Baby #3: 15 Weeks

This poor baby hasn't gotten much attention on the blog. But don't worry, he/she has made their self very known in our lives. We just haven't been able to blog much due to the nausea, 2 little boys, selling our house, looking for a new house, etc. So I thought it was time to give the baby some blog love. I'm going to ATTEMPT to do what everyone else is doing with the cute little weekly/biweekly updates of size, symptoms, etc..but we'll see how long it lasts. Hopefully I can at least do every 2 weeks.

I don't have a belly shot for this week. Sorry.

Pregnancy Highlights for the Week:

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Fruit/Veggie: Apple

Baby changes: Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam.

Best Moment this week: Its not baby related, but we made it through the option period on the sale of our home without the buyer backing out!

Gender: I'm feeling girl..but honestly, its probably because I really want it to be a girl and we don't have any boy names picked out!

Movement: I may have felt a flutter or two, but nothing significant yet. 

Food Cravings: nothing healthy unfortunately. pizza, cheese fries, and oreos as always

Sleep: not getting much. i'm already getting uncomfortable due to the growing. and i hate not being able to sleep on my back :(

What I am looking forward to: finding out what this gender is! 3 more weeks!

Symptoms: still extremely nauseated, still vomiting, and now i'm getting horrible headaches. 

This Crazy Life - 5 Years Later

5 Years ago today...we looked like this...

Here we are today....

Wow has time flown by. We were so young. So energetic. I was thinner. Time has changed us. And hopefully for the better.

In my head I have this long sappy post about how much I love you, how you are my hero and best friend. How we've grown stronger over the last 5 years and how much the Lord has done in our lives. But, because our life is so crazy right now, I don't even have time. So this is all I've got right now. I'm sure you understand, because you always do.

Happy Anniversary Matty! I LOVE YOU!!

Brody Update

Its been a while since I've updated about the latest with Brody. The last thing I mentioned here was the MRI back in November. Since then we've definitely gotten closer to an answer.

In January we went in for a  Nerve Conduction Study and Electromyography (EMG), as well as a brain MRI. This was the scary test that I was dreading for him. The NCS and EMG were tests that sent electricity through his body to test the response of the nerves and muscles. Fortunately he was sedated again and had no idea what was going on. The EMG, which tested the muscles, was normal; meaning the muscles are functioning properly.

The NCS, however, showed reduced nerve response, meaning that he has a neuropathy, a disease of the peripheral nerves. So this test ruled out all muscular problems and narrowed it down to a nerve problem. However, since the nerves tell the body what to do, the muscles in his legs are weak because the nerves aren't sending the signals fast enough to tell his legs how to step and function correctly. (Have I completely lost you yet? Believe me, it has taken us MONTHS to really comprehend all this stuff!)

Having this information really helps the genetics doctor know what direction to head in the testing. Early on we did a test to rule out the general form of Charcot-Marie-Toothe, the common name for most neuropathies. However, there are 14 kinds of CMT. We met with her today to discuss the next step in testing and she explained the ones she'll be testing for next. Of course, the testing is extremely expensive so she will be getting letters from other doctors to persuade the insurance company to pay for the tests. Nothing is ever easy.

Her next recommendation is visiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association clinic at Texas Children's in Houston. They have specialists in pediatrics who deal with these type of cases who will be able to work specifically with Brody's condition and help get us on a therapy regimen that can continue to strengthen his legs.

There is no cure for any form of CMT. It's something that Brody will have to live with his entire life unless the Lord chooses to take the disease away. However, it is not life threatening and ultimately, that's all we needed to hear. We can help him get stronger. We can overcome obstacles. He may not run as fast as others. He may not be able to do everything other people can do. But that's ok. We are going to do all we can to help him overcome this disorder and have a full life.

Because this is a genetic disorder, there is a 50/50 chance of passing it to our other children. So far, Carson has no signs. And we're praying for the new baby not to have this as well. But if so, we'll be prepared and believe God has a reason for everything.

We don't know what the future will look like on this journey.  I'm praying that God will strengthen us through this and will use us to bless and encourage others who may face something similar.

Sike!

That's what the buyer of our house told us..SIKE! We found out last night..with 5 hours left in the option period..that the buyer was backing out. They just panicked. Got cold feet. The thought of a mortgage was scary.

So where does that leave us? Disappointed. Frustrated because unless a new buyer comes along ASAP, we lose the house we were trying to buy in College Station...and the money we spent for all the inspections. We know God has a plan in all of this. Maybe the purchase just wouldn't have been good for that person. Or maybe we aren't supposed to have the house we picked out. Or maybe we are but we just need to learn patience. Whatever it is, we are trying to accept it and wait to see what will happen next.

I already miss "my new house." I had all my wall colors picked out and my furniture arranged in my head. I could picture our friends sitting around our new living room for game nights. Our children's birthday parties in the backyard. I was in love with the house that much. And maybe that's why it got taken away or possibly taken away. Because I was too wrapped up in this worldly possession. God is teaching us A LOT through this home buying and selling process. Its a process that makes me not want to have to do it again for a long time. We want to make the wisest financial decision as well as a decision pleasing to the Lord.

So in the meantime, we keep praying. Praying for a new buyer. Praying that God will provide the right house for us if we aren't meant to have this one. I've always been told that if you pray for patience be prepared for the storms to come. And boy are they coming these days.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The last month has been a whirlwind for us. And in a good way!

You may remember that we put our house on the market last June. We had a lot of lookers for a few months but nothing every materialized. In late October we decided to take it off the market and get through the holidays without the stress of keeping our house ready to show. We re-evaluated everything over the break and put it back up on the market on January 3.

Well, on February 18, just 6 weeks after putting it back up, we got an offer! In just a couple of days we had come to an agreement and we were able to profit what we were wanting. The buyer had inspections done on our house on Monday and we are waiting to hear if they are requesting any repairs.

So, last week, once we got the contract lined out on our current home, we went and looked at a few houses that we were interested in. We've gone once before to look and fell in love with a home. We visited it again this time and still felt the same way about it. I loved it even more the second time. So, Friday morning we sent in an offer and by Monday we had reached an agreement with the owners! So we now have a contract on a home in South College Station. Our inspections are scheduled for this afternoon.

So as long as everything goes smoothly with inspections today, and there were no hiccups with the inspections of our current home, we'll close April 1! We are so excited about all of this. We've prayed for a year and a half about selling this house and purchasing a new one that we can live in more long term. We got impatient (or at least I did) last year when it wasn't selling, but God had perfect timing for us. We don't see any reason that the house we are buying hasn't sold, yet it stayed on the market for 5 months, even when others we were watching were being bought right up. So the timing worked out great for us! It hung around long enough for us to get it :)

We can't wait to get all settled in and have you over! You can be praying that everything goes smoothly over the next month and there are no holdups with financing, closing, etc.