casey jane

I had a tough dr’s appt this morning.  Basically, Noah isn’t dropping at all… in fact, he’s really high up for a full-term baby.  Dr Parker doesn’t think Noah will go anywhere without inducing, and he wants me to be prepared for a possible c-section - not 100%, but very possible. He also told me that I can’t induce next week, on or near my due date, because all the spots are filled.

So - long story short - our options were to 1) induce tomorrow, 2) get on a waiting list for next week, or 3) schedule an induction for Dec 1, which is a week past my due date.  After a long day of discussing options of if/when to induce, etc, Jason & I have decided to let my body take its course and see what happens. Dr Parker doesn’t want me to go over a week past my due date, so we’ve scheduled an induction for Monday, Dec 1st, but are hoping Noah will come before then (preferably between now & next Tues, since doc will be gone for Thanksgiving next Wed - Sun).

It has been a long and emotional day for me.  God continues to teach me to trust Him!  This is not at all how I envisioned this process going, so it’s been hard. But I am very peaceful about the decision.  At least if we have to induce on Dec 1, we’ll know that we tried everything we could to let him come naturally.

Please pray for continued peace for us, and that my body will kick it into gear sometime between now & next Tuesday!

Thanks for your prayers… Casey

Just thought I would post some photos of the nursery.  We’re ready for you, baby!

Okay, TWO WEEKS and counting… really, when you think about it, two weeks is NOTHING!  :)  And it could be sooner ??  Anyway, Jason and I decided we’d better take some photos tonight, in case Noah decides to come early (which would make mommy VERY happy!).  So here’s a couple from tonight… enjoy, they may be the last!  Say BYE BYE to the tummy! (darn!  haha)…

Love this and just wanted to share…

“If You wake me each morning with the sound of Your voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in You.  Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before You.”

I have a friend who used to laugh at herself, because she said she has “cankles.”  If you’ve never heard of cankles before, it’s when your calf runs into your ankle… calf + ankle = CANKLE.  It’s basically a fat ankle.  I would just crack up when she talked about her cankles.  In fact, I think we actually called her “Cankles” for a while.  Well, it’s payback time I guess.  I have somewhat prided myself on the fact that I’ve had minimal swelling thus far in my pregnancy (as if I have any say in it, really).  Well, last night… ankles were just fine. This morning… not so much.  I took a bath, and when I got out and started to put some lotion on my legs I could NOT believe my eyes… MY ANKLES HAD DISAPPEARED!  True cankles staring me right in the face. They appeared out of nowhere!!  Anyway, it’s quite disturbing.  Tonight we had our small group over, and I had to cover my cankles with a blanket, because I didn’t want to look at them!! HA…  Anyway, I just needed to share my pain.  And I might as well say that I have 18 days until my due date!  YAY!  It’s time to have this little boy and get rid of these cankles!  :)

Okay, this is the second time I’ve been tagged, so I’m going for it.  Jamie tagged me first, then Sharon.  Here goes…

1) Every morning, I have to brush my teeth immediately after I wake up.  Sometimes I even get up, brush my teeth, and go back to bed.

2) If I’m home, I turn almost all of the lights on in the house, because if the lights are off I feel tired.

3) I fix the frames hanging in my hallway AT LEAST once a day, because they always look crooked, and it drives me INSANE! (I’m starting to sound a bit OCD like Sharon!!).  :)

4) When I was a toddler, and we were visiting my grandparents, my mom walked out on the front porch and I was stuffing birdseed up my nose!

5) I have to hear my sweet husband say “I love you” before I fall asleep every night.

6) In eighth grade I sang (by myself!) the beginning part to “A Whole New World” for a spring festival in my high school football stadium.  Why my choir director had a girl singing Aladdin’s part, I’ll never know.

7) When I was 4, my mom and Jamie (1 yr), and I were kidnapped outside the mall in Cleveland.  A strange man approached us in the parking lot and told us to get in the car.  I actually sat on his lap in the front seat.  When we had driven about 10 minutes, he told my mom to stop, and he got out of the car.  I guess he just wanted a ride!? FREAKY!

Alright… now I’m tagging YOU:

Jen

Julia

Julie

Courtney

Mary

I wanted to thank all my wonderful friends who hosted and came to my baby showers.  It has been a blast! Everyone has been so generous.  Jason and I (and Noah) are beyond appreciative.  There are pics below of the hostesses…

I was supposed to post a photo of myself at 32 weeks, but now I’m 34.  So below is a photo from this past weekend of me at 34 weeks and my friend, Julia, who is 21 weeks pregnant with twin girls!  Fun to have friends to share this with!  I also thought I’d share some of the wonderfully encouraging comments I hear when people see me…

1) The ever-classic “Are you sure that’s not twins?!”  I’ve heard that one at least 3 times.

2) “You are NEVER going to make it to your due date!”

3) From men who are not considered “trim” - “I never thought your belly would be as big as mine!”

4) I think I heard this about 786 times at church yesterday - “WHOAAAAA!!!!” 

5) The best yet… Since we have named our son Noah, my friend Dan commented that he thinks I “may also be carrying the ark.”  HAHA… thanks a lot, Dan!

Truth be told, I’ve gained a very average amount of weight, thank you very much!! This little boy is moving and shifting and kicking constantly, so he must be well-nourished!

Last Thursday I found out from my friend, Jeni, that Cold Stone Creamery was having the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social.”  All the stores around the nation were giving away “free” ice cream (they really wanted you to donate money to a charity, starting at $2).  Well, since I have time (being a stay-at-home-almost-mom), I decided to head out to Cold Stone to satisfy my ice cream craving.  It was about 5 o’clock, so I figured Jason wouldn’t even be home by the time I got back from my “errand.”  I walked in the garage, opened it, and started to get in my car when I heard a familiar voice yell, “HEY! Where are you going?”  Jason had gotten home early and was getting out of the truck in the driveway. I sheepishly grinned and started laughing out loud.  I told him that Jeni had told me about this free ice cream and that I was headed out to cash in on it.  He asked me if Jeni was meeting me.  ”Noooo…” I started laughing even harder.  ”I’m going by myself.”  More laughter.  Basically, I was CAUGHT.  The great thing is that I’m pregnant, and you can do anything you want when you’re pregnant.  That’s the universal rule!  I only have 2 more months of this, and I plan to take full advantage.  So even though I was a little embarrassed, I still jumped in the car and headed for the free ice cream.  :)

Recently my dad told me that a very well-known Christian leader made some stupid comment regarding the Democratic National Convention.  He heard it on the news. I was surprised to hear this person would’ve said this, so I did the research.  First of all, the one who was being blamed for making the statement wasn’t even the right person, and the one who actually made the comment was completely joking.  Ah, media.  You see, my dad saw this on TV.  You know, TV.  The place you go to receive the truth about everything.  The place you go to get all the correct information you need to make informed decisions on, well… everything.  The place you go to seek wisdom and understanding for what is good and right with the world.  I’m assuming you sense the sarcasm by now (not to mention my complete contempt for the media).  

I learned something great from this.  In all honesty, I was not happy that my dad would fully believe what the media says - without even flinching or asking himself if, possibly, the story wasn’t true.  So he, along with the newscasters, placed blame on a man who wasn’t even in the room when the comment was made. I happen to listen to MUCH of what this person says and what he believes and where he gets his ideas, and I have read his books.  Yes, he is a loud voice.  Yes, his boldness invites criticism.  But, from what I know of him, he is a man of honor and integrity and passion.  I respect him greatly.  I would never have the gall he does to stand up for what I believe in and receive the ridicule that he does.  So, in my view, no one has the right to show him this sort of disrespect.  Disagreement is one thing. Disrespect is another.

So… back to what I learned.  Media is a crock.  What was said about this man was completely untrue.  The way they portrayed him was false.  What matters is who he is at the end of the day.  And that is NOT my judgment call.  So I’m applying this to myself.  For instance, I can’t stand to listen to Bill Mahr.  If I wanted to be the most miserably negative person on the planet, I would listen to him every day.  BUT… I have no idea what he believes deeply or what he cares about deeply.  Who wrote his script?  How much of what he says is for ratings?  At the end of the day, in my humility, I can admit freely that I DON’T KNOW HIM.  Therefore, I need to keep my mouth shut and not pass judgment.  He doesn’t have to be my favorite person, but I have no right to pretend like I know or understand him.  I can disagree with statements he makes, yes.  But I need to be careful with my mouth.  Just as I wish the media would do.  I guess I’m challenging you to do the same.  Go about your life quietly, being a thoughtful and respectful person, not casting judgment on others.  I have to say, though it won’t be popular, that THIS is the life Jesus led and wants us to lead.  We are all horrible at it, but it is a great goal.  If you are a Christ-follower, like me, let us be respectful of others, caring, prayerful, and considerate… NOT mouthy and judgmental and known for our disrespect of other people.  Okay, off the soapbox for now.