Julia's Blog

To my precious Brooke Renee:

2010-08-19T13:10:00.001-05:00

To my precious Brooke Renee:

It is hard for me to believe that in just a few days you will be 5 months old already! You ate rice cereal like a champ yesterday. It made me so proud and sad at the same time. You are growing up. Since you were born, I have been wanting to write down some of the details surrounding your birth, so that when you are older, you can give thanks to God with us for the great things He has already done in your life.

Last July, I had a suspicion that I might be pregnant, so on a whim, I took your sister, Alyssa to the store and bought a pregnancy test. After coming home and taking the test, I was so excited that it was positive and couldn’t believe that God had blessed us with another child! It was just a few minutes before your Daddy was going to be home from work, but I decided to go to the store and find a pretty picture frame use to tell him the good news. I found the perfect one. It was plain and silver with words on the bottom that said “So tiny, so loved.” I put a piece of paper in the picture part that said “To the greatest husband and Daddy in the world. Expected arrival 4. 8. 10.” I put it at the front door, so it was the first thing he saw when he arrived home. He came in and said, “really?” with a big smile on his face. He was so excited! A few days later, we told our families and they were excited too.

Just 2 weeks later, we thought that we were going to lose you. I was so sad to think about that. I couldn’t believe how much I loved you even though I had not even met you yet! After going to the doctor, and learning that I was not making enough progesterone, I started taking supplements that made me feel especially tired and sick. They helped you though, so it was worth it. I went to the doctor every other day for a few weeks and had several sonograms to check on how you were doing. It was so amazing to see how quickly you were growing. What a gift. Your Daddy and I prayed for you so much during that time. As I rocked Alyssa to sleep and sang her “Jesus loves me”, I cried thinking about the line that says “little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.” You were so weak, but you belonged to Jesus even then. He cared for you and helped you to continue to grow strong.

Then came the really fun sonogram where we found out that you were a girl! YEA! I went out right away and bought a cute dress for you to wear home from the hospital. I also bought a shirt for you that said “little sister” and one for Alyssa that said “big sister”. I was very excited to find fun girly things to decorate your room with.

The second trimester was a breeze, but like with your sister, Alyssa, the third trimester brought a few struggles. I had some asthma trouble and the doctors’ were concerned about you getting enough oxygen. Shortly after that was better, my blood pressure started to rise again. Thankfully though, I was able to monitor it at home and was only on moderate bed rest. I was going to the doctor frequently to check my blood pressure to make sure that you were ok, and I thought that when I went to the doctor on Wednesday, that he would schedule the delivery for Thursday. Well…you didn’t want to wait that long! On Tuesday night, I started having contractions. I was sleeping in the guest room so that your Daddy could get a good night’s sleep without me tossing and turning. By 5:00am, I woke him up and told him that we needed to go to the hospital. I called Grammy and she came and stayed with Alyssa. After arriving at the hospital, the doctor came around right away. He said that we would be the very next c-section in just 30 minutes! I couldn’t believe how quickly I was going to see you! It turned out that we had to wait one more hour, but that was good because it gave me time to relax and calm my nerves. The c-section went really well and I was so excited to look at you. You were beautiful. I asked all the people in the room to guess how much you were going to weigh, and we all guessed wrong. You were 8 pounds 14 ounces…2 weeks early! When I got to the recovery room, I asked to hold you. What a special moment that was.

Brooke Renee, I am so blessed to be your Mommy. I pray that God gives me wisdom to be a good Mommy for you. I pray that you will know how God has blessed your life from the very beginning and continues to hold you close to this day. Know that He is your creator, provider, Savior and friend.

All tuckered out

2010-07-01T09:25:00.004-05:00

As I was pulling some bread out of the oven this morning, I was thinking that it was about time for Brooke to take a nap. When I went to get her, I found that she had fallen asleep by herself...in her exersaucer. For my kid who just a week or two ago hardly slept at all, this is nothing short of a miracle. : ) (Thank you Lord...and Prevacid!)

Video for Grammy

2010-06-16T21:35:00.001-05:00

I love my girls. It is so much fun to see how they are alike and how they are different. When Alyssa was little, I remember wondering what the big deal was with those cute little play gym mats and rattle things that people attach to their car carriers. They look cute and all, but I wasn't really sure what their purpose was...Alyssa just wasn't that interested in them. ...but now I understand. Brooke LOVES batting at the toys and enjoys looking for quite a while at the little car carrier toys. Since Mom is in Colorado for the summer, I took this little video for her to see how the girls are changing. Hope you like it, Mom!

A morning in the life of me

2010-05-13T13:11:00.003-05:00

I know that many moms before me have learned to manage with two children under the age of two. That adventure for me is just beginning. I'm 7 weeks in, to be exact. After 6 weeks of not being able to lift my toddler or drive, I'm just beginning to get my courage up to venture out with both girls on my own. That brings me to this morning's adventure...

The dreaded DMV. I had to get my drivers license renewed before my upcoming birthday. Fun. I tried so hard to get most of my "appointments" done before Brooke arrived (dentist appointments, Alyssa's well checks and dentist appt, etc.)...but the renewal notice for my license came after Brooke was born. Arrrgh...

We got up this morning, got dressed, nursed the baby and headed out for our "fun" adventure. I checked online before going and made sure I had all the proper documentation. I did not want to get there and not have what I needed to get this errand completed (you can guess where this is going, right?) Upon arrival, for the first time, I started the 12 step routine to get the kids and all our stuff out of the car. I hauled out the double stroller and loaded it with the special toys I brought to keep Alyssa entertained and the baby sling (just in case). I made sure I had sippy cups, wallet, kleenex, etc. I got both girls strapped in and headed into the building...passing the scary crazy people loitering outside the entrance. Feeling quite accomplished for getting all 3 of us into the building without incident, I approached the counter and took my number. Then I noticed the sign that said "cash or checks only". Lovely. I had neither. I asked the lady if there was an ATM. Of course not. Feeling defeated, but determined, I headed back to the car...passed the loiterers, got the girls back in the car (Alyssa cried because she wanted to stay in the stroller...go figure), unpacked the toys, folded up the stroller and headed off towards the bank.

During the drive to the bank, Alyssa got hungry. No problem. I brought snacks. Thankfully the crying stopped once we made it back to the DMV. Feeling more confident in my routine of getting everyone out of the car and into the building, I started the 12 step process of getting everything loaded up once more. : ) I took my number, which thankfully showed up on the screen just seconds after sitting down. I joined the other 13 people in line (what exactly were all those nice chairs for???) and continued to wait. Brooke decided she didn't want to be in the stroller anymore. Not a shocker...that's why I brought the sling. She fell asleep in the sling, and was a dream baby the rest of the FORTY minutes we waited in line. Alyssa snacked and ran out food about five people before it was our turn. This greatly amused the Grandma who had been literally staring at us the entire time. (I was glad to provide some amusement for the other bored people waiting in the comfy chairs). Super mom to the rescue, with some lotion for Alyssa to play with to keep her occupied (she didn't want the other toys I brought...of course). : ) Finally it was our turn. When I got to the desk, the kind lady pointed to the stroller and said "do you really have TWO MORE in there?" "No mam, just one." I replied. : ) Thankfully, I could get my picture taken without having to wake Brooke up and take her out of the sling. By the time we were finished and all back in the car, I felt brave enough to try getting the car's oil changed while we were out...thus beginning the 12 step process once again. : )

I'm sure soon enough, I'll be able get us all in and out of the car in my sleep. For now, I feel like super mom for being able to get out and run two errands with my little ones. I realize that sounds kind of pathetic, but that's ok with me. I'm learning, and enjoying my girls.

Finger Painting

2010-02-02T11:55:00.004-06:00

I picked up some finger paints the other day, and we had fun trying them out this morning. Andrew was home on his day off, so it was fun to watch Alyssa finger paint for the first time.

She wasn't too fond of having dirty hands.

"Look at my pretty picture!"

"All done!"

Baby Bennett #2

2010-01-26T16:36:00.005-06:00

Today, I had a doctor's appointment and sonogram. Everything with Baby Bennett #2 is looking good...which is not something I take for granted. I guess after the many complications I had with Alyssa, I tend to go into appointments figuring at least something will be wrong. Thankfully, everything looks great! The baby is measuring 3 pounds. The sonogram showed that she has a lot of hair already! Alyssa was born with a lot of hair, so it will be fun to have that again. Anyway, I wanted to post a couple of my favorite pictures of Baby Bennett...so here they are! The first picture is of her profile...the second one is of her sweet face.

Getting ready for baby!

2010-01-16T16:25:00.004-06:00

We are so excited to be having another girl! Having grown up with two sisters, I think it will be so much fun for Alyssa to have a sister to play with. We are also glad to be able to use the nice clothes and girly things that we were given for Alyssa a second time around. A few weeks ago, I thought that it might be nice for the new baby to have a blanket of her own, so I started keeping my eye out for something special. I had a hard time finding quite what I was looking for, so I decided to try my hand at making one myself. Yesterday at the fabric store, I found some beautiful minky fabric and silk ribbon trim. I'm not great at sewing, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

I also made a new nursing cover from this fun fabric.

A few months ago, right after we found out we were going to have a girl, I bought this as a special outfit for her to come home from the hospital in.

Our hospital is great and will put the baby's foot prints in their baby album for you...so here is the pretty album I picked out. So much fun!

Now we just need the baby!

Caught Being Cute

2010-01-14T16:44:00.005-06:00

I was working on the computer this afternoon and Alyssa was playing nicely in the living room...when I looked up, she had emptied her toy basket, climbed inside and was sitting there "reading" a book. So cute!

I can't believe that the last time I blogged was October. Oh well. !

Since then, we found out that we are expecting another baby girl. We are thrilled. I'm in the 3rd trimester now, so it feels like the home stretch. I had a good doctor's appointment this week, which, considering the complications I have had in the past, is always especially nice (and I'll admit, always surprising to me). : ) So far everything is looking good. We had a few bumps along the way in the first trimester, but God is good and we are thankful that all is going well now. We go in for a sonogram in 2 weeks. Yea! I love sonograms.

I've graduated into a new phase of life as "minivan mom"...and I'm glad for it. After 8 great years with my Saturn we parted ways last week, and happily said hello to our new (to us)Toyota minivan. It became clear that it was time for a new car about a month ago when I tried to fit 2 car seats in the back seat, and they just didn't fit. We were very thankful to be able to find a car that will make our outings quite a bit more comfortable.

Andrew has been enjoying going duck hunting a few times recently. Breaking ice to stand in the lake with a gun for a few hours does not seem like my kind of fun...but he enjoys it even when he doesn't get anything. He's been enjoying his work and his time with Alyssa when he's at home. She's really a daddy's girl!

Alyssa is 16 months old now! She is a lot of fun. Her favorite past times include climbing and sliding down the slide she got for Christmas from her grandparents. (It's been especially great to have something for her to get her energy out with during all this cold weather we've been having!) She loves going and getting her shoes and standing by the garage door ready to go wherever we are headed. She has had a lot of asthma trouble lately, and thankfully one of her favorite things is taking her breathing treatments while watching a few minutes of Sesame Street. I am so grateful that she enjoys taking her medicine and it isn't a battle. I think that our dog, Miko, is her favorite friend (aside from Mommy & Daddy, of course). Sometimes I am jealous of the great hugs she gives him. : )

Well, we are doing well. I'll try to be more consistent in updating. I guess as long as I post again before 3 months, I'll be doing better than last time! : )

State Fair 2009

2009-10-15T12:17:00.005-05:00

We had a great time at the State Fair yesterday! Alyssa and I went with Mom, Dad and Allison. We saw the dog show, the bird show and a diving show. Alyssa loved the petting zoo. We sampled fried potato twirls, funnel cake and fried peaches (yummy!). It was a little humid outside, but other than that it was a great day to be at the fair. Big Tex had a miniature train running around the base of the display this year. I really liked that. We had fun looking at all the arts and crafts and walking through the car show. It was a really fun day! To make it even better, it was $1 admission day when you brought 3 canned goods. What a deal!

My little pianist

2009-09-24T12:37:00.002-05:00

Alyssa Turns 1!

2009-09-24T11:45:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe that Alyssa is 1! We had a nice party to celebrate a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pictures...

My big girl on her birthday!

Cake time!

Showing Daddy her yummy cake

She liked the bows on the presents the best

She got her first baby doll

Playing with the ball machine toy from Grandpa and Grandma Bennett

Riding in the car from Mommy & Daddy

Reading a book from Aunt Allie and sitting on the beautiful quit from Grammy (my mom)

It was a great day! Alyssa is not walking yet, but she is most definitely a toddler. Her favorite foods are watermelon, peas and bread. She especially likes playing with her baby doll, ball machine and reading books. Her first word, and only word so far is "this". It's pretty cute. She points and says "dis?" (as in "what's this?") She also likes playing with the dogs. She throws the ball to Kaylee and likes to sneak up on Miko and pet him. It's been a great year! I'm looking forward to watching her grow and learn this coming year. She is a joy, and we thank God for her.

Baby Bennett #2 On the Way

2009-09-09T16:56:00.004-05:00

We are excited to announce that we are expecting again! Our little one is due 4-8-2010.

After a little bit of a rough start, everything is looking good now. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for the 12 week sonogram. Because of the complications, I've had 3 sonograms so far. (A very nice added bonus to countless doctor's appointments and blood work). It is so amazing to see that only a few weeks ago I could only see a small dot on the screen, but today I could see the face, arms and legs moving around. Amazing!

Anyway, we're pretty excited! Thanks for sharing in our joy.

- Julia

Alyssa and Miko Tear It Up

2009-07-12T13:04:00.003-05:00

Fourth of July 2009

2009-07-05T12:21:00.002-05:00

Our Summer Vacation

2009-06-28T20:25:00.011-05:00

Andrew has been on vacation the last 2 weeks, and we have had a lot of fun doing things around town. We decided to do a "staycation" this year. We've had a nice mix of relaxing days as well as days where we've gone and done fun summer things.

I've particularly enjoyed watching Alyssa experience many "firsts"...like...
...first time in a big swimming pool
...first time at the lake
...first trip to the zoo
...first time to Chisholm Park Aquatic Center
...first time playing in the sand
...first time meeting Great Grandma Bennett

Here are a few pictures of the fun times we've had.

We've been playing outside almost every morning. Alyssa particularly enjoys swinging on the swing that her Grandpa Bennett made her.

Alyssa likes her sand and water toy.

Splashing in the water is fun!

Look at all this sand on my hand!

Now I have the sand all over my face!

One day we drove out to Lake Mineral Wells State Park. It was fun! We had a picnic dinner overlooking the lake...Andrew fished...and then we went swimming in the lake. It was very hot!

Time to go home. All tuckered out.

More swimming...this time at Grandma and Grandpa Bennett's while Andrew and I went out on a date! Dinner, bowling, air hockey and snow cones...so much fun!

Summer reading club...ok, not really, but she does love her books.

We went swimming at Grammy and Papa's pool with Aunt Allison. 1st time in a big swimming pool! She LOVES the water!

At the Zoo! It was again, really, really, really hot, but we still had a good time. Alyssa's favorite parts were the aviary, where Andrew took her out of the stroller and the birds were all flying around...and the aquariums.

Andrew's Grandmother just moved to town. She had been living in Arkansas, so we enjoyed going to visit her and also letting Alyssa meet her for the first time.

Well, it has been a fun couple of weeks. it's sad that tomorrow is Andrew's last day off before he goes back to work. We are thankful for his job, and also thankful for the time off.

Fun in the Sun

2009-06-14T14:53:00.004-05:00

This week, our little play group enjoyed splashing around in a kiddie pool at my friend's home. It was Alyssa's first time in the pool. She was most interested in hanging over the side of the pool and playing with the grass...oh well. : ) Here's my little bathing beauty...

In other news, today was our last week to teach Sunday School for the semester. We get a wonderful 12 week break! We really enjoyed serving this year with our team of teachers and all the kids in the class. We had a little pizza party with the teachers to celebrate. It's amazing to see how God works in the lives of the kids throughout the year. We look forward to what is in store for the class next year!

Andrew started a 2 week vacation today...so should have some fun posts coming up about what we end up doing. We've decided to stay in town and enjoy things locally this year. We haven't decided exactly what we are going to do yet...so I guess we'll see!

Road Trip to Colorado

2009-06-09T11:20:00.003-05:00

Last week, my sister, Allison, Alyssa and I took a road trip to Colorado to visit my parents who are living there for the summer. We had a great time. It was about a 12 hour drive, so I wasn't so sure how Alyssa would do in the car...but she did great! We got to see some friends, and mostly enjoyed relaxing around the cabin.

Here are a few pictures...

Scooting Video

2009-04-18T22:53:00.003-05:00

For those who like to see Alyssa in action...here is a short video of her scooting around. (Not exactly crawling yet, but she is getting closer every day.) Chasing after the dogs and going towards books and the remote control are what get her moving the fastest.

Alyssa and the Pups

2009-04-18T22:33:00.005-05:00

So...Alyssa and the dogs are starting a new part of their relationship and it is pretty cute to watch. Now that she can scoot around and is starting to pick up speed, they are learning that she can come and get them (grab their tails, hit their backs, etc.). We have always tried to play rough with them somewhat to help them to be gentle around kids. It seems to have worked because they are both great with her. Kaylee loves to bring Alyssa her toys, hoping that Alyssa will throw them for her (someday she will...but for now she just tries to eat them...gross!) (Let's just say that Kaylee has only "supervised" play time with her toys for the time being). : )

I heard that it was raining tonight and when I looked out the window I realized that it was hailing. Not too much...about pea size. So what did Kaylee do???...she ran right out into the yard and started trying to fetch the hail. Crazy dog! It was pretty funny to watch her look all around. It seemed like she didn't know where to start! There were thousands of little "balls" calling for her attention. We called her in pretty quickly...but it was a good laugh.

I finally got up the courage to take Alyssa and both dogs on a walk by myself the other day. It went great! The dogs were very well behaved (better than normal even!). It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. While I might have managed a walk with all of them...I did not manage to get a picture while we were out, so this was the scene once we arrived back home. It was kind of cute. They were all worn out and were laying together on the kitchen floor.

...and for your viewing pleasure...here is the first time that Alyssa crawled over to the dog bowls. Oh my...here we go.... : ) (I know...one of those moments that I should be dealing with the situation instead of grabbing my camera, but you know...) : )

(No, Alyssa didn't eat all of the food out of the bowl...this is when she discovered the other set of bowls). : )

Well...there's a glimpse of life around our house these days! It sure is fun!

Picture Post

2009-04-13T09:32:00.005-05:00

All Dressed up for Easter

Opening an Easter card from Grammy & Papa

mmm...yummy card!

Wearing shoes for the first time...

Happenings

2009-04-04T15:17:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday, we participated in the baby dedication at our church and committed to raise Alyssa in a Christian home and to share with her the truths of the gospel. Afterwards we got this nice family picture.

Andrew had diaper duty one evening and he emerged from the garage with a pair of gloves on. Apparently he was anticipating the worst...

Sweet picture of Andrew, Alyssa and the pups...

Dallas Blooms 2009

2009-03-27T19:12:00.006-05:00

On Monday, we enjoyed a wonderful trip to the Dallas Arboretum. I have wanted to go to Dallas Blooms for a long time and was so glad to get to go this year! It turned out to be a great place to take a little one. We had a beautiful day. It was a little bit windy, but a nice cloud cover made it a great temperature to enjoy being outdoors. It was wonderful to get to enjoy some of God's wonderful creativity and beautiful nature that he created with all the flowers that were in bloom. I was hoping to get some better pictures of Alyssa with the flowers, but she was so interested in discovering the ground that we couldn't get her to look up and smile. Oh well. Here are a few of the pictures that we did get. Hope you are enjoying spring as we are!

Alyssa Faith - 6 Months Old

2009-03-10T17:19:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that Alyssa will be 6 months old on Wednesday. It is a lot of fun to watch her learn new things every day.

She has recently:

Mastered rolling over from front to back and back to front
Started sitting well on her own
Started drinking from a sippy cup
Started eating some solid foods. Well..."eating" might be a stretch...tasting is actually more like it. : )
Scooting around on the floor
Passing objects well from one hand to the other
Teething! She has not really been too fussy, and her first tooth has not appeared yet...but I can feel them a little bit on her gums.
Loves to laugh when she is tickled on her belly
Loves turning pages (and eating them) when reading books

Here are some pictures that I took today. With the weather being warm for a few days now it is starting to feel like spring around here, so I thought we'd take a few pictures with the tulips.

Alyssa's new trick...

2009-02-05T13:33:00.002-06:00

...rolling over in her bouncy seat! : )

Alyssa Faith - 4 Months Old

2009-01-30T16:47:00.007-06:00

My baby! 4 months old!

Yeah right!

2009-01-26T17:24:00.004-06:00

So, Alyssa got some medicine today that she has to take twice a day with cereal. YEAH RIGHT!! (Remember the previous post about what she thinks about cereal?!)

So...

After avoiding the fact as long as I could, I got my courage up, strapped my armor on and set out to do the impossible. Here is our 10 step program to success...

Step 1: Mix up cereal and medicine. Try and trick baby by making it mostly liquid.

Step 2: Strip baby down to her diaper (for obvious reasons...refer to previous post!) : )

Step 3:
Location #1...bumbo chair with bib.
Method #1...baby spoon.
Result: 100% of food and medicine spit out.

Step 4:
Location #2...Mommy holding baby.
Method #1...baby spoon.
Result: Baby squirms and food gets all over mommy.

Step 5:
Location #3...bouncy seat.
Method #1...baby spoon.
Result: Baby squirms and food gets all over bouncy seat.

Step 6:
Location #3...bouncy seat.
Method #2...mommy wises up and puts the food in a bottle (it was thinned quite a bit)
Result: Baby loves sucking on the bottle...however no food comes out. Rice granules are too big. (ARGH!...start running out of ideas)

Step 7:
Go and get a sippy cup...hey why not?...look at the cup and decide that is a bad idea.

Step #8:
Location#4: floor...maybe with her head all the way back, it will slide right down?
Method...#1...baby spoon
Result: baby keeps rolling over and laughing.

Step #9:
Mommy is about to admit defeat...when all of a sudden...light bulb moment!...THE MEDICINE SYRINGE. Alyssa is used to taking medicine that way, so why not try the cereal in it!

Step #10:
Location: floor...with Mommy holding baby's neck up. Added bonus...dog shows up so baby watches dog instead of rolling over
Method: Syringe
Results: SUCCESS! (I just hope there was enough medicine that actually got in her...oh well)

So now we get to do that twice a day. Hopefully for just a couple of days. Poor baby! (poor mommy!) : ) I'm hoping maybe she'll warm up to the taste of the cereal and then I can just give it to her normally.

Now...off to do the load of laundry and load of dishes we created with this little fiasco!

Yum...rice cereal!

2009-01-22T19:51:00.003-06:00

So we've been trying rice cereal for a couple of weeks now...and here's how Alyssa feels about it...

Baby's First Christmas

2009-01-01T13:26:00.009-06:00

We had a great Christmas celebration this year. Although Alyssa wasn't too clued into what was going on, we had fun dressing her up in her Christmas clothes, giving her gifts, and going to several different family Christmas celebrations. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week.

We really needed a new Jones family picture. We were able to get this one on the day after Christmas when we got together to exchange gifts. It was a treat to have both Laurel and Allison home.

I love this picture of Alyssa playing with the red ribbon.

We enjoyed a great Christmas breakfast at the Bennett's. Andrew met us there after work.

I love Alyssa's look of excitement over this gift from her Grandparents!

Andrew, Alyssa and I celebrated our family Christmas on Christmas Eve afternoon. We had fun picking out Alyssa's presents this year by taking her to Babies R Us and going through the aisles and showing her toys. if we got no reaction from the toy we put it back on the shelf. We purchased the 2 that made her laugh the most. : ) I'm certain we won't be able to do that for too much longer!

I like how Miko is trying to assess the situation. The dogs are quickly learning that all the toys brought into the house are not always for them! (Don't worry though, they each got a new dog toy and treat for Christmas)

We had fun celebrating Christmas with the extended Poole side of the family. My Aunt Susan fixed a wonderful lunch and then we headed over to Grandmother & Grandpa's for our annual gift exchange and dessert. It was so nice to be able to visit with my Grandparents and Aunts & Uncles. I love this picture of Grandpa and Alyssa. They were so cute together.

Christmas Letter 2008

2008-12-15T11:54:00.002-06:00

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” Psalm 118:24

Welcome to a day in the life at the Bennett’s. I’m always curious to know how other people live…you know, just the ordinary daily activities that fill our lives. Our lives have changed dramatically this year with the birth of our daughter, Alyssa…and our days seem pretty simple. Here’s a peek into a day in the life at the Bennett house.

Our day starts when Andrew arrives home from working overnight as a flight dispatcher at Bombardier FlexJet and is greeted by our dogs, Miko & Kaylee. Julia and baby Alyssa wake up and visit with Andrew. Andrew makes himself some dinner (well, dinner to him…can you call it dinner at 7:00am?!) and catches up on e-mails from the Cozy Mark IV forum. He has a new hobby…building an airplane (yes a real one) in our garage. He learns a lot and shares ideas with the guys on the forum and journals his progress on his blog. Sunday mornings are special because Andrew brings home doughnuts for breakfast and we all go to church together. When Andrew goes to bed, Julia, Alyssa, Miko & Kaylee get up and start the day.

Last January we found out that we were expecting a baby. We were delighted. After some complications beginning in July including 10 weeks of bed rest, pre-term labor, preclampsia and 5 hospital visits, we were blessed on September 11th with the safe and healthy arrival of Alyssa Faith Bennett. Praise the Lord! We were overwhelmingly blessed by friends and family during this time. Many people visited Julia in the hospital and brought meals over to the house. Alyssa is such a delight.

Mornings at our house are pretty simple. Andrew sleeps and Julia tries to be as quiet as possible. She is busy with house work, e-mails, phone calls and taking care of 3 month old Alyssa. She left her job as Benefits Manager at Four Seasons Resort and Club in July and is delighted to be living her dream of being a stay at home mom. Alyssa is a sleepyhead in the mornings and enjoys lots of snuggles with Mommy and Daddy.

When afternoon arrives, Julia and Alyssa can be found running errands, going to doctor’s appointments, visiting Grandparents and having lunch with friends. Some afternoons we study the Sunday school lesson for the coming week. We teach a class at church with about twenty 2nd and 3rd graders. It is so much fun! When the clock strikes 4:00pm it is time for Andrew to get up and get ready for work. Julia makes his lunch and we eat a meal together. It is nice to have this time as a family before Andrew goes to work.

On the evenings that Andrew is home we enjoy family time together relaxing. On Wednesday nights we head to church and spend the evening with our Foundation’s group of friends. One night a month Julia enjoys going to her Titus 2 ladies fellowship group. When it is time for Julia and Alyssa to turn in for the night we have family devotions and call it a day.

May God bless you and your family this year.

Merry Christmas!

It's Tough Being a Girl

2008-12-11T11:38:00.004-06:00

Oh Alyssa...it's starting early! I've quickly learned that a 3 month old can have the same clothes problems as us older girls.

For instance...

Even with infant clothes, you must still master the hip wiggle dance when putting on jeans.

A girl of any age can not have enough shoes...or in this case, socks.

Matching clothes sizes are still an issue. For example, yesterday she looked totally cute, however she had on a pair of 3 month pants, a 6 month onesie and a 9 month jacket.

It is fun dressing her up...little girl clothes are so adorable!

With Alyssa's many socks, I absolutely HAD to come up with a solution for keeping them organized since they are too small to roll. At Steinmart a little while back, I came across this jewelry organizer, which is the perfect solution for us! (It's double sided, and half of the back is filled up too!) : )

Thanksgiving Celebrations

2008-12-04T14:12:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration we had! I can't believe that it has been a week already!

Alyssa and I got the day started with Thanksgiving lunch at the Bennett's. Alyssa got to meet her cousins for the first time and we had a wonderful meal together. Andrew had to work, but we brought him a plate of food and enjoyed spending a little time with him before he headed off. By 5:30pm Alyssa and I were at Mom and Dad's for round 2 of Thanksgiving! It was a great day filled with gratitude, reflection, family and of course wonderful food. We certainly have much to be thankful for.

We started out Friday morning with a doctor's appointment for Alyssa. She was diagnosed with RSV and ear infections...poor little thing! After some antibiotics and breathing treatments I think that we are just about through it. In other Alyssa news, she has recently "discovered" her hands. She likes to look at them and put them in her mouth. She also likes to sit up (with support) and is pretty proud of herself when she looks around at the world from this perspective. She has slept the last 2 nights in her bassinet, which I'm pretty glad about. She had been sleeping in her car seat to help her reflux, so I'm excited to be moving past that.

We kicked off the Christmas season by exchanging gifts with some of the Bennetts while they were in town. Mom and Allison came and helped me get the Christmas decorations put out. And to top it off, Andrew and I had a fun evening last night watching the Polar Express and drinking homemade White Hot Chocolate! It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas!

Great Grandparents

2008-11-15T17:46:00.006-06:00

Alyssa is very blessed with wonderful Great-Grandparents.

She got to meet Great-Grandpa Jones a few weeks ago. He had a connecting flight through Dallas today and came by for a short visit.

Great-Grandmother Poole came to the rescue during the baby shower a few weeks ago. Alyssa was fussy and Grandmother took her and made her happy!

We also enjoyed taking this 4 generation picture with Grandmother Poole, Mom, me and Alyssa.

Great-Grandpa Poole also has enjoyed time with Alyssa.

Although she has not met her Great-Grammy Young yet, look at this beautiful quilt that Grammy made!

Great-Grandpa Bennett passed away recently, but Alyssa is enjoying the cradle that he made back in 1983. What a blessing for her to enjoy this family heirloom.

Although Great Aunt Elda is not technically a Great-Grandparent, she is like one to us...and Alyssa got to meet her a couple of weeks ago too!

Thank you Lord for such a wonderful family.

Picture Post

2008-10-29T21:10:00.006-05:00

This is a picture of me as a baby....

...and this is Alyssa. I think that we look pretty similar.

Fun in the bouncy seat

Alyssa likes bath time!

Our little pumpkin

All dressed up for her first Countryside Fair. We had fun!

Goodbye Mr. Moose

2008-10-29T15:15:00.003-05:00

Andrew was mowing the yard last week and it got a bit dark before he finished. Let's just say that the dog toy Mr. Moose is no more...

Grasp Reflex

2008-10-13T17:07:00.002-05:00

Alyssa's grasp reflex has started getting stronger these past few days. We are really enjoying when she grabs onto our hands...it is so cute. The problem is that she likes touching her hair.
Several times now, she has been perfectly calm and then suddenly lets out a shrieking cry. When we come to see what the problem is, she is pulling her hair! She doesn't know to let go, so she just pulls it and pulls it. Oh my...what to do.

Alyssa Faith - 1 month old!

2008-10-11T18:54:00.004-05:00

Wow! Time really does fly when you're having fun! It is amazing that it has already been a month since little Alyssa was born. What a joy she has been. It certainly hasn't all been easy, but we cannot imagine our lives without her.

She is eating well and is healthy. We are so grateful. She has not been sleeping well, but hopefully that will start to improve soon. She has been colicky the last 10 days or so. She has been crying for about 5 or 6 hours a night starting usually about 10:00pm. The pediatrician has been helping us try different things to help with possible reflux and allergies, and we are starting to see some improvement. We are not getting much sleep...but I think that comes with the territory.

I had a good appointment with my OBGYN this past week. My blood pressure is back to normal, so I am very happy about that. I'll go back to see him in 2 weeks. I realized how much I had been seeing my OBGYN when all of the office staff knew my name. I expected the nurses to know my name...but all of the receptionists!!!??? God sure was gracious in protecting both me and Alyssa during all of the pre-term labor and pre-eclampsia complications.

We have been overwhelmed with the generosity and love that has continued to be shown by our friends and family. The many meals, visits and gifts have been such a good reminder of how Christians ought to care for one another...certainly one of the lessons I have learned over the past few months.

Things we love about Alyssa:

...her tiny fingers and toes

...her gorgeous long black, soft and silky hair

...her cute little sneezes

...how she likes to have her hands up by her ear and chin while she sleeps...almost like she is striking a pose.

...all the cute cooing noises she makes

...her many expressive faces that we try and guess what they mean

...how she cuddles up on our chests and goes to sleep

...her easy going personality in new situations

I am often overwhelmed by God's good and perfect gift of Alyssa to our family. I know that she is a sinner and is not perfect and pray that she accepts Jesus as her personal Savior at an early age...but what a little blessing she is. There's nothing quite like a child to make you slow down...stop...and contemplate life in a completely new way. ...and the journey has just begun.

Remembering Alyssa's Birth

2008-09-28T12:27:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I enjoyed reading back through the blogs that I have posted since the pre-term labor with Alyssa started. It was good to remember how the Lord protected and provided for us during that time. I wanted to write out a bit about her birth...mostly so that I could remember myself as time goes by...so here it is.......................................................

On Thursday morning, September 11, I wasn't sure at all what was going to happen. A 24 hour test had been ordered the previous afternoon and I was awaiting the results to see if we would be induced, or sent home on bed rest (for the high blood pressure). I was officially diagnosed with having PIH (or pre-eclampsia). Because of the estimated weight of the baby being 8 pounds 13 ounces and the PIH, it was decided that a c-section would be best for both me and Alyssa. The decision was made at 8:00am and by 12:30pm we were in the operating room. the time between 8:00 and noon flew by. There were a lot of doctors and nurses in and out of the room preparing me for the surgery. We had a little time of calm about 12:00 which was so nice. I felt very comfortable and was not too anxious about the surgery.

The nurse came and told us that they were ready for us in the operating room. Andrew was all dressed in the disposable scrubs. He waited in the recovery room while I was prepared for the surgery. When I walked into the operating room, the wonderful calm feeling I had been feeling just a few minutes previously totally went away and was replaced by anxiousness. The anesthesia took very well, although I had a very hard time with the fact that I had lost control of my legs. I kept telling the nurse that I felt like I needed to move my feet and at one point after I had probably said that too many times, Dr. Vaughn said, "Go ahead, it's ok". I responded desperately, "but I CAN'T". I think he probably snickered. : ) The surgery went really well, although I was pretty overwhelmed by it all and did not feel well at all. It was absolutely amazing when they held little Alyssa up over the sheet so I could see her for the very first time.

In the recovery room, I was also feeling quite sick. I just really did not like the fact that I could not feel or control my legs. Slowly though the feeling wore off, and that was so nice. The nurse came and did Alyssa's assessment. She did not find anything to be concerned with at all. We were then moved to an antipartum room because all of the postpartum rooms were occupied. Shortly after we arrived, I was given magnesium to help prevent a stroke or seizure due to the high blood pressure. While I was thankful for the purpose of the magnesium, it made me feel very sick (I had been warned...it gives you flu-like symptoms).

The grandparents all came and were able to meet Alyssa for the first time. They were so proud. I was not feeling well, so I did not hold or feed Alyssa much. It was a long night. Mom stayed with me so that Andrew could go home and get some rest since he had been up for almost 48 hours. I was so glad that she was there to hold and feed Alyssa. The nurses came every hour to check my vitals, so we did not get much rest. There was an alarm attached to me that would go off if I wasn't breathing enough oxygen...and it went off every few minutes.

I was glad when morning came and the nurse took me off of the magnesium and oxygen alarm. About mid-morning, I got up out of bed for the first time and got dressed. I was nervous about the pain, but it wasn't too bad. Shortly after I got dressed, a room opened up in postpartum, and I was moved there. It was a much larger room. It was great to have the extra room and chairs for friends and family.

I stayed in the hospital until Monday morning. By then I was feeling pretty good and was able to get around much better. All of the doctors and nurses were so nice and helpful. I am grateful for the good care that we received. We were glad to go home as a family on Monday. It was especially special to run into one of the nurses that had helped me get through the pre-term labor on our way out the door. It was nice to be able to show her Alyssa and thank her for helping get her to full-term. We are certainly blessed to have a healthy baby.

The last 12 weeks have been quite a roller coaster ride and have been filled with a lot of ups and downs, but God has been gracious and good and we are so thankful for His gift of Alyssa.

One week old today!

2008-09-18T18:58:00.004-05:00

How time flies! I can't believe that Alyssa is one week old today. What a week it has been. It's already hard to imagine life without Alyssa. I am recovering well from the c-section thanks to wonderful help from family and the nurses at the hospital.

We arrived home on Monday afternoon and have been adjusting to our new life since then. Things are going really well. Alyssa is a happy baby. She does a good job comforting herself and does not get too fussy so far. We saw the pediatrician today for her one week check up and she is looking great. She is 8 pounds even...only 4 ounces shy from her birth weight, so the doctor is pleased about that.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful daughter!

At the hospital

On the way home

5 days old

Mommy loves Alyssa

Alyssa Faith Bennett

2008-09-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

Introducing Alyssa Faith Bennett

2008-09-11T17:06:00.001-05:00

Alyssa Faith Bennett was born today at 1:04pm. She is 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 21 inches long. She is beautiful. We are doing well. We'll write more details later.

Baby Bennett is coming!

2008-09-11T10:47:00.002-05:00

Well, we're going to have a c-section this afternoon! It's a little crazy with all the doctor's and nurses right now, so I'll keep this post short. More to come! Our little one should be here in just a few hours. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

Back to the hospital...

2008-09-09T16:17:00.002-05:00

At my doctor's appointment today, I learned that because my blood pressure is still elevated and a couple other things, I have to go back to the hospital. I'll be spending the night there and they will monitor me. If things don't improve, then they will induce either tomorrow or Thursday. So, we'll see what happens!

Thank you for your prayers for us. (Please pray also for Andrew as he has his flight dispatcher test with the FAA tomorrow morning.)

"May I take your order?"

2008-09-05T20:27:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I wish that there was a drive through for new body parts. If there was, I would order up a new head today. Well, not really...but it would be nice sometimes. I've been fighting a sinus infection/asthma/ear infection for a week now and am feeling pretty worn down from it. I ended up back at the doctor today and got a second kind of antibiotics, so hopefully that will kick in soon (that's 3 doctor's visits in 4 days...I think a new record for me!).

Anyway, still no baby yet. I'm actually kind of glad, because I would like to be feeling better before she is born. I had a sonogram yesterday and the baby looks good. The nurse can't get over how long her hair is. She said to make sure that I take a hairbrush for her to the hospital! The doctor is still keeping a close eye on my blood pressure, which remains high...so I go back for more blood work on Monday and another appointment on Tuesday. He mentioned yesterday that if my blood pressure remains high we will start talking about inducing, so we'll see what he says next week.

I did get a little chuckle at the appointment yesterday. When the doctor walked in the room, he said something and I didn't hear what he said, so he repeated himself. I still didn't quite catch it, but I thought I heard the word "ear". So I said, "Oh, were you asking how my ears are?" Then I heard the nurse start laughing. She was laughing because the doctor WAS asking how my ears were, only because of the ear infections, I couldn't hear him. ...so I guess he figured out the answer! : )

Still pregnant!

2008-09-02T20:53:00.003-05:00

Yes, for all inquiring minds who want to know...I am still pregnant! Can you believe it???!!! Tomorrow, I will be 37 weeks which is considered full term. 4 weeks ago, when I ended up in the hospital, I never thought that we would make it this far. God is good...and I am growing increasingly impatient. : ) 37 weeks is a significant developmental mark, but for us practically, it will mean that when the baby comes she will not automatically go to the NICU. When I met with the neonatologist at the hospital she explained that any baby born between 35 and 37 weeks automatically goes to the NICU for an assessment, and then if they are strong enough they are transferred into the regular nursery. So, for us, we should be able to skip that part now and have a "normal" delivery...yea!

I had a doctor's appointment today. It went pretty well. My blood pressure has been high, so he is watching that closely. I have another appointment and sonogram on Thursday, so we'll see what happens then. I have been fighting a sinus and ear infection since Friday, so I was glad to get some medicine to help with that.

Not really much to report I guess. Our little girl has been spared the "you were born on 'Labor day'" jokes. I'm sure that certain family members with September 4th birthdays are waiting to see if we will add a 3rd family birthday to that date...guess we will have to wait and see!

Yipee!!! I'm free!!!

2008-08-27T17:39:00.003-05:00

I had a good doctor's appointment today...and I am now free from bed rest and the medication I have been taking! Yea!!! I went shopping afterwards with Mom and it was so nice to be able to walk around again. We didn't go for too long...but it was long enough to make me feel like a "real" person again. I even bought my own milk and peanut butter...oh the little things in life!

I also had a sonogram. It went well too. The nurse kept commenting about how cute the baby is and how much hair she has! She told me to bring a hairbrush to the hospital because she said that I'm going to need it. She was even in awe of how long her eyelashes are. Anyway, everything looks good...so now we just continue to wait and see how long until she makes her big debut!

On a separate, but related note, I received a phone call yesterday that struck me as pretty funny. I got a call yesterday morning from an unknown number. It ended up being one of the labor and delivery nurses from the hospital calling to check on me and see how I was doing. It was really a nice thing to do, but it struck me as funny. I was picturing the nurses going through the charts and finding mine and saying..."wow!...it's been a whole 5 days and we haven't seen this lady, I wonder what is wrong?...maybe she went to another hospital or something because it seems like she should be back here by now." I'm sure that isn't really the case, but it was still funny to me. I guess if you go to the hospital often enough in a short amount of time they start worrying about you when they don't see you! : ) I assured the nurse that we will be back soon and that we are doing well. She asked if I had any questions about the medication that I was taking...but I think it was all a cover up for the real reason she was calling. : )

Hospital Trip #3

2008-08-22T10:23:00.005-05:00

After being home for just over 36 hours, we ended up going back to the hospital Thursday night. I was having contractions pretty consistently in the afternoon and evening, so after talking with the nurse, we went into the hospital about 10:30pm. Much to my surprise, the doctor had the nurse give me another shot of terbutaline and take another (my 5th) FFN test (predicts likelihood of going into labor soon). The terbutaline shot worked quickly and stopped the contractions and the FFN test came back positive. I was glad that even with the positive test, I was allowed to go home a few hours later. I was surprised about getting the shot to stop the contractions, because the doctor had said before that they would not try and stop them the next time I came in...I guess he didn't figure that I would be back so soon! : ) Anyway, I was VERY glad to not have to spend the night in the hosptial.

I did find out that I have a reputation at the hospital...as being "the one who gets dressed every day". I guess a lot of the other ladies in the antepartum hall wear pajamas. There's certainly nothing wrong with that...it just makes me feel lazy, so I like to get up and put on "real" clothes. (Yes, I realize that even in real clothes I am still being forced to be "lazy", but I don't like to think about it that way). Anyway, I guess there are worse reputations to have...and it struck me as kind of funny that the nurses remember me that way.

So now, I guess we get to ask the question again...how much longer until we go back to the hospital...again???!!! : )

Home Again!

2008-08-20T18:55:00.002-05:00

This morning the doctor released me to go HOME!!!! YEA!

Mom came and picked me up and took me home about 9:00am. She stayed for a little while and set up her baby gift to us...a pack and play! It is really cute. We are planning on using it as the bassinet also.

Other than that, we've just been taking it easy today.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and encouragement while I was in the hospital. Next time we go it will be to have a baby!

You Know You've Been at the Hospital Too Long When...

2008-08-18T22:37:00.002-05:00

You know you've been at the hospital too long when...

You look forward to Tuesdays because they are French Toast days
You start preferring some nurses on certain days over others
You know what "to" and what "not to" order on the cafeteria menu (penne pasta with marinara = good. oatmeal and pizza = not good)
You know the morning routine so well that when it is an hour off you wonder if they forgot about you or something
You bring your own hand soap because you know that the soap that is provided smells like grass
You know that the coffee that comes with your meals tastes horrible, but the coffee in the waiting room is much better (not great, but better)
You can quote all the questions the nurses ask for the twice daily assessments...in order

Anyway, it was a good day today. Nothing really new. Just waiting until Wednesday when I get to go home. I started sending a few things home with Andrew tonight to make the "move out" easier. He took me outside some which was nice...even though it was just in the parking lot. We weren't sure if that was allowed or not, but no one stopped us, so I guess it was fine. I had not been outside for 12 days, so it was nice. We went to the cafeteria to get some ice cream, but they were closing. I must have looked disappointed because the lady was really nice and let us go ahead and get some ice cream anyway...that was really nice.

I had another sonogram today with the perinatologist. Everything continues to look good. The fluid levels are still high, but seem to have decreased slightly. I don't think that there will be any change in treatment at this point...just keep on with the same thing for one more day. On Wednesday, I will get to go home and reduce my medicine. I will still be on bed rest for one more week I think...but we'll confirm that with the doctor on Wednesday. Then we'll just be waiting to see when Baby Bennett decides to make her big debut. Sometimes I think that she will come soon, and then other times I wonder if she will be a jokester and wait around for a while...I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Still Hanging Out at the Hospital

2008-08-17T15:24:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm still here at the hospital. Sorry for the delay in posting...the Internet has been out for a few days.

Originally, I thought that I would get to go home this past Thursday, but on Wednesday, the doctor said that I would need to stay another week. So...now I will get to go home this coming Wednesday.

Things have been going well. At first, I was needing to get the terbutaline shots about once a day to stop the contractions and my procardia dosage was doubled, but the last few days I have not needed the shots...so I am encouraged about that. I am still on the double dose of procardia, but am hoping to go back to the regular dosage on Wednesday.

What's so special about Wednesday???...well, I will be 35 weeks along then...and the developmentally for the baby, that is the doctor's goal. When I am released from the hospital in a few days, I will still be on bed rest for another week, but when the contractions start, the doctors will not try and stop them.

Life in the hospital has not been too bad. I have been staying busy with visitors, watching the Olympics, listening to podcasts and reading. I am able to order meals from the cafeteria...so the food hasn't been too bad. I was able to meet the neonatologist from the NICU, and feel more comfortable should the baby need to be in the NICU for a while. And I even got "pet therapy" yesterday! ...that's right...they brought a black lab around and he came into my room for a few minutes. It was kind of humorous and nice all at the same time.

Well, only 3 more days to go...and then I get to go home! YEA!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for us and our little one!

Update

2008-08-11T12:03:00.002-05:00

Things are going well here...I'm still pregnant, so that's a good thing. : )

Yesterday, I was able to go the whole day without needing to get the additional terbutaline shot to stop contractions, so I was very glad about that.

This morning the doctor came by and let me know that they are hoping that I will be able to go home later this week. There are 2 things that need to happen before they will release me:

Have 2 negative Fetal Fibronectin test results. (They re-ran the test today and got a negative...so only 1 more to go...which they will probably take tomorrow).
My sonograms by the perinatologist need to show no increased change in fluid level or cervix thinning. (I had a sonogram this morning and the fluid levels are the same and the cervix is not thinned anymore).

So...things are looking good. Now just more waiting! The days seem to be going by pretty fast. I am not bored, so that is a blessing. Between all the doctors, nurses, friends, family and phone calls the days do not seem to long. We are thankful for God's provision for so many things during this time. He is certainly in control of even the tiniest details of our lives.

Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers. We look forward to meeting Baby Bennett soon.

Back in the Hospital

2008-08-10T09:53:00.011-05:00

Check out my new home away from home! It's no Four Seasons (which I do know something about) : ) ...but it is pretty good. Yes, I'm back in the hospital...trying to help Baby Bennett stay put a little while longer.

Here's the Reader's Digest version...then I'll post more details below for those who are interested...I ended up going to the hospital on Thursday evening with more contractions. Looks like I'll be here for about a week at least. I'm glad to be under the doctors and nurses care and have easy access to monitoring equipment and medicine available to stop the contractions. It is somewhat reassuring to be here rather than to be at home wondering what is going on and if I should go to the hospital or not. It has been nice to have quite a few visitors the last few days. There are a couple of other girls from Countryside here now, so it has been nice to have people from church stopping by. Andrew and the family have been great at bringing me anything I need to make my stay more comfortable. At this point, we're just waiting to see how this story is going to end. The good news is that if the baby comes even now, although she will need a NICU stay, she will probably not have too many complications. We should know more tomorrow when Dr. Vaughn checks back in. The on-call doctor this weekend has been fine, he just will not make too many decisions without checking with Dr. Vaughn. They have arranged for a NICU nurse to come and tell me what we can expect should we need to have a NICU stay. We should be able to get a tour as well. Anyway, I am doing well...just waiting!

And now for those who need DETAILS!

At the risk of being a bit boring, I think I'll just do some bullet points about what's been going on the last few days.

Thursday:

Started having regular contractions starting at 2:30pm
Called the doctor at 4:00...who had me go to Labor and Delivery to get things checked out
Ran into a friend from Countryside while I was waiting for Andrew to park the car...that was nice!
5:00 was having contractions every 3 min. Hooked up to IV and antibiotics. Lab and blood tests were taken. Given terbutaline shot to stop contractions...it worked very well. Have to stay on the procardia medicine every 6 hours for the contractions as well for my entire stay (this is the same medicine I've been on to keep the contractions under control).
Found out that my Fetal Fibronectin test had come back positive. (This test predicts if the baby will be born in the next 2 weeks). The doctors and nurses start treating the case much more seriously after getting these results. You can tell that they don't want to worry you, but they start acting quite differently.
Had a visit with the Bennett bunch...we were supposed to be celebrating Emily's birthday, so they came over after dinner for a little visit . Not sure it was much of a birthday celebration though...sorry Em!

Friday:

Busy morning with morning starting with a visit to the perinatologiest (doctor for high-risk pregnancies) to get a sonogram and evaluation. The sonogram showed high fluid levels and that my cervix has thinned to 2.5.
With the results from the Fetal Fibronectin test and the thinned cervix, Dr. Vaughn decided to start me on a 2 part steroid shot to help the baby's lungs develop quickly.
Received 2 or 3 more terbutaline shots throughout the day due to contractions. The shots work very well, but they make me feel very shaky.
Stayed the day in Labor and Delivery because there were no antepartum rooms available.
Doctor said that I would be staying "for a while". I asked what that meant exactly, and he said likely at least a week.
Had a lot of continuous pain from the IV
Carol brought me a nice shirt that I could wear with the IV...GOT TO GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL GOWN!!!
Had a nice visit with some friends from church and the Bennett's.
Got some very pretty flowers that brighten up the room SO much!
Was glad for the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics starting. It was nice to be able to watch with Andrew in the evening.

Saturday:

After a rough night, the IV was removed in the morning, making me feel MUCH better.
Had more nice visits with friends and family
Got to move to an antipartum room at 6:30pm and was glad to get settled in.
Carol brought me her laptop computer to borrow, so now I have Internet access...yea!
Got a menu, so that I can have some meal preferences.
While the baby was being monitored, a dip in the heartbeat was detected at one point, but after additional monitoring, the nurses think that the baby was just playing with the cord for a moment (typical especially when there is extra fluid). It's not something that they worry about unless it is continual.
Finally got to take a shower...it was GREAT!
Was hoping to make it the whole day without a terbutaline shot, but had to get one at 11:00pm.
Am very thankful for my high-tech bed which is much more comfortable than the labor and delivery room bed. (Those beds aren't really designed to be in for too long!) This bed automatically adjusts to the ultimate comfort setting whenever you move!
Finally got a good nights sleep! (well 6 hours, but that's pretty good...especially for being pregnant AND in the hospital!)

Sunday:

Started out the morning nice and early. Listened to a Countryside sermon and pretended like I was going to church.
Saw the weekend doctor briefly. He pretty much just said that he'd let Dr. Vaughn tell me what is going to be next tomorrow.

Guess that's pretty much it! Just hanging out now!

Variety is the Spice of Life

2008-08-04T14:53:00.005-05:00

If variety is the "Spice of Life"...I must have no spice.

Here's what I saw when I looked at the top of my fridge today.

It's not too often that I have more than one box of cereal in the house, so it struck me as funny today when I looked up and saw 3 boxes of the same kind (can you tell we have a new grocery shopper in the house? ...just kidding, Andrew does a great job grocery shopping). It seems that there's only 1 type of cereal that I eat in the mornings...Special K (the plain kind). This isn't entirely the case, as I do occasionally have granola, but the old staple admittedly is Special K.

(Actually my secret favorite that I do not buy too often is Cocoa Pebbles...I love how the milk turns all chocolaty...yum!)

She's worth it

2008-08-02T21:46:00.002-05:00

In case I forget the reason my life right now includes a daily routine of moving from sofa to sofa...

...my sweet girl's precious face (taken last week at our sonogram).

I learned something new today...

2008-08-02T21:12:00.004-05:00

Well, I learned something new today... Let me start from the beginning.

At about 10:45am, I noticed that both dogs were outside in the yard chewing on something. Normally, I would not have paid much attention, but they were sitting pretty close together...and while they are friendly with one another, they typically would not choose to be quite so close to each other unless they were up to trouble. I went out to find that Kaylee somehow got a roach bait and was chewing it up. Seeing as there are warning signs all over the bait about not coming into contact with humans or pets, I started getting worried and called the vet (wondering how much this was going to cost me). The vet said to come in right away, so I temporarily relaxed my bed rest orders long enough to take the dog to the vet.

I love my vet. When we arrived, they had already pulled Kaylee's file, called her by name as we walked in the door and took her right away back into an examining room. When the vet's assistant (are they called nurses?...I don't think so) looked at the file she said with some shock..."oh! roach bait". I said yes, and unfortunately it is the "quick kill" kind (can you blame us, we want the bugs killed quickly, but not the pets!). She looked at the active ingredient and said with some surprise that it is the same active ingredient that is in Front Line (the flea control medicine). She took the box and destroyed evidence back to the vet to take a look at. Sure enough, the vet was more concerned about any bits of plastic that Kaylee might have eaten and was not concerned at all about the poison. Come to find out, it is the exact same thing that is used in the flea control medicine. Who would have guessed! While I am certainly not encouraging anyone to be more lax about letting their pets get into roach bait that has this ingredient...I found it quite fascinating. My wonderful vet did not even charge us for the visit...even better after my mental images of a very expensive vet bill. I was so happy that the situation turned out as it did! I know that I've learned my lesson...not sure that Kaylee has though...hmmm...

Day 18

2008-08-01T16:39:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that I have been on bed rest for almost 3 weeks now. Really time has gone by pretty quickly. Thought I'd give a little update...

We had a good doctor's appointment this week. The sonogram showed that the fluid levels have continued to decrease...so much that they are now within the "normal" range. Last week, I had to repeat the glucose screen test, (which I had passed already once)...just to rule out the possibility that the extra fluid was due to gestational diabetes. I passed the test once again, and was glad about that. Some blood work did show that I am anemic, so we added iron pills to the mix of pills to take each day. The doctor is pleased that the medicine and bed rest are working. He said that he will only keep me on the medicine another 3 weeks. At that point, I will be 35 weeks along and if I go into labor, they will not try and stop it. All in all, a very encouraging appointment.

On Tuesday, Andrew granted me a bit of "freedom" and we made a trip together to Target. I had to ride in one of those little go cart things with the basket on the front, but it was worth it. I have learned that those carts go really, really slow...and beep exceedingly loud when put in reverse. Andrew certainly could have done the shopping more quickly without me, but it was fun anyway. We took a picture on the cell phone, but since we don't have Internet service on the phone, we were not able to download it and post it for your viewing pleasure. (maybe next time). : )

Because of my unexpected abrupt departure from work, my doctor graciously agreed to allow me to go in for about 2 - 3 hours a few times to tie up some loose ends and to train my successor...so I went in this morning for a short time. It was good to see my friends and to do a little training. Next week I'm going to go in a few more times. It is nice that the doctor is allowing me to do this (with strict orders to behave and stay seated while I am there)...but also strange at the same time. The strange part is that just 3 weeks ago, working 8 or 9 hours was no problem, and now I can definitely tell that 3 hours is my limit or my baby girl decides that she wants to come and meet the world! : )

Anyway, hope that you all had a good week. Our week was good. It is certainly wonderful to have so many people helping us out in different ways...from bringing over food, to picking up things at the store, to encouraging phone calls and cards. We are also grateful that another week has passed and we are one week closer to Baby Bennett being full-term. (we are at 32 weeks now). Hope you have a great weekend!

Postage Stamps

2008-07-27T21:30:00.006-05:00

So, I needed some postage stamps, and thought I would save Andrew the trouble of an additional errand and order them online. I decided to get a roll of 100 and there was a flat fee of $1.00 shipping, which sounded reasonable to me, so I placed the order. The stamps arrived, however a couple things about the experience struck me as kind of funny...

...why should it take 3 days to get postage stamps when I get mail every day except Sundays? Seems to me that when you place the order, your local post office should be notified and the next day the mail carrier can bring the stamps to you.

Then I found out why it takes three days...

...the stamps arrived nicely in a large white envelope...that had been shipped from MISSOURI! Seriously???!!!...there has got to be a more efficient way than that.

Anyway, I am glad that the stamps arrived. It really was a fine experience...just a little bit odd.

Doctor's Appointment

2008-07-22T22:35:00.002-05:00

We had a very good doctor's appointment today. The doctor is pleased that the medication and bed rest are working and that there are no significant changes since the hospital visit last week. In fact, they had detected a higher than normal fluid level during the sonogram in the hospital, and while the levels are still high, the fluid was decreased slightly this week...so that was also a good step in the right direction (this condition occurrs in 3% of pregnancies...lucky me!). : ) I was a bit concerned that with the continuing contractions I have been having that I would need to be on a stronger medicine, but that was not the case...and I am very glad (as the stronger medications have worse side effects). I will need to have weekly sonograms until the baby comes (yea!...a nice added benefit to all of this!) and will be back to see the doctor next Wednesday. He wants the next goal to be to get to 35 weeks...so 4 more weeks. While I'll need to be on bed rest until 37 weeks (and we want the baby to wait that long too), for now we'll set 35 as the immediate goal. It was encouraging to hear what the doctor had to say.

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Count Your Many Blessings

2008-07-20T09:54:00.004-05:00

Well, I woke up this morning at 6:00 to take my medicine and was immediately thankful to the Lord. Why? Because for the first time in 3 days I didn't think I was going to have to call the doctor and go back to the hospital because of continuing contractions. Once in the middle of the night and twice in the morning, I have had regular contractions that have lasted about an hour to an hour and a half (just at the point...ok slightly past the point where I've been told to call the doctor...you should hear me barganing with Andrew..."Just 15 minutes more, please?").

So, that started me thinking about many of the blessings I have to be thankful for though this time:

That the doctors were able to get the contractions under control

That I am at HOME on bed rest and not at the hospital

That while I am on bed rest, I am not on "strict" bed rest and can still go shower, go to the kitchen to get a quick snack and even drive (short distances).

That Starbucks has a drive through!

That I have a pretty purple plant to look at that my father-in-law brought me.

That the medicine I am taking does not have too many adverse side effects...just headaches. From what I have read, some of the other medications to control contractions have much worse side effects.

That it's 100 degrees outside, and I have been ordered to stay inside my nice cool house.

That I can read my Bible and listen to sermons online as much as I want without really worring about what time it is.

That I am 30 weeks along...and while we want Baby Bennett to stay inside mommy a little longer, I am past the very critical danger zone. Now we just need those little lungs to develop.

That Baby Bennett is slightly larger than average at about 4 pounds vs. 3.5.

That my dogs sometimes come and cuddle up with me on the sofa bed (especially when I'm eating...funny how that works out).

That because of elevated fluid level found during the sonogram while I was in the hospital this week, we get to take another look at Baby Bennett with another sonogram on Monday.

That BOTH of my sisters are in town right now, and I'm at home to be able to see them!

That we have wonderful family and friends that have been so helpful already.

That 5 days have already whizzed by.

That my wonderful husband has been a dream helping around the house, doing grocery shopping, laundry, yard work, and scolding me when I am doing things that I shouldn't be doing. : )

Well, that's certainly just the start of things to be thankful for. God is good, isn't He?!

My New Trick

2008-07-20T09:39:00.002-05:00

Some people can roll their tongue. Other people can make their thumb do funny things, or make their shoulders pop out funny.

Well, I have a little trick of my own...when I walk around, my stomach gets tight like a fist.

New Definition for Stay at Home Mom

2008-07-17T07:33:00.002-05:00

Well, I have found a new definition for the term "stay at home mom". ...or more accurately "stay at home mom-to-be."

It all started on Monday night when I began experiencing some minor contractions. They lasted through the night, so I called the doctor in the morning. He sent me to the hospital for some monitoring where I told the nurse that I thought I was having contractions about every 15 minutes. Turns out it was actually every 2 minutes. After many tests and some medicine, the contractions were under control by Tuesday evening. I had to stay overnight for observation, but was dismissed in the morning with orders to take medicine every 6 hours and be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. ...so for about the next 7 - 10 weeks.

God is good. We are thankful that the medicine seems to be working and that I am able to be at home and not in the hospital. Amazingly, on Monday at work I had finished writing out a 40 page training document for whoever will take my position there...and this past weekend I had finished doing some projects around the house that I really wanted to get done. Andrew set me up nicely in our study/living room for during the day. We have a pull out couch and our TV is run through a separate computer with a wireless keyboard, so I have easy access to the Internet and computer while I am laying down. Now we are just figuring out what the coming days are going to look like. I am going to try and do some work from home, so it will certainly be nice to have something to do. I have come up with a little bit of a schedule that I'm going to try out today and see how it goes (all things I can do from the bed of course).

Anyway, a little bit of change in our lives...but we are thankful for the skilled nurses and doctors at the hospital and the great care that we received there...that the baby is doing well despite the circumstances...and for wonderful family and friends.

Hope you all have a fantastic day!

The Extraordinary Mother

2008-07-11T20:39:00.006-05:00

A friend of mine recently gave me a book called "The Extraordinary Mother" by John MacArthur. It is a nice quick read. I appreciated taking a fresh look at some of the mom's in the Bible and thought that I would share some of my favorite quotes with you.

"No matter what her other virtues...nothing makes a woman more extraordinary than her faith." p. 6

Eve:

Eve was "the last living thing to be called into existence" p. 9

"Her beauty-splendid as it must have been - is never mentioned or even alluded to. The focus of the biblical account is on Eve's relationships with her Creator and her husband." p. 10

Speaking of Eve's relationship to Adam...she was "in every sense his perfect mate and companion" p. 11

"Adam was designed to be a father, provider, protector, and leader. Eve was designed to be a mother, comforter, nurturer, and helper." p. 13

"There was a good deal of grace, even in the curse." p. 17

Sarah:

"Abraham and Sarah both came from an urban environment. They did not start wandering until Abraham was already in his mid-seventies and Sarah was only a decade behind that. Life on the road was not something Sarah was accustomed to; it was something she had to learn to embrace." p. 23

"Sarah, though now ninety, was still beautiful enough to stir the passions of a king." p. 27

"Despite her occasional outbursts of temper and struggles with discouragement, Sarah remained an essentially good-humored woman." p. 28

Hagar:

"The Angel promised Hagar that she would be the mother of innumerable descendants, people whom we know today as the Arabs." p. 36

"Hagar's example offers this warning to mothers: Your faith - or lack of it - will affect many generations to come." p. 39

Rebekah:

Rebekah had a servant's attitude

"She showed her confident acceptance of what was providentially coming about in her life." p. 43

Jochebed:

"Her faith in the Lord's provision was one of the first steps in Israel's march from Egypt. Did this faith come easily? Certainly not. Jochebed gave Moses everything she could, then gave him up - twice: once when she set him afloat in the river and once when she returned him to be raised by the princess. Both times Jochebed thought she'd never see her son again, but she entrusted her child to God's hands." p. 38

Well, there were many other good words of wisdom in the book, but these were some of my favorites. God certainly gave us many lessons to learn from the mom's in the Bible.

Update

2008-07-11T20:30:00.003-05:00

Well, we certainly feel like we are on the count down now until the baby comes. We have finished our classes at the hospital and are into the third trimester now. Only about 11 more weeks to go.

This week started eventful when I turned in my resignation at work. I am really looking forward to being able to stay home full time when the baby comes, and this was certainly a big step towards realizing that reality. My last day at the hotel will be August 15th. I am looking forward to the few weeks that I will have between work at the hotel and when the baby comes. Everyone at work has been very supportive, and I am hopeful that I will be able to train my replacement in the next few weeks.

Of not so noteworthy news, I caught one of those not so wonderful summer colds that have been going around and was under the weather most of the week. Thankfully, I am feeling much better now.

Next Wednesday we go in for another sonogram, so I am looking forward to that. We will probably have more pictures that I can post then. I am at the point where I go to the doctor every 2 weeks now. For the most part everything is looking good. I had a little swelling at my last appointment, so the doctor is watching that, but everything else looks good so far. The baby is moving quite a bit, which is nice and reassuring.

Anyway, I guess that is pretty much the update. It is hard to believe that it is almost the middle of July. How time flies!

Events Around Town

2008-06-20T20:06:00.005-05:00

I'm still amazed at the number of people I run into who have not heard of http://www.guidelive.com. If you live in the DFW area, this is a fantastic website for finding everything from movies, restaurant reviews, festivals, concerts and more. One of my favorite features is that if the event or restaurant etc. has a website, the link is provided. After many years of using this website as a resources, I have found that they also keep it very up to date (it is put together by the Dallas Morning News). Anyway, just thought that as summer is here...this would be a great time to highlight this fantastic resource. Hope you enjoy browsing and finding lots of fun ways to fill your summer!

And the count down continues...

2008-06-20T20:02:00.002-05:00

It's kind of fun to see that the baby count down is now under 100 days until our due date! Yea!

We survived wedding season!

2008-06-14T22:28:00.002-05:00

I realize that I haven't been posting much lately. Life has been pretty crazy around here this month.

Three of the last 4 weekends, I have coordinated weddings at the church. They all went very well. I am so blessed to be able to be a part of these special times in our church members lives. However, I have learned that coordinating weddings while being six months pregnant is a bit harder than I'm used to. : ) Actually...during the weddings I felt fine, it's just that I was quite exhausted for a day or so afterwards.

On the baby front, we had another good doctor's visit this week. Everything continues to look good. Praise the Lord! We will have another sonogram in about 5 weeks, so I am looking forward to that. The baby's heartbeat was strong and beating at a good rhythm. Now we will start seeing the doctor every 2 weeks.

Andrew and I have also been attending a "Prepared Childbirth" class at the hospital. It is a 6 week class that covers many different topics. We had a tour of the maternity floor this week. It was nice to see what it looks like and know a little more about what to expect.

I can feel the baby kicking a lot more now. I'm sure that this is all in my head, but twice now during quite boring meetings she has started kicking...which makes me laugh a little thinking that she is playing because she is bored too. : ) Other than that, I think that she is taking after her daddy for being a night owl as her favorite time to kick seems to be around 9 or 10pm. I also think that she likes to use my ribs as a launch pad because she seems to like to bounce her foot off of them.

Anyway...we are doing well. The weddings are over for now, so that is nice. I'm teaching summer Sunday School, and we start up tomorrow morning. I'm going to be in the Kindergarten class and can't wait to meet the kids tomorrow.

Just wanted to post a quick update. Hope you all are having a nice summer!

Isn't She Lovely?!!!

2008-05-23T21:50:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe that it has been just over a week since we found out that we are having a baby girl. It is nice to feel more of a connection to the baby knowing what gender she is. One of the first things that Andrew and I both said was that it is so nice to be able to refer to the baby as "she" instead of "it". It just seems more natural...and I like how it portrays to others that even though she is unborn, she is a real person already.

A lot of people have been asking about names. What a job Adam had in the Garden of Eden naming everything! I do not envy him at all! : ) It's hard enough just picking one name! We have been narrowing down the list, but will probably not set anything in stone until the baby arrives.

I relived my college days of video editing (I was an electronic media communications major) and made a short one minute video clip of our sonogram last week. It's amazing to see how much bigger she is since our last sonogram. Other than finding out that the baby is a girl, I was most amazed to see the definition of her spine, ribs and knees. We even have a still picture where you can see her upper lip sticking out like she is practicing sucking. Most of the time her arms were moving around above her head which you can see at the very beginning of the video. I was joking with Andrew because he has been known to still enjoy sleeping with his arms above his head. She is taking after her daddy already! : )

Turn up the volume on the speakers and enjoy!

Having a "yes" face

2008-05-20T20:18:00.005-05:00

I have always enjoyed people watching. I guess this somehow developed over the years and eventually lead to a degree in Communication. One of my favorite classes was interpersonal communication. It is fascinating to me how people react to each other.

With that in mind, I was quite intrigued today by this quote that I came across reminding me how not only are people always watching, and I should be a good testimony to the Lord at all times, but even my facial expressions reveal to others my heart attitude. So I ask you, do you have a "yes face?"

Charles Swindoll tells a story reported by Dr. Karl Menninger about the importance of "yes faces":

"During his days as president, Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions were traveling across the country on horseback. They came to a river which had left its banks because of a recent downpour. The swollen river had washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents. The very real possibility of death threatened each rider, which caused a traveler who was not part of their group to step aside and watch. After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river. The president agreed without hesitation. The man climbed on, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the other side. As the stranger slid off the back of the saddle onto dry ground, one in the group asked him, "Tell me, why did you select the president to ask this favor of?" The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the president who had helped him. "All I know," he said, "is that on some of your faces was written the answer 'No,' and on some of them was the answer 'yes.' His was a 'Yes' face."

It's a...

2008-05-14T21:07:00.002-05:00

It's a GIRL!!!!

It's a ....

2008-05-14T06:44:00.001-05:00

Well, we should be finding out this afternoon if it's a boy or girl. Might be later in the evening before we get home, but I'll be sure to post soon.

Hope you all have a great day!

A Pocket for Julia

2008-04-20T17:03:00.003-05:00

If I were a fashion designer, I'd design maternity pants with pockets. Seriously...what do they think? Just because we're pregnant, we no longer need pockets?

Some of my favorite childhood books were the Corduroy books. Maybe Corduroy will help me get a pocket. : )

If you've never read the book...here's Amazon.com's synopsis.

"Lisa takes her teddy bear Corduroy to the Laundromat (not to be washed--just for company). When Lisa's mother warns her to take the things out of her pockets before washing them, Corduroy realizes with some consternation that he doesn't have any pockets! While poking around for pocket prospects, he crawls inside a bag of wet laundry. A complicated comedy of errors ensues, involving an artist, a temporary disrobing, and Swan Flakes (they look curiously like snow), until the touching denouement when Lisa sews a pocket on her best friend's green overalls and tucks his name inside. (Ages 3 to 8)"

Nursery Pictures

2008-04-19T16:42:00.006-05:00

As promised, here are some pictures of the nursery. I am really happy with how it turned out. We still have 2 shelves to hang up...and I'd like to add a glider, but here it is!

Andrew painted the walls a nice shade of light yellow.

There were existing shelves on the walls. We re-hung them and painted small little black accents to go with the black gingham fabric on the bedding. We still have 2 more short shelves to hang above the changing table, and a picture frame to add beneath the "Love" wall hanging.

This is the corner where I'd like to put a glider.

Here are some close-ups.

I found these frames and then added the cute little accents (bees, ladybugs, frog, etc). The truths about God came from a nursery "curriculum" that starts introducing children to fundamental truths about God at an early age. I thought it would be nice to have a little visual reminder of things to be talking about with our little one. I used additional truths in the frames on the shelves above the crib.

As an extra little touch, I found this honey bee night light at the store today! How perfect! : )

Our next doctor's appointment is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13th. Hopefully (if the baby cooperates), we will be able to find out the gender at this appointment. I have updated the voting poll to reflect a countdown to this date. We'll see if it really is a boy as most of you seem to think! : )

An Attempt at Organization

2008-04-13T15:19:00.004-05:00

I like to be organized. Most people know that about me.

A while back, I purchased some letters for a whiteboard that I had and hung it in a hallway close to the kitchen so that I could keep track of grocery lists, meal plans, to do's and more. As with most organization systems, life changes and they need updating. After finally wiping off some lists that had been on the board since December, I decided it was time to refresh the board.

So, I found some really cute notepads at Joann's and reorganized the board. I think the problem was that I didn't like to stand in front of the board and transfer everything to another piece of paper...so now, I only write it once. (Genius!) : ) This way, when it is time to go to the grocery store, all I have to do is pull off the piece of paper that has the items that we need and I'm on my way! Granted it's only been about 1 week, but so far the new version is working out great!

Here's how it looks now!

Sadly, my week long vacation from the hotel has come to an end. It was very nice to just be at home. Andrew took the week off too and helped me with a lot of projects around the house. Notably, he painted the nursery and the room we use for our TV/computer room. Stay tuned for pictures!

Anyone still out there reading this???

2008-04-06T18:00:00.004-05:00

So sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been under the weather for a good two weeks now and have had nothing at all creative to blog about! (I'm sure you don't want to hear about me sipping sprite in front of the TV!)

So...Andrew and I are taking a week of vacation this week which I am quite excited about! We are going to try and get some work done around the house. Andrew is going to paint the Baby's room for me. I picked out a nice color of pale yellow today at the store. It's called "Blond Beauty". Ever wonder how they come up with those names!? I almost picked one called "Peaceful Bliss"...just in the hopes that the paint color name might rub off on the baby! : ) We are also going to try and get our TV/Study room painted. Haven't quite picked a color for that yet...probably either beige or green.

Dr. Vaughn...my OBGYN

In Baby Bennett news, I had an additional, unplanned trip to the doctor last week for some meds to try and kick whatever I have, and while I was there they checked the baby's heartbeat. All is well. I have a regular appointment on Thursday. First I will meet with a lady to get all my insurance paperwork completed and register for the hospital and then I will meet with the doctor. No sonogram this time, just a regular appointment. I am hoping that he will schedule me for a sonogram next time so we can find out if it is going to be a boy or a girl. He likes to wait until 20 weeks to do that.

So...in the spirit of having a little fun, I've added a poll on the side bar of the blog. So, come on! Tell me what you think? Will it be a boy or a girl??? Just click on what you think and click "vote". We'll have some good clean fun for a month or so until we find out at the sonogram!

Hope you all have a great evening!

Baby Bennett

2008-03-15T08:10:00.007-05:00

On Wednesday, we had a doctor's appointment. Much to my disappointment, Baby Bennett slept through the entire 30 minute sonogram. At one point as the nurse was was trying to get the baby to wake up, it moved just for a second...appeared to yawn and stretch...and then found a new comfy position and went back to sleep. Oh well. Everything looks good and strong and right on track so we are very thankful for that. The baby is about the size of a lime now. It's hard to believe that we are already through the first trimester.

Thanks to modern technology, the nurse made a DVD of part of the sonogram. Andrew edited it to about a 1 minute clip of the baby moving. If you watch at the beginning, the head is at the bottom of the screen and the feet at the top move a little to find a new position. You can also see the hands moving. Hope you enjoy!

How awesome to meditate on Psalm 139:13 - 16

"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."

Andrew's Blog

2008-03-11T17:46:00.002-05:00

Thank you friends and family for pointing out that I failed to add my lovely husband's blog to my blog roll. For your viewing pleasure it has been added. Note that not only has it been added, but it is at the top of the list. If you're inclined with an engineering mind you will especially find his blog fun and exciting. Anyway...please accept my apologies...and enjoy the extra link on the blog roll.

More to come soon on Baby Bennett...we have an appointment tomorrow with the doctor and another sonogram so I'll post an update soon.

In other Bennett news, I went on a great retreat in Granbury this past weekend. We stayed at a fantastic Bed and Breakfast called the Inn on Lake Granbury. The retreat was a "working" retreat for our Children's ministries at church, so not too much time for shopping. Guess I'll have to go back another time for that. Even though it was a lot of meetings, it was also a good time of fun and fellowship with those that we serve with at church.

Got to run...dinner is ready. It's Chicken Pockets tonight. Here's a fast easy recipe...
Take crescent rolls...fill with shredded chicken that's been mixed with Aloute garlic & herb cheese spread (found by the gourmet cheeses)...seal the sides of the crescents into individual pockets (kind of like a hot pocket). Enjoy!

Anyway...timer is beeping now. Have a great evening!

Spicy V8 Juice

2008-02-26T18:34:00.002-06:00

Does anyone else out there have a hard time eating their 2 1/2 cups worth of vegetables every day???? That's a lot of vegetables. What does the USDA want me to do...eat a cup of spinach with breakfast??? just kidding.

I'll admit I have not been a V8 fan, however, I recently tried the spicy version and quite like it. And the best part...for 8 oz of juice (and only 50 calories) you get a whole cup worth of vegetables. Beauty!

Time flies when you're...tired

2008-02-24T11:34:00.003-06:00

Wow...I can't believe that it is almost March. February has gone by so quickly in our house. I spent another 10 days in St. Louis on business and am glad to be home now.

We had a sonogram this week and as the doctor said, the baby "looks very strong". The baby's heartbeat was right on track and seems to be growing just fine. Thank you for your prayers for our little one. On the mommy front, I officially have a new bed time...8:45 pm. : ) I have been feeling okish, but extremely tired, so I haven't been doing much after work except for having dinner and calling it a night.

I thought you might enjoy a picture of what we picked out for the baby's room. It's called Honey Bee by Wendy Bellissimo. I like the gender neutral colors and whimsical bees. I am heading to D.C. on business for the month of March, so Andrew has said that he will paint the baby's room then. We're going to paint it a soft yellow color.

A new look...

2008-02-03T20:28:00.001-06:00

Well, my sister-in-law, Whitney inspired me to change out the template for my blog. (Thank you Whitney!) I have actually been looking for quite some time now, but haven't come across anything that I particularly liked until today. I like the peaceful feeling of the picture and calming colors. So...I hope you enjoy the new scenery!

It struck me the other day that 2 of my favorite songs right now both have to do with taking a fresh look at what Christ's work on the cross really means. I think that being saved at a young age and faithfully attending church it becomes easy sometimes to loose the awesomeness that occurred on my behalf by Jesus on the cross...so here are the lyrics for you that I have been meditating on recently...

The Wonder of the Cross
By: Vicky Beeching

O precious sight, my Savior stands
Dying for me with outstretched hands
O precious sight, I love to gaze
Remembering salvation's day
Remembering salvation's day

Though my eyes linger on this scene
May passing time and years not steal
The power with which it impacts me
The freshness of it's mystery
The freshness of it's mystery

May I never lose the wonder
The wonder of the cross
May I see it like the first time
Standing as a sinner lost
Undone by mercy and left speechless
Watching wide eyed at the cost
May I never lose the wonder
The wonder of the cross

Behold the God - Man crucified
The perfect sinless sacrifice
As blood ran down those nails and wood
History was split in two
History was split in two

Behold the empty wooden tree
His body gone, alive and free
We sing with everlasting joy
For sin and death have been destroyed
Sin and death have been destroyed

Don't Let Me Lose My Wonder
By: Keith & Kristen Getty

I've seen days melt into nights in circles of lights,
I've watched a spider spin a star between the window box flowers,
I've heard you laugh and cry in a single sigh, and a story form within.

Don't let me lose my wonder.
Don't let me lose my wonder.

I saw her broken dreams inside but helping others fly,
I saw his eyes without a doubt though other lights faded out,
And though her calling roared such graciousness flowed
From the vision of her soul.

A baby cried through the dark beneath a jeweled spark,
I knew Your voice upon the hill and heard my lostness still,
I found my home in the light where wrong was made right
And You rose like the morning star.

Don't let me lose my wonder
Don't let me lose my wonder.

Doctor's Appointment #1

2008-02-01T21:47:00.000-06:00

I had a good doctor's appointment this morning. Nothing really too earth shattering to share. Everything so far looks good with the baby and I'm going back in about 2 weeks for a sonogram.

I shared the news today at work so that was a big step. I have such great friends at work. It is nice for everyone to be excited for us. I am reminded though that my nature is shy and that I do not really like to be the center of attention. Andrew reminded me last night that once the baby is born that won't be a problem anymore because everyone will be focused on the baby...and that is just fine with me. : )

Here are some answers to common questions I seem to get often these days...

How are you feeling?

I am feeling good. People are so kind to ask. So far so good. I know I am not out of the woods yet, but so far I mostly just feel very tired.

When are you due?

September 25th. Yes, I realize that I will be pregnant through a Texas summer. : )

Are you going to find out if it will be a boy or girl?

Yes, yes, yes. (come on people...you're talking to the queen of planning here...was there really any doubt?)

What gender do you want it to be?

We really do not have a preference. We are just praying for a healthy child with a soft heart towards the Lord.

Do you have names picked out?

Not yet. At least none agreed on. No, we're not really close yet.

Do you have a doctor?

Yes, I have been seeing my OBGYN for several years now and am very pleased with him and his practice. He has been practicing for over 20 years. I used to go to private school with his girls and his wife went to BSF with my mom. He has an office at Baylor Grapevine and in Keller. He did his residency at John Peter Smith, is board certified and is a member of several associations including a Christian Medical doctor's association.

I guess that's pretty much the update. We're excited that the word is out and are praying for a continued safe and healthy pregnancy. God is so gracious and kind, isn't He? We pray that even through this pregnancy that God would use it to draw us and others to marvel at His greatness in the miracle of life.

How to find a lost cell phone

2008-01-29T20:54:00.000-06:00

So Andrew couldn't find his cell phone this evening so I did the logical thing and called it from my phone. We looked in the "normal" spots...in the couch cushions, by the bed, etc. ...after no success, I heard a faint noise. Andrew opened the back door. The noise got louder and louder. Sure enough...the dogs had buried his phone. I was laughing so hard as we got closer and closer to the burial spot. It was hillarious. Good news is it seems that no harm has been done to the phone, and I have a good story to share. : )

God's gift to us...

2008-01-19T21:03:00.000-06:00

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first baby in September!

We are very excited and thankful to God for this great gift. We'll be sure to keep you posted over the coming months.

We would appreciate your prayers for a safe and healthy pregnancy.

Not a lot to tell right now other than we are having fun sharing the news. Other than being tired and feeling a little funny, I am doing well.

More to come!

Camping at the Four Seasons

2008-01-13T18:40:00.000-06:00

For the past week, I have been in St. Louis helping open our new hotel there. It has been quite a learning experience. Yesterday, a co-worker and I had a blast "touring" the city. We rented a car, went and saw the arch (you can't really come to St. Louis and not go to the arch), went shopping and then had dinner at a fantastic local Italian restaurant.

As this is my first time to come and help with a hotel opening, it has been quite an experience for me. Here are some of the things I have learned.

If going to help open a hotel:
1. Do not expect a TV in your room.

2. Do not expect Internet in your room. (We did get Internet a few days after I arrived...yea!)

3. Housekeeping does not come to make up your bed. : )

4. Bottled water is a rare commodity.

5. Finding a box of Kleenex after exiting the elevator is something to be excited about.

6. If one day after work, you arrive in your room to find an alarm clock, do not expect the time to be set (or for there to be buttons available for you to set it yourself).

7. A hairdryer and an iron can be used to bribe other co-workers. (just kidding...sort of). : ) (p.s. I have not bribed anyone).

8. Locating a large trashcan in the building in order to take out your trash is a wonderful thing.

9. Do not get excited about lamps in your room until you have tested them to see if they have light bulbs in them.

10. When your co-worker leaves and you are staying longer, go into their room and take the light bulbs out of their lamps and place them in yours so that you can read in bed at night. : ) (yes, I really did that).

11. Be prepared to walk down 8 flights of stairs in your high heels with your computer for breakfast in the morning.

12. Enjoy every minute of it, because it is an experience of a lifetime.

Well, two days left so we'll see if I can list any more adventures of "camping at the Four Seasons." Truly though, it has been a great experience.

Here's a picture of what the rooms here will look like once they are complete.

Andrew has a Blog...

2008-01-11T18:50:00.001-06:00

Andrew started a blog to keep a record of the progress on his airplane that he is building. To read more go to...

http://andrewjbennett.blogspot.com/

My best friend is a new mommy...

2008-01-05T09:29:00.000-06:00

http://mskoerber.blogspot.com/

Resolutions

2007-12-31T20:29:00.000-06:00

Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions

A list of the resolutions that Edwards read once every week

to keep his mind on his duty before God.

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1722-1723)
Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad's of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the aforementioned things.

3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

11. Resolved, when I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances don't hinder.

12. Resolved, if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

13. Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.

14. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.

15. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.

16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

18. Resolved, to live so at all times, as I think is best in my devout frames, and when I have clearest notions of things of the gospel, and another world.

19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

21. Resolved, never to do anything, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.

22. Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

23. Resolved, frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God's glory, to repute it as a breach of the 4th Resolution.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.

26. Resolved, to cast away such things, as I find do abate my assurance.

27. Resolved, never willfully to omit anything, except the omission be for the glory of God; and frequently to examine my omissions.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

29. Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

31. Resolved, never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is
perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.

32. Resolved, to be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that in Prov. 20:6, "A faithful man who can find?" may not be partly fulfilled in me.

33. Resolved, always to do what I can towards making, maintaining, establishing and preserving peace, when it can be without over-balancing detriment in other respects. Dec.26, 1722.

34. Resolved, in narration's never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.

35. Resolved, whenever I so much question whether I have done my duty, as that my quiet and calm is thereby disturbed, to set it down, and also how the question was resolved. Dec. 18, 1722.

36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.

37. Resolved, to inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent, what sin I have committed, and wherein I have denied myself: also at the end of every week, month and year. Dec.22 and 26, 1722.

38. Resolved, never to speak anything that is ridiculous, sportive, or matter of laughter on the Lord's day. Sabbath evening, Dec. 23, 1722.

39. Resolved, never to do anything that I so much question the lawfulness of, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or no; except I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

41. Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better. Jan. 11, 1723.

42. Resolved, frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism; which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion of the church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-23.

43. Resolved, never henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God's, agreeable to what is to be found in Saturday, January 12. Jan.12, 1723.

44- Resolved, that no other end but religion, shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. Jan.12, 1723.

45. Resolved, never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion. Jan.12 and 13.1723.

46. Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eve: and to be especially careful of it, with respect to any of our family.

47. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented, easy, compassionate, generous, humble, meek, modest, submissive, obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable, even, patient, moderate, forgiving, sincere temper; and to do at all times what such a temper would lead me to. Examine strictly every week, whether I have done so. Sabbath morning. May 5,1723.

48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or no; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.

49. Resolved, that this never shall be, if I can help it.

50. Resolved, I will act so as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world. July 5, 1723.

51. Resolved, that I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.

53. Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.

54. Whenever I hear anything spoken in conversation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, Resolved to endeavor to imitate it. July 8, 1723.

55. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments. July 8, 1723.

56. Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

57. Resolved, when I fear misfortunes and adversities, to examine whether ~ have done my duty, and resolve to do it; and let it be just as providence orders it, I will as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty and my sin. June 9, and July 13 1723.

58. Resolved, not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness and benignity. May27, and July 13, 1723.

59. Resolved, when I am most conscious of provocations to ill nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times. May 12, July ii, and July 13.

60. Resolved, whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination. July 4, and 13, 1723.

61. Resolved, that I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it-that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, etc. May 21, and July 13, 1723.

62. Resolved, never to do anything but duty; and then according to Eph. 6:6-8, do it willingly and cheerfully as unto the Lord, and not to man; "knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord." June 25 and July 13, 1723.

63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true luster, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, to act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time. Jan.14' and July '3' 1723.

64. Resolved, when I find those "groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26), of which the Apostle speaks, and those "breakings of soul for the longing it hath," of which the Psalmist speaks, Psalm 119:20, that I will promote them to the utmost of my power, and that I will not be wear', of earnestly endeavoring to vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of such earnestness. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

65. Resolved, very much to exercise myself in this all my life long, viz. with the greatest openness I am capable of, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him: all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and every thing, and every circumstance; according to Dr. Manton's 27th Sermon on Psalm 119. July 26, and Aug.10 1723.

66. Resolved, that I will endeavor always to keep a benign aspect, and air of acting and speaking in all places, and in all companies, except it should so happen that duty requires otherwise.

67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

68. Resolved, to confess frankly to myself all that which I find in myself, either infirmity or sin; and, if it be what concerns religion, also to confess the whole case to God, and implore needed help. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

69. Resolved, always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Aug. 11, 1723.

70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak.
Aug. 17, 1723

The Trains at NorthPark

2007-12-29T22:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my sister and I had so much fun looking at the Trains at NorthPark. It is a really fun exhibit that runs during Christmas time at the mall. It has more than 2,800 square feet and features more than 40 trains that run along 2,500 feet of track. I remember seeing the exhibit as a kid, but hadn't gone in a long time. It was so much fun. The trains make a journey across America past miniature national landmarks like Mount Rushmore, Dallas' skyline, New York City's Times Square and Washington D.C. And the best part is that all the proceeds go to help fund the Dallas Ronald McDonald House for children. Lots of fun!

A Special Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T12:21:00.000-06:00

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name, welcomes me"

Matthew 18:5

We have been blessed this year to know several families who have adopted children this year. So a special Merry Christmas to Ellie, Lily, Judah, Olivia and Paul.

Steven Curtis Chapman has a wonderful ministry to orphans called Shaohannah's Hope. As we are so thankful this Christmas for the families God has blessed us with, let's not forget those who are waiting for forever families. Here are some interesting facts from Shaohannah's Hope website (http://www.members.shaohannahshope.org/)

The Facts:

What is the need?
Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents. 1

At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents. 2

Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS. 3

Conflict has orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s. 4

Where are they?
43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million orphans live in Asia, and 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean. 5

1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe alone. 6

At any given point there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. 7

In some countries, children are abandoned at alarming rates, due to poverty, restrictive population control policies, disabilities or perceived disabilities, and cultural traditions that value boys more than girls. 8

What about AIDS?
More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. 9

By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million. 10
AIDS is more likely than other cause of death to result in children losing both parents. 11

As the infection spreads, the number of children who have lost parents to AIDS is beginning to grow in other regions as well, including Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. 12

What happens to the children?
Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die, setting them on a long trail of painful experiences often characterized by: economic hardship, lack of love, attention and affection, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of inheritance, increased physical and sexual abuse and risk of HIV infection, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, and isolation. 13

Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade. 14

Unaccompanied boys are at high risk of forced or 'voluntary' participation in violence and armed conflict. 15

Orphanages, children's villages, or other group residential facilities generally fail to meet young people's emotional and psychological needs. 16

What about foster care?
On average, children stay in foster care for 30 months, or 2.5 years. 17

118,000 children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2004. 18

On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost 4 years. 19

Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Of those who aged out of foster care: 20 Outcome 21

Earned a high school diploma: 54%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
Were unemployed: 51%
Had no health insurance: 30%
Had been homeless: 25% 22
Were receiving public assistance: 30%

Is there any hope?
Yes. There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and calls His people to join Him in caring for the fatherless. Each one of us can Show Hope to an orphan.

If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. We can each do something.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 7. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html.
2 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 29.
3 UNICEF, Press Release: As G8 leaders discuss global poverty, UNICEF puts spotlight on children in poor countries. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_21421.html
4 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html
5 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 3
6 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html
7 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
8 Human Rights Watch. Easy Targets: Violence against Children Worldwide. New York: Human Rights Watch. 2001, pp. 25-26. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/children/
9 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 5. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
10 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 5. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
11 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 11. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html
12 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 7. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
13 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 9. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
14 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2006. Dec 2005, p. 50. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_30398.html
15 Ibid, UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.”
16 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 20. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html.
17 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
18 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
19 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
20 National Foster Care Month, Facts about Children in Foster Care, 2006 Fact Sheet. http://www.fostercaremonth.org/FactsAndStatistics/
21 Young adults ages 18-24 years old 2.5 to 4 years after leaving foster care: Cook, R. (1992). Are we helping foster care youth prepare for the future? Children and Youth Services Review. 16(3/4), 213-229. Cook, R.; Fleishman, E., & Grimes, V. (1989). A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth (Phase 2 Final Report, Volume 1). Rockville: Westat, Inc.
22 Cook, R. (1991). A national evaluation of title IV-E foster care independent living programs for youth. Rockville, MD: Westat Inc. http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/factsheetafter.htm

Our Christmas Letter

2007-12-19T21:42:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to my blogging world friends! Here is our formal yearly update.

Dearest Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! What a wonderful time of year. It is nice to take a moment and remember God’s goodness and kindness to us this past year. We hope that you are doing well, and hope to hear from you soon!

Life on the Home Front:
Well, we didn’t move this year! I think this might possibly be the first Christmas letter we have written that has not included a new home address! We continued working on minor renovations, including new floors in a couple of rooms and painting. A summer hail storm required that we replace the roof. We have enjoyed having family and friends over to our home this year. We celebrated Thanksgiving with both the Jones’ and Bennett’s coming over for Thanksgiving dinner.

Working hardily as unto the Lord:
Andrew continues to work as a flight dispatcher. He really enjoys the work. We have learned to be flexible with his work hours as he has mostly been working overnights and weekends this past year.

Julia continues to work at the Hotel. She was able to participate in a class, where she experienced many new things (like hanging out in a fire station and touring the city jail). Julia also started her own home-based business as an independent consultant with the Pampered Chef. She is really enjoying learning the business and doing home cooking shows for family and friends.

God has blessed our work this year and we are grateful.

Serve the Lord with Gladness:
It has been a joy to continue serving in Sunday School this year. We teach the second hour 1st – 3rd grade class. This year we have had close to 40 kids! We are blessed to serve with two other wonderful couples. Unfortunately, Andrew’s schedule does not allow him to participate much right now, so he is involved with a mid-week kids club at a local elementary school. He enjoys teaching the Bible lesson every other week.

Julia continued serving as the Wedding Coordinator at the church this year and coordinated eight weddings. It is truly a wonderful thing to be a part of Christian couples uniting in marriage.

Travels:
We celebrated our 5th anniversary with a Caribbean Cruise in February. We had a wonderful time exploring Mayan ruins, snorkeling and relaxing. Julia traveled to Philadelphia on business, but was able to tack on a couple of days for sight seeing. She also went to Boston to visit her friend Sharon and to California with the Jones’ for her cousin’s wedding. We took a weekend trip to Austin and San Antonio in July and enjoyed a few days away from the regular routine. Andrew’s Grandpa Bennett passed away this year, so we also took a trip to Arkansas for the funeral. Despite the circumstance, it was a good time to be with friends and family.

Fantastic Family:
We enjoyed many times together with our family this year. We have been so blessed. Notably, we cheered for the Rangers at a Baseball game with the Bennett’s and enjoyed a symphony at Bass Hall with the Jones’. We also had a family reunion at the Jones’ this summer. Quite unexpectedly, Andrew’s dad, Daryl, was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma. We are grateful that it was detected early and that treatments were started immediately. If you are interested in updates regarding his condition, he has created a website: http://home.tx.rr.com/godputthemy/

Etc.:
And now for everything else that didn’t fit into the nice little categories above. : ) Andrew graduated from Everglades University in October with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology. We are so proud of him! With all his new found free time, he has decided to build a Cozy Mark IV airplane. (Yes, you can really ride in it…it will seat 4). Julia has enjoyed participating in the women’s Bible studies at church…Homemakers and Titus 2. We also try to participate in the Young Married’s fellowship as much as possible. Our dogs, Miko and Kaylee are two fur balls of fun. Kaylee is still obsessed with playing fetch, but is learning to be a cuddle dog. She really likes cuddling, she just doesn’t want us to know she likes it. Miko is still trying to figure out if he is going to be Alpha dog. His problem is that he’s so passive on most things it makes it hard for him to be in charge even though he wants to be. They are a lot of fun and the best of friends.

God is so good. We are continually overwhelmed with his kindness, patience, plan and provision for our lives. May you have a wonderful Christmas season celebrating His birth.

Merry Christmas!

Andrew & Julia Bennett

Here With Us!

2007-12-19T20:58:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's hard to imagine that this time next week, Christmas will be a memory. I thought I'd share the lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy!

May you have a very merry Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth.

Here With Us
By: Joy Williams

It's still a mystery to me
That the hands of God could be so small,
How tiny fingers reaching in the night
Were the very hands that measured the sky

Chorus:
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Son of God, Servant King, You're here with us
You're here with us

It's still a mystery to me,
How His infant eyes have seen the dawn of time
How His ears have heard an angel's symphony,
But still Mary had to rock her Savior to sleep

Chorus:
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Son of God, Servant King Here, with us
You're here with us

Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem
A baby born to save, to save the souls of man

Chorus:
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Son of God, Servant King, Here with us
You're here with us

Great idea for Christmas Breakfasts

2007-12-10T22:31:00.000-06:00

Here is a super fun idea for Christmas Breakfast.

1. Pick up 2 cans of your favorite Pillsbury cinnamon rolls.
2. Place them on your baking sheet in the shape of a Christmas Tree
3. Bake as directed.
4. Drizzle icing to look like garland on the tree.
5. Cut maraschino cherries in half and place on the "tree" to look like ornaments.
6. Enjoy!

I'm not a tree hugger...

2007-12-10T22:16:00.000-06:00

BUT...I'm kind of into the recyclable bags that are now available almost everywhere. I SHOULD like them because they are better for the environment...don't kill trees...and save plastic bags from just ending up in the landfills; BUT, I really like them because:

1. They are WAY easier to carry
2. I don't have a million plastic bags on my counter when I am finished grocery shopping that I have to find something to do with...or that fill up my just-emptied trashcan.
3. They're great for hauling lots of things around...not just groceries.

anyway...so I thought I'd branch out a little today and I brought one of these fabulous bags into Kohls. I checked out and had socks and shoes and kindly mentioned to the cashier that she could just use the bag I had brought to place the items in. Then the funny part. She placed my socks in a plastic bag and then put them in my reusable bag. Hmmm...kind of defeats the whole purpose, don't you think? So I said politely, "Oh, that's ok. I don't need a plastic bag." She looked at me like I was from mars and then told me that I had to have a plastic sack to get out the door. I said, "No, I think I'll be fine. I'll just keep my receipt on top in case there are any questions." ...mind you it was no more than 10 feet to the door.

Oh well...I guess if more people are going to start using reusable bags, they'll have to figure this one out. In fairness to the cashier, I can see her point about knowing if someone has paid for their merchandise by looking to see if they have a sack. Meanwhile, I did kindly give the lady her plastic bag back and walked out the door to my car. : )

I'm still here...

2007-12-07T21:19:00.000-06:00

Someone mentioned the other day it had been a long time since I posted. True enough. Sometimes life starts running faster than I do!

Had a great Thanksgiving at our home with my parents and Andrew's immediate family. Work is crazy busy. Pampered Chef is also going well. I have a wedding I'm coordinating at the church tomorrow and trying to keep up with the kiddos at Sunday School and other random things. It's all good though...and I am blessed to have the opportunity to be involved in these things.

On a lighter note, I got a really fun game called "Chit Chat"...conversation starters the other day. So I thought I would use this post to answer some of those questions.

What do you like most about the state where you live?

The weather and the flat terrain.

Would you rather read the book or see the movie?

See the movie. I'm the type that likes to read the end of the story before the beginning, so movies seem to suit me more. I like reading magazines though? I like reading books too...just non-fiction (incomprehensible to my in-laws...I know, I know...what can I say).

(Correction: My father-in-law DOES like reading non-fiction)

What do you most often forget?

If I closed the garage door. I can't remember a time when I didn't. But I am constantly paranoid about leaving it open...mostly for fear that the dogs will get out. I am ashamed to admit the number of times I actually turn around and drive back home a block or two just to make sure.

What's your favorite summer memory?

Visiting family in California. I love California...especially the beach!

If you could only eat one kind of ethnic food for the next year what would you pick?

I'd have to go with Mexican (Tex-Mex to be exact).

New Floor Pictures

2007-11-03T17:04:00.000-05:00

Well, the house is back in order and here are the promised pictures of our new floor!

What's in a name...

2007-10-05T19:17:00.000-05:00

I like the name my parents gave me. Julia Esther Jones. It's a good thing to like your name because you're pretty much stuck with it for your entire life. (Ok...well, now I'm Julia Esther Bennett - but you get the point.)

So here's a little history behind my name in case you find it interesting. Maybe Mom or Dad will comment and throw in some more insight.

Julia...Well, with a last name of Jones I'm told that my parents wanted a "different" name. Apparently "Julia" didn't really start to get popular until Julia Roberts came on the Hollywood scene. This sounds logical to me, since I know quite a few girls named Julia who are in pre-school, but not too many my age. Julia means youthful one. Yes, people still think my name is Julie. Usually, they are polite and ask if it is Julie or Julie-uh. I don't mind.

Esther...kind of a dual-purpose meaning here. I am named after the lovely queen Esther in the Bible and also after my lovely great-grandmother (Nellie Esther Bliss Jones). Win-win! As a kid, I was fortunate to have Grandmother Esther live with us for 7 years. She lived to be 103...so maybe I'll not only get her name but also her longevity genes!

Jones...bet you can't guess where that name came from! : ) The Jones' are a great bunch...with lots of great personalities and a legendary sense of humor.

Bennett...when I married the handsome Andrew Bennett on January 5, 2002...I was privileged to take on his last name and gain great family members.

So??? What's in a name? I'd love to hear how you got your name...leave a comment in the comment section!

More Real Life...

2007-09-27T07:07:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Andrew's dad, Daryl, was diagnosed with cancer.

It is called Multiple Myeloma and is a cancer of the blood. While currently there is not a cure for this type of cancer, there are treatment options that can delay the effects. Daryl will start his second round of chemo this week.

Daryl has created a great website with a lot of information...so I will not repeat it all here. The website is God put the my in myeloma and can be found at: http://home.tx.rr.com/godputthemy/. I have also placed a link under "Blog Roll" on this website.

God is good, and we rest knowing that He is in control and that this was not a surprise for Him...in fact, it was His plan for our family. As with anything like this, we are going through an adjustment period of learning and wondering what the future is going to look like.

Below, I have copied Daryl's current prayer requests...they are ours as well. Thank you for remembering him and us in your prayers.

How to Pray for Us - 9/27/07
1. I am not ashamed to ask God to heal me of this cancer. Please understand that the only way I can be healed is by God's hand. While medication may improve my condition, perhaps even for prolonged periods, it cannot eradicate the disease,

2. That the medication would accomplish its intended task, and that side effects from the medication would be minimal,

3. Rest for Carol as her workload has increased with this new family member,

4. Wisdom in many decisions we will have to make, including some regarding treatment, and

5. Above all, that God would be glorified by the events and attitudes of my life.

Real Life

2007-09-22T23:37:00.000-05:00

Well, "update blog" has been on my To-Do list for a couple of weeks now. Sorry about that!

What to say, what to say. I have had a bit of lack of inspiration on a topic to blog about, so maybe just a quick update on what's been going on...

As the school year kicked off, so did the rest of our activities...here's what I've been up to:

Bible Studies have started back up. I enjoy attending 2 ladies groups...Titus 2, where we are studying the book "Idols of the Heart" and Homemakers, where we are studying the book "Creative Counterpart". It has been great to get reconnected with everyone after the summer break. We are also a part of our Young Married's group at church.

At work we are going through a computer conversion for our HR and Payroll system so that has been a stressful adventure. About 4 more weeks to go before we are up and running smoothly.

On the Pampered Chef front, I have been busy learning and getting set up. My first shows start the first week of October, and I am SO excited about getting started!

We had new wood floors installed in our living room, dining room/sitting room and hallway. They look beautiful. Once we get all the furniture moved back in, I'll post a picture or 2. It sure makes the house feel different. We chose a dark wood with some texture and rough spots. It also has a beveled edge which is nice. The crew worked very hard. They stayed until 1:00am to finish up! It's a bit like moving though, so we are still getting everything situated again.

Sunday School has started again as well. We had our first week last Sunday. Uncle Gus, our class missionary, came and showed pictures to the kids from his recent trip to Siberia. They really enjoyed meeting him on the very first week of class. Tomorrow we are having a pizza party for the kids and their families. We are expecting about 45 people so it should be a lot of fun!

What else...I coordinated a wedding at the church, and also helped out with a parent's breakfast and Summer Children's worker's dinner. Sometimes I wonder why it seems that I never can get anything done...but looking back over the last couple of weeks I guess a few things have been accomplished. I'll try to think of some more exciting blogging material for next time...but for now, there's the update!

Teaching to Change Lives

2007-09-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." --William Arthur Ward

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a fabulous seminar kicking off our Sunday School program this year. Our speaker, Dan Jarms, reminded us that it is not what you say that kids will remember, but how you present God and how you care about each one personally. With that great reminder...and with school starting back in session this week, it made me think back to some of the teachers who have meant alot to me. So here's a short tribute to them...and a thanks to them for inspiring me.

Mrs. Shepherd - my Kindergarten teacher:
Mrs. Shepherd was always very patient with us. I remember learning to read in her class and enjoying looking at all the fun things she had on the walls and around the classroom.

Mrs. Peterson - my 2nd Grade teacher:
Mrs. Peterson had a baby during the school year. It was so neat when she gave us all a picture of her new baby. When I was in highschool, I enjoyed babysitting Mrs. Peterson's kids!

Mrs. Thompson - my 3rd Grade teacher:
Mrs. Thompson was a petite woman and had a very gentle and quiet spirit.

Barbara - my piano teacher:
Oh the things that Barbara taught me. Not only did she open up the world of music to me, she taught me diligence, accountability, responsibility and so much more. She truly cared. She demanded the best from me. She pulled me out of my quiet little shell that I was so comfortable in and helped me learn how to express myself.

Mrs. White - my 4th Grade teacher:
Being my first year in public school, Mrs. White helped me fit in to the new school...and that meant a lot.

Mrs. Tittle - my 4th Grade Sunday School teacher:
Mrs. Tittle was like a grandmother to everyone. I remember having sword drills every week during class. She showed us how important the Bible was through her lessons and her life.

Miss Bonnie - my Dance teacher:
Dear Miss Bonnie. I have no idea what her last name is...we always called her Miss Bonnie. She held the bar of excellence high and made me feel like I had accomplished something big at every dance recital.

Mrs. Bone - my 5th Grade Sunday School teacher:
Mrs. Bone taught us God's Word. She also taught us how to be ladies. She had the best field trips. She took us to the mall and even invited us over to her home for tea and to learn manners every lady should have. I remember her teaching us how to properly get in and out of the car!

Mrs. Vicci Howard - my Highscool Theater and Dance Team coach
Mrs. Howard...my teacher and my friend. She had (and still has) more energy than anyone I know. She is probably ADD. : ) She taught me how to do so many things. She certainly pushed us to achieve more than we thought possible and praised us along the way. She is an interior decorator, which I always thought was really neat...so as a wedding present, she took me to go shopping and helped me decorate our first apartment! Vicci was able to see my strengths and teach me how to use them to impact others.

Carla Ryan - my Highschool accountability leader
Carla was always glad to see me and always genuinely wanted to know what was going on in my life and how she could pray for me. She wanted to help me grow in the Lord...and that is very precious.

Dr. CW Smith (CW)- my Christian Theology teacher at The Master's College
CW knew everyone's name on campus. Before I had even taken a class from him, he knew my name and would say "Hello Julia" whenever we would pass. CW taught me the importance of knowing a person's name. He also told us that he got his theology from the Bible...and he did. He taught us that if we studied the scripture diligently that we would have Biblical theology.

Dr. Tatlock - my Missions professor at The Master's College
Dr. Tatlock is passionate about what God is doing in the world and loves to talk about it. His challenging, yet gentle encouragement to be involved in what God is doing globally is truly inspirational.

There are so many people that impact our lives. I could go on and on talking about my husband, parents, grandparents, family, friends, pastors, women in the church... They each teach us something...whether in a formal or informal capacity. I thank the Lord for the wonderful teachers and mentors that He has brought into my life.

True Story...

2007-08-19T20:59:00.000-05:00

Andrew sat on Kaylee's ball, so Kaylee went and sat on the remote control. They just sat there and looked at each other while I laughed.

Kaylee vs. the Sprinkler

2007-08-17T23:44:00.001-05:00

Some of you have met our little girl dog, Kaylee. What a ball of energy she is. We nick-named her “turbo” with good reason! Here’s her favorite new summer past time…chasing the sprinkler. The fun thing is, she never really catches it. Good cheap dog entertainment!

Our (psycho???) Dogs

2007-08-17T23:31:00.001-05:00

It started out innocent enough…the dogs were out of dog food and a new brand my friend recommended was on sale so I picked up a bag and decided to try it out. …then this happened all over my kitchen and bedroom floor…

Yes, that’s right. The dogs picked out all the new food and ate it…and managed to spit out the old food and scatter it all over the floor. Hmmmm. Hopefully this won’t last too long! : )