Week 35

So, today has been nice. The relief of being through with my part time job for a long while is encouraging and helpful in keeping my house duties going (as much as I can do now days) I am thankful for Nick's help this weekend in getting the laundry caught up after last week's battle with hormones, tiredness, Ava being sick etc. He's handy to have around ;) hehe. Ava and I went to Canyon, as usual for a Monday, to take Pop's his laundry and have lunch with him and play. He sure enjoys it, as do we. Soaking up that time is priceless. Today I had all these "getting ready' things to do for our little trip to Ft. Worth. After leaving Canyon I headed up to get a tire patched, that has been leaking and ended up going ahead and buying new tires. For once, we have the opportunity to go ahead and buy them and with all the traveling we are about to do, we need them. So, praise God we have new tires. Here's the catch...I had a 14 month old with me. sheesh. She did well though. Just a little busy, but some puff snacks and my strong will kept her occupied for the duration. I decided I should change her diaper and so we went into the bathroom there at Discount and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was sooo clean. awesome. So I get Ava up on the changing table and start to change her....as soon as I turn around to get powder out of her bag, she is peeing on the new diaper and all over her self, the table and her only pair of pants I brought today. (the ones she was wearing) gosh. I'm thinking, how much longer will we have to wait and she is soaked now. So I get a new diaper....go ahead and put her wet pants on her and find the tshirt in her bag and put that in her stroller and put her in the stroller and when we got out of the bathroom, they had called our name. YAY! Great timing I must say. Haha. She's sleeping in her bed now, I am drinking a big cherry lime and enjoying the quiet house. Truly. No tv, no music. Just the hum of the AC. So, I am tired now since staying at discount much longer than anticipated, so I have no energy to finish my list right now. Hopefully later today, before nick works on the lawn I can get the jeep cleaned out and vacuumed, etc. I hate going on a trip with an already messy car.

So, for reals. An update y'all want to hear about. For now, the update is....
We are leaving tomorrow night (Tuesday) for Ft. Worth for a round of appointments and tours. Wednesday is FULL of appointments, first with  Dr. Roten, the cardiologist, where we will get a new echocardiogram done, we will talk with her and she will let us know if there have been any changes in Noah that she can tell on the echo. (who knows, we might see a whole heart, God isn't out of miracles) We also know that his heart could be the same and the game plan is still on for the 3 stages of surgeries. Either way, God is in control and we are ok with that. :) We will tour the NICU, the cardiology part of the NICU and meet some of the nurses and staff who man that part of the NICU. It will be great to already have met some of the staff. We will then have an appt with Dr. Tam (the surgeon) He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins and studied under the surgeon, Dr. Norwood, for whom the first surgery is named after. We are confident in Dr. Tam and his abilities. We pray blessing over his hands and mind. We know he will do his best on Noah. We will then finish tours of the facilities and be done for the day. Hopefully we can go out that night and eat dinner as a family and enjoy somewhere we don't have in Amarillo. :) Thursday morning we go back for a dr appointment with my obgyn and then we'll head back to the AMA.
We plan on leaving amarillo to take Ava and I down to Ft. worth to stay, on September 8th. Noah's shower is that morning, let me know if you would like to come and I'll give you the address and time. :) and then we are going to pack up and  head out. If for some reason they want me there earlier than the 8th, we will just have to figure something out with the shower, etc. Hopefully the 8th will be soon enough.

So, that is all for now. I will update after we get back with a full medical update and dates times etc on when we will be gone.

Please pray for my blood pressure and swelling as we travel. I have not had a problem at all so far, and I don't want to have a problem. :)

Traveling mercies. safety.

communication and confidence building for Nick and I as we go through the appts and tours on Wednesday

FOR NOAH TO BE HEALED AND WHOLE. in whatever way God chooses.

For Ava as she stays with Nick's cousin Stacey and his other cousin Stephanie on Wednesday, for her as we travel.

On a side note: I have gone through the ringer with hormones, emotions, fear and anxiety last week especially. This week has started out wonderfully. Things that are helping me, obviously are prayers. I've been digging in the Word and continuing to pursue God's best for us, for me, through all of this. Our church family continues to inspire me, encourage me and remind me of God's goodness, mercy, plan, and grace over us. They are awesome!! Nick is excited to get out of town for a day or so and is glad to finally be able to get to a couple of appts with me. We are so blessed to have had the Glass Doctor fundraiser be such a success and that has helped Nick not feel so strapped about missing work, financially etc. So I am thankful that he is positive and ready to take us down there and be that support I need in those moments that get hard. No one can replace him, but my sister sure was the best next to him in the last couple of trips. THANK YOU SISSY! I am getting excited, because I am choosing to set aside fear and anxiety and focus on the fact that WE HAVE A LITTLE BOY COMING!!!! Holy cow! I am excited to have another baby, scared out of my mind at times, but none the less, I am excited to add another little one to our fold, to our legacy, to our silly family. I am ready to see him, hold him and kiss him. :) So many GOOOOOOD things coming through Noah, not just the hard stuff. I am rejoicing in the gift that God has entrusted us with and I can't wait to meet him!

Thanks y'all for support, prayers, love and encouragement!

blessings,
shaina