More, More and More

First of all wonderful news. Kristy and her little girl are now home!! Thank you for your prayers for a safe uneventful trip for them- the prayers worked! Mom and Dasha are doing great and are HOME. After almost a year since we first saw Baby D, she is now home with her wonderful family!!! Though it is always a happy time when an orphan finds their forever family, it is even more special when you have been there and held that child in your arms. Mandy adopted Sweet Alex and has had him home for several months now. (her blog address is www.hisfirstwife.blogspot.com) Lisa has brought home Victoria (now Katie), Lisa's blog is private- so will not give out her link. Soon, I am hoping that all the rest come home!! Though my heart breaks that Vlad & Ivanna will not be coming home to us, they will be coming home and that is a miracle! Also, Jody recently got back with her little girl who also has DS (www.thecampbelljourney.blogspot.com) Joy has brought home one little boy (this time last year) named Caleb with Down Syndrome and is now in the process of bringing home another little boy as well. (her blog address www.considertheadoptionoption.blogspot.com) There are many more but I cannot remember their blog addresses right off the top of my head. There are many people who are still trying to raise money to bring their little ones home as well, if any of you are reading and would like me to link to your blog- please leave a comment and I will do so. God works in mysterious ways and has made Kevin and I wait a number of years for a baby. We truly did not believe we would ever have a biological child due to my past pregnancy history and well, to be honest- it just wasn't happening. So, imagine our delighted (yet scared) surprise when it happened after we had given up that it would ever happen. When you have had a hard time getting pregnant, the first positive pregnancy test induces a "yeah right" response. I had to take 4 of them and then have it confirmed with a hcg test at the Dr's office before I believed it. If you want the honest to God truth, I didn't believe it until I saw my little bug at the first ultrasound- that was a scary day for me because here we all were (me, Kevin, My sister, my niece) waiting to see a baby on the screen, I was scared there would not be one and if there was it would not have a beating heart. So, yes, I cried like a baby when I saw our little bug there and cried even harder when we heard the heartbeat- they actually had to turn off the doppler because I was crying so hard that my stomach was shaking the doppler and making a horrible noise. My sister was crying just as hard and even tough man Kevin had tears running down his face (while squeezing my hand so hard that my hand was getting numb) My niece was the most sensible of us all, and asked the nurse if that was the baby and the nurse was telling her what parts were what- she was so very happy to see the baby on the screen. That was a very happy day for me. I was put on my heparin and baby aspirin therapy and so far, so good. I am now 18 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I felt my little bug kick 3 times last night (all in the same spot) I had my legs crossed and my leg pushed my stomach in some and I felt something "thump" me, so I sat very still and it happened again and then again just a few seconds later. I guess my little one was saying "okay mom, you are really invading my space here, wanna move that leg?" So, now I have felt my little one move 2 times and kick 3 times. I will be very happy when I feel him/her move and kick more often. Everyone always says "you won't want that once the baby is big enough to hurt" Well, what they do not know is that the "pain" will be welcome for me because it tells me that my baby is ALIVE. I have been very naughty in not attending church recently because I am not really supposed to drive right now due to dizzy spells and Kevin has been working 7 days a week so I haven't had a way there (my church is 45 minutes away) I live in the middle of nowhere and my closest church members do not go to church regularly and I do not want to ask them to take me and make them feel like they "have" to go just because of me. However, others at the church feel that would be a good thing because it would force them to go as well, lol. However, Sister Kramer came today and picked me up for church and then brought me home- I am about 20 minutes out of her way so I really appreciate her going out of her way to get me to church. I am LDS, so our church service is 3 hours long (sacrament meeting 1 hour, bible study 1 hour & relief society meeting (women only) 1 hour) Men attend a different meeting in the last hour. Have to admit I was exhausted by the time I got home and had to take a nice, long nap. My blazer is broke right now, I believe it needs a fuel pump and the O2 sensors replaced. I almost didn't make it home Friday evening. Kevin is having it towed to work tomorrow where he will diagnose it before we buy the parts. Price for a fuel pump? $359.38 Price for 2 02 sensors? $114.72. Those figures include tax.... So, I will be borrowing the money from my mom to pay for these parts because we just paid our mortgage and phone/tv bill as well. Let me also throw in there that my mom also paid for my heparin and syringes today as well so I owe her another $80.00. Yes, I am very thankful to my mom because without her I would not be able to get my car fixed and would not have had enough to cover my heparin and syringes. This is what happens when you go from 2 incomes to one for so long and still have high medical bills/co pays/deductibles to pay. However, now that Kevin is working 7 days a week we will (should) be caught up by the end of this month. Well, I should say that we hope to be caught up because if one of our vehicles break again we will be back in the hole. Both of our cars are now paid off (very thankful for that) However, along with paid off, means no warranty and since they are both out of warranty it seems that they love to break down. However, I need to count my blessings because Kevin can fix them so that means we do not have to pay labor for anyone else to do the work. So, we are praying that our vehicles will hold up and not need any more work for quite a while so that we may pay my mom back and be caught up on everything by the 1st or 2nd week of March at the latest. Also, our house Air conditioner is out again as well (yes, that is after paying the last guy $450.00 to fix it) We learned really quick that his warranty is basically as long as you see his tail lights in your driveway. His definition of his warranty/work is 30 days.... Our air conditioner started freezing up again after about 45 days. So, when I called another air conditioner place- they told me he must not have found the true problem... Hmmm, that is what I was thinking. I live in Texas and it will start to get really HOT around April- so I will have to have it fixed by then- that will be another $500.00 plus dollars- but this time I am going to find a reputable well known company that will at least give us a one year warranty. No more local country boy ac company work for us. Anyway, I guess I have rambled long enough tonight. Please continue to pray for orphans both human and animal, that they will be well cared for and all find wonderful, forever homes like all the kids I mentioned above. Also, please (though I know is pretty self centered) keep Kevin and I in your prayers that we can get our finances under control and get caught up soon.

Christy

Many Things

Maggie as a puppy Me and Kevin getting married

Kevin at our reception with our nephew Bryce

Just a few more pictures to put up. The first is Maggie when she was a baby (she was about this age when she decided that the foot board on our bed was a big chew toy) Then me and Kevin on our wedding day (man my hands sure hurt due to his squeezing them so hard) Then at our reception, Kevin holding our nephew Bryce who turned 7 months old that day.

Not too much going on now. Three sisters and 3 elders came out today to help around the house. The Elders worked outside while the sisters helped out inside. They cleaned the bathrooms, window sills, ceiling fan and shampooed the carpet. Today was a wonderful day for me. (maybe not so much for them, lol) I am very grateful for the help, though it is hard to accept. I do not like my house to get dirty, but there are just some things I cannot do now so I definitely needed the help and I am very blessed that they offered and put it all together. So, please keep them in your prayers as they are truly an example of what we should all be. Tomorrow another sister from the church is going to come and pick me up and take me to church. My car is acting up and needs to be fixed before driving it anywhere. Guess that is it for the day, have a blessed day!!

18 Weeks Today!!

**Wow** I am already 18 wks pregnant!! This pregnancy is going along very quickly and I am very happy. While some people think pregnancy is just too long, I enjoy every minute of it. I have been very lucky and very blessed that I did not have morning sickness, have only gained 1 pound, baby is growing ahead of schedule, baby appears to be healthy and I feel great!! God has truly blessed us with this little one. While we cannot wait to meet our little one, we want him/her to be inside as long as they are supposed to be and are in no rush for him/her to be born too soon. I am very excited about my upcoming anatomy scan on 2/20. That is when we will find out for sure that the baby is truly healthy and will also find out the sex. I think the baby is a boy, but I could be wrong. I am also blessed that several church members are coming out to the house tomorrow to help out with things I cannot do and since Kevin is now working 7 days a week, he cannot do either. My yard needs to be cleaned up, the dog building needs cleaning, my carpet needs cleaned and I need help with dusting hard to reach places (like the ceiling fans) So, though I did not ask for the help, people from church apparently got together and decided to come out and do all of this. Apparently, they know my problem with things being dirty, lol. So, please say a special prayer for them and their helpfulness. Also, my friend Kristy and her baby girl Dasha are flying home tomorrow *yay* please keep them in your prayers as well.

Christy

Couple of My old family pics

My Mom and Dad (I believe my mom was pregnant with me) Mom?

Me when I was born... Funny how it was in black and white and I was born in 1977... Makes me feel old.

The top is my mom and dad before I was born circa 1976. Below is my hospital birth picture... Funny how I have had a nice scanner for more than a year and I am just now getting around to scanning all these pictures in. Oh well, better late than never.

Old Pictures of Kevin's family

Kevin at about 6 months old

Kevin (the baby) being held by his dad, his brother Don, Skeeter & Willie Jr

Kevin, his mom & his dad celebrating his 6th birthday and his dad's 56th birthday

Kevin's dad in 1950

This is the picture that I posted to show how much Kevin looks like his dad. Can you tell which one is his dad? (if you cannot- he is the one on the right)

These are old pics of Kevin's family. I will post more eventually. Also, will try to get newer ones of everyone (except his dad since he is deceased)

Kevin is identical to his father, it is scary how much they look alike. When I first saw the last pic posted I had to think for a minute and do a double take, lol.