Our Unofficial Official Plan...

Here's our plan, which we've learned by now, could change at anytime!

*After talking with the Peoria doctors and our Champaign doctors (and God!), we've decided to deliver in Champaign.


*Kai's delivery date (as long as he's patient enough) will be January 31st.  =)

*We will be having a c-section. Our doctor ultimately left the decision in our hands, but recommended c-section as the safest way to deliver Kai without putting too much stress on his heart.

*We plan to have all of our family, including our kids, at the hospital when it's time to deliver.  We want our family to meet Kai and be able to enjoy what time we do have with him.  Our doctor is working out plans with the neonatologist and the nursing staff so that everyone can be with him as soon as possible.

*Once delivered, Kai will be stabilized (hopefully), and taken immediately to the NICU for an evaluation and an echo cardiogram. By the time I am in recovery, we should be able to hold Kai and spend time with him.

*If the echo cardiogram would show us any signs of hope for successful surgery, we would be transferred to Peoria within the first few days of Kai's life.  

*We have so many generous friends and family that have offered to help in so many different ways!  Some are making personalized keepsakes for Kai, some dear friends that are professional photographers are going to be there at his birth to take pictures of our family with him, and some have offered to help with the kids before, during, and after his birth. I know it's hard to make exact plans (especially as far as the kids go), but it is so comforting to know that we have so much love and support. We appreciate them offering help with such generosity. It truly does make this situation easier. God has put some amazing people with us on this journey!
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So, on a side note, we had a really sweet sonographer in Peoria. At the end of the sonogram, she pulled out the 3D sono machine and offered to try to get some pictures of Kai. We really had no idea what to expect, some trisomy babies can be severely deformed, albeit absolutely beautiful. Mr. Kai was so shy at first, with his little hands up over his face, so we checked out his tiny little body. We loved seeing his long legs and precious little feet. Dave and I sat there with tears in our eyes, just totally amazed... this was our first 3D sono and it was just a perfect experience.  He would move his little arms and hands around, but kept them up over his face most of the time. The sonographer was so patient, thank goodness!  His little hands were so adorable, with his little overlapped fingers, a common trait among trisomy babies that I think is absolutely adorable!  Finally for a brief second, he moved his hands long enough to get a picture of part of his face.  Awww... we just felt like we could burst with love for this little boy!  We have disc full of pictures, but she did print out a couple of his little face that we would love to share with you. The quality isn't the best because our scanner isn't working, so I had to just take a picture...

Lamentations 3:22 - 25
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is they faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul: therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

Heavy hearts, but still praising God! Update on Peoria appointments....

Most of you know that our big day in Peoria was on Monday. We had several appointments that lasted all day, including an echo for Kai, meeting with maternal fetal meds and the doctors that would be delivering Kai, touring the hospital and the NICU, and meeting with the neonatologist.

Honestly, I was excited to go and spend the day with Dave and make plans for our little Kai entering the world!  But what started out as a fun day ended in an emotionally draining day.

Our first appointment was the detailed echo of Kai's heart. After a LONG echo was performed by both the cardiologist and the sonographer, he had to break some pretty devastating news to us.  Kai's very complex heart problem is worse and more urgent than we thought.  The doctor sat down with us, with tears in his eyes and very shaky hands, and told us that it doesn't look like Kai will be able to survive longer than 12-48 hours after his birth, due to his heart problems alone. Needless to say, our hearts just broke.

The problem remains that his aortic valve has several defects.  Without going into too much detail, Kai has 2 issues w/ his aortic valve, called critical aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation.  The aortic valve is completely responsible for the blood flow out of the heart and into the rest of the body. His valve doesn't open properly and can not carry out that very important function.  The other problem (aortic regurgitation) is that the valve is incompetent and the blood flows in the wrong direction, back to his heart.

While we are still trying to make sure we are well-informed on our options,  it currently looks like surgery is not an ideal option. If open heart surgery can be done, it would need to be done within the first few days of his life. This specific surgery doesn't have a high-success rate in a healthy newborn, let alone a baby with health complications.

I will say that I am so thankful that most of our doctors, including our pediatric cardiologists, have been wonderful!  Most of you may not know, but Trisomy 18 is a very controversial disorder.  Some doctors think that these babies should be left to die and obviously as I said before, termination is encouraged.  A lot of  mothers have to fight for appropriate care during their pregnancy and then also fight for care of their newborn as well.  I have read many stories from T18 mamas about their doctors being very cold, negative, pushy, and also giving them false information to try to suede them in a certain direction. Our doctors have been amazing and have gone above and beyond to provide us with the best care.

After getting today's diagnosis, unfortunately, our doctor seemed to have very little hope, but tried to still remain positive and encouraging.  After getting home and researching what he has told us (concerning Kai's diagnosis and the possible surgery), he was exactly correct.  It's devastating to get this news, but it's comforting to know that we, including Kai, are getting the best possible care. I can't even imagine the stress of having to fight for care, while learning all of these things about our unborn child.     

Please pray for us as we have to make some hard decisions.  We need God to guide us and give us wisdom.  We still have no doubt that God has a purpose and plan for Kai.  We continue to pray that in the end, no matter what the outcome, God will receive all the glory!

Please also pray that we will be accepting of God's plan for him.  This is SOOOO not what we want for Kai, but it is obviously what is best for him and our family.  Even though this has been heart-wrenching at times, it is amazing that God has given us such an amazing peace. A peace that I never would have thought possible in the middle of such a hard trial.

Please pray for our kids. Some of them are more emotional than others and it's so hard for them to understand. Shoot, it's hard for an adult to understand, let alone a child! It just breaks my heart to hear them ask if just maybe the doctors could be wrong and maybe Kai will get to come home with us.


Please praise God with us!  We are so thankful for the time that God has given us with Kai so far!  When we first found out about his diagnosis, we knew his chances of surviving this pregnancy were very slim. God has given us 223 days with him since we found out he was with us! He has been loved and enjoyed for every single one of those days!

God has continued to teach us SO much through this journey. I have grown spiritually in leaps and bounds in these last few months!  He truly knows what is needed in our life and my faith in our omniscient God has taken on a whole new meaning!

We will be meeting with our regular OB/GYN, Dr. Shepherd, and revising our plan tomorrow.  I will be sure to share the details with you all soon!

Thank you so much for all the texts and FB messages that you sent, letting us know that you are praying for us! We appreciate your love and support! =)

Happy New Year! Updates on Kai...

There's not been anything major to report in the way of appointments lately. Everything has been going pretty smooth and that is an answer to prayer!  We are usually going back and forth to appointments at least once or twice a week. Here's what we do know...

Kai has continued to grow bigger!  The last time we had a growth sono, he was about 3 1/2 pounds, which was right on target.  I feel like they always tell me that my babies are going to be bigger than what they end up being.  They said that Tucker was going to be at least 11 pounds and he was "only" 8 lbs 13 ozs.  I think it's their long arms and long legs that throw them off.  But at least we know that Kai isn't lagging behind too much!

His head/profile are in the upper right corner. It looks like he's sitting in a hammock,
legs and feet on the left side. =)

 

He is looking straight forward, chubby little face in the middle of the picture.

Kai has done great on his biophysical profiles. We usually go about once a week for these ultrasounds.  He has had a good strong heart rate, excellent fetal movement, and has gotten great scores for practicing his breathing! He is still SOOOO active.  There was only one sonogram where he was barely moving. It was so cute, in the beginning of the sono he was being very wiggly and within the first few minutes, he put both hands behind his head and went to sleep.  The sonographer pushed and prodded him for 15 minutes and he would NOT wake up! Kai just does his own thing, I guess... stubborn like his mama!

Little man has been head-down for the past month or so, but about 3 days ago, I told Dave that I thought he flipped around.  I could feel his hard kicks in a totally different area than usual.  Sure enough, when we were in for a sono today, she mentioned that he was transverse (sideways).  Little stinker!  Our doctor said that he could still easily flip back, especially with all the extra fluid... it gives him more room to swim around! Ha!

As far as my fluid, it is still considered very high, but it could be worse! The normal range of fluid is 8 - 20 cm and mine is around 35 - 39 cm most of the time.  I am still feeling great though!  I imagined I would be totally miserable by now, but thank the Lord, I am still enjoying every bit of this pregnancy.  Dave has been off work for a couple weeks, due to a shut-down at his work. I think that has really helped! God blessed me with a wonderful, sweet husband that takes good care of me! 


Some plans on labor and delivery...

After talking with our OB/GYN, we have definitely decided to deliver in Peoria. It is a little sad for me. We just love Carle and we love, love, looooooove our OB/GYN, Dr. Shepherd. We feel comfortable with him and he knows me so well. He has been such a wonderful support to us throughout this pregnancy.  He has called me at home to check on me and always tells us that he is there for us, even if it's just to talk. We've shared lots of hugs and even some tears over the past few months.  He agrees that we need to go to Peoria as well, for Kai's sake.  I will continue to see him right up until I deliver.  He assured both Dave and I that we will be in excellent hands in Peoria.  He had a lot of great things to say about the doctors and the hospital over there.

Dr. Shepherd said that he assumes that they will induce labor at 39 weeks, which would put us having Kai the last week of January! Yikes... only 4 weeks away!  It's so scary and exciting at the same time! I feel like we have so much preparing that needs to be done, yet we have no idea really "how" to prepare!

There is a chance that I could go into labor on my own, especially since my fluid is so high. It could "trick" my body into thinking that I am full term.  If I do go into labor, I am to immediately get to Carle, where they will evaluate me and put me on a helicopter to Peoria.  This will make things so much more complicated, so we are praying that Kai will just hang in there until his appointed birth date gets here! 

We aren't sure yet if we will have Kai naturally or if it will be c-section. We are hoping to find out more once we talk to the doctors at Peoria.  I have never had a c-section before, so that will be a whole new ballgame for us!

All that being said, we go to Peoria this Monday, January 7th. We have several appointments that day, including an echo appointment for Kai, maternal fetal medicine, and tours of the hospital and NICU.


Please continue to pray for us!  We appreciate every prayer and every sweet message that you send to us!

We feel like God has blessed us tremendously on this journey already and we know that He has so much more in store for us! There are going to be sad times for sure and it may not be what we want, but knowing that it's all part of God's perfect plan will be our hope!  I am so thankful that God knows what is best for us and we can hand it all over to Him. 


Isaiah 55:8,9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Kai's Appointment Update

Thank you so much for all of the prayers! We feel very loved and blessed!  We talked to the older kids tonight about what an amazing support system we have!  I know that it brought some comfort to them, just knowing how many people told us they were praying and left sweet encouraging "notes".  Knowing that so many people are storming the throne on our behalf gives us an amazing peace! God, the creator of the universe, hears each and every little prayer. How awesome is that!??!

Our appointment went very smooth today.  We saw Dr. Shah and we really, really liked him!  We've heard great things about him from people who have had experience with him personally.

Just so you know, today was ALL focused on Kai's heart. He has many other "issues", but those were not addressed today. We had about an hour and a half of straight sono on his heart... thanks to his wiggly self!  He was not behaving and made it a little difficult on the doctors to get the info they needed, but in the end, the doctors felt like they had a good idea on what we are dealing with.  Here are the details that we know from the appointment today.

Kai has 2 major issues that the doctors are concerned with.  He has a few other small heart defects, that don't seem to effect how his heart functions, so as for now, we are assuming that the smaller defects will not require surgery. This is good news!

One of the issues (the lesser of the two) is a large VSD... which is a large hole in between the bottom two chambers of his heart. This will require surgery, but not immediately. Good news!

The other issue has to do with his aortic valve. Kai's aortic valve is very abnormal and doesn't function properly, which causes the blood to flow in different directions. It is also very narrow and leaky.  Kai would more than likely require open-heart surgery, but the good news is, that it shouldn't need to take place immediately after birth!  Originally, we were told that he would need to be rushed off to surgery, which for obvious reasons, would be very risky.  Even though this defect is very serious, we are thankful that it's not as bad as it originally seemed to be. (I won't go into the details of all that! It's enough to confuse anyone!)  With this heart defect, he is at a higher risk for going into heart failure in utero.  If he does go into heart failure in utero, sadly, there is nothing that can be done.  He is going to be closely monitored and they will be checking up on his heart again in a couple weeks.


Also, after talking with the doctor today, he highly recommended that we deliver in Peoria.  He said with Kai's condition, he believes it would be best if the heart team was there at his birth. Baby's can always throw a curve ball, and if he was to need surgery right away, we can't imagine sending him off to Peoria in a helicopter. We would both want to be there with him.  This obviously adds some unexpected changes to our plan, but we think it will be best for Kai.  We fully intend on having all of the kids there with us and I think with our families being so willing to help, we can come up with a plan! We will be going to the hospital to visit and meet with some of the staff in a couple weeks. Please pray for us as we make these arrangements.

Once again, thanks so much for all of your prayers and concern. We will do our best to keep you updated on a more regular basis!  Our next appointment is on the 14th and they will be checking on his growth and my fluid. Please feel free to ask any questions, any time! Love to you all!

Update and Prayer Requests...

We've had a couple appointments and I figure I am past due on updating, so here's some things we know.

We had an echocardiogram done on Kai a few weeks ago. It was not a real detailed echo, because I was only about 24 weeks along at the time. The doctor did see some quite complex issues and seemed very concerned.  He had a hard time giving us a definite diagnosis because Kai was so wiggly! 

On that note, this little boy moves 24-7!  I've read that a lot of T18 babies are not very active, but God sure blessed us with a boy that moves and grooves all day (and night) long! I love every second of it! I can tell he's grown in the past couple weeks because the feeling of his movements have changed. =)

At our last couple sonograms, Kai has been growing bigger! Yay! Most T18 babies have very low birth weight, so they have been checking on him regularly and he seems to be keeping up!  I am definitely doing my part on feeding him well!

In other news,  I have been diagnosed with a condition called polyhydramnios.  This basically means that I have too much amniotic fluid.  We were told it is caused by 1of 3 things... #1. Kai hasn't properly developed the muscles to "swallow", #2. Kai's brain is not sending him the signal to swallow, or #3. Kai has a blockage in the esophagus area, which is not allowing him to swallow.  For those that don't know, the baby usually swallows amniotic fluid on a regular basis and then urinates what is not needed. That process has been interrupted and my body continues to produce the fluid. It shouldn't cause any major issues with the baby, but they do plan on monitoring him (and me) regularly through sonograms and non-stress tests.  In the meantime, this mama may be extremely uncomfortable!  At my last appointment, I measured full term, even though I had 2 1/2 months left to go!  Needless to say, bending over to pick something up is NOT my favorite thing right now! Thank you Lord for a hubby and kiddos that are willing to help... most of the time without even being asked!  It's a good thing that I have that God-given talent of picking stuff up with my toes... that has sure been coming in handy lately! 

I would like to ask for some specific prayers please!

#1.  Our appointment with the pediatric cardiology specialist from Peoria is tomorrow...well, I guess today, Wednesday.  Please pray for wisdom as the doctor diagnoses Kai's heart condition.  Please pray for us as we are in this appointment. It's always nice to see our sweet boy on that screen, but it's always hard to hear the list of issues that he has.  Just pray that Dave and I (and our family) will continue to trust in God's plan, no matter what the outcome.

#2.  Please pray for us as we make some very difficult decisions over the next few weeks.  Decisions that we never would've dreamed that we would have to make for our unborn child.  Please pray that God will give us the wisdom and understanding to make decisions that we are confident with.

#3. Also, please pray for physical strength for me.  With all of my pregnancies, I have felt great, right up to the day that I delivered.  However, this diagnosis of polyhydramnios is obviously going to be something that will hinder me physically. I am a do-it-yourselfer, and I am not good at asking for help.  My husband has been wonderful about making me stop and sit down and take breaks, even when I don't want to! I am so thankful for him! But, unfortunately, he's not always around, and I usually end up kicking myself for doing too much at the end of the day. I am just a "little" stubborn and hard-headed sometimes! It's taking a while to sink in, but this past week, I have really tried to take it a little easier. Bed rest is just NOT an option when I have 8 other people to take care of!

#4.  Please just pray for strength for us. Not just Dave and I, but our kids and family as well. Every single day, usually multiple times a day, I beg God for strength to get through this trial and He delivers!

We are so thankful for friends and family that pray for us! We can tell you are all just lifting us up in prayer!  Your notes of encouragement and messages that let us know that you are praying mean so much! God is so good... all the time, God is good!

Psalm 33:20-22
We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. 

Our Week in Review

We've had quite the exciting week! I wanted to share some pictures and jot some memories down so I don't forget them!

Four of our boys have birthdays this month. Nolan and Nevin turned 6 on the 18th, Bryson turns 8 on the 29th and Ashton turns 14 on Halloween!  October is such a fun month for us!  We celebrate and have special traditions all month long!

Last Saturday, we had our 6th Annual Octoberfest! We had beautiful weather and lots of family and friends that joined us to celebrate!  We had a pinata, pumpkin painting, face-painting for the kids, and of course, lots of yummy food for everyone!  It's such a fun day for everyone, not JUST the birthday boys!

The kiddies wait in line to do the pinata

Time to sing "Happy Birthday"...

Nevin

Nolan

Ashton

Bryson

 

  

Everyone insisted on singing to Mama too! =)

 I love seeing all of our family mingle!  Dave's side and my side all seem to enjoy each others' company and all of the kids get along great!

My hubby and awesome in-laws. Seriously, I am one blessed lady to have these sweet peeps in my life!

 On Sunday, we wrapped up our soccer games.  We definitely didn't have a winning season, but all of our boys played awesome and had a great time doing it!  A couple of our teams didn't have subs, and I will say that our boys played their hearts out! Often times, they would come off the field after a game feeling like they were gonna get sick from so much running! I was proud of them sticking with it and doing their absolute best, no matter what! Unfortunately, I am terrible about taking my camera with me to the soccer games. Scratch that, I am great about taking the camera to the soccer games, it just usually stays in the van during the games!! I never think about it until we are leaving! I did manage to get a couple though! Oh well...

This guy is a go-getter on the field! He wears me out just watching him!

 Tuesday was my birthday.  Dave and I had celebrated last week with a day trip to Brown County since we knew he had to work on my actual birthday.  (Hopefully a post on that trip to come!)  I had fun plans to go out to dinner with my BFF and have some girly gab time. Unfortunately, those plans got interrupted when our littlest guy, Tucker woke up in the middle of the night sick!  He was throwing up all day, poor guy!  Mama needed to stay home and get extra cuddles! Birthdays Shmirthdays!

On Thursday, the kids got out of school early and the weather was PERFECT...upper 70's and sunny!  We decided to head over to Curtis Orchard. We try to make it over there every year once Fall rolls around. I am so glad we did too! We had fun just horsing around and taking our time.

 

And my favorite one of the day....

 

We also stopped by and visited Dave's dad at work. He works over in Savoy, so we don't usually get to drop in on him with all of the kids. He just happened to have some spare time, so we made a quick stop!  It's been a couple years since we made it over, so the little guys were thrilled to try out Papa's desk and get a tour of his workplace. We had a such a nice visit and his co-workers couldn't believe how the kids have grown since we'd last visited! I think Papa's office saw a lot more action than usual that day.   A certain curious 6 year old (cough.. Nevin...cough) got his finger stuck in a hole on some post-it notes. We all couldn't quick giggling when we looked over and saw the concerned look on his face as he dangled the whole stack upside down. It was so funny, but I think it was a "you had to be there" type of thing.

This was just a cell phone pic, but it was too cute not to post!

 

After that, we decided to splurge on a trip to Dairy Queen. This was a first for our kids. With our tight budget, we are usually fans of Mike's Chill or else the $1 cones at Mickey D's!  We took them in and let them order whatever they wanted. They were in hog heaven!  I asked Nolan if he wanted a blizzard and he replied "What in the world is a blizzard!?!?" I told him it was ice cream with candy mixed up in it.  Well, his BIG eyes let me know his answer! He finally settled on an Oreo blizzard and ate every drop of it!  Perfect way to wrap up a fun afternoon! =)



 On Friday, the kids were out of school and Dave didn't have to work.  The temperature had dropped about 40 degrees, so other than a quick trip to the school for parent/teacher conferences, we were completely thrilled to stay in!

Our conferences were first thing in the morning.  I just have to say that I LOVE my kids' teachers this year!  They are such fun, creative teachers and the kids are loving school.  The teachers had SO many nice things to say about our kiddos. ( I really could go on and on, but I will spare you!) It's always so nice to hear, not only how smart they are, but also how they are kind and considerate of other kids.  Both of the teachers mentioned that all 3 of my boys were friends to everyone and always wanted to make sure that everyone is happy and taken care of. 

We had a nice lunch that afternoon, homemade chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, and homemade bread. With the cool temps outside and the good-smelling food inside, it made us all anxious for Thanksgiving! 

After lunch, we got to carving our pumpkins!  Oh my, what fun we had!  It's funny, when it comes to carving pumpkins, Ashton and Nevin were totally grossed out by "digging out the guts", as we call it!  The other kids all enjoyed it, but NOT those two!  In fact, Nevin is our "gagger", so a couple of times, he about lost it!  We couldn't help but laugh!  He would just watch people pulling out the "guts" and it was all he could do to NOT throw up! He he!  Here's a few pics from that day...

Even Tuck enjoyed carving pumpkins. He was very direct w/ telling daddy what he wanted him to do. He pointed out exactly where he wanted the "trigangles". =)

Mama helped these guys

The girls particularly liked digging the "guts" out.  They were both very creative w/ their pumpkins!  Taelyn even gave her pumpkin a mustache! Silly girl!

Finally done!

Today, we got to go out to Camp Assurance and enjoy our annual church picnic! It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast!  The weather ended up being great... ideal for our hayride! My mom remembered her camera, so we took some cute pictures with it. I will try to post those pics soon! After all, those pics have some very incriminating evidence against our Pastor, who I am sure will say he was perfectly innocent in the "Hay War of 2012".  I think we all had hay in places we never thought hay could be! Needless to say, my van needs vacuumed out and the kids all had baths as soon as we got home! =)


I am feeling very blessed this week! I love that God has given us so many friends and family to celebrate the different seasons with!

Top Ten Reasons

I really did plan on blogging more regularly. My intentions were good, however, life got in the way! Which is definitely NOT a bad thing!

Here are my TOP TEN reasons (in no particular order) that I haven't posted in the past couple weeks...


#10.  We've been doing a lot of reading at the Harris house! Tucker is really into reading books. He brings a big pile of books over to me, Dave, or one of the kids and says "read it please".  He sits so intently and listens to book after book!  We've also got 2 new readers, Nolan and Nevin, who love to show off their reading skills!  It's so exciting to see them reading and learning so much! Kindergarten is just a whole new world to a 5 year old!

#9. Dave's had a wacky schedule at work, which isn't always convenient, but there's been quite a few of his days off in the past couple weeks that we've got to enjoy while the kids are at school. We take Tucker with us and do our grocery shopping or run errands. Sometimes we just do some "window-shopping" and have a little lunch date. I know those things probably sound mundane to most people, but we just really love being together and being able to actually hold a conversation without being interrupted. Tucker's just so laid-back, he loves being on the go with us too!

#8. Soccer, soccer, and more soccer!  With 4 boys on 3 different teams, we keep busy for sure! I am enjoying every second of it, but it wears a girl out sometimes!

My "serious" soccer player

Also, we have been enjoying this beautiful weather! I am a lover of Autumn and October is by far, my favorite month of the year!  

#7. We've played in the leaves...

Nevin

Nolan

#6. We've watched Ashton entertain us on the trampoline...

#5. We've enjoyed some spontaneous weinie roasts in our back yard after the LONG "burn ban" was lifted...
 

Riya and Nevin

#4. I've enjoyed my days with this little guy!  It's been a long time since I have only had ONE kiddo at home. Tucker is officially 2 1/2 years old this month and potty training is right around the corner! Tuck and I  love our 1-on-1 time together during the school day! He is so anxious to learn. He can recognize his numbers and all of his uppercase letters.  We are working on the lowercase now. He is so much fun and keeps me smiling all day!

 

#3. I have thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with my 3 "junior high kids". I never thought I would be old enough to say that! ha!  They are all 3 so chit-chatty at this point. I love all of our silly conversations.  I can remember when these three were toddlers and people would warn us that as the kids got older, it would be so much more difficult and stressful. I can honestly say, that we don't feel like that one bit. Ashton, Taelyn, and Mariya have grown up to be such loving, respectful kids and I loving this stage that they're in!

Getting ready to head off to their first Band/Chorus concert

#2. Party-planning is in full swing!  Ashton, Bryson, Nevin and Nolan all have birthdays in October, so we have one BIG party, which we've dubbed "OCTOBERFEST". We go all out with a weinie roast, a pinata,  a pumpkin painting contest and other games with prizes, and LOTS of food!  It is such a special time to get to spend with both sides of our family and some very special friends! Other than Octoberfest, there are the other parties and festivities that we have with the boys' friends from school and church. And don't forget, the Halloween parties at the grade school!  Lot's of memories made for ALL of us in the month of October! Fun times!

#1. I've been enjoying every second of my pregnancy. Dave and I lay on the couch at night and just wait for Kai to start kicking around. He's really started moving and kicking so much more in the last 2 weeks! All day long, Dave can't keep his hands off my belly. He is such a sweet daddy and tells me everyday that I am the most beautiful girl in the world. Even though this pregnancy has so many unknowns, we are taking in every second that God gives us with this precious baby boy!

I've popped out quite a bit since this pic was taken a couple weeks ago. But you know how it is, mama is always BEHIND the camera.