Photo Time

And since I am too tired to try and write words, I will let the photos speak for themselves.  That is usually better anyway.  Enjoy.

Ellaryn Joy- The Meaning Behind the Name

In 2007, a family suffered much. The scars ran deep and their arms empty of two. The pain felt unending and the world cold. In 2009, the same family that had suffered much, now had arms theirs full of one. Covered by grace. In 2011, the same family that had suffered much now had their arms complete. Hallelujah, the great storm is over and it makes the peace in between that much sweeter. From a family that began as two, suffered much and ended as a family of six- we thank you.

 Now to meet Ellaryn Joy. 

 As we contemplated our names for this pregnancy it took us a long time to come to our final names. In the end, we found the meaning behind Ellaryn to be very fitting of our journey.  In Hebrew, Eliron means God is My Song. Under the many spellings of Eliron we finally made the name our own. Being a teacher directed the spelling of her name so that when people saw Ellaryn, they would hopefully know how to say it. To us she has been Baby El, Ellie or my personal favorite, Ryn.  The middle name of Joy came naturally as once again we made it through a journey of bed rest to find Joy. We have now been covered with grace and filled with joy. Again we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers, meals and constant thoughts. Your care of us, has proven to be a strong shelter in this time of need. We are blessed.

3 days later ...

Ellaryn Joy Berry was born at 8:35 pm. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz. and 18.5 inches long. More to come tomorrow.

Waiting . . .

Well today was suppose to be a big day but as you read this I am reporting from home.  After being monitored for a couple of hours and some contractions/cramping, I was sent home.  For those of you that like to know details, I am currently walking around 95% effaced and 3-4 cm dilated.  My doctor went ahead and put me on the schedule for an induction on Monday, January 16th at 7 am.  However, she thinks I will go sooner than that so now we are playing the waiting game.  All of my restrictions have been lifted and you can imagine the frenzy I have been organizing my house.  I am going to get as much completed as I can in the next few days.  Although I was really disappointed to come home, it will be very nice to organize life and home before having another addition.  It is now up to time and gravity.  Stay tuned!

And the baby's name will be . . .

This weekend my brother-n-law, Andy, was questioning Audra about the baby.

Andy:  "Audra, are you having a baby brother or baby sister?"

Audra:  "Baby brother."

Andy:  "What is his name going be?"

Audra:  without missing a beat "Carl"

So the baby will be Carl.  The End.

10 days

For those of you that have been following this blog for awhile know that my bed rest season is coming to a close.  I am not as free as I would like to be at this point but I am trying to be patient.  I will be 36 weeks on Monday.  Many of you also know that I have this lovely cerclage and we have scheduled the removal for Monday, January 2nd.  At the hospital.  Does that tell you what my doctor thinks is going to happen?  :)  I am so much farther along than I was with Audra at this point so it feels like it could be any day. Thank you for checking back regularly.  When we have news we will post.  My Christmas comes on Monday January 2nd.  Merry Christmas!

Oh Freedom

Today marks 34 weeks and one day!  A milestone that we thought we would never be near.  As of today I have some new freedoms that I am in desperate need of before I go insane.  I can begin to sit up more, go to the grocery store for one item not 100, and leave the house a couple times this week.  Woo-hoo.  With the passing of 34 weeks I can also deliver at our local hospital if the need arises.  No more UVA, no more magnesium drip, no more fear of early delivery.  It is a strange and bittersweet new freedom.  With this new freedom comes a strange feeling of melancholy.  In the past 10 and half weeks, I have been out of the house 10 times.  4 of those times consisted of visits to the hospital.  Weeks of functioning on anxiety, fear and imminent delivery is impossible to forget in one week.  To embrace the freedom and peace feels wrong.  To put into words the heavy burden of weeks of silence, waiting and anticipation seems impossible.  I am once again am in awe of this second journey of bed rest and the question of how and why is only added to the list of someday questions.  For now, I embrace this new found freedom with both arms and continue to find shelter in the grace we have been given once again.  May you be covered with grace this Christmas season.      

Great appointment but a not so silent night

Another appointment down this week with another stable report.  Starting next week I will be 34 weeks and I have been told I can sit up to eat my meals.  If all goes well I will be able to do more the next week.  I hope all goes well.

On another note, we had an exciting early morning today.  At 4:50 this morning I awoke with a start.  I laid there for awhile contemplating why I was awake.  After a moment I heard it.  The slam of a pantry door and the pounding of feet.  This was no Santa and eight tiny reindeer.  This was an intruder!  My eyes popped open and I sprang out of the bed.  I crept out to the hall and grabbed the closest weapon: a lamp.  I silently slipped down the stairs to see who or what was in the house.  As I rounded the corner I clutched the lamp close.  I know what you are thinking- why would she think a lamp will save her?  The better question you should ask yourself is-why is this eight month pregnant woman defending her household?  Do you really think a pregnant woman on bed rest should or would leap out of bed to defend her home?  There is no leaping going on with this girl!  Let's start again.  At 4:50 this morning I awoke with a start.  I laid there for awhile contemplating why I was awake.  After a moment I heard it.  The slam of a pantry door and the pounding of feet.  I jabbed Paul beside me and startled him awake.  "I think Audra's downstairs!"  Paul shot out of bed and I do mean shot out of bed and was half way down the stairs before he fully comprehended what he was even doing.  That is the funny thing about Paul. When he is asleep, he is asleep.  So he often ends up a comical mess before really coming awake if he is startled from a deep sleep.  He rounded the laundry corner to find Audra sitting beside our dog Skye reading a book.  Skye listened intently while Audra read with gusto from her book.  Once again she had found her way from her bed to another location.  Needless to say we will be putting the gate back up at the top of the stairs to keep Audra from walking down the stairs in her sleep. 

And the Search Begins . . .

Yesterday I had yet another appointment.  Is it sad that my week is defined by my one outing a week?  :)  Everything was stable again.  My doctor has not taken away my restrictions yet but I have been given permission to start sitting up to eat a few meals.  This will be heaven. 

My family is here for the weekend to celebrate Christmas.  I am sending my brother along with Paul to pick out the Christmas tree.  If you were reading this blog last year, you will remember well the Christmas fiasco.  Feel free to go back and read what happened last year and it what is in store for my poor brother- Sucker.  :) 

32 Weeks vs The Long Car Ride

Wow- what a huge day.  Again.  As we continue to travel the last few weeks I am often in awe again of the many meals, prayers and visits we receive.  Again thank you for walking with us.  At this point all is well and it looks like some of my restrictions will be lifted as of 34 weeks.  We do still ask for your prayers as the last couple of weeks have brought a new sort of issue up.  Because I am so closely monitored, my doctor started to notice that my amniotic fluid level was on the low end.  After a few weeks of monitoring, the fluid appears to be stable.  However, if it were to continue to decrease that would bring a whole new set of issues that we really don't want to face.

As for the last two weeks-  have you ever been on a really long car ride?  Being from Iowa, I have made the 16 hour drive more times than I care to count.  The first 15 hours tend to fly by but the last hour is INSANE.  The kind of poke your eyes out insane.  Everything about the people in the car with you annoys you.  The way they chew their gum, the music they listen to, the speed they are driving or the fact that they aren't driving.  Everyone is grumpy, tired and sore.  Adding children to the mix only increases the insanity level.  The last hour feels unbearable.  As the car creeps closer and closer to home, the passengers in the car seems to mentally nudge the gas pedal to the floor.  It is time to be home.  Once the car pulls into the driveway, everyone literally spills out of the car not wanting to think of the unpacking that is before them.  I am at the last hour.  The one of insanity.  The urge to nudge the pedal faster.  I feel like the Train Engine that Could repeating, "I think I can, I think I can." So close yet so far.    "I CAN do this, "I Can do this."