Normalcy?

It has been a huge challenge this year trying to keep things as normal as possible for Abby. Her world will be rocked enough when Jake actually comes home. We ended up celebrating Christmas with our families on Sunday night and on Monday morning after Christmas. It was a feat to make the holiday still feel like the holidays when everything was so abnormal. Thankfully, Abby is still so young she doesn't understand when things are supposed to happen, and she doesn't mind opening gifts on days that aren't Christmas. She got a computer from her Aunt Debbie and a Black & Decker plastic drill from my dad. She would sleep with both of these if we would let her. What a great girl!

On Tuesday night, we decided to make Christmas cookies as a family. Abby had a blast. At one point she dumped half a jar of sprinkles on one cookie. It really did look like a Christmas tree, so I tried to scrape up the sprinkles and spread them onto other cookies. Oh the joys of having a two and a half year old. It was a nice distraction from the busyness of everything else.

I have to say, sometimes God gives us encouragement in the greatest ways. I have a constant reminder in my house of God's faithfulnes. When I look at my sweet Abby, I am reminded that Jake won't always be in NICU and that life will return to normal soon. What a wonderful, kind God we serve.

On a final note, please pray for balance for us as we try to make sure Abby doesn't feel neglected as we travel back and forth from Greenville.

NICU 2

Jason and I feel like we're becoming NICU experts. We never expected to have to do this twice, but God had different plans for us. Here's the exciting news of the day.

Things in the NICU have changed since Abby was there two and a half years ago. When Abby was there, the babies went into NICU, a large room where babies stayed at different stations. There were several rooms that more stable babies moved into. Abby quickly moved into one of these rooms, but it was all one big NICU unit.

Jake's stay has been different. There are now two NICUs. NICU 1 and NICU 2. NICU 1 is the same as it has always been, the initial place for babies to go and be cared for. NICU 2 is now the place that babies go when they become more stable. NICU 2 looks alot like a true hospital wing. It is rooms along a hall. There are usually 2 babies per room, and then there is a nurse's station in the hallway. It is really a very nice change because it is more private than NICU 1.

We knew that Jake would eventually make it to NICU 2, but we assumed he would have to be eating better to be moved there. Well, this morning, we went to visit, and they told us that he had moved to NICU 2. We were THRILLED! He's still not eating really well. He tries to take 2 bottles a day, the rest he gets by tube feeding. He's stable though, breathing on his own and not having any other problems.

We have been so touched by all the people expressing care and concern for us. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for Jake. We know that God has a plan for him and that he loves Jake more than we ever could.

We're encouraged that Jake will be home soon.

Here are a few more pics.

Jake Reece Looper

Most of you have already heard by now that Jake Reece Looper made his appearance on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 9:23 p.m., but I'm going to fill you in on the details. I've been getting messages and well-wishes wanting to know what happened and how he is, so here you go.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday for an ultrasound at the specialist's office. It was a routine BPP (biophysical profile) where they look for certain reflexes and monitor certain things to make sure that baby is not in distress. One of the things they look for is breathing. Babies start to breath in utero pretty early, and by 34 weeks - where I was - they breath pretty consistently. Jake had 30 minutes to breath for 30 seconds, and he didn't do it. I laid on the table while the technician looked, and he never did it. Some of you may remember that is what got Abby a quick pass to the real world. She didn't breath either and was born that night.

That was my first clue that we might have a close-to-Christmas baby.

After that, the doctor put me on the stress-test monitor to watch his heart rate. Jake was non-reactive, another bad sign meaning he wasn't moving much, and somewhere along the line I had a contraction. I'd apparently been having contractions and didn't know it because I never had that experience with Abby. In the midst of my contraction, Jake's heartrate dropped. The doctor wasn't pleased. That was the thing that sent us to the hospital.

I was going to do a contraction stress test (sounds lovely, huh?) and it's exactly what it sounds like; the doctors induce contractions - not labor contractions they say, but I'm not convinced - and watch the baby's heartrate.

We didn't get to that point either because in the hospital room, without any impetus at all, Jake's heartrate plummeted into the 50s and stayed there for quite a while. His normal rate was in the 140s.

Then my doctor said, "enough." I was wheeled up to the OR and Jake came as soon as everything was in order.

He weighed 3lbs 12.7oz, was 16 1/2 inches long, and came out screaming!

He's in the NICU of course, but he's doing well. We're waiting on him to wake up enough to start eating consistently and then we'll be in good shape.

He has to do three things before he can come home: he has to breath on his own without any respitory distress; he has to eat enough on his own to ensure that he'll gain wieght when we come home, and he has to maintain his body temperature in the open air with just "baby clothes" on.

He's got the breathing and I don't think the temperature is going to be a problem, but the eating is the thing.

Please pray that he eats well for us and soon.

I'll post more pictures later.

Here we go again!

I had a doctor's appointment today to check Baby Jake's growth. I know that he's small - the doctors established that 3 weeks ago when we had an ultrasound and he was only in the 39th percentile, but I was really hoping that he would be growing and that we wouldn't have an Abby repeat.

Unfortunately, God has different plans. We did the ultrasound today about 12:15, and were told that Jake is now in the 20th percentile for weight - somewhere around 3lbs 12oz. Now, for those of you with good memories, you'll remember that is already larger than Abby was, she weighed 2lbs 15oz when she was born. We're encouraged that he's grown some, but he hasn't grown enough.

My doctor came into the examination room and told us that he doesn't like to deliver babies this early (33 weeks), and I promptly told him that I don't like to have babies this early either.

They then sent us immediately to the Maternal Fetal Specialists group, and they did another scan for a second opinion. I was convinced that I wouldn't be leaving the hospital today, and I reprimanded myself for not having packed a bag.

Maternal Fetal Medicine told us that Jake is in the 5th percentile for weight, but that he is moving okay and that he seems okay right now; he's just small.

The plan for now is that my OB will check me once a week and MFM will check me once a week as well until things get too dangerous and Jake has to be delievered. I have a feeling this will happen at Christmas or right after.

Please pray for us as we know that Jake will not gain weight before he come most likely, and pray that we'll have peace of mind as we wait.

God is faithful, and He has prepared us for this with Abby, but that doesn't make it easier.

A Little Bit of Everything

The Christmas season is in full swing at the Looper house, and I don't have enough energy to keep up with it.

On the pregnancy front, I'm now 33 weeks (an amazing feat for me since when I was this far along with Abby I was in the hospital). I've reached the point where I'm tired ALL THE TIME and no amount of sleep seems to help. The doctors have scheduled a C-Section for February 6 - my grandmother's 80th birthday - but we're all pretty sure that Baby Jake will come well before then.



On the Christmas front, we took Abby to see Santa on Friday. Jason tried using reverse psychology with her, telling her that he wouldn't let her sit in Santa's lap, in hopes that she would indeed sit on his lap and have her picture made. As you can tell by the above picture, she didn't go for it, and we ended up with a family picture with Santa. I guess it's better to get your money out of the time.

For those of you who are interested, Abby wants toys and Play-doh for Christmas. We can't get her to be specific about what kind of toys, but we're thinking just about anything will suit her.

The Christmas shopping is almost done, and the gifts are not yet wrapped. We're going to work on that tonight and tomorrow and hopefully we'll remain baby-free through the Christmas holiday.

On backing up your pictures

Most of you are probably much smarter than I am. A few weeks ago our computer went kaput.

We would try to start the thing and it would work and work and work and then go off again. It was very frustrating.

When we realized that it was probably gone for good, we were more than frustrated because it dawned on us that all of our pictures, our honeymoon, Abby's birth, her first birthday, first Christmas (you get the picture), were all loaded into said dead computer.

Now, we have several computer experts at our disposal, so we arranged to get the computer to one, and we had great confidence that the pictures could and would be recovered.

Unfortunately, most of the pics are gone into cyberspace forever.


We had some pictures on our camera that had never been taken off, and we have wonderful families who take just as many pictures as we do.

When Abby was first born, we were diligent to save those onto a flash drive, but as she got older, we got lazier and the pictures never made it anywhere but onto the copmuter and occasionally here to this blog.

I've had my classes praying that perhaps we would be able to find them, but we're pretty sure that isn't going to happen.

You would think that with all the experience I've had with losing things on computer hard drives, I would know better, but I guess experience isn't the best teacher for me. Maybe this time I'll pay attention and learn something.

Looking for encouragement? I don't suggest Walmart.

I've got to share this moment with all of you out in Bloggerville.

Jason and I went to Walmart on Saturday night to get a few things: diapers, milk, etc. I had mentioned earlier that day that I desperately needed to get a cheapo wedding band since my fingers have now swelled to the point where wearing mine puts it in jeopardy of being cut off at the hospital.

We stepped up to the counter to look at bands, and the lady behind the counter, who was obviously clueless about the emotional needs of pregnant women, asked if she could help.

Here's the conversation:

Me: "I'm looking for a cheap wedding band to get me to the end of my pregnancy."

"Oh, well, you probably don't have anymore than what? One month left?"

Me: "Ummm...actually I'm due the beginning of February."

"Oh, well, you're what? A size 10 at least" (Let me enter here that she wasn't talking about dress size).

Me: "My wedding band is a size 5."

"Looks like you're at least a 7 now."

Me: "No, I think the 6 will do fine."

At this point, I was slightly annoyed, but I tried on the size 7 and the size 6 ring and what do you know, the size 6 was perfect.

Conversation continues:

The Walmart lady: "Yeah, that'll probably do because I'm sure your doctor doesn't want you to gain anymore than what? 10 more pounds."

Okay, now she was really starting to irritate me. I didn't know whether to laugh or to start crying. Being the discerning woman I am, I ignored this comment and told her that we would by the ring.

I walked out of Walmart wearing my size 6, $30 wedding band.

Maybe Walmart should do sensitivity training for their staff who deal with pregnant women and jewelry. Maybe I'll suggest that.

Dragons, alligators, and getting up in the middle of the night

Abby has always been a wonderful sleeper - she most definitely takes after her mother. She started sleeping through the night when she was about 6 weeks old, and she still asks to go to bed when she's tired. It's been a blessing really, but lately she's started waking up in the middle of the night screaming. These are scared screams not your average, I want attention, screams.

Here's my problem: when I ask Abby in the morning what scared her in the night she'll say various things, a dinosaur, an alligator, this morning it was a dragon. Jason does a great job of taking her into her room and scaring away whatever came in during the night.

My question is, I guess, what's normal? Is it normal for a 2 and a half year old to suddenly, out of the blue, start having nightmares?

We've never done this before, and I'm at a loss.

Any advice would be awesome.

H1N1, a sick baby, and the CDC

My greatest fear these past few months has been the swine flu. I watch the news religiously, and I've seen all the reports that pregnant women are the most vulnerable to the disease. I've talked to my OB, and he says that the risks are more secondary infections than the flu itself, but I've still not felt at ease.

Let me say here that if my trying to get the vaccine is any indication of what is going to happen when the government takes over healthcare, I want NOTHING to do with it!

I've called the health department, my OB's office, my endocrinologist's office, and everywhere in between. You would think that SOMEONE would have the dumb vaccine. Unfortunately, it's been nowhere to be had.

Last Friday Abby got sick. She had a low-grade fever, a cough and was really puny (as my mother would say). Jason and I took her to the doctor. Her flu test was negative, but she had an ear infection. All clear, right? Wrong. On Tuesday she was still sick and the cough was wicked. I took her back to the doctor only to be told that a lot of the flu tests that come back negative are in fact positive. For whatever reason, doctors are seeing a lot of false negatives. Dr. Poole was pretty certain Abby did in fact have swine flu. Oh my!

That diagnosis sent me into a panic. What was I supposed to do? Now I'd been exposed to the virus. I called around and finally got a prescription for Tamiflu (not after much begging and calling and calling and begging).

On Wednesday, the day after we found out about Abby, my sister-in-law called to say that her office may be able to give me the H1N1 vaccine. All my endocrinologist asked was that I get a release from my OB's office. Not difficult, right? Wong again.

I called my OB's office and the lady said, "We're getting that vaccine in a few weeks if you want to wait."

No thanks. I'd like to have it NOW so that I know I've gotten it.

Then she said, "Is it the single dose or the multiple dose because you can't take the multiple dose one. Oh, and you're on Tamiflue, I don't know if you can get the vaccine while you're taking Tamiflu. Call the CDC and see."

Now, don't these people get paid good money to know these things, but anyway.

I called the CDC - fun for sure.

I could take the vaccine while on Tamiflu. The dosage my doctor had was the single one, so that was a go as well.

I prayed on my way to Greenville that the stars would align and I would be able to get the shot. All went well and I'm now vaccinated.

Shew! What a relief and a hassle.

Let this be a lesson, NO GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE!

Oh, and Abby's doing very well. The virus wasn't very bad for her. The cough still lingers, but in a few days that will be gone as well. Pray Jason doesn't get sick because I hear there's a shortage of Tamiflu now!

And Then I Couldn't Take The Suspense

Jason and I went on Tuesday for an ultrasound of Baby Looper. This time it was just to look at the baby's thyroid and make sure that everything was okay there since I have thyroid issues. I was wondering how in the world they would find such a small organ, but the ultrasound tech explained to us that they don't exactly look at the thyroid it's more that they look at the baby's neck and make sure there are no irregularities there. There were none, so we got the all clear from that doctor. Whew! What a relief that was.

Now all I have to worry about it H1N1, but that's another post altogether.

Anyway, I really posted to let you know that I'm weak. When I was pregnant with Abby, I had no problem not finding out her sex. I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to know. We had a gazillion (is that how you spell that) ultrasounds, and it never crossed my mind to ask what she was.

This time however....

I couldn't take it. I HAD TO KNOW!

I told Jason it was for purely practical purposes - know what we're having so that we can make sure to have the right clothes, bedding, etc. You get the picture. The reality is, I just really NEEDED TO KNOW!

I called my mom, my rock, and asked her if we should find out. She's always the one who says, "No! Of course not! Don't find out." This time she said, "Whatever you want to do." No help at all!

So, we found out.

Not to keep you in suspense any longer, Baby Looper is a BOY!!! It's exciting really. We now have one of each.

Now our problem is convincing Abby that having a baby brother is a good thing since apparently she has her heart set on a baby sister. Named Super Why. Or A-B-C.

What I learned from Abby

Monday morning we were rushing around, trying to get everything together to leave the house. As usual, I needed to be out by 6:40, but it was getting close to 6:50 and we weren't even close to leaving.

I had gotten Abby up and dressed, no small feat since she is very much like her parents and doesn't like to be disturbed in the morning. The worst part of the whole ordeal is brushing Abby's hair. It's a tangled mess to be sure.

Well, Monday, Abby woke up calling for her juice.

"I want juice, Mommy. I - WANT - JUICE!" She screamed, over and over.

I was in the kitchen working as fast as I could to get the juice ready when Jason called from the bathroom for Abby. He was going to brush her hair and put her hairbow in.

Abby stopped mid-scream, looked at me, turned on her heel and called over her shoulder, "Daddy calling me."

She turned and ran out of the kitchen, juice forgotten.

As I watched her go, I thought, "I wonder if that is the way I respond to my heavenly father? Do I stop in the midst of screaming for what I want and turn and run when I hear him call?"

I'm afraid that as a heavenly child, I'm not so quick to respond. It's kind of amazing what our children teach us.

May we all be quick to respond when the Father calls.

Sometimes we learn so much

Our church started a new "thing" a couple of weeks ago on Sunday night called E-Groups. I wasn't really opposed to it when it was presented. Seriously, Sunday nights are just Sunday nights around here, and Jason and I had been hosting the Truth Project by Focus on the Family in our home for about 3 months on Sunday nights, so there wasn't much to be opposed to really.

Let me back up and explain E-Groups just a bit first. These are groups that our pastor and staff put together. They're "random" groupings of people of all ages and walks of life. Each group has about 10 or so people in it, and it is NOT a Bible study. Instead, we gather on Sunday night, discuss the sermon from that morning, talk about life and what we are learning in our quiet times, etc. It really should be called a life group because that's what we're doing, experiencing life together.

Well, our group is facilitated by an older gentleman whose wife is a nurse, there's an engineer in our group, a lady who works at a local hospital, a former math teacher turned PhD student, me, Jason, another nurse, you get the picture.

I wasn't sure how our group would gel, but God is faithful. It has been one of the best experiences I've ever had at church to be honest. I'm not sure if it's that Jason and I don't have a Sunday School class since we teach the college kids or if it is just that God has placed his hand on this group, but I have really, really enjoyed it.

Let me put a plug out there for any of you who go to EPBC and read this. Please, please, PLEASE get involved. You won't regret it.

Now, onto what I've learned:

1. I really need a more consistent quiet time. It's hard to share when you're not keeping up with the daily reading (kind of like withe my students, but I digress).

2. God can use unexpected people to teach us wonderful lessons.

3. Godly habits are so hard to form and easy to break, but bad habits are easy to form and hard to break. Ironic, huh?

So, I say, open your eyes and see where God is teaching you. Feel free to share.

If the baby's name were left up to Abby...

Jason and I have been asking Abby whether she wants a baby brother or a baby sister. It really just depends on the day, her mood, and whether or not she's been around Naomi or Nathanael what her answer is.

Usually when she says she wants a sister (or a brother for that matter) she'll tell us she wants to name her (or him) Naomi. Let me explain. Naomi is her BEST, BEST, BEST friend. All of Abby's baby dolls are named Naomi, so it stands to reason that she would want to name her baby sister (or brother) the same.

Well, the other day, I asked Abby whether she wanted a baby brother or a baby sister, and she said emphatically, "BABY BRUDDER."

"Well, what do you want to name your baby brother," I asked.

She waited a few minutes and said, "SUPER WHY!"

Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with recent PBS trends in programming, Super Why is a show about reading and exploring. I know, my heart swells at the thought too. She's a future English major.

Unfortunately, Super Why is now her name of choice for Baby Looper. I don't know that it would be appropriate to name a child after a PBS show, even if it is about reading.

Has it really been since July?!?

Oh my! I have been treating my blog kind of like I treat our checkbook. When I know I'm way behind, I just don't look at it because the guilt is way too overwhelming. This morning I decided I better check just in case there were some lone comment waiting to be viewed, and I realized it's been TWO MONTHS since I posted anything. And to think I expect my students to post blogs twice a week. It's shameful really!

Anyway, I had to share an experience I had last week on Thursday. It was the moment I realized that I am truly, indeed, no-questions-asked pregnant.

Now, I know many of you are saying to yourselves, "Alicia, you've been wearing maternity clothes for 2 months and have been feeling the baby kick for several weeks, what do you mean you just realized you were pregnant?"

Well, it's not really that I didn't KNOW that I was pregnant, I just had one of those emotional, rollercoaster kind of nights last Thursday that confirmed the fact.

Here's how it went down:

I met my husband and mother-in-law at a local restaurant for some dinner. Abby of course was being obstinate, like any good two-year-old would be. I ordered my sandwich, only ate half of it, anticipating that I would eat the other half for lunch on Friday. The plan was perfect - until I left the sandwich in its little styrofoam box on the table.

Jason had to leave for church and I was left with the two-year-old. The restaurant we were at sits very close to a busy highway, so I couldn't let Abby down to walk to her car. She's gotten really fast these days, and I was worried she would dart, so I held her while she thrashed around in my arms and walked to the car.

Once we were at said car, I couldn't find my keys. As if that weren't bad enough, a stray dog walked up to us and started sniffing around. Let me interject here that I AM NOT a dog person. All I could think about was the dog biting me and then Abby running into the road while I lay on the ground helpless - a bit of an exaggeration, I know.

Once I finally made it into the car, I realized the sandwich was on the table. Well, I wasn't going back. No way, no how. Ham and cheese just isn't worth that.

By the time I got home, I had calmed myself down about the sandwich, the dog and my daughter, and as fate would have it some folks were walking their dog down our street. Abby is fascinated with dogs of any kind. She loves them all equally, and will point and yell, "puppy dog" at any that she sees.

When I got her out of the car and placed her on the ground, she started pointing and yelling and missed a step and fell flat on her face. Normally this isn't a big deal because she falls all the time - a trait she most definitely did not get from me ahem.

I picked her up and realized she had something slimy in her hair. No big deal, we were going to take a bath anyway. Yeah, until I got her inside.

When I looked closer, I realized it was a WORM a worm! stuck in her hair. I couldn't get it out. Sometimes, I wonder what God is thinking when he's watching us here on earth because just when I realized that my attempts with the paper towel weren't working at getting the worm out of Abby's hair, my phone rang. It was Jason wanting to know if I was okay.

The answer, through many tears, was a big, emphatic, NO!

He came home and began to extract the worm. It came out in two pieces, which prompted Jason to ask me where she had gotten the WORMS from.

"Worms!" I screamed. "It's only one!"

After we looked closer, we realized it was only one worm that had been ripped in two. Let me say that the worm totally deserved to be ripped in two.

Jason then left me crying beside the bathtub while Abby splashed away in the water.

All that to say, I don't know that I would have been so emotional about a stray dog, a sandwich and a worm had I not been pregnant.

A Birthday and Good Grammar

**Be sure to scroll down to the Elvis post. It's a classic.**


Abby turned 2 on July 3. It is hard for me to believe that she is indeed two. I decided the week after her birthday was potty training week. That proved to be an abysmal failure. On Friday, her birthday, we gave her a potty seat, big girl panties, the works. On Monday, we went to the potty every few minutes, cried and then wet our pants. Well, I didn't wet MY pants, but I did almost pull my hair out.

I decided that on Tuesday, I would only take her if she asked. She asked a few times, but never did anything in the potty. After Tuesday, things got chaotic, and we put it on hold. Maybe I'll try again in a few weeks. Who knows?!?

Let me give you a quick physical update before I continue on to the birthday party. At her two year checkup, Abby weighed 22lbs 14oz. I'm not sure that it was completely accurate because they didn't make her take her clothes off nor did they ask me to change her diaper, but regardless, she's above 20lbs! Ahhhmaaazing! For her weight, she in the 7th percentile, a place I never thought we would be. The more amazing part is that she is 33in tall, and in the 30th percentile for her height. Crazy, huh?

The thought is that she has probably fit into the growth charts where she's going to fit in, and that's okay.



Now, on to the birthday party. It was CRAZY! I've never been particularly fond of birthday parties, and I'm not exactly great at planning them either. I really tried to exercise restraint in the guest list, but when you've got family and church and friends, it adds up pretty quickly. On our best count, there were over 50 people and about 20 kids running around the house (or hanging onto me while we were opening presents).



We truly enjoyed having all our friends together, but man am I glad we only have to do it once a year!



Here's the good grammar part. At Abby's party, she got a goldfish named Dorothy or Dorfothy as Abby calls her. If you're a parent and you watch Sesame Street, you immediately recognize that this the name of Elmo's fish. A coincidence, of course not.

On Sunday morning, when she got up, Abby walked up to Dorothy's bowl and said, "Good morning, Dorfothy. I slept well." I can't tell you how my heart swelled at the fact that my two year old knows to use the adverb well after the action verb slept. She may not be potty-trained, but she can speak properly.

Hallelujah!

You'll forgive me for being a little behind.

To say that the past few weeks have been busy would be a definite understatement. We've had birthday parties and family gatherings and I've been working some. It has been chaotic.

First: Abby's Nana and Papa went to Memphis to deliver some rocking chairs. And as we all know, a trip to Memphis would not be complete without a stop at Graceland. I made sure to tell Abby to let her grandparents know that she needed a t-shirt. We were not disappointed.



Some of you may remember the story of my mom's Elvis mug. She went on a mission to find another cup to replace her current, faded pink one. Unfortunately Graceland doesn't sell such things anymore, so my mom had to settle for one of those hard plastic cups with the huge flexible straw coming out of the top. I could tell she was disappointed, but I'm sure that given a few months, she'll have worn the writing off this new one, and it will be like old times.

If I had access to my mom's camera, I'd show you a few of the many pictures she took of Elvis's grave and the grounds of Graceland. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside the building unless you turn the flash off your camera, and my mom couldn't figure that one out, so we had a to settle for looking through the tour book she bought.

All that to say, we're trying to instill in Abby a love for the King of Rock and Roll (not to be mistaken with the King of Pop; although, Jason did teach Abby to moonwalk after MJ died).

I think I know how those contestants on American Idol feel...

Some of you know and some of you don't that Jason and I have been trying to get pregnant for about 9 months. It's been a long process, and every month that passed added to my uncertainty that God would actually provide us with another child. I told one of my friends at school that every time I took a home pregnancy test and it was negative, it felt like I was a contestant on American Idol coming out of the audition room shaking my head no.

Well, about 5 weeks ago, I got my golden ticket so to speak. WE'RE PREGNANT! It was an amazing mix of emotions: relief, joy, excitement, a touch of sadness when I thought about telling friends who have been trying longer than we have, fear that things wouldn't go so well this time around.

We've been really good about keeping the news to ourselves, waiting to make sure that nothing was going to go wrong. I'm now 9 weeks and feeling pretty good.

I went to the doctor two weeks ago, saw baby Looper's heart beating, got the okay that so far so good.

I think that I may need to just go ahead and rent a room in Greenville since it seems that I'll be spending a lot of time there. My OB said that they would do LOTS of ultrasounds to make sure everything was okay with this little one; they'll even do an ultrasound around 28 weeks on this baby's thyroid since I have serious thyroid issues. It's crazy, I know!

Speaking of thyroid, that's another reason I need to rent a room, I'm going to see that doctor every 10 days and have blood drawn almost every week. I wish they could just put a port in and be done with it. They have to make sure that all the levels are okay and that I maintain a correct thyroid balance.

The baby makes no thyroid hormone the first trimester, so he/she is completely dependent on me for that hormone. Since I make NO thyroid hormone, they've got to keep up, up, upping my levels to keep it in the correct range. Sounds fun, right?

Anyway, all of that to ask for your prayers and to officially release it to the world that sometime around February 2 (hopefully no sooner) we'll have one more human in the world.

More Sunshine

We captured Abby tonight dancing and singing to "Walking on Sunshine." I know we're Southern Baptist, but the girl's got moves. Please forgive us if she looks a little rough; we had just gotten home from swimming. Look closely; I know it's dark.

Just Thought I'd Share

There's nothing earth-shattering here. I just thought I'd post a couple of sweet pictures that you might enjoy.


It must be tough being little and getting to sleep in the car instead of drive it.


Abby loves Leia and Mommy loves that Leia now lives with Kenny and Debbie.


This is just too cute for words. Abby with her cousin Colby Memorial Day.


And finally....Mommy and Abby. Awwwwww....

I'm Gonna Rock and Roll All Night...

And then nap all day!

No, really, with an almost two year old, napping is a thing in my distant memory somewhere - college I think.

Last night was one of those kinds of nights that parents hate the most. I knew it was going to be bad when Abby fell asleep on her daddy's shoulder at 7:00. She had been acting puny all day, and that's never a good sign for the nighttime.

We loaded her up with ibuprofen, laid her down, and all was peaceful until midnight. I think it really is the witching hour when you have sick kids. They must somehow know that you have crossed from one day to the next. It's always midnight when she screams.

We got her up, gave her more medicine, changed her diaper and laid her back down. Nothing doing. She wanted us.

Jason did the noble thing and got her. He laid with her on the couch and then I hear it, "Alicia, COME HERE!" When you're asleep and it's 1:00 a.m., something about those words scare the everloving life out of you. I jumped up, and knew before I got in the living room, vomit was in my future. That's right, all over Jason, the couch, the blanket and strangely enough, not on Abby.

It is amazing to me that she can throw up bucket-fulls and never get any on herself. Anyway, I got a wet rag, cleaned her up (what little there was to clean) and traded places with Jason on the couch, praying I wouldn't be the next victim of Abby's sickness.

About 2:00 a.m., she wanted to "lay down, Mommy", so I took her to her room where she slept until 6:00.

So, here it is, 3:45 p.m., the day after. I snoozed on the couch a little after Abby got up from her nap, but I sure wish she'd go down for about 2 hours.

Oh, the joys. But seriously, I wouldn't trade this face for all the naps in the world!

What's Been Going On

What's been going on is that we've been B-U-S-Y!

Here's a quick recap:

**Jason and I went on the marriage retreat while Abby and Leia stayed with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Kenny.

**Jason bungee jumped on said marriage retreat. We're all thankful that (1) he has a good life insurance policy in place and (2) that he survived.

**We gave Leia to a good home. She is now living with Kenny and Debbie, a place that is far better suited to her than our home. I think I need to accept the fact that I'm not, as my friend Katie would say, a dog person.


**I started teaching a summer school session. (No pictures for this one. It's just another class).

**We booked plane tickets for Austin, Texas. It was quite a hassle working with Northwest, trying to use air miles, etc. We finally got the entire family on ONE flight AND we are sitting beside Abby, a pretty good thing if you ask me.

**We had Awana Awards last night at church. Abby is a Puggle (a little penguin, how ironic since she LOVES birds!). She got a certificate and an award. I'm still not exactly sure what she did to earn such a thing, but whatever, she's almost two.

This one deserves two pictures.


**Abby went to her first MMO gathering this morning. Of course, I had to go with her. We ventured to Partee Time (doesn't that sound fun!) She jumped on the bouncy toys and tried to run away from me. It's probably personal.


That's it for the Loopers so far this month. There are other things going on, but I'm too tired to remember them.

I feel the need to mention

I may have finally reached maturity.

I did not - hear me - did not watch American Idol at all this season.

Why is that such an accomplishment, you ask. You see, every season since the beginning of time, I have watched American Idol.

I'm the one who votes and prays and sneaks out of church early on Wednesday nights to make it home to watch one more contestant get the boot. I'm that girl.

This season however, I've found myself watching Dog the Bounty Hunter instead of aforementioned American Idol. Doesn't Dog do sort of the same thing that Paula, Simon and Randy (now add Tara) do during the season, search for obscure individuals with amazing talent?

I'm not even certain who these people are who are fighting for the win - Alan and Kris, maybe?

I didn't even have an American Idol status to put on Facebook.

The world will probably end tomorrow.

Well, I better get back to Dog. He's got to pray and go catch some (*&^% criminals!

Is it time?

Sometimes being a first-time mother is hard! I wonder if I'm disciplining Abby correctly and if I'm feeding her the right foods. She recognizes Little Cesars and McDonalds, which isn't all bad, right?

Well, today, right in the middle of my exercise routine - not that I minded being interrupted from knee lifts and leg kicks - Abby came up to me, patted her hand on my knee, and said, "Potty, Mommy, potty." I looked at her stupidly, not sure if she wanted me to go potty or if she wanted to go potty.

Let me interject here and say that she's had a fascination with the toilet for the past few months. She loves to put "paper" in the potty and watch it being flushed down. As a matter of fact, Monday, she came to me several times with paper to put in the potty while I was putting on my makeup and drying my hair. I finally followed her and realized she was bringing me kleenexes to put down the toilet.

Anyway, I walked her into the bathroom, took off her diaper and sat her on the toilet. She didn't cry. (Usually the waterworks start the moment her butt hits the porcelain). She just looked at me, no tinkling, nothing.

Then I got her up, put and dry diaper on her and she wanted to flush the potty.

I don't know if she's ready to be potty trained or not. Maybe you smarter, wiser mommies can help me with this one.

She'll be two in July. Is it too early?

Something for the Coffee Lovers

So I've posted before that I'm really trying to watch my weight (watch it go down instead of up in case you were confused), and I found a WONDERFUL television show that helps with just that. It's called Cook Yourself Thin. I know it seems like a stretch, but they have some wonderful recipes that are for things that I actually eat.

Most of my "skinny" cookbooks make things that I would never-in-a-million-years eat, so it is refreshing to find something that is healthy and desirable all at the same time!

Here's a recipe for iced cappuccino that I find absolutely delightful. I've modified it slightly, and it's only 200 or so calories.

1c cold coffee (I make mine really strong and put it in the freezer to cool off)
1c milk (they suggest skim; I suggest something with a little more fat content - it doesn't increase the calories all that much, especially if you leave off the whipped cream they suggest)
1tbs plain fat-free yogurt
several tbs of chocolate ice cream syrup
1c ice

Place it all in the blender and blend away. I then put mine in the freezer to make it more icy.

It is super delicious.

Oh and I have to share with you that while I was exercising this morning, I was doing pushups (a far stretch, I know) and Abby came over and got on her hands and knees and said to me, "I do it, Mommy; I do it". So sweet. Kind of like when I got on the scale Sunday morning and she looked at me, clapped her hands and said, "Yay, Mommy, good job." That's encouragement for sure!

I've Got Sunshine, Mommy

First let me show you the final product of our Mother's Day gifts. I know they weren't much, but they turned out pretty well.


Here's Abby giving Grandma and Aunt Debbie their gifts. So sweet. She would look at them and say, "Happy Mudder's Day".


Here are the beautiful flowers I got from my mother-in-law. I hope I can keep them alive.

Next, let me tell you what the princess said to me today.

I've been working like a mad woman this morning trying to get our office organized. It's not completely there, but it's close. The unorganized office space drives Jason crazy, so I thought it was time to tackle it.

Well, I've been working in here and trying to keep half an eye on Abby. She's been sitting on the couch and playing with her toys, being a really good girl, actually.

Somewhere around 9:30 she wanted me to sit down with her. I did and she looked at me and said, "Want sunshine, Mommy; want sunshine". I thought she wanted the beautiful picture of a sunshine that I drew her early this morning, but I was wrong. I told her to go get the sunshine, thinking she would come back with the picture. To my surprise she came back with this:



It's a Hallmark button that sings, "I've got sunshine" when you push it. As Abby carried it to me, she held it up and said, "I've got sunshine, Mommy; I've got sunshine."

Such sweet memories!

Mother's Day on a B-U-D-G-E-T

I was in a sort of panic yesterday when I realized that Mother's Day is tomorrow and we had no gifts and no money for gifts. As Providence would have it, Hobby Lobby is right beside the Hallmark store, and yesterday as Abby and I fared the terrible thunderstorms, I was struck with an idea - handprints. They're free and Abby has two of them.

So we trotted over to Hobby Lobby (everyone else apparently had the similar idea of handmade crafts for the holiday) and bought some Air-Dry Crayola Clay and string.

We made a tester yesterday, just to make sure that it would actually work, and this afternoon we finished the job with a few footprints thrown in.

I'm extremely relieved to know that all of Crayola's products are non-toxic. I found that out as I quickly read the container after Abby ate a piece of clay.

I'm hoping the project goes over well. I had great plans of using buttons and shaping each creation into a heart, but sometimes we have to do what we have to do. I've put the progression below.

Seriously though, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms and moms-to-be!


The medium


The inspiration


More inspiration


The semi-finished products

When Mom's Away (Giving Exams)

Abby and Daddy go meet Darth Vader!

Saturday I had to trek to NGU to give two exams. Personally, I think that Saturday exams should be illegal in all 50 states, but it's really not up to me, and in order to collect my paycheck, I have to submit to the authority over me.

Anyway, one of Jason's new friends at the bank (i.e. clients) told him about "free comic book day" and mentioned that some of the Star Wars characters would be out posing for pictures. Jason, being the Star Wars junkie that he is (and that he is trying to make our daughter into) had to go.

While I was sitting in a classroom, Abby was meeting "Vader" as she calls him.

Here's the amazing part of the whole story. Abby was TERRIFIED of the Easter Bunny. I'm talking screaming, grabbing-to-the-shirt, I'm-not-going terrified. You'll notice that I've not posted any pictures of that outing. There's a simple reason: we don't have any. Even now when we ask Abby if she wants the Easter Bunny to come to our house, she drops her head and says meekly, "no".

Jason tells me, however that Darth Vader was another story. He stood about 4 feet from Vader and Abby eyed him. Finally she looked over his direction and said, "Hey Vader" with a timid wave. She loves him.

My fear is that she's going to be drawn to the dark and handsome type. What does our future hold?

If you look in the picture, she particularly interested in his light saber. I'm not sure what that means either.

Only time will tell!

It's Not Fair!

I had a moment this week where I really wanted to raise my fist to heaven and scream, "That's not fair, God; that's just not fair!" I'm so glad that God understands our frustration and doesn't condemn us for it, but just like a good Father, he extends his hands and says quietly, "I know you think it's not fair, but trust me on this one."

We have some friends at church who have been trying to get pregnant for about 3 years. I understand the frustration and the disappointment (kind of) as Jason and I have been trying to get pregnant for 8 months with no luck.

Last month we got the joyful news - a baby for this precious family, due in December, the same time as their other little girl's birthday. We were so excited. They were excited. Celebration was everywhere.

This Wednesday they lost the baby. There aren't even words. When I read the message, I dropped my head to my hands and cried. Not fair! So not fair!

What do you say? What do you do? I pray for them. God knows what he's doing - Romans 8:28 - molding them into his likeness, but it hurts so very much.

I think the song by Natalie Grant is most appropriate here:

Our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the Earth quake
Let the Earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

Please say a prayer for this family if you think about it.

A Wonderful, Easy, Cheap Dinner

I've never been much for Chinese food, but my husband LOVES the stuff. Usually I just make him go and eat it with his mom, but over the years I acquired a taste for some of it, and I've even learned to cook a few dishes myself.

Here's a quick and easy stir-fry that Jason and I love, love, love. The secret is the peanut butter. You have to put in the peanut butter or else it is just plain ordinary.

Ingredients:
Bell peppers - sliced (any color will do; I've used them all)
Soy Sauce
Teriyake Sauce
Chicken or Beef
Peanut Butter

I marinate my chicken or beef in a combination of the soy sauce and the teriyake sauce. Use enough of the sauces to cover the meat and let it sit for a few hours.

Put the meat and the sauce into a wok and cook until cooked through
Add peppers and a heaping spoonful of peanut butter

After all of that has come together, add in (I use 2 cups) some cooked rice

Mix it all together and VIOLA!

It is fantastic. Let me know what you think.

Grace Grace

Since I've become a teacher, I've learned a lot about grace. It's sort of like my previous post about Jesus Saves.; I knew about the concept of grace, but I'm not sure I ever knew what it really looked like.

I know that I'm saved by grace and that grace is amazing. I've sung the song, "O to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be", but I'm not sure that I ever knew exactly what grace was.

Students and children have a way of making abstract concepts concrete. I have a student who pushes my buttons at every turn. He asks questions constantly and he pushes boundaries. I'm sure that it is just how he's wired, but it is very trying at times.

He didn't bring his paper to class one day, and I had made it abundantly clear that students without their papers would be asked to leave class and they would take an absence. This student can't afford anymore absences because he would fail if he missed anymore. I extended grace. Pure, unadulterated grace. I could have failed him; it was totally within my rights. I could have held him to the letter of the law, but I didn't. He didn't deserve it. Grace.

I have another student who needs to graduate. Life is really, really tough for her right now. She's got a lot going on. Her paper was due, and she didn't turn it in. I extended her deadline. Grace.

I like to appear tough. I like to have my students think and know that what I say I mean, but there is always room for grace, undeserved favor.

It's the students who push me the most who I find it hardest and most rewarding to extend grace to. I sometimes get angry because they then don't handle the grace the right way, but how many times have I abused God's grace, yet he still extends it over and over again.

Where would we be without grace. Where would life have taken us if God hadn't handed down our sentence...free because Christ paid the penalty, and I choose to release you. GRACE.

May your day be filled with GRACE and you know the power of it.

Waiting

Abby and I have an afternoon ritual. It goes something like this:

2:00 Abby goes down for a nap. I may or may not nap with her. It depends on the day. When I'm feeling really motivated, I exercise and/or fold clothes. I know, life's a thrill right.

4:00-4:30 Abby gets up from her nap. On really good days, she sleeps longer, but usually 2 hours is about all I can get from her. I call the two hours she naps my sanity time.

4:30-5:00 We chill out, watch some Judge Judy, play, whatever gets us through.

5:00 I start cooking dinner and we begin the countdown for Daddy to come home.

6:00 We listen for the car or truck to pull into the driveway, run for the door and watch for Daddy to come down the sidewalk.

The other day, it was somewhere around 4:30 and Abby saw the door. She ran to it and said to me, "Daddy's coming!" She insisted that I open the front door so she could wait for Daddy to come home. She said, "Sit down" meaning I was to sit in the floor and watch with her.

I wonder if we wait with this kind of anticipation for the return of our Father? It didn't matter what I said to Abby, she knew her daddy was coming and she was going to wait for him to get there.

I pray for that kind of excitement and anticipation. I hope that you do as well.