Saturday, August 20, 2011

The fog has lifted! I'm back!

(Disclaimer: Please excuse any grammar mistakes! My brain is still sluggish as I get back into the swing of writing again. I think I might need to get an English major or someone to proofread for me. Hopefully I'll improve as time goes on.) =)

It's been over a year since I've blogged last. But, I finally feel like I'm coming out of a fog and my brain is working again. Why, do you ask? Well, we have a new addition to our family! Luke was born March 22nd of this year. I found out I was pregnant a few days before Santa left to return to Latvia. (By the way, she has since been hosted again by a family who loves her and has offered her adoption! We are praying for her as she makes her decision. Yes, she does have a choice. And we are praying for a positive answer. We will always have a special place in our hearts for Santa!) We trust that God has her future in His hands.

So, right after she left I was suffering from morning sickness, and I also had to take hormones to prevent a miscarriage. I have had to take them before. They made me feel AWFUL! I groaned every time I had to take a pill, but knew I'd do anything to help protect my baby. These hormones also have a side affect of lowering blood pressure too. Which for me is not so good since my blood pressure is usually already low. 90/60 My blood pressure would drop to 80/50 or even lower and I would almost pass out. I pretty much stayed at home a lot those first few months because I was terrified that I would have a dizzy spell and faint while I was driving. Thank the Lord we all made it through! And, I now have a precious baby boy to love!

We also had a scary time as a family. I was 6 weeks pregnant, we hadn't even told anyone yet, when Philip became ill. At first we thought he was just having a migraine. I get them from time to time, and they are horrible, but Philip has never had one before. But this horrible headache that was incapacitating my husband did not go away. I will tell you that watching my usually healthy happy husband writhing in agony from the pain was almost more than I could bear. We went to an urgent care clinic. When the word meningitis was mentioned the bottom of my stomach dropped out. They suggested that we go immediately to an ER to get a true diagnosis. Now, I will tell you there have only been a couple of times when I've wanted to shake some sense into my husband, and this was one. He wanted to go home and take a nap first! (Now, I know he was tired and in pain and didn't understand the severity of what the doctor was saying.) I'm sure I must have looked at the Dr. with a look of horror that said." Do something!" Because he said, "Sure you can go home and go to sleep first, but you might not wake up." I'm glad he said that because I would have physically dragged Philip to the ER if I'd had to. (Isn't that just like a man? "Oh, I'll be alright. Just let me sleep it off." *Sigh*) After spending hours and hours in the ER and after doing a spinal tap they determined it was Viral Meningitis. Whew! We were so concerned it would be Bacterial Meningitis which can be fatal. I was also concerned that being exposed to this would endanger the unborn baby. But God was with us, Philip's strength gradually returned and I never became sick either. Those were some uncertain and scary days, but I can honestly say that I never felt panicked. I felt God's peace and presence through it all. God is so good and so faithful to carry you through the storm.

This past year was full of so many memories and I thank God for His many blessings. Adding a new baby can be an adjustment. But I can now say that after having 3 babies, it does get easier. I've pretty much figured out the baby stage of mothering. (Until they, just to keep things interesting, throw you for a loop and decide to change things up just as soon as you've figured them out. That's just part of it!) The hardest part is the lack of sleep at the end of my pregnancy and the during first couple of months after he was born. But, I'm proud to say that my mental faculties are now working again... sort of. Well, as best as they can now with a baby and two little girls running circles around me! I'm thankful for my life as a wife and mother. Motherhood is definitely a calling and a life lived in constant sacrifice to others. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. May God be glorified through it all.

Here are a few pictures to catch you up on the past year.



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