MIA no longer

There has been MUCH going on that I've neglected to post (you all know how tough the last year or so has been).

As you can tell by my new ticker...I'm pregnant!!  YAY!  It has been a terrifying and exciting 6 months (yes, 6 months) but completely worth it.  Here's a few things about this new development that deserves mention: After my positive HPT I had my beta and progesterone levels checked...and then again about 3 days later.  Surprisingly, my progesterone had dropped!  That could very well be why I miscarried before.  I was started on progesterone vaginal suppositories (yeah...that was fun) twice daily until the end of the 1st trimester.  But it obviously worked like a charm because we found out that we are going to have a baby boy of our very own at the end of March!  He is expected to arrive on August 15th.  =o)  I have terrible heartburn, my ankles are beginning to swell (so not cute) and the fabled "placenta brain" has definitely kicked in > I can't remember anything: I've taken the house phone to work a few times, I can never find my keys, and if I don't write things down at work they'll be lost forever.  However, Stephen is tickled pink not only to be a father, but that it's a boy.  Every time he talks about it, his chest puffs out a little.  ;o)

Nathan (my brother) joined the Coast Guard and is in the Caribbean as we speak aboard a cutter.  We are all so incredibly proud of him but miss him something terrible.  He's regaled us with stories of bad storms with 12-foot waves, stopping illegal immigrants and saving people from shipwrecks.

Momma and Daddy are doing well.  Momma is still holding the family together in that special way that every mom does and Daddy is getting chemo twice a week for him Multiple Myeloma.  The oncologist said that he does not qualify for the stem cell transplant because the last time his body just couldn't produce the stem cells.  In the next few months, the topic will be revisited.  But he's holding up very well.  Not many bad days and still when they get a little tough, they're not as bad as they could be.

I honored by those you have visited this blog during my hiatus, and I hope that you found it to be at least a little interesting.  I hope to continue to be able to keep you updated on these goings-on.