Day by day

Well, we have entered into week 28 and so far - no baby! I know that probably sounds crazy, but we are actually very estatic. That means our baby girl is still growing and protected. We do ask that you continue to pray for us, as we have a lot to deal with right now.

First and foremost of course, is Jody and the baby. She has been on bedrest for 3+ weeks now, and I know she is getting sick of the whole thing. The contractions have started to hurt a little more, but still everything looks good, the baby is VERY active, and mom is doing well too, all things considered.

Also, pray for the boys. This has been very hard on them. We are so blessed to have so many family and friends that volunteer their time to come into our home Monday through Friday, cleaning, taking care of the boys, cleaning, helping Jody around the house, cleaning, making meal, oh, and did I mention cleaning? (ok, it is very selfish of me, I admit, but it is nice to know I don't have to come home and try to keep up with all of that too!). It is so hard on the boys though, having two different people (on most days) each day in the house, but they are doing very well. I feel bad for them, and will be glad when all of this is over and "normalcy" can take over again.

We also need your prayer as my job situation is really causing a strain on Jody. For those of you who don't know, I started at this company last June and thought I had found "work Utopia". I am working with wonderful people, my department is probably the best I have ever had, and I really enjoy going to work. In November, a merger between us and our biggest competitor was announced. Last Wednesday it was finally announced that the office would be moving to South Dakota, which means the majority of us here probably will not survive the merger shift. I have been looking since November, but not very seriously. I have had interviews and some potential, but now it could start to get more serious. Well, last week Tuesday and Wednesday I took a whirlwind trip to Boston. A company just outside of Boston flew me out to interview with them. This could be a potential new job, but it is hard because we would be moving away from friends and family to a place neither of us really have been (outside of my 20 hour trip) and a place where we do not know anyone (this is where Hebrews 11:8 gives us a little comfort). Top that off with a very pregnant wife, a son who is supposed to be starting school this fall, and several other things, and now Jody kind feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Please pray that God works everything out in HIS time, but also that Jody will feel HIS peace and comfort on her. There are some job opportunities here too, so we are just looking and praying for HIS guidance.

Again, please pray for my wife and boys as they are really being stressed and taxed through all of this. Thank you

Brian

At least we know WHO is in control...

and we really glad it isn't us! I often get amazed at how many times we can think we have the 'perfect plan' or the 'perfect idea' only to find out we really don't know anything. Take Jody's bedrest for example (no really, please, TAKE IT, she is getting sick of it and we would love for someone to take it!). We knew this pregnancy, as with the two others, would be high risk, but yet God decided to show us that we really don't know as much as we think.

Then there is the situation with my job, that just in the past 12 hours has gotten even more obtuse to us. At this point I will not go into any details, but we are really asking for your prayers, as God is putting our faith in Him to what we feel is an "ultimate test". No, it is nothing that is unmanageable, but God has just allowed enough out of the ordinary things to take place that really have us on our knees right now.

In the end of it all, I sure am glad that I have the great I AM to depend on, because if I were in control, we would ALL be in trouble!

Brian

Through another week

We are so thankful for all of our family and friends that have been helping us through this time! We have people that are at our house from basically 8AM - 5PM taking care of the boys, helping Jody, and doing a myriad of other things: cooking, washing, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning (one individual even got on her hands and knees yesterday and hand scrubbed our wood floors!), all of which really makes it easier for all of us.

Jody has had an average week. Some days she does really well, other times the contractions take over. She did mention to me last night that her back is getting sore from having to stay in the bed all the time, so if anyone has any suggestions, prior experiences or any other ideas, we are all ears.

Thank you for your prayers, and we will keep you posted on the status of Jody and our not yet born baby girl.

This could be a long one!

Well, we all made it through the weekend. Jody is getting pretty restless already, and we still want to make it at least another 8 weeks before our baby is born. Jody told me that the idea of bed rest really sounds good for about two days, then after that it just feels like some kind of unpleasant confinement! I can only imagine.

The boys are getting more and more excited. Jackson can't wait to be the "big big brother" and Jefferson to be the "big brother". Jackson is getting to be such a big help. He enjoys helping out around the house and feeling like he is being important. Jefferson is getting to the stage of saying extremely funny things. His sayings now are "its delicious" (to everything he eats) and then all day yesterday he was walking around the house saying "no money, no ticket". Not really sure where he picked that one up, but still very cute.

Other than that, it was nice and cold here over the weekend. The average temp on Saturday and Sunday was -11. With windchill at one point got down to -31. So much fun!

Family update

Well, all the tests have come back and for now Jody gets to do her bed rest at home! The doctors will be doing this test they ran today called a "fetal fibro nectin" (I think that is how it is spelled) which is done on higher-risk mothers. As long as the results keep coming back negative, then Jody can stay at home for her bed rest. If the test at any time goes positive, then she will most likely spend the remainder of her pregnancy in the hospital.

Thank you for your prayers.

Please Pray!

This is just a quick post asking you to pray for our family at this time - especially my wife Jody and our unborn daughter.

As you can see from the top of the blog, Jody is not even to 25 weeks yet, and this has been a very difficult week for her. She is having anywhere from 15 to 25 contractions a day, and yesterday (Thursday) her Ob/Gyn put her on bedrest. This morning we are going to see her perinatologist (they specialize in premature/high risk pregnancies) and today we will find out if her bedrest can be at home, or if she will have to go to the hospital, which would be very hard on her and on our two very active boys at home!

We are praying that she can make it to at least March 17 (33 weeks) which was the timing of our youngest son's birth.

One blessing and positive note is that Jody still feels the baby alot, so for that we are very grateful.

Thank you for your prayers, and I will post an update later.

As promised

Ok, I didn't realize Brian had uploaded pictures. I apologize for there being so many, but we haven't done this since last spring.