Daily Living with Grace

Today I had an appointment with my good and faithful OB. I was scheduled for my weekly Biophysical Profile and Non Stress Test. I can honestly say that I am going to the BEST office group ever for my prenatal care, but we will cover more on that later. I was really super frustrated when I got there because of some issues with some scales at my office. And then God spoke very loudly to me that scales are not that important. Funny how He does that. Just when you start to get all out of sorts with petty things, He refocuses you. Cheryl, the most wonderful sonogram technician in the world, looked at Kaydence and I noticed that she went back to her head a couple of times. Hmmm. On Monday, Dr. Y didn't really say much except that her head was still measuring a little smaller than average. Cheryl told me that she noticed a little extra fluid on the brain. Deep breath. Ok, I remember Dr. M saying he noticed a little fluid 3 weeks ago. Cheryl consulted with Dr. Blackwell and he call...

I wrote before that I have recently read the book Angel Unaware and that I have new perspective about the travel sometimes required of me in my job. After I left my appointments today, I traveled to Allen for my annual work "retreat," which I must admit is actually a high point in the year. I get to see agents I don't see very often in a relaxed work setting. And I actually get something out of the training we do. I've learned that there are often times I go to trainings and never really take away anything, which is very disappointing. But not at this training! So here I am feeling like a bad momma because I am away from my kids for 3 nights and I am missing them, but enjoying the solitude. I have a chance to think about writing this. I have a chance to visit friends - like my college buddies I saw for dinner tonight - what a blessing! I have a chance to really get back to praying because I have slacked off the past few weeks I am ashamed to admit. When you get in...

Today we had appointments in Dallas again. It was bittersweet in a way, but heavy on the sweet and easy on the bitter. First Tommy and I had hoped to get a little more detail about delivery, but didn't get much there. We visited with a NICU doctor who just told me stuff I can Google (and have done that). However, while waiting to meet the NICU nurse I was looking at the bulletin board with all of the staff on it and noticed someone on there who originated from Centerville. I really pray that she is on duty when Kaydence gets here because I'd like to have one staffer there that I kind of know. Let down number two was we didn't get to see Dr. M, and instead we saw Dr. Y, who as you know from previous posts, is the bomb dropper it seems. Tommy just gets all out of sorts about her and he doesn't dread seeing many people! It's not that she is bad, she just is extremely blunt and isn't really a pep talker, while Dr. M gives you the reasons to be thankful. However, ...

So I don't have a whole lot of updating, but I'd like to take a moment to ask for your continued prayers for Kaydence. This week I had my biophysical profile or BPP and a non-stress test or NST at my doctor appointment. It was in the afternoon and I truly believe that Kaydence is a lot like her momma; it's just hard to be awake at that time of day! She received and 8 out of 8 in her BPP which was great, but her NST was considered non-reactive. Not the best news, but my doctor wasn't worried because her BPP was so good. Sometimes, when NSTs are non-reactive, it can signal an issue with the amount of oxygen a baby is getting or something being wrong with the brain. Yep, that is stuff to worry about, but you know what? I'm not going to do that. I'm going to keep praying about it all and just give it to God. It's a lot easier to say this than do it because it is a struggle, but what else can I do about it? It's out of my hands and in His, which is so much b...

What has been on my mind this week, and is the title of this post, is a book by Dale Evans called Angel Unaware. It is a very simply written book that was written many years ago right after Dale lost her daughter Robin. My friend brought me the book to read and I am so glad she did! Dale Evans and Roy Rogers have long been a couple that I have had so much respect for, but after reading this book, I am completely amazed by the faith they had. (And by the way, my son's nursery was decorated in Roy Rogers stuff when he was born!) The book is written from Robin's point of view from Heaven, and tells about her short life of 2 years. She was born with Down Syndrome. In the end, she didn't pass from the heart issues she suffered, but from mumps encephalitis. But here is the part that grabbed me, Dale uses the moments in this book to tell how she and Roy grew from this experience. She didn't let it bring her so far down that she couldn't deal with it. Instead she chose t...