MERRY CHRISTMAS and 6 months!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family to yours!

I don't post here very often but WOULD LOVE for you to follow our family blog if you are interested!

Blakely turned 6 months on the 14th-HARD TO BELIEVE!

Her shirt says "best gift ever."

It's true, she's been a MIRACLE for our family!

God Bless you ALL on your journeys!

I am so blessed to follow along your journeys & call you friends!

5 Months TODAY!

I LOVE books!

Mommy thinks I'm smart but I REALLY DO understand them!

I just found my thumb, its pretty good...

I am still just nursing-that milk is GOOD STUFF. They don't call it LIQUID GOLD for NOTHIN!Mommy sometimes gives me a little nibble of her food too!

I even got to lick a sucker today after church!

Mommy says I'm "rollin' all over tarnation!"

I LOVE my cloth diapers-super soft on my hiney!

I REALLY HATE NAPPING during the day but I sleep really good at night for mommy.

Most importantly, I am still LOVED AND ADORED by all of my 7 brothers and sisters.  I hear them fighting over who gets to hold me LOTS of times a day.

Mommy says I am a Gift from GOD ALMIGHTY and I hear my family from my 3 year old brother all the way up to Daddy thank God for me in their prayers constantly.

Daddy says I will get anything I want, whenever I want when I get bigger.

Sounds good to me! 

ONE Year AGO TODAY!

I had a hard time sleeping last night just thinking of the miracle performed 1 year ago today.


Twas one year ago today that I was on an airplane to Los Angeles to meet Baby Blakely...
One of the below pictures is our sweet angel exactly one year ago today.


One is of her sibling resting in heaven.

And here she is today!

Is she a miracle or WHAT?

I still have a hard time comprehending God's miracles and goodness especially when it comes to this sweet adopted girl. IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST! The preparation, pregnancy and birth and now she's a big 4 month old girl already.

Thank you Lord for the gift of Baby Blakely, for seeing us fit to be her parents, for allowing us to experience the miracle of pregnancy & child birth. For the donating parents who chose us. For the most wonderful doctor. For allowing us to spread the word about embryo adoption. Thank you for knitting her together in my womb. YOUR WORKS ARE WONDERFUL!

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY MADE; your works are WONDERFUL, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. ALL the days ordained for me were written in your book BEFORE ONE OF THEM CAME TO BE!"
Psalm 139:13-16

4 Months old TODAY!

PRAISING GOD TODAY for 4 months with this sweet baby girl!!!!

SHE'S BACK..EW

Aunt FLO that is! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

What happened to "YOUR PERIOD WON'T START UNTIL YOU ARE DONE NURSING?"

Any other UNLUCKY souls have this happen? EWW!!!!  I'm just not ready......

I am REALLY, SERIOUSLY fighting the baby weight also.

It is SO HARD to lose.

I have been put on water pills to decrease the swelling I still have in my hands and feet.

It's brutal.

BUT looking at that sweet smile above makes it ALL WORTH IT!

3rd PREGNANCY in 2 weeks!

I'm SO EXCITED!!!

I have given Dr. Kumar's name to 9 people now. Another IRL friend of mine from Kansas just emailed me last night to tell me of her 2nd positive beta!

In the last 2 weeks 3 PEOPLE journeyed to California for their embryo transfers and ALL 3 ARE PREGNANT! Joining the ranks of my other friend A-who is pregnant with twin boys! A, is the person we legally donated our embies to until our donating family requested them back.

AND another friend just got matched with THE EXACT embryos perfect for her family through Dr. Kumars clinic!

CONGRATS TO YOU ALL! I am SO HAPPY for YOU!

Thank you Lord for all you are doing to help these babies join their new families!

It is ONLY THROUGH GOD that these little miracles are being unfrozen!

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift(s)!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

YOU GROW GIRL! 2 Months! & Blog change

Here's our little "BLAKERS" at 2 months!

I am a week late-SORRY!

Check out those painted TOOTSIES!

She has changed SO MUCH & is really starting to smile!

She slept 7 hours last night-BOY WERE MY BOOBS SORE AFTER THAT!

I had to get up and feed her AND pump!

OUR FAMILY BLOG has a new address so if you have been looking for it,

HERE IS THE NEW LINK!

My friend-another precious embryo DONOR!

I promised God that if I ever got pregnant, I would spread the word about Embryo Adoption.  Through my larger family blog which has over 250 regular readers, I shared our family story.

One of my regular readers who I became friends with had been grappeling with a decision.  You see, her precious husband Ryan and her conceived twins through IVF. He suffered from cystic fibrosis and passed away when the twins were young. 

She had left over embryos...

After reading our blog, she knew just what to do...

CLICK HERE to read her amazing, selfless story..

ONLY GOD could have orchestrated this story!

Praising HIM for saving more frozen lives!

7 weeks!

Here is our Precious one at 7 weeks!

She is REALLY starting to smile!

I'm so in love with her...

I love bows but I also love her beautiful hair so I had to show it off :)

Thank you Lord for our precious ANGEL!

Nursing is still going GREAT and she's growing like a weed!

She's been a QUITE colicky so I am trying GRIPE WATER today hopefully this will help.

I'll let you know!

2 Jens and 14 kids MERGE!!!

Tomorrow... This family of 7 kids

 

and this family of 7 kids...

 

Will be meeting under ONE ROOF at OUR FARM!

My bloggy friend Jen and I will be meeting IN PERSON for the first time as she and her 7 join me and my 7 at the farm for a few days!

14 YUNG UNS ages 12 and under UNDER ONE ROOF!

We are SO EXCITED for our kids to meet ESPECIALLY our 3 girls we were blessed with through embryo adoption!

YES, WE ARE NUTS!

Will report later IF we live through it :)

 

WE CAN'T WAIT to share pictures with you!

Gained :)

Went to the Dr. yesterday.

She gained 15 ounces in 10 days!

Here she is at her appointment!

7 pounds 2 ounces.

YOU GROW GIRL!

ONE MONTH OLD!

HAPPY ONE MONTH to OUR MIRACLE GIRL!

We celebrated her one month B-day yesterday by taking her to the pool in her darling swim suit!

Nursing is going fabulous! It is just VERY time consuming! She is just SO ADORABLE! Most of my time is spent taking care of my 7 little ones so my time for blogging is RARE!

Hugs to you all!

3 week check up! Dairy QUEEN!

THE DAIRY QUEEN IS WORKING!

(THAT'S ME PEOPLE!!)

I was nervous as I took our little sweetie to the Dr. on Tuesday for her weight check.

With exclusively nursing, you just don't know HOW MUCH food they are actually getting and it can make a mama second guess herself!

The Dr. wanted her to gain 5-7 ounces

SHE GAINED 10 ounces!

She is up to 6lbs. 5 ounces now! BIG GIRL!

Praising the Lord for letting me follow my dreams of nursing my sweetie!

Here she is today just chillin!

2 WEEKS!

As you can see, Blakely is VERY HAPPY to be here with her family!

She is 2 weeks today!  We went to the Dr. this a.m. and she now weighs 5lb 12oz.

The Dr. thinks she is doing great and is hoping she gains 6oz in the next week.

Nursing is going great!

She is a precious gift from GOD! 

I cannot believe she is here!

Just HAD to share her preciousness with you all!

She's HERE! 8 days old!

It all started at my routine appointment last Monday-June 14th

My BP was up so my Dr. said-"We need to deliver."

It all happened SO FAST!

I had a c-section which was NOT bad at all.

I went to the hospital, got into my gown and next thing I knew...

I was holding

Miss Blakely Laurel

in my arms!

She was born at 36 weeks 2 days

at 4:46 pm

on June 14th

5lb. 15oz.

18 inches long

Here she is with daddy!

We've had a rough road. We just got home from the hospital today.

I forgot my password to my blog so I couldn't update it while I was in the hospital with her but I was DYING TO!

I promise you all I will "get back in the swing." soon and catch up on all your blogs!

She came home today HEALTHY and I am exclusively nursing-it's going GREAT!

Here she is in her car seat, yawning all bundled up to come home today!

GIVING GOD ALL THE PRAISE FOR THIS MIRACULOUS LITTLE GIRL!

34 Weeks and COUNTING!

I am SO THANKFUL to have made it to 34 weeks!

I FEEL HUGE!

My twin-boobs and all at 34 weeks :)

I see my Dr. weekly now.  My latest 24 hour urine last week wasn't the best. My protein went up from 170 to around 500.  My Dr. says that she expects it to rise as the stress on my body from baby gets worse.  I do my next one on Tuesday.  I had an NST (non stress test) yesterday and the baby looked great. I was having a few small contractions according to the strip but didn't feel a thing.

Baby is still breech.  She weighed 4lb 5 ozs over a week ago so she's getting bigger and the good news is AFTER 34 weeks I can deliver at MY hospital-no special trips to THE BIG CITY needed-WHEW! Thank you Lord for getting us this far!

My church is continuing to provide meals while my DH is working-SUCH A BLESSING!

I basically lay around ALL DAY LONG and feel like doing nothing more at this point. Bed rest STINKS PEOPLE! But its worth it!

The pressure is making MY CROTCH THROB LIKE MAD unless I am lying down UGH! That is really my only complaint.

Hard to believe-I will be meeting my precious miracle girl soon-GOD IS GOOD!

32 WEEKS!

HERE I AM Today at 32 Weeks!

YOWZA I weigh a lot!

I've been SO LAZY and tired lately. I am thankful I am on bed rest because honestly, I don't feel like I can do much more than lay around, eat and shower LOL.  I'm even too exhausted to blog much-UGH!

Monday-I had a stabbing pain in the left side of my abdomen for several hours that would not go away. My doctor wanted to check it out so I went to L & D and got monitored.

DIAGNOSIS....Strained tummy muscle.  This can happen as your belly grows especially if you don't get around much-like me.

The good news is, my cervix is closed and thick, I was having ZERO contractions and Baby Girl looked FABULOUS on the monitor-glad my mind was put to ease. The pain is completely gone now.

Here I am at the hospital in one of my HOT gowns :)

The Saturday before, My hubby asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day and truly, I wanted a pedicure and Olive Garden.

He dropped me off at the door of the nail salon and this is what I got-LOVE MY TOES!

Then all 8 of us went to Olive Garden. I kept my tootsies up all the way there and back.

My Dr. appointment a couple weeks ago went well, my amniotic fluid was up from 12 to 15!

I have my next appointment on May 20. They will measure baby then and I will also have my next 24 hour urine that day.

God has granted me the grace of making it this far, I just pray I can keep her inside and she will keep  growing for several more weeks!

The crazy thing is...

I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE I AM PREGNANT and it's almost over...

It is such a surreal experience.

30 WEEKS! Photo Shoot!

HAPPY 30th Week baby girl!

I've always DREAMED of a fancy maternity shoot but

Since I am HOME BOUND on bed rest,

My good friend offered to help me out and I decided we would give it a whirl yesterday.

NEITHER OF US IS A PROFESSIONAL!

Just 2 moms-having fun!

I was SO HAPPY with the way they turned out!

Here are some of our favorites!

WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE THE BEST??

I also got the changing table delivered and since there were only 3 steps, the kids and I put it together very quickly!

I LOVE IT!

I see the Dr. on Tuesday and I can't wait to see how my amniotic fluid level is doing. 

My church has brought meals this entire week and one of my BFF's took 4 kids for the night last night-I REALLY got some rest!

GOD is just REALLY taking care of me and providing just what I need to make it through on bed rest while my hubby is away.

Showered with LOVE!

Here are me & my 5 girls at my baby shower!

It was a blessed occasion with a HUGE turn out!

Hard to believe I was pregnant with the oldest 20 years ago! WOW!

DARLING rattle cupcakes made by my friends daughter

"8" chenille onesie hand made by my friend Jenni

for baby #8

3 hand made blankets

Striped blankie crocheted by my friend Sarah

Lavender knitted by my BFF Jen

John Deere quilt made by my friend Mindy

OH SO PRECIOUS booties knitted by my SIL!

FOOD!

God provided more than we could have ever asked for!

LADIES-I feel like dog DOO DOO!

This BP is NUTS!

That's why it's taken be so long to blog.

The shower took it all out of me girls!

I was emotional/crying through the ENTIRE shower.

I literally have a PANTING EXTRAVAGANZA just getting dressed!

If I do much more than lay on the couch, I'm really worn out!

It's been tough with my DH gone a week at a time.

I count the HOURS until he gets home.

I'm potty training my youngest and he insists I sit on the floor and

watch him pee every 5 minutes-UGH!

The potty trainee is WEARING MAMA SLICK!

I cannot wait to get to the Dr. Tuesday & check out this scene.

I'm tired of laying around like dead wood.

I AM SO THANKFUL for our church family

who brings meals & someone even came today just to take the kids out on a walk and to play-WHAT A BLESSING!

Diaper Bag-Test update..

I just LOVE the Paul Frank Diaper Bag I got BABY GIRL!

It's even CUTER in person!

I got my test results back and the protein numbers haven't changed. This is a good thing. Its still elevated but not any higher. I'm still on bed rest until baby girl gets here.

SO EXCITED for my shower tomorrow!