Blessings

I am sitting here in a very quiet house and can't get my mind off of all the wonderful blessings I've been given lately. Hannah is actually napping today, Whoa!, thanks to Keren who lovingly stayed with her while I went to the Dr and gently told her to lay back down after cleaning her bottom (thanks Keren, sorry about the surprise she had for you ;)) I would usually just lay down and try to rest, but I can't really rest right now.

First, I got to sleep in thanks to Emmy and G waking up with Hannah, feeding her, and keeping her entertained. So, I'm really not all that tired anyway. This should lead to a very good evening once Dan gets home and we can help Hannah enjoy all of her new birthday gifts.

Thank you to all of you who helped us celebrate Hannah's 3rd birthday yesterday. She was all smiles and I haven't seen that much joy on her face for that many hours in a long time. Dan and I really wanted to give her a very special day during this very stressful time. We are so blessed to know each and every one of you - you all made it a wonderful day. Not only are Dan and I blessed to have found such wonderful friends here in Columbus, but I never knew how much joy it would bring us to see Hannah loving all of her wonderful friends. Hannah loves each and every one of your children and even asks me to "talk to God about her friends" every night. We have even gotten to know many of your spouses and even your parents. I can't even begin to tell you how much you all mean to us.

We are so blessed to have a wonderful family who is willing to fly across the country to celebrate the day with us. Hannah had a blast with Emmy and G! All the outdoor gifts are perfect and will provide tons of entertainment this summer. Hannah even got to talk on the phone with her wonderful aunts and uncles who were unable to be here, but would never forget her birthday.

Also, and this may seem trivial at first, but bear with me, we have been very blessed by generous gifts from both sides of our families, several friends, and even strangers recently. Both of our parents have generously offered to help us out financially lately - not that they haven't in past, but it means so much right now. Strangers have sent us clothes and keepsakes for Eva. String of Pearls mailed me a keepsake kit to get Eva's hand and footprints, clay molds, an ornament, a photo book, a journal, and even tea to help dry my milk if I am unable to nurse Eva. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is sending someone to take maternity/family photos of us as well as coming to Eva's birth to get her first photos. Before I knew that NILMDTS would take maternity photos, Melissa Jones offered to give us a great deal on a full photo shoot at Homestead Park with a CD of all the proofs - I will share our favorites soon. Several mothers from car-seat.org have shared their stories with me about losing their own infants and sent me books and links that helped them make it through the tough times. All of these things, although mostly monetary and material, have such a HUGE emotional impact as well. When our minds are consumed of thought of Eva and the unknown, the stress of looking for preemie items, or calling photographers, or calling medical billing offices, really take an extra emotional toll. Each and every gift, however small they may seem to the giver, have a huge impact on our hearts.

Anytime a worry is lifted, we have more time to focus on our family now. We are able to focus on allowing Hannah to have the best childhood we can give her. The less I worry, the more smiles I can share with her. The more bills that are paid off, the more I can allow myself to enjoy a nice play group that may cost a little bit extra - or even a nice dinner at Red Robin. Every time I can scratch something off of my "to do for Eva" list, I am able to just concentrate on enjoying my pregnancy with her. Yes, I do enjoy every bit of it - even the back pain and headaches and sleepless nights and swelling and pelvis pain and kicks to the bladder and even watching my weight climb ever so high on the scale. I complain, but I love it just the same. She's my little girl and she can kick me any time she wants to, just as her big sister can run up and hit me in the face with her birthday balloons any time she wants to (I got to experience that this morning).

I also got an e-mail from a friend back home asking if my mom was on the radio this morning sharing our story. I assumed "no" because my mom doesn't call into radio shows. Well, she did this morning! It was a conservative radio talk show in DFW and they were discussing the murder of the late-term abortion Dr yesterday and several related issues. My mom called in to share my story as a mother who refused to terminate even after a fatal diagnosis. I now have many more strangers in the DFW area praying for me and our family. What a blessing! Thanks mom. Unfortunately, they don't have the call-in part of the show on-line, so I can't hear what was said, but still a blessing to know our story may have helped a woman in a similar situation decide to carry her baby and see what blessings God may have in store for her through the tough times.

Blessings, blessings, blessings everywhere and we don't know what we've done to deserve them all. We certainly are thankful for them all and want you all to know how much you mean to us and how much we love and cherish each and everyone of you. We thank God for you all.

Ok, I guess I should go enjoy the rest of nap time and catch up on my soap operas - ABC is actually coming in today after almost 2 weeks of always going out during "my stories".