For All Those Concerned...

Thanks to all of you who have been concerned for me, thinking of me & praying for me. I thought I'd give a quick update. I did end up spending most of this day at the hospital being monitored. I went to church this morning as usual, but was feeling pretty uncomfortable. At 10:45 a.m. I noticed that I'd had a couple contractions pretty close together so I started keeping track and ended up having 5 in a 30 minute period and then 10 in a 70 minute timeframe. My doctor had said at my last appointment that if I experienced more than 6 contractions in an hour to call. So, after church I called and talked to the answering service and the doctor on call called me back about 12:30 p.m. and said he'd like me to go to Labor & Delivery at the hospital to be monitored...so on I went. I dropped the girls off at home and Emily met us there. She ended up keeping them all afternoon. Thank you Em! I went on to the hospital and sure enough I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. I was 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced (sorry if that's too much information). They kept me monitored and started an IV of fluids because I was dehydrated. They were hoping that getting me rehydrated would stop the contractions, but it didn't, at least not as quick as they had hoped. They kept me on the fluids and then betwen 4:30-5:00 p.m. the contractions finally started fading and not coming as often. Since I wasn't dilating anymore they decided to send me home around 7 p.m., but not before telling me that I needed to stay off my feet as much as I possibly can and make sure I'm eating and drinking regularly. I have to be careful for 2 more weeks & once I reach 36 weeks, as of right now, I can resume regular activity pretty much & if I go in to labor, they will let me go ahead and deliver. So, now I am on to all the books I can read to the girls & games we can play. I will definitely have to constantly be reminding myself to take it easy as that does not come naturally to me.

I do have to say that the highlight of my day was spending some extra time just David & I. He's been extremely busy lately and was able to spend about an hour and a half with me at the hospital before needing to leave to go to a Pastor's Enrichment Retreat with Pastor John. I think he was kind of hesitant to leave me, but I assured him I would be fine & that there was nothing to worry about. He so deserves this time to relax, unwind & be refreshed. It was, of course, hard to see him leave (as it always is) but I know he will only come back a better husband & father for taking the time to regroup and be refreshed in his relationship with Christ.

Fun Coloring Times!

As many of you know, Abby loves to color. Not just color, but anything crafty. She loves to write as well. She is doing so well learning how to write her letters and numbers. Here are some pictures we snapped of the girls actually sharing a coloring book & crayons. This sharing concept is really hard to come by these days, so we had to capture it.







Just another fun picture of Ally & I:

My House Projects

I am proud to blog that I have completed my powder room project! I painted, hung border & hung a new mirror. I really love it! Here are some pictures...





I have also finished painting Abby's room, which will soon be Abby & Ally's bedroom. I still need to paint the trim, but I'm glad to have the bulk of the painting done. This has been quite the project with ripping down the wallpaper, removing all the leftover paste, spackling, sanding & then painting. The painting was definitely the most fun! Abby even helped me paint & here is a picture of her artwork, along with pictures of the finished product...

Ally's 2nd Birthday!

It's so hard to believe that Ally is 2 years old already! She started the day by going with Daddy to Dunkin' Donuts to get some munchkin's, and then Daddy took the girls to the park for a picnic lunch and to play. (Mommy stayed home with Adrienne to get some things done around the house.) Then, for dinner Emily & her friend Justin came over and we grilled out, and then enjoyed some cupcakes that Ally helped Mommy make, and some ice cream. Ally then opened up a little gift from Mommy & Daddy and some cards she'd gotten in the mail.

We had a little party for Ally on Saturday. She really likes The Wiggles, so that was our theme. Here are some fun pictures from the party...she had a great time and thoroughly loved opening presents this year. She was very meticulous and had to find where the paper had been taped to open it. I think she is definitely our perfectionist.

Easter 2008

Ok, I know...I am very behind on blogging, so I'm trying to play catch up. We've did have a very fun Easter with the girls this year. We, of course, went to church and the girls went on the annual egg hunt after the service and then we went to Texas Roadhouse with friends for lunch. (This has also become an annual tradition, believe it or not.) We came home and everyone took naps, and then the girls and decorated eggs and we gave them their Easter baskets. It was a fun day, but also a day that we were able to really emphasize (mostly to Abby) what Easter is really about. The story of Easter really came "alive" to her after her Preschool class at church. She really seemed to understand a little more about Jesus dying on the cross and that he came back to life. Just this past week, Pastor John's Grandma went home to be with the Lord. He was able to go to Ohio and be with her a couple days before she passed away and be with his family. This also has brought on some interesting conversations with Abby. Just this morning, she was telling me about Pastor John's Grandma and how she is in heaven now, but then asked me if she was going to come back to life. It may sound funny, but I know she was relating this to what Jesus did for us on the cross, but then came back to life. It was a very neat conversation to have with her. She doesn't forget anything and I know that soon, all of these little conversations we've been having with her will cause her to realize her need for Jesus to live in her heart so that she can go to heaven and be with him someday.

Here are some pictures from Easter!