Christmas Eve, A Run to the Doctor, a new CHAIR and 24 weeks!

    What a day!!! After my gallbladder scan last week my Doctor's nurse called me and said he didn't see anything on the scan but he wanted me to go get blood drawn to check my liver and pancreas functions just to be safe.  On our way home from purchasing the car on Friday I stopped at Quest and gave my blood and they told me the doctor should have my results by Monday morning.  Monday and Tuesday came and went and with the business of Christmas and getting everything last minute done, I didn't stop to think about him not getting in touch with me on my results.  This morning I woke up and my first thought was "hmmm, I guess I won't hear anything until next week because they are surely not open on Christmas Eve."  No sooner did I have that thought and my phone rang...it was the Doc.  DeLana told me that my liver functions were elevated and the doctor wanted to see me TODAY to rule out preeclampsia. Well, I know that word and what all it can POSSIBLY entail and I was sufficiently panicked.  I jumped up and showered and we headed that way.  When we arrived about 10 they told us he was in surgery and would be back in the office by 10:30.  I went ahead and gave a urine sample and they took my blood pressure and Mason and I ran to get something to eat.  Urine was clear and blood pressure was fine, both good signs. We went for donuts and headed back by 10:30.
    When we got back to his office they decided to weigh me...awesome, AFTER the 4 donuts and two chocolate milks I drank. They put us in a room and we waited.  When he came in he told me I do NOT have preeclampsia but something is making my liver functions heightened and with the pain I am still having in my back and the burning in my ribcage, he thinks it might be GI related.  He is sending me to a GI specialist, back for more blood, and wants me to complete a 24 hour protein urine test.  I get to pee in a special container for 24 hours and store it in the fridge.  Mason looked HORRIFIED at this suggestion and asked if a cooler would do!!!!  His bottom line is, he wants to rule out everything he can think of so we have a baseline.  Meaning, if all these things are still present at 28 weeks he can know this is just typical of me and not something he needs to be concerned about because I was showing the same symptoms at 24 weeks etc.  So, I will be heading back to Quest Diagnostics on Monday to have more blood drawn and to get my "collection container"...  I am still going back to see him on January 2nd before I head to my 25 week sonogram so he will have the results of my bloodwork/urine test by then.   He also measured the size of my belly and its measuring at THIRTY TWO WEEKS!!!  I told him I had a friend who was measuring at 46+ weeks when she delivered her twins at 37 weeks and he said "oh, that's small"....Holy Moses.  Anyway, we left relieved that it wasn't preeclampsia and thankful for Dr. Richards and his thoroughness and ready to get our Christmas underway!!!!
   With it being Christmas Eve we had so many things to do before Church at 5 so we ran around taking care of miscellaneous things.  One of which was...OUR RECLINER WAS IN!!!  So we headed over to Buy Buy Baby after the doctor and miraculously fit it into the new car.

 

 

It had to come out of the box but it fit...thank GOD!!!

 

   

 

LOVE!!!!!

 

 

It's coming together!!!!

 

   After we got home with the chair we had a few more things to get done and then it was back home by 3:15 to get ready for church.  I chose the 5pm Children's Service at our church because my favorite thing to see is all the little ones dressed in their Christmas outfits so excited for Santa. The Children's service is quick and they do the living nativity with the kids...adorable!  We got ready and headed that way.  We hadn't been to church in a while....like, since we were married, and we were both nervous the place would catch fire when we walked in.  I don't know why I was worried...we were hugged and embraced like we had been there all along.  Pastor Joe came down the aisle specifically to our seats to shake Mason's hand and ask how things were.  When I told him about the twins he was so excited it made my heart nearly burst.  I love First United Methodist Rockwall and I am so glad it is the church home we will raise our family in.  The service was beautiful, noisy, and ended with a candlelight singing of Silent Night.  I fought back tears most of the time because I was just in awe of it all.  One short year ago we sat in that same service having been married for about a month and I watched all the little ones and babies and I remember thinking, praying, begging God to let that be us one day.  And to know one year later, here I sit with two little, perfect, babies in my belly just makes me so thankful.  How can you not believe in God in this world?  How can you not believe in God if you are a mom and you have carried life in your belly?  And to know that everyone in that church was excited about the birth of our Savior, as excited as I am about the birth of my children...well, I was a giant pile of tears and mush. Throw in candlelight and Silent Night...holy Moses...blubbering (blubbering again typing all this too...these hormones).  After church, we headed to Lindsey and Ted's where they made an amazing dinner for us! Sour cream chicken enchiladas from scratch, queso, chips, rice, beans, dessert...man, I was STUFFED!  We attempted to watch The Christmas Story but we were just ehhhh about it but Bandit was quite comfortable with his Pappoo and Willy was the most sociable he's EVER been...

 

 

 

 

 

    After we left Lindsey and Ted's, Mason and I headed home to do our Christmas with each other.  He went WAY OVERBOARD and took such good care of me.  I got my first pair of tennis shoes since college and they are FAB!  I also got money to ULTA, Hobby Lobby (since I have lots of baby projects to work on), new brown boots, and a hand blender.  He got a new Under Armour Hoody, a new bathrobe with a hood, and house shoes.

 

                                          New Hoody                   New Tennis Shoes

  

 

New Bathrobe WITH a Hood!!!

( I told him he looked like a boxer coming into the ring!)

 

   We remarked several times that this was probably the last "Christmas as we know it" for the rest of our lives.  Sitting quietly on the couch, watching each other open gifts, trying on our stuff, etc.  That next year a) we will have no money for gifts for each other and b) we will have babies to get to bed and Santa will have to come and we will be exhausted!  Sometimes when I think about it, it freaks me out a little but then it makes me excited.  Christmas is more fun with kids for sure!  We headed to bed knowing we had mom and dads early the next morning but not before I said my prayers and thanked God for this day.  It was Christmas Eve but it was also 24 weeks for our beautiful babies...a date I have anxiously waited for since the doctor told us it was the "viability marker".  At 24 weeks babies that are born have a fighting chance for survival with LOTS of medical intervention.  We certainly don't want them born at 24 weeks but knowing that if something happened and they were born from here on out they would most likely survive is a calming feeling.  28 weeks is really the 90% marker so I will now anxiously await that date!  Merry Christmas to all those we love and thank you God for sending Jesus to us!

 

 

24 weeks

 

 

Our last Christmas "just us"!!!!