Happy Birthday to Me

Well, I guess I am officially "in my 30s" now? At least it feels that way since I turned 31 on Sunday. It's no big deal to me though. Maybe it will be harder when I turn 40?! It's just kind of sad the older I get the less my birthday has that "special day" feeling like it did when I was a kid.

I came down with some funky virus on Friday the 15th and as the following week progressed I got increasingly worse, Tuesday being spent almost entirely on the couch. Then Wednesday Tennyson woke up at 4:00am with a high fever. I was so bummed for him, but also because I began to picture my birthday weekend being sick and having to take care of a sick little one. While Tennyson and I still have a nasty cough and a runny noses it didn't slow down the birthday festivities.

Once again Tennyson somehow knew it was a special day and slept all the way until 8:30am on my birthday! Since we were still under the weather we couldn't go to church. (You are not supposed to leave a child in the nursery who has a cough or runny nose, though parents do it all the time, I am a rule-follower.) So instead Tom, Tennyson, and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Yum! It was nice to have a hearty, warm breakfast when my usual fare is cereal. :-)

Though it was the first time all week I didn't get to take a nap, I did relax while Tennyson napped. Well, I kind of had to since Tom kept saying, "Sit down. Stop cleaning. It's your birthday." Tennyson woke up about 10 til 5:00 so we rushed out the door to meet my parents, sister, Dawn, and her 2 youngest at Hank's Smokehouse for dinner. I forgot how long it takes to get there, but the food was yum-my! Then we headed back to my parents' for mom's homemade carrot cake. Also de-licious!

Me and my boy at Hank's

Helping me blow out the candles

The BIG family party was Monday night though, since several of my family members were gone over the weekend. Almost all my local fam was there to help me celebrate. We had a good time! The best part was that all 6 of my siblings chipped in and bought me a Western Digital 1TB harddrive. That's right, baby! It can store up to 285,000 photos and 400 hours of video! It's nice knowing that Tennyson's entire documented life will be safe now!

Thanks to everyone who remembered my birthday and helped to make it a special day! I felt the love!

Thoughts from a Wondering Mother

So I have been thinking a lot lately about how life is going to change with the addition of our second baby this summer. Obviously there are logisitics to work out: when to transition Tennyson out of the crib (of course, he's been able to climb out of it for months now), how to teach him gentleness with his little brother, how I am going to get through my day with little sleep (at first) and take care of a 2-year old, and how to juggle the needs of a newborn on top of watching kids, bookkeeping, and everything that goes into running a household. But most of all I worry about Tennyson.

I know every mother in this situation thinks the same thing. How is my firstborn going to react to not being the only child anymore? Will he start to misbehave for attention? Will he love his brother? Will they be best friends for life? How can I possibly love another one as much as I love Tennyson? It may sound bad, but honestly, that's what I am worried about. But I know when I see his little face for the first time and hold him in my arms it will be just like it was with Tennyson. Pure, unconditional love. And somehow I will love them BOTH with all my heart.

I don't know how many more times (if any) I'll get pregnant, so I am taking the time to treasure this baby's kicks in the womb, enjoy the last few months with our little family of three, and not rush through my days. Once they are gone you can't get them back. And someday......I just might wish for that.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Chicken Noodle Casserole

Okay, I know that I am missing a photo......You see, I was nice enough to "let" Tom take the camera on his 3-day trip to DC the week before last. So when I made this dish I literally couldn't take a picture of it. And since I was sick all last week, there was NO cooking going on in this house! So there you have it, a photo-less recipe entry. It pretty much looked like your normal, everyday chicken casserole, but it sure was yummy!

CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
3 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried savory, thyme, or basil
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
8 ounces wide egg noodles or spaghetti, cooked and drained

How to Make It:
1) In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add the broth, carrots, celery and savory. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2) Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over chicken mixture. Add noodles; mix well.
3) Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

Instead of just carrots I used a couple scoops of those always-in-our-freezer organic mixed veggies (carrots, green beans, peas, and corn). The only other alteration I would make next time is to add more cheese in the sauce and/or on the top before baking. You can't go wrong with more cheese!

Filling in the Gap

Here are the rest of the photos I wanted to share (from 5.2 to 5.21). However, I am not caught up for long because yesterday was my 31st birthday, so there's another post..... But hey, at least I am not behind anymore!

This was taken at the BRCS Bear-a-Fair (5.2). Tennyson always gets this terrified look on his face when he goes down the slide but he always wants to do it again and again.

Looking out the window - probably at the robins

A very favorite pastime - drawing (notice his little feet) :-)

When we tell Tennyson to make his "funny face" this is what he does! Haha!

Just chillin' on the deck....with some keys

He had a high fever when I took this, but he's still smiling!

He was squatting but then jumped up right before I took the picture.

A self-portrait of us the morning Daddy left for D.C. (5.13)

Yes, he wears a bowl for a hat around the house

Taken on Mother's Day - my two cute men!

In addition to the photos there are few other highlights I have been meaning to document:

~Tennyson officially called me "Mommy" instead of "Mama" for the first time on April 8th. It was kind of a bittersweet moment since it felt like it was a more "grown-up" name for him to call me. But sometimes he stills calls me Mama.

~It seems like Tennyson learns to say a new word every day. It's so surreal that we can actually have a conversation with him now and not that long ago he was just our little baby. Some of the newest words he says are: medicine, raisins, draw, ant, smack, juice, racing, snack, bike, oranges, radio, box, banana, snake, turtle, small, tractor, and train. Speaking of trains, I mentioned how much he loves to watch "Thomas the Tank Engine," and he can also say: Diesel, Percy, Henry, Duck, Gordon, Thomas ("Miss"), Boco, James, and Edward. Not bad, huh?! And of course there is the "Toy Story" crew: Buzz, Woody ("Wee Wee"), Jesse, and Rex.

~Tennyson has really been showing an interest in numbers. Right now he thinks every number he sees is an 8. But he can count to three and loves when we count all his toes. When we get to "9" he loudly yells out "10!"

~And Tennyson asks Daddy every day about mowing. He follows him from window to window all over the house so he can see him at all times. It's so cute! Tom keeps joking that one day soon it will be his job, so it's a good thing he's so fascinated by it.

Whew! I think that's everything....for now. I try to keep a running list of things Tennyson says or does so I can remember to document them on the blog. It will be fun to see what he comes up with next! He definitely keeps us busy!

Playing Catch-up

Well, I am finally getting around to posting some favorite photos from last month (yes, I am that far behind), and they are, of course, mostly of our little guy. Not everyone I know is on Facebook, so I have to remember to keep up the blog with photos, too! Also I prefer not to do them in slideshow format because some people don't take the time to sit and look at them all. I know because I am one of "those" people. :-)

These are from 4.12 to 4.25. Maybe tomorrow I'll get caught up to May 25th? Just maybe.

Tennyson watching Daddy go out to the car for something ( taken Easter Sunday)

Yes, he has a black eye (from a slight...altercation with one of the kids I keep).

Getting some love from Da Mama

I love his expression!

Genuine laughter!

I just don't even know what to say about this one.

"Da plane. Da plane."
No, I think he really was pointing at one.

A favorite pose of his, hands clasped behind his back

Oh, those baby blues!

Throwing a rather heavy ball over his head

With Pet-Daddy

His scowling face and one we see often. It's so funny!

A Day for Me

I so enjoyed my second Mother's Day this year (2007 was more of a Mother's-to-Be Day for me). I LOVE that Mother's Day pertains to me now! Even after almost 22 months it's still surreal sometimes. That I am actually someone's mother!

Tennyson gave me a great gift and slept until 8:30 that morning, well past his usual wake-up time of 7(ish). I had told Tom earlier that week all I wanted were flowers, Mexican food, and a nap. Yes, I really am that easy to please! No high-maintenance girl here! Tom bought me some beautiful flowers the day before Mother's Day and I just threw them out about 4 days ago!

We headed to church that morning and then to El Charros for some yummy Mexican food. I really wanted to get some good pictures of me with my little man, so when we got home from lunch Tom took a bunch of Tennyson and I together. Then it was Family Naptime. Ahhh, it was a wonderful thing. Then later that afternoon we headed over to my parents' for a cookout since that was what my mom wanted for her special day. Not all of my siblings and their families were there, but we still had a small crowd of 14. (Tennyson ended up coming down with a fever after his nap that day, so we cut the festivities a little short.)

So all in all it was a low-key but special day. I am already looking forward to next year when I will have TWO boys to celebrate with!

He Doesn't Walk Anywhere

*I started this post on the 14th, but can't seem to find the time to sit down, edit photos, and post them, at least not this past weekend. I haven't been feeling well (nasty cough on top of some moderately bad belly/stretching pain), so I have been on the couch the whole weekend. Hopefully I will find the time to post more photos soon because we've taken lots of sweet boy lately.*

Tennyson has one speed and it's fast. From the moment he wakes up until his little baby feet are in bed, Tennyson is on.the.go. When he started walking shortly before his first birthday he was literally running 10 days later. No joke. You think I would have gotten some kind of idea how exhausting it was going to be to chase him around 24/7. Despite being pregnant with baby #2 (and therefore tiring more easily), I love trying to keep up with Tennyson! He's so full of life and energy and love. Tennyson delights in giving us (and his relatives) kisses - right on the mouth, no less! He has developed such a great sense of humor and is like his Mommy because he's a sucker for slap-stick.

I definitely keep tabs on how much t.v. he watches, but he loves Curious George, and his favorite movies are "Lady and the Tramp," "Cinderella," "Toy Story 1&2," "Peter Pan," and "Cars." I have to admit that it's nice that he's old enough now where I can put a movie in so I can take a shower, clean, or just get a much needed break. (Come on, you know you do it, too!) ;-) But more than anything he l-o-v-e-s "Thomas the Tank Engine," especially the grumpy engine, Diesel. I think it's a right of passage for every little boy. Tom and I used to say that it would be so cute if he loved trains when he got older and sure enough he does. Well, like any little boy he loves anything with wheels and, of course, makes noise: airplanes, trucks, helicopters, buses, fire engines, boats, etc. He gets such a thrill when we hop on the interstate he sees all the trucks! Gotta love cheap entertainment!

There are several things I want to document about our little man while it's still fresh in my mind. As parents we think, "Oh, I'll remember this moment forever." And some of it I will, but I know as our family grows, and life gets more hectic it may just not be possible.

~Tennyson always makes sure to hold our hands when we pray over a meal and for his nightly prayers. It was so precious when my parents where over for dinner one night and he reached for my Dad's hand. Tennyson will close his eyes for a second and then he just watches our faces while Tom prays. It really is quite adorable!

~ He loves to take Daddy (and sometimes Mommy) by the finger and show us what he wants. Therefore I coined the nickname "Pet-Daddy" because he leads Tom all around the house. He used to do this a lot more, but now that his vocabulary is so extensive he can usually just tells us what he wants.

~ Considering that I have 6 siblings, 5 brother/sister-in-laws, several nephews, and a niece Tennyson has done really well mastering some of their names: Lynley, Dan, Jordan, Hannah ("Hannie"), Nana, Courtney ("Ney"), Dawn, and Mark. When we were at my parent's house on Sunday for a Mother's Day cookout Tennyson walked over to my Dad, pointed at him, and said "Pop-pop." No one has ever called him that. He just made it up! We are all hoping it sticks because it's just such a sweet "Grandpa" name.

~ But probably the cutest thing of all he started doing is saying his own name. Last week I asked him what his name was and he pointed at his chest with both hands and loudly proclaimed, "Ness." It took me a minute to realize why he said that, but he was saying (Ten)NYS(on). I mean really, how cute is that?

I could go on and on about how Tennyson has changed our lives. How precious it is to get him out of his crib and experience his excitement every time he sees us. How his sweet, little voice and his laughter fill our home. How unbelievably special it is when wraps his arms around our necks and hugs us. How cute it is to just watch him play, making those "boy" noises. Hearing his little feet slapping on the kitchen floor as he runs. Seeing him jump up and down with excitement when Daddy gets home every day from work. But I don't think I can adequately describe how much we love him. There are just no words for that. What a sweet, special little boy we have been given.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Lemon Greek Chicken

LEMON GREEK CHICKEN

This recipe is from The Pampered Chef cookbook "Stoneware Inspirations." It's a yummy and impressive-looking dish to make for company, too. One alteration I always make, I use sweet onions instead of red, but you may find you like the red better. Either way it's delicious! Of course, when I made this last night it would have been even better if I hadn't forgotten to buy a red pepper. Oops!

Ingredients:

2 lemons, divided

1/4 cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, pressed/minced

2-3 tsp. dried oregano

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

4 split bone-in chicken breast halves (2 1/2 - 3 lbs.)

8 petite red potatoes

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips

1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch wedges

8 oz. whole mushrooms

How to Make It:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Zest one lemon to measure 1 1/2 Tbsp. of zest. Juice lemon to measure 2 Tbsp. juice. Combine zest, juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

2) Place chicken on center of pan. (It calls for the Stoneware Bar pan which is 10x15 1/2, but I use my stoneware 9x13 dish.) Using a pastry brush, brush chicken with a portion of the lemon juice mixture.

3) Cut potatoes. Thinly slice remaining lemon. In a large bowl combine potatoes, sliced lemon, red pepper, onions, and mushrooms. Pour the rest of the lemon juice mixture into the bowl and toss to coat.

4) Arrange vegetables around chicken. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is no longer pink, brushing chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes.

Our Love Story: The Engagement & Wedding

*This is a follow-up to yesterday's post.*

Once we got engaged I went into full-on wedding planning mode! Isn't that every girl's dream? Since I knew I wasn't going to have any help from my family, I hired an awesome wedding coordinator, which was one of the best decisions. Tom and I paid for our wedding entirely by ourselves, save a little bit his parents were able to give us. (Of course, with so many daughters my parents didn't pay for my other two sisters' weddings.) But that was fine with us. Tom and I had both put ourselves through college, were self-supporting employed adults, so I think we were a little too...mature for assistance anyway. :-)

Despite the increasing dissatisfaction over our impending wedding, we were optimistic and excited about planning our life together. I would be remiss if I did not mention all the wonderful friends and church and school family that supported Tom and I 100% percent! (Another sign to us that we were in God's will. We actually approached some of those people to get their honest opinion and none of them agreed with any of the family's "concerns.") I am not going to go into what was said, what e-mails we got, who was e-mailing who and spreading untruths, and who was pressuring who into being on "their" side. It's in the past, and though we get over it and forgive, sometimes you never forget what was said and it still hurts. But what a blessing forgiveness is, especially for the forgiver. It may be the hardest thing I've ever had to do!

Tom and I did go through intense pre-martial counseling with the Sensabaughs, and a better couple we could not have chosen. Mark was the perfect person to "handle" my parents, and he was very open about meeting with them during this time. Mark saw NO reason we should not get married and was fully supportive of us, a feeling that was even more solidified after some of those meetings, because he realized very little of the ugly mess actually had anything to do with Tom! It was so great to have the insight and support of an unbiased person, one who had our best interest, both as a couple AND as individuals at heart. I joke that we wouldn't have gotten married if it hadn't been for Mark's Godly counsel and wisdom!

Yes, it was hard to shop for a wedding dress without any of my sisters or my mom there. It was disappointing none of my siblings wanted to be in our wedding. But the hardest thing of all was that my father didn't walk me down the aisle. To this day that is the only thing from the situation that still brings tears of sadness to my eyes. During one particular heated conversation with my parents a few weeks before the wedding. I told my mother that if she couldn't be supportive then not to come. That's right. I told my own mother not to come to my wedding. By far the worst day of the whole ordeal. (In the end she did come. Thank goodness the "if anyone here objects part" wasn't utilized! Hahaha!!!!)

The night before our wedding, during the rehearsal, the most wonderful thing happened. My older brother offered to walk me down the aisle! I didn't know what to say! I asked if he was serious and he said, "I don't want you to get lost." (Okay, now I am crying.) What an amazing brother! I really feel like he was my angel that day. Standing by me no matter what, when I felt like the others in my family weren't doing the same.

Despite all the drama our wedding was the most wonderful, beautiful, peace-filled day we've ever had! Only God could do that in the midst of the unseen chaos around us. We sang a few worship songs during our ceremony, praising God for how far he'd brought us. That we had finally made it to our wedding day! You'd think a bride in that situation would have been beside herself, but no. I was calm. Collected. Peaceful. Knowing that I was fully walking in God's will for my life. Never at any time during the previous months did I have a doubt that Tom was the one God chose for me. I told Tom that I often expected him to look at me and say, "You're so not worth all this. See ya." His unwavering response, "But you are worth it."

And the rest, as they say, is history. We got married that day and left the next morning for an amazing honeymoon at Disney World! How we came to be husband and wife is quite the journey, but I know it's made us stronger and the bond we share is inseperable.

Our marriage always seems to be the simpliest thing in my life. Tom's father passed away in August 2o05, in 2006 we struggled to get pregnant and went through fertility treatments, in 2007 the BEST thing happened in Tennyson joining our family, but then I lost my job. So our circumstances haven't always been the easiest. But God is faithful and because Tom and I fought so hard to get married we don't take it for granted. We know what a blessing we have in each other, and that's helped during some of those tough times.

I think the best way to finish is with the lyrics for "Love is Not a Fight" by Warren Barfield. It says EXACTLY how we felt during those long months when we were fighting so hard to get married.

Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It's a house we enter in
then commit to never leave

So lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
Work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter
in a raging storm
Love is peace
in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave;
May God send angels to guard the door
No, Love is not a fight
but its something worth fighting for

To some love is a word
that they can fall into.
But when they're falling out
keeping that word is hard to do

Love is a shelter
in a raging storm
Love is peace
in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave;
May God send angels to guard the door
No, Love is not a fight
but its something worth fighting for

Love will come to save us
If we'll only call
He will ask nothing from us
but demand we give our all

Love is a shelter
in a raging storm
Love is peace
in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave;
May God send angels to guard the door
No, Love is not a fight
but its something worth fighting for.

Cause I Will Fight For You
Would You Fight For Me
It's Worth Fighting For.

I am so glad we fought. And we are grateful every day that time heals wounds and we have both of our families' support. Now I can't imagine it any other way.

Our Love Story: How It All Started

*This subject has been on my mind constantly the last few days, and I felt the need to share it, not only to document (I don't journal), but also to remind myself just how far Tom and I have come. For those of you reading this that are family members, forgiveness was granted so long ago (whether or not there was an apology), so please do not think we hold any grudges. I just needed to share our story and it's impossible to do so without mentioning such a big part of what helped shape us as a couple.*

Somehow on June 12th Tom and I will have been married five years. Somehow. That doesn't just mean, "Wow, time has really flown." It means so much more. It's not like we almost didn't get married, but we certainly had a rough time getting to the altar. A lot of you reading this supported us. A lot you know some of the story. I just can't help but remember where we were five years ago today and that trying time we went through.

But here is how Our Love Story began:

Tom and I met in December 2001, in hindsight it was a not-so-sneaky attempt at my mom's matchmaking ability. He worked with her at Family Christian, a lonely bachelor from out of state, and she felt sorry for him and often invited him to family dinners. The following month I invited him to a Super Bowl party that my co-ed single's group from Covenant Presbyterian was hosting. A month or so later he moved to Harper's Ferry, and so I didn't see him again until August at the fairgrounds for the Michael W. Smith concert. My mother had given him my phone number so he could find me there. He walked by me on the bleachers and he said he needed to get back to Harper's Ferry. At that moment I felt sad he was leaving and I knew......I liked him.

Tom moved back to Harrisonburg in November 2002 to take a teaching position at Blue Ridge Christian School. We spent almost every day together over Thanksgiving break. But Sunday came and went and we didn't hang out. We both admitted later how lost we felt without the other one around. A few days later we had "the talk." I told him I wasn't interested in casual dating and if he didn't think there was a possibility of us ending up married then not to waste my time. I made it clear that he HAD to agree with me on two things 1) abortion was wrong (yes, it's that big of a deal to me!) and 2) I had to have children someday. Well, On (Sunday) December 8th he went to work at an event at Harper's Ferry and said he'd call me on the way home. I was shocked that he actually called! (To this day Tom stills thinks it's funny that I was so surprised he kept his word.) He came over that night and we officially decided to start dating. Yea!

A few months into our dating relationship things started getting tense with my family. Even though my mother essentially set Tom and I up, she suddenly decided that our 14+ year age gap was too much and did not like the fact we were now a couple. I remember when my birthday rolled around that May that things seemed to get worse for some reason. Looking back I think a lot of their feelings were based on Tom's matter-of-fact way of saying things (it's the Jersey in him), and I know he did step on a few toes. But I didn't want to marry a pansy for Heaven's sake! That's one thing that attracted me to him in the first place.

Well, the months went by. We spent time talking, getting to know each other better, taking day trips to Lexington and Harper's Ferry, discussing theology and history. In July we went to New Jersey so I could meet the fam. (Though his parents couldn't wait that long and came at the end of June). We started talking about getting married and subsequently went shopping for rings. (It was such a fun "stage" to be in!) All the while I was feeling increasingly unsupported and careful of everything I said about Tom around certain people. However, our relationship continued to blossom into exactly what we'd both been looking for. (Of course, he was looking for much longer than me. Hahaha!) Unbeknownst to me Tom bought the ring I wanted in November, the day after we saw it, but due to "circumstances" held on to it for SIX weeks! He proposed on Christmas morning (2003) and I didn't hesitate to say "YES!" His family was thrilled. My family.....not so much.

A Trip to UVA (And Finally the Ultrasound Photos!)

As mentioned in the "Big Announcement" post the ultrasound tech had detected a white spot on our little guy's heart during the 20-week ultrasound, so the doctor gave us the option to go to UVA to get a specialist to examine it. Mostly they were concerned about the risk of Down's and, there was no way we were going wait til the birth to make sure he was okay. Unfortunately, the soonest they would do it was at 22-weeks, and I assure you that is an eternity when you're worried about your child.

I know all of you reading this were faithful in praying for us during those incredibly long two weeks, and for that we can't thank you enough. Even though we were scared and worried we still felt the love and prayers! I can't imagine how rough it would have been on us without all your prayers and words of encouragement!

It's hard to believe it's only been a little over a week since we went to UVA to get another ultrasound for Baby Bates. Here's the (somewhat brief) story of how things went. I put Tennyson down for a nap and once my sister came over and Tom got home, we regrouped and Tom and I headed over to Charlottesville. Originally I was dreading the long ride there, thinking I would surely have an emotional break down on the way, but we both felt at peace. Arriving at UVA without incident (and with time to spare) we parked, registered at the OB ultrasound desk on the 8th floor, and waited and waited and waited for them to call my name. Okay, so I was definitely getting nervous then. Knowing all that NOT knowing was coming to an end.

The ultrasonographer finally came and got us. (I think we only sat in the waiting room for 25 minutes but again it seemed like forever!) She was nice, though lacking an interesting personality. She proceeded to measure and get photos of everything on the baby. She looked at his brain, kidneys, stomach, face, and spent lots of time trying to get photos of his heart, including the arteries. She measured his fingers, skull, arm bones, leg bones, etc. Tom and I were very quiet during these 30 minutes or so. Though she explained what she was doing we weren't sure why or if what she was seeing was good or bad. But we soon realized she was strictly there to get the proper photos and measurements and the doctor would explain everything to us.

When the doctor came in we felt much more at ease. I am just trying to set the picture (and document for memory's sake), but she was a big, black woman with some sort of Carribean accent and was as nice as she could possibly be. (Thank you Lord for giving us someone who was compassionate and sincere!) She also brought an intern with her for observation, but it was fine. She proceeded to tell me about the risk of having a Down's baby with that "marker" in the baby's heart and for someone my age (30) was about 1/658. (The risk of Down's goes up with the mother's age and has nothing to do with the father's.) If she didn't see that spot she could reduce the odds by 80%. The only way to know for sure if he had a problem was to do an amniocentisis, something I knew I was not willing to do even before we went to UVA. And once she said the risk of miscarriage with an amnio was 1/270 we all agreed it wasn't an option.

Tom later said while she was telling us all this he was thinking, "Bottom line it for me." And I was kinda thinking the same thing. I just wanted her to lay it all out and tell us what she saw. She explained the different markers for Down's: short legs/limbs growing slower than the rest of the baby, crooked pinkie finger, no/under development nasal bone, abnormal sized kidneys, club feet, a gap between the first and second toe, tongue hanging out, and issues with the pulmonary arteries in the heart. As she went over each one she then said our baby had NO issues with ANY of them, just that "spot" on his heart, which is essentially a calcium deposit. She said about 8% of people have it and it's no big deal. What an amazing feeling to have such a heavy burden suddenly lifted off us!!!

So yes, God answered our prayers, ALL our prayers! To know that we were having a healthy baby was an indescribable relief and we were renewed with joy and excitement over welcoming Baby Boy Bates into our home in just a few short months! (During those two weeks we kind of felt like we were just going through our day and couldn't think of anything but the potential problem.)

Finally here are photos from the 20-week ultrasound. Unfortunately, we didn't come home with any great photos from UVA. (In fact, my doctor's office had a much better machine than than they did.)

His sweet profile

It's definitely a boy! He was proud to show it off!
(That made his Daddy proud too! Hee hee)

Just look at how cute he is!

This is how he stayed for a lot of the ulrasound - with feet and arms up over his head!

Thank you, Lord, for this precious, healthy baby boy! We can't wait to meet him!