No, That's Not a Shark

That's our 7 week 5 day old baby swimming around in my womb!

Please pray with us for the safe delivery of a healthy, full-term baby in June 2010. To God be the glory!

Because I Forget Who I've Told

Well, a couple months ago I asked my friends to pray about some tests that I was going to have run, and I actually have the results, but I can't remember who I've told. While I could keep this info to myself, I realize that there are people who would like to know but who I probably won't see and therefore won't remember to tell the scoop.

So here goes...

My doctor tested for all kinds of "normal" things like thyroid, blood sugar, etc. She also tested for "not-so-normal" stuff like Protein S and MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase). Turns out that I have a double genetic mutation of MTHFR, which basically means that my body doesn't absorb folic acid or vitamin Bs properly. So now we know why Isaiah has spina bifida. It also means that I am likely to have blood clots, which is probably what happened with our first miscarriage.

So what does this mean?

Basically for the rest of my child-bearing years, whether or not we're "trying" to get pregnant, I need to take an exorbitant amount of folic acid to help prevent any further neural tube defects. I've been taking this for several years now. Also when God blesses us with our next child, I need to take a mild blood thinner in order to lower the chances of having another blood clot. If I have surgery of any kind I also have to take something afterwards, but I don't remember what that is.

So that's the general gist of it all. I included the links in case you more medical types wanted to know more details. Me, I'm just thankful for copy and paste because there's no way that I'll ever remember what MTHFR stands for!

So when I have told people about this, they always ask about my reaction. Part of me doesn't want to answer this question, but perhaps my honesty about my learning during this time will be helpful.

When I first heard the results I felt relief. Whew, we have an answer and something that can be done. Then for some reason when someone else asked me how I felt, I had this yucky reaction: Oh yeah, it's great knowing that my body can either give my babies a birth defect or kill them. Yeah, that's great.

I'm not proud of that reaction at all, but it's the truth. For a couple weeks I really struggled with these thoughts. I firmly believe that God has created me the way that He wants me, and all my children are designed by Him as well. But I was upset that He made my body the way He did, and not just the body image issues that people have, I mean this effects more than just me. With lots and lots of prayer sessions with God, some less than restful nights and buckets of tears, I was finally able to set aside those thoughts and praise God for the way that He made me and pray that I will be used for His glory no matter what happens with the babies that He gives to us. His way is perfect, even when I don't understand.

He is worthy.

My 2-legged Zebra

Even with all the distractions, I hope that you can see how much better he's doing in his walking! Now if we can just get him to pay attention consistently, but that's hard to do with so many cute kids around.

Zoom Zoom!

One Saturday about a month ago (or longer!) we spent the day out before Isaiah's first brace fitting. Thomas had picked out an activity that he was sure would be a hit for Isaiah, and he was right!

Getting ready to go...


Listening to the instructions...


And driving! Thomas said that at one point he leaned over and asked Isaiah, "Are you driving?" Isaiah then yelled at the top of his lungs, "I DRIVE! I DRIVE!" over and over. Now that would have been fun to hear. :)


I think we'll have to do this again before we head back to Russia!

A Great Combination

What could be better than going to the zoo? Going to the zoo with friends, of course!

My wonderful friend, Victoria and her 2 adorable children invited us to join them on an outing to the Jackson Zoo, which was actually a lot bigger than I thought it would be. We had such a great time! We took tons of pictures, so here are a few of my favorites:

Isaiah was more interested in Connor and Brooklyn Claire than the coolness of sitting on an alligator (or crocodile, I don't remember).

They had giant dinosaur eggs just begging for a photo.
Isaiah loved the little aquarium section at the zoo with the turtles and a few fish. My favorite part though was the place for the beavers. They had built these caves to be able to sit in a bubble in the water where the beavers were supposed to be swimming around. Connor realized that Isaiah could fit inside, too, even in his wheelchair, so he entertained Isaiah for a long time in there! It was so sweet!
And you have to have a picture with the elephants, it's a rule.
Though this was a long time ago, we're still enjoying the memories! Thanks, friends!

SEW: Cheerio Car

Because cheerios like to ride in sports cars, apparently.

A Special First

Although our guest room had enjoyed several people already, we were excited to have our first non-family guest come and visit! My friend from college flew to see us for the Labor Day weekend.



Being able to catch up with my dear friend for an extended time (relatively speaking) for the first time in over 2 years was wonderful! Thomas was great to even give us some girl time by staying with Isaiah so we could paint the town. Well, go out for dinner at least.


Isaiah had a great time playing with Aunt Kathy, who even taught him some Greek! Oh for the mind of a child to be able to pick up languages.

A Long Time Ago, But Not So Far Away

After our first week in MS (yes, this is a long overdue post!) and all the doctor appointments, we took a little break and went to Baton Rouge to spend time with Thomas' family. We had already been able to see his older sister and her family with their new addition and Thomas' parents earlier in August, but it was a treat to see his other brother and sister and their families.

Isaiah enjoyed lots of play time with his cousins, aunts, uncles and, of course, Mimi and JanJan!

He really enjoyed driving JanJan's truck

Getting some "boy time" with cousins, Nevil and Nathan and Uncle Carlos

Building with JanJan and Luke

Aunt Emily invited us to Gymboree where Isaiah got to play with some other children on all kinds of fun equipment!

But I think his favorite thing was driving around the garage and driveway with Luke, with the help of Mimi and Uncle Rich.

We enjoyed that visit before Isaiah's surgery, which you already know went very well, and we've even been back a couple times, but you'll just have to wait for those pictures, eventually.

Heading Home Soon

We have had a wonderful week in sunny, beautiful California! Tomorrow we spend another Sunday with our friends at CVP, and Monday morning (very early) we head back to MS.

Thank you for your prayers for this week. We have enjoyed our time and had some true relaxation. I have however managed to get a cold, so I would especially appreciate your prayers for our flying on Monday. I would love not to have earaches when we are landing. So far my symptoms are fairly minor, but annoying. Thankfully Thomas and Isaiah have managed to avoid catching my cold!

We look forward to reuniting with our friends in MS and showing off Isaiah's progress with his walker to his therapists!

Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow wherever the Lord may have you.