Newborn boot camp should be winding up soon. We have almost reached the 6 week milestone which typically brings some more stabilty and confidence to the home. Last night, Jasper slept 6 hours through the night! There is light on the horizon. :) Sleep does wonderful things for new mothers and for any mother of little ones. Hopefully this is a new trend in our home.

We have been busy tying up loose ends as our 4 year term in Thailand comes to a close and we head back to the States. We have been preparing to move out of our home and have been busy with all the logistics of making an international move with 3 kids and a dog! It has been quite hectic doing this with a newborn. Ideally, I would have time to just be a new mother, but we will be leaving Thailand on July 29th...just 16 more days. This is also Gracyn's 6th birthday! She wanted to fly on her birthday. She will get to have her birthday for 48 hrs as we live the same day twice! We can have her actual celebration once we get to the States. We are excited about getting to see our family members. Some we haven't seen in almost 2 years and some we haven't seen in 4 years! It will be good for the kids to spend time with family as they really haven't been able to do much of that.

It has been a good 4 years and we are thankful for all the experiences...even the hard ones that caused us to cling to God even more. We saw a faithful God here and we are blessed. We are ready for a little pampering by family and time to rest and reflect on these past 4 years. Hopefully we can take a couple weeks rest before life carries us away on our next set of responsibilities. Please remember us as we fly on July 29th at 1:30 in the morning for 20 hrs with our children. Pray that the kids will adapt well to the States and that jet lag won't kill us!

I'm one month old!

Embassy trip(s)

Tuesday we made our way downtown to our Embassy. I walked into American services to fill out a passport application for Jasper. I filled it out quickly and we had a brief wait before our number was called to approach the window to speak with the staff. We thought we were doing pretty well. We asked to apply for a passport for the baby and the staff member said, "do you have an appointment?" Yikes! No, we did not make an appointment!! We had all our paperwork completed, sans marriage license on hand, but did not have an appointment. We hoped there would be grace for us, but to our dismay we would have to return on Wednesday to start all over again. After two babies and two passports, we neglected to think of making an appointment. So, on Wednesday we got the whole family back in the car and schlepped everyone back downtown for our appointment. This time we had everything in order. Jasper will be officially an American citizen in 3 weeks. He will hold a US Passport and have his certificate of citizenship. On Tuesday after our disappointment, we consoled ourselves with going to All Seasons Place (right next door) to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant. At least we could do that. HOWEVER, the place closed down!!!! We weren't having a successful day at all. I really wanted to eat there and we were already drooling over the thought of some of our favorite dishes. I haven't been there in a year, but at least Tim Mills brought us take away from there several months back while on my bedrest. Little did Tim know that that would be our last meal from there. :( Such is life for businesses in Thailand...here today and gone tomorrow. Farewell Shianghai Din Xin..."long noodles" and scallion pancakes.

This is my new ride!

I'm 3 weeks old and loving my paci!

Jasper is 3 weeks old today! I hope to have some pictures of him at this week posted soon. First, I need to take them! Tomorrow, we will begin the process of applying for Jasper's passport and getting all his paperwork processed to confirm his American citizenship. Jasper is an American from the moment of his birth because we are, but we have to go through a whole rigamarole with the Embassy to secure a passport and get a certificate of citizenship. Thankfully, we've done this 2 times already and kind of know the drill. We have to take Jasper to the Embassy to prove he is a real person and Jack and I must also be present to prove we are his real parents. It is kind of a hassle, but at least we are Americans and can go straight to American services and not wait in the lines with all the other people. It's red, white and blue for you Jasper!

Jasper at two weeks old

Graduation Day

On June 7, 2007, Gracyn graduated from Kindergarten at International Community school here in Bangkok, Thailand.
Gracyn was voted "friendliest" in her class for superlatives. Mrs. Ann says she was popular and well-liked by all!
Gracyn and Mrs. Ann after graduation.
Gracyn and Miss Yo, the teacher's assistant

Gracyn had a great year inspite of her mommy being on bed rest for most of it. She is reading, writing and doing basic math skills. She has grown in maturity and responsibility. She's even lost 3 teeth this year! We are proud of her growth and accomplishments. Congratulations Gracyn...rising 1st grader!

Some Jasper pics

Mommy and Jasper ready to leave the hospital.

Jasper and Daddy

Jasper in his "going home" outfit...."I ain't happy right now".

Me and my big sis!

Here is Gracyn with baby Jasper at 8 days old! She is enjoying being a new big sister again.

He's Here!

Jasper Finlay was born on June 4th, 2007 at 6:59 A.M. He's 3.530 kilograms and 50 cms long. I am not sure what the conversion to lbs is on this but we think 7 lbs and 12 ozs. Jasper came into the world with a smooth delivery for both Mommy and baby! We are both doing well and trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. Jasper's name is means precious stone. Jasper is definately a precious stone to us. The Book of Revelations also mentions jasper several times. John refers to the face of God being as jasper and also the walls and foundations of heaven being made of jasper. Finlay is a Scottish name which means " little soldier". Jasper has been a little soldier throughout a difficult pregnancy and against some not so good odds. However, God is no respecter of odds! We are thrilled to have him finally here and we give God great praise and honor for this great gift! More pictures soon!

A no go

So the full moon theory is basically junk. The moon did not cause me to have anything different than I am already having. Last night my contractions did reappear at 1:26 A.M. and were coming every 10-15 minutes but were not strong. I laid awake for hours wondering if I would need to make wake up calls to half of Bangkok. We were having a large storm last night which is characteristic of this time of year. We had torrential rains, big lightening and peals of thunder. One big boom brought Gracyn to our room crying. Jack was trying to sleep and I was contracting but keeping it to myself. I didn't want to cause any alarm and wanted to allow even just a few more moments of sleep for those who could sleep. Finally at 3 A.M. I fell asleep and woke up in the morning without a baby by my side. I am starting to lose confidence in knowing what labor is. I do know it hurts a WHOLE lot worse than what I'm experiencing. I hope at least I'm making some progress so that my labor will not be a marathon. Hopefully this won't go on and on. I only have 4 days left to reach my due date. However, people are known to out last that date too! Sigh.

June Bug

It looks like we will have a June Bug after all. May ended yesterday with the baby still content to stay put. Actually, I had contractions all day yesterday and was convinced we would end up in labor and delivery by the end of the day. Instead 9:30 P.M. found me sleeping peacefully. My contractions were coming every 15-30 minutes all day long, but did not increase in intensity or time span. We stayed put at home and finished up a few last minute preparations. I thought I would perhaps have to wake Jack in the wee hours of the morning but the morning came without a baby. Today has been pretty calm with very few contractions. I could probably count them on one hand. Today doesn't seem like the day, but the irony of this story would be that it is! Isn't this supposed to be more predictable the 3rd time around? Each day feels like walking through a field of landmines. I keep waiting for the trigger to be tripped and am genuinely surprised to last another day. I think there is supposed to be a full moon tonight...don't those trigger labor?

39th week check-up

My check-up went well yesterday. I still had a slightly elevated blood pressure upon arrival but it settled back to the normal range within 15 minutes of resting. The fetal monitoring showed that baby is still doing well. Gracyn was with me this week for the monitoring as she had to see a doctor that morning as well. She was my contraction monitor. She didn't really want to sit still for 30 minutes during the monitoring so I gave her a job. She watched the " green numbers" which registered the intensity of contractions. Mine were mild, but Gracyn was excited any time the numbers rose over 20...which isn't anything to write home about. Now we continue the waiting game...will baby ever arrive?

Gracyn is still battling this cough she has had since Easter. Actually, Aidan and Jack are coughing as well. We decided to take all of them to the doctor...again...in hopes of ridding our lives of constant illnesses. Gracyn has been diagnosed with some kind of bronchial inflammation which requires her to use a steroid inhaler. She was unresponsive to antibiotics and our pediatrician felt an inhaler would help. If she is still coughing after two weeks of using the inhaler, she will see an allergist. I really don't suspect allergies as she began this coughing marathon on Easter day with a fever. I believe she just never really was able to get over the cough. Aidan is on his 3rd cough and cold in 2 months. He actually gets well, but then gets reinfected. Jack, the poor guy, is getting coughed on constantly by someone and well...gets sick. I'm ready to take up residence in a bubble and have become OCD about handwashing. Miraculously I'm still fine. Thanks for your prayers. We are trying to get everyone well before the baby arrives so that our little one can start his life in a healthy environment. Please pray to that end.

Stir crazy

Yes, I'm feeling a little stir crazy. I am still pregnant! Tomorrow I will have my 39th week check-up. I have never made it to 39 weeks before so I'm starting to feel abnormal here. My babies are supposed to be born in the 38th week...what's up? Technically, I still have 9 days to go and I should be more patient. Many women go to their due dates and even beyond. I have to remind myself that this is normal...but with each passing day I fear having an enormous baby. All that extra time gives the baby time to gain more weight! I guess this little guy is just too at home for the time being.

Week 38

Tomorrow I will be 38 weeks but I had my prenatal today. My fetal monitoring tests came back fine but I do have high blood pressure today. I started out with 138/83 and then after 30 minutes it was down to 125/something. I was checked once again back in the doctor's office and was back to 140/80 something. Dr. Sankiat didn't seem concerned. I had this happen with Aidan but he was born that night. I was tested for protein and that came back negative. So I don't know what to really think about all these results. Maybe I should just try to rest and hope my BP returns to the normal range. I'm getting a little antsy now and ready to have this baby.

Full Term

Today I am at full term! I have made it to 37 weeks of pregnancy. I'm really excited to be at the point where the baby is fully developed. 26 weeks ago, this felt like an impossibility but God has brought us here. I had a prenatal check-up yesterday and all seems well. The baby passed another fetal monitoring test and was really active. I only had one insignificant contraction, but these things can get started at the drop of a hat, so one can't really tell when the ball will get rolling here. Now we just wait and view every day as possibly being "the day".

Number 3

Last night Gracyn lost her 3rd tooth! Congratulations Gracyn! The tooth fairy made a visit last night and left 100 baht! Gracyn was very excited. Her top front teeth are beginning to loosen, so we might have a little snaggle toothed girl here soon.

Getting closer

I am about 2 days away from being full term! Woo-hoo! I am so thankful to get to this point. I have another doctors appointment tomorrow with fetal monitoring. I'm starting to notice more pre-labor signs, so we are getting there! I have to view each day as possibly being "THE DAY". I'm trying to store up as much energy as I can.

36 weeks!

I am 36 weeks along. I started my weekly prenatal visits today. I started my day with a quick ultrasound to check baby's weight. He didn't gain much since last time and came in at about 5 lbs and 9 oz. So that eased my gigantic baby worries a bit. Maybe he will hit a very respectable 7 ish lbs after all. Dr. Sankiat said everything looked really good and that if I were to go into labor now, he wouldn't do anything to stop it. Next, I was sent to Labor and Delivery to have a NST which is a non-stress test. This test is conducted for 30 minutes and measures heart rate with movement. When the baby moves you push a button. With each movement you should see a rise in heart rate. This indicates that the baby is not experiencing any stress. Our baby passed with flying colors. The NST also records any contractions that you may be having and makes a graph. I had a few Braxton Hicks (prelabor contractions) but they weren't all that strong. Being in Labor and Delivery gave me a flood of memories and some butterflies too. Both Gracyn and Aidan were born at this hospital and with Dr. Sankiat attending. All the memories of their births came back and I felt overwhelmed. It was the sights, smells, sounds and the brigade of Thai midwives swirling around me that did it. I had the " I don't think I can do this again" moment. Oh, I know it'll be fine and once you are in labor you don't have tons of time to indulge your fears as you are just trying to cope with what is happening at that moment. But, the flashbacks were really taking me back and causing me to remember that labor is difficult and it is work! The midwives were all trying to assure me that this being my 3rd child would make my labor a piece of cake. They were telling me I wouldn't need any pain relief and it would be "ngai ngai" (easy). I'll be the judge of that thank you. I will have this test weekly until the baby is born. Maybe going each week will help prepare me for the impending situation upon me. Thankfully there were not any screaming women in Labor and Delivery today! :) I know in the end when our baby is placed in our hands that I will be proud of my birth experience and overjoyed to have the baby with us. It really is a wonderful gift and the culmination of a rough 6 months. I just need to face my fears right now and pysche myself up for the inevitable. We've gone through a lot and this is just our final hurdle and the trophy is waiting! After, all this I still had to have blood drawn and then I got to treat myself to a bagel and pink lemonade at Au Bon Pain bakery in the hospital. That soothed me. Will I make it to get a bagel next week? Stay tuned!

Mr. Curls

I just have to post this pic of Aidan so that our family can see he is just as curly headed as Gracyn. Our kids have no hope of straight hair...but they are cute little mop tops!