Bio Physical #5

Another one today, this was a good one. We didnt get any ultrasound images however, but everything is fine. Kelly had an elevated blood pressure, but it went back to normal in a short while. Also, Olivia's heartbeat was around 120, which is low, but the docs said it was fine, and normal. More to come soon...

Bio Physical #4

Today was rather interesting! A bio physical, complete with my daughter flipping me off! Kinda funny. Pics soon!!

Hospital Visit

Well, its Christmas, and we just got back from the hospital. We spent the day at Kelly's mothers house, opening presents, and having a great time. Well, she went into labor again, sitting in the chair. We left right away to the hospital. We got there, they put her on the monitor as usual, and everything was fine, as usual. They gave her Brethine, to stop the contractions. We have been to the hospital for this same thing tons of times in the past week, but this time it really got to me. She started shaking, her heart rate went way up, to around 110 BPM. My wife's jaw was quivering, and she was shaking like a leaf. Did I mention shaking? It was terrible to witness, and I was scared as hell. And that was only the first shot. They came back in two more times, to give her three shots in total. By the third one we were both in shambles. I was sitting in the chair, sad to see my wife in so much terrible pain. The contractions stopped, but our child is head down and facing forward, so Kelly is in severe back labor/pain. The contractions might have stopped after an hour, but the back pain was unbelievable. After watching my wife cry for the first time through this whole thing, I broke down. I cant handle seeing my wife in pain, and suffering. I rubbed her back for a while in the hospital. The nurse came in shortly after, and released us. We got home, she took a Lortab, and went to sleep.

Why were we so mad about this event? Her main doctor, told us, and I quote "if you go into labor on or after Christmas, we will keep you in the hospital and deliver your baby as soon as possible." Her secondary doctor was on call last night, who doesn't agree with her main doctor about things. They are always playing tug-o-war, with my wife and I in the middle. So, guess what, he released us last night!!

Bio Physical #3

Today was bio physical three. Also today they had to do a gestational diabetes test for Kelly, just to make sure she didnt have it. Well, half way through it, she got very sick, and threw up. So, the test was voided. She has been ery pukey for lack of a better word, for the past few days. They say its normal, but it still makes me very nervous. Anyway, she did have an ultrasound today. I will post a picture as soon as I am able to breathe!!

Dizzy Visit

Today was an unplanned doctor visit for some dizziness Kelly was feeling all night long, that went into this morning. So, she phoned the doctor, and they told her to be there this afternoon. I was unable to go to the doctor with her, but her mother took her, and from what I hear, things are fine. The doctors said it was a case of vertigo, and it will go away on its own, or they can give her medicine. My wife chose no medicine. They did a quick ultrasound (we got pictures this time, they will be posted shortly). The ultrasound technician, Mary, said "this child has a full head of hair, already!" Which I found to be quite amazing, since I have no hair at all, and my wife has a ton of it. I hope she got her hair line, and not mine! Poor girl will be bald like me, at 28.

On top of all this, the contractions have not stopped, and are actually getting mroe intense and more frequent. In fact, just a few minutes ago, they were four minutes apart. But, the docs say everything is fine. We will see.

Bio Physical #2

Today was planned Bio Physical number two. Everything looked great with Olivia's breathing, and size! Nothing too much to report, other than things look good, and she passed this test today! She was sleeping however, through most of it, which I found to be rather amusing!

Hospital Visit

As I sit here in the hospital room with my wife, calmly on the fetal monitor, I keep wondering when our daughter will make her appearance official. This is our fifth visit to the hospital for contractions in about as many days it seems. We are always in here, just to play things safe, ya know? And every single time, they monitor Kelly for a while, then release us on good health, and are told things are normal. Well, tonight they did some extensive testing. First they put Kelly on the fetal monitor. Then they asked the usual questions. They then got a urine sample, took a ton of blood, and hooked her up to IV fluids! It was major. We got here at 11PM, and arent supposed to leave until 7AM, so needless to say we are both tired, frustrated, and ready for this to be over with and be able to hold our daughter. So at 7AM we finally left the hospital. The doctor said things were fine, her cervix was not opening at all, and the contractions were fine. They said she will be fine until Christmas, but we will have to see on that one. They also said if the contractions are closer than four minutes apart, to come back in. At that time, they will administer steroids to develop Olivia's lungs, and then, we will wait some more at the hospital.

Frustrating, happy, beautiful, mad, worried, glad, sad, happy, excited, emotional, complete. Just a few of the emotions that run through you at any one time when you are expecting a child. I would not trade this experience for anything in the world. I am the happiest father on the planet. I just wish my wife didnt have to hurt so much. I keep telling her, it will be over soon! Probably before or around Christmas. I always wanted a Christmas baby. We will see.

Bio Physical #1

Today was planned Bio Physical number one. Stay tuned for details! We also have some ultrasound pictures!

Labor Pains, Again

Doctors were pittifully wrong!! Dammit! Kelly is back in the hospital today, more updates as soon as she is released. The labor pains werent too intense, like the other day, but they are still there. I thought that new test said it wouldnt happen again. HAHA! Right! We are both just frustrated because we dont know what to do, and she is over two months early (if she is born today). Man oh man. Stay tuned!!

Labor Pains

Today was rather interesting. After a glorious Thanksgiving with the family, Kelly wanted to go Christmas shopping! We found some great deals, and finished everyone off early this year. It was great to get in the Christmas crowd, yeah call me weird, but I enjoyed it! I loved seeing all the people, it was quite interesting. We went shopping for about five hours, then came home and begun to finish decorating the house for Christmas. Well Kelly all of a sudden got some sharp pains in her uterus area. She laid down for an hour, with the contractions five minutes apart. She called her doctor, and she said to go ahead and come into the hospital and they will monitor her. Well we left home and got to the hospital. Kelly could hardly walk tha pain was so intense. After about thirty minues we were finally in a room. The nurse put the monitor on the baby and one for Kelly to track the contractions. One nurse mentioned "this looks like the real deal!" And Kelly said "no not yet!! Too early!!" and we all had a little laugh. Anyway, they gave her breathing, some kind of shot to relax the smooth muscles. It worked, and Kelly was a little jittery from it. We were out of the hospital in a few hours, with no more contractions or pain. We got home, and both went to sleep after one hell of a day.

They "said" this wouldnt happen again. They swabber her cervix for some new test. But as everyone knows, nothing is normal for us.

Thanksgiving 2006

What a wonderful day today was. It started out early with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the television. My wife and I sat around in our PJ's and watched bits of it for an hour or so until we really woke up. She had been up since 7AM though, working on the turkey, and the house was smellin real good by 9AM. So about this time I remembered to hang the Christmas lights outside on the house! So I trotted outside, ladder in hand, and begun my yearly Christmas light hanging. It was very interesting though, with these steep roofs here! I get nervous every single time I am up there. So anyway, the lights went up without a hitch, or a fall from the roof. Kelly's family came over for a glorious Thanksgiving day dinner, and the house was full of laughter and photo opportunities. Yep, even though I am off work for the day I still have the urge to snap some photos. Call me obsessed! When everyone left, I started a new Thanksgiving day ritual - "light the house!" Just like they light the tree in Atlanta at Macys, well we will light the lights on the roof as soon as it gets dark on thanksgiving, from now on. Kinda neat to start a tradition! Anyway, other than that, and being tired, thats about all that happened today. It was a beautiful day.

Baby Shower 1

Hello everyone!! I know I have not posted in quite some time, been extremely busy with work, and trying to make a good living for my family, so its been keeping me so busy that I cant even hardly check my email! Anyway, I have finally had time to slow down, and update everyone on blogger.

We had a baby shower today! This was the first one out of four, yep four! We have loving friends and family, as well as a great church family that wants to give us a ton of showers. And we couldnt be more appreciative! Thanks to everyone!!

Anyway, todays shower was good! I couldnt go, I was shunned from going (dont know why men are excluded from these things, but oh well). My mother and I went shopping for the baby, and it was awesome for me and her to spend time together, havent done that in quite a while. She got a few itmes for the baby, and we had fun! I came home to a house full of awesome baby gifts! Thanks again everyone!

We have four showers, as mentioned. One is the friends only. Two is her work. Three is family only. And four is our loving church family.

More updates soon! Thanks to everyone who keeps up with things on here. You guys are the reason I write this (duh!). LOL!!

Doctor Visit 13

Today was rather quick in the doctors office!! I guess when things are going well, there is not much to do or say.

Kelly got there a little early today. But they went ahead and saw her. She was in and out in fifteen minutes! Olivia measures right on track, her weight is right on track too. Kelly has not had any other pains, or anything. The only real thing is the tiredness, but thats to be expected when growing a baby inside ya!

Wish I had more to type, but thats it. Rather uneventful, great visit today! No ultrasounds.
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 26W 5D today
Size - 16"
Heartbeat - 140 bpm
Weight - 3 pounds
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Doctor Visit 12

Wow another great visit. No ultrasounds, but this visit was a rather quick event! Kelly was in and out in a few minutes. They basically wanted to give her the results of her diabetes test (which were negative, woo hoo) and measure her belly to track Olivia's growth. Everything was perfect today, and not a whole lot to type on this one. I guess thats a good thing! LOL!!
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 19W 1D today
Size - 12in
Heartbeat - 150bpm
Weight - 2 pounds
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

My Birthday

Well I am old today, the big 28! Yikes! People tell me all the time "when you are 40 you will be wishing for the time you turned 28, you are just a baby!" I dont feel like a baby. I feel 100 years old at times. I suppose I need to go in for the 100,000 mile checkup one of these days soon!! But anyway, my birthday this year was cool. We had family over, and we spent it at home relaxing. My daughter is doing great, and my wife couldnt be happier! This are looking great for the end of 2006, quite a contrast from the beginning of this year! Just go back and read some of those posts! LOL!! Anyway, heres to another year!

Doctor Visit 11

Today was another unplanned visit! Kelly had some slight pain in the uterus, she said it felt like our child was biting her! We both know thats impossible, but it was good for a laugh that morning, at the thought. Anyway, Kelly went to the doctor this afternoon. Again, I could not be there due to a photo shoot I was doing. But today was a good visit. They said the pulling sensation was from scar tissue from the surgery she had with the D&C procedure recently. Doctor said not to worry, its fine, and just another sign things are going well, and the uterus is growing. Another good report is the placenta has moved off the cervix a bit, and she released Kelly back to normal activities. Which was a welcome sign. They did a quick ultrasound today, and Olivia looks fine in there. She was active as ever, and they had a time getting her to stop moving for a second, to get some good ultrasound shots. We only got three this time, but its all good! Anyway, our next appointment is with both the high risk people and Arona. We are going to video the next one!
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 17W 3D today
Size - 10"
Heartbeat - 167 bpm
Weight - 1/2 pound
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Doctor Visit 10

Kelly went in today for a routine visit. Nothing major, just wanted to check on the progress of the baby's development. Well, we did not get any ultrasound images, however, we got one incredible video this time! Its about 5 minutes long, and full of amazing stuff. We saw her bladder, legs, head, and ribs, even the spine. It is pretty cool to be able to watch the video over and over at home. We notice something new every single time we watch it. Kelly and Olivia are doing great!
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 16W 2D today
Size - 7"
Heartbeat - 162bpm
Weight - 1/4 pound
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Doctor Visit 9

I was finally able to go again, today for the doctor visit. It was awful not being able to go last time. Anyway, today was a planned visit, and things were great! First of all, Kelly has not had any bleeding since that one morning, and even then it was minute. The doctor said it was because she overdid it that weekend, finishing up the nursery and all, and the placenta is on the cervix slightly. Well, today she did a quick ultrasound. The baby is doing outstanding, again! But the placenta has not moved at all, even with a week of bed rest. So, they put Kelly on another week of bed rest, to hopefully get the placenta to move while the baby has a huge growth spurt this week. At the end of this month, she will be as big as a barbie doll!! Wow! Anyway, things are good, Kelly can return to work in a week, and our baby is still active as can be in there.
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 15W today
Size - 4in
Heartbeat - 162bpm
Weight - roll of pennies
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Doctor Visit 8

Today was an unplanned doctor visit. I am thrilled Kelly has such good doctors though, because they saw her on an emergency basis today. Kelly woke up after I left for work, and was spotting after she used the bathroom. Well, immeadiately she called her doctor, and they wanted her to come straight in. Kelly called her mother, and both of them headed out. Upon arrival to the doctors office, they saw Kelly right away. They did an ultrasound as well as a quick pelvic exam. The ultrasound showed our baby dancing, and playing all around. In other words the baby is fine. However, the placenta is over the cervix, so thats whats causing the slight spotting. They put her on a two week bed rest, which means no work, no play, nothing. They are trying to get the placenta to move off the cervix during the next two week growth spurt. Hopefully it will, and she can go back to work, and everything will be fine. Again, the baby is fine!
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 14W 3D today
Size - 4in
Heartbeat - 150bpm
Weight - roll of pennies
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Doctor Visit 7 (Gender Mentioned)

What a wonderful visit this one was!! Mary, our great ultrasound technician, was determined to find out the gender today!! My mother in law was there today, which made it great as well. We proceeded with the ultrasound. At first our child was sleeping and very still. Well we woke it up, and it danced all around and moved for Mary. Well, after about ten minutes, she figured out the gender! Do you want to know? Well read on! Here we go! No more calling it, an it! We are officially having a girl! Something BOTH of us wanted for a long time! Our prayers have been answered! She showed us what to look for, and without a doubt, its a girl! Woo hoo!!!!! One more thing, Mary said the baby looks perfect. The spine is perfect. Head is perfect. We even saw her hands and feet in the ultrasound!

After the ultrasound, we went to see the main doctor. Evans this time. He is so damn cool. He told Kelly things look perfect. Kelly had some slight concerns with the weight loss, but Evans said "your fine!!" and said she will gain some weight very soon! He then put this cool microphone/doppler instrument to Kelly's belly, to hear the baby, and we heard a strong heartbeat!! What a sweet sound it was!! He examined her quickly, and took a look at the ultrasound pics, and said "See ya in four weeks!!" And gave us a clean bill of health!! Awesome stuff!!

So, four weeks from now, we get to video the ultrasound! Thats gonna be awesome! We also get to video the next ultrasound with the high risk doctors!

Her name is officially Olivia Beatrice (Beatrice after Kelly's grandmother).
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 13W 5D today
Size - 7cm
Heartbeat - 172bpm
Weight - about the weight of a few quarters
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Test Results

Well we all can breathe a sigh of relief. The down syndrome and triplody (triplody is what our last baby Raelin Grace had, and what caused her to pass away) tests came back negative! So we are in the lowest risk category now for having a down syndrome baby! What wonderful news that is! The doctors also said with the nougal thickness being so great, its yet another indication that things are going great with our baby's development!! We couldnt be happier!! Whew!!! And yes we would still love it, even IF something went/was to go wrong. We are just thrilled to be experiencing all of this!!

Doctor Visit 6 (High Risk)

Today was an absolutely wonderful day in the doctors office. Besides the hour and a half wait! We had an appointment at 3:30 and finally got back there at almost 6. But its all good, they are the best high risk pregnancy doctors in Georgia, explains the busy day!

Well we went to the ultrasound room. Spent about a good half hour looking at the baby! Watching it move and dance. Kick its feet, and wave at us. It was truly amazing. The ultrasound tech wanted to get a better picture of the neck development, and our baby was not cooperating! It was feisty. What a sight! Finally, she got a good picture, and was able to measure everything, and it looks perfect! Its getting big!! We find out what it is next week!!

After the wonderful ultrasounds, the real fun began. Sarcasm! They had Kelly give some blood via a finger stick to check the baby for different mental problems/down syndrome, etc. That was an experience! She wouldnt bleed for a long time, so they had to stick her twice. My wife has the best attitude in this! She didnt complain once. Anyway, we get the results back soon. And I am a nervous wreck waiting for those results. And everytime I go into the ultrasound room, I am a nervous wreck. I am always expecting something to be wrong, but thankfully everything turns out okay! I guess thats just the father part of me I have never had the chance to experience! I want a healthy happy baby, as anyone does!

We go back to the high risk doctors in eight weeks. They said to bring a VHS tape, so they can tape the ultrasound. Thats the big one, they measure every organ, finger, toe. Everything!! We have an appointment next week with the regular doctor, so I will post on that one the minute I arrive home!
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 11W 5D today
Size - 5cm
Heartbeat - 168bpm
Weight - about the weight of a quarter
Wanna see more pictures? Click here

Doctor Visit 5

Time for another update! I am glad to announce, everything looks awesome so far!! We got there at 10:30ish for our 11:00 appointment. Mary (our awesome ultrasound technician) brought us back, with her usual chipper voice "boy am I glad to see you guys today!" We went to the ultrasound room, and Mary wanted to do an external ultrasound to begin with. As soon as she put the instrument on Kelly's abdomen, we saw our little teddy graham! It was BIG this time! It almost took up the whole screen! She pressed slightly on Kellys belly and our baby moved! It wiggled and danced around! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! She turned on the doppler, and we heard the strong heartbeat. That too, was an amazing experience (as always). She also did an internal ultrasound. When she inserted the probe, we saw the baby instantly, and it moved again. It was feisty today! It was wiggling its arms, legs, butt, head, belly, everything! After all the moving, it was still for just a second to give Mary time to measure it. It is measuring perfectly. She proceeded to explain what we were looking at, in the head region. The baby has the three lines in the skull (to indicate the skull is normal!!) it has a perfectly formed head. The facial features are becoming visible, and are the first bones to develop. She pointed out the hands, yep hands. The arms, legs and big baby belly! Next, she looked in the lower body region and we saw the umbillical cord! Wow! She got the baby to move one more time, and we saw the flicker of the heartbeat. What am amazing experience this is! She told us we will be able to see the sex on the next visit!! After the ultrasound, we saw Arona for a checkup on Kelly. The cervix is tightly closed, and looking outstanding. Stay tuned, next week we go back to the high risk people for the montly checkup!
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 10W 3D today
Size - 35mm
Heartbeat - 148bpm
Weight - little more than a paperclip
Wanna see more pictures? Click Here

Doctor Visit 4

Today was unplanned doctor visit four. We were sopposed to go Friday but Kelly has been having some small side effects of the heparin therapy. Well, today she made an appointment, and saw our primary doctor, Arona. She got there on time at 2 pm, and they said the heparin therapy leaving little bruises and welts is normal to an extent, since the dosage they gave her was a little higher, her body needs time to adjust. Arona mentioned the same thing happened with her, when she was pregnant. They gave Kelly a shot of it while in the office, and no adverse side effects. So things are going okay with that. Onto the ultrasound!

Our baby has made some huge leaps and bounds since we last checked on it! Its at 18mm and feisty! It moved today while they were taking the ultrasound for the first time! And everyone in the room saw it, and jumped for joy. As far as development, most of the organs are visible, even the heart and liver. The brain and head is well defined, as well as the ears!! We have two arms, and two legs so far, lol! The doctors swear its a boy, but we will see. They also said things look wonderful, and they cant wait to see us again on the next visit.
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 8W 4D today
Size - 18mm
Heartbeat - 150bpm
Weight - about an ounce
Wanna see more pictures? Click Here

Doctor Visit 3 (High Risk)

Well, just got back from our first visit with the high risk pregnancy doctors. What friendly people they are in there. And so compassionate. I think I am gonna like going to them with Kelly for the visits, in addition to the regular OB doctor. Anyway, onto the summary of today.

We got there at about 2:50 for our 3:30 appointment. They promptly got Kelly and took her back to get some weights and measures. Left me in the waiting room. Fine, whatever, lol. I picked up the magazine they had on the table, and thumbed through it. It was kinda neat, they had all kinds of home theater goodies in it! It was one of those comsumer electronic magazines. Needless to say, it took my mind off things (nerves wise) for a second. The door opened, and Kelly came out and sat next to me. Summarized to me what happened while I was putting the magazine back on the table. Within five minutes, they came and got both of us, and took us straight to the ultrasound room. They gave Kelly the typical paper robe, and told her to lay down, feet in the stirrups. While I was holding her hand, they inserted the probe, and instantly, we saw the baby as well as the flickering heartbeat! It was measuring 140 beats per minute today. The nurse said everything looked great. We didnt hear the heartbeat though. They informed us that the doppler used to hear the heartbeat, could be damaging to the baby!! So we just saw a visual graph of it beating. Awesome to see, let me tell ya! Anyway, we then went to the exam room. They did a quick exam of Kelly, and said things look great! They prescribed heparin for the entire pregnancy (administered via needle twice a day for 8 months). Thank God she is a nurse and knows how to stick herself correctly. The medication is used to prevent blood clots. The doctor recommended swimming for exercise! So, thats the first thing we did when we got home! Hit the pool!! Then, Kelly made a beautiful dinner, and was prancing around the house, cute as can be, singing "were having a baby!" She is so freakin adorable.

We go back in one month for another visit and ultrasound!! We go back to the main doctor next week. I am a nervous wreck. Our recent loss, was at 8 weeks. This friday is 7 weeks. So we are freakin out, but trying to remain positive.
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 7W 3D today
Size - 9mm
Heartbeat - 140bpm
Weight - weight of an eyelash
Wanna see more pictures? Click Here

Doctor Visit 2

Well today was doctor visit number two at 2:30. We got there kinda early, and were waiting quite some time, but finally, they called us back. We went straight to the ultrasound room. Kelly hopped up on the table with joy, and the ultrasound tech, Julie, began the procedure. All of a sudden, a huge smile crept across her face, and she said "theres the baby!" Kelly and I were in awe once again. It was a beautiful sight. She said "okay, I am going to turn on the doppler, to hear the heartbeat." Right after she said that, "thump-thump-thump-thump" a beautiful heartbeat! It was about 145 bpm, and it was such a beautiful sound. Its alive! We even saw the heart in the ultrasound, flickering. She finished up the ultrasound, and we waited to see our main doctor.

The main doctor called us back (not Arona, but her physicians assistant). Arona is on vacation, but its all good. Anyway, we got Kelly's weight, and did a typical OB exam in the room. The doctor said "we want to hold onto this baby. So we are sending you to a high risk doctor in addition to us. They have better ultrasounds, and better methods for high risk women." So, we agreed, and though it was a great idea! Finally, we will have the help we always needed!!

They did some labs after that little checkup. They drew 7 viles of blood! They ran every test in the book. From diabetes, to her lupus test. I got queezy watching my wife get "drained" as the nurses called it! I had to sit down!!

We finished up, and on advice from the nurses "take your wife out for a steak dinner, to rebuild her blood count/protein." And I did just that. We had a great meal at our favorite place, O'Charleys, and drove home!

We told Arona the good news, and she was thrilled! So that makes my mom, her mom, her brother, her co-workers and boss the only ones that know!

So thats where we sit today. We find out her beta levels on Friday, and next week we have our first appointment with the high risk doctor, and the week after that, another one with our regular doctor. Hopefully this time it will be Arona.
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This Visits Stats:
Age - 6W 5D
Size - 6mm
Heartbeat - 145bpm
Weight - nothing
Wanna see more pictures? Click Here

Is It Real?

I have to ask this question to myself, my friends, and the Lord above. Is this for real? Kelly and I found out a week or so ago, that we are expecting a baby! We have only told our mothers, her boss, of course her doctor as well. We are so tired of telling everyone that we are expecting, then the baby dies after the last person is told the good news. This has happened seven times now, and its getting very old, and very heartbreaking. So, we have been doing a good job of keeping this a secret for a few weeks. On Kelly's first doctor visit the other day, she went in complaining about high blood pressure. Well, the doctor (who is great, love ya Arona) asked what was stressing her out. She said "keeping this a secret, trying not to jinx it!" The doctor said, "you have to tell people, it will be easier on you, and your stress level will go down." Well, she told her boss/co-workers. And instantly her blood pressure and dizzyness disappeared! We told my mom tonight, and she was thrilled, but agreed to chill on telling the cousins, aunts and uncles till August, when we make the big official announcement to the whole family.

We go back to the doctor on the 16th, and I will post results on here.

And one last thing, we buried Kelly's grandmother (Grand Nanny) in February (those of you who dont know.) She knew all we went through, and before she died she told my mother-in-law, Sara, "I hope they can have a baby one day." Anyway, this baby will be born in February. Gives ya the chills dont it? I think she had something to do about this one. Im even more convinced of the afterlife now.

Thank you God, and everyone who has supported us through these trying times to have a baby. I certainly hope this baby is the one, and we dont lose it. I cant go through that again. I really hope by posting this I am not jinxing anything. I would feel so bad! Anyway, its 100% in Gods hands, and we will see what He wants.

United Methodist Youth

Well here is a report on Kelly and I's first youth meeting at church! Yep, we are heading up the youth, and love it! We have a great group of kids. Today we learned about mentoring, and they had a blast with our activities. Kelly is a wonderful teacher, and she has lots of patience! Which is a good thing! Anyway, just wanted to report that the youth program at our church is going strong. We are planning some trips to Six Flags, Georgia Aquarium, and tons of other places in and around Georgia. Thanks Russell for letting us do this! You are wonderful!!

I am also doing an official website for Princeton UMC. It should be released within a few weeks. Its a huge site with lots of information. I hope the church loves it, and gets tons of use out of it. The official calendar is online and can be viewed here!
The official website can be viewed here!

Easter Weekend

I had one of the best Easter weekends this year! Kelly and I traveled down to Newnan, and spent half the day with some of her family. On the way to her familys house, we stopped to pay our respects to her grandmother, Grand Nanny. It was a tough one, because she has not been gone long, and its all still sinking in. After that, we arrived at the house. I met everyone, and she met some people for the first time as well! We had a nice lunch, and I took tons of pictures of people whom I have never met, but it was great! Kelly held every infant at the event, which was wonderful, it was nice seeing her hold a child, and for a moment, forget all her worries. Maybe one day she can hold her own child in her arms till it goes to sleep. After we spent a few hours there, we went to pay respects to my grandmother Margie. She left us in 1990 of cancer, and I have not been to see her since 1993 or so. It was very bittersweet, but I was saddened not to see any flowers or anything on her headstone. I told her "I am home Margie, finally" and we slowly left the cemetery. After that we went to my grandmothers house, Nanny, and we spent a few hours there talking and Kelly was answering all of the medical questions, its great! My grandmother calls my wife HER nurse, lol. I am fortunate to be married to a nurse. I love it! Anyway, we left there in the evening, came home. Went to my mothers house. She bought a Japanese Maple for us, which I love! We went out to eat, and came home and went to bed! We were exhausted, but it was a wonderful Easter Sunday.

New Pictures

Just took some more pictures today. Feel free to look at my portfolio on my official website, which can be found on the left of this webpage! Anyway, here is a sample of my new work. My wedding ring in the middle of the Bible on my one year anniversary.

Grandfather

Well time to update you on my grandfather now, Chunk Dingler. Yep, the famous country swing guitarist! Anyway, he had a lump on his vocal chords, so they removed it today, and sent it off for a biopsy. Results should be in next week sometime. I am looking forward to the good news. I have faith it will be okay. But I guess time will tell. The man has beaten death so many times. One would think he was part cat because of the nine lives!

Baptised

Today was a wonderful day!! I was baptised on Palm Sunday! Today Kelly and I joined the United Methodist Church, and what a great church it is!! Thanks to everyone who joined me, and was up there with me, as I was baptised by the pouring method. A seashell was dipped in holy water from the Jordan River, and the water was poured over my head. What a great day. I feel like a new man. A new birth!

Grandmother

Hello everyone!! I have some good news to report today. My grandmother just got out of surgery to repair her back. She should do fine! She crushed some bones in there not long ago by reaching into a freezer. Well, they put this cement type stuff in between the bones, to make her spine strong again. Cancer treatments and possibly osteoporosis have caused it. Just thought I would let everyone know!!

Another note, Sara (my mother in law) got her diagnosis today. Not a lymphnoma thats like my grandmothers. Hers is more mellow, and easier to treat. So thats more good news in a way. I wish she didnt have any lymphnoma, but thats the way it is.

Eye Problems

Welcome to todays post! I hope you all have fun reading, lol. Yeah! Who reads this thing!! LOL. Anyway, I was sitting watching television tonight and I was staring at the floor, because I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Well, there was nothing there but I contuned to stare for a second. All of a sudden, this white "cloud" appeared in my vision. Both eyes were open and remained open. This "white cloud" got brighter and thicker, until all I could see was white. Just like looking through a bunch of smoke. I blinked, and it instantly went away. I tried it again. I stared at the floor, and this mysterious thing happened again!! As if someone had a cigarette and was holding it below my eyes! Its not doing it now for some odd reason. I dont know what the problem was, but I am freakin out over here! To those of you who dont know my eye problems, well here they are below, going back in time. And its worth mentioning that I will go blind one day, and I Need a new prescription every six months for my glasses. But been lazy, and havent gotten them in a few years!! Thanks for reading today, and have a wonderful week!!

*2002 - Diagnosed with Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy - both eyes - worsening by the day
(Treatment - none for my situation, more on that later. Not even lasik. Special hard contacts needed, wont cure it)

*corneal scarring on both eyes so severe there is nothing they can do. They could do a cornea transplant, but it will just reoccur, and if my body doesnt take the cornes, instant blindness. Or they can do a corneal scrape every six months, yep its what it sounds like! And that will not cure it

*Growths under eyelids that cause the corneal scarring. Nothing they can do.

*Astigmatisms in both eyes. So severe my eye doctor said I could never drive at night again. And doesnt like it in the daytime really. But I have to make money!

*Failing vision. Need a new prescription every six months.

Treatment for EBMD - none for my situation because of the above mentioned problems are combined and it makes it pretty much a waste of time to try anything. The treatment out there is still relatively unknown. They could prescribe hard gas filled contacts, but that will not cure it. Just make it so I can see - just like glasses. Why the hard ones? Well, my eye is oval (front to back) and not round. The hard ones will make it round again. So, I will go blind one day. When is the question. Thanks for reading, and I hope you learned something today about me.

Turning Point

Well well well. Here we are, an update! This time for the better!! LOL!! After two D&C procedures this year, Kelly has never felt better in her life! And I have to say, thats a wonderful feeling! We are finally back to what we consider normal in our relationship. No pain, no worrying about a baby for the time being. We still want one, so we arent doing anything to prevent it, but the worry and the obsession about trying for a baby is gone! I guess after you have been through what we have, wanting a baby takes a back seat. Not often you can be pregnant for an entire year, and have nothing but scars and emotional headaches, to show for it! If God wants us to be parents, then he will let it be! The doctors are confident we will get pregnant, and maybe even in April. That would be cool. We will just have to wait and see.

On another note, Kelly got a job running a medical practice! She is a head honcho, that rocks! I am so proud of her. I hope that she stays there, and continues on her wonderful course of being a successful manager and nurse. As far as me, well I got some job offers. I accepted a position at Home Depot, right behind the house. So, with a steady income, insurance, and a company thats not going anywhere, we are finally stable with some financial aspects. The photography business has been slow, but its been fun. I am taking pictures daily, and greatly love the satisfaction of it. I need to do some more marketing though. I feel like I am missing some leads in places. But anyway, thats that.

So some good news to report finally. Never thought I would be in 2006! This year started out awful! Thanks for all of your prayers (the people that I know read this, and the others who I dont know that might have prayed). We appreciate it! And who knows, maybe in April there will be a post about being pregnant again. Dont hold your breath!

Updates

Well more updates. Kelly was having some severe pains the other day. So, once again, we went to the OBGYN. She had a huge cyst on her ovary (the only one left) about the size of a grapefruit. So, they proceeded to do surgery/drain the cyst. Well, she also needed another d&c procedure, because the HCG levels were not going down from the previous d&c (doctor accidentally left some tissue from the previous unsuccessful pregnancy/d&c). So, two parts to the new surgery. Well, they did the surgery in about twenty minutes. She was in the recovery room for about three hours, and I brought her home. Now, I sit here, on our one year anniversary, with my wife in bed and cant move. So I decided to come on here, and write to update anyone who reads this blog.

One Year

Today is my one year anniversary!! What a year it has been I tell ya!! I am thrilled that we are stronger as a couple because of the stuff we went through. Just like that old saying, what doesnt kill you makes you stronger. So, anyway, today is the big day! But, the only drawback is Kelly is still bed ridden from surgery. Maybe one of the coming months we will be able to celebrate it like it should be celebrated. But for now, I will just sit with her and comfort her through this terrible D&C ordeal we just went through.

This picture, captured our very first dance, on March 5th, 2005 (day we were married) at the reception. I felt like there was nobody there but us in that moment. A moment I will remember for the rest of my life. I truly, love Kelly, and so glad we are married! I will love her forever, and a day.

2006 - Worst Year Ever

Well well well, this year has been one hell of a year, and its only month two! I will start off with the most recent problem. I sprained my ankle at work yesterday. It hurts like hell, and I cannot walk, or do anything for a few days. Nothing like being on bed rest. I am able to write this though, so I guess that the only good thing about today so far. Other news that has happened this year. My dog died, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, we lost our fifth baby after hearing the heartbeat, my brother-in-law and his wife were going through some stuff, my grandmother-in-law died, and my Kelly her job at the place she loved to work. So, figure that one out! On top of it all, I lost my job because of my sprained ankle! Lawsuit pending! I just dont know what to do anymore. Everyone says we can only go up from here, but I feel like we are going laterally. I dont know how much more I can take, before they have to put me in a nut house!

Fetus Number Five, Gone

Lost another baby. This time, the heart stopped in-utero at eight weeks and one day. We are devistated, and tired of this. More updates later, after I pick my heart up off the floor.

Another Great One

Well, well, well. We went in today for another ultrasound. And we saw the 'teddy graham' as they call it. We saw the head, arms, and legs!! It measures about 18 millimeters, and exactly 8 weeks old! The doctors released us to have a normal pregnancy! Wow, after all we have been through to get here, this is truly divine intervention! A Christmas miracle. Its not often you see miracles happen in the everyday world. Anyway, we also heard and saw, the heartbeat!!

Grandmothers

I have some sad news to report. My grandmother was diagnosed with lymphoma (cancer) around Christmas. I didnt post, because it was too difficult. But I am able to now, even though its still a tough one. She has been biopsied and tested over the past few weeks, and this is one update all in one. She has a cancer, that if they do treatment, has a 60% chance of going away. They can cure it. However, it will tear her body up, cause her hair to fall out, cause pain, and other things. Chemotherapy really hurts. She always told me, that if she ever got cancer, she would not do treatment. She didnt want to burden the family, or go through the pain to extend her life by only a year or two. Well, she decided at first to go ahead with treatment. Then, she decided against it, because of the cost. Well, we have the cost figured out (VA). So, now, she is wanting to do the treatment again. The doctors said with treatment, it could extend her life by one year. But the treatment will consist of six months of that year. She wants to be around to see her grandbaby (my child) in this world. I thought that was the most amazing thing in the world. I know, she has a spot in heaven waiting for her, but its just so hard to let her go there.