26 weeks and one day

The reason for this title is that this is the gestational time when Isabelle was born (26 weeks and one day). Praise the Lord that I have made it up until this time. We continue to pray for God's mercy to keep this baby inside of me. A doctor told us that everyday our girl is in the womb is three less days we will have to spend in the NICU (then after 28-29 weeks it is two days for every day in the womb). We are praying for no days in the NICU and a full term baby. I am still having contractions all throughout the day. Today, when I monitored for an hour I had three contractions in an hour. Sometimes I have more; sometimes I have less. Please pray that the contractions will stop, and that they will not cause any change to my cervix.

Isabelle is enjoying swimming in the warm weather with her Aunt Sarah. Daddy taped some of the fun when he came home from work. Isabelle is starting to say more words and loves to repeat words we tell her to say. She says "juice" "Bible" "Sarah" "mommy" "daddy" "cracker" "H-H-Hot" "Tankyou" "Hi" "Bye Bye" "I" "ice" "yes" (she has not learn no yet) "dog" "book" and several other words in her own language.

Pictures & Update

Well, I missed my appt. on thur. I thought it was a 2pm...oops....10:30am was the appt. they couldn't fit me in that day and were closed fri. so I have a new appt. on mon. and this time I plan to make it!:) Still having contractions more than i'd like but i'm still at home and the baby is still inside so that's a huge praise!! Thanks for your continued prayers in this area. Here are some recent pics os isabelle before going in her pool.

Update

It's been an eventful couple of days. I've been a little sick but feeling MUCH better now! Early this morning and 2 days ago I had to give myself what's called a "Demand" dose of the contraction med. that comes from the pump to my leg. I was just seeming to have too many. Pray today as I go to the Dr. that my cervix has not changed at all and that he says I'm doing ok and can go back home. The thought of going back to the hospital is not something that thrills me these days! :) We will give an update about the dr. visit later today or tomorrow.

Sarah (Ben's sis) flew in yesterday to be with us and help us out with Isabelle and me for the month of June. We praise the Lord Sarah sacrificing part of her summer to come help us-she's a gem and we love her! Isabelle was so happy to see her Aunt Sarah too and is warming up great!

Thought I might share a couple of things God has been teaching me. In my quiet time the Lord has given me two specific verses to memorize and claim in this time of need. Psalm 147:5 "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." This verse has been a comfort to me in knowing that my God's understanding of this time in our lives is complete and has no limit, though our understanding is limited. And that my God is mighty in power and is able to do anything in this situation b/c He is all powerful!

Also Psalm 147:11 "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, and in those who HOPE in His MERCY." We are crying out for God's mercy to be upon us and this little baby. This verse has been a special blessing to me. I'm so glad that God has given us His word for instruction, direction, and encouragement.

Will update more later. Thanks for your continued prayers for God's mercy upon us and this baby and for His will to be done. Praise God that His understanding is INFINITE!

A Real Update

Dayna got the Brethene pump in her leg (like a small IV; look at the bag on her right side) which gives her the shakes and makes her feel like she has had 6 cups of coffee. She is still having 1 or 2 contractions every hour. Below you can see her setup for during the day. She is supposed to lay down or recline. She is not supposed to sit up or get up unless she has to go the bathroom. The least amount of pressure she can have on her cervix and the least amount of irritation on her uterus the better for staying off this new baby from coming. But since she has to recline and since she has the shakes, it is hard for her to write. She also is hooked up to a monitor 2ce a day and that information is sent to a nurse over a medical modem. Thank you for your continued prayers. It is good to draw near to God through this time. The Lord has given Dayna an excellent spirit through this. As many of you have experienced, these times are sweet times to spend times with God and your family.

Sometimes I have Isabelle eat next to her mom. This my attempt to let her eat on her own. Isabelle loved it. Dayna thought it was cute. I realized this was a bad idea.

Appreciation

I have learned why God gave men certain "jobs" and why I never would want the job of a mom! Today I taught the six grade boys class and we talked about the death of the first born son in Exodus. One of my inquisitive students asked why the boys always had to die and not the girls. Another boy smartly said it's because men do all the work. Don't worry ladies, I quickly squashed this fallacy...by telling them my experience. Every since I took up the job of Mr. Mom I have a new appreciation for moms and their jobs. IT NEVER ENDS! I cleaned the kitchen perfectly Sat morning...then it was a mess by Sat night. Isabelle peed through her diaper Thursday night in her sleep soaking her bed sheets, I changed them. Then she did it again Fri night, soaking her sheets. We only have two bed sheets so now I was down to blankets to use as sheets. Then this morning she blew out her diaper from the other end all over her sheets. Now I was scrummaging through the closet looking for more blankets. Not only does the diaper thing happen all day but the messes seem to never end. You see with us guys, we can go to work, set out to accomplish a task and feel good when we get it done. We feel good when our jobs are completed. When I mow the lawn, it is done for a week. When I wash the car, it is done for a couple days. But a mom can literally go the entire day without sitting down and do the same thing over and over again! Thank you mom for your job and thank you Dayna for being a great mom! I will be happy when I drop that title.

Just a Quickie

I'll update quickly and then I'll try to again later today again. The update from yesterdays appt.: they did an internal ultrasound to measure the length of my cervix and the dr. said it was between 1.8cm and 2.1cm short. (Again, this is not dilation) They didn't check to see if I was dialated. I got a progesterone (?sp) shot in my hip :0 and was put on the contraction monitor for 45min. I did have a contraction when the dr. came in and barely touched my belly. See...a VERY sensitive uterus I guess. And I had some uterine irritability during that time as well. I'm still on COMPLETE bedrest (only up for RR) and will have an appt. next Thursday with the dr. again for a re-check. We couldn't see the baby a lot yesterday b/c of the type of ultrasound it was but we got a good shot of her bottom and legs all curled up and were VERY convinced that it IS a girl.

Anytime now a home nurse is going to come and set me up with a brethene (?sp) pump to help settle the rest of the contrations, etc. I'll give more info about that once I get hooked up with it. I'm sure looking forward to that joyous experience! ;)

For all who read this, I hope all the info is not too graphic. After all of this I'll be taking appt. for my new job as OB Dayna. :) haha! Thanks for your continued prayers.

Not my will, but Thine!

It's me (Dayna) finally getting around to actually put a blog up. :) First of all, thanks to all those who are praying with us during this time. Knowing others are bringing these petitions before the Lord is a great encouragement. Please keep praying!

To explain the title...this thought came to my mind a couple of days ago, 'Not my will, but Thine.' Many times I've prayed, "God have your will in my life and do what it takes to make me more like You." But then I wondered after all this has happened, "I ask for God to have His will in my life but do I really mean that even if it means it might be something that's not the most enjoyable thing or a difficult trial?" As I've thought and prayed through this thought my answer to God has been "yes." It's many times (and even as I type this now) said through tears but with a genuine heart that wants what God wants in my (our) life. I'm the type of person that wants to ask the why question though something like this but I know that God doesn't want me to be asking, "why is this happening again, why me, why...?" He wants my true heart to be asking, "Not my will, but Thine not matter what because I know that Your way is best."

I have been reading and meditating through Psalm 143 and seeking to have this as my heart and prayer to God.
1Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; In You I take shelter.
10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In Your mercy cut off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant.

We're asking God to answer our prayers and hear our prayers not because of anything that we are but b/c of His faithfullness and His righteousness. God will always answer and whatever the answer is we can know it is always right because He is faithful & righteous!

Now for the update you probably were looking for...my bottom and bones are getting sore!! (Aren't you glad you kept reading???!!! haha) Really...I'm so thankful to be home and layng in my bed and on the couch rather than the board at the hospital. I'm thankful to be back with Isabelle!! She knows something is different about mommy and that I'm not able to get up to get her so she can run away from me when she wants to. :) I praise the Lord for such a great husband!!! He's met all my needs and MUCH MUCH more! He's being a great Daddy too! I couldn't ask for more. He's done more than I could have asked for and has always been loving and caring even though it's just as hard on him (probably harder)to have me on bedrest. The only time I'm able to get up is to go to the RR. Please be in prayer as tomorrow we go to the high-risk dr. for a checkup. We're praying that the length of my cervix hasn't shortened any. I'm still having the tightening contractions on and off throughout the day even with medicine. We'll try to give an update tomorrow after the 2pm appt. Sorry this blog was a little long hope you made it through. Thanks for praying and checking up on us.

Dayna made it home

I know you were hoping Dayna would update, but she is trying to rest and sleep and might type a little bit tonight. After begging we were able to come home yesterday. The doctor said we could not go home until Dayna had a monitor hooked up at home, and the home health people said they would not hook up our home monitor until we had a land line (we only used our cell phones before today). The phone company said scheduled us for a install on FRIDAY!! That did not help Dayna's spirits or her back. Those beds in the hospital were killing her back. After spending 5 hours on the phone yesterday and visiting the phone company personally, they said they would put us on the emergency install service. However, the guys never showed up, and to make a long story short, they are coming to install our phone today. Also, the "insurance" said they would not pay for the home health care until after Dayna was 24 weeks (this Thursday) and we would have to pay for Tuesday out of our pocket. We put in long shot request to have that day waved (the home health said it was worth a try) and the doctor had compassion and let Dayna come home without a monitor. Dayna was praising the Lord!! (Also, because of all the "scares" in the hospital, she had not seen Isabelle, since noon on Saturday.)

I am Mr. Mom and Mr. Caretaker. I have the great privilege of taking care for my three girls this summer. I am learning something new about taking care of a 20 month old every hour. Yesterday, I took Isabelle to the doctor. She did not have an ear infection but she had 4 molars coming in at the same time. I learned how to pin a baby to table, while the doctor examines her and still say I love you. I learned their is a sick side and a well side of the waiting room and some moms are really picky about it:). I learned how to give medication to Isabelle at 3:00 AM in front of a nightlight. I learned you can overlap Motrin and Tylenol because...well I am not sure why, that's just what I was told by the real mom. I learned every time you rock a baby to sleep in the middle of the night, they will stay asleep until you crawl into bed and you are about to drift off to sleep. I am sure I have MUCH more to learn (considering I can grill but haven't ever cooked a meal and the last time I did the laundry, I was in college I just put all my clothes into the washer and turned on the cold water).

Thank you for your prayers. The Lord has been so kind to us and answered many of our requests to Him. I wish I could share how He has already shown His mercy to us in specific ways.

Coming home!...for a long summer:)

Dayna is coming home today! She is very excited! In order to come home she must have 4 or less contractions within one hour. We met with the high risk doctor yesterday and he gave the OK. He said her cervix did decrease but not significantly. It is now 2.0 centimeters in length. (Look below.)

We were told after Isabelle was born that Dayna had no reason to fear another premature birth. They told us a placental abruption is rare to happen twice (It's like breaking your arm. Just because you did it once doesn't mean it will break again). So we didn't have a high risk doctor until last Thursday and had little concern for a premature birth. But this high risk doctor told us differently from what we were told before. He deals with premature birth everyday, and he said some people can start having contractions which can cause an abruption. All that to say, the doctor did an ultrasound and he did diagnosis Dayna's problem. He said Dayna has a sensitive uterus and probably her problems are due to this. Some people have weak cervix's which means their placenta's weight on the cervix causes the cervix to start opening, so some of those people have their cervix's sewn shut. But this is not Dayna problem. Dayna actually has a very strong cervix. The problem is when her uterus gets irritated she begin to contract. So sewing her cervix shut would only irritate her uterus more and would probably speed delivery. The only solution for Dayna's problem is to relax her uterus and pray her cervix does not shorten any more. That mean she will take medication to relax her uterus and she will not be able to do any activity until the end of august. The urgency of this was illustrated yesterday after the doctor gently and quickly "checked" Dayna and we Dayna got up to take a quick shower. This activity irritated the uterus and she began to have many more contractions. She was having 1 or 2 contractions an hour but she began to have 3 or 4 every half hour. They became very concerned so they gave her a shot of Brethene. She still was having contractions so they gave her another shot of Brethene. Eventually, the contractions subsided. It illustrated to both of us how urgent we must take the doctors order of bedrest unless she has to go the bathroom. Even a little stress and cause an increase in contractions.

Dayna will be going home on two oral medications, one shot medication, and a home monitoring system. We don't have a home phone right now (we use our cell phones) so my job today is to price out the phone services so we can do the home monitoring (How this works: Dayna will have a monitor hooked up to her and the data will be sent over a modem type device). I have a lot to do today. I need to prep the house. It looks the same as we left it last Wednesday night. I am going to some stores today to get the equipment for Dayna's bedrest so when I drive her home tonight, the house is ready. Also, Isabelle has a high fever and I have to take her to the doctor. I think she has an ear infection. I am sure there is more to do that I am forgetting but hopeful today will be low stress/activity for Dayna going home. The doctor said I need to protect her from as much activity as I can.

Thank you for your prayers. I believe the Lord is answering them. Dayna's cervix is holding strong, her contractions are few and we are finding ourselves in desperate need of dependence on Him. It is easy to trust in ourselves by complaining or calling everyone on the phone and tell them our "woes." (Don't get us wrong, we love talking with you.) But when Dayna and I trust in this dependence on man, we never have peace and comfort. I can tell you many time this past weekend when things started to overwhelm us, we had to stop, drop, and roll. We said that means we stop complaining, drop the phone, and roll our cares over to God. When Dayna and I pray together about this whole thing, God delivers his promise of peace. We see Phil 4:6-7 work out when we stop our worry and depend on him in thankful praying. Keep praying for us here. Satan doesn't care about our physical well being but he does care about our spiritual well being. Please pray God will help us trust Him as His plan for our lives unfolds and yet pray God will show us His loving, mercy and keep this baby in Dayna's womb for many more months. Hopeful the next update will be from Dayna at HOME!!!
Ben

EXPLANATION: Now for those of you who are wondering, "Don't you want her cervix to decrease is length not increase?" let me explain why that's wrong. Between the placenta and the "outside" is the cervix. For a good pregnancy, the cervix is about 3 to 4 inches long. When someone goes into labor, the cervix length begins to shorten and once the cervix shortens to 0 then that person begins to dilate. If Dayna's cervix shortened to 0 then her dilation would start expanding and that would not be good. Does that make sense?

Hospital pictures

Some GREAT friends have been taking care of Isabelle while I take care of Dayna and Dayna takes care of herself and our expected one. Isabelle comes up once or twice a day to see her mommy. This part is really hard for Dayna, but the Lord has given us wonderful friends we trust. It is good to know someone is loving her (though there is nothing like a mother's love). Continue praying for us.

Ben

Baby #2 Update

Today is not going-home day. The doctor told us some news. He said he is still trying to stop the contractions and he was only going to consider sending her home when these stopped (that's not news). He hope maybe Mon or Tues she can come home with a monitor, medications, and.....bed rest. That's right, the rest of the pregnancy, the doctor said she must stay in bed (except to go to the watercloset). She is 23 weeks this past Wednesday and she will stay in bed until 36 weeks...which is the whole summer. Dayna and I are obviously disappointed. Bad news: all our plans (Dad's anniversary, VBS, taking kids to the Wilds, tenting with Sarah, etc.) will be put aside for Dayna and some for me, and I know there is more I could write but this is not our focus. Good News: God has a special plan for Dayna, Isabelle, and me. I will need to learn to be a servant:). Also, there are many more I could mention, however, only God knows what these good things are and we may soon find out. All we know is God will do good toward us as He promises (God's definition of good in Romans 8:29).
Dayna and I are praying for a couple major things to happen.
1. We are asking our all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing God to keep Dayna's cervix at 2.1 centimeters and no lower. Once your cervix goes to 0 centimeters you begin dilation. From what I remember, the doc said Dayna's was 3.5 on Thursday and 2.1 on Friday/ A normal cervix is 3 or 4 centimeters.
2. Also, we are praying our Father will stop Dayna's contractions. This is very important as well because her contractions may cause her to abrupt and thus have a baby.
3. We're praying for strength. We don't know the future and we are praying God will accomplish the first two requests. If the cervix stays closed and her contractions starts, Dayna could be more Mobile as the summer goes along. However, from what the doctor has said, this may be a summer of endurance. Everyone will need God's strength--especially Dayna.
4. Pray for the baby. The doctors say she looks great!
4. The list goes on (provision, Isabelle, meds to work, etc.) but these are the times that the Lord sobers your home and puts you on your knees--which is good! These are the times when the Lord shows you life is not about yourself (good message Pastor John!). These are times of opportunity to serve God. Ask God to teach us this. Pray God above all will do what we need most--bring us to Himself. We so easily stray from God, but we so desperately need Him the most! Dayna and I prayed together today and read Psalm 147. Oh, God's Word is a balm and a comfort! How it can take a anxious heart and give it peace! Isn't it amazing how the Word is the only true comfort we can have? This Psalm really spoke to us. It was hard to get past verses 10-11: He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
God does not pleasure in what our temporal driven mind pleasures and trusts in. God pleasures in our humility before Him and our expectation of His enduring love (ESV).
Thank you for your prayers.
Ben
Side note: I am editing the books for Truth Trackers next year while I am in between helping Dayna. I mentioned this earlier but it's amazing the verses and doctrines the kids are learning next year. They will study: God's Nature, God's Greatness, Christ's Death, Prayer, Trials, The Holy Spirit. I can't wait for the kids to learn these great truths! Doctrinal truth is so practical and seems clearer when you're in the cooker!

To the Hospital

As many of you know, Dayna is in the hospital. First the story and then what we know so far, then our thanks.

The Story
Dayna has been having back pain for the past week or so. On Tuesday, Dayna went into the doctor to see if the back pain and occasional stomach cramping was preterm labor. The doctor could not find a problem. On Thur day morning at 3:00 AM Dayna woke was in severe pain in her back and she had strong contractions. Jerry and Tessa (God bless you!) took Isabelle for us that night and we went to Greenville Memorial. They tested Dayna for a couple hours but could not find anything placenta problems or any cervix or dilation. The contractions were strong and 4-6 minutes apart. (By, the way, Dayna turned 23 weeks on Wed the 16th; Isabelle was born on the 2nd day of 26 weeks.) They gave Dayna a shot of Brethene to stop the contractions. The contractions subsided for a couple hours. Dayna went to the doctor at 9:00 AM and after four hours of tests, they concluded she was still having contraction (though not as hard as the 3:00AM ones). They could not find any pregnancy abnormalities after all the tests, but because the contractions persisted, they wanted to put her into the hospital. She checked into St. Francis around 1:00 PM. They put her on Magnesium (which makes your blood boil and makes you feel sick.) Dayna had this 12 hours before she had Isabelle and so she was not excited to be on this again as one would imagine. After she began the medication, she was having contractions about 8-10 minutes apart (also not very strong). The began to drug her up as the night went on. They put her on an antibiotic, another preterm-prevention pill, some nausea medication, and now she will be on PROGESTERONE. (I am actually on my way to get that from Greenville Memorial) I stayed with her all night to help her do her "duties." Last night was long and a bit rough with the sickness aspect and the constantly having to be helped to the bathroom. Dayna is pretty much zonked out now. All the drugs have put her into another world. We have been meeting with a high risk doctor, and he has been very helpful. I am forgetting a lot but I hope that helps.

What we know so far:
The High risk doctor said Dayna's cervix was 3.5 yesterday but is 2.1 today. The higher the number the better I guess. The doctor said 3s is safe, but the 2s does not mean a baby is on the way. To sum it all up, Saturday should be the day when we will know timelines and a clearer prognosis. The doctor is pretty sure she will not have this baby right now. He is trying to stop the contractions which, when Dayna was sleeping, went from 2 and hour to, when she is awake, 5 or 6 an hour. She sometimes has more and sometimes less. We still do not know what the problem is which can be good. It could be she is just having contractions. And once we stop them, she can take medication and be fine. However, with Isabelle Dayna had a placental abruption because of an infection. There is no abruption the doctor can see right now, but he says that the contractions for Isabelle's birth could have come first, then the abruption/infection, and then the birth (That's a guess. He said its like the chicken and the egg, which came first). So, when they stop the contractions, Lord willing, Dayna should be able to go home and have medication and a monitor.

Thanks to Jesus Christ and to you all:
Before Dayna went to another world, we were praying and talking about the Lord's hand. Dayna wants me to tell you she struggles with asking "why again?" but she reminds herself that God has a plan, and when his plan is complete, she wants to be found faithful. Yes, she is disappointed, but she knows hers is not to question why but to trust God is doing what is right and to ask Him for His mercy (which we do not deserve). We went over a verse we claimed when we came down to Simpsonville: "I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure... I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it." Also, we have been editing next years truth trackers books which have the doctrines of "God's Greatness" and "Trials." God has His timing doesn't He? We know God has been so good to give us two babies, one in the womb and one in our home. Each day with both girls is a gift from God and we thank Him for His kindness to us. Thank you for your prayers. Pray for wisdom for the doctors. Pray for strength for Dayna. And pray for big stretch marks...I mean a full term baby! You have all been so kind. I hope this helps.
Ben

A trip to MI

BIG hugs for Daddy before going bye-bye

Grandpa, Grammie & Isabelle
Grandpa & Isabelle
Grammie w/ Isabelle
Say, "Cheese!"

My brother is getting married in July this summer and since I will be too pregnant to travel then my dad was so sweet to buy a ticket to fly Isabelle and me up to MI for my future sister-in-laws bridal shower that my mom had for her. This was Isabelle's first time flying and she did great!! She didn't even seem to act any differently other than the first decend on the way back I think her ears might have been hurting some but she was perfect other than that. I on the other hand VERY much DISLIKE flying but did ok this time myself too. :) Ben wasn't able to come b/c of this being a very busy weekend for him so Isabelle missed her daddy and I missed my dearest husband and we were VERY happy to see him when we returned Monday afternoon. Grammie and Grandpa (of course) LOVED seeing Isabelle getting so big and running all around. Above are a few pics I got the night before we left.

Fun Times!

It's been busy around here and I haven't had a chance to post in a week so I took a chance today to download some pictures and post 'em. Last weekend was a SUPER garage sale find weekend and we were able to get several things for Isabelle (and us)! One of those is the little tikes push and ride car. Isabelle loves riding in it and wants to get in it each time we go to leave somewhere or when we come back from somewhere. It was a $5 steal believe it or not! :) The picture of Isabelle with a "hat" on her head is her baby mobile that she found put away in her bedroom and she evidently thought it would make a very nice hat. She would put it and and run around the house like she was the princess of a castle! But, alas since we're having another girl it was put back away for safe keeping until then. :) For those friends and family who are out of state we snapped a picture of the growing belly. ;)

It's a ...!

Well, today was the big day we've been waiting for to find out what this little baby is--Boy/Girl.
We went to the appt. at 8:30 this morning. The baby was all curled up laying cross ways in my belly. We got some very good profile shots and also got to take home a video of the whole thing. Well, Ben should probably have had our video camera rolling when the lady went to look and tell us what he/she was. She said, "It's a ________!" I put my hands on my face laughing and said, "Are you for sure! Oh, my goodness, I was for sure it was a BOY!" "Can you check again?" :) But alas, it is (the nurse said she's very confident) a GIRL!! :) Ben said, "Oh, I'm glad it's a girl I really was hoping it was another girl!" I'm very shocked but excited that Isabelle will have a little sister that is so close in age. Hopefully they'll be the best of friends!

Below are some pictures of our little GIRL! And if you want to know the name, sorry that is still not known.

Visitors!

Paul (Ben's bro) and Jill and their 3 kids came for the AACS thing at BJU and stayed with us. We had a super great time with them and we're so glad they stayed with us. Isabelle just loved playing with her cousins and didn' t quite know what to do with herself once all the excitement left. Here are some pictures of the fun time we had. Thanks for coming Paul & Jill and we'll look forward to more Settlers next time!! :)

Chloe, Ben, & Isabelle


Banana Cousins: Olivia & Isabelle

Going on a Bear Hunt!

All of Us at the Greenville Zoo

Olivia, Isabelle, Ben, & Noah



Dinner time with our new chairs (still waiting on the table)

The message you all wanted to hear!!

A couple of months ago, I tried to post a message about the family, but the traffic was too much and I had to take the post down. But now I found a different place to listen to the message. This is a great message I love to listen to over and over.

http://gracefamilybaptist.net/Podcast/4B50BCF2-09AF-4153-A8A1-57D434FD5558.html
___________________________________________________________________________________
Here is the post from 1/30/07

This is Ben...
I hope we can have a lot of children like my sister (whether by adoption or "natural"). That might shock some of you. And after you listen to this sermon, it might convict some of you. If your mouth has ever dropped when you heard or saw someone with a lot of children, you might want to listen to this sermon so out of your mouth will come "Praise the Lord" instead of what you were really thinking. This preacher gives us a Biblical understanding of God's view of children and families. He is speaking to pastors and church leaders at a convention. May God help us raise a generation of children who will leave our home for good to serve the Lord where ever He leads them!

The sermon is 37 minutes long. Enjoy!!!

Easter Pictures

We had a wonderful Resurrection Day today! Because it was so cold we were unable to go outside to get pictures so we shot a few in the midst of getting ready to go to some friends house for Easter dinner. Happy Easter!!

Videos of the Zoo!!!

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos



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Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos



Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos



Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

When Sarah Came...

Sarah came to spend her spring break with us and we had a BLAST of a time!!! We just love it when she comes here and hate when she has to go back!! (We miss you lots Sarah!) Below is a slide show of some of the pictures we took on our Friday trip to the Columbia Zoo and State House. We had a fun time and the weather was perfect! Thanks Sarah for coming to spend your week with us! :)

Isabelle WALKS!!!

Well,after a little bit of technical difficulty with out computer and then with our internet I am finally able to put up a new post. Actually this is go #2. Last night I had the whole thing done, pressed publish and whoosh...my post was GONE! :( Very sad. So here goes again.

Yes, Isabelle took her first independent steps the week before last and since then has taken many more with MUCH hesitance and urging by mom and dad!!! She's a little "tipsy" and she has certainly not decided that this is the BEST mode of travel for her right now. Crawling is still #1 (or pushing her walker) in her book! At least I now have hope that she'll be runnning around by summer unassisted. :)

The second video is of my "F.I.N.E" bear that Ben gave me when we were "dating" that we found in a box this weekend. Isabelle just LOVES to hug and hold big stuffed animals. Well, she loved this one just the same so we shot a video of the LOVE in action!! :)

Ben was able to get Isabelle's swing back up on Saturday too and Isabelle seemed to enjoy her first ride in it for the spring. HAPPY SPRING! :)

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Isabelle!

Isabelle went for her 18month check up on Friday (15mo.adjusted) and she came out looking good. She weighs 19lbs 13oz which is the 3rd % for 18 mo. She was 30 inches long which is around 16th % for 18mo. He said she's doing good and we're hoping she starts walking unassisted VERY soon!! She thinks it's a joke now to have us stand her up in front of us to walk. Last night she was being very silly, enjoying running around the house with just a diaper and her walker. She would stop, let go, and stand by herself like she was big stuff and laugh but take a step...NEVER!!! :) I have some video of it but can't seem to get it on here right now so here are some more recent pics of our little darlin'!

Daddy & Isabelle (top) Isabelle taking a nap (bottom)Loves to play "IN" the toy box
"Hi Mama, I put my hat on all by myself!"

Isabelle says, "Papa!"

Grandma & Papa Ice came down for some meetings at BJ Monday and Tuesday this week. Before getting here we tried to teach Isabelle how to say "Papa." Well, she said it and we got it on camera!! She's starting to say LITTLE sounds of small words in the past week and repeat us when we tell her to say something. Though if asked to do for show or in public the chances of anything coming out is VERY slim!! :)

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NOTE: Please be in prayer for Ben's mom (Kay Ice) as she was very sick down here and the days previous to coming with stomach pains etc. and was put in the hospital when they got home. The doctors suspect E-Coli. Pray for her body to recover and heal quickly.

Bath Time!

Isabelle just loves her bath. She gets sooooo excited when we say the words "Wanna take a bath?" Here is some video from our last bath time.

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Snow & Fun

The New News!

God has been so good again to bless us with another baby. The baby is due September 12th (8 days after Isabelle's 2nd bday). Everything looks good so far. Please pray with us for a healthy full-term baby. The doctor doesn't expect there to be any complications with this baby like there was with Isabelle coming early. Thanks for your prayers! God has truly blessed us above what we deserve!

I think of how much I love my sister (and my mom) whenever I listen to this sermon!

This is Ben...
I hope we can have a lot of children like my sister (whether by adoption or "natural"). That might shock some of you. And after you listen to this sermon, it might convict some of you. If your mouth has ever dropped when you heard or saw someone with a lot of children, you might want to listen to this sermon so out of your mouth will come "Praise the Lord" instead of what you were really thinking. This preacher gives us a Biblical understanding of God's view of children and families. He is speaking to pastors and church leaders at a convention. May God help us raise a generation of children who will leave our home for good to serve the Lord where ever He leads them!

The sermon is 37 minutes long. Enjoy!!!

FYI - I can email you this sermon if you desire. First one to guess the preacher WINS BIG...a new car! No prizes can be awarded to family members, friends, or anyone else living in the United States. All submissions must come with a $100,000 non-refundable fee.

Waiting for Daddy

Isabelle just loves it when Daddy comes home from work. All I have to say is, "Isabelle, Daddy is home...go see!" And Isabelle goes running (well, actually crawling) as fast as her little legs will go to get over to the front door with all smiles!!! The other day I knew Ben was on his way home and I was trying to make supper but Isabelle kept getting into everything so I said the magic words, "go see if daddy is home!" Well, it took him a few minutes longer than she could wait so she started doing some tricks at the door. The pictures of her standing on her head is what she does when you say, "Do a flip, Isabelle." The others are just cute ones that I snapped as she was waiting for Daddy.

Tony Dungy's Testimony is Great!! (11min)

Listen to Tony Dungy's Testimony! If you will be watching the game with unsaved friend or neighbors, his DVD of this testimony would be great to purchase to watch during half time. This testimony takes place last year before the super bowl a couple of weeks after his son died. This is actually a super bowl breakfast put on by AIA. Many players and coaches attend this. Turn up the sound so the whole family can hear! Ben

Into Everything!!!!

Here are 2 videos and some pictures that pretty much speak for themselves! Isabelle love to get into anything but her toys most of the time. In the cds, the kitchen cabinets, the oven drawer, etc.

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Playing with Baby

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Isabelle loves to give her baby open mouthed kisses but hasn't gotten the gentle with the baby part down quite yet! :)


Update: Isabelle does not have an ear infection just some remaining fluid that will take time to absorb back into her body.

Finally updating!

Well, a couple friends got on me last night about updating our blog so here you go with an update. Not much news going on here and I haven't much time to write now b/c I'm about to take Isabelle to the dr. to check her ears again for maybe another ear infection. She keeps crying out at night and we think that this may be the reason so we're going to have her checked. The pictures below were from just a little bit ago when I was emptying the dishwasher and turned around to put the forks and spoons in the drawer. Well, when I turned back around to my suprise Isabelle was standing up on the dishwasher. Probably not the safest place to be but I was so shocked and she looked so cute up there that I had to run and get the camera to make it a "kodak" moment instead of a "Isabelle...no, no" moment! :) I'll post more later.Enjoy the day!!