today

Today I’m thankful for so many things.  It’s amazing to see how the L orchestrated everything in the last two weeks.  Sometimes it’s mind boggling that we are sitting in the hospital in America, but we are thankful to be in such great care.

Today I’m trying to rejoice, for “This is the day that the L has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Rejoicing is hard, when my heart is filled with worry and to be honest sometimes I let the fear overcome me.  It’s hard to be present today, in this very minute and not worry about the future.  

But today is what we are promised.  It is not up to me to know how many days the Lord has entrusted our sweet Seth into our care, but today I’m reveling in each and every kick, hearing his little swishing heart on the monitor and getting a peak at him often through ultra sounds.  I do not know what will be in store for his life, but I know he’s been a huge blessing and part of our family already. 

And that is plenty to rejoice in today.

He has a name

We finally settled on a name for our sweet little man.

Seth Asher

Seth means Anointed

Asher means blessed

We felt like both these fit our little guy.  We know the Lord has anointed his life and will be used for his glory and he already has been a blessing.

So we’d appreciate your prayers for our little Seth Asher.  He has a lot of work to do to prepare for his birth.

A New Journey

Many of you have already heard the news but I thought I’d post it here.

Last Friday I had an ultrasound in our city and unfortunately we received some very tough news.  During the ultrasound they found fluid in the baby’s chest cavity surrounding the lungs and heart.  I knew it was a problem but didn’t quite know the words they were using to describe it, so after coming home and translating all the documents and talking with our doctor in Istanbul it was determined it is a clear case of fetal hydrothorax.  She was wonderful helping us figure out what was going on and locating places in Istanbul to help treat it.  However our company feels like it is a serious problem due to the amount of fluid our baby has on both side of his chest cavity.  Our amazing team of doctors and nurses afelt like the baby cannot get the care he needs in Istanbul and told us on Monday it’s best to go the states and seek out a good hospital in a large city with an excellent perinatology department with a good NICU.  We have made an appointment for this following Tuesday at KU Med in Kansas City.

It’s been a very emotional weekend and week.  The thought of going to America completely caught us off guard.  Right now we’re trusting the Lord for his healing of our little guy.  We know the Lord knew of this long before we did and he’s knit this little one perfectly in my womb.  It’s amazing how much we already love him and want what is best for him.  We’re trusting him to help guide us down a road we never thought we would have to enter and praying that he gives us the strength we need each and every step.

We hop on a plane for the first leg of our trip in just a few short hours.  We still have to tie up some last minute packing and make sure our house is nice and tidy before leaving.  

As we leave please pray for us as we don’t really know what is in store for our family’s future. Pr that the Lord fills our heart with peace and that we turn to him in when we are utterly gripped with fear.

Pray for our boys and this transition, specifically Calvin who loves his routine.  Also pr that we can survive the long flight with our active little Micah!

Pray that the L heals this precious baby boy, that the fluid would disappear and the concerns the doctors have at this moment would not be an issue when he is born.  Pray for us as we make decisions in the coming weeks regarding the treatment and well being of our baby.

Pray that we will make the best decision regarding housing in Kansas City.  We’re so thankful for the many offers we have right now.  We’ve been overwhelmed by all the support we’ve been given recently.

Thank you friends.

The Great Escape

It only took him 18 months,

but Micah’s mastered climbing out of his crib. 

In his sleep sack.

Bravo little man, bravo.   

This morning I woke up to giggling in the living room.  

I walked in to find this little guy happily playing with his brother.

He looked pretty proud of himself.

Then Calvin said:

“When I opened my eyes this morning I felt something hard and I thought it was a rock, but it wasn’t it was Micah.  He was sleeping by the crack and the wall.  How did he get in my bed?”

Oh boy. 

This drastically changes things around here.

Counting

22

The number of days Marvin will be home between May 1^st and we leave on June 24^th for Turkey.

It’s going to be a busy couple of months and I’m already trying to get ready for the long 18 day stretch where he’ll be in America in June.  (Marvin agreed to this trip before he knew I would be super pregnant.)

6

lessons I hope to get through before we leave the country I to have  baby #3.  (I may be a bit ambitious, we’ll see.

4

teeth trying to come through in Mr. Micah’s mouth.  He’s been a drooly, fussy, fussy boy.

3

drawings Calvin’s decided to add to our walls and cushions in the past couple of weeks.  Seriously WHY????????

PTL hairspray really does take pen marks out of fabric.

1

Brand new shiny fridge in my kitchen.  I can’t believe how much bigger it is.

The number of times Micah’s pooped in the bathtub recently?

 Way too many.

Ladies Trip

I got to take a little trip last week and spend some time with some very sweet friends.  I am always so encouraged by these ladies and this trip was no exception.  To get caught up on their family's lives, see a few of their kids before they head off to college, soak up some sweet words of wisdom, it was FABULOUS.

It’s just nice to sit an ask women who get what my life is like questions about how to manage everything, deal with VERY active boys, apartment living questions, language questions, etc. 

Even the part where we were stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes wasn’t too bad.

I did find out I’m highly allergic to birch pollen.  The city was filled with it and one evening we even experienced a pollen storm before the rain came through.  The city sky was green due to the pollen, and when the wind picked up there was pollen everywhere.  It was bizarre, but after the rain I could finally breathe.

photo source

A Jack Daniels Burger is pretty hard to resist.  It didn’t disappoint this time around.  Yum!

And a Wendy’s?  It’s the first one I’ve ever seen overseas.  I took a risk and got a frosty.  My itchy throat was very thankful for the cold frosty and I was thankful for no revolting symptoms on the flight home due to the dairy consumption.

It’s nice being pregnant on the metro.  I’m so thankful for all the people who gave up their seat for me.

I even toured a hospital in town and had an appointment.  The hospital was very nice, but I wasn’t a fan of the doctor I saw, who took none of my pregnancy history into consideration and prescribed a list of things.  After a few emails with my doctor in Istanbul, another ultrasound locally, the concerns he had are pretty much normal for my pregnancies.  (I again have excess amniotic fluid)I’m still waiting on one more test result to come back, but hopefully I’ll have a normal pregnancy from here on out. )

The good thing is I got another sneak peak at Charge (we’ve adopted Calvin’s name suggestion for the time being until we decide on a name.)

It was a trip well worth the money.  Thanks to all the fabulous ladies that made this trip so sweet.