Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday on Maunday Thursday...

My life is filled with blessings to be thankful for,
but this week I choose to focus on Resurrection Week.

Starting with Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey while people cheered and waved palm branches.

Followed by Jesus rousting the heathens from the temples, ticking off the rabbis, and praying and preaching to the masses.

To Maunday Thursday, when Jesus knew he would be betrayed and yet he ate supper with his disciples, washed their feet, and reminded them to remember him when they broke bread and drank wine.

Good Friday, which wasn't good at all.

And Easter Sunday, when the tomb was found open and Jesus had risen.

All for my sin.

For this I am thankful.

Infertility, adoption, and kiddos (part 9)

If you'd like a refresher or just need to catch up, go HERE, HERE, HERE , HERE ,HERE , HERE , HERE and HERE. (Now THAT is getting to be a long list. I'll try and finish this up in just one or two more parts so you won't get tired of catching up!)

I had just found out I wasn't pregnant after our second IVF cycle following JMonster. I cried for a few days, wiped my tears, and moved on.

On July 14th we went to dinner with some friends at a restaurant in Phipps Plaza in Atlanta. This is THE mall...you know, where you go to see celebrities and other rich and famous people?

I started feeling bad toward the end of dinner. Just a minor stomach ache, nothing too bad. JMonster was getting antsy so our friend Stacey and I took him to walk around the mall.

The longer we walked, the worse the pain got. In fact, I told her to take JMonster back to the restaurant and get The Rev. Something was wrong...

I sat down on a bench to wait. The pain hit me in waves.

I laid down on the bench.

People started staring as I moaned and held my stomach.

The Rev came and our friends went and got the car. They pulled up outside a nearby exit and I climbed in. The pain had subsided somewhat so I decided to call The Doc rather than just head straight to the ER.

He said I probably had a cyst on my ovary and it ruptured. Take some pain meds and I should be fine...no need for the ER.

We headed home and I went to the restroom. And that's when I noticed the blood.

I called The Doc. I called my ob/gyn office.

The ob/gyn office said pretty much the same thing The Doc had back at the mall.

The Doc said I'd be fine.

Then he called back...

"Take a pregnancy test."

"I'm NOT pregnant!"

"Just humor me..."

So The Rev and our friend Phil ran to the store and bought a pregnancy test.

PREGNANT.

I have to say that the last thing you want to see when you're feeling THIS bad is PREGNANT on a digital pregnancy test. Especially when The Doc is concerned about an ectopic...

He told me not to panic, but to get to an emergency room.

So I did.

Thank goodness for Phil and Stacey! They stayed with JMonster throughout the night.

Miscarriage. Again.

The doc on call for my ob/gyn office didn't even bother to come in to the ER! Told me over the phone and said for me to come in on Monday and follow up. (tongue stuck out for a raspberry)

It's a funny feeling to have a miscarriage when you don't even think you're pregnant.

I went in Monday and had more blood work...just to be sure my numbers were going down.

They weren't. They didn't quite double, but almost. That's what they expect when you're pregnant, not having a miscarriage! Was it possible? Could I really be pregnant? I had a hard time letting myself get my hope up...

So I ended up at the ob/gyn's office several days that week for bloodwork and ultrasounds. In the end they realized I WAS pregnant, but it was on my ovary. Or so they think. There was something on there, but it was hard to see and my numbers were going up but not fast enough for them to indicate a healthy, viable pregnancy.

We decided that a methotrexate shot was the best course for ending the pregnancy. Here I was, wanting to be pregnant, and we were doing something to stop a pregnancy. Felt surreal.

The numbers finally went down and they declared me healthy.

STILL down to just two frozen embryos, but a lot more to think about...

GO HERE FOR PART 10

What happens when my head is buried in the sand...

Never saw this when it originally happened...

And now I wish I had never seen it! A civilian national security force? Really!?!

This is how it happens. One small step and then we slip down that slippery slope...

Thanks to American Daughter for the heads up.

Missional Monday

Breakaway is a non-denominational, weekly Bible study on the campus of Texas A&M University. We exist to introduce college students to Jesus Christ and call them to walk with Him for a lifetime. We accomplish this through worship, Bible teaching and resources. While not affiliated with any one church, we work hard to connect students to local, Bible-believing churches. By God's power and for His glory, we live to proclaim the gospel of Christ to college students and connect them to Christ's community and His mission.


Breakaway was a HUGE part of my college experience. Many of the people involved in its beginnings were and are good friends of mine. This is an organization which has been blessed...and I pray it continues to bless as well.

Please take some time and check out this wonderful organization on their website! See if their mission can help you match your passion with your purpose.

Perfect Pairings

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Funnnyyy...

Things I find funny...


...politics..."poli-" comes from the latin for many and tics are blood sucking creatures. Think about it.

..."Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." ~Ronald Reagan

...'Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it wrongly, and applying unsuitable remedies'. ~Sir Ernest Benn

..."When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." ~PJ O'Rourke

...Seen on an Obama supporter bumper sticker: "If at first you don't succeed, change the rules."

..."UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems." –Obama attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare, Portsmouth, N.H., August 11, 2009

..."I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." -- Obama defending his tax plan to Joe the Plumber, Toledo, Ohio, October 12, 2008

..."We've got a philosophical difference, which we've debated repeatedly, and that is that Senator Clinton believes the only way to achieve universal health care is to force everybody to purchase it. And my belief is, the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it but because they can't afford it." Barack Obama, speaking at a Democratic presidential debate February 21, 2008

Thankful Thursday

Let's all stop, take a collective breath, and remember some of the blessings we've been given. The reasons we are thankful...

I am thankful for:
1. My country. A place where I may not agree with the government, but voicing my disagreement does not end in my being imprisoned or killed. A place where Google doesn't have to censor!
2. My family's health. I can honestly say that despite a cold, virus, or flu here and there...we are healthy.
3. The Rev's business. He is working hard growing it and nurturing the relationships he's created. I'm very proud of him.
4. My computer. I think I said this one recently. But it really does connect me outside of this house...
5. My mom. She is letting us live in her new house BEFORE she does. Very giving! (Hi Mom! You reading my blog?)
6. JMonster, of course. ;o)
7. Wildflowers!
8. Chocolate brownies...ooey, gooey ones warm out of the oven. Mmmmm...I can smell them now.
9. Pajamas. I love comfy pj's.
10. Prayer.

What are YOU thankful for? Please share!