A Christmas Swap and a Thank You . . .

On Friday, my husband and I went to our first baby doc appointment. Everything went very well. We were told that we could come back for a sonogram next week (now this week) just to double check my due date and to see that everything was going well and to make sure that there was just one baby in there. Twins run on both sides of our family. My Grandmother was pregnant with five sets of twins. Yes, five. Not a typo!! Two and a half survived. When my doctor checked to see when the sonogram tech would be available she ended up having an open appointment right then so of course we jumped at the chance.

There is one baby in there (she types with a sigh of relief!!) and the baby is due on May 22, 2010. Our calculations were perfect. Everything looks great and the baby has a very strong heartbeat. 176 beats per minute. My husband works with a bunch of men and they all have either had babies recently or are expecting so they all told him that he's having a girl because the heartbeat is so fast. That would certainly be something different in this house!! We shall see. Pink or blue, we'll love you. : )

I go back in three weeks for another sonogram that they do in the first trimester to screen for any problems, along with a blood test. This is something different from the last time I had a baby, almost eight years ago. I was told it's as accurate as the AFP test but much less incidence of false positives which has caused many people undue stress. I have several friends that had a false positive result with this test. You go for days or even weeks thinking your baby has Down's Syndrome or I believe the other thing it tests for is Spina Bifida. Only to find out that it isn't the case. Thankfully, it never happened to me but it did happen to my cousin recently. Thank God she delivered a very healthy baby.

On a different note altogether, I have discovered a wonderful new blog called The Three R's . Go pay her a visit and sign up for her Christmas Swap. I've never done a swap before and I am really looking forward to it. I'm a little nervous because it's my first one but I've always loved to see the pictures of what people receive in their swaps and I love to give gifts so I think this will be awesome!!! You have until October 31st to sign up so HURRY HURRY HURRY!!! All you have to do is leave a comment saying you'd like to participate. It should be lots of fun!! : )

Finally, I'd like to thank all of you who have left me such heartfelt comments and well wishes regarding our new baby. I wasn't sure if I was ready to put it out into blog land yet because it's still very early in the pregnancy but I truly believe that if it's meant to be it will happen. I'm pretty tight with The Big Man Upstairs and I know He has a plan in all that happens in our life. There is not a doubt in my mind about that. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, everyone. : )

Many blessings ~ Wendy

All photos are courtesy of the incredibly wonderful Anne Geddes.

A Wonderful Blog that I Just Discovered . . .

Today I thought I would take a little time to catch up on some of my favorite blogs and visit some of my favorite's favorites. While visiting Ali Edwards wonderful blog I found this wonderful blog. It's called the Simple Woman Blog. I love the idea of taking the time to be in the present moment and writing down the special little details of those moments. Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a blog entry for the day and this is a way to keep up the blogging momentum even when you feel like you just don't have anything exciting to write about. So here's my first ever Simple Woman's Daybook entry.





FOR TODAY...October 16th from Wendy's Daybook


Outside my window... damp and gray day ~ the perfect day to me


I am thinking... how happy I am that I found this new blog


I am thankful for... the peace and quiet that is in my house right now


I am wearing...my jammies : )


I am remembering... that I need to get ready for my first baby doctor appointment


I am going... to jump in the shower as soon as I finish this


I am reading...nothing other then blogs at the current moment but The Shed is waiting for me.


I am hoping... the weather is okay for my son's football game tonite


On my mind... a new baby


Noticing that...it's getting much colder in the house the last couple of days!!


Pondering these words... Trust and Allow


From the kitchen...Boy, do I need to go grocery shopping!!


Around the house... lots of new cobwebs in the last week. Can I count them as Halloween decorations? : )


One of my favorite things~ baby feet


From my picture journal... some vintage aprons hanging in my crafting room

I hope you enjoyed this post. As you can tell, I have a lot of baby stuff on my mind. Today is my first appointment with the obstetrician. Not sure what's going to happen other then an exam. Gotta jump in the shower!! Late as usual!! : )

Many blessings ~ Wendy

I'm Lovin' this Weather and I Have Some Special News to Tell You . . .

It's 40 something degrees here right now. The wind is getting a little bit breezy and the rain is coming down. I AM IN MY GLORY!!! I have errands to run but am still in my jammies. It's after 11:30 in the morning. After the boys all got off to school, I put my head down on the couch and fell asleep again for a little while. I've been wide awake at bedtime but very tired in the morning. I haven't said anything yet here because it's still pretty early on. And I apologize to friends and family that read my blog that don't know yet and are finding out here for the first time ~ we are expecting a new baby. We found out on my husband's birthday, September 25th. My husband has no biological children of his own. It seems like God was preparing him for three sons his whole life, though. He has become an incredible father to the boys and has told me many times that he couldn't love them anymore than if they were his own.

When Jim and I started dating and knew it was getting serious we talked about having another child. Honestly, I wasn't so sure how I felt about it. I was just turning 40 when we met and I didn't know if I wanted to start over again. I have big babies and c-sections. I love my sleep. My kids are very independent now. I love my sleep. I don't need to pay babysitters anymore. When we go to the beach every summer I actually can relax and have a good time without chasing kids around. And, most of all, I love my sleep. : )

I also didn't like having the power in my hands of being the one to tell someone that they can or can't have a child in this lifetime. That was the biggest part of this whole decision for me. Jim left it up to me and said he would honestly be fine either way. If you know Jim you know that he tells the truth all the time. Sometimes a little too much. : )

There is a whole lot more to this story but I want to save that for after we see the doctor tomorrow and know that everything is okay. So far, this pregnancy is very different from my first three. Next to no nausea, lots more fatigue and definite mood swings as my husband and sons will attest to. Sorry guys. This, too, shall pass!!

I feel good and happy and emotional and can cry at the drop of a hat and am going to enjoy every minute of this journey because this is the last time I plan on taking it. I'll be 43 when this baby is born. How the hell did I get to be almost 43?!!? I figure this baby will either keep me really young or else make me feel really old. Either way, he or she will be coming into a family filled with laughter, joy, yelling and screaming, neighborhood kids traipsing (don't think I spelled that correctly) in and out all the time, cats, dogs, dust, crazy schedules, a father that's never changed a dirty diaper before, a mother who will be fighting his/her father for toe nibbling time (Jim and I are both still obsessed with Brendan's feet and he's seven!!) and more love than anyone could hope for.

Amazing Grace.

Many blessings ~ Wendy

The adorable picture above is by Anne Geddes.

A Dream Come True . . .

For as long as I can remember, it has been a dream of mine to be present for the birth of a baby. I've had three of my own but I wanted to be able to be there for someone else and to experience the incredible miracle of life as it unfolds.

This is my incredibly beautiful and wonderful sister-in-law, Michelle, who made this happen for me. In this picture she's in between some very heavy duty and extremely painful back labor pains.



Here is the man with the epidural that made those very heavy duty and extremely painful back labor pains much more tolerable.

Go Giants!! (I had to throw that in there!! )

Once Michelle was comfortable, I took advantage of a few photo opps. Being that she arrived at the hospital already at 7 centimeters, we knew there wouldn't be a whole lot of time for pictures before the little one decided to make a grand entrance.

Everything progressed so quickly that we didn't even have enough time to fill out the board in Michelle's room!!

Michelle's mom (aka my mother-in-law) and her cousin Lauren. Lauren and I held Michelle's legs for her and coached her while delivering the baby.

This is Michelle's wonderful Doctor. He was so busy that nite. He told Michelle that she was an Obstetrician's dream with the way things were progressing so quickly. : )

I am truly in awe of what a woman can endure to bring a new life into this world. After several minutes of pushing, I saw the baby crown and then be born. I heard the baby cry as the first breaths of life were taken. I sobbed as I took in all that had just taken place so very quickly.

Please allow me the honor of introducing to you my newest nephew, Jason Allen Geron, who was born on September 16th at 5:57 pm. and weighed a very healthy 8 lbs. 6 oz. and is 20 inches long.

He is perfect in every way and has very healthy lungs !!






Michelle holding Jason for the very first time. I get teary eyed just looking at this again.






After baby Jason was examined and Michelle was ready, it was time to bring in Big Brother Andre to see his Baby Brother for the first time.






At first, I don't think Andre knew what to think about the new baby that was in his Mom's arms and he kind of just took it all in for a bit.




Then suddenly . . .

I think he started to like the idea of being the Big Brother in the family!!

My mother and father-in-law and Michelle with her two boys.

All clean and shiny after his sponge bath. Isn't it amazing how much they change even in the first couple of hours after they're born?

Aunt Wendy and Jason.

Before I left, I told Michelle that she made a dream come true for me and that the birth of her son ranked up there with the births of my sons. I will never, ever forget the experience of bringing Jason into this world and I don't know that I'll ever be able to talk about it without getting goose bumps.

Many blessings ~ Wendy