miracle story

our sweet baby girl. 21 weeks.

This girl is a miracle. as are all children. I think it's just way too easy for me to forget that. I will never forget it as long as I live from now on though. I just can't ever grasp how this teeny tiny little person with the smallest little organs and fingers and vessels is growing somehow inside of my tummy and I'm not doing anything. God is doing ALL of it. and He has and is truly creating her to be perfect in His sight. created in His image. to reflect Him at all times and to shine for Him in her daily life {which is why I want to name her a certain name that mark and I have not agreed upon for sure yet and he would probably not like me to announce her name on here before he knows it yet. haha.... hopefully we will give her a name in the next few weeks when we have more time to talk and pray about it}

anyway... here's the miracle that happened a few weeks ago. I want to write this down so that our sweet girl will know what an incredible creation she is and so that she can read this someday and know the details... 

We went in for our 20 week sono to find out that she was a girl. Praise Jesus we were able to schedule it when Mark was working nights and had that day off and was able to be there. Reese was there too and thought it was really neat to see the pictures of the baby on the screen and she loves to look at the sono pictures now too :) so cute. we kept trying to explain how the baby in mommys tummy is a girl like reese but she just kept saying 'no its a baby!' :)

We were just living in bliss that day, so excited about another baby girl on the way to be Reesers best friend. To be a daddys girl. To wear all of the cute clothes that are in boxes that we already have (praise the Lord). and we were beyond thankful that her organs and heart and brain and fingers and toes, etc were all there. and all functioning perfectly. 

Glory to God for what He has done and what He has created. 

So then the next day while R was napping and Mark was sleeping because he had worked the previous night. I got a call from my dr saying that she had received a call from the radiologist who reviewed everything from the sono and that they had a concern that our baby girl might have a cleft palette. 

my heart sank. 

MY baby. I thought. there's no way. we already saw her yesterday. 

She was perfect. 

So, she said their nurse would be calling me and we'd schedule a high-risk ultrasound in a few days to make sure. I said a quick prayer that I could have strength through all of this and give it to God before I lose it and I walked slower than I ever have up the stairs, woke up mark and started crying as I told him what had just happened. Of course he was in a dead sleep (imagine this being told to you in the middle of the night - poor guy) and it took him a few minutes to process what I was saying but even when he did he was super cool and collected -of course- and i think the first thing he said was 'but she's healthy?' to which I stopped sobbing and realized there is much much much worse news that could have come thru the phone about our sweet girl. my hubby helped me put it into perspective and we prayed about it for a while together and Mark talked some wisdom into me - well i guess more accurately God talked wisdom into me through Mark and I pulled myself together enough to call our parents, family and close friends and ask for prayer. 

We then had to wait an entire week to find out if she did have a cleft palette or cleft lip or both and how severe it was - if they could even tell that - and then we would begin to meet with surgeons because apparently that kind of surgery happens very quickly after the baby is born. It was a long week.

And boy did God teach me in that week. 

Lots of people kept telling me stories about how the sono tech had said something to someone they knew about the baby and then they went in for a more intense sono and it wasn't there. or they were tracking something throughout the whole pregnancy and when the baby was born they were perfect. and the stories kept coming but I was really trying not to focus on that they could have been wrong. 

I was focusing on the part where God says "you are fearfully and wonderfully made." I kept telling both of our sweet girls this over and over. who cares what you look like. who cares if your hair is curly or straight (reese is really into this right now) who cares if you talk like youre from the north or the south. God only looks at your heart. why is it so hard for us to only look there too?? and really I didnt care about what she looked like or that the cleft would make her look any different (bc I had already heard the surgeries they do now for this are incredible and its really not a big deal - i guess my surgeon of a husband knows a little about this stuff :) but what was breaking my heart was the fact that I might not be able to nurse her and the fact that she would have to go through surgery as a teeny little 8 lb baby and maybe even several more in her lifetime, and that it could effect her speech and her ability to eat and smell... etc. I kept telling myself 'she is still created in HIS image. she is still perfect in HIS sight. and she is still such a miracle and a gift to our family' but it still hurt my heart.

Eph. 3:20

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..."

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but TAKE HEART, I have overcome the world.

Hebrews 10:23

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful!"

Psalm 112:7-8

"He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear."

So, we prayed a lot. that God would give us peace. that He would keep her healthy and strong. that it would be nothing on the sono. and that if it was something that it would be minor or that ultimately he would close the cleft!!! We took off to Branson for the weekend actually and that was awesome to not dwell on it and to have a date night with my hubby to process it together (thanks gigi and papajoe!). 

{again I hesitated even writing this whole blog because I know there are much much harder things to process about your kiddos health and this was a small one... but I just want to write down our story.}

I realized in that week also that I hadn't really been thinking or praying for this second baby nearly as much as I did with Reese. Obviously this time around we have a TON of things going on at the same time but still I think for some reason I just hadn't taken this pregnancy as seriously as I should have been. I had been just totally taking for granted that she was growing and forming and - don't get me wrong I was praying for her and talking about her - but I don't think I had really wrapped my mind around the fact that she was a whole new person coming into our family and making it even better than it already was. and not just a little baby for us to play with and care for. but a new life. a new special, perfect person. and God already has a perfect plan for her life. He already knows her name and what talents and hobbies she'll have and where she'll go to college and who she will marry. and I realized through that week that I needed to be praying for those things and for her heart and for her to shine Jesus through everything she does. 

so... I praised Jesus for my friend Rachel who has a two year old and could watch Reese while I went to the appt. and Reese was excited to go play there. I prayed with all that I was that Mark could make it to the appt too - but for some reason God had him working on an 8+ hour procedure that morning and he didn't even get to check his phone until HOURS after I had already found out the news. I listened to Shane&Shane and sung scripture back to Jesus for days and then cried and cried the whole way to the appt. but they weren't tears of fear or saddness. They were honestly tears of joy because I knew no matter what, this baby girl was going to do BIG things in her life and that God has already created her for His purpose. and i felt so overwhelmed and blessed that He had created her for me and for our family. and it took all of these things to lead to that moment in my car in the parking lot for my silly little mind to grasp that. 

then i waited alone forever in the office. and finally the nurse took me to the back room. my phone was vibrating like crazy with so many people saying they were praying. she looked and looked at the baby. I tried to pretend like I knew what we were looking at but couldn't for the life of me understand where her nose and lips were when they do it as a cross section. and then she so casually said, 'well her nose sure looks pretty to me?' and i thought, hmmm what exactly does that mean? she kept looking and was taking tons of still shots of what I thought was her heart. and then said, 'well if i was you and this was my baby I wouldn't be worried at all. she looks great to me. I'll send all this to the dr to review and she'll meet with you in a few minutes.' 

I was praising Jesus so much but trying not to get too excited bc I didn't really know what all that meant exactly. and I really thought she had looked at her mouth/nose for like 2 seconds so how could she have even seen for sure?

Then I waited forever again. 

Another dr came in and said, 'do you know why they called you in here today?' obviously i said 'uh yes!' and she said "well I'm thinking they were totally wrong" 

to which I thought "well I'm thinking GOD just did a miracle!!!!"

she proceeded to go over all the pictures with me. and what I thought was her heart they were looking at earlier was actually somehow her lips and nose and she showed me how they were totally formed. She also pulled up the picture that the tech from the week before saw and showed me why they had the concern in the first place. In that picture there is an obvious something covering her lip - even I could see it with my little eyes. and in the new pictures it is obviously not there. miracle. She said it was probably the baby's umbilical cord that was casting a shadow on the baby's lip and we have nothing to worry about. We sure didn't need to do an echo like we had planned and that we had a perfect baby girl on the way. 

I was grinning ear to ear. I was also thinking she was really perfect either way but this is just a miracle :)

I again went to my car and cried. so thankful that our girl is still healthy. and that we won't have to worry about all the complications that could have come with her having a cleft palette. 

Glory to God. "Let us tell about what he has done!" Jer 51:10

thank you Jesus for your mercy and for your constant love. He who promised is faithful. and we are thankful.

So, sweet baby girl, that's how your story has started and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for your precious life. Keep growing in there and we can't wait to meet you and hold you and squeeze you in 17 more weeks :)

also...

My dad writes a really awesome parenting blog {parentingyourteen101.com} and he wrote a little something about our story and interpreting good things for bad things and bad things for good things "It's amazing that an umbilical cord, the very pathway used to nurture and provide life for a child in the womb, could be mistaken for a birth defect. God knows how to turn bad things into good things."  It's really neat. Here it is:

The Umbilical Cord

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” -James 1:2-3

In life, it's so easy to misinterpret bad things for good things and good things for bad things. Paul challenges us to, "Consider it all joy when we encounter various trials." But when we're actually in the middle of tragedy or difficulty, it's hard to see the good in the trial. However, so often, difficulties are blessings in disguise. If we're not careful, we can wish for the removal of something only to find that it's something good.

My precious daughter, Elizabeth, and her wonderful husband, Mark, are expecting their second daughter in January. Reese is our two-year old granddaughter and she'll be a great big sister. We've been so excited for baby number two.

But we had some difficult news last week. Elizabeth went in for an ultrasound and they saw indicators that the baby might have a cleft pallet. Many have received more difficult news, but we were disappointed for the surgeries that would be required. The doctor told Elizabeth that they would do a more detailed ultrasound in a week and that there was a chance it could be negative.

We all joined in prayer and resolved that if it was a cleft pallet, the trials of surgeries to come would be part of God's plan. We were reminded that every child is "fearfully and wonderfully made", defects and all. But at the same time, we prayed for a healthy baby.

The week went by very slowly (as they always do in these situations), and Elizabeth called later that morning to give us the news. "The baby’s umbilical cord had been hanging in front of her face causing a shadow and that's what they thought was the cleft pallet. The baby is fine." We were all relieved. It's amazing that an umbilical cord, the very pathway used to nurture and provide life for a child in the womb, could be mistaken for a birth defect.

God knows how to turn bad things into good things. Just ask Joseph. He was taken through deception and betrayal by his very flesh and blood. He was sold into slavery and thrown into prison. He had every right to be bitter and angry. But instead, he embraced forgiveness and did not "take into account a wrong suffered." He acknowledged that God could take a bad thing and use it for good.

Jim Lovell, the Apollo 13 astronaut, described a time he saw bad used for good. "I remember this one time - I'm in a Banshee at night in combat conditions, so there's no running lights on the carrier. It was the Shrangri-La, and we were in the Sea of Japan and my radar had jammed, and my homing signal was gone... because somebody in Japan was actually using the same frequency. And so it was - it was leading me away from where I was supposed to be. And I'm lookin' down at a big, black ocean, so I flip on my map light, and then suddenly: zap. Everything shorts out right there in my cockpit. All my instruments are gone. My lights are gone. And I can't even tell now what my altitude is. I know I'm running out of fuel, so I'm thinking about ditching in the ocean. And I, I look down there, and then in the darkness there's this uh, there's this green trail. It's like a long carpet that's just laid out right beneath me. And it was the algae, right? It was that phosphorescent stuff that gets churned up in the wake of a big ship. And it was - it was - it was leading me home. You know? If my cockpit lights hadn't shorted out, there's no way I'd ever been able to see that. So uh, you, uh, never know... what... what events are to transpire to get you home."

We need to be careful what we pray. The very thing we ask to be removed might be the very thing that takes us home. Umbilical cords need to stay put but cockpit lights need to go out. God's will is always best in the long run.

It's so much better to rest in His will.

By Eric Joseph Staples ©

www.parentingyourteen101.com 

beaverdale fall fest

at her first day of "school" -
aka mommy goes to thursday morning bible study for 2 hrs and
reese has what we like to call "church school" and she takes her backpack and thinks she's pretty cool :)

........

This past weekend was our neighborhood's fall festival. We weren't really sure what to expect but had heard it was a really big deal and a really fun weekend. They closed off several of the main streets for the whole weekend so we walked down Friday night to check it out and were so surprised by what a MAJOR thing it was. It was like a mini little fair or something just a few blocks down from us. There were tons of food vendors, rides, games, prizes, bounce houses, tons of bands playing outside the restaurants and bars in the square (and they were all REALLY good) and we had a blast! Reese thought it was just about the greatest thing- well until she heard the fireworks from our house and freaked out she was soooo scared. poor thing. She has asked if we can go back to the carnival every day this week :)

Saturday morning they had a parade and again, I thought it would be a few cars and maybe a church group or something but boy was I wrong. This thing was legit. It went on for 2 hours. R got more candy than we could ever eat. There were a billion floats, bands, groups, politicians, cars, clowns, puppets, bikes... etc. I wish you could hear reese tell you about it. :) It was really fun!!

Then when Mark got off work we went back to eat dinner on the lawn, listen to music and watch R dance in the street, eat the best ice cream sandwich I've ever had, almost buy a lot of things we dont need like beaverdale shirts and tupperware and reese wanted a necklace with her name written on a piece of rice but instead settled for a free toothbrush and some facepaint :) Such a fun weekend!!! It was hilarious though bc we kept seeing tons of families with little kids that obviously live super close to us and we would totally lean over to each other and say "we could totally be friends with them" haha it turned into a joke and if we ever actually meet anyone with kids in our neighborhood it will be even funnier. Maybe by the fest next year we'll have friends to go with :) but for now we're loving our family of three.

---i should say we do have a few friends here but they don't live in our neighborhood and couldn't join us for the festival. we're not complete losers :) as it may sound---

gak

we had a little craft day and made some homemade gak :) reeser loves playdough but i hate how it just crumbles everywhere (probably a sign that its too old and i need to just spend $2 and get some more...) but instead I thought it would be fun to let R make her own gak and it has been a huge hit. so much of a hit that i might have hid it the other day because i just don't know if i can play with it for another second. she hasn't asked for it in a few days but we'll probably pull it out this afternoon bc its raining now... anyway... here's what we did:

mostly we followed these instructions from my friends fun blog.

here's what you need:

-borax

 {which took me forever to find bc i honestly had no idea what it was - its with the laundry detergent}

-a whole bottle of elmers glue 

-water

-food coloring

1st: mix 1 Cup of water and 1 tsp borax and set aside

2nd: into an airtight canister mix a whole bottle of glue(4oz), 1/2 cup water, and food coloring together {just shake it up until its all mixed}

3rd: add the borax mixture to the glue mixture and shake and shake and shake - obviously the munchkin was trying with all her might to shake it up :) it takes a few minutes to shake it all together

and in those few minutes someone was already bored with the process and moved onto something else. ha. then after those few minutes someone else realized we must have done something wrong because it was not forming gak at all. so we may or may not have jumped in the car and gone to walgreens to get more glue and then tried again.

the second time i tried to focus a little more and not take pictures and not let a 2 year old measure the water and it worked great. 

thanks lullaby lubbock for teaching us how to make our own gak :) so fun!!!

gone fishin

Reese has been asking to go fishing for months now (no idea why? i think she must have seen it on mickey or sesame street or something ha!) and then we saw a lightening mcqueen fishing pole at target and she just couldn't even stand it she was so excited. I told her maybe Gigi and Pajoe would get it for her if we went fishing with them and sure enough... they made it happen :) 

Mark got off for Labor Day weekend {thank you Jesus for three whole days with my hubby! much needed!!} so we headed down to Branson and had so much fun. We went down to the bottom of kamp and taught this munchkin how its done :) She was so cute throwing her "fish" into the water and reeling it back in over and over and over and over (it was really just a weight that came with the pole but she sure didnt know the difference). The boys couldn't just sit back and watch so they went all out and tried to actually catch something but I'm afraid Lightening Mcqueen scared them all away bc we didn't catch anything. Joe White even brought us his magic bait but I guess we didn't have the magic touch. We still had a blast though! and Reese sure made a memory that she will talk about for months to come :) "remember fishing with pajoe and gigi!?" she says. too cute.

My parents also watched Reese on Saturday night and Mark and I had an awesome night out together eating Mexican food {which we have both majorly been missing!!!!} and then I was a really good wife and went to see Batman with my man. To my surprise I actually kinda liked it :) Probably just because it was on the huge IMAX screen... but we had fun.

Then Sunday night my mom and I went to a friends wedding and had fun catching up with everyone. I especially loved getting to catch up with my dear friend Kristen. She's due in November and we're just so excited for these babes to be so close in age!! 

august

i wish instagram had a button that would automatically upload photos to your blog! then i would totally be on top of things in the blog world. instead here's another month long post of random pictures.... mostly just for my memory and to remember what our little munchkin was up to at 28 months

she has started skipping naps these days but I always make her have "rest" time in her room and she loves to read her books, play with puzzles, try on all her shoes and sometimes she gets so worn out she falls asleep right in the middle of playing :) I can't decide if I'd rather her take a 2 hr nap in the afternoon and then not go to bed until like 9:30 or have no nap and go to bed closer to 8. 

 ....

We went exploring one weekend in Jesper Park and had so much fun! 

 it was so pretty!

 ....

this tough cookie got her first real booboo. blood and all. and had a crazy huge scab! she was so brave. we were playing hop scotch and she got a little too excited and slid down the driveway a little :( i sure didnt tell her to make this face in the picture ha! 

it didn't phase her much bc we were right back where we started the next day :)

 ....

thanks to gigi and pajoe Reesieboo started taking the 'mommy and me' gymnastics class and none other than Chows gym here in Des moines. She LOVES it and is just too cute out there in her little leotard working so hard :) I'm sure we'll never ever see chow or shawn or gabby... but it's still so fun to be there. If you can't tell she's showing off her stamps in this picture that she gets at the end of each class all over her body. ha. note: there were several mornings that she woke up screaming crying and I thought she must of had a nightmare or there was someone in her room or something and as soon as I scooped her up she said thru her tears 'my stamps not there anymore' :( sweet girl. when i told her they wash off and we'll have to wait until the next time to get more, she just cried harder and harder. needless to say she was more than excited to get more stamps the next time. I think i might have to buy a stamp for at home for when she goes potty in the big girl potty!! 

 ....

The surgery dept got a box at the Iowa Cubs game one weekend and we had SOOO much fun watching the game, eating popcorn and visiting with all the residents. R still talks about when we went to watch the baseball game. oh and they gave her a baseball player bobblehead doll when we walked in so now thats quite a treasure. and its hilarious to watch her try to mimick the bobblehead haha!

 ....

After church last weekend. This sweater is 6-12 month and FINALLY fits her. haha. it HAD to have been marked the wrong size or something. We've been trying out lots of different churches here and haven't really decided on one yet but feel very blessed to have so many good options. We are definitely missing our church in Columbia so much though. 

 ....

A new favorite is princess dress up. don't know where this came from but one day after she took a bath she just asked if she could be a princess :) It's so cute. she dances around and sings "princess, princess princess." It's also spurred some pretty cute convos between daddy and R about how she really is a princess of God. too cute.

 ....

another favorite activity: blues clues. 

this is reeser searching for clues in our front yard with her 'handy dandy notebook' ha! her idea! and she'll say 'find 2 more clues mommy!' 'where is it?' and she'll look all over for it. and don't even think about trying to get in on the game and pretend like you see one bc she'll say 'silly mommy... thats not it. its over there!" :) 

 and you better believe she stops after every clue she finds to draw it. and even explains what she's drawing just like steve. its so great. i really need to video this!

 ....

Found a new love of painting. im sure her Honey could give her a few tips :) 

 this is a daily activity for sure!

found this idea on pinterest.... bowl of water, paint brushes, sidewalk. brilliant. 

 ....

last weekend our cute street had their annual block party :) it was so fun to visit with everyone and meet a few people who live down the road that we hadn't met yet. I just feel so incredibly blessed. Reese is the only kiddo under 10 yrs old (but our next door neighbors have one on the way just two months behind us! yay) What a fun evening. Oh and tomorrow night they're having a movie night where they all bring chairs and watch a movie on the side of one of the big houses at the end of the street! how fun is that!! 

 ....

oh this just started the other day too... reeser the photographer sets up these three bath animals in different places all over the house and then takes their picture and makes sure they're looking and smiling and its awesome. this seriously entertains her for 30 minutes! but most of the time I have to be in the picture, or the one waving my arms to get their attention and R will say "look up here ducky!" or I take a picture of her with them. 

 ....

she is a little ball of energy. loves to play pretend. has an awesome imagination. is very stubborn. never stops talking. loves to take care of everyone. maybe a little bossy. but has the sweetest heart and truly seems to care about those around her. i just couldn't love her any more.

its a......

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are just so blessed to add another sweet baby girl to our family in January!! I am so excited for Reese to have a sister and for them to grow up together and be forever best friends! (that will be my prayer at least) yay for girls! and praise the Lord for this healthy baby that we got to see on the ultrasound today. It just blows my mind the way HE creates such an intricate being inside my tummy. incredible. feeling so blessed and thankful today!

Iowa State Fair

Since the first day we moved here we have been hearing so much about how awesome the Iowa State Fair is in Des Moines and how we just absolutely have to go! So we decided we better see for ourselves :) Mark happened to be off the day it opened (and it was an unbelievable 75 degree day!!) so we decided to be crazy people and go on opening day. {to preface... I'm not really a "fair" kind of person. I didn't grow up going to the fair so I don't really feel any sort of nostalgia going there like a lot of people and honestly I think it mostly goes back to my freshman year at Baylor when I took my seventh grade small group girls to the Waco fair and was trying to be a super cool leader (since I had just met them) and went on all the rides with them and ate all the nasty food and had a blast with them but then was sick for days afterward haha so... I wasn't super thrilled about going but thought it might be fun to let R see all the animals and maybe eat a corn dog...} 

so... thats exactly what we did! and we had a blast! It met up to all the expectations that people had been telling us, for sure! It was unbelievably clean. It really didn't seem that crowded. We stayed away from the rides - even though the only fit Reeser threw was to ride on the teacups ha! I think she was mainly crying because I told her she wasn't tall enough. :( through her tears she kept saying "I'm tall mommy" maybe daddy can take her on that next year. There were an insane amount of farm animals. Reese could tell you all about it. "Remember mommy!" The pigs were getting a bath. The sheep were getting haircuts. The "cowgirls" were showing their horses in some sort of competition. There were bunnies and chickens and roosters and HUGE boars and cows... etc. Little Reese was LOVING it. After getting over the shock of how much the food cost, we went all out and got fresh squeezed lemonade, corn dogs, fries and even fried oreos - which were actually really good! but no way could we eat more than one! gah lee. oh and we found these incredible little donuts that our friend told us to look for and i'm not kidding that they were maybe the BEST thing I've ever put in my mouth. unreal. we might have gone back for a second bag before we left ha! and maybe I really wanted to go again on half price day just to run in and get some more donuts and come back out but my hubs declared that was crazy. (they only sell them at the fair once a year) I guess I'll have to wait until next year and you better believe I'll be the first one in line. now that my mouth is watering ... here are some iphone pics. Such a fun family outing :). This is for sure a new Iowa summer tradition for the Mason family.

oh yeah... some artist does this every year and its like the big thing to see. She makes a cow sculpted out of butter. yes, BUTTER. weird. but sorta cool i guess? how does someone ever get started doing this? ha. and its always a surprise what other characters she does. this year was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. and yes, we waited in line to see it. ha. might not have to do that next year.