There is a God, His name is Jesus, and He loves YOU!

How simple is that?? It's the very simple truth. Not complicated, however, when it comes to trying to tell people about God, we can over-complicate things and lose courage for fear of not being able to deliver the message to others. This is what Dan talked about tonight at WFC, leaving a legacy. People generally have an easier time accepting that there is a God, some don't accept that Jesus is God's son and the fact that he is the only way we can have eternal life. It seems narrow minded, but it is exactly what scripture tells us. John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" And one of the really awesome things about being a Christ Follower is this: John 3:16-17 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." There is a God. His name is Jesus. He LOVES us. Believe in Him and you will be saved. Believe in Him and tell others how He has changed your life. Leave a legacy that reflects Jesus. 

Hypothyroid or Hypochondria??

I have been having many many symptoms of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's. I never thought about it until my mom sent me a video link about thyroid issues and as soon as I watched it, it was like an immediate feeling that I had that. I went to a dr after researching some stuff and the dr did not end up testing me for all the necessary things it sometimes takes to get an accurate diagnosis. She tested my TSH which came in as "normal" according to the lab, however, after doing some digging, I found out the normal range is very very broad and many people that are suffering with this disease have normal or close to "normal" TSH numbers but are still experiencing many symptoms! Myself included!! So here's a list of MY symptoms that have been occuring that could all be linked to hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's:

-fatigue
-migraines/headaches
-depression (have been taking Zoloft for awhile now)
-feeling cold (my nose, feet, and hands are always cold!!)
-dry skin
-dry, brittle hair
-psoriasis on my scalp, knees, feet
-tingling in my wrists, hands, fingers (I thought I had carpel tunnel)
-weight gain
-eye twitching
-heavy periods
-waking up feeling tired after sleeping soundly all night
-recurrent miscarriages
-swollen tongue
-TMJ, teeth clenching (I have this bad!)
-dry eyes (I can no longer wear contact lenses b/c of this)
-acne
-hairloss (on front of my head)
-eyebrows are disappearing at outer edges
-kidney stones
-postpartum depression
-low basal body temp (I know this from all the TTC charting I did)
-brain fog (I noticed that my mind just does not function like it used to. I used to never feel like this)
-high cholestrol
-extremely low vitamin D level
-low level of B12
-foot pain
-knee pain

Okay people....this is just my list of symptoms that I have started noticing all tie into this disease. I sometimes feel crazy, but hopefully I will get some sort of answer when I get my lab results back. Here is where I ordered my lab from: 

https://www.privatemdlabs.com/lab_tests.php?view=category_result

I will update when I get my new lab test results. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday!!

4 Years Later...

Well, 4 years later.....and I finally make another entry!! Ha! I guess things got a little busy....to say the least!! I had actually forgotten that I had this blog until Grandma Polly sent me a link to it and said, "Remember this?" And it's really sad that I just saw that email today and she sent it in November! Yeah, I'm a slacker!! I don't even know where to begin. I notice my last post was my positive pregnancy test for Kinsey.

After 3 miscarriages in a row and 2 years of trying, we finally had a pregnancy stick! I had lots of horrible morning sickness that ended up lasting all day. I lost about 20 lbs being so sick during the beginning of pregnancy. I also ended up having terrible kidney stones which landed me a 3 day stay in the hospital. I thought the pregnancy was going to be terrible, but after the first trimester ended, it ended up being a pretty smooth-sailing pregnancy. We found out we were having a girl and on February 19th, 2011, Kinsey Elizabeth made her way into the world, screaming and crying and letting us all know she didn't like that! The birth was very easy and way better than Jack's! Thank goodness!! Jack did SO great at being a big brother. We had a few tears early on and it broke my heart when he was crying and told me he didn't think I was his best friend anymore, but he really bonded with Kinsey and she just loved having him near. She was a pretty easy baby, though at the time, we thought she was really hard, but that was in comparison to Jack who really was the easiest baby ever!! She was a loud crier and we were not used to that. She didn't actually like to snuggle much, she wanted to be on the floor playing and looking around. She did get agitated easily and that is true to this day. She is very particular and needs to have things just so. We just celebrated her 3rd birthday this year!!  Jack also turned 6 this past fall and started Kindergarten!! It is so crazy to think that he was only 1 when I started this blog!! Time FLIES!! 

So when Kinsey was 11 months old, we actually found out I was pregnant again. I was NOT happy! I mean, I knew it must be God's plan, but I had just finished almost a year of exclusive pumping and I finally had myself back to myself and BOOM!!! Here we go again!! I blame Kevin, haha!!  At the time, I was in pure shock. After all, we had tried so long to finally have our second, so I guess we didn't think things would happen so quickly, but that's how we got Baby Surprise. And then the lovely all day sickness started along with SPD which started at 12 weeks and plagued me horribly the whole time. It was a difficult pregnancy. I also had placenta previa the first months and had to take it easy. Luckily, that corrected and I was able to have a natural deliver, not c-section. We kept the surprise theme during the pregnancy. We decided not to find out the sex of the baby. We also kept names a surprise until the end. Kevin and I had a bet going: If he was right about the baby being a girl, he could pick her name. If I was right about it being a boy, I would choose a boy name. It was pretty fun walking the halls in labor and still discussing names and trying to decided our final decisions! Baby Surprise indeed surprised us by coming pretty quick! In fact, I had no epidural or medications and was trying to tell the nurse the baby was coming....she didn't believe me and then, "SURPRISE!" Out came baby! I had just been checked about 1 minute before and was dilated to 6. Not to a 10, but within in a minute or so, boom!! Well, anyhow, the next thing I hear from Kevin was, "I was right!" I knew it was a girl then! So Elyse Cherie was born October 9th, 2012. Big sister Kinsey was just 19 months old! Jack was already good at holding his new baby sister. He was happy to have two sisters to protect and play with. I absolutely loved my hospital stay with Elyse. Seeing how she was our third, there were no worries, things seemed so much easier and calmer. I really took advantage of all the snuggles I could. 

Elyse was such a sleepy snuggly baby the first few months. She slept so much. She was quiet and happy for the most part, but soon found her voice. I am pretty sure she had to keep up with her big sister....loud! Loud cries, loud screams and just having to be heard. I am also pretty sure I did my best to hold her and spoil her as long as I could because having a tiny baby is just so amazing and when it's your third you learn to appreciate every minute of time you can snuggle with them. They grow up way too fast!! Elyse is soon going to be 18 months already. She is such a character. She's a binky girl and loves her blankie too! She has been the most demanding child, but I guess that's her way of being heard around here! She is starting to potty train and talk, it's just really exciting!!

We think we are probably done having babies, although I might possibly want one more! It's just hard for me to be pregnant. Right now, we are focusing on our finances and our health. We recently moved in with my parents in hopes to save money for a down payment on a home we can call our own. We have been renting for 8 years. I have also been dealing with health issues, possibly hypothyroidism, and it's been quite a drag. Waiting on blood work to come back so I can see where to go from here. Soooo many things I could write to catch up over 4 years, but this is a start. I would like to continue updating on here. I had much fun going back and looking at what I wrote as a mom of just one, especially as now I can barely remember those times! So that's what I've been busy with....being a mom to 3 kiddos!!

Kinsey Elizabeth

Jack hanging with baby Kinsey

Kinsey about 3 1/2 months old

Jack and Kinsey

Mommy and Kinsey

Baby Surprise, Elyse Cherie

Meeting Baby Elyse for the first time

First night home with all 3 kiddos

Elyse just a few days old

Jack holding Baby E

Elyse about 3 months old

Elyse and Kinsey

Jack and Kinsey riding a ride at the fair

My precious kiddos!

Baby E has become a big girl

Getting ready for Fritz's train restaurant

Matching Eskimo Joe sweatshirts

Kinsey playing in the snow

I can finally announce this!!

We're pregnant!!!! And it's sticking this time!! I had to wait and wait to announce this b/c we hadn't told our parents yet, but now it's out there!! About a month ago, we got a nice dark, surprise BFP! We were shocked b/c we were NOT trying. We weren't thinking about it, we weren't talking about it, nothing. We were pretty much done with the idea after that last miscarriage. But the Friday right before Father's Day, I woke up from this crazy dream and just had a weird feeling. In my dream, I had taken a pregnancy test and it was blazing positive. Well, when I woke up, I realized, that I should just do a test for the heck of it. I had a left-over internet cheapie that I hadn't used so I used it and holy cow, a line showed up. So I immediately went out and got a FRER test, without telling Kevin, and took it and it was very positive! I was shocked!! So I took a picture of it and sent it to Kevin and asked, "How did this happen??!" When he finally checked his phone, he couldn't believe it!

So, I progressively tested every few days and got what never happened with any of the miscarriages. I got darker lines each time, so I had a great feeling!! Got my hcg tested and progesterone tested and everything was checking out just fine! So here we are....8 wks along!! Yesterday we saw the heartbeat on ultrasound and we thrilled!

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Clifford the Big Red Dog

On this past Saturday, I took Jack down to Crown Center in Kansas City to go see Clifford. Jack has been talking about doing this for months now, ever since he saw the advertisement on PBS Kids. So we finally got to go! He had a great time! There was a play room set-up with things from Clifford's show and there were lots of different stations and play houses to have fun in. Jack really had a great time. He especially liked the big dog food bowl with the bones. Then we had to wait in a long line to actually meet Clifford, but Jack did great! And he wasn't scared, like I thought he might be. He ran right up to him and gave him a big hug and high fives!

Driving the boat!


Clifford's food dish!


The big Clifford Statue!


Finally got to meet Clifford!

The "Frain Fracks" aka, train tracks!

Jack is in LOVE with trains and the train tracks, or as he says, "frain fracks!" We're working on that one! Haha!! In our town, Leavenworth, we've got this little park right alongside the Missouri river, called Leavenworth Landing that Jack and I really like to hang out at. And it just so happens to have train tracks that run right through....with a real crossing arm and real trains that come through. It's cool! I tried to get some pictures of him playing around down there!

Here's looking up the Missouri River to the bridge that connects KS/MO:


Jack loves looking at the water!


Waiting for a train to come by and playing around:


Playing on the concrete train:


Jack's "Frain Fracks"