"I CANNOT GO TO SCHOOL TODAY"

...said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
I've counted sixteen chicken pox.
There's one more, that's seventeen!
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
it might be instamic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke.
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in.
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb...
...I have a hangnail, and my hair is - What?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye. I'm going out to play!"


Well Rich played hookie today... but not because of senior-itis. Because he's definitely got the flu.

Dr. Zentz, God love him, didn't get his flu shot this year and has been surrounded by sick children at the clinic recently. His trouble began with a head-ache last night, but is now a full blown combination of head-aches, dry coughing, high fever, chills, and body aches. He feels terrible and his symptoms will probably last about 5 days.

There's nothing he can do now but wait it out. Our day has consisted of lots of hand washing, water drinking and chicken soup eating. I received my flu shot in the fall and should be mostly immune. Either way, please say a prayer for Rich to heal quickly and ask that the sugar-mama and baby-mama in this family won't contract any crazy bugs or fevers.

STUBBY

Today, two days before our first prenatal appointment, the baby is 6 weeks along in development.

Rich says he's going to call the baby 'Stubby' this week in honor of its newly forming arm and leg buds. On top of that milestone, the baby has a beating heart (which beats about twice as fast as mine) and a small blob of lung tissue. It also has several small, dark depressions on it's over sized head marking the spots where cute little ears, eyes, and a nose and a mouth are beginning to develop. Wow...

With our approaching appointment Rich and I have delved into a lot of discussion... not so much about the first part of pregnancy, but the last. The labor and delivery. He and I have decided to plan for more of a natural birth. Simply meaning that, as long as there are no complications with the progression of labor or anyone's health, I won't have pain medicine or other drug interventions. I warned Rich that this means he'll have to suck it up and become a lamaze guru with me, but he wasn't phased (though he still hasn't agreed to rub my feet on demand... I can't imagine why).

Of course, we hope the delivery will take place in South Bend at St. Joe's Hospital. For anyone who didn't hear, Rich was required to submit his hospital rankings by 12AM (Eastern Time) on January 23rd for the DO match. He only ranked St. Joe. We are a little nervous about this bold move, but very excited. Please continue your prayers for us; that we will be open and react with wisdom to whatever God determines is best for this season of our lives.

As I said in the last post, although our baby is going through monumental changes and we have many new things to think about, I feel relatively the same. I am learning the hard way that just about every type of food upsets my stomach and I'm coming to terms with eating frequent snacks rather than meals. To my dismay (and Rich's I'm sure) I've noticed I can be just a little cranky too, but Rich has been very understanding. One of the most enjoyable changes we're both experiencing is a change in prayer. Even though we can't see or feel a baby yet, we're expressing our thanks and asking for loads of grace, love, and wisdom. ...How much we have to learn from His agape love.

I look forward to updating the family after our trip to the obstetrician on Thursday (first and foremost by phone, of course). We love you.

NOW IT'S REAL

Saturday, January the 11th marked our three month anniversary of marriage; it was also the day we took our second, confirming home pregnancy test.

We are expecting!

Although we were not planning to start family life and parenthood quite this early, we were open to life from day one of marriage (which is why we chose to practice Natural Family Planning) and we are now overwhelmed with excitement.

For almost a week Rich and I kept the news to ourselves as we did baby and birthing research (me more than Rich of course), decided on an obstetrician, and sometimes just sat grinning at each other. I felt like I was holding onto the biggest secret in the whole world all week long; I could have exploded at any moment. It was not until our drive to Indiana for the weekend that we decided to tell family sooner rather than later. Our plans included driving to Warsaw on Friday and heading down to Bloomington to see siblings on Saturday. We would leave again for Warsaw on Sunday and return to Chicago Monday (MLK day). This meant seeing all of the immediate family on a staggered schedule. So on Friday evening we told Dean and Deb; on Saturday Tim, then Jason and Amanda and finally Tom, Amy and Isaac; and on Sunday we told Greg and Tammy. Everyone was overjoyed! We heard a few shrieks, saw some tears, answered several 'are you serious?' questions, and received an 'I told you so' from Tim. Thanks to Jason and Amanda, we also have a gender-neutral nickname for the baby... they started calling it "JA-MANDA".

Now, on Monday just after returning to Chicago, IT'S ALL REAL. We are having a baby in a few months and our immediate family is hoping, praying and preparing with us. (We still haven't spread the word to grandparents or close friends, but we'll soon make amends there after we've seen the obstetrician for our first prenatal appointment.)

For anyone who's just itching to know our time line; I am just about 5 weeks pregnant. Our baby is due September 22, 2009 and is somewhere between the size of a poppy seed and a sesame seed. The baby's neural tube will start to form within the week and will eventually sprout into the all important brain, spinal cord, backbone and nerves. The baby is also very close to having a pumping heart. On my (much less exciting) end, I look just the same and feel a little tired, but I've been fortunate not to have any morning sickness thus far.

As I curl up under the covers and think about leaving the long weekend with such important people for another few days of work, I hope you all know Rich and I are thinking of you and we pray for you daily. We miss you from our little apartment in Chicago and we can't wait to share more news (big and small) about the beginings of our family. Good night.

UPCOMING EVENTS
January 29th - First prenatal appointment (and Dean's birthday)
February 9th - D.O. Match Day