Wednesday, April 22, 2009

12 Weeks YaY!



So our little one is 12 weeks today!  How exciting, I can honestly tell you that 3 months seemed like centuries away.  Eva is amazing!

The weather is finally looking up, yes it snowed here like last week!! We love our walks as well as mommy needing to get back into to shape for baby #2!  No we are not pregnant but we would love to be by the end of the year or the beginning of 2010!  Hey we believe Eva needs a little brother or sister to admire her.

So much has been going on, hence me not blogging for awhile.  Well, Jose got a full tuition scholarship for Spring/Summer term, it came out of the blue--it seemed--and was an answer to our prayers!  He will be able to make up some of the classes that he dropped during winter semester.  He is also starting mentored research this semester and is so excited and nervous all at the same time.  He has gotten some great responses from professors and so far has chosen one of the more challenging labs to do research but also the one that has the best reputation, its the cancer research lab on campus.  Some say it is one of the surest ways to get into medical school--ha, who knows.  Eva, Jose and I have enjoyed this "break" from school.  We have taken soooooo many pictures of us and we have gone exploring in Provo.  This is Jose's last week free from school, work and work...haha.  We are trying to make the most out of it, we have just totally focused on our little family.  We know that we will need this time and these experiences to get us through the more difficult times to come.  He knows that committing to school and this mentored research we will not see him very much.  Eva and I will be ok, though.  I am so proud of Jose!  I have albums on Facebook with pictures, I'm not that experienced with blogging.  

Last night we had the best FHE (Family Home Evening), we talked about goals and how fortunate we are to belong to a church that values goal setting and progression.  How we have prophets that counsel us to always look to make goals and to always find ways to progress and grow.  It was a great FHE!  So one of our goals in honor of Earth Day, we are going to be cleaner in our home and with our bodies.  Jose and I and our friends Matt and Mele, are going to run the Provo River 1/2 marathon!!!!  How fun is that!  We have made weekly goals both for our physical and spiritual growth.  You just can't have one with out the other!  The race is in August and we have about 14 weeks to GET FIT!  We both are kind of pumped about it, I hope we can stay pumped and that we can keep each other motivated.
Eva had a rough couple of weeks.  There was a lot of activity in our house.  When she gets irritated, she has an increase in seizures it takes a lot out of her and it almost seemed like she was just so tired of fighting.  However, that next week we just chilled and we were back on Eva time and she actually slept A LOT.  Well come that Friday her nurse, Margaret came to see her and she said she was looking good and that she was surprised how much better she was from the last visit.  Eva is quite the little fighter!  I have to admit it sometimes gets to me that my little one (medically speaking) has no cognitive thinking, no emotions, no real understanding or reasoning because of the part of the brain that she is missing.  However, I am a Latter-Day Saint and of course, I know better.  I know that her spirit knows me and knows how much her daddy and I love her!  I feel as though Eva is the one taking care of Jose and I, she is so wise to what we need and for right now we do need her.  I do pray that when the time comes we are able to set her free with out complaint.  Maybe some crying and heartache, definitely but with the understanding of the Lord's greater plan for her and us.  I can not even imagine what the Savior's mother felt to know what her son's charge in this life was to be.  To love Him, to raise Him and then to watch Him be tortured and die a physical death.  She is such an example to me of selflessness and love!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Angel Watch needs all of our help!

We need your help, Angel watch needs your help!

In past blogs I have talked about Angel Watch.  Just a recap, Angel Watch was the program that works with Intermountain Healthcare, they provide support and counseling for families that have received diagnosis similar to the one we received with Eva.  The terminal diagnosis.  

Angel Watch prepared us prenatally, not only with support and counseling but also with practical information on how to handle any outcome before and after delivery.  They were supportive of us, no matter our decision.  It was easy to want Eva, to not terminate the pregnancy.  It was not easy to go through all of the motions.  Angel Watch was essential in helping me sort out my feelings, on how to deal with family members that, although meant well, didn't really know how to "deal" with us.  They helped us with difficult things like finding a mortuary, a funeral home.  How to plan for the best delivery if our baby was stillborn.  They did this all in the most thoughtful and respectful manner.

I think back to September 12th, the day we received our diagnosis; Jose and I were numb.  The only thing we knew was that we wanted that little girl but the rest we had no clue how we were going to do it, the rest of the pregnancy etc...  I know the Lord puts others in our lives to work on his behalf.  Angel Watch was just that, they are Angels that are watching over us!  I could not imagine any family, couple having received the news that their baby might not be born and if born, might live hours, days, weeks or months.  The love, support and counsel that we received was what prepared me for now, for today.  It prepared me to be the best mom I could be to Eva, to enjoy her, to make memories everyday with her, even prenatally!

Well, Angel Watch is run almost entirely by donations and they need your help to keep this program going for next year!  This is how you can help!

Pam Hansen, who is the author of a book, Running with Angels is co-sponsoring a 5K Run/Walk on May 16, 2009 along with the help of Intermountain - Utah Valley Regional  Medical Center (Where Eva was born).  It is at 8:00 AM at Thanksgiving Point, in Lehi, UT.  Registration is until 7:30 AM.  This year, she has designated that all of the proceeds of the race are to go to Angel Watch to support the program in the Utah South area, with any special donations going to to our statewide program!  It would be so wonderful if you were in the Utah area or wish to come to Utah and run or walk in this 5K and help support Angel Watch!  If you are not in the area but want to help support this amazing program please, please consider donating money.  

If you wish to donate, here is how you can do it: go to www.mckay-deefoundation.org and then click on ways to give and you'll see the donate online button.