Ultrasound

We had our ultrasound today to check the spine. It looked great. They ended up checking everything while they were at it. Everything looks perfectly healthy. I am so relieved...and exhausted. I didn't even realize how exhausted I was from worrying all the time. I feel better and I'm kinda just waiting for it to really set in. They said that sometimes being an insulin dependent diabetic can elevate those proteins as well. I was like "Why didn't you tell me that before!" Since everything looked good I asked the Dr if being diabetic was most likely the reason the test came back a little high and he said yes. I wish I would have known that but oh well, I'm just glad its over and everything was good.

We also got some exciting news! Its a GIRL! We were surprised because we both kinda felt like it was a boy but nope, its a little girl and we're thrilled! The ultrasound tech said she looked "pretty". I'm not sure how she could tell that by looking at her skeleton but I'll take it! Hopefully she will be :]

I will scan in some of the ultrasound pictures later. I just wanted to post that everything looks great and thank everyone so much for your thoughts and prayers. I have received a lot of peace and comfort and I'm sure some of it is because of the prayers offered in our behalf so thank you.

Elevated Proteins

On Monday I received a call. My heart fell and I tried to hold back my tears while on the phone with this poor lady just doing her job. She told me I had an elevated level of protein in my blood from what they normally see. This protein comes from the babies liver and to have that protein leaking into my blood can mean spina bifida or an abdominal wall defect. She said it doesn't mean for sure the child has these things, more times then not with the level I had in my blood it just means I have a leaky placenta. However, I have to go in for an ultrasound. I was a mess but I was trying to think clearly so I could ask any questions I had. I asked if its not spina bifida what does a leaky placenta mean for the rest of my pregnancy? Would that cause complications down the road? She told me that it could but since I'm already getting checked frequently because of the diabetes they would keep an eye on that too. I know I'm emotional and I'm sure thats part of the reason I melted down the way I did but thats kind of a scary phone call. Since I was bawling as I told David, he just comforted me and held me as I explained it all. He researched spina bifida and leaky placentas. We found several personal blogs that had been written about the same things we're going through right now. Majority of the time it turned out to be leaky placentas or something but not spina bifida. He gave me a blessing, we both felt comfort and peace over the matter. Human nature however, we've gone through panicked moments and calm moments since then. Obviously we would love the child no matter what. Its because I love this child that I don't want it to have any health problems like that. I talked to the genetic counselor on Tuesday about what my levels were. Anything under a 2.5 is normal. My test result came back at 2.5. Its enough to flag it as a high reading but of all the high readings you could have its the best. I've felt better about it since then. Even with these things helping me feel better, its all I think about. Everytime someone asks about the baby I smile and tell them everything is great while I think "EXCEPT I'M SCARED TO DEATH RIGHT NOW". I haven't really wanted to talk about it with many people because it just brings up all those fears but today its really been on my mind and I thought I just need to get it out. I also have another reason for getting it out, I want to ask anyone reading this to please keep us in your prayers. Our ultrasound is Monday and I can't wait until its over so we can know the answers and I can breathe deeply again.

BFF's

Kateka and Stuart. They are the best friends David and I could ever ask for. They've been through the ups and downs of life with us like family and I love them for still wanting to be our friends. Kateka is really one of my best friends ever for so many reasons. I know the Lord knew what he was doing when he put her in my life. I called her first when I found out I was pregnant, I relied on her heavily when I went through a really tough time back in April, and now as I go through pregnancy and the scares that come with that I rely on her. She always knows what to say and how to make me feel better. She's the most open, loving, and caring person. Always worried about others and thinking of ways she can help them. I admire her a ton and can only hope to have those characteristics she has someday. Stuart always brings humor to any situation. Don't let the humor fool you though, he cares a lot and would do anything for you. I love that he teases me like a little sister and I love that I'm not shy and I give it right back. Together they are the dream team and I'm so glad they're in our lives. I don't know what I'd do without their friendship. Thank you so much Kateka for all you do for David and I, we love you guys! Sealed for eternity ;]

R+C=Love

David went on his mission to Southern California. He met several great families/people that he keeps in touch with. One of these great people is a darling girl named Rashelle. She ended up moving up here not long after David got home from his mish to go to school so we've been able to hang out and see here every now and then. Recently she got married to a great guy named Colby. They're so perfect together and we loved being a part of their big day. We got to go to her sealing in the morning which was so special. I love watching others sealings since I remember nothing from my own. It happened to be like -9 outside (maybe I'm exaggerating a little..but it was cold) so we didn't stick around the temple long but of course we went to the reception that night to continue the fun. I'm so happy for these two and can't wait for several date nights with them in the future! Here is the gorgeous couple...and me. David was taking the pic.

Tender Mercies

Today David spoke in church. It was about Tender Mercies. I was so proud of him. His talk included doctrine, excerpts from Elder Bednar's talk in 2005, and personal stories. I love having a husband that I can learn from and grow in the gospel with. I'll be the first to admit that I am no expert when it comes to the gospel. Far from it. Today I learned a tender mercy is anytime the Lord gives you personal answers to prayers, strength, guidance, assurance, consolation, support, and blessings of every kind. That means I am receiving tender mercies from the Lord all the time. He is ever present in our lives and I'm going to make more of an effort to recognize the daily tender mercies I receive from Him.

Woke up to this

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen? I asked him to make my sandwich for me last night because I was so tired I just wanted to go to bed. I woke up to this in our fridge. He's freaking darling.

Do you smell that?

Natural Gas. Yep, I smelled it. I woke up around 4:30 or so yesterday morning to go to the bathroom. I smelled it instantly and wondered what it was and where it was coming from. I know what natural gas smells like but recently (this is gross btw) we had a weird smell in the basement and it turned out to be a dead mouse in our walls. The smell was VERY similar to a natural gas smell unless you got close (which I didn't) and then you smelled the rotting I guess. So when I smelled the gas I thought maybe there is another dead mouse down there and its next to our heater or something so its coming through the vents. I don't know why I thought that, I was half asleep! I woke up for work and it was still there so I woke David up. He got up and smelled all the vents. He went downstairs, in the garage, in all the rooms. It was definitely coming through our vents. He said he didn't think it was a problem. I was skeptical as I drove off to work thinking, you don't smell gas for no reason. There has got to be a problem somewhere. I called David when I knew he was up and told him he had to call the gas company to come check it out just in case. It wouldn't cost us anything and its better to be safe then sorry. He said when he woke up he hadn't really smelled it anymore so he thought it was fine. I felt really unsettled about it so I asked him to call just to make me happy. A couple hours later I got a call from the good old hubs saying he was leaving work because the gas company came to our house and the gas reading was off the charts high so we definitely had a leak somewhere that needed to be taken care of right away. They shut off our gas (that includes our heat...did they know its winter??) And started digging up the line outside to trace where it was coming from. David hung out at the house in the freezing cold with all our windows open to get the smell out until I was on my way home from work. When I got home the gas guys said they found it and fixed it and he just needed to re-light our furnace and water heater and we were good to go! Whew, I'm glad it was that easy of a fix. I'm glad I made David call, the gas man said he smelled it the second they got out of their truck in the visitor parking at our complex. I'm glad our house didn't blow up when the garage was opened several times for all of us to get out in the morning. (They wouldn't let David open it when he came home because they didn't want any electric anything around the gas just in case it lit it on fire and blew up our bloody house. No big deal) And I'm so glad our house is still standing and not reeking of gas anymore. Blessed. The end.