Thursday, April 9, 2009

Great Ultrasound!

Caroline after a bath. She loves to be swaddled and she pretends to be a baby!

After a week of not "blogging" I start feeling anxious! I start composing posts in my head and I can't stop until I actually post something! Maybe I'll sleep better tonight knowing my faithful readers are informed of how things are going in my life! :-)

Today I had a routine ultrasound and was able to see our baby boy again! He was moving like crazy and looks adorable. They were learning about their new machine so I even got a 4D look at our baby. Amazing. They say everything is looking great. What a relief to hear that. I'm continually thanking God for both of our children.
Caroline is doing well, besides a cough that has lingered over a week. I've isolated her from other children long enough and we are re-joining the world this weekend for an Easter egg hunt at church this weekend.
I'm doing okay. It's been another roller-coaster emotional week...I'm guessing it will be like this for a while. I am tired a lot, not sure if it's more from the pregnancy or from the grief. I'm so thankful for my mom who is able to be here several days a week. I would be in a pile of dishes, clothes, toys and tears if it wasn't for her. I'd probably also be living off of peanut butter sandwiches if it wasn't for her and the CareCalendar that Tara set up for me. (Although Caroline would probably love to eat PB sandwiches all the time-she asks for them for breakfast!)

I'm so grateful for our bible study group that meets each week. We are learning so much from our Esther study and I am able to talk about my emotional/spiritual well-being with them.
We had a good discussion tonight about prayer and God's will. It is difficult to realize when we pray for certain things to happen (or not happen) the outcome may not be what we had in mind. I brought this up because I prayed last night for an ambulance I saw headed to the hospital. I wondered if anyone prayed for Thomas as he was on his way to the hospital and then I had to think about how God already knew it was his time to go to heaven. As the person praying we do not know what God has in His plan and we, by faith, are told to pray and although the outcome may not be what we want, God hears our prayers and answers them in other ways. It's hard to wrap my brain around it all. I just miss him so much.Becky and I at her shower for Baby Jett! Only 4 weeks left!

All of the grief books I've been given are starting to make sense to me and I am learning from them (Thanks, Ross!) For a while, just the thought of reading a "grief" book was to much for me, but I am more open to them now. I think I was in self-denial about needing them or that I was actually the one that all this has happened to. I will catch myself in mid-paragraph of a book realizing I had been reading as if it was a normal "textbook" and learning about how to help someone else and then think, "This is talking about me! This has happened to me!"
I learned that it is okay for Caroline to see me cry. This may sound obvious to everyone else in the world, but I was hoping I could shield her from getting upset that I was upset. I learned that she needs to see it is okay to cry when you are sad and that it is a feeling that God gave us. It just seems wrong that a 2-year-old should have to be patting me and kissing my eyes to make me feel better. Why can't the world be full of baking cookies and playing house. But that isn't the real world. I will have more losses, inevitably, and someday (in the far, far future!) she will also experience losses and need to know that grieving is normal.
On the flip side of this, there will be wonderful joys that happen! For instance, Caroline's new baby cousin will be here in a matter of weeks! What a blessing! Please be in prayer for him (Jett,) our baby (name to soon be announced!) and for more joys than sorrows for our family in the coming months and years. I appreciate you all so much. The prayers are what keep me going.

27 comments:

  1. I am glad to hear that everything is good with the new baby. I follow your blog and pray for you and your family. It is such a blessing that you have such good support from your family, friends, and church family. Can not wait to see what name you pick out for the baby boy. I have never been through what you have but I am learning a lot from reading your blog. God bless you.
    Love in Christ,
    Judy

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  2. I am so happy baby C is doing great! We are praying for you everyday.

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  3. I've been following your blog for a while now and I think you are just amazing and such a wonderful mother!!

    I've been praying for you and sweet Caroline and the new precious baby!!

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  4. Praying for you and your little missy. And of course your sweet baby boy. I think of y'all often.

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  5. Great news!!!
    -Skip

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  6. one day someone on here is going to need your words...and will be forever grateful you have shared your heart! You are such an inspiration and strong woman:)

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  7. It's so great to hear from you again! I'm continuing to pray for you and your sweet baby boy and Caroline too! I'm glad that your children are bringing you joy and that you are slowly beginning to heal! Have a blessed Easter weekend. Thank God for Jesus who overcame death!! What tremendous promise the ressurection holds for us who are alive and remain! I can't wait for all of us to be caught up in the clouds together to meet the Lord in the air! Jesus actually said that we are supposed to comfort one another with those words. He knew that this world would be full of heartache. I hate it that you've had to experience so much of that, but oh the promise that awaits! Continue to fix your eyes on what is unseen!

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  8. Sorry that I'm leaving another comment, but I just read what Kristy said in the comment right before mine. She mentioned that someone one day is going to get on your blog and read your words and need to hear them. I know that's already happened. One of my dear friends lost her brother-in-law (father of three young children) in a car accident on Valentine's Day. I shared your blog with my friend and your perspective on grief helped her tremendously to know what to say and what to do to minister to her sister-in-law. I just wanted you to know that your words and this blog are ministering to others. I don't know if she shared your blog with her sister-in-law. I hope so!

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  9. continuing to pray for you, caroline and sweet baby boy!! you have such amazing strength that can only come from the Lord. caroline and this sweet little boy are SO blessed to have you as their mommy!!
    blessings~jamie

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  10. Glad to hear the baby is doing well! I found your blog through a friend a while back and I find myself checking on you often!

    I hope I am not imposing, I just wanted to share a blog with you. I thought you might be interested in reading it. This girl is a family friend from my home town, and when I think of her, I always think of you! Ya'll are two of the strongest women I know!

    http://www.stephanieweathers.blogspot.com/

    Hope you do not mind!

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  11. Bonnie,

    I've been checking your blog for updates a lot lately hoping to hear how you are doing. I'm thankful to hear that your precious baby boy is doing well! I pray for your healing and peace often and for the health of your baby. I also pray for Caroline as she deals with a loss she may not fully comprehend just yet.

    On another note, if you haven't already done this study (or even if you have in the past) I would highly encourage you to check out Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" study. It's the one about the fruit of the spirit. I know from your post you are doing the Esther study (it was great, I just finished it about a month ago), but keep this one in mind to do in the future. I say this because there are weeks devoted to peace and to joy (these two stand out to me) that I think would minister to you. God has certainly spoken to me through this study and some of the things I've been learning are biblical truths that would be especially comforting to cling to in a time of loss.

    May the peace and joy of Christ be with you as we celebrate his resurrection this Easter Sunday!

    In Him,
    Sarah Walker
    Kansas City, MO

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  12. We will be praying for you. We are friends with Tara Newby and have prayed her through her journey and will do so for you.
    Jessica

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  13. Bonnie, I read your post yesterday morning and wanted so much to respond, but didn't think "leaving a comment" would be a great excuse for being late to school. :) Anyway, I am glad that Caroline is feeling better. I had been wondering about her. And glad to see baby boy Culp is doing well too! Did you get new pictures? I didn't have the grief that you are dealing with during my pregnancies, but I do know I was MUCH more tired with the second pregnancy...I think it had to do with a busy little person already born who used up any energy I had. :) I would love to hear more about your study in Esther. I am so thankful you have that group of ladies to encourage you and listen to you as you deal with feelings and thoughts that come your way. I have always struggled with the whole prayer thing...not the actual praying, but the realization that prayer is more for me (and my faith) rather than for God's. It isn't like God is going to suddenly say, "You know, Reba does have the right idea here...let me change the path I have already laid out." :) Instead, the prayer is more to remind me that I am not the one in control, and even more, that His ways are not my ways. Anyway, sorry, I haven't blogged myself this week much and I guess I have an abundance of words flowing from my mind...

    Reba

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  14. Bonnie,

    Thank you so much for your post on my blog. What a comfort it is for me to know that there are other Christian women out there that are living through this nightmare. It is such a blessing to me to see how the Lord is carrying all of us when we don't have the strength to get up and walk on our own. I am so sorry for your loss, and I will be praying for you and your sweet family. My oldest son's (Braxton) birthday is August 9th, so I am excited for your new baby boy arriving in August! May God wrap His arms around you and cover you in his love! I just want you to know that there is a girl in Texas who is thinking of you and praying for you!

    Blessings!
    Tricia

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  15. Continuing to pray for you and Caroline in TN. May God bless and comfort you. You are both so precious, have a truly blessed Easter.

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  16. Bonnie,
    it was so good to read your recent post. Praise God that your baby is growing and healthy. I pray your healthy pregnancy continues!! The 4d ultra-sound must have been so wonderful to see:) I wish I were there to hug you right now. I love you and miss you. You are still very much in our thoughts and prayers!!

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  17. Bonnie....you're awesome. I praise God for you and for allowing all of us to experience this with you. I think of you all the time and pray for you to. Hugs!

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  18. I love you Bonnie!
    Happy Easter. I thought of you lots on this Easter day. The knowledge of the resurrected Christ is always such a strength and joy. But that becomes even more real and needed when death has come in a personal way. I hope that you felt the hope and love that comes from knowing that HE LIVES! and because he lives, we will all live again.
    Again, I love you!

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  19. I'm glad to see that your ultrasound was good- I prayed a lot last week that you would be comforted and reassured by what you saw. Hopefully you will start feeling those gut-twisting movements soon :). It was interesting to read about how you now let Caroline see you cry- I always run to the other room to avoid letting Hannah see me cry... but you are so right! Kiddos need to know that God gave us a huge range of emotions, and our faith allows us to deal with these emotions. I love you!

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  20. Keeping you held up in our famiy's prayers. Happy Easter!

    SW WI MOMMY

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  21. I am so glad to ultrasound went well. It's always so encouraging to see them and to hear that everything is is okay...such a blessing. I love you Bonnie. Give me a call if you want to get together. :)

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  22. I am so glad your babies are doing So well!

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  23. So glad to see and rad this post. I have been thinking of you and praying for you a lot lately.

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  24. Loved reading your post! I am so glad you have your mom there several days a week! Our ladies class is doing an Esther study as well, it is Beth Moore.. so far it is great but I am a little behind!

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  25. What a great name - very strong & a great honor for your little boy to be named after his father.

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  26. Bonnie,
    I came across your blog through one of my friend's blog who follows yours. I lost my husband as well very young (he was 24 and I was 22) in a similar accident in 2005. We had been married for 10 months and dated for 8 years before we got married.

    I know that you are hurting right now and in the midst of this storm, but if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to e-mail me at jbhphoto@hotmail.com .

    Thinking of you and praying for you and your family,
    Jessica

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