Ordinary Time

I don't have much to report, but didn't want to leave anyone hanging, either. First off, my friend's mother has recovered enough that she was able to be driven back home to Kansas. She has been transferred to hospice care there. The hope is that she will be more comfortable in her own home. Secondly, the P family has all been reunited with their new children. The plane ride was survived and everyone is starting the process of readjusting. It's tiring work finding a new normal, but even with a few bumps here and there, the process seems to be going as smoothly as could be hoped. Lastly, I'm still pregnant. I'm sure everyone has figured that out since there has been no post along the lines of 'They're here!" with thousands of pictures of cute babies. Tomorrow is 37 weeks, which makes them full-term. So I can have them any time. Really. Any. Time. Waking up at night is extremely painful due to the sciatica and muscle cramping. Last night wa...

Right now I'm feeling very much as though I'm living out the verses in Ecclesiastes about there being a time for everything. For me, personally, I'm doing fine. I had yet another level II ultrasound yesterday and saw another maternal/fetal medicine specialist. And the result (after a very long appointment) is that there is no previa of any kind. Baby A's head is engaged and where it is supposed to be and there is nothing in the way or close to being in the way. Both babies continue to look good, and based on measurements, they could both be 6 1/2 pounds. I am really ready to have these babies soon. But perhaps not this week. Because as many of you know, Ecclesiastes says that not only is there a time to be born, but there is a time to die. One of my closest friends had to move her mother into hospice care over the weekend. I don't expect her mother to last the week and I would really like to be available for her, even if it's just being a listening ear ...

Mrs. Broccoli Guy has given me the Friend award for my blog. The Rules: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. I'm going to bend the rules a bit and award this to 9 other bloggers. For the past year a half, a group of adoptive parents who have children from 'the province who must not be named' have been supporting each other as we wait(ed) to bring our children home. Most of us have brought our children home, but there are still a few families who are waiting. Some have passed the two year mark. Eighteen months was bad enough, I can't imagine two years and counting. Without this group of people, some of who...

Remember the four extra children we had a couple of months ago? Well, all the courts have been passed and approvals acquired and the mother and eldest daughter are at this very moment on their way to Ethiopia. Some of you asked if they had a blog you could follow. Well, at that point they didn't, but now, the oldest daughter (one of M.'s best friends...you knew her as P16) has started her own blog. Here's the link: http://onedaughtersjourney.blogspot.com/

because no, I haven't had these babies yet. I haven't posted anything because there isn't anything to post. That is, unless my handful of readers really want to slog through daily detailed accounts of my day. It might go something like this: Wake up, decide if the sciatic pain of sitting up is going to be less than the sciatic pain of lying down. Go downstairs (slowly) and drink a couple of large glasses of very cold water while sitting in a chair. (Here's an interesting aside: did you know that craving very cold things is a sign of low iron? I'm already taking iron supplements, but I could probably use more.) Either go right back upstairs (slowly) and get dressed before my blood pressure plummets or sit in the chair, wait for my blood pressure to plummet, recover, and then get dressed. Encourage everyone to work on their schoolwork. Fall asleep in chair, waking briefly either when asked a question or when children run screaming through the room. Tell c...

picture I should have posted to go along with the mention of K.'s one-year anniversary:

Last night was the end of the year party for the volunteers of our church's midweek program (which the children's choir is a part of). Unbeknownst to me, it was also a surprise baby shower! Everyone did a great job of keeping it a secret...even the young adults who volunteer whom I see on almost on a daily basis. It was wonderful. I now have some really lovely new things for these two little girls to wear, and since the clothes I have have already gone through three girls, that's really nice. There were also some books, and gift cards, and a diaper bag (something I've never actually owned). I feel quite blessed and loved. We have also been blessed by friends and family giving us some of the 'big' things that we didn't have doubles of (cribs, high chairs, etc.). One friend, who has twins herself, has provided two car seats plus some other things. (Thanks, L.!) We feel quite prepared as far as baby 'stuff' goes. I even splurged and bought mys...

So, yesterday I saw the OB to discuss what the ultrasound findings meant as far as having a c-section. He was not very optimistic based on what he saw on the ultrasound. With vasa previa, the baby's blood is involved and labor can be very dangerous, if not disastrous, in that situation. He was mentioning scheduling a c-section at week 35 or 36. I went home to process the information, certainly not wanting to endanger my baby's life, but not being excited about surgery, but being done with this pregnancy sooner was appealing. I was also instructed to schedule another level II ultrasound at the hospital so the maternal/fetal medicine specialist could look at what was going on. By coincidence (if you believe in such things), I was able to get an appointment at 8:50 this morning. I really liked the specialist (unlike the previous 'dire-warning-let's-jump-to-the-worst-case-scenario' doctor I saw there the last time). He was very low-key and non- alarmist. Accordi...