The year has gone SOOO fast!

What in the world? Where did the time go? It is the end of May and I haven't posted since January! You may think that this is because I am incredibly busy, but you would be oh-so-very wrong. I am just a little on the lazy side.

Anyways, I am coming off of two GREAT weekends and am really dreading starting real life all over again. Last weekend, I (and about 13 other ladies) went to Allen, TX for a lot of shopping and food. It was very fun and I got all of the inappropriate discussions that I wanted to have out of the way -everything from S-E-X to "other things." I mean, really, I was told that you can't talk about a Va-Jay-Jay on a blog. I think that is so very untrue but I won't mention those conversations just in case.

This weekend, we went to DFW for wedding dress shopping and anniversary fun. My mom, Celice, Katie and I went shopping for the perfect, over-the-top, romantic dress for Katie and we found it. She had to order it w/o ever seeing it in person, though, so let's hope that it is as beautiful in real life as in the picture. Don't think she didn't try on every dress in the store(s) because she did. None of them were quite right, though. This one is PERFECT and she will be beautiful in it. Then, I grabbed Josh and it was off to the W for our Anniversary (6 years!!!).

Now, we aren't the hippest people you'll ever meet, but we sure thought we were when we were at the W. Talk about posh! We felt really trendy (and REALLY out of place). It is such a cool place and we will definately be back. We got to eat at the Outback Steakhouse which was nice w/o kids. We got *gasp* an appetizeer and a dessert. Then, I slept from 10:30 - 9:55. Life is GOOD!! Thanks so much to grandparents who willingly watch our children so we can do things like that once a year. Of course, Ty slept all night in his bed and Bryce only woke up once. They NEVER do that for us!

Pictures later! Gotta go to a graduation party.

So, it's 2007

I guess I should post on this and let people know how we are doing, huh? We are doing good. Ok, talk to you again in three months.

Just kidding. We are going stir-crazy here in our house due to (drum-roll) ICE STORM 2007. I have left my house one time since Thursday evening at 7 pm and that was to take Ty and Bryce to see Charlotte's Web at the mall. The movie was really cute, but I am a sucker for Charlotte's Web. I think I am the only one in the theater that cried to see the spider die.

Well, Bryce is doing well. He is 13 lbs, 8 oz and 23 inches long (short and fat, if you were wondering). We spent New Year's Eve and the following 3 days in the hospital in Fort Worth because he had RSV and couldn't breathe. He is MUCH better now. You don't really realize how bad they are until you see how much better they look when the sickness is over.

Ty is a handful, but I think this is really my favorite age. I think he learning to guilt-trip me and I hate that. He's always saying "You don't make me cry Momma" in his really sad voice when I upset him. When I kiss him, he tells me that I have made him so very happy : ) He has started Day School 2 days a week and he loves it. He especially loves his Carter and is so glad that they are in class together on Thursdays.

Anyway, that is all that is going on here. Hope you are all doing well and maybe I'll see you if I ever get to leavev my house.

So, I guess I should update...

So, it has been a pretty good week or so. Last Friday, we went to Preston and Sara's house for a rousing game of Phase 10 (which I love, by the way). It was a lot of fun, but I think some people got a little bored with it. It probably has to do with the fact that it is a game for 2-6 players and we had 8. That makes for a long game.

Then, on Saturday, we went to the Orr Family Farm with Preston, Sara, and Chase. We had a great time but it was so cold! I went without a jacket because it didn't seem that cold, but it went downhill quickly. Fortunately, Josh knows me really well and brought my coat. Gotta love him!!

On Sunday, WE HAD A BABY!! Bryce decided to bless us with his presence on October 22, 2006 at 11:12 pm. He weighed 6 lbs, 4 ozs and was 19 in long. I only labored for about 5 - 5 1/2 hours and after the epidural, it wasn't THAT bad. He has a little jaundice and is a sleepy newborn (He was 4 weeks early). Things are going really well, except that Ty is acting out more than I expected. I don't even know if he knows that he's doing it. He loves Bryce and tells us about his baby, but he acts very rotten.

Anyway, that is all that has been going on here. What's up with ya'll?

Bryce Ultrasound

In case you don't check Josh's blog, here is a link to Bryce's Ultrasound video. It is about 5:30 minutes long and he is sooooo cute!

http://web.mac.com/joshfoster/

He's a cutie!

Just got back from my last ultrasound of this pregnancy. Everything is looking GREAT. Bryce is measuring right on (28 weeks, 1 day) and he weighs 2 lbs, 11 ozs. He is head down and everything is ready to go. I will say that he looks just like Ty and Brett. The big question is whether he will have a head full of hair (like Brett) or not so much (like Ty). Here are a couple of pictures that they gave us. They also gave us a video tape. Now we just have to get a VCR :)

Herpetic Stomatatis

That would my son's current issue. In case you are wondering what that all entails, I will fill you in. It is the Herpes virus (not anything sexual although I had to work surprisingly hard to convinve my mother of that - She is so weird). It is accompanied by a high fever, blisters in the mouth, sore and swollen gums that bleed easily, and sore throat. He has just really had a crummy week.

Long story short, we are in isolation. Apparantly this virus is really contagious and it doesn't just affect kids so we can't really go anywhere or do anything.

I get to go to the Dr tomorrow at least. Hopefully, I will have some really good ultrasound pictures for you all.

Eye, Mom.

You have got to be kidding me! We finally have Ty's eye looking relatively normal - still red, but he can open it. What does he do? He takes a nose dive into the coffee table and hits the corner (I mean, right on the corner) with the SAME eye. What did I do? Freak out, of course. I just knew that we were headed for the emergency room or that his eye had popped out or something equally bad or gross. Nope. It just looks kinda bad. He may or may not have busted a couple of blood vessels in his eye. I can't tell because he isn't opening it all the way yet. Most importantly, I want you all to know that I did NOT beat him. I may have thought about it though.

My Poor Baby

This is what my baby looked like when he woke up this morning. He was freaked out to say the least and I was a little concerned as well. I *think* that he got bit by a rogue mosquito that managed to get into the house. He has bites on his hand (swollen) and his head (big knot) as well. I called the Dr and he just said to give him Benadryl. We are getting by on that for now, but if he is still swollen tomorrow they will look at it when he goes for his 2 year old check.

It's a Bryce!!

Too true, folks! It does appear that we will be blessed with our third baby boy sometime in November. There was absolutely no questioning his gender even though it is a little early to be finding out. Most importantly, at this point, it appears that there are two functioning kidneys and a bladder. That means that this baby is not cursed with Potter's. I am so ecstatic! We are slowly being able to believe that we are going to get to bring a baby home to keep us up at nights!!

For those that are interested, his name is Brycen James and we will call him Bryce.

On the Ty front, things are going really well. He is growing up so fast!! He can and does say just about anything that you want him to and he is really good about saying PLease and Thank You. His latest funny thing is walking past Cooper and saying, "Excuse me, cat." Lori and I took him and Carter to get their picture taken a couple of weeks ago. They didn't do great, but you couldn't tell it from the photographs! I have to recommend Portrait Innovations. They were wonderful and very reasonably priced!! Here are a couple that I really like.




Josh and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary last Friday. We decided that we must be old because we constantly find ourselves saying, "It doesn't feel like it's been X years." Anyways, we went to Sundance Square in Fort Worth and went to a comedy club. It was nice to leave Ty with my parents and just have a night away. We stayed at the Worthington (which was REALLY nice) and watched Saturday Night Live completely uninterrupted.

Anyways... that's really all that I know right now. I would promise to update later, but let's be real, I probably won't.

Is Blogging Really That Great?

This is the question of the day - is blogging really that great. I am going to say yes, even though I generally suck at it. The reason that blogging is really that great is because it lets people know what is going on. I mean, hey, is Jen having a good day? Let's check her blog. Is Ethan walking? Let's check Kyle and Mel's blog. What diapers are the cheapest? Just check Sara's blog. But beyond keeping up with the people that you see/talk to all the time, it is a great way to stalk people. Just kidding! But, that is what it seems like sometimes. For instance, I know all about Sara's best friends, the Hejls, because I religously read their blog. I mean, I have actually seen them in real life, but I don't know that they could pick me out in a line-up. Then, there are the Mayos Never met 'em. I know alot about them, though. They have a really interesting blog. So, in summary, blogs are great for keeping in touch and learning about new people. Maybe I should keep mine up a little better.

In other news...I haven't posted it here and I probably should... we are having a baby!!! We are about 9 weeks pregnant and due in November. Lord willing, there will be a new thing to be thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner. I knew that it would be hard to be pregnant again. Physically, it hasn't been bad yet. I have had little morning sickness and am still going to the gym 3-4 times a week. I am already showing (I think) but that is because of muscle memory. Emotionally, it has been ALOT harder. I still can't think about actually having a baby in the house. My mind won't let me believe that it could happen. Hopefully, the nightmares and things will stop once we see that the baby has kidneys. I want to be able to enjoy the pregnancy and the baby, but, right now, it is really not possible.

I have another appointment next Wednesday and we should be able to hear the heartbeat. I will let you all know how things are going!

I will write more about Easter later. Just know that Ty loved it and has a new favorite word - candy!!

Just a Glorious Friday

Why is it glorious you ask? Just because it is Friday. I love Fridays. I think they are the absolute best day of the week. There is anticipation because of the weekend, there is relief because it is the end of a work week. What a great day Friday is!

Anyways, I will tell you that my Thursday was pretty great too. Josh surprised me and took a half day at work! He came home and we watched Scrubs while Ty slept. When Ty woke up, we went to the mall and shopped. Granted, we couldn't buy anything (no budget), but it was still fun to look! Also, Josh watched Ty and Mary Ann and I hit Bahama Breeze. It was so nice to just visit and eat dessert. I don't get to do that all that often, but I really enjoy it.

That brings me to a discussion that we had last night. Do you feel like you have a good relationship with God? I theorize that everyone feels like their relationship needs work. That is good - God wants us to want improvement. I think the problem is when we get completely down on ourselves because our relationship with God isn't perfect. I don't think he wants us to feel scared or worried all of the time that we aren't doing enough. I don't know if that is true, but I think that's what I think. Comments?

Also, what is the difference in faith and relationship? I mean, I think I have a strong faith. Hold a gun to my head and ask if I believe in God and I will tell you yes in a heartbeat. I know that the Bible is true and that Jesus is God's son. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for us and everything. I think my faith in the unseen is strong. I think that my relationship is weak. So, in verses where it talks about encouraging those who are weak in their faith, is it talking about the fact stuff or the relationship stuff?

Last thing. So, I sold a curtain on Ebay. The stupid thing sold for .99. I charged 10 for shipping because I have been eating it in shipping costs. I got an email from the lady complaining that the curtain is a little faded on the sun side and that my handling charge was too high. Lady, you bought the curtain for .99! Deal with it. That is all.

V-day!

Happy Valentines Day! Today is a bittersweet day at our house. It is a day to celebrate love and relationships, but it is also 1 month since we lost Brett. We love and miss him so much and wish he could be here with us. We picked his headstone yesterday. It was tough, but we are glad to have it done and we think it is perfect.

We have plans for tonight without having plans (That makes no sense). We are taking Ty to the church for babysitting and then going to dinner somewhere. Beyond that we have no idea. We are also going to visit Brett today at some point. Gotta go because Ty is screaming. I'll try to write more when he's asleep!

Want to Know Something Not Fun?

Let me tell you what is not fun - having a sick kiddo. Ty has been feeling badly for the past several days. This means that I don't get to set him down all day long. I was so glad that Sara brought my sling back because Ty has been in a hip-carry while I try to get things done around the house.

Even worse is the fact that I don't feel well either. I want to crawl in bed and whine but I can't because Ty is whining.

Wow. This was a whiny blog. Check back (maybe tomorrow) for a happier one.

Brett Andrew Foster

That is right. Faith Elizabeth was born on Saturday, January 14 and was renamed Brett Andrew. He was a tricky little guy and hid his "details" until the very end. They actually told us he was a girl about 5 minutes before he was born. They were a little embarrassed, I think, to admit they had been wrong. Here are the details of Brett's Birthday...

I woke up at 1:15 with contractions. After I woke up Josh and was instructed to "make them stop", I ran a bath and settled in to relax. After about 5 minutes of that, I told Josh that we had to go. We packed our bag (contractions were about 2 minutes apart) and Josh casually drove to the hospital. Once there, they told me that I probably had a bladder infection but would check me anyway. Sure enough, we were all shocked to discover that I was 8 cm dilated and 90% effaced. After a while, I got my epidural (God bless anthesiologists) and we were off. My Dr was out of town as was his back-up so we got a third-stringer. He was wonderful. I don't think that we could have asked for a more wonderful Dr.

Brett was born at 5:40 am and weighed 4 lbs, 4 oz and was 15 inches long. He never opened his eyes, but he held our fingers and let us cuddle him. He passed away in my arms about an hour later.

All in all, it was as good an experience as it could have been. I was afraid that he would be hurting and that the whole process would be scary, but it really wasn't. My baby boy was and will always be completely perfect.

The service was held yesterday at 11. There were a ton of people there and it was wonderful. Thank God for friends. Just in case you want to know, we are asking that anyone that wants to do something for Brett send donations to The Kid's Place c/o the Edmond Church of Christ. Just put in memory of Brett in the subject line.

Thank you all so much for the love, support, and prayers that you all have given us over the past 4 months. We want you to know that we love you too.

And so we plan.

Ready for another fun post?? Yesterday we had another Dr appointment. We did the normal things like blood pressure, weight (She lied and told me I still look good), and the cup stuff. Then we did an ultrasound. I am sure that you will all be surprised to know that there wer still no kidneys. Not shocked? Well, believe it or not, I was. I don't know why I make myself think that this baby will be well before every single appointment, but I do. We got to spend alot of time watching her. It was good but very hard. She sucks her thumb and plays with her nose. We could even see her tongue moving. They just watched her profile for a long time so that we could see her. We schedule another appointment for 2 weeks from now and we will probably induce the week after that.

So, we had to do the crummy stuff. We went to the funeral home and picked out a casket. There are only 2 choices for babies and one looked like an ice chest so it wasn't a hard decision. We went and looked at cemetary plots. We found a nice place near a friend's baby and we think we'll put Faith there so she won't be alone. We bought her hospital, funeral home, and burial outfits (including one boy one, just in case) and a hand/footprint mold kit. We also found a Christmas ornament to bury with her and bought an identical one for us to hang on our tree every year for her. It was a productive day overall, but it still sucked. We think we are ready now. I guess we'll see.

Hi Everyone!

Sorry that it has been so long since I've updated this thing. I want to avoid only writing about the crummy stuff, but that seems to be what occupies most of my thoughts so I just don't write.

Things are going okay here. I feel like everything is falling into place. Our last Dr's appointment sucked so we had a hard week last week, but we are doing better now. They tell us that they think we are having a little girl. We decided to name her Faith Elizabeth. Faith is just such an important thing to us right now and is what is holding us together so it seems an apropriate name. She is kicking alot and getting stronger. I love getting to feel her move (most of the time). I found a memory box that I want to get her and I need to get a handprint/footprint kit and an outfit. I want to be prepared for her when she decides to get here.

Ty is doing well. He mimics words like a crazy person and his new favorite phrase is "Cool, Cool." Halloween was fun even though he didn't love the fact that he had to wear his costume. He quickly forgot his discomfort when we gave him candy. He still loves his "show" and he dances now. It is really cute and quite funny.

I will again promise to update more often, but I think that you should realize that this may be an empty promise. I'll also leave you with a picture of Ty from Halloween becaue he is cute and it should make your day.

Not Good

We had our follow-up appointment yesterday. We were anxious and filled with hope. Unfortunately, we didn't leave with hope. My fluid levels are down to 0 and there are still no visible kidneys or bladder. We go back in 8 weeks for an ultrasound, but I don't really understand what for.

We want to be hopeful and we know that God can still perform a miracle, but we feel crushed after this news. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Guess what!

Today Josh felt the baby kick! Looking back on all of our dates with Ty, it is almost exactly one week later than with him. Also, the baby moved and kicked like a crazy person all through Bible Study. I couldn't help but smile. For those that don't know (most of you, I'm guessing), when there is no fluid around the baby it is very hard for them to move. I am taking the fact that Jr was moving like crazy as a really good sign.

I want to be honest, I am still really scared for our baby but I feel like God has already begun the healing process on him/her. The Bible says in SEVERAL places to ask God for things and do not doubt and they will be given to you. I do not doubt that God can and will heal our baby. Please keep praying for us.

Need Your Prayers

I know that I haven't been very good about updating my blog and I fully anticipated writing yesterday, but things just don't always work out the way that we plan. When Josh and I woke up yesterday morning our only discusssion was what to name this baby. Is it a boy or a girl? Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the news that we would get.

After 2 ultrasounds, we were told that in all likelihood our baby does not have kidneys. If the baby had one kidney, we could cope, but no kidneys is apparently (and obviously) "incompatible with life". The baby looks great. It has a strong heart and is growing right on track. The only sign of a problem is that there is almost no amniotic fluid around the baby. We saw the baby sucking its thumb and looking at us. It looks great, just a little cramped.

We are a little numb right now and trying to figure out what to feel. I am writing only to let everyone that I possibly can know to pray for our baby. We have another ultrasound in 2 weeks. At that time they will make a more final diagnosis. They said there is really nothing that we can do, but I am going to try a light bedrest when Josh is home and will be drinking water like a mad woman to give the baby every chance that we can. Even with all of that, we know that God is the only one that fix our baby right now. Please pray for us and pray for a miracle.

Please.

Just a quick vent

Last night was nothing like the night before. Life is sucking for Josh and I this morning.