Gonna have to change my name!

Well, in case you haven't heard, I'm no longer just "raizin3boyz"!

I had completely resigned myself to "raizin4boyz"...an easy change. Just buy another bunkbed, as Michael said. However, this little girl is sure turn things upside down around here! Now, Michael said we need a new house! (Later...I'm too tired right now!)

I went for the appointment at the perinatologist because I'm "advanced maternal age" which is just a nice way of saying, "Lady, you're getting too old for this." (I admit. I AM getting to old for this!) Thankfully, this was our first appointment at the specialist that didn't result in more issues and concerns over the health of the baby. However, I just couldn't believe that we, Michael and I, without trying, could actually make a GIRL. You know, we are consistent people. Therefore, it had to be another boy. That's just what we do.

The majority of those who voiced their opinion on the gender of this baby said "girl"...mainly because I have been so sick. (17 weeks and still pukin'...and I'm not a puker!) However, I needed confirmation from a second sono tech before I could believe it. The lady who did the ultrasound at the perinatologist's office actually got Landon wrong at first, so you understand my reason to doubt her. I gently explained that she was wrong last time. When she said, "There's nothing there. It's a girl." I think that I sucked all the air out of the room and even hit her on the leg! She wasn't too impressed with me after that and didn't do anything above and beyond on that precious sono...or maybe she just wasn't that into my boring, singleton pregnancy.

Then, the doubts began to creep in. What if she was wrong, and I had to return the pink stuff again? What if cleared out all the baby boy stuff, and then baby sprouted "something"? What if I entertained the idea of hairbows, prom dresses and a wedding, and we had to let that go again. I needed confirmation. So, I went to one of those stand alone ultrasound places (Visions of Love Ultrasound in Denton), and I'm so glad I did! I explained the situation, and she carefully checked from every angle this child's nether regions. Then, she said, "I don't know what you're gonna do with this one. It's definitely a girl!" She, S-H-E, is adorable! She is squirmy, leggy, and has a cute button nose. :)

So now it's time to come up with a new screen name...maybe "2raizin4"...or "raizin3boyzandapinksurprise" or "raizin3boyzandasister"??? Let me know if you think of something. My brain is taxed already trying to wrap my head around this sweet girlie gift we've been given! Thank you, God, for little Jemma. SHE's a precious jewel.

The Adventures of Sandy

Well, by now, most of you know of our infamous Sandy..."Sandy Sniffy Bugsy Eva Jackie" to be exact! I think she gets a new name with each near death experience. She has more lives than a cat, she's more durable than duct tape...she takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin' much to our amazement! No, we don't allow her proud owner Keaton to abuse her...things just happen when she's with Keaton. I'm sure she wonders what she did to deserve him, but he truly loves her more than anything.

The first mishap I recall was Keaton deciding to give her a tour of one of my lighthouses. It was all good until we tried to get her out. Apparently, she's much larger in reverse! That little door she went in just wasn't quite large enough! I worked and worked while singing the Wonder Pets song in my head..."there's an animal in trouble, there's an animal in trouble..." I thought I'd have to take a saw to the lighthouse about 15 minutes into rescue efforts, but we were finally able to get her out.

One day, Keaton was dancing and twirling in the living room. She was accidentally sent flying through the air, thankfully hitting the blinds instead of the wall before heading to the floor. Gasp! There were looks of horror around the room. Surprisingly, she was only a bit dazed and went back to the safety of her cage for awhile to recover.

Of course, there's also the trip to run errands with the kids when I turn back at a light on 377 to see little Sandy proudly displayed in Keaton's hands. What? You brought her in the car?!?!? How? "Ummm...She crawled in my sleeve!" Oh, yes, Keaton...I'm sure it was her idea. Thankfully, we weren't going in anywhere. I have, however, learned a valuable lesson...pat Keaton down before we leave the house! I can just see him taking her to church!

The most recent crisis involving Sandy began when Keaton fell asleep with her one night. Daddy put the kids to bed while I was out. He and Keaton both forgot to put her up. The next morning, we realized she wasn't in her cage. I had to tell Keaton when he woke up, and he was devastated. We searched for her everywhere. No luck. We set a box trap and put her cage out. No Sandy. Finally, a couple of days later, Daddy found her in a toy box in Landon's room. The smile on Keaton's face was as big as Texas! Pure joy! Then, exactly a week later, Keaton decided to put her in his underwear drawer for safe keeping while he went to the bathroom. What?!?!? I thought my head would spin off! She's lost in my house again!!! Thankfully, Daddy found her about 30 minutes later.

Sandy's adventures are not all bad. She is also an experienced Fisher Price airplane pilot and has sported around in various race cars...which tends work out better than the balls normal hamsters roll around in. (Landon loves to shoot baskets...any ball will do...use your imagination!) She would probably be an accomplished swimmer if I hadn't walked in just as Keaton was about to let her "swim" in the toilet! Sandy has to be the most agreeable hamster alive, and I dread the day she's no longer with us. My Keaton will surely have a break down. I will probably shed a few tears, too.

Time flies...

unless you have around-the-clock morning sickness! It ain't easy being green! It's so bad that my 2 year old can recognize my green hue, and he runs to get a puke bucket! I don't remember if it was truly this bad in the past. I think if we accurately recalled how bad it is, we would do everything in our power to avoid such suffering again! I know that this, too, shall pass...only to be replaced by other obnoxious symptoms of pregnancy! However, it is worth it, as I look at the boys' sweet smiles and hear their very convincing assumptions that this is a "sister". I try to remind them that we have no control over that, but they stand firm in their beliefs...even informing strangers at Kohl's as they pick out "bootiful" dresses and sparkly shoes for their sister!

We had our first appointment with the OB's nurse on December 14th. (I guess we're such frequent flyers, they saw no need for us to see the dr. just yet!) A quick sono and huge sigh of relief later, we knew there is ONE baby with a good heartbeat. We decided to tell Keaton when we picked him up from his Aunt Christi's house that day. He had no clue what the sono picture was, so I told him it was a baby. "A baby in your tummy?!?!?" Yes, Keaton. "I think I'll have a sister." It sounded as if we were pulling up to the drive through to order a happy meal! (And, Keaton, if it were that easy...you would've been a girl!) Then, we showed the picture to Landon who was saying "I wan see, I wan see!" His opinion...it's a "frog"! Jackson saw the picture when we picked him up from school. Without prompting, he said, "Yep. It's a girl." How does he know? "It doesn't have a weenie!" (It doesn't have clear arms or legs either at this point, but that apparently didn't matter!)

I think it's sweet that they want a sister so badly, but I'm trying to remain neutral...healthy baby, please...as much as possible. (Besides, if we have another boy, I already have a name for my book!) We will go to the high-risk dr. February 9, Keaton's birthday, since I'm considered "advanced maternal age"...a.k.a. geriatric pregnant lady. We can probably find out gender then. :) Lord, we pray there is not a repeat of Landon's visit there..."it's a girl, no it's a boy...and he has a little heart defect." Talk about sending a hormonal momma over the edge!

As we move toward our 10th week of this pregnancy, I am certain time will go by even faster...even though there are times the nausea makes it seem as if it's standing still. The holidays, however, have a way of moving at us with warp speed and provide much needed distraction. (And, hey, I'm not likely to eat too many sweets this year!) I look at the boys and remember being pregnant with them...it was over so fast and even faster with each subsequent pregnancy since there is so much to do with the other children. I pray I enjoy this pregnancy, without complications and bedrest, and ask you to do the same. Thanks!!!

Telling Jackson

Our plan was to wait to tell the boys until we saw a heartbeat. However, I've had a lot of doctor visits and lab tests lately, and I could tell Jackson was beginning to worry. On Sunday, December 6, I was getting ready for church, and the morning sickness hit harder than it had so far. Jackson was right there, trying to comfort me and holding a puke bowl. (FYI: The toilet in a house full of boys is not a good place to vomit...no matter how often you clean it! If I wasn't heaving by the time I got there, I for sure would if I had to hang over it!) He was telling me I needed to stay home from church and that he would stay with me. He was so concerned and would not leave my side.

I knew this sickness was only going to get worse before it gets better. Jackson is too aware...I told Michael I thought we should tell him because he was going to be so worried about me, especially when Michael is away on business. So, we pulled him into the bathroom away from his brothers. I told him that we would not be adopting after all. He literally deflated before our eyes. Then, I explained that we were having another baby. He re-inflated!

His excitement was overwhelming and tears began to fill his eyes. He was blinking fast and hard to try to keep from crying. I told him that it's okay to cry when we are happy, and his tears flowed. It was a most precious moment with our precious firstborn. He is so sensitive and loving. We told him he needs to keep it quiet for awhile because the baby is very tiny, and we want to make sure it's healthy before telling his brothers and others. He said, " I won't tell them about the B A B Y!" He spells it all the time now...like he's the only one besides us who can spell! (He even prayed before dinner one night, "Lord, we are believing in our heart that our B A B Y is healthy." The brothers didn't catch on. Keaton still talks about our baby girl we are going to adopt, and Jackson seems torn between wanting to set him straight and keeping our secret. I will be glad when we see a strong heartbeat and healthy pregnancy so we can tell Keaton together.)

Jackson was so excited that he found out on a Sunday. He asked if he could tell his friends at church. I told him not yet, but he apologized as soon as we picked him up after class saying, "I'm sorry, Mom. I was about to explode! My cheeks were even getting red. Don't worry though. I told an adult. She can keep a secret!" Later, he admitted it was actually two adults. :)

He also handed me his work from Sunday School. They were given a coloring sheet of a gift. They were to give someone a gift of one of the Fruits of the Spirit. His sheet read, "To: My new baby - From: Jackson - I give you the gift of JOIY!!" He gave his new baby the gift of JOY. How sweet is that?!?!? (I have friends pulling for "Jemma Joi" if it's a girl. "Jemma" is my girl name that has been on stand-by for almost 10 years!)

A few years ago, Jackson was very upset when we told him that Landon was a boy. He was crying his eyes out because we were told Landon was a girl for a couple of months, then we had to tell Jackson it was actually a boy. He cried, "I already have a brother!!!" While we were talking a few days ago, he said, "Mom, I hope it's a girl." I told him that we have to be content with whatever God gives us. He said, "I know, but I am going to imagine it's a girl, okay?" I again told him that if we end up with another boy, that we know without a doubt that it's God's will for our family...a house full of boys! He agreed.

I received my progesterone and hcg levels a few days ago. The hcg is moving up nicely, even more than tripled between Wednesday and Friday. Then, my progesterone was surprisingly good for me...34-37. It was half that with Landon and borderline low with Keaton, both of which required supplements. I am even more anxious now to see that sono! If we see more than one in there, you will hear the scream for miles and miles!!!

Change of Plans

Wow... I finally started a blog! Everyone who knows us knows that our life is full of craziness. It's a good kind of craziness though. We used to dream of this kind of happiness and family. Now, we wake in it everyday! (And, sometimes...it lasts all night long with little beggars wandering in wanting to take up space in our bed!)

Well, since we are not big on calm, quiet, or orderliness, we decided to expand our family this summer and began to explore adoption of a little girl. I'm just not good at being pregnant. I typically go on bedrest about 25-28 weeks, which is not fun for any of us. Plus, with my age, we just thought adoption made more sense for our family. We knew we would adopt domestically and had considered trying to prove Michael's Native American heritage to pursue adoption of a Native American little girl. We went to an adoption seminar in October of this year and got a lot of great information and made some contacts. We had discussed it with the boys. Having an adopted cousin, they were completely on board. Our family was on the road to adoption; however, God had a different plan.

On Wednesday, November 18th, while Michael was away on business, I took a pregnancy test (well, actually two)...and convinced myself that it was just an evaporation line. I called a neighbor friend to check it out, too. She wasn't sure about that faint little "something" so she offered an expired test that I guess she was saving for a time such as this! It, too, had two lines...but, well, I chalked it up to being expired. (Can we say denial?) We had always had to work hard to get pregnant. It took months of precision, patience and progesterone to get those boys here!

So, I bought one more test on Thursday. Before I could pull my pants up, that line was there...loud and clear! I was stunned. Absolutely stunned. I remember looking in our bathroom mirror and saying out loud, "God, I trust that You know what You're doing!" I spent the rest of the day in shock. It is a truly different feeling when you're surprised.

Michael was due home that evening. I put all the tests in a box and told Landon to hand Daddy his present. He opened it, looked around at the various shape and size tests and said, "We're pregnant?!?!" Yep. Somehow he didn't seem as shocked as I was. He was thrilled. I was still trying to make it register! Unlike the others, I don't even know when it happened!!!

I pray that although I didn't prepare for this pregnancy like the others that this baby, too, will be healthy. I have had x-rays, a few glasses of wine on our anniversary weekend, started a new heart medication for SVT, and I wasn't taking a prenatal. It seems I did everything wrong, but God's timing couldn't be more right. This baby is due in July. That gives me a month or so to get in the swing of things before the two oldest boys to go to school in August. Keaton will start full-day kindergarten (Thank you, Keller ISD!), and Jackson will be going into 2nd grade. I am leading a group of 50 women to Women of Faith in August...with a one month old in tow! (I hear they have great nursing rooms, although nursing the fourth child in front of thousands of women probably won't bother me!)

So, I am anxious to go to the first OB appt. Dec. 14th to make sure this baby is growing well... and that there is just one! I have always said that we would stop at 3 boys because if we tried again, we'd have twin boys, and I'd need a padded room for them or for me! We all know God has a sense of humor. I am hoping He doesn't see the need to show me again! ;)