Just a hello

Hi friends,
Just thought I'd do a quick blog post to say hello! I've had my feet up for an hour or so while Annabelle has been napping and it'd been great to just rest. I'm so thankful for all the help I've had from Brian, my mom and my mother-in-law these days. There is very little laundry and dishes to do and plenty of time to rest and play with our sweet kido. What a blessing to be loved on in this way.

Additionally, our sweet friend Kim (who I think of as my third mom!) has set up for us to have meals brought to our house on Mondays and Fridays so that life is a little less stressful. It is so nice to sit down and enjoy a tasty meal together and truly enjoy one another during these last few weeks before me head to Charleston. I am so thankful that so many of our friends and family are doing as much as they can to care for us so that I am well rested and so that Jude can stay in my tummy as long as possible.

I am still feeling overly pregnant, but I'm not feeling nearly as much pressure as I was feeling a few weeks ago. I do not have any doctors appointments next week, but I have two the following week. After that, the frequency of appointments should increase. I cannot believe that I will be 32 weeks pregnant this coming Tuesday!

I must admit that I am getting more and more excited about finally meeting Jude. But I also must admit that I am equally getting more and more nervous about the changes that are ahead of all of us. I go to the Lord each day about my worries and my joys and He has sustained me. It is truly amazing to see how He is caring for us.

We've been working a little bit on Jude's nursery over the last few weeks and things are really starting to come together. His room was already blue and all of the furniture is set up too. We've received SO MANY cute little outfits for Jude and his closet is totally full. Thank you to all of our friends who have shared their hand-me-downs. We've also been given many items that we needed for our little guy. I really hope he will be able to come home with us one day to enjoy all the love from all of you.

Additionally, I am looking forward to our upcoming shower on November 19th! It will be wonderful to spend time with our sweet family and friends on that day. We are also so thankful to all of you who are planning on participating through the ONLINE SHOWER portion too. (This portion requires no invitation. Anyone can be a part of it) We've been so overwhelmed by the many ways that many of you have offered to support and care for Jude and for our family.

I also thought that I would take a minute to offer to answer any questions that some of you may have about Jude, his condition, his care, etc. I know that in the coming months it will be very difficult for us to answer any of your questions, so I thought I would offer to try to answer some. I'm probably not the best about explaining everything about CDH, but I will try. If you have a question, please feel free to post a comment or email us at just.enough.for.the.journey@gmail.com I hope to do a post in a week or so and attempt to answer some of your questions.

What we are thankful for:
Nice fall family days together. Some friends of ours brought us dinner last night and we took the meal outside and had a nice little picnic for the three of us. I think Brian and I are savoring each moment that we have all together.

What you can pray for:
A temporary or permanent home for our dog, Saucy. We have still not been able to find someone to care for him while we are away. It truly breaks my heart to think that we may have to take him to the animal shelter before we leave for Charleston. (At least we can be thankful that it is a no-kill shelter) Please pray for a home for Saucy.

Please pray that Jude will continue to remain in my tummy until he is delivered on December 6th. I have not had any signs of pre-term labor thus far and we'd really like for it to stay that way. Thank you again for your prayers for my amniotic fluid levels and my contractions. The fluid levels seem to be holding at 24cm and I've not had a contraction in more than a week!