It's a...

Today we found out baby #4 will be another girl!

We are very excited...a little shocked, but very happy.  All I could do was laugh when the doctor told me and every time I've told anyone. I just think it's hilarious.

I'm glad the baby IS a girl, because this morning before heading off to my appointment, Brielle informed me "If you find out the baby is a boy, I am not going to be happy."

To answer some questions people seem to ask:

*No, we are not devistated.

*No, Marty was not mad...he laughed and was in shock.

*No, we do not wish it had been a boy.

*No, we will not purposely try again just to get a boy. (Not saying this baby is our last, but our motive to have another after this one will not be just to try for a boy.)

*Yes, we realize we are going to have a lot of maxi pads, weddings, drama, emotions and craziness.

*Yes, I realize that's a lot of hair to do every day.

*The only "coloring" options to complete our variety pack is green eyes and black hair...we will just have to wait and see what our genes come up with this time.

Who would have guessed that Marty - one of 7 brothers - would end up having 4 little girls.  

We are both in for one wild ride, that's for sure!

Boy or Girl?

*First off, I have to say I have no idea what's up with Blogger...it's not putting my blog into the feeds (like Google Reader) or will a week later, and then my posts are all messed up.  I'm hoping I got it figured out though.*

This pregnancy has been FLYING by.

I'll admit it, I had a bit of a panic attack yesterday when I realized Addison will turn 2 in 4 months...which means we will have another baby in about 4 1/2 months.  WHAT THE HECK?!  I don't know which I'm more nervous about, both could be quite interesting.

I think one reason this pregnancy is flying by (besides my life being a constant three ring circus making time seem non-existent) could be that I've only been to the doctor 2 times rather than the normal 3-4 by this point.

Now before you think I've gone all weird and am refusing prenatal care, it's not my fault.  I don't know what my doctor's deal in Washington was, but he just didn't want to schedule more appointments than that.  I would have preferred going the typical once a month to get that reassurance, but I'm not really one to complain to a doctor...especially when I know I'm moving anyway.

Luckily we're back in  Utah now and I am able to go to my doctor that delivered both Brielle and Claire again (YEAH!). I know I'll be happy and in good hands.

Anyway, up until the last week, I honestly haven't even given much thought to what the gender of our baby is.  I don't know if it's because I'm too busy or what, but I also haven't had a really strong feeling either way - with the girls I always felt strongly they were girls.  So maybe the lack of a strong feeling means it's a boy?  Or maybe I'm just so used to our babies being girls that I just can't imagine anything different.

A lot of people are predicting it will be a boy...but that could be wishful thinking at the same time.

Obviously because of our family being all girls, the first question I ALWAYS get is "Are you hoping for a boy?" Followed closely by "Will this be your last?"

My answers to both...I don't know.

But now that the date of finding out what the gender is quickly approaching (hopefully this Thursday...fingers crossed) I am really getting anxious to know! 

My younger sister is due any day now with a girl, and my older sister is due with a boy 3 days after me!  So either way, my baby has really close cousins. 

So, here's hoping my doctor either wants to do an ultrasound since I'm "new" at this point, or he'll buy into my sob stories and do one to be nice.

When I was pregnant with Claire all it took was dumping my urine sample in my pants to get him to do the ultrasound for me.  I'm not above trying that again. 

But I really hope he doesn't remember me for that.... 

Thank goodness for technology failures

Typically you trust your doctor to be correct in any diagnosis they may give and their computer systems to work properly.  Right?

Well, earlier this month I found out mine wasn't...and I could not be MORE grateful!

Back in April, I found out that during a routine test run by an LPN at my OBGYN office, they found an abnormality that would probably need a biopsy.

They quickly scheduled an appointment to do the procedure for the beginning of May.  However, we were surprised when a few days before that appointment, I found out I was pregnant.  I called my doctor to see what they wanted me to do, and they decided to cancel the procedure until I could get in for my first pregnancy visit and talk more about it.

My doctor assured me that the procedure was okay to do during pregnancy, but that just to be safe he preferred to wait until I was safely into the 2nd trimester.  He took another specimen just for his records, and rescheduled the procedure for July 11th.

As I went in for the procedure, I was a complete bundle of nerves.  Which is understandable since I was told that if they didn't remove the abnormality, I basically had a 75% chance of it becoming cancerous.  Plus there was a chance that it already was because the abnormality was the highest level you can get with this particular test.  Great.

When the doctor came in for the procedure, he said "When I ran that second test at your last OB appointment, it came back normal.  As odd as it seems, I think there may have been a mix up in that first specimen somehow.  I still want to take a closer look, but we won't need to do a biopsy."

After a closer look he said, "Yep, everything looks completely normal to me.  I don't know how this happened."  

It was then that I remembered the day I had that first test done - back in April - the power had gone out at my doctor's office and their computers were still down.  The nurses were writing all their labels by hand and doing the best they could.  When I told the doctor about this, he looked almost relieved.  He thanked me for remembering that detail and said that he is certain my test and someone else's were mixed up.

Good news: It wasn't my results that had an abnormality and I got a clean bill of health.

Bad news:  I had to worry for 3 months over nothing.  Someone else thinks they had a normal result and really don't.  And the doctor said he will have to call every patient from that day to come back for the test again.  

So, as much as we rely on technology and procedures to always be perfect and right.  I am SO glad for this little time when human error combined with technological failure worked out in my favor.

The End of a Chapter

Tomorrow is the day that a difficult yet very rewarding chapter of our lives comes to a close.  We will drive away from Washington for good, and the permanence is feeling very strange.

It's like reading a novel.  You speed read through the book, cramming as much as you can into each session of reading wanting to reach the end to see how it turns out.  

Then you get to that last page, you read that last word, and while you're happy to have reached it there is also a part of you that feels a little sad it is over, not sure you're ready to close that cover and put the book on the shelf.  Part of you wonders if you should go back a chapter or two and read it again, this time paying a little closer attention to the details.   But your mom comes in, sees that you're up way past your bedtime and insists it is time to put the book away. 

That is how I feel about tomorrow.

I pushed and pushed and pushed to get to the end of our military life and living away from our families.  I pushed to get us home as soon as possible.  I pushed to say goodbyes to friends, tie up loose ends and walk away.

But today I feel a little sad that it's almost over.  Not sure I'm ready to put this book on a shelf and start a new one.  Not sure I want to close the cover.  What if I don't remember how the story went?  What if I forget the characters, the plot, the twists and turns, the joy and the sadness?  What if it's all lost and forgotten and almost as if I never read it?

When we started this whole journey in Texas 2 years ago, I felt completely devastated.  I cried a lot, I ached to be home and in my comfort zone and was sure the next few years of our lives was going to be completely miserable.  Moving to Washington wasn't nearly as hard, but still a little sad. 

But you know what?  The last couple years hasn't been completely miserable.  There have been times that we have felt sad and wished we weren't missing out on things at home.  But what happened during this chapter is we made friends, we learned independence, joy in simplicity, that driving 24 hours straight in a car wasn't the end of the world. We grew closer as a couple and as a small family.  We learned the importance of food storage, to love cooking and baking, and making big Sunday dinners.  That having missionaries and friends over for dinner is FUN and not stressful.  That everyone has a mess in their house, and nobody cares if you do too.  That we all need friends but most have a hard time making that first step or reaching out.  To let things roll off my back and remain calm in stressful situations.  That lonely holidays always seemed to turn out so wonderful as we got to spend one on one time together.  That asking for help isn't the worst thing and giving service to those who really need it is so rewarding.  

And you know what, I will kind of miss these things.

I was SO excited...tearing through this book, ready to be back home.  I skimmed some details, flipped pages at break neck pace.  And today, I feel sad.  I'm not quite ready to make it complete.  

I know that the next chapter will be wonderful, and that once we're back with our families it will all be so worth it.  I just hope I can remember all I've learned and take it with me.

And I'm sure anyone that reads my blog still is ready for it to be over too so I can move onto other things to blog about.  And I will...but today I'm having a pity party.  Everyone deserves those once in a while.