The March of Dimes Walk

Saturday morning was the March of Dimes walk. Josh and I 

took the kids and we all walked together. It was a special
 event. People made signs with pictures of their babies, 
others wore t-shirts talking about who they were walking 
for, and there were a bunch of festivities for kids and 
families. We were so blessed to participate.

My Two Preemie Boys-look at them now!

Along the walk

At the bounce house after the walk

There were tables set up with different information and

 give away items.These are two little baby dolls--the size 

of many preemies. See the special diapers for really little 

babies on the left? There are also special stethoscopes, 

blood pressure cuffs, and pacifiers for preemies. The kids 

each got a a bottle filled with candy-the same kind the 

boys had to use. Allie was ecstatic that she has all these 
new bottles for her babies. Also, she was given two hand 
made beanies that people make and donate to the NICU. 
Right now, two of her baby dolls are wearing them. It
just reminds me how little my preemie boys were.
God has brought them so far from when they were 
babies; you would never know they were preemies!

My Two Preemies

*Tomorrow I plan on doing the March of Dimes walk downtown. It's something I have always wanted to participate in. For me, it's so important to do because I had two premature babies. They were both in the NICU for weeks. In preparation for the walk tomorrow, I wanted to share about 
my two preemies.

Josh and I struggled to have a baby for a couple 

years, we got prayed for, and then God did a 
miracle. I became pregnant with our first 
son, Marcus.

Preemie #1~Marcus

 

An ultrasound showed that Marcus was extremely small 

for his gestational age, and I was put on bed rest at home.

Then, a few weeks later at a doctor's appointment,

I was sent to Labor & Delivery for the rest of the pregnancy. 
Marcus' heart rate would drop and slowly come back up.
We overheard the doctor say, "I can't believe the
baby has made it this far. It's a real fighter." In that moment, we
knew that if the baby (we didn't find out until his delivery) and was 
a boy his name would be Marcus. It means "mighty warrior" and his 
middle name would be "Christian"...a mighty warrior that follows 
Christ. If his heart rate didn't come back up, the doctor would 

have to do an emergency c-section. Therefore, I was constantly on 
the monitors, living in a constant state of stress, 
wondering if today my baby would be born. I was in the 
hospital for 4 weeks. I could only get out of bed to go to the
 bathroom, take a shower, and go for a fifteen minute walk
 down the hall.

August 17, 2001-Marcus was born via c-section at 34 weeks.
He had severe IUGR and had to be delivered early because
he wasn't growing inside my womb. I didn't get to hold him
until the next day. He went straight to the NICU.
He was 3 lbs. 2 oz. and 16 in long.

Josh was shielding Marcus from the bright light,
 so we could see his beautiful eyes.

Marcus was on oxygen and a feeding tube.

Daddy and his little boy. Marcus was in an isolette, and he had 

to be kept warm so he didn't burn energy by
being cold. Also, he was jaundiced (so he was
under the lights for a number of days).

I did "skin to skin" with Marcus. This helps preemies so much-
and the mommy, too. 

 I loved every minute of it!

We came to see Marcus after church one night.

Josh is kissing his boy good night, before we had to go 

back home.

YES! We finally were able to bring Marcus home 4 weeks after

he was born! He weighed 4 1/2 lbs. 

Preemie #2~Baby Rob

I went into pre-term labor at 34 weeks with Rob. Nothing

could stop my contractions. My doctor thought my 

uterus was starting to rupture from the scar of my last 

c-secion. I got to touch and kiss Rob before he went to 

the NICU. He was 4 lbs. 6 oz. and 17 1/4 in. Again, I 

didn't get to hold him until the next day. We named him 

after Josh's dad and grandpa. His name means 

"excellent worth" and Bruce means "dignity of character".

Some of our family standing outside the NICU window after 

Rob was born. They were trying to get a look at our second 

son. So hard, only two people at a time can

 go in to see the baby-one of them being 

the parent.

MY TWO PREEMIES...my precious little boys!

Rob's experience was different from Marcus. Rob was on
oxygen longer and he would stop breathing, called 
brady cardias. Nurses would have to stimulate him to 
remind him to breath. Rob was even put on "caffeine" 
medicine to help him remember to breath.

The highlight of my day was when I went to see Rob
and I was able to take care of him. I got to 

take his temperature, change his diaper,
feed him, and HOLD him!

Rob had to learn how to drink out of a bottle before 

breastfeeding (just like Marcus). Isn't he precious?!

I just loved holding my Baby Rob!

It was never enough time before

he had to be back in his isolette.
The sticker by his face is to attach his special
sunglasses, so he could be under the lights. He
had jaundice, as well.

Rob was in the hospital on Christmas Day. The
hospital provided little stockings to put the babies
 inside of for the day.

Baby Rob gained some weight before he 

came home. He weighed over 7 lbs when he left the NICU! 

He also had a blood transfusion a few days before that. 

He was so lethargic. It was very traumatic for me. I didn't know 

who's blood he was getting. God knew. 

God bless that person that donated blood. 

Instantly, Rob began to thrive once he received it.

Leaving the NICU...it was on Rob's due date-6weeks later!

Thank you, Jesus, for my two, precious preemies!

Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of their lives. 

May their lives and testimonies bring You glory!

Hospitality Basket

The revival starts tonight!

Guest evangelist, Marty Carnegie, arrives into 

town this afternoon. One of the things that I like to 

do for a visiting pastor is to create a hospitality basket for their hotel room. Creating a basket is one way I can serve. I think it's nice to have a few things on hand inside of a hotel room. You never know when you need a snack! I really 

enjoy shopping for all the goodies; it brings 

me joy. I usually include a card welcoming 

the pastor and thanking him for coming 

to our church.

Here's some of the stuff I bought this time...

The finished product!

 

Josh usually puts these things into his hotel 

room when he checks in for him.

Hope it's a pleasant surprise.

All Day for Jesus

Our church had an all day Saturday outreach
for the upcoming revival this week with a guest evangelist.

Our church met in the morning and afternoon to hand out flyers and invite

 people out to a free, live concert with free refreshments that evening.

We had a great time hanging out together while passing out flyers, going to lunch together at In-n-Out, rocking out to the awesome music at night, and hearing the powerful testimonies of how God has changed people's lives!

I'm guessing, over thirty people came from other churches across the
Utah valley (a few as far as Logan-2 hours away), came to help us invite people
to our special revival services this week. We were so blessed that they
 took time out of their schedules to come partner with our
church. It really encouraged us!

 

While we were on the afternoon outreach, Marcus was scootering from 

house to house handing out flyers. There were kids in the neighborhood 

and he approached one of the young boys. Right there in a driveway, 

Marcus started talking to him.

He shared how he was a child of God and asked the boy if he 

wanted to be, as well. He said, "YES!"

Right then, Marcus prayed with a boy to receive Jesus! He was so happy! 

He said, "I can't believe I prayed with someone to receive Jesus. 

That's the best thing I've ever done."

 

It was all day for Jesus and it was very fruitful.  A total of eighteen people 

prayed to receive Jesus on the outreach and at the concert! 

 

We cannot wait for revival that starts this Wednesday night!!!

At the Barn