the latest

We went to see my doctor today. The good news is that my doctor thinks I'm only dilated to a 1 or 1 1/2 right now. My cervix is definitely still effaced about 50% and Asher still has his head down in my pelvis. Dr. Schlegel could feel his head when she checked me.

I am still having contractions sporadically, and they come more when I move around, so I'm basically on a modified bed rest to keep them to a minimum. I'm probably going to go into work one more time next week to wrap things up there. And our trip to New York is off. But I feel grateful that I'm not in the hospital and not on complete bed rest.

This is just a stressful time for all of this to happen since we are moving on Saturday. I'm so grateful for everyone from church who is helping out. We really couldn't do this without them.

my new toy

Remember how Jared got that grant from BYU? Well last night he ventured out to the Apple Store and came home with one of these beauties:I am sitting pretty here on my bed playing on the new laptop while Jared works on the desktop. Life is good.

He also brought home one of these from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory:

Delicious!!! I may have to be on bed rest right now, but my wonderful husband is taking good care of me. After all, he brought me home an Apple and an apple. What more could a girl want?

In other good news, I've only had one contraction so far today! And little Asher is being quite the wiggle worm this morning. It's fun to feel him.

bed rest for now

Quick update... I spoke with my doctor this afternoon and she wants me on bed rest at least until I see her on Thursday. These next few weeks are crucial for our little guy and we want him to stay in there! I went into work for a couple hours today just to wrap up some loose ends but I probably won't be going in the rest of the week and might be done completely since next week was supposed to be my last week anyway. We'll see. I've been having more contractions so I'm trying to really limit my movement. Jared is actually going to get a new laptop tonight, so that will be nice for me to have during this. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers! It means so much to us.

home from the hospital

The story:

Saturday night I started bleeding. It wasn't tons of blood, but it wasn't stopping either, so we called the hospital and they told us to come in and get checked out. The doctor said it probably wasn't a huge deal but I should be checked out to make sure. We got there about 10 pm, went up to Labor and Delivery and they set me up in a triage room. The first year resident came in and did an exam. She said there was quite a bit of blood in there and had the attending come in to look. He checked me out and then checked my cervix and discovered I am 2 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and -2 station. Not a good thing when I'm only 30 weeks. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors and I was having contractions about every 3 minutes. The crazy thing is that I wasn't feeling them at first. I had to pay close attention and then ask the nurse to confirm I was having one. I wasn't in any pain. There would just be some tightening and my abdomen would get hard.

Another resident then came in and did an ultrasound. They wanted to check the baby's size, etc in case labor progressed. Asher is head down and partway in my pelvis but he looks great. They guesstimated his size is even a week or two ahead of schedule--about 3 1/2 pounds. Good news. And his heart rate is perfect.

So the doctors said I'd have to stay the night and be watched. They gave me a shot of steroids to help Asher's lungs mature should he decide to make an early appearance. They also hooked me up to an IV to get some fluids in me to help slow things down. Over the course of the next few hours, I continued to have contractions but they eventually slowed down. (Although they did get strong enough that they were very obvious to me.) They checked my cervix again and I hadn't dilated anymore so they decided I wouldn't need to be on any other medication to stop labor, took me off all the monitors and let me sleep. It was about 2 am at this point.

The next morning they moved me up a floor to the Maternity ward. I felt good all day, except for the boredom. I wasn't even allowed to leave the room. I could only get up to go to the bathroom. I was still bleeding a bit but it slowed down a lot. And I wasn't having contractions. But it was a long day stuck in a hospital bed. Poor Jared was getting pretty antsy.

About five my relief society president and visiting teacher came to visit. It as a very nice distraction. Thanks for the yummy cookies, Dianna! I also talked to a couple friends on the phone which helped too.

I went to sleep about 10:30 and then they woke me up around 12:15 to give me another shot of steroids. I slept until about 6:30 this morning. A resident came in about 7:30ish and told us as long as everything looks good we'd be going home soon. She came back a little later and checked my cervix again--still a two. I wasn't bleeding any new blood and hadn't been contracting, so she said I could get dressed and she and the attending would be in soon to talk to us before I left. The nurse hooked up the monitors one more time to check on Asher and make sure I wasn't contracting. Things still looked great. The doctors came back after 9 and we talked about what I can and can't do.

Basically, I'm allowed to return to normal activity but I need to be hyper-vigilant about everything. Any little thing out of the ordinary is a reason to call my doctor/hospital. I also realized after talking to them that I've been having more contractions than I realized. Times where I thought Asher was just pushing on me were actually contractions. And Braxton Hicks are no longer part of our vocabulary because I'm dilated. If I have more than 4 contractions in an hour, I have to call the doctor.

So tomorrow I'll be calling my doctor and hopefully getting in to see her very soon. I'm allowed to go back to work as long as I take it easy. The big thing this week is that we are moving (just across town) and there is still much packing to do. Some of the lovely ladies from church are going to come over a couple nights this week and help out. I'm so grateful for that support system. I can't imagine how we'd manage without that.

I have been having a few mild contractions this afternoon and am trying to pay really close attention to them and keep track. I just never realized that contractions could be so hard to discern. I have had no pain or discomfort. But Asher is doing great. We just want to get through at least another 4 weeks so he can get a bit bigger. And chances are he'll stay in there longer than that. But keep us in your prayers! I'll keep you updated.

about 70 days to go... we hope.

This is Jared, and I just wanted to write a little update post. Katrina and I had an unexpected wake up call last night, though right now everything looks like it is going to be fine. Katrina was bleeding a bit yesterday, and so we decided to go in to the hospital and have it looked at. We were quite surprised when we found out that Katrina is already 2 cm dilated! In fact, for a bit there it looked like Asher might make an appearance then and there... Katrina was having contractions that were mild but only 3 minutes apart, and was 50% effaced. Those have now stopped, but the doctors are keeping her in the hospital through tomorrow. They have given her steroids to help Asher just in case, but the people we talked to seemed confident that things are going to be fine, and that we hopefully still have close to two months left before Asher arrives.

It doesn't take much out of the ordinary to make one evaluate our lives and appreciate what we have. It was so hard for me to see Katrina uncomfortable, though she did a great job. So we are going to be really careful for the rest of the pregnancy. For my part, I am going to hurry up and get the work done that I need to for summer projects! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers, and I am sure Katrina will post about this when she comes home.

and they're nice guys too

One more thing about Idol and then I'm done. I just wanted to say how great it is that both the Davids seem to be such nice, humble guys. Case in point:

David Cook: You know, the respect that I have for David Archuleta is very much past a competitor thing. He has more talent at his age than I know what to do with at 25. So, to be able to share the stage with him was an honor for me. Read more here

David Archuleta: Cook, he’s like my big brother. I’ve learned so much. I’ve looked up to him since the beginning of this. He’s just such a great guy — really humble, down to earth and I just feel like I can’t believe I’m standing next to him. Read more here

Isn't it nice to know that they genuinely like and respect each other?

david cook takes it home

photo from the huffington post

Let's talk Idol.

Was anyone else surprised Cook took home the prize last night?

First let me say that I LOVE David Cook! He's been my favorite from early on. Although Archuleta is a talented boy, he just didn't do it for me. I found him a bit on the boring side. Sweet, humble, and very talented, but boring nonetheless. However, after Tuesday's show, I really thought Archuleta was gonna win. He had a better night. David Cook was awesome, but he didn't bring the house down the way little David did. And with all those teeny-boppers and Mormons out there, I had pretty much given up hope that Cook would win. Not that I didn't vote for him... more than once.

So last night... I was really impressed when Simon actually apologized to Cook for his comments the night before. I'm glad that Simon realized upon watching the show again that it maybe wasn't the "knock out" he said it was. And then Ryan read the results. When he said the winner won by 12 million votes, I still thought it was going to be Archuleta. But then he said David.... Cook!

Yeah, I'm happy. He totally deserves it and he's going to make a killer album! And Archuleta is going to be juuust fine. We all know that you don't have to win to go on to be successful.

What's crazy is that more than 97 million votes were cast overall, 23 million more than American Idol's previous high.

Did you vote? Who did you vote for? What did you think of the results?

full-time

I'm going to become a full-time mama a little sooner than I was planning on. My plan had been to work just afternoons once the kids are here because Jared teaches in the mornings. Unfortunately, I found out today that the powers that be at work have decided they won't let me go part-time in June and want to hire someone full-time to replace me. So my last day of work will be June 6. (btw, I haven't worked here long enough to get maternity leave.)

I have to say I'm pretty surprised. I honestly thought they'd be more open to the idea, especially since it would only be for a few weeks, and then I'd be leaving to have the baby anyway. So I'm feeling lots of mixed emotions right now. On the one hand, it will be really nice to not work. I will definitely have plenty to keep me busy with the three kids here and a baby to prepare for. And I am definitely sick of this job. On the other hand, I had mentally prepared myself to work through most of July, so it's very strange all of a sudden to only have 10-11 days of work left. Plus, obviously, it would have been very nice to have that income.

But such is life.

We did get some good news this week however. Jared received a VERY nice bit of money from a BYU grant. He's using it to buy a new laptop, which he'll need to teach his class this summer. And there will still be a very nice chunk left over. What's awesome is that Jared found out about the grant after the deadline had passed, but he followed through and they let him turn it in anyway and he got it! He has always had the gift to make things happen, and once again it really paid off. Thanks, BYU!

i too must give

She came in late. She chose our row and scooted uncomfortably close to my husband as she made room for two, three, four little boys. We kept moving over until I was sitting quite close to dear Sister Rust on my left. She made no apology, no excuses, no thank yous as she obliviously made room on the end of the row for her brood.

The boys were shaggy haired and sloppily dressed. They were in sore need of baths. They were squabbling and restless.

I was annoyed. I was judgmental. I was bothered that this woman didn't at least acknowledge our presence as she practically sat in my husband's lap and disrupted the meeting with her clamoring boys. Charity was not on my mind.

But my husband saw an opportunity to help. He carefully ripped the back of the program into small squares and had each of those boys sit by him as he drew them pictures. Jared has a talent for drawing fun little animal cartoons that kids just love. These boys were no exception. He was kind and attentive, and they responded to that. So did their grandmother. She thanked Jared over and over.

I was humbled by my husband's good example.

And then we sang the closing song: Because I Have Been Given Much. It is one of my all-time favorite hymns. Many times I have been touched by the simple text of this song, but it had new meaning after watching my sweet husband share his gifts and love to these little boys.

Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live;
I shall divide my gifts from thee
With every brother that I see
Who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care,
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
My roof’s safe shelter overhead,
That he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,
I’ll share thy love again, according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need;
I’ll show that love by word and deed:
Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

-- Grace Nowell Crowell

It was such a simple thing Jared did; he drew a few pictures. But it was so much more than I was willing to give. While I was content to be put out and annoyed, he saw someone in need and shared. I hope I can remember the lesson he taught me, and that the next time I see someone in need, I too will give.

making it real

SHIFANG, China — At the moment of greatest despair, Wang Zhijun tried to kill himself by twisting his neck against the debris.

Breathing had become harder as day turned to night. The chunks of brick and concrete that had buried him and his wife were pressing tighter by the hour, crushing them. Their bodies had gone numb.

Then there was the rain, sharp and cold, lashing at them through the cracks.

“I don’t think I can make it,” he told his wife, Li Wanzhi, his face just inches from hers, their arms wrapped around each other.

She sensed he was giving up. “If God wants to kill us, he would have killed us right away,” she said. “But since we’re still alive, we must be fated to live.”

And they lived. They were pulled from the rubble of their collapsed six-story workers’ dormitory 28 hours after last Monday’s earthquake, spared the end met by at least 32,000 others....

"In Rubble, Couple Clung to Each Other, and to Life", By Edward Wong, New York Times

This is an amazing story of a husband and wife who survived the earthquake in China. It really makes it real. This is definitely worth five minutes of your time.