especially excited to see the place where Mommy and Daddy got married. We took him to the exact spot we stood out under the huge live oak trees. He always flips through our wedding pictures and is insulted that he was not invited to be in any of the pictures, so it was a treat for him to feel included this time.

AFP Results

For those of you who don't know, AFP stands for alpha-fetoprotien. The alpha-fetoprotein test is where a blood sample is drawn from me at a specific date in the pregnancy to check the levels of AFP. AFP is a protein put out by the baby's liver and shows up in my blood. It is generally used to provide a screening for neural tube defects like spina bifida and ancephaly. It can also indicate a host of other things such as Down Syndrome or Trisomy 18.
Some people are vehemently opposed to this test because they believe it to be a way for the mother to end a pregnancy that is not going to bring forth the 'perfect' child. This is not the case for us. We not only believe that abortion is wrong, we believe that this child was formed in my womb according to God's plan and while we know that no child is 'perfect', God's plan for our lives certainly is. We have this test done because the hospital where I plan to deliver does not have the necessary resources to care for special needs babies. The closest one to us that would be able to handle these cases is an hour and a half away.
We had the AFP done with both of our other two boys. With Noah, the test came back that there was a possibility of spina bifida. We were scared out of our minds, but we were sent for a detailed ultrasound and the doctors determined that everything was fine, they just had my due date wrong. With Jonah, the results came back indicating a need for further testing for Down Syndrome. We were sent to a genetic counselor who determined that he had a 79% probability of having Down Syndrome with a heart defect. They had to do an amniocenteses along with a detailed ultrasound to rule out that possibility. The two weeks waiting for the results to come back were the longest weeks of my life, but everything once again turned out just fine.
I am up in the middle of the night not really worrying about the results, but more wrestling with the question of why I am even having this test done. I understand the medical reasons; it would definitely be better for my baby to be born in a place where he can be best taken care of, no matter what the health conditions are. I also understand that I have my own selfish reasons; I don't want to be put in the situation of having my newborn flown to a medical center over an hour away while I am stuck recovering in the hospital where I gave birth. What I am having a hard time understanding is why I feel the need for this test in the first place. Am I taking something out of God's hands and putting it in my own? Is it wrong to rely on a test that is often used by others as a basis for determining if a life is valid? I know that this little baby's life is valid. I feel him squirming around as I type this. There is no test result that will ever change the love that I have for him or the desire to hold him in my arms. I guess what I have come up with is that I want what is best for my baby, and this test is helping me provide that. So there...now we wait, and hopefully I can get some sleep.

Deer Season

I got my first deer of the season last night. I got two last year. No, I do not hunt, I tend to do better with my vehicle than most people do in a deer stand. Luckily, I was in Joe's truck last night so the damage was minimal. I was on my way home from Bible Study and the deer actually ran into me instead of me running into the deer. It hit on the driver's side door and you can barely see the dent. Unfortunately the deer did not fare quite as well.
I hope this is it for this season. My car can not stand another deer collision. I still have a dent in my front fender and am missing part of my grill from the last deer that I hit!

Our Baby This Week

Right now, our baby is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed, the head is more erect than it has been, and the eyes have moved closer to the front of the head. The ears are close to their final position, too. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, the heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as our baby continues to develop. At the ultrasound today, they measured the heart as beating 144 beats per minute.

And now for the news that everyone wants...IT IS A BOY!!! We are not 100% sure of course, but the technician seemed pretty sure. She said we would verify it next month when I have another ultrasound.

I am so excited about another boy. I love my two boys so much and I think they are the greatest things on earth. Noah is still getting used to the idea that we are having a boy and not a girl. He really wanted a girl this time. Joe says he is not disappointed, but I think he was hoping for a girl as well. I kind of feel guilty about the fact that we are having a boy and that I am so excited about it, but I think that no matter what the ultrasound would have shown today, I would have still been this happy. I am just so glad that God has chosen to bless us with another pregnancy.

Dr. Visit

I just got back from the visit with my OBGYN. The baby is growing and is doing fine. I have still not gained any weight, but I have not lost any since my last visit either. I had a lot of blood drawn, and we should get the AFP test results back by the end of the week. The results indicated a need for further testing with both Noah and Jonah, so I am a little anxious about them.
They did an ultrasound and yes, the baby did cooperate. The technician was able to tell what we are having, but Joe isn't home yet, so I'm not telling all of you. You will just have to wait! A little suspense never hurt anyone.

Kid Updates

Noah is now allowed back outside. He is wearing his snake boots. Such a cute sight to see him running around outside or riding his tractor in just his boxers and boots. Sometimes he adds rainbow suspenders as well. If you happen to ride by my house, be sure to look!

Jonah is now cutting a new tooth on the bottom and one on the top. This makes seven in total. Unfortunately, he has decided to start grinding his teeth again. I am hoping he will stop when he gets used to these new teeth, that is what happened with the last two.

Sunday night was the first time I felt our newest little one moving. I was so excited that I woke Joe just to let him know. He pretended to be impressed, but I could tell he would rather me have waited until he could feel the baby moving before waking him again. I have an ultrasound today, so if this baby cooperates, we may know what we are having soon!

Moth Balls

So we haven't gotten a goat...yet. Joe's remedy for the snake problem was to put out two boxes of mothballs all around and under the house. I must say, it is not a pleasant smell. Any other (non smelly) tips for keeping the snakes away?

Twelve Rattles

And no I am not talking about baby rattles. I am talking about the number of rattles that were on the HUGE rattlesnake coiled up under my picnic table this afternoon. The really bad part is that the snake was only about six feet from my back door. We all had been out several times this morning walking back and forth right where the snake was coiled. Joe didn't see it until about his fifth trip. When he came back in the house to get the gun, he was as white as a ghost. I think he realized that if the snake had struck Noah, there would have been no chance of Noah surviving. With the size of the snake, we just would not have been able to get help in time. I am now paranoid about even allowing Noah to walk to the car. I think we may all have to invest in snake boots. Our other option is to get a goat. Has anyone else heard that goats keep snakes away? I have heard that many times and I think it may be worth a try. As for right now, my kids are once again confined to the house.

Our Baby This Week

I tried to find a better picture than this, but for some reason, all of the fifteen week pictures were upside down. Our baby is growing and now measures about four inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). Our baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through his or her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. The legs are growing longer than the arms now, and the baby can move all of the joints and limbs. Finally, if we were to have an ultrasound this week, (which we are not) we may have been able to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl! I'm not sure when my next ultrasound is, but I think I want to know what we are having this time.

More Of Grammy's Boys

Look at the camera Jonah!

Jonah, stop playing so Grammy can take our picture!

Come back here, Grammy wants a picture!

Grammy's Boys

Right now I work one day a week, usually Mondays. My Mom has been great about keeping the boys for me while I work. They both love their Grammy and love spending time over there. She always manages to snap cute pictures of the two of them. Getting everyday pictures of my boys is something that I fall very short on. I always look back and wonder why I didn't have the camera out when they were doing something cute.
As you can tell from the pictures, Noah and Jonah usually play together very well. Please ignore the fact that Noah is in his boxers and Jonah is not wearing a shirt. We tend to have a somewhat relaxed dress code in our family.
I am so grateful that my Mom has been able to keep my boys so often. Noah and Jonah are very blessed to be loved so much by all the people in their lives. Even though I only work one day a week, I don't know if I would have continued working had I not known that my children were being cared for in a way that was equal to (or better) than I would have cared for them. It is nice to be able to go to work and concentrate on what I am doing instead of constantly wondering if my children are okay.
Thanks Grammy for loving these little boys...they sure do love you in return!

Mud Bogging

This afternoon Jonah, Noah, and I decided to take a walk back to the shop where Joe was fueling up his truck. We stayed back there with him for about two hours playing with the dog and just hanging out. It was dark when we got ready to come back up to the house and Joe asked me to drive his pick-up with the boys while he brought the big truck and trailer. Noah wanted to show me the new road that he and Daddy had built a few weeks ago with the bulldozer. I had never driven on the road on that side of the property and it was dark, so I was relying on my four year old for information. Noah assured me that it was not muddy at all and I could drive on it with the truck. Sure enough we got about half-way back to the house and the truck sank! Noah said, "Oh yeah, there is a big mud hole right here, you are supposed to stay on the right side of the road." I tried everything I knew, even locking the truck into four wheel drive, but could not get it to budge. Noah and Jonah were having the time of their lives, and I could see Joe walking across the woods to come get me. He directed me for about fifteen minutes, moving about two inches forward, then back, then forward, then back. Finally, the truck came out of the hole and we were on our way. I looked over at Noah, wanting to scold him, but stopped short at the grin on his face that was spread from ear to ear.
Long story short...don't take directions from a four year old!

Baby Monitors

Since our bedroom is on the other end of the house from the boy's bedrooms, we still use a baby monitor to keep an ear out for them at night. At some point early this morning, Noah came and crawled into my bed. Around six, Jonah woke up and started screaming. I immediately got up to go get him, but first reached over and turned down the monitor hoping that it would not wake Noah. Unfortunately, I was too late. A sleepy Noah looked over at me and said, "Hey, how did you turn him off like that?" ...If only it were that easy.

New Words

Jonah has started saying many new words. He likes to copy anything he hears and give it his own version. The other day, Noah and I were talking about Uncle Tj and Aunt Holly. All of a sudden Jonah started screaming Tj, Tj, Tj, at the top of his lungs. I know he probably does not even know what he was saying, he just heard a word and tried it out, but it was just too cute. Noah says that it does not count as a real word because he hasn't said Uncle with it, but I have a feeling Uncle Tj will disagree.

Our Baby This Week

Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, and pee. Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as the tiny features form one expression after another. Our baby can grasp, too, and may even be sucking his or her thumb. In other news: Our baby is stretching out. From head to bottom, measuring about 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighing in at about 1 1/2 ounces. Though I can't feel the tiny punches and kicks yet, our little baby's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Two More Teeth

Finally! Jonah has cut his top two teeth! He now has five teeth, three on the bottom and two on the top. Hopefully this means that the so called 'teething poop' is over but for some reason I am not getting my hopes up. I am really glad that these top two teeth are done as we all have had a very hard time waiting for them to break through. However, he now has developed this skin crawling habit of grinding his teeth together. He first did it when Joe was holding him and I thought, "What is the big deal, so he grinds his teeth a little?" Then while I was holding Jonah, he laid his head on my shoulder, put his mouth next to my ear, and made this horrible grinding sound with his teeth. It really is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. Stupid me, I put my finger in between his teeth so he would stop. Yes, of course, he bit me. I really should think these things through. Any tips on getting a child to stop grinding his teeth?

Our Baby This Week

Fingerprints have formed on our baby's tiny fingertips, the veins and organs are clearly visible through the thin skin, and the body is starting to catch up with the head. If we are having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries! Our baby is 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs an ounce.

Why I Haven't Been Posting

Mom, you NEED to come here. Jonah has something green coming out of his pants. Yuck!