Better Late then Never

Better late then never, right. This is pictures of our Halloween party. We had a backdrop set up for people to take their pictures and here are a few of our family. Cassidy was such a bear that night so I left early to take her home and we never got to get a picture of all three of us together.

I was Fiona from Shrek which was very fitting since I was pregnant and David was a construction worker. He loves that silly wig and it totally scares Cassidy. He is wearing his shirt from when he was on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. We had tons of fun.

I had our second ultrasound a few weeks ago and my placenta has moved up so no plans for a C-section at this time. YEAH!!!!!! The baby is still growing really well and getting really big. She weighed 4lbs 7 oz and I was 32 weeks along. Cassidy only weighed 5lbs 2oz at birth so that explains why I feel so big. I don't really know what it is like to have a normal weight baby. I guess I will soon.

On Tuesday of this week I was sitting in a class for work and nearly passed out. I called my doctors office and they got me in right away. My blood pressure was through the roof and the was doing okay on the non-stress test but wasn't doing as well and they wanted. So I was put on bed rest. Today I had another appointment to see how things were going and my blood pressure was down and they baby was reacting better on the non-stress test. So I am still on complete bed rest until Monday and we'll see how things are going at that time. When we went for the appointment today we had bags packed and car seat in the car just in case he sent me to the hospital. We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to have a baby today but it is what is better for her so it will be fine. When the time is right we will have a healthy baby.

I am bored to death so if anyone wants to call and tell me exciting stories about their life, so I can live vicariously that would be fun. Movie suggestions and other entertainment ideas are really appreciated.

Speaking of movies David and I went to two movies recently and they were so good. We saw Invictus and Blind Side. I totally recommend them. I thought Blind Side would be a movie that made me cry but only at the very end. It really was a good show.

My job at the Home Health agency has ended. It was such a great job but the company has decided to quit the foot care program. So I am just working at the hospital now. I really like my job and I am so grateful that I am able to enjoy what I do so much.

David has started his last semester of school. YEAH!!!!!!!! Only 14 weeks left and a huge graduation party. Cassidy really got used to him not doing homework over Christmas break and she is having a hard time with him not being as available for them to be able to play. He is still working at UPS in the mornings. During the month of December he was really busy at UPS but this week things slowed down and he has only worked one day. UPS is a union company so being at the bottom of the seniority list he doesn't get to work as often. Which is really okay since school needs to be his main focus. He has to be an employee for 18 months before we get their insurance so if he works or not we are at least putting in time for the 18 months.

Well, our next post should have pics of a new baby.

Love,

Cheri

IT'S A GIRL

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and we're having another girl. We are really excited. Since their birthdays are only a month apart this baby will get all of Cassidy's hand-me-downs. She probably won't mind for a few years at least.

The baby is perfectly healthy. She is in the 55-60th percentile for growth so it sounds like this one will be quite a bit larger then Cassidy. The placenta is a little low so we have to have another ultrasound in 3 months to make sure it moves up. Otherwise I will have to have a C-Section. We will be praying very very very hard. I am very anti-knife.

Cassidy went to the ultrasound with us and she didn't really get it when it was on the screen but when she saw the pics the doctor printed she was very excited. We had to make her a copy that should could carry around. She carries them around and says "picture mommy tummy baby." She has been lots of fun about it today. Now that my belly is starting to pooch out a little she is paying more attention to it and if we tell her to talk to the baby she gets really close to my stomach and talks. It is really fun. David is starting to teach Cassidy how to play soccer. I must say she is pretty impressive at dribbling. I will make a video and post is next time.

David is still in school and doing really well. We are wrapping up our mowing season this month. A family in our ward is doing a remodel on their house and they have hired David to do a lot of the work. He pretty much set his hours and works as much as he wants. They have a list of things for him to get done and he just plugs away at it. He also got a job at UPS unloading trucks in the morning. The semi trucks arrive during the night and he unloads them and another crew loads the trucks that make the deliveries during the day. Unfortunately business dropped off and they haven't needed him very much. When deliveries increase for the holidays he will have plenty of work. They also hire temps during the holidays for drivers assistants and he is going to try to do that after the unload. The only issue is getting off by the time school starts on Tuesday and Thursday. He also got a phone call today from a guy in our ward that is working for a bank winterizing foreclosed homes and he has more work then he can handle on his own and was wondering if David can help him out. He will be doing that job as well. He is a little happier now that he is working more and I am so grateful that he is so willing to work for our family. The Lord is once again pouring out his blessings upon us.

I am still working at the hospital and the home health. I really enjoy my jobs. I finally got a calling. I am the temple prep teacher for our ward. I just teach whoever is ready to go to the temple for the 1st time. The bishop said it will probably happen about 4-5 times per year. It is a really sweet gig. I think it is crazy that I went from YW president putting in a minimum of 10 hours per week to a 4-5 times per year calling. I wonder what is going to happen in my life that will make me need so much extra time. I guess it could just be that I am having another baby but I don't think I will need that much time.

I hope all is well with everyone.

Love,
Cheri

The Miracles of our Growing Family

An amazing series of MIRACLES have occurred to allow our family to grow. As many of you know we have had great difficulty having children. Cassidy took a lot of work to get to this earth. Approx 1.5 years ago we tried again to have another baby. After 5 months on medication my body quit reacting to the meds. The next options were to increase the dose on the medication which would most likely increase the side effects. The side effects made me very difficult to live with and sometimes I was afraid I might do something to hurt Cassidy. We decided that was not an option. The next options would be something much more expensive possibly invetro fertilization. At approx $20,000 a pop and no guarantees we decided that was not a realistic option for our family. We have always been very open to adoption and so that was the option we chose.

So began the long journey to adoption. The paperwork took us from June 2008-October 2008. In November 2008 we were approved for adoption. We were now out there for all birth moms to look at and decide if we were the right family for their baby. This includes a lot of waiting and after months of actively participating in the adoption process you are left with no formal way to participate. We began looking into adopting through the state of Idaho. Most of these kids have been removed from their biological parents because of abuse or neglect. We learned that any age they come with issues of all kinds. As crazy as it sounds we made some decisions about what we would be willing to deal with and continues the search for our children. We were especially excited about adopting a sibling group. This felt very right for our family.

We have tried to adopt several children as sibling groups. We have come very close to being selected but have fallen just short. The emotional roller coaster has been very similar to the infertility struggles that we have faced before. We have learned through these trial that the Lord has a much greater plan for us and when it is revealed we will have more blessings then we can handle. This is the case right now in our lives.

At the end of June I began having a symptoms of pregnancy. So David went to the store on the Sabbath and got a pregnancy test and SURPRISE!!!!! YOU'RE PREGNANT!!!!!! We were not trying in any way to get pregnant but we weren't preventing it because we thought it was impossible. As far as we know I have not ovulated without the help of the medication since I was 20 years old. I am now 30. Life is so crazy. God's Blessing are so amazing. I am approx 12 weeks along and the due date is 2/22/10.

I have been feeling really well. I have had very little nausea. I have never been nauseated at work and have never had difficulty doing my job. I have been so blessed this pregnancy. I will work 2-12 hour shifts and feel just great and then the next day I am off I will sleep and sleep and sleep. My main issue is fatigue but again it has never affected me at work.

BLESSINGS,BLESSINGS,BLESSING,BLESSING. Thank you Heavenly Father for knowing what is best for our family.

In other news we are going to New Mexico this weekend to a family reunion with my cousins. We will be gone for 9 days and will be driving for nearly 38 hours and 2532 miles. I think we are crazy. The doctor had many warnings for me to keep my feet up and never ride for more then 2 hours without walking around. Many stops were already scheduled in for Cassidy's sake. We have a portable DVD player and lots of snacks and hopefully she won't hate the car by the time we get home.

David is back in school full-time. This is his last year. YEAH!!! He has full time classes now until the beginning of May with only 2 weeks off at Christmas and one week off for spring break. In March of next year we will start our advertising again and we will hopefully have a booming business.

About one hour after we found out I was pregnant we had a meeting with the bishop and I was released from my role as Young Women's president. I could obviously see the Lord's wisdom but it still made me very sad to leave my girls. I still don't have a calling. Just enjoying going to church with no responsibilities.

Thanks to everyone who kept us in their prayer over the last several months as we tried to adopt. We are still grateful for our experience with adoption. We may try to adopt later. We will just have to follow our inspiration from the Lord and see what God has in store.

Love much,
Cheri