Baby Names

I get asked a lot if Natalie and Graham are named after anyone in the family, since Erica is obviously named after Eric. So I thought it would be fun to tell how we came up with our kids names. And you do that same! Either comment me, or blog about it and let me know!

Natalie Elizabeth
One of the first things I did when I found out I was pregnant, was buy a big book of baby names. I went through and highlighted all the names I liked (which looking back now, I don't know what I was thinking with some of them lol). Eric wouldn't even glance at the book until we knew what we were having. When we found out it was a girl, it still took some nagging convincing for me to get him to look through the book himself. But one day he finally did, and we each had a list of names we liked. After comparing our lists, we had very few names in common. Our biggest battle was the Madison/Madeline issue. He wanted Madison, I wanted Madeline. He kept insisting that they were close enough and we should just go with Madison. I kept insisting that they were not at all "close enough" and that I wanted Madeline! We eventually just crossed both names off the list, because it was apparent we couldn't reach a compromise on that one. It was probably a few weeks before my due date that we had narrowed it down to 2 names. I should also add that we weren't telling anyone our name choices. We didn't want to hear opinions (because you know you'll get them whether you ask for them or not). We really couldn't decide which name we wanted to go with. We decided that once she was born, we'd look at her and decide then. We had Elizabeth picked out for the middle name, whichever first name we went with. It was just a name that Eric liked a lot and I didn't have any opposition to. Up until now, we haven't told many people what the "other" name on our list was. But, it was Caroline. Once she was born though, the nurse asked us her name, and we both looked at her, looked up at each other, and said Natalie (ok I don't know that it was exaclty like that, but pretty close). We just knew she looked like a Natalie. So, there you have Natalie Elizabeth! (say her name three times fast).

Erica Hannah
Once again, one of the first things I did when I found out I was pregnant, was start looking at baby names. And once again, Eric would have nothing to do with the process until we knew what we were having. And once again, when we found out it was a girl, it took much nagging convincing for me to get him to discuss it. He was deploying to Iraq soon though, and I told him we HAD to have a name picked out before he left. God forbid something happen to him over there, I was not going to be left with the sole responsibility of naming this child on my own. I had already picked out, what I thought was for sure going to be HER NAME. Autumn Caroline. Now I just had to prove to Eric that it was the perfect name. He wasn't crazy about it, but he humored me for a bit. There was a point where I was so convinced that that was going to be her name, I'd already started coming up with ideas for her room and other things with that name. Then Eric threw me a curve ball and suggested Erica. At first I thought he was kidding because I remember back when we were talking about names for Natalie, I'd thrown that idea out there (because I knew he never wanted a Jr.) and he vetoed it. But he said he was serious and that he really liked the name and really wanted her to be named after him. I told him I'd have to think on it because while I did like the idea of naming her after him, I just wasn't sold on it yet. I didn't have anything against the name Erica itself, I think it really is a very pretty name, it's just probably not one I would have chosen if it weren't for naming her after him. So I literally took days to think it over. I never spend that long thinking about something like that. But the responsibility of naming a child is a big one and one I don't take lightly. I thought about whether or not I liked the name itself, enough to name my daughter that. I thought how Natalie might feel when she grew up, knowing her sister was named after Daddy, and she wasn't. I thought about the chances of her name getting misspelled (which does happen, A LOT). There were a lot of things I considered. The biggest though, was giving up on the name Autumn Caroline. I finally told Eric that after much deliberation, I could positively say that I would be happy to name our daughter Erica. Then it was off to find a middle name. Now, my initial thought was to just go with Erica Caroline. But for some reason, if it couldn't be Autumn Caroline, I didn't want to use Caroline at all. We went through many names possibilities, and at one point I was set on Erica Cadence. But Eric vetoed that one. I honestly don't remember who suggested Hannah, but we both liked it enough. I really liked the idea of both of our children having biblical middle names, so we decided to set it in stone. We didn't keep it a secret that time around because we wanted Natalie to get used to the name before the baby came. It was so cute too listening to her talk about "Baby Eh-cuh" in Mommy's tummy. So, there you have Erica Hannah.

Graham Joseph
Once again... blah blah blah... we found out we were having a boy, and the baby naming ensued! I went through and made a list of about a dozen names for Eric to look over and see what he liked. Some of them were: Elliott, Anderson, Wilson, Graham, Isaac, Tyler... Eric said he liked some of them, but wanted to throw out his own suggestions too: Josiah, Peter, Timothy, Nebakanezer (ok so that last one may not have actually been on his list). I told him that I had already looked through EVERY NAME IN THE ENTIRE WORLD (ha!) and that if it wasn't on my list, I didn't like it. LOL So then we started widdling down our list. Graham was my front runner, and I think he knew it. But when it kept staying on the list (he'd literally prune away a name a night for like a week UGH!!!), I wondered if he really liked it too, or if he was just humoring me because he knew it was my favorite. I finally told him, "If you don't really like the name, then please veto it now because I really want it and you are just teasing me!". Turns out, he really did like the name, and it eventually became the one we chose! As for a middle name, I knew I wanted to try and choose another biblical name (since we did not go with any of Eric's first name choices, ahem). I asked Eric if he wanted to use his middle name, Joseph. He liked that idea, so there you have Graham Joseph!

added 5/7/10:
I'm going to be adding this to Kelly's Blog Carnival about baby names, so I thought I'd add in how we picked Leah's name since she's joined our family since I wrote this post.

As usual, I began looking at baby names as soon as I found out I was pregnant, but Eric wouldn't talk about anything until we found out what we were having. Truth be told, I had a girl named picked out pretty early, with some close seconds, but no boy name that I just loved. When we found out we were having a girl it still took me awhile to get Eric to commit to talking about names. I had fallen in love with the name Delilah. I just thought it was a really cute name, and we could even shorten it to Lila if we so chose, even though I'm usually not a fan of nicknames. Eric wasn't crazy about the name, be he could see how much I liked it, so I think he was trying to let it grow on him. We tried thinking of possible middle names to go with it, but couldn't agree on anything. Eric didn't like that even though the name was biblical, it wasn't after a so great biblical character. So I thought that perhaps we could choose another biblical name for the middle name that was "better". We brainstormed more biblical names and both really liked Leah, but Delilah Leah just did NOT cut it lol. Slowly I began to see how much Eric really didn't care for Delilah, and I really started liking Leah more and more. I was a little hesitant to use it because it's also the name of Eric's brother's fiance's sister. Eric didn't seemed bothered in the least by this and he soon convinced me it was ok. So we decided we'd look for middle names to go with Leah. We had a few, but both liked Katelyn. We slept on that name for a while before we declared it her name. So while we broke tradition slightly (biblical first name instead of middle), I'm really happy with our name choice for our 4th baby!

How the heck do you work this thing?

My camera came in the mail today!!! I am still trying to figure it out. I've only had a few minutes to really mull over it, so I'm going to try and read up as much as I can tonight and see if I can practice with it a bit tomorrow. I can shoot in auto, but I did not spend several hundred dollars on a camera just to shoot in auto. I'm starting to learn terms like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. It's still all Greek to me, but I'm a fast learner when I have time.

One problem I'm having is that when I change some of the settings, I get a "blank" picture (like it's just all black). Not sure what's going on, so if any of you photo "experts" out there can help, I'd be much appreciative!

eta: I figured out the "black" pic thing... when I started getting "white" pics too. Went googling and think I have that worked out. Now it's just time to practice practice practice!

ONE MORE WEEK!!!

Eric told me yesterday that instead of stopping in Houston on his way home from MS and getting our stuff out of storage there, he's going to just come straight home! I am so excited because that means he'll be here a day earlier! We still have a lot of stuff to unpack before we should even think about the stuff from storage, and we're already paying for the entire month of May, so we're just gonna leave our stuff there for now. So that means Eric will be home with me in just one week!!!

I am so excited to say that Baby Stellan was discharged from the hospital yesterday, and according to his mom's tweets, they are just moments away from being back with all the other mckFamily! Keep praying for little Stellan. He still has a long road ahead of him, but with God on his side, he's got more than just a fighting chance!

My own little herd has been keeping my busy lately! Nothing too exciting, but enough to keep me on my toes! Yes, they get on my nerves, and yes they push my buttons, and yes they are so hard to handle at times. But oh how I could just eat them up. I can't explain how much I just love these three.

The Camera War is over

I think someone abducted my husband in Mississippi. He said we could get the camera AND video camera. So he let me pick out the camera I wanted (I'm going with the Nikon D60) and he is going to pick out the video camera. I am sooo excited! I ordered my camera this morning and it should be here within a week! I cannot wait to start using it.

This morning I heard Natalie say to Erica, "you are driving me pretzels!" I asked her what that meant, and she said, "you know, like driving me bananas, or driving me nuts, but I don't like bananas or nuts, so she's driving me pretzels!" HAHAHA that totally got my day off to a good start!

10 more days until Daddy Starbucks is home! Almost down to the double digits!!!

6 months

Graham is half a year old today!!! Seriously? I say it every month, and every month I mean it more. It's going by way too fast.

I made my own smores today in celebration.





At 6 months old, Graham:
drinks approximately five bottles of formula a day
eats solids (baby food) once a day, most days
is sleeping through the night!!! He sleeps from about 6pm-6am
takes 2-3 naps a day
wears 12 mos clothes
wears size 3 diapers
loves to squeal REALLY loudly
still has no teeth (so HA to all the little old ladies who are CONSTANTLY insisting that he his teething... for the past 3 months)
can push himself up onto his hands and knees when he's on his tummy
still loves to be worn in the wrap - as long as he's facing out and I'm constantly walking if he's awake, or facing in and snuggled tight when he wants to sleep
has outgrown his infant carseat and graduated to a big boy seat (still rear facing)
only uses a pacifier when he's trying to go to sleep, and not even always then
is still really close to sitting on his own
has apparently change sooo much just in the past month!

We had brunch at IHOP today (and I discovered Erica calls it IPOD lol) per Natalie's request. And I totally flaked and forgot my camera. So I didn't get any pics of the girls' silly pancake faces (but I can atest that they were, indeed, very silly). Natalie said she wants to eat there everyday because it's so good. I told her that we could probably make these at home (it's just pancakes, with cut up strawberries and bananas for the face, and then go-gurt squeezed on for the hair), and she was happy about that but told me that IHOP still had the best pancakes. I'm sure she's right lol. Erica and Graham both fell asleep on the way home from there, so they got early naps. So then it's 2:45 in the afternoon and we are bored with nothing to do. So I decide to take them back to Sea World. We live literally behind the park, and we now have season passes, and the weather was PERFECT. I was a little worried about trying to go with Graham, but I just planned on going to the Seal Show, because that's Natalie's favorite and we didn't get to do it last time we went. So off we went. We get there just before the 3:30 show started. The kids had a GREAT time watching the show and then we went over and saw the seal/sea lion tank for a bit. Then we stopped by one of the ride's in the kiddie land that they could ride without me.

We waited in line for probably 20 minutes and when we got to the front, Erica freaked out and wouldn't get on. Then they move the cars one by one to let people get on, and when Natalie started going up she freaked out too and started sobbing. So I had the guy bring her back down so she could get off. *sigh* At this point, Graham had fallen asleep in the wrap, so I decided we could try and see another show. Viva had just started, so we walked over there and got to catch the last half of that. I hadn't seen that one before and it was really cool. The girls made friends with this other brother/sister that were sitting behind us. They all ended up sitting together and oohing and aahing through the whole show. After that we headed to the car. We got some food and came home and then once I got Graham to bed, we ate dinner. It was a really nice day.

I've picked out the camera I want. Trying to find a good deal on it. Hoping Eric is ready!

12 more days.

Dr. Updates

It was doctor marathon day for us! I'll just start from the beginning and try not to leave anything out. I can't remember what all I've shared here about everything (could be a lot or could be nothing) so I'll just try to explain everything.

We started the day at the Children's Hospital at 8:45 where Natalie had an Upper GI. She has been having issues with her reflux and her ped. suggested we see a specialist. The specialist we want to see in Houston will only see her after an Upper GI is done, to verify that there is indeed reflux, and also to see if there are any obstructions or anatomical problems causing the reflux. The nurses took Erica and Graham in the viewing room with them while I got to stay with Natalie. She wore a cute little kiddie hospital gown. They asked me if there was any chance I was pregnant. LORD I HOPE NOT. :) But really, no, there isn't. So I got suited up in a lead vest and stayed with her during the procedure. They asked her if she wanted chocolate or strawberry (wish they'd have had that when I had MINE done!!!), and she chose chocolate. So they added some Hershey's syrup to her Barium shake! They laid her up on the table and situated the xray machine over her. Then they showed her the screen and had her drink as much Barium as she could, as fast as she could. She liked watching it go into her stomach on the screen. You could tell she did NOT like it, but she was such a tropper and just kept chugging it. Once there was enough in there, they let her drink some water, which she much preferred. At this point, Graham was having a total meltdown in the other room. I told the nurse he was REALLY tired, and that if she held him close and tight with his paci, he'd probably go to sleep. It was like she'd never held a baby before in her life. He was NOT going to sleep the way SHE was holding him! lol So I asked Natalie if it was ok if I went in there with Graham for a minute, and she was fine. She was just laying there and the dr. and 2 other nurses were there talking with her too. They were just watching and waiting to see if reflux occurred. As soon as I took Graham and held him the way I'd told the nurse to do, he went right to sleep. I rocked him for a minute then laid him in the stroller. As soon as I walked back in to Natalie, they said that the reflux had just occurred, and so that was all the needed. The dr. did also say that her anatomy looked good, so there is nothing abnormal in there causing the reflux. So now, we can go see the specialist in Houston. When she was done, they let her pick out a stuffed fish from this drawer full of them. They were all handmade and very cute. She picked one with a McDonald's fabric. We left there at about 10:00, and our next appt. was for Graham at 11:20. Natalie had to fast for the procedure, so she was very hungry. I had packed some snacks for her, so she ate some goldfish until we could get some food. We stopped at the McDonald's that is near the dr's office, and I got the kids some nuggets and let them play for a little bit until we had to leave for the appt. Last night when I was changing Graham's diaper before bed, I got totally freaked out when it appeared to me that his testicles were... well... missing. His normally large sac was very small and seemed empty. I called Eric in a frenzy and he told me to take a picture and send it to him so I did. He said it was hard to tell from the pic, but that it had probably just shrunk because he was cold. I asked several of my friends who have boys, and got pretty much the same response from all of them. So I told myself, I must be crazy and they are probably right. Well, this morning when I checked, it was the same and I knew something was not right. So I made the dr. appt. for him. Our regular pediatrician wasn't in the office today, so we saw someone else. She checked him out and said that he has a "retractile testicle" (in the office, it was just the one, but since I've been back home, I can see it's actually both of them). That basically means that his testicles can spontaneously move back up into his groin. But you can manually find them and move them back down into the scrotum. And this is painless for him. They can also spontaneously move themselves back down into the scrotum, and basically go back and forth as they please lol. This does not cause a problem as of now. Most likely this will correct itself by the time he reaches puberty. But there is a chance that they can become ascended. Which means that they go back up into the groin, and cannot be manually moved back into the scrotum. And it would painful for him to try and move them manually. In that case, he would need surgery to have them moved back into the scrotum and sewn in place permanently. So basically I am to just keep an eye on them, and when I notice they are retracted, to try and see if I can manually move them back down. If there comes a time where it gets very swollen and/or painful, then he'll need to be seen asap. So, while it's nothing sever, my gut was right. Something was wrong. Mamas, follow your instincts. Ok, so that appt. went well enough. We got out of there around 12:00. I remembered to pack Graham's bottle, water, and formula, but forgot to pack extra bottle liners and I had thrown his away at the dr's office before I realized it. Luckily he wasn't starving yet, so we just went straight home and I fed him and laid him down for a short nap before my appt. And it was perfect timing too because I was afraid I was going to have to wake him up to leave, but he woke up just before I walked into this room. He is always so much happier when he wakes up on his own! Then we left and went to my appt. which was at 2:00. I needed to get labwork done to get my thyroid levels checked again with my new dr. It was easy enough, but it just took awhile to get in. Then, when I told them I needed a new prescription now because I was going to run out of meds before the labs came back, they had to find the dr. and get that called in. After we left there, I went by the mall to pick up my wedding ring, which I'd dropped off to be resized. It hasn't fit since I got pregnant with
Graham and I am so happy to be able to wear it again! After the mall, I went and picked up my prescription, then asked Natalie where she wanted to eat dinner (because I'd told her she could pick since she didn't get to eat breakfast lol). She said she wanted to go to the place where you can make a face on your pancake (i.e. IHOP). I was REALLY hoping she'd pick a drive thru, because I was soooo ready to just pick some food up, go home, put Graham to bed, and SIT DOWN AND RELAX. Panda Express was RIGHT THERE. With a little coaxing (and the promise of ice cream for dessert) I got her to agree to get Panda tonight as long as we went to IHOP tomorrow. :) I will try to remember my camera tomorrow and get pics of her pancake face creation! Once I got Graham in bed, I got to talk to Eric for a little while before he went out with his friends for the night. Must be nice, ha! Sure he gets to go out several nights a week, and all weekend long and be care free and live it up... but *I* get to get hugs and snuggles and wet kisses all.day.long. :) I'm one lucky mama! I'm about to get off here and research some cameras. Eric is closer to conceding the camera war! hehe

I officially HATE my camera

I know I've mentioned before my distaste for my camera. I used to love it (in fact, this is the 2nd one of this camera because I dropped and broke the first one), but I am just NOT happy with the quality of pictures it takes. And really, that is not even the biggest reason I don't like it. It DRAINS batteries. I am constantly having to put new batteries in it. Rarely can I use it more than twice without having to change the batteries. It does not focus well unless we're outside and I don't have to use the flash. It is really frustrating when I'm trying to take pics and half of them I have to throw out because they are incredibly out of focus. And then the icing on the cake, is that the stupid lens cap does not stay on. It pops off constantly, which then means it's serving no purpose whatsoever. And all of the above, is the reason I can't seem to make myself take many pictures lately. I want a new camera sooo bad. I am trying to talk Eric into it, but I don't know if he's willing to pay for the one I REALLY want. I'm hoping to find a good deal soon.

As far as the workbox thing... I've had several people email me and ask about it, and I promise I will get a post up about it soon. I am still trying to find the time to put all my thoughts together in on place, oh yeah, and get some pics *sigh*.

Two more weeks until Eric is home. Fourteen days. I cannot wait. I miss my husband. The kids miss their daddy.

And because I HATE posting without a pic... here are some of Graham playing in his crib yesterday.

Praying for Stellan

You can follow the link in the right column of my blog or go here to read about Stellan. Please pray for him, his family, and dr's today!

Here's my crew wearing their orange for Stellan!

Still catching up

I am still so behind from my trip to Houston. Everytime I sit down to try and start a new blog post, I get distracted by one of the other dozen things taking up my time. We had a great trip, but it went by entirely too fast. Here are a few pics from our weekend.

Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday

me and Graham (like my new hair?)


Natalie and Erica


Jordan and Noah


Adam, Luke, and Liam


at my friend Jessica's (6 kids under one roof for 24 hours was almost insane! lol)

Blake, Jayden, Natalie, and Erica


Natalie and Jayden


Blake and Erica


Natalie, Graham and Camryn


This is my new favorite pic of Erica. I love her squinty blue eyes, little beaver smile, and cute little chubby fingers!!!

Coloring Easter Eggs

It's after midnight and I'm planning on leaving first thing in the morning after breakfast to drive to Houston. But I HAD to look at the pics I took of the girls today coloring Easter eggs. I got them this really cool kit and they loved it. It had 5 colors with like mini paint rollers. They had a lot of fun and it was so much easier (for them and me) than traditional egg dye.

**disclaimers haha** i know the counter behind them is messy. it's covered in mail that still needs to be sorted. and yes that's Graham's bumbo on the counter, but no i don't put him in it and leave him there. he sits in it while i stand right there and make his bottle. and excuse Erica's bed head, i never refixed her hair after she woke up from her nap. funny too, you can see Natalie's piece of bangs finally starting to grow out some from when she cut it back in december.

Out of my Homeschooling Rut!

There are just not enough hours in the day! I'm sorry that I have not been better about keeping my blog updated. But being a single mom to 3 kids is a lot of work! Who'd a thunk it? lol I want to thank my friend Gabby for introducing me to something that is taking the online homeschool community by storm. Sue Patrick's Workbox System is fantastic! I have been in a real homeschooling rut since Graham has been born. I wasn't really worried about Natalie getting behind because she's already doing 1st grade stuff anyway. But I just could not figure out a way to get organized, and to make it more than "let's sit down and do your workbook now". I wanted it to be FUN. And not just fun for Natalie, but fun for me too! Natalie does like doing workbooks, but I personally need more than that. And I was trying to get as much done when both of the other kids were asleep as I could. So this workbox system sounded great to me. A great way or organizing all the day's work. A great way for Natalie to be able to do work more independently (which means I can be doing something else like laundry, feeding Graham etc. while she still gets her work done). And a great way to add in more of those fun things that seem to get left behind because there just isn't enough time. If you want more info on this system, feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to further explain it or send you links to others who have done so quite eloquently.

Now, this is only our first day implementing the system, and I can already tell it's going work very well for us! I started it just for Natalie, but now realize that Erica is going to greatly benefit from her own set of workboxes each day! (I'm gonna work on that tonight). Just an example of how well it worked for us today. Normally, we don't even begin trying to do any schoolwork until both Graham and Erica are asleep in the afternoon, after lunch. It's just been too chaotic to try and do anything while they're awake. I filled the boxes for the day last night and I showed Natalie the system first thing this morning and she got it right away. It's not hard to grasp the concept, even for a Kindergartner. She got started right after breakfast. Around 11:30, we all left to go to the post office and a quick stop at Target for some things. When we got home, we ate lunch and I started to get Erica and Graham down for a nap. Right now, it's 3:00 and Natalie has been done with all of her work for the day for about 30 min. And today is one of those days where we normally wouldn't have gotten much done, because Erica and Graham were only asleep at the same time for about 30 min. And not only did she get all of her basic curriculum done, she also got to do some more fun things (like make an Easter card for Daddy, bake muffins with me, and do some art projects that go along with her lessons). I am just floored by how easy it was to implement and how much time is saving me! I am getting twice as much done!

And because these are the only pics I have taken since my last post, I just have to share. This is how I found Graham when I went to get him up this morning. (Please ignore his stained sheets, that boy still has some major spit up days)

what?

Baths Still Suck!!! But other stuff is good.

You'd think that after several dozen baths, he'd get over it by now. But no. Graham hates baths as much now as he ever did.

Not quite aware yet of the situation, yet still a little concerned.


Is that bath water running?


WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???????????????


I Hate You Mom!!!!!!


Is it over yet?


And once again, he survived. :)

I am REALLY looking forward to our trip to Houston next weekend for Easter. I still need to coordinate with my family a time to get together. But we are meeting Eric's family down on "the farm" that Saturday for the annual Easter party. The kids always have so much fun hunting eggs and playing in the (usually) glorious weather. Here are some pics from years past.
2005 - Natalie with the prize egg!


2006



2007 - it was unseasonably cold that year!



We're also planning on going to church on Easter Sunday. It will be so nice to see all our friends again! One of the hardest parts about moving for me, was leaving our church family. Yes, it's hard to leave our "real" family too, but I know they'll come for visits, and we'll see them. But leaving our church family behind has been really difficult. I've been a member of that church since I was 5 years old (except for a small hiatus when my parents became church hoppers lol). I was saved and baptized there. Eric and I met there. We were married there. We've had all of our kids dedicated there. The people at FCBC have been such a support system for us. When we left, they gave us a going away present. Three actually. Two for Eric and me and one for the kids. First they gave us this decorative letter M, for Matlock. Then they gave us a wall plaque, in which they had members sign the back. They gave the kids a book by Max Lucado called "You are Special". It's such a wonderful story. As soon as we moved into this house, I couldn't wait to find a place for our new decorations. I knew immediately that I wanted to put the wall plaque, that says FAITH, above our front door.



It took me a little longer to figure out where I wanted to put our M. I finally decided I liked it in the kitchen!


It's been a long week this week. Just one more til Easter!

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."


When I was a teenager, I remember studying the spiritual gifts. I thought for sure mine was something to do with helping others. I was very compassionate and always willing to lend a helping hand. As I've grown into adulthood (when did that happen?) I've come to realize, that while I do still try to help when I can, I don't think that is my spiritual gift. I believe it is that of faithfulness. I think I realized it most in 2007. That was a VERY rough year for me. It started on New Years Day when I got a positive pregnancy test. Erica was only 13 months old and the last thing we were planning for at that moment was baby #3. We hadn't even decided if were going HAVE another baby, much less so soon. I was so scared, but knew God had a plan for us. And if that meant three kids 3 and under, then Praise the Lord! Then in March, I went to the OB for a typical 14 week check up. There was no heartbeat on the doppler, so she wheeled in the ultrasound machine. At that moment I learned my baby had died. I was given the choice of waiting for labor to start on it's own (which it may not have), inducing labor, or having a d&c. Eric was scheduled to deploy to Iraq the next week, so I definitely didn't want to wait for anything. And at that moment, the last thing I could imagine doing was laboring and delivering a stillborn. So, I opted for the d&c. We scheduled it for the next day. At that point, we hadn't learned the sex of our baby, but I'd already been toying with names. I had Meredith as a front runner if it was a girl. Eric agreed that if we found out the baby was a girl, we would name her that. The next day at the hospital, after the dr. had successfully removed the baby, she told Eric that it was a boy. I remember the moment he told me, my heart sank. I had lost my first little boy. We hadn't even really discussed boy names, because for us, they were harder to agree upon. As I sat in recovery, I used Eric's laptop to browse online looking for the perfect name for our little angel. As I looked through baby name sites, I came across the name Matthew. I had always liked that name, but never thought we could use it, because I didn't want him to end up being Matt Matlock. When I clicked on the name, I saw the meaning, "gift from God". That was it. It was perfect. God had given us a precious gift, and the name was so fitting. I will not lie and say that getting through that loss was easy. It most certainly was not. I still cry for my son who I never met. But I felt an unexplainable peace about it all. Well, not completely unexplainable. I know that peace came from God. But I cannot explain His ways. It was remarkable to me that I was able to get through that time and move forward. Especially with Eric being deployed to Iraq so soon after. When he returned, we discussed having another baby. We both realized that we DID want to add a 3rd child to our lives. So for the first time in our lives, we actually TRIED to get pregnant (Natalie and Erica were also both surprise blessings!). We were ecstatic when we found out I was pregnant! I of course was very nervous. As anyone who has had a pregnancy loss can atest, you never go into another pregnancy without those same fears and concerns. And at 7 weeks, my greatest fear was realized when I started bleeding in the middle of the night. Eric took me to the hospital the next day to get checked out, but I was not far enough along for them to be able to tell me much by ultrasound. So it was all a waiting game. I continued to bleed for a few days, and then on Sept. 5, I started cramping heavily, and ended up passing the baby at home. It seemed like it was over as fast as it started. I couldn't understand why this was happening again. But I had faith that God was in control, and even thought *I* couldn't understand the whys behind it all, I knew He had a plan, and it was a perfect plan for my life. We never knew the sex of that baby, but Natalie always referred to it as a boy, and she had told me while I was still pregnant, that we should name the baby Will. So we did. I was VERY happy when my dr. told me that she would run tests to try and figure out what was causing my miscarriages. There are many doctors who will not do anything until you have had three in a row. After some labwork, we found out that I had 2 problems. First I had MTHFR, which is a genetic blood clotting disorder. It is two-fold for pregnancy, because it can cause blood clots to form (which is the dr's best guess as to what happened with my miscarriages) and it also keeps my body from absorbing folic acid effectively, which anyone who's been pregnant can tell you how important folic acid is for the a growing baby. So I was put on baby aspirin for a blood thinner, and increased folic acid. Then I also had hypothyroidism. She put me on 50mg of Synthroid and I had to wait 6 weeks to get tested to make sure the dosage was right. So I did that, but when I was tested, we discovered that the dosage was not high enough and that my thyroid was still overactive. So we upped my dose to 75 mg, and I had to wait another 6 weeks for testing. Finally, 3 months later, everything seemed to be in order, and I was given the green light to try to conceive again! That is where 2007 left off and the wonderful year of 2008 began. God blessed us immensely in 2008. We got our perfect little man, Graham, in October. I kept my faith that the Lord had good things in store for us. And boy was I right! However, things aren't always looking up. So far 2009 has been a doozy of a year for us. It started with good things. Eric was offered a great job in San Antonio. But along with that has been headache after headache. I will not go into too many details (because I'm not sure what Eric would feel comfortable with me sharing), but between changing jobs, trying to sell our house, our vehicles, sick kids, another 6 week trip for Eric, and countless other things, we feel like we're being put through the ringer. I have asked Eric several times if this job was worth it, and he laughs and says "ask me in a year". I try to stay positive, but it has been hard. But I have to remember that God has a plan for us. And His plan is PERFECT. We do not have to understand it. We just have to TRUST that He can see the big picture, and that eventually, things WILL be better. "Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld." -2 Chron. 20:20

House Update

The home inspection showed that our roof had more damage from Ike than we realized and needs to be replaced. The buyers have backed out completely, so we're back to square one. Or actually square zero, because now we have to deal with the roof. Yippee Skippy.

Dr. Appt. Update

Possible TMI for any guys reading this. Feel free to skip ahead :)
My appt. went very well this morning. I had all 3 kids with me and the girls were very well behaved (considering they're still kids afterall). Poor Graham was tired since it was his usual morning naptime. But as long as I was holding him he was ok. The uti test came back negative but they are going to send it off to the lab for more testing just to make sure. They went ahead and did an exam (that was fun with the baby on my lap) and found some irritation, so they're treating me for a yeast infection. They said if my symptoms get worse over the next couple days to let them know. The labs should be back in 3 days.


We did get done in time to make it to the playgroup. They met at a little seafood place that has a nice patio with a playscape on it for the kids. It was perfect weather outside and the kids had a great time. I got to meet 4 other mommies and their kids. I'm always the one with the most kids and with the oldest (since Natalie is K). This group has something planned almost every single day, so there should always be something we can attend, which is nice. A funny story though. One of the ladies was talking about how she had just taken her daughter to the dentist that morning and I was asking her if she recommended that dentist, because I needed to find a new one for the kids here. She raved about him and the location was pretty good so I was thinking about trying to get them in there. Then she just happened to mention that the dentist was wearing a bunny costume today, and last time he was dressed as a clown. Could you IMAGINE if I took Erica there! LOL She already hates going to the dentist, I'd hate to see her reaction to an Easter Bunny Dentist! HAHAHA