Abby Rae

One of my oldest, dearest friends, Tracy, had her baby girl yesterday morning.
Trace left me a message Thursday morning, letting me know that Baby Abby had arrived and that she had a lot to tell me about the delivery. Of course, I was dying to talk to her. (She lives in North Carolina, so I'm not able to visit them in the hospital). Abby arrived at 7:01am and weighed 7 lbs 13oz (and that was 3 weeks early!).

Trace had a hard labor and they had to turn off her epidural (OUCH!). Baby Abby had a few complications, but finally arrived. She had to be taken to the NICU and put on oxygen. Tracy only got to hold her brand new little girl for a few seconds before they took her away. When I talked to Trace later Thursday afternoon, she still hadn't been able to hold Abby, just being able to stroke her lil head and fingers in the NICU. I can't imagine how difficult this is for new parents. My heart just went out to Tracy and her husband Bart. It would be so hard to see your new baby and want more than anything to hold and kiss her and not be able to.

So, Tracy asked that I pray for Abby's vital signs to stay strong, for her breathing to improve and for no infection to invade her lil body. So, pray I did.

Good news- when I talked to Tracy today, Abby was doing better!!! She was taken off the oxygen. Mommy and Daddy got to hold her. She even ate twice today, even though it was small amount. Her WBC count is still high and they want to keep an eye out for any signs of pneumonia. They have really good doctors and medical care and they are taking every precaution to make sure that Abby is as healthy as she can be before they release her.

Tracy gets to go home tomorrow, but she will stay at the hospital as long as Abby needs to.
If you read this, just say a prayer for this family- Bart, Tracy, Emma(their other 2 and 1/2 year daughter) and Abby. I just pray that Abby grow stronger by the minute and that this family is able to be at home under one roof very soon.

Congratulations Tracy and Bart!! I can't wait to see pictures of precious Abby Rae!

Almost 12 Weeks....

A recent conversation between my husband and I:

Me: "Am I almost 11 weeks or almost 12 weeks along?"

Keith: "Almost 12."

Me: "How can you remember, but I can't remember?"

Keith: "Easy. Your weeks of pregnancy are the same as the number of weeks football season has been going on."

I guess that is what I get for marrying a sports fanatic!

Honesty- Really the Best Policy?

I have had a personal struggle lately.

Is honesty really the best policy?

Under most circumstances I would say "ABSOLUTELY", but something in my life recently made me question my opinion.
I have a dear friend who I am going through some rough patches with. We had a long talk, during which she said that we needed to be completely honest with each other in order to get our friendship back on track. I didn't know if I fully agreed.

See, she said some "honest" things that hurt my feelings. I don't know that I necessarily needed to know those things. I chose not to share my "honest" feelings because I believe the only result would have been hurt feelings on her behalf. Is it best to be honest when you are only going to bring pain? Are you being honest in order to better the relationship or to ease the burden on yourself? I honestly don't know....

Funny how God works though.... I was really struggling with this for a few days. Keith and I went to church that Saturday night and the message was, what else- HONESTY. Our Pastor talked about how honesty is crucial in every relationship, no matter how difficult the subject is. He said that if you want the relationship to flourish and grow, you will come across times when you need to endure the difficult task of being honest.

Okay, okay, okay... I get it.

So, God is working on me. I am almost there. Now the hard part comes with broaching the difficult subject with my friend, again. The subject I try so hard to avoid. I am not confrontational and the conversation will not be easy. But, I know that it needs to be done for the sake of the friendship.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm going to North Carolina to visit my dear, dear friend Tracy!
My flight leaves tomorrow after work and I will be arriving in Charlotte by 9:45, EST.

I'm so excited. I only get to see Trace a handful of times a year and I love going to visit her and her family. Plus, she is about 8 months pregnant and I haven't seen her since she was here in July. We're pregnant together for the first time! My husband asked me if we would rub bellies once I got there. (No idea where he came up with that one!)

I have to admit, I am a little nervous about my flight. I just don't want to get sick on the plane. Praying that I feel well and that God can ease my worries.
I'm so excited and Baby is too- first plane ride for Baby Book!!!!

I'm BORING!

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I feel like the most boring person on the face of the earth!!!

Is it just me or does everyone go through this?
All of a sudden I have no conversation topics except about pregnancy or babies. I swear I used to be a semi-interesting person, but my mind just seems to be on one track- the baby track.

This does not make for engaging blog posts.