Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Beauty From Ashes

Baby

I was expecting August 1st to be a wonderful day. I was just a few days over 3 moths pregnant and I was so looking forward to my first ultrasound. My facebook status that day shared how excited I was to see and hear my baby for the first time. I had no idea that I would see her, but never hear her.

In our minds it was a routine ultrasound and we had absolutely no indication that anything was wrong. I had been feeling quite sick and totally exhausted, but that's been pretty normal for me with all of my pregnancies. It felt a little worse this time around and at times I felt a bit shaky and dizzy, but honestly I didn't think too much of it. After two healthy full term pregnancies resulting in my two beautiful children it really just didn't occur to me that this pregnancy could be any different. Nothing could have prepared me for that day. We decided not to bring the kids to this ultrasound, and not having a babysitter Joe stayed home with them while I went to the ultrasound alone.

I remember feeling that nervous excitement at the beginning of my appointment. I absolutely love my doctor (who saw me through both of my other pregnancies and delivered Eli) and I was excited to be seeing her again. We went through the whole appointment and the ultrasound was the last thing. I remember quickly being able to see our little girl. The picture is never really that good when they are that young, but I could clearly make out her head and her body. My doctor took a few pictures and measurements and then showed me her chest and said that this was where she was trying to find her heartbeat. She spent a minute or two (or maybe more or less- time sort of seemed to blur to me) hovering in that spot. I just looked back and forth between my doctor and the student she had with her hoping to find some sign of what was happening...any indication in their faces that everything was okay. But it was not okay. My doctor turned off the ultrasound machine and everything just stood still for me. I was in complete shock.

I sat up and my doctor carefully, sweetly explained to me as she handed me some tissues that she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. As the tears began to roll down my face she also explained that the baby was a little over three weeks smaller than she should have been. We decided that I would go right away to the hospital for a more complete and thorough ultrasound and my doctor whispered in my ear as she hugged me that she hoped she was wrong, but we both knew that she wasn't. Because as much as I was in shock I knew at that moment that my baby was no longer alive. I had seen her, but not heard her.

Those first moments of that horrible knowledge were probably the hardest of my life. And the next hour and a half would prove to be the loneliest time I have ever known. I called Joe from the doctor's office and managed through tears and gulps to share what I knew. He tried to find a babysitter but couldn't so I headed down the road to the hospital alone. And alone was completely how I felt. I tried to hold back the tears, not for myself, but more for the comfort of those around me. The young woman who did my ultrasound was nice enough, but she didn't know me and she didn't say much. The ultrasound itself must have been at least 15-2o minutes (again time was a blur to me). The screen was turned away from me so that I couldn't (or didn't have to) see the images and the whole thing just felt so cold and empty. All I could think of were my friends who had been through miscarriages and I couldn't help but wonder if this was how they felt too. Just alone- suddenly without that precious little one growing inside.

After the ultrasound I waited a few minutes and then the ultrasound technician came in with the phone. On the other end was my doctor delivering the conclusive news that would forever change me.

I managed to get through the hospital without totally breaking down. Though I did think to myself that maybe it wouldn't be all that unusual for a person to be walking through the hospital in a fit of tears and sorrow. And it dawned on me that many others, likely in that very hospital, had lost loved ones that day. And I felt then the reminder of the many blessings I have and I knew then somehow that though this would forever hurt my heart it would not steal my joy forever.

I walked to my van in the parking garage of the hospital, climbed inside, and for the first time just let myself sob until I was swollen and blind and covered in tears. After allowing myself to just feel the sorrow completely I knew that I had to get home. I had been asked a couple of times that afternoon if I felt okay enough to drive myself home. I said yes, but I'm sure I wasn't okay enough...but I just couldn't bear waiting for someone to come for me. So I composed myself enough to see and started driving the 2o minutes home. And in doing so leaving behind that feeling of being utterly alone.

Because God met me on my drive home. I knew in my head that He had been with me all along, but suddenly as I was driving I felt His presence as surely as I've ever experienced. I felt Him there with me in the van. He was there carrying me and grieving with me as I drove. The God not just of the suffering, but a God who has suffered was there with me, feeling everything I felt and knowing better than anyone the pain of loosing a child. I felt His presence so strongly that I reached out and put my hand on the passenger seat...knowing that the living God was sitting next to me carrying me home through my tears.

I walked into my house and immediately started crying again as Joe met me in the mud room. He didn't know the final results at that point but one look at the strain in his eyes told me that he did know. And Lily came running up right away asking me what was wrong with the baby. I looked at Joe and either he didn't know what to say or couldn't say it. So through choked words I explained the best I could in the moment to our sweet little girl. Even then she handled the news with such care and grace for a four year old. Over the coming days and weeks she would often look at me with her sweet eyes and say, "Mommy, I know you're sad about the baby...I am too, but I love you." Amazing that God's precious gift of my first daughter would be able to give me such comfort at the loss of my second daughter.

And much of the rest of that night went by in a blur. I remember just sitting on the couch popping every last bubble in a sheet of bubble wrap...unable to really do anything else while Joe put the kids to bed. And then we talked and Joe just let me cry. And through our conversation I'm sure that he said many things, but the one thing I remember is his saying, "We live in a fallen world." It didn't seem insensitive to me at the time, just not the thing I was thinking or even that I gave much thought to after he said it. But in the coming weeks that would be something God would teach me much more about.

After Joe went to bed that night I stayed up a bit, I just couldn't sleep. I snuggled up with a blanket on the couch and once again just let myself sob (like I did in the van at the hospital). And it was then that I noticed the storm outside. Funny that I didn't really notice it before...even though we had lost power for about 20 minutes earlier in the evening. But it was then that I actually saw it. It was pouring sheets of rain and as I sat there pouring out my own tears it felt as though God was crying with me...and He was. Once again I deeply felt his presence and His sorrow.

After a while I decided that I really needed to sleep as I knew the next few days would be emotionally and physically draining. I was able to stop crying, but I had to give it some time before I laid down because my nose was so stuffed up. So from the bathroom I wandered back into the living room and it was then that I noticed the incredible lightning storm through the one open window. I sat down on the kid's toy box just mesmerized. I have never seen lightning like that in Maine before. Ever few seconds the lightning would streak and just light up the sky and clouds- it was nothing short of spectacular. Just a bit earlier God was crying with me but in those moments God was showing me His power- He was reminding me that the God of the universe, the God with the power to light up the sky, was with me and in control. That night God showed me both sides of Himself- compassionate and powerful- and it was enough for me to know that I could trust Him. And it was enough for me to be able to sleep that night.

A few days earlier we received some other difficult news and in talking about it with one of my friends we had a good conversation about what it means to trust God. I made the comment that I believe that trust is an all or nothing thing- you can't just trust God with the little things in your life- you either trust Him with everything or you don't really trust Him with anything. Those words actually proved to be a comfort to me when we lost the baby because I knew in my heart that I really had no other choice but to trust God- and I asked God that first night that He might give me the strength to trust Him with everything.

The next few days floated by in a haze...resting, crying, sharing with family and friends, and just trusting the Lord through the sorrow. Three days later I had surgery and to be quite honest I was relieved to have the physical part of loosing the baby over. I was completely exhausted and yet as I rested in my bed later that afternoon I just couldn't sleep. All I could think of was our little girl and I was imagining what it might be like to be with her one day in heaven.

And then something amazing happened. God spoke to me. Laying there in my bed God spoke to me. I don't think it was necessarily audible, but it was so incredibly clear to my heart and my head that it might as well have been. I've never experienced anything like it before.

As I was laying there thinking about seeing our daughter someday God said to me, "My angels are rejoicing over her right now."

There was a pause and then God said,"And she's beautiful."

There was another pause and I said to the Lord, "Please tell her that her mama loves her very much."

And God replied back to me, "She already knows."

It was short, but it was the most intimate experience I have ever had with God. And all I could do after was just lay there and let the tears stream down my face- tears of joy and sadness and thankfulness for God's faithfulness. With just a few words God had told me everything I really need to know about our little girl and to have peace about her life. When God said, "And she's beautiful" my mind flashed to an image of a young adult girl, slender, with a thin beautiful face and long red hair. I don't know whether that was a vision from God of our daughter or just something that my mind was imagining, but either way it has given me an image of her to hold on to. And actually as I've thought about that brief conversation (I've replayed His words to me over and over in my head probably a hundred times) I've actually come to believe that His description of her being beautiful referred to much more than her appearance. I believe it was God's way of telling me that our Joy is whole and complete. She's not something they removed from me during surgery, but she is now whole and perfect in the arms of her Creator. This would have even more meaning for me later as we learned of her genetic disorder and the many resulting defects she had in this world. God knew that day exactly what I needed to release her into His loving care.

That's not to say that the following weeks (and now months) weren't still painful. I was no longer sad for our daughter (I knew that she was in the world she was designed for) but I was (and am) still heartbroken over the loss of our time with her here. Loosing her has felt so much more like what it is, the death of one of my children, than I ever would have imagined.

God has used this time to remind me, as Joe said the night we learned we lost her, that we live in a fallen world. I think that it is so easy for me (and probably many other Americans) to forget this. After all, I live a relatively good and easy life and it's easy to begin to live for this world and all this world has to offer. Sadly I've found that it has taken this incredible pain and loss for me to really see that this world is broken and full of pain, it is not the world that God designed us for, and it is not ultimately our home.

But...there is hope...for you and me and Joy. Because God sent His only son to die in our place...because He willingly experienced the pain of loosing a child I can know and experience the hope and joy that this world isn't all there is. Because He sacrificed His very life to redeem mine I can know that I will one day go to spend eternity with Him (and my baby girl) in the glory of heaven (the world we were meant for). One day God will make all things, even this, right and I cling to that hope.

On Good Friday the world seemingly went cold and dark. The God of the universe watched as His son was tortured and left to die on a cross. The only man in human history without sin, the only one of us to love totally, was beaten and killed by those He came to serve. Doesn't it seem odd that this day, the seemingly very darkest of all days, is called good? But it is good. It is good because of Easter. Because on that day God defeated sin and darkness forever. Because God was able to use the death of His only son to rescue the lives of his other children for all of eternity. On earth that "good" day was nothing but pain and sadness. But in light of eternity it is nothing but glorious.

And if that day can be called good, then I can look at this loss that God has allowed in our lives and know that it too is beautiful in light of eternity. Because there is Joy. She may have only lived for 9 weeks inside of me, but she lives forever a precious life in eternity. At times the pain has felt overwhelming, but I would do it all over again, without question, knowing that a life was created and lives on forever. Her life is the beauty from these ashes.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Baby Joy

Baby2

A week ago we received the long awaited pathology reports from the baby. All of the results were consistent with what we already knew from my condition. And we learned that our baby was a girl. But to tell you the truth, I already knew that. I felt that she was a girl when she was still alive and then the afternoon after my surgery during a special time with God I KNEW that she was a girl.

Joe and I have named her Joy. God has been teaching me so much this year (even before we lost the baby) about true joy- specifically that joy can be found even through the hardest times when we put our hope in heaven and eternity. And I have such peace knowing that the first thing our little Joy knew was complete joy. Her name seems perfectly fitting.

And to my sweet little girl...I love you and I miss you so. My heart will forever feel the loss of this time with you. And yet I know that this life is but a blink in the light of eternity. I long for the day I will hold you and know you and I find such hope in knowing that one day we will be together worshiping our Lord for the rest of eternity. Until that day my little Joy you have a piece of my heart.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Bananas!!

Banana-2
Banana2-2
Banana3
Banana4

August was not a good month for us, but something really good did happen last month! We found out at the latest allergist appointment that ALL of Eli's allergies are GONE! Yep, gone! I guess we can put one of the Epipens away because he is no longer allergic to bananas, peas, pineapple, or raspberries! And...we also learned that he doesn't have any nut allergies (which we initially expected because of his pea allergy). We've even given him peanut butter-craziness! And bananas- well those happen to be his new favorite and when we have them he can easily eat two to three a day!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Blowing Dandelions

Blow
Blow2
Blow5
Blow6
Blow7
Blow10
Blow13
Blow14
Blow15
Blow16
Blow17

There are certain things that just make me think of summer and blowing dandelions is one of them. It's one of those things that you remember doing when you were a child...and then take great joy in as you watch your own children do the same thing. So yes, summer may be gone with the wind (much like these dandelion seeds), but I still have a few summer pictures to share!

Lily took great delight in blowing dandelions she found in our yard nearly every chance she got (evidenced by the many pictures)! Eli, well he didn't really catch on until just recently (and as you can see from the pictures above- he really tries to blow them, but usually just ends up grabbing them to get them off the stem)! With all of these seeds blown around our yard we are sure to end up with even more to enjoy next summer!:)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

A Day In Our Life: Tuesdays

Tuesday
So here's a glimpse into our Tuesdays...


This Tuesday started off at 6:15a.m.- I woke up before the kids (a first in a VERY long time) because my neck and shoulder were really bothering me. It seems I injured the muscle going down from my neck to my shoulder/collar bone. I'm waiting for my doctor's appointment and suffering a bit through the nights while I wait. I wasn't up long before both of the kids woke up (about 6:30a.m.). But...I didn't get up to Eli quite in time and he climbed out of his crib (for the first time)- aaaggghhh!! The kids watched an episode of Wonder Pets while I checked on a few things for the day. Then Joe came home from the gym and got the kids breakfast while I took a shower. Then I ate breakfast, got the kids ready, loaded the dishwasher, etc... and at about 8:40a.m. we headed out for the morning. Our first stop was to the craft store for some supplies to make bubble wands for a play date I hosted today (Thursday). After that we headed out of town to meet my friend Chrissy and her kids for a playdate. Chrissy's family owns a farm/apple orchard/pumpkin patch/ice cream stand and it is such a wonderful place for families so I was really looking forward to seeing her and spending the morning on the farm. Except that for the life of me I couldn't remember which road to take to get to her house (even though I've been there many times before). There are two roads next to each other that I confuse all of the time. Apparently I'm not the only one...because instead of using my GPS (like I should have) I asked the lady at the craft store which road I should take. She lived in the town I was going to, but she was apparently confused too because she told me the wrong road (which I discovered 20 minutes later when I was lost)! After a call to Joe, Chrissy, and consulting my GPS I got back on track and finally made it to the farm (45 minutes late)!


Tuesday2


But once we were there we had such a wonderful time. The kids LOVED the animals! Eli was fascinated by the goats, but was a little nervous to feed them at first (which is why he isn't in any of these goat pictures)...but he eventually came around!
Tuesday3


Then we picked a few bags full of apples, played with the wagons, and wandered into the pumpkin patch (picking a few along the way to fill the wagons)! Believe it or not it was the first time my friend Chrissy had actually been apple picking or pumpkin hunting with her kids (I guess when you live on an orchard you just go out and pick an apple whenever you want one)!
Tuesday4

And then it was back to the animals where Eli just couldn't get enough of watching this chicken...
Tuesday5

Until the ducks caught his eye...
Tuesday6

And rest of the time with my friend was great. We got lunch at their ice cream/sandwich shop (where Eli knocked over and broke a glass jar in an attempt to get the Dove chocolates inside), we talked about little boys that like to hit things (ours), heaven, and fasting. I wish we could have stayed longer, but Lily had to go to school (and I was an hour late in getting her there because my whole morning was pushed back because of getting lost)- thankfully that wasn't a big deal with her school (it's pre-k and they are pretty laid back). So we drove back in a rush but dropped Lily off at school and headed home. Then I put Eli down for a nap...except instead of napping (apparently he thought the 20 minutes he slept in the car counted as a real nap) he screamed, jumped up and down, and then managed to climb out of his crib TWICE-aggghhh!! Oh, it was so hard not to laugh at him though because he was just so darn happy and proud of himself!:) After the 2nd time getting out of his crib I just gave up on nap time.
Tuesday7

But in between escape attempts I did manage to create this little railroad track with tape going through out living room, kitchen, and hallways!
Tuesday8

And our little boy (who already loves trains) was quite excited when he saw what I did!
Tuesday9

And he played train (and yes, he did eventually put his pants back on) for quite a while until I needed to do laundry. I read something recently about how good it is to find ways to actively engage little boys in things you are already doing. So, I had Eli do the laundry with me...he helped me take the clothes from the closet and put them in the laundry basket, move the wet clothes to the dryer, and move the dirty clothes from the laundry basket to the washer. And it worked... he loved it (and I got some laundry done)!! After laundry, snacks, making apple chips, and more play time we picked Lily up at school.
Tuesday10
Tuesday11

Once Lily was home the kids played more and I made dinner (pizza).
Tuesday12

After dinner Joe sort of took over and put the kids to bed while I went to the mall (yes, the mall- I think maybe it's been years since I've been there- or at least been there by myself). Our friend Brave is taking our family pictures in a week and a half and I went to the mall looking for a new outfit for the pictures (I've been looking for a while and I was having a very hard time finding something). But find something I did...great pants and a sweater that I LOVE and is so perfectly me. The weirdest thing though was that when I was coming out of one of the stores in the mall two men (about in their 20's) were walking towards me when they made strange faces at me, yelled, and then one of them opened his coat to flash me (he did THANKFULLY have all of his clothes on). Strange-so strange! You better believe that I looked behind me a few times to make sure they left! So after that odd encounter I stopped by Target to pick up a few things (and return some lamps). I got home just in time to hang out a bit with my husband and watch Parenthood (one of my favorite shows)!


So there you go...I'm not sure this was exactly a "normal" Tuesday but I'm beginning to realize that may there is no exactly normal when you have two little ones and are in full time ministry. Yes, my baby learned to crawl out of his crib, I got lost visiting the farm, and I was mock flashed...it was an interesting day that's for sure!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Beautiful

Beautiful9
Beautiful
Beautiful2
Beautiful4
Beautiful5
Beautiful6
Beautiful7
Beautiful8
Beautiful10
Beautiful11
Beautiful13
Beautiful12

Now I realize I may be biased, but I can't help but think that she is one of the most beautiful little girls I have ever known.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Fly

Fly
Fly2
Fly3
Fly4

Our kids just can't get enough of this sort of thing...if it were up to them we would throw them around all day (or pretend to be monsters...but that's for another post)!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Early

Terrible Twos

Yep, it seems as though we have entered the "terrible twos" a few months early!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

40

My latest pathology reports came back yesterday and my HCG levels are at 40. That's down from 140 two weeks ago. I have to be honest that I was a little disappointed...I was really hoping and sort of expecting that they would be at zero this time around. But the number still dropped quite a bit so I will choose to be content with where I am at now...and hope that in two weeks when I go back for more testing that I don't get the same guy who drew my blood the other day (I've never had someone jab me with a needle quite that hard before...and I hate needles)! But God is good...all the time.


"How quickly I forget, I'm Yours.

I'm not my own...I've been carried by You... all my life.

Everything rides on hope now.

Everything rides on faith somehow.

When the world has broken me down...

This Love sets me free."

-Addison Road

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Blue Hill State Fair!

Fair
Fair2
Fair3
Fair4
Fair5
Fair6
Fair7
Fair8
Fair9
Fair10
Fair11

Last week on our day off we went to the Blue Hill State Fair! It was our first fair this year and our first time at this fair in particular so I was excited! I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at first- the fair was a little more "carney" and a little less country fair than I was hoping. But in the end we had fun, we splurged on the sort-of-scary (and very expensive) carnival rides (two of them at least), and enjoyed the fair for what it was. Lily insisted on riding the merry-go-round (even though it was our 3rd one this summer) and Eli LOVED the ferris wheel. And...you should have seen the delight on Lily's face when I handed her the biggest stick of cotton candy either of us has ever seen!:) Our favorites were the flying dog disc show (those dogs are crazy talented) and the Timber Tina Lumberjack Show! We've seen the whole lumberjack show before down near Acadia National Park (before we had kids) and we've been wanting to take the kids so this was a fun treat (though we still want to go see the whole show- this was just a glimpse)! During the show one of the "lumberjills" carved a cute little chair out of a stump and choose a little one from the audience to keep the chair. Yep, she picked Eli. I'd like to believe he was picked because he's the cutest little boy ever, but it may also have had something to do with the fact that we were in the front row right in front of her!:) They brought us up front and of course Eli refused to sit on the chair (he was a bit scared I think) so they made me sit on it (quite funny as it is quite a little chair)! Good times, good times! And once we got home Eli loved sitting on his chair...and a few days later I was able to snap these pictures of my all too adorable little ones! So the fair may not have been all we were hoping for, but it was a fun time none-the-less!