Update/ Beds!

Once again, I am late in updating the blog, and once again, God has shown His mercy towards me, Andy, and the trips!  They are growing, growing, growing!  It is amazing to see them squirm around!  They are now almost too large for the sonographer to get in one picture!  God has been so good to let these precious babies grow!  They are all 5 ounces now!  They grew an ounce in a week, and I do believe I've been feeling them grow!  Growing pains hurt, but I'm willing to take one for the team that is inside of me!  :) 

We had a routine appointment on December 13th, here in Oxford with Dr. Smith.  Meme and Papa came along with me since Andy couldn't, and they wanted to see the ultrasound.  After waiting for an eternity, I got to see the doctor, who informed me that it was time for a glucose test.  All I have to say is yuck.  I wasn't aware they would be doing a glucose test this day, so I ate a large breakfast and two peppermints right before the test.  Strike one- eating breakfast.  Strike two- eating a peppermint.  Strike three- eating another peppermint- all right before I had to drink a jacked up Hawaiian punch drink... in five minutes.  Actually, this first go- round wasn't so bad.  I couldn't really taste the powder, but I definitely could tell there had been something stirred into what use to be a wonderful Hawaiian Punch drink.  So, of course, I fail the test... by thirty points!  The nurse said, "honey, normally, people fail this little test by 5 or 6 points, but you failed it miserably... by THIRTY points."  Yikes.  Bummer.  If that nurse only knew how good that piece of icing had been the night before!  But, honestly, if you could have seen how the babies were moving in the sonogram and showing off for their Meme and Papa, (all because of the sugary concoction), I'd fail it every time.  It is still amazing to feel them move inside of me, and of course that day was no different.  Baby A, our girl, was all over the place!  She is Miss Drama Queen.  She'll put her arm over her head, as if to say she's had a hard day.  It's hysterical.  She is still rocking some big ole lips, like my daddy.  Baby B, our usual calm one, was not at all calm.  It was as if we had given Baby B some speed.  In fact, he was the only one we couldn't get a picture of that day.  Every picture of B looks like one that you take of someone that is moving.  We may have been wrong about him being calm...  Baby C, our thumb sucker, was waving at the camera this time.  He took a break from the thumb to give us all a shout out.  We got the cutest picture of him with his little hands crossed over his heart- precious!  It was great!  Once again, I left the doctor's office in awe of the miracles that are inside of me.  God is truly performing something that is too great for words-  right inside of my stomach.  I can't get enough of these babies and cannot wait until I get to see them again. 

Just in case you are wondering, I did end up passing the second glucose test.  It was horrific.  That lovely drink tasted like Hawaiian Punch with a baking soda paste, and remember, it has to be finished within five minutes.  It was awful.  I was going to try and be smart and go back and forth to work in between hours, but I got so sick that I had to lie down.  After gagging and thinking I was dying, I made it back to the land of the living.  They wouldn't let me leave the office, and the literature in gyno offices isn't very appealing.  I'm now an expert on the HPV deal, which is now why I have donated all of my old magazines to them.  I'd rather read about the 2008 trends than HPV.  When there wasn't a finger left to prick, I found out I had passed the test.  Praise God!  Now, just waiting a few more weeks to repeat it again!

Now, on to more interesting things... I officially have a handy man in the house.  Andy Miller has put together THREE baby beds.  And, no, we didn't even use wood glue!  It has been so much fun to see him put the beds together!  He was so proud of himself, and so was I.  It has also been so much fun to see a baby room come together... with 3 baby beds.  I act like it is coming together, but truly, we've just got the beds up- no mattresses- no paint on the walls.  You will really think Andy is handy after he paints the room.  My mind is spinning with ideas.  Think primary colors!  I've picked out some fabrics online, and they are getting shipped to me.  What would we do without the internet?  They're precious, and I'll show them as soon as I get pics of them!  This part is exciting!  They're gonna have a super cute room.  They may not always be matching, but their room will be cute! 

Mama and Daddy came up for Christmas this past weekend since I can't travel that far.  It was a little weird, but we're doing what is best for the trips.  We got all sorts of baby things- blankets, MATCHING outfits!, bottles, passies, money!, crib sheets, and the list goes on and on and on.  I wasn't aware of such baby things, and I feel certain Andy wasn't either.  We're really going to be blind-sided.  Ha.  Also, Mama brought up all of Laura's girls' newborn baby clothes.  That was fun!  Girlfriend now has a closet full until she is three months old.  She will be styling- as much as an infant can be.  I rearranged them by color and fabric texture- imagine that.  I'm sure that characteristic of mine will be out the window soon enough, but while I still have it, it's fun to use.  Laura is sending up the boy clothes soon, so we'll have them some sweet clothes too. 

Sorry for such a long post.  Every time I try to end, I think of another exciting thing that has happened.  I hope to get a tad bit better (for the time being) at updating the blog. I'll also try and put pictures in the next time.  Please continue to be in prayer for these sweet babies.  We all need it.  Please pray that God would let them all grow at the same rates, and that they would be well physically, mentally, and most importantly spiritually.  Merry Christmas from our family to yours....
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This post was written a little over a week ago with hopes of learning how to add pictures, but I've failed once again.  One day, I promise to have pictures.  Internet has been down... UGH! 

Snips, Snails, Sugar, & Spice

Once again, we've had another shock!  No, there's not another baby.  We found out yesterday that we are having TWO BOYS AND A GIRL!!!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  We're so blessed and amazed, yet again, by God's mercy!  You may ask why we are shocked?  Well, at our first high risk appointment about a month ago, we were told we were having 3 boys, but they just weren't sure about Baby A.  You'd think it'd be C, but not this time, sweet Baby A was throwing us for a loop.   They had said, "don't say anything because we aren't sure, but we should know by your next appointment."  That was hard!  Going through Thanksgiving, knowing that we had 3 boys and not saying anything was difficult, but by God's grace, we kept our mouths shut when all we wanted to do was shout it from the mountaintops!  So, Andy and I went on with our lives thinking we were about to add 3 precious boys to the house.  I was trying very hard to learn all about football, Star Wars, Legos, etc., realizing the overload of testosterone that was not only overtaking my body, but about to take over my home.  Andy should be really thankful for this time too, because I did learn a tad bit more about football, but that is neither here nor there.  In fact, I even went to the new Coach Freeze's press conference, "because the boys just may want to hear what this new Ole Miss coach has to say."  Sure.  But I went anyway.  Finally, our Memphis appointment came, and we both went in just expecting to see them and find out if they had grown, etc.  All of the sudden, the ultrasound tech said, "well, if Baby A is a boy, then we may have some problems.  That is a GIRL!"  We were shocked that there was a girl in there!  Daddy was about to learn alot about shopping and china.  I shouldn't say "all of the sudden" because, it was more like every time they would try to do the ultrasound, she'd move. And then again, they'd do another type of ultrasound, and she'd move again. She did not want us in her business.  Just a tad bit stubborn.  I'm not at all sure from where she gets that!  Ha!  (She gets it honestly from both parents).  Finally, she put her hands over her head, as if to say, "I give up.  I am a GIRL."  She is on the very bottom, so she is definitely getting all of the weight.  But, don't let that fool you.  Girlfriend is headstrong and can kick.  She may be a kickboxing instructor.  Sweet,  chilled Baby B was in her space once, and she kicked the mess out of him, and of course he moved.  I think we may have a new queen of the house.  As always, sweet Baby B (boy) was chilled out.  It is unbelievably obvious that Andy had ALOT to do with this child.  This baby boy looks  exactly like Andy.  It's amazing!  He'd turn and move some, but he doesn't move as much as his sister, who had actually turned breech by the time we left the office.  This child may be Andy's twin, but we're not sure where he gets his relaxation methods.  Possibly sweet Papa?  And, last, but certainly not least, our sweet little C is rolling along with the punches. He is the only one that I can tell that is kicking me because he is on my right side.  That is a feeling of heaven on earth.  Sweet C loves his thumb.  We may need to start paying an orthodontist now.  C is constantly all about his thumb.  A is still looking like my daddy; B is Andy; and sweet C is a mixture.  

Once again, Andy and I have been wowed by God's goodness to us.  Each time we see these precious babies, we are reminded of God's mercy shown to us.  It is truly unbelievable to see each of these precious lives moving around- and actually looking like us- and sucking their thumbs- or even kicking her brothers.  It's amazing that they're now 4 oz., or 4 inches long!  Their heartrates were strong.  We saw 4 chambers of each child's heart; we saw stomachs and bladders, all working together to do their designed tasks.  We are so thankful that God is even forming their inward parts so intricately.  We are even more thankful that God chose us to be their parents.  I can now understand how much parents love their children.  I'd do anything for them, as would Andy.  Our lives are totally changing, but totally changing for the best.  Please continue to keep each of these wonderful babies in your prayers.  Please pray specifically that they would continue to grow in concordance with one another.  Please also pray that God would be preparing our hearts and minds for being the parents that these children need.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Maggie

The Day We Found Out.../ Moving Babies!

Some of you have asked me to tell you about the day we found out we were pregnant.   Some of this may be too much information, so just read over if so!  It's a day I will never, ever, as long as I live, forget.  Andy and I had been told that we had to wait two weeks to do a pregnancy test (see above fertility post), and when you are as impatient as the two of us, that can be pretty hard. By God's amazing grace, we were patient and calm, all at the same time- two characteristics that do not fit us.  Finally, the day before I was supposed to take it came, and my impatience took over and won.  It was a Friday morning, September 23rd, to be exact.  All I had was just a plain e.p.t. test with the positive or negative lines.  I had woken up at 3:30 a.m. to use the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep.  I was scheduled to meet my walking buddies at 5 a.m.  Finally, at 4:15 a.m., I woke Andy up and told him it was D-Day.  I was scared to death to go to the bathroom, but again, by God's grace, I did.  Before I did, Andy said the sweetest prayer, and from that moment on, I do believe God was holding our hands the entire time (as if He wasn't already). So, I went.  I immediately saw that it really didn't look positive, so I told Andy, and he just stared at it, when all of the sudden, he screamed out my name- "Maggie, Maggie, I swear it's looking positive!!!" And sure enough, there was a faint positive line.  We then both started crying and thanked God for this gift.  And then, like normal sinful humans- we didn't believe it at first- sooo, we got in the car and drove to the closest Walgreen's to get a digital pregnancy test.  The roads were definitely empty at 4:20 a.m. that morning, so Andy flew straight there.  He went in and immediately found it, and was then told by the cashier, "man, I sure do hope this works for you if you're getting out this early."  Truthfully, that Walgreen's cashier didn't know that his simple words did a wonder for us early that morning- they made us laugh in a time when we weren't so sure of anything.  Although the ride there was but a second, the ride home was hours- it seemed!  We came home and probably did the quickest test ever been known to man, and immediately, those priceless, magic words appeared, "pregnant!"  Again, the tears began to flow, and we praised our God like never before.  And only for two short weeks did we think it was just one baby.  Little did we know how much our God had blessed us...  The real surprise of our lives was yet to come...

Changing subjects totally, I was lying in bed when all of the sudden, I felt the most amazing feeling in my stomach.  A, B, or C- not sure which one- actually moved in a way in which I felt it!  What a precious moment that I, again, as long as I live, will never forget!  One would have thought that I would have felt A or C moving by now, since B is our chilled out child, but nevertheless, one of them moved!  Amazing is the only word I know to describe the feeling.  Amazing is the only word I know how to describe this whole ordeal.  Amazing, amazing, amazing to feel these precious little wonders moving so freely in my body.  I can't describe it. 

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we continue on this journey.  We actually get to find out their sexes TOMORROW!!!!  We cannot wait to see with what God is blessing us.  This whole journey has been nothing but exciting and nerve-wrecking, but we know that God is in control no matter what!  Please pray that each child is growing in concordance with the other and for healthy, strong heartbeats and organs and cells- and anything and everything.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow... especially these three little miracles...

Maggie