32 weeks and a prayer request

Here is the 32 week belly shot! I can hardly believe we are already here! It is such a blessing to still be pregnant and celebrating each week. I am becoming more and more curious each day to see how many more days/weeks I will be pregnant. I am also going a little crazy thinking about FINALLY finding out who is in there!

I had a great appointment wednesday and my cervix is still closed! Praise the Lord! My doctor discussed going back to work or remaining on bedrest. Her vote was for bedrest, but she did say she would support my decision if I wanted to try going back to work. I spent that day and evening praying about it and contemplating the decision. Thanks to the wisdom of my hubby, family, and wonderful friends I decided to stay on bedrest for at least 2 more weeks.

I prayed God would make it obvious. He sure did. I started contracting the next day (Thurs) and haven't had much of a break since. A wonderful friend also pointed out to me (Thanks Joey) that I had nothing to gain by trying to work again and would definitely regret going into labor so early.

So I am back to the couch and feel even more restricted than before since my contractions seem to be a little worse, more frequent, and more related to my activity. I am thankful for Nifedipine though! Despite making me feel yucky all the time, it is working to slow down and minimize the contractions.

Richard continues to be wonderful doing EVERYTHING and the boys are enjoying the extra time with me home and are "taking care of me" while daddy is at work! I might be using up all my "helper" points with them before the baby comes, but so be it!

We have been overwhelmed by the blessings from family and friends who have stopped by for visits, brought meals, or simply called to keep me from going CRAZY!!!!! It has been a little disappointing to know I am using up my maternity leave waiting for Bruce to make his or her debut

Please pray for continued wisdom for myself and the doctor as we take it one week at a time. Also please continue to pray for safety of this little one when the big day comes!

I also have another prayer request for my grandmother.

My dad's mother has been battling cancer for 5 years now. She is one tough cookie and continues to amaze us all with her strength, positive attitude, and ability to brighten any room with her smiles. Last wednesday she found a lump in her abdomen and a CT scan confirmed it was colon cancer.

She had surgery yesterday to place a stoma which is when the surgeon creates an opening in wall of the abdomen connecting her bowels to it. They did this to bypass the tumor that is quickly invading her organs. She has a very weakened immune system already from her years of treatments already and has been needing frequent (at least weekly) blood transfusions for quite some time. The surgeon was discouraged by how quickly this mass is metastasizing throughout her body and are very unsure of how much time she may have left.

She is 87 years old and amazingly healthy despite all she has been through. Mentally and emotionally she is sharp as a tack. The physicians feel it will only be a matter of weeks, but she has continued to defy all odds of medicine until this point. My dad and his siblings are trying to find the best way to keep her comfortable and look at managing her pain at this point.

Her husband, my grandpa, is 93 and was moved to an assisted living facility this fall since my grandmother was no longer able to care for him as much and he had fallen a few times. He is also unbelievably healthy and has just started to show some signs of dementia. We aren't sure how much of all this he understands, but we know it is hard for him too!

The best part of it all is that she is a believer and we know she will be in a much better place when the Lord does call her home. However, it is still hard to watch her like this and not know what to expect.

Please keep her in your prayers and my family as well. They were able to spend lots of time with her this past weekend and are taking turns being with her for "shifts" now that the work week has started again. Pray for continued wisdom as her children support her wishes and try make her as comfortable as possible. Pray for her as well that she will have the strength to endure what lies ahead. We know God is in control and His plan is perfect.