A Bit Concerned (by Amy)

I thought I would give an update on the progress of the pregnancy. I went to the doctor yesterday. Everything looks good. The baby is getting bigger everyday.

The only concern is the position of the baby. Dr. Smith used the ultrasound machine to check if the baby's head is down yet. It actually is not. Hopefully she will go head down on her own. If she does not, then Dr. Smith is going to try to manually turn her to the head down position. From internet research, I think this has to be done at the hospital and involves a bit of discomfort for the mom. If she cannot turn her, then we will have to schedule a c-section. I am a little afraid of having a c-section. I had both Cassidy and Callie the natural way. I know what that is like and what to expect during delivery and recovery. I am just unsure about the c-section. I am just praying and believing our baby will naturally turn on her own and everything will go smoothly. I believe Dr. Smith is going to give the baby a couple of weeks before she tries to turn her.

I am at the point in pregnancy where I will be going to the doctor every week until the baby is born. Dr. Smith will check next week to see if the baby has moved into the head down position.

Long Recovery

I am finally on the road to recovery following a horrible sickness. For over four days I had a high fever. It finally left and I was able to get back to work this week, but it left me feeling pretty weak. I still have a bad cough and a bit of sick feeling here and there, but overall I'm way better today than I was just a few days ago. I hope I don't have to deal with that again. Apparently a lot of people have been getting sick the last few weeks. A coworker told me he had basically the same thing, and it lasted about the same amount of time. Today was his first day back to work. I came back Tuesday.

Cassidy had gotten a fever, and I was a bit worried, but it didn't last near as long. The doctor said she had the flu, but since she had gotten the flu shot, it wasn't nearly as bad. So far both Amy and Callie remain unharmed, although Amy has been complaining of a sore throat. We will have to watch her.

Not much else has been going on lately. I've just been enjoying watching the political drama play out. Our system of government is certainly not without flaws, but I still think it is best. For a while I was unhappy with all of the candidates, but I'm starting to see some good in a few of them. If my favorite, Mike Huckabee, can make it through Florida, I think he might do better on Super Tuesday (February 5th). But we will see. As it looks now, Hillary will probably be the Democrat nominee, but that may be up for grabs too. If John Edwards stays in long enough, he may split the vote. If I were a democrat, I'd probably vote for Barak Obama. But then again, I'm not for higher taxes, bigger government, more gun control, a smaller military, gay marriage, and unrestricted taxpayer supported abortion on demand.

Feeling BAD

I started getting sick last Thursday morning. Before I left for work I took something, but thought it was just my sinuses. By the end of the day Thursday, it was difficult to even drive home I felt so bad. I canceled my tae kwon doe that evening. Then, I woke up Friday morning feeling even worse. I obviously called in sick to work. I didn't feel any better Saturday, so I was not able to go to my testing for the next belt in tae kwon doe, something that I had prepared myself for for months. I was supposed to play music at a church this morning, and I called yesterday and canceled that too. Right now it is Sunday afternoon and I am still running a fever that I have a hard time keeping under control. Thank goodness we are off tomorrow, or I would have to use another sick day. If I don't feel any better tomorrow, I think I'm going to see if I can get into the doctor.

I looked up the "flu" on the internet, and I basically have the symptoms. I feel like everything is a result from the high temperature I am running. While constantly keeping tylenol or aspirin in my system, I still have a fever of over 100. The sensitive skin, body aches, and completely blocked sinuses are making it pretty miserable. I pray that Amy or the kids don't get this. Maybe it will pass soon! Thanks for reading, and remember me in your prayers. I'm quite a baby when I get sick (if you couldn't tell).

Dentists

Today I took the day off to go to the dentist. Normally, I would try to schedule such events after work if at all possible, but a crown had come off and it was quite painful. So, I figured I have had so much trouble with this tooth, that I just might get it pulled. It seems that mosts dentist will not pull teeth these days, but I found one who said he would. When I got there, the dental assistant told me what a bad idea that would be, and all the things that would go wrong if I had this particular molar taken out, etc. She then left me for quite a while in the chair to think about this. I had still had my mind made up when the dentist came in. However, after discussing it with him for a long time, and hearing about how much I would miss this tooth, and how young I was to loose it, I gave in. I suggested he try to fill the tooth, and that maybe that would buy me a few more years. He seemed to think that was a good idea.

Now, I have been to the dentist a lot, and this was not one of the best experiences I have had. After all the shots to numb the tooth, he began the work. At one point I had him and two assistants all with instruments stuck in my mouth. The event lasted forever. I had to take two shorts breaks because I couldn't breath. It was not fun. I almost changed my mind in the middle of it to say, "just pull it," but I couldn't really talk very well.

Now that it is said and done, I think I'm glad I didn't have it pulled. I can chew like normal on that side again, and since it is a filling I'm not as worried about it popping off. Of course, I won't be munching on jaw breakers or anything from now on.

So, anyways, after that, I decided I deserved to come home and rest. Amy and I watched a movie, and just tried to relax. There have been times in my life when I had to miss work for such things and actually felt guilty while having my feet propped up in front of a television knowing a substitute was with my class. But not this time. After all the rough things that have happened this year, I figured I deserved it!

4D Pictues of Our Baby Girl

We had a 4D ultrasound done last week and these are a couple of the pictures they gave us. It was hard to take a picture of a pictures, but we thought we would share them with you. It was amazing feeling like we were really "seeing" our baby. In almost every picture she has her hand close to her mouth or in her mouth. She must enjoy the comfort her hand provides her.

We asked the lady doing the ultrasound to confirm the sex of the baby and she said we are in fact having a little girl. She said as far as she knows, she has always been right. We are excited to begin the final preparations for her birth.

My First Massage

I had a wonderful experience today. A while back, a friend of mine mentioned that she was beginning the massage therapy program down at Rend Lake. I somewhat jokingly mentioned that if she ever needed someone to practice on she was welcomed to practice on me or Amy. Long story short, she had some homework to do, so I ended up getting a free massage! I was a bit uncertain as to what to expect, but it was really nice. I know now why so many people visit the spas these days.

Well, today marks the last day of Christmas break. It sure goes by quickly. It looks like I'm going to only be teaching five classes instead of six this next semester. Although I will miss the extra money, the added planning time will be well spent. I want to really try to get to know my students a little better this next semester. High school students are a bit difficult to get to know. Teenagers have the ability to love you one minute, and hate you the next. They get upset when they don't get their way sometimes, but they end up respecting you a lot more when you make them do what they are supposed to do.

Besides that, I can't think of too many other New Year's Resolutions I am making. As always, I am resolving to become a better person, and Amy and I will again be seeking better opportunities in a number of areas in our lives. I'm sure there will be a lot of changes. God willing, we should welcome a new life into our home this Spring. Hopefully, Cassidy will learn to read this year too. I'm sure Callie will learn to talk a lot better this next year, and both kids will turn more into little girls. It sure goes by fast.