If you pray

Please add my uncle and his family to your prayers. He has been fighting cancer, and last night had a heart attack. Last I heard he was in the ICU in a medically induced coma. My aunt has medical issues as well and will be living alone or with one of her daughters. They have three daughters, two of them local, and 9 grandchildren, from teens to toddlers. They've always been tight-knit and I know that my cousins are struggling with their dad's illness.

Thank you.

As of this morning, my uncle died. Please continue your prayers for our family as decisions are made and mourning and grief are in full force. My parents are coming up for the funeral on Sunday, and we need to decide if we are going to take Meg or not. Please pray for our decision making as well.

We will see my uncle again some day, but for now we will miss his strong presence.

My awesome doctors

One of the local medical publications contains stories about people with medical issues and the doctors that treated them. Two of my doctors are highlighted in the current issue (this is a PDF file). The first is Dr. Ali Naini who operated on my head in the Fall of 2007 when I had my subdural hematoma; he is in the article on page 6. The second is my most awesome perinatologist, Dr. Martin Walker on page 7. He has been my high-risk pregnancy doc in all three pregnancies. Can you tell that we love him?

I feel so much peace knowing that I'm in such great care.

And then there's too much rain

If you pay attention to the national news, you may have heard about the flooding in Western Washington. Since we live on a hill with lots of sturdy trees, we are not directly affected. Meg goes to school in Carnation and Jake in Duvall so they have been home since yesterday afternoon. Carnation has been greatly affected by two rivers flooding. The rest of the Snoqualmie Valley area has closed roads from the flooding.

In case you have kept up on the news, here's the CNN link and a video showing the area. We've experienced some pretty major floods over the last few years, but this has been the worst. In some areas, it's been since 1917.

Hurray for rain

I've been awake for the last 2-1/2 hours and although there's has been some stirring in the house, I'm the only one up and about. School is open today but delayed 2 hours. Usually the kids would be getting on their buses right now, but today they are sleeping in for the last time this holiday season.

Brian has stumbled out to fix some coffee and start his day. Jakey is snuggled in bed and muttering to himself. Meg is out cold. Time to wake her up.

What tomorrow will bring ...

... is anyone's guess. I was hoping that it would bring two school buses to our house to haul the children to school. Hoping. It's hard to work and entertain two children. But, who knows what tomorrow will bring. 

Tonight has given at least four inches of snow, enough to delay school or cancel it all together. Sigh. The longer the kids are out of school in winter, the more days that they have to make up in the summer.

We also have two doctor appointments tomorrow. We probably won't have any trouble getting there, but taking the kids with us is sure to make it more of a hassle. Waa waa waa ... I know.

Time for bed now, if I want to eat anything before lunchtime, I have to wake up at 7. One of the appointments requires fasting. Oh, and time to pray for rain. 

Guess I'm just getting a sample of what's to come

Jakey came wandering into our room at 4 this morning. When this happens, my job is to wake Brian so that he can take Jakey back to bed (I'm not supposed to lift the boy, and he sleeps in a loft bed). Brian usually stays with him until until one or both of them fall asleep.

After Brian left our room, I could not fall back to sleep. My mind started racing about some important tasks that I need to complete and would not stop even after I tried my usual tricks.

At about 4:30, Brian came back to bed. At 5, Jakey came into our room again and climbed into bed with us. He dozed for a bit; his and Brian's snoring where in harmony. By 6, he was restless and going to wake his father so I took him to play on the computer, and I decided to log on and type this up.

In a few months, I will be seeing 4 am with our other son more often than I will like. I've been praying about that time to come because I have never done well without a full night's sleep. I needs me Z's. 

God has come through for me before in this area. A couple of years ago at Captivating in Colorado, I asked for him to help me with my sleep and energy, to wake me when I needed to be up so that I could shower and ready myself for the day slowly after being up until 2 am. He woke me gently. I never had to wait for a shower; there would be lines an hour later. I could wander the camp with my coffee before breakfast. I could stay up late and talk over the day with my sisters and even take a midnight swim under the stars. And, most importantly, I never felt tired until I arrived back home and collapsed.

That's what I'll need when Finn is here so that I can survive late night and early morning feedings and so that my family can survive me.

Yesterday, because my blood pressure was edging up again, I spoke with the doctors office, and they upped my meds again. Hopefully, I will adjust quickly to the new dosage since it does make me sleepy. The drug is actually used for insomniac patients as well. On the plus side, I won't have to break the pills in half any more or try to figure out the best time of day to take my second of three doses. Now, it's one pill twice a day. Easy.

Oh, and no more need to worry about my emotional state concerning UPS and Fedex. Yesterday they delivered the last of my packages. Whew.

One concerning thing, although I don't think it's anything to worry about, this morning after going to the bathroom, there was some bright red blood on the toilet paper. Later, it was icky brown. Probably just my fibroids acting up. I will take any prayers for Finn staying in as long as possible with my history so offer them up. :) If I see more later, I'll call the doctor.

Today is date day for the Walkers. Uncle Jeff, Brian's most wonderful brother, is coming to watch over the kids while Brian and I have a much needed date. I have no idea what we will do, but I hope that I'm not too tired to enjoy it.

Hmm, what else? I just finished reading two quirky books on my kindle: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell and The Septic's Companion by Chris Rae. Vowell's book is about her journey to discover the details of the assassinations Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. Very fun and funky book. Rae's book is about the differences between American and British English, a little history and an irreverent dictionary. Totally fun for my grammar geek brain that already engages in geopolitics.

Oh, my! I almost forgot the big news. Today marks the 26th week of this pregnancy and my official entry into the third trimester. Woohoo! The next big milestone is week 28 when Finn will be considered viable but not quite done yet.

Monday is another big day. It will start with a quick breakfast, scooting the kids out the door to return to school (thank you, Jesus!), and then a four hour fast followed by a sugary drink and a blood draw to test for gestational diabetes. Then, lunch and an appointment with the perinatalogist. Busy day.

Now, it's after 6:30, and I'm still bright-eyed although not quite bushy-tailed, and it's time to sign off. Once again, please excuse my lack of editing. I'm too out of it to edit my own words.

Because we all need to giggle

I love this blog that I came across today while researching. My favorite is titled "Also this." I love grammar.