Stable

So after a traumatizing day yesterday, I am happy to be the one typing on the blog today.  Thanks to Paul for updating yesterday as my state of mind and being was not  a great one.  I must admit that I do not need to repeat a ride over the mountain in an ambulance again.  With that in mind, the doctors have been closely monitoring me and it appears that my body is once again evening out.  The active labor signs of yesterday have slowed and so far I have not made any dramatic changes since being here. With that said, it is still a scary time.  The doctors have decided to monitor me closely for today and tomorrow.  If I continue in a quiet state, they will let me go home and I can try to complete my bed rest at home.  Thank you to everyone for your kinds words of hope whether through Facebook or phone.  They mean more to you than you will ever know.  It is nice to know that so many are praying and supporting us.  It truly makes all of the difference.  We will continue to update the blog through the next few days as well as the next few weeks.  I am very ready for January. 

UVA

I would like to briefly share of the latest step in our journey.  This disheartening step placed us over afton mountain at UVA.  As always we are uncertain of what may come and would greatly appreciate your prayers as we walk through this fearful time.  More updates will follow when more information is known.
Please pray for peace of mind and stability....

Preparing

Part I-Current Update
I have slowly been preparing myself for another journey on the couch.  The last few appointments have brought me to think a stay off of bed rest was a possibility.  However, after yesterdays appointment I am simply happy to be home on my couch. As of now, I am at home for a four day, very strict, bed rest.  I will go back to the doctor on Tuesday and if things have not settled down I will be admitted to UVA.  We are asking that you join us in prayer that my body would just settle into a period of rest.  Obviously UVA is the last place I want to go, but as of now I acknowledge and recognize that if that is best for keeping this baby as long as I can than I will.  The only reason I am not at UVA is the fact that I am exactly where I was with Audra at this week and my doctor along with doctors at UVA feel I can try to calm it down at home.  AND I have an incredible doctor!  So with intense monitoring here at home, some crazy drugs and rest, we are hoping to just enter the same resting, stable period I had with Audra.  My current prayer is that I will be given the strength to face what ever lies ahead.  I just need to get through the next few weeks and I think I will be more calm.  

Part II- What's really Alicia's problem? :) 
Some of you have been asking just exactly puts me on bed rest.  Below is a brief summary of what puts me on bed rest.  However, I realize this is a "delicate" subject and some of you would just rather not know. :)  So read at your risk. :)  Seriously, feel no need to read on if you don't feel comfortable knowing the intimate details of a woman in pregnancy. 

As many of you know, the woman is a unique and mysterious creature.  A man can live with a woman for years and live his whole life in awe of what makes us a woman.  I don't think that Paul knew he would have half of the conversations we have about things including words like dilation, cervical length and effacement.  :)  Poor guy- he is even a nurse.  So each woman has a cervix and as a woman's pregnancy progresses her cervix will shorten in preparation for delivery.  However, that shortening should not happen until the last month or so.  An average woman has a cervical length of 3 cm.  This is considered "normal".  In the case of cervical incompetency, a woman's cervix does not adhere to the natural patterns of pregnancy.  This is my case.  I started out with a cervical length of 3 cm, but as of yesterday I now have a cervical length of 1.2 cm.  This is also the reason I have a lovely thing called a cerclage. It is basically a high powered stitch that holds the baby in until a time the stitch can be removed and the baby can come at a safe time.  I am currently 24 weeks and 5 days.  I got steroid shots yesterday for the baby's lungs.  I just need to get through the next few weeks.  

Bed Rest Round Two

So it seems that we are beginning yet another journey of bed rest. Please feel free to check back from time to time for updates, stories, forgotten stories and new designs. :) I have lots of ideas to keep me busy so hopefully something creative will come out of this time on the couch.

Praise God!

I know some of you have started checking this blog again so I thought I would post the results from today's appointment. It was great news! I am back on stable ground which means I can slowly start back to a more vertical position for the next four days. If all goes well I can start school on Tuesday and try it for the short 4 day week. I will have an appointment on Thursday to check again just to see how the week went being back in action. I still feel a little like a time bomb but I recognize a miracle when I see one. I will take my every day miracles as we continue to take this process day by day and week by week. Thank you for your continued prayers. There are much needed. Especially since I was only on bed rest for 4 1/2 days and I wanted to scream. And I mean scream! Here's to another week.

Here we go again . . .

Some of you may know that Paul and I are expecting another baby in January. January 23rd to be exact. I am currently 19 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Sadly we are finding ourselves on yet another journey of ups and downs. I am currently finding a comfortable position on my couch as I re-adjust a few pillows and stretch my legs to force some feeling back into my toes. Bed rest again. The crazy part is it is 5 weeks earlier than the last time I was on bed rest. So needless to say, I am trying to find some peace among the madness. I go back to the doctor this Friday in hopes that the doom and gloom ultra-sound was just a fluke and the hope of a more upright life would be possible. However, we are not holding our breath and would appreciate your prayers as doctors decide what the best plan would be for the following months. At this point we will optimistically await Friday. :)

HOLY COW!

This entry is way overdue! Almost a month ago we traveled the long journey (all of 20 miles) to the beautiful Wilson Farm for a cow visiting, hay rack riding, farm smelling good time. Keith and Carol Wilson opened up their home and farm for an evening of fun. I work with Carol at THMS and you know you have a fun team when you actually want to hang out together while not in school. :) Have fun viewing the photos!


Hee hee- the photo above is a personal favorite. :)

Pout Pout Fish

This is Audra's favorite book! We found it set to music on YouTube and we have to watch it at least once a day. Enjoy!

Twirling

Sometimes it is impossible to hold still for a photo. Here's to twirling into spring!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

This post is way overdue! Audra turned two on March 9th and we celebrated with family and friends the following weekend. It was a great time and it was fun to see her get so into her gifts and her cake. Side story on the cake- I have come to know a wonderful cake maker- she makes the most amazing french vanilla cake! My mouth waters just thinking of it. Anyway- Audra loves horses, so Robin the cake lady- (that's what I call her, it's even in my cell phone under Robin the Cake Lady), made this adorable horse cake. I carefully drove the cake home,over bumpy hills and curvy roads, desperately making sure to not bump the cake. People were passing me right and left, giving glare after glare. I didn't care. I just gripped my steering wheel tighter and smiled sweeter. I was bound and determined to get the cake home without losing one frosting ribbon or nicking one edge of the cake. It was a glorious cake. It was mouthwatering. It was perfect. As I approach the lane to our house, I slowed down and turned into the drive way. Slowly, hand over hand I made the turn. I eased down the lane and backed up to the door. Turning off the car, I took a deep breath and opened the back door. Amazing! Not one dent, not one smudge! Picking up the cake, I proudly walked into the house and set the cake on the counter. I could hear Audra in the other room with Paul and our friends, talking and laughing. I ran back out to the car just to pick up the last few things from the backseat. I was balancing boxes and bags in hand when I heard it. A scream! The scream of someone who has just stumbled upon a broken vase or worse yet, a fallen cake! I sprinted into the house to see Danette with her daughter Anya in one arm and Audra in another. Pink frosting covered Audra's hands and mouth! Danette was dying laughing, while trying to hold Audra back and balance Anya at the same time. Need I mention that the men were no were to be found or help for that matter. I scrambled over to Audra, lifted her away from the cake and accessed the damage. Luckily my stories are always much more dramatic than real life and the cake survived with only a small portion of the frosting gone. I guess it was her birthday, she could do what she wanted. :) Enjoy the photos!