How Sweet The Name Of Jesus Sounds

How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.

Dear Name, the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding Place,
My never failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace!

By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.

Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
O Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath,
And may the music of Thy Name
Refresh my soul in death!

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Well the past week has been one filled with emotional ups and downs and remembering the sweet name of Jesus has continued to be a comfort to me. After a routine Dr visit last Friday, I was sent to the hospital for observation and testing. On Saturday I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. From what the doctors tell me, it is a mysterious illness. They really don't know what causes it. My doctor said that the reason they started prenatal care was to catch preclampsia. Basically my kidneys, for some unknown reason, do not hold in the protein they should and this in turn can start affecting other organs as well as the placenta. There are other symptoms that accompany preeclampisa, but right now I am feeling fine, and Graham is doing great. The doctors are telling me I am sick, but I would have no way of knowing it if it weren't for the tests! The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery, so I am just being monitored and having tests run daily to see how the disease progresses. I'm glad there is a cure, but unfortunately that means that Graham might have to be delivered any day now. I've been shocked, I've been frustrated, I've been scared and I've also been encouraged during the past week. I never dreamed of having a baby at 32 weeks. Jeff and I have talked to several doctors including the neonatologist and they have all been very optimistic about the outcome. If he is born this week, he will have to spend some time in the NICU....most likely about a month. If he is born in two more weeks, he might only have to spend a few days in the hospital or as much as a month. It's really hard for them to know exactly what condition he will be in, but the longer they can't wait for delivery, obviously the better. Although it's not exciting sitting in a hospital bed all day, every day I'm here is a day that Graham grows and develops. At this point, it is a waiting game, and at some point it will become clear to the doctors that they need to deliver Graham. For those of you who have been praying, who have called, and who have come to just keep me company, I am so thankful. One of my doctors said that God has a way of speeding up the lung development in babies with preeclampsia....knowing that they will have to be born early. Babies in mothers with preeclampsia are more developed at 32 weeks that babies in mothers who do not have preeclampsia. With the steroid shots, a baby at 34 weeks can often do as well as a full term baby. How amazing is that! I'm really hoping I can get to 34 weeks, but if not, Graham will be in good care at the hospital. Keep praying for us, and I will try to keep you informed as things progress.

Go to sleep little baby

We decided to have one of the 3d/4d ultrasounds last week to get a glimpse of what our little baby is going to look like. Apparently Graham wasn't cooperating with the ultrasound tech, so the pictures aren't as clear as we had hoped. Regardless, it was still amazing to get a quick look at little Graham. Most of the time Graham won't stop moving during an ultrasound, but this time he just wanted to sleep! We kept trying to shake him to get him to move, but the little stinker wouldn't budge. For some reason Jeff thinks I am the cruelest mother when I shake Graham to get him to move. He is convinced that Graham will have shaking baby syndrome. I think I finally proved to Jeff that our baby is extremenly safe and secure right now and that even the ultrasound techs poke, prod, and shake the babies to try to move them around. Maybe Jeff has just been watching too many House episodes these days! So here's our little baby, and he has just a couple more months to grow! Right now, he looks like he has a beard, so I'm hoping that he gets around to shaving that before I see him. In the video, it looks like he has teeth....and I am really hoping that's not the case either. I've been planning on giving birth to an infant and not a hormone raging, beard growing, teeth bearing adolescent.

Shower the People You Love with Love

It's not too often that there's a baby shower with no momma and no baby, but I had the privilege of not attending my own baby shower a couple of weeks ago. The day before my shower, my blood pressure shot up and the Dr put me on bed rest for the weekend. Of course it had to be the one weekend that I had been looking forward to for months, but what are you going to do? I think taking care of myself and this baby is a little more important. I lived 3 1/2 hours away from where the shower was being held, so there was no chance of me attending when I was restricted to bed rest. Everything had already been purchased from the food to the decorations, and there was really no other option than to go on with the party. I can imagine it must have been a little strange when the guests first arrived because many of them didn't know that I wasn't attending. "Oh, welcome to our house. By the way, did you know the guest of honor isn't going to be here?" My mom had the idea of using web cams and skype so I could still be a part of the shower even though I was miles away. It was a great idea, but unfortunately the web cams weren't working correctly and our hopes of a high-tech shower failed. That's okay because if you've ever used a web cam, you know how completely flattering they are, and I just wouldn't want anyone to feel bad about themselves while staring at me on the computer! Everyone I know had a great time. The decorations were adorable, the food was delicious, and the company was great. After the shower, my mom and dad loaded up the car and came to visit me. We had our own mini shower in our living room. It was like 3 years of Christmases all crammed into one day! The presents covered the entire room. I am so thankful for all of the gifts that will help us clothe, feed, bathe, and just make little Graham look cute. Not that giving gifts mean you love someone, but it is just one way that people often show they care. James Taylor sings, "Shower the people you love with love." I felt showered with love by those who gave the shower, by those who attended the shower, and by all the gifts that will come to great use when Graham arrives. I'm going to try to make it a point to attend showers that are given for me in the future.....but even if they don't work out as planned, they can still be a success!

Hit me with your best shot

Well, since I suddenly have a little more time on my hands, I thought it was about time to start blogging. What better way to start a blog than to talk about this little baby that's coming in just a couple of months! As of last week, he weighed 2lbs 12 oz and is one of the most active babies the ultrasound tech had ever seen. You would think he would behave when we are out in public, but no, he decides to act up and kick me like crazy while under the scrutiny of the tech. Is this a case of parental abuse or was he just listening to "Hit me with Your Best Shot?" In all honesty, I really don't mind it. I may change my mind in about a month, but for right now, the kicks and prods are reassurance that the little fellow is doing okay.....he's just have a womb party and no one can tell him to sit still and hush up. I don't blame him.

So in the past few weeks this whole baby thing has become more and more real. For a while it was hard to believe there was a baby in there. I didn't feel that different, and I certainly couldn't visibly tell that there was a person inside me. All has changed, and now I most assuredly know that there is a little boy growing inside of me, and I know that Jeff and I are going to be responsible for him. The pressure is on. Sometimes I feel so ready for him to be here. I mostly feel that way on the days when I'm afraid that the "Bend and Snap" will become the "Bend and Splat" and I will fall flat on my face trying to pick up the endless number of items I seem to drop on the floor. Being a klutz is especially irking when you're pregnant. Those messes you make aren't so easily fixed when you've got a big belly in your way! I've had some near fall experiences, but thankfully no Bend and Splats yet. Let's hope it stays that way. There are other days when I wonder how I am ever possibly going to be ready to be a mom. I've got to get the nursery ready, I've got to decide what to put in my bag to take to the hospital, I've got to pick out a going home outfit for the baby, and I've got to read a number of parenting books to know what I'm doing when he gets here. I've been reading my pregnancy books, but what about after pregnancy? I guess I'm not going to be pregnant forever! They say its natural, and you just know how to be a mom. Maybe that's true, but I sure am glad my mom will be here to help me out. I'm also thankful that I've got some time left to try to prepare myself for the arrival of this little one. 81 days and counting. By the way, and in case you haven't seen the message the million times it has crawled across your TV in the past year, you only have 78 days to make use of your bunny ears. Get ready. TV is going Digital in 78 days and our little boy is going to be here in just 81.