39 Week Prenatal Appointment

On Christmas Day, I started having some pain in my rib area on my left side. At first, I thought it may have been heartburn or something, but as the day progressed..it got worse. I tried to tough it out, but when I woke up the next morning, I hurt SO BAD that I was in tears just by barely touching the outside of my ribs. I got sort of scared that something could have been wrong, so I called the doctor. He called me in some pain medication and told me to take it and lay on a heating pad and if the pain didn't get any better to call him back later in the day. Needless to say, the pain medication didn't do ANYTHING to help relieve me..it just made me sleepy and itchy. I called Dr. Ratcliff back around 5:30 pm to let him know that the pain meds had not helped a bit and he told me to come up to the Labor & Delivery Center and have it checked out. As soon as Brandon got home from work, we headed back up to El Dorado and had it checked out. They monitored me and the baby for a while, did a urine specimen, drew blood, and checked my cervix. My cervix had started to soften, but I was still only about 1.5 cm dilated. My blood work came back fine. My urine had a result of +2 bacteria in it, so they encouraged me ONCE AGAIN to drink TONS of water and fluids...to force myself to drink as much as I can. It also had a little yeast in it, which they said was completely normal for so close to birth. My heart rate was pretty high while they were monitoring me, but it's always been a little fast anyways. They determined that my pain was inflamed ribs and cartliage. They gave me a big shot of Ativan and Vistril in my booty to help relax me some and help my muscles and joints from the pain. Let me tell you...I was higher than a kite! HAHA. They monitored me for about 30 minutes after they gave the shot to me. Then we had the long ride back home...but the shot gave me MUCH NEEDED relief. When Brandon and I got home, I washed my face and brushed my teeth, and went to bed. I got the BEST sleep I've gotten in a very long time. I slept for almost 12 hours (of course, still peeing every couple of hours) and probably could have slept longer. I felt much better in my ribs and legs and everything...for about 24 hours!! Then it all came back, but at least I got relief for a little while. I think my body was also hurting so bad because I've been so restless and not able to sleep for so long, my body was just exhausted... The pain hasn't came back as bad in my ribs, but I'm certainly still miserable with my legs and back and everything else, but the path down my pregnancy road is near the end! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

I had my 39 week prenatal appointment on Monday - and was hoping my next blog would be that I've given birth to my son... HAHA. BUT.. My body "isn't quite ready yet". I've dilated to 2 cm and my cervix has softened more. Unfortunately, it wasn't softened enough for induction to be "favorable" yet. The doctor said that if I haven't went into labor before Friday, he'll see me then and likely keep me! I gained another pound in a week, so I've made it to gaining 20 pounds while pregnant now. I feel certain that sometime soon after this Friday, we will finally have our son here!!! I can't wait to meet him!

38 Week Prenatal Appointment!

We went to the doctor today in hope that we'd be told that our baby would be here REALLY SOON to meet us!! He checked my cervix and said I was only dilated to about 1.5 cm. We were a little disappointed, but we weren't too disappointed! He said that he could feel his little head and he's in position for coming out!!! YAY!! We just want Garrett to be healthy and ready to come out when he does!! We're just hoping it's really soon. HA. I gained a pound in a week - so I'm up to 153 pounds! Pre-pregnancy was 134, so I've gained 19 pounds now!! BIG MAMA! I am pretty darn miserable now, but it's definitely going to be worth it!!! Pray that my cervix will soften more and progress in centimeters before next Monday.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!!

37 Week Prenatal Appointment!

We went to the doctor today! I've gained a pound in two weeks! Dr. Ratcliff said that my Strep B test came back negative! Which is WONDERFUL, of course!! My blood pressure and everything is looking good. After he measured my fundus, he said "When will your family be coming in town?" (since I'd told him that all of my family and friends coming for the birth are obviously out of town) and I told him since it's the holidays, it's pretty flexible right now because people are home and off for the holidays! So he wants to see me this coming Monday and he'll check to see if my cervix has started to soften or if I've dialated any! He said that if I have, we'll go ahead and schedule to induce soon after!!! So please pray for me that my cervix has started to soften and we'll get to meet our son REALLY soon!! I can NOT wait!!! Love you all!

Brian is Back in the States!!!

Brian was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center North yesterday! It's in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Therefore, he is only about 400 miles from his home town!! YAY! I'm so stoked. I can't wait to have Garrett and go see Brian a few weeks after Garrett is born. I know he'll be excited to see his new "nephew" who is so close in age with Levi. Brian is doing well..he's walking, talking more and more, eating, and drinking now!! They are estimating that Brian will be at BAMC for about a year for rehabilitation. I will soon have an address for everyone so they can send Brian letters, pictures, or whatever you want to him...That way we can keep him busy!! We also want to try to get his room decked out in LSU stuff so feel free to send him that sort of stuff too! As soon as I get his mailing address, I'll post it on here for you to start writing him! So check back for the address.

Thanks to First Baptist Church of Haughton, Ashley and Levi will be able to fly to BAMC on Christmas Morning so that Levi can finally meet his Daddy!! I know that'll be the BEST Christmas present that Brian has ever received! Thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray for him as he goes through rehab!!

Awesome News About Brian!!

Brian was transferred four hours away from where he was originally at to start his physical therapy. After getting there, they did a CT scan and said that they really feel he'd have a better recovery here in the states!!! I was so excited when Brian's sister called to tell me that!!! I was EVEN MORE stoked when they told me he'd be in San Antonio!!! Only about 6 hours away from us. He'll be transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center tomorrow!!

He's also started to whisper and be able to say a few things again. They said he was even walking around some today and was eating jello and drinking juice!! What a strong man! I knew he'd do so well!!! I can't wait until I have Garrett because a few weeks later we are going to head to see him with my Mom and brother!!! I can't wait for him to meet Garrett and to hear him talk again!!

Continue to pray for him for this long journey back home!!!

A little scare...

Brandon and I had our first "scare" during my pregnancy today! For the past few weeks, I've been feeling mighty weak and stuff at times. I know that a lot of my blood flow and stuff is really going for this big boy I'm carrying around in my belly... I've been having a hard time eating a lot (because there is NO ROOM) or eating anything that's really healthy for me.

So we needed to go to Wal-Mart to get a few items and soon after we got into Wal-Mart, I started to feel bad. Just felt weak and spacey feeling...By the time we got to the check out, I was really feeling bad. I was sweating so bad and told Brandon "I don't feel right" and the last thing I remember was the cashier looking at me saying "Are you okay?" and I shook my head no and said "Something isn't right" and the next thing I know...My husband is brushing my hair back telling me that it's going to be okay. When I finally come to, I realized I'd passed out and got REALLY scared and just started crying because I was scared something was wrong with my baby!! Not to mention I had about 50 million people standing around me staring!! So they got me over to the bench and sat me down for a few minutes...It's all still a huge blur to me. But I had to be wheeled out of Wal-Mart in a wheel chair. SO EMBARASSING!!!

After we left, I immediately called my doctors office and they wanted me to come in. I had to see someone other than my own doctor since my doctor is out on Thursday afternoons. =( Not to mention, we didn't get seen by the doctor until about two hours after the accident happened because we live an hour and fifteen minutes from the hospital!! And we had to come by the house to drop off the cold items before we headed up there...and of course, there is the wait at the doctors office! HA. So I was worried they wouldn't know exactly what went wrong because I was feeling okay by the time we got there. They said my urine was really concentrated and I needed to try to drink more fluids and take it easy!! We got to hear Garrett's heartbeat to know that he is doing fine too!!

Brandon told me that I'd better not EVER do that to him again! Bless his heart!! He was scared to death, but at least he was with me because he caught me before I hit the floor!!! I have the best husband ever!!

Updates!

I haven't been on in a couple days because once again, tragedy has struck close to home AGAIN. On Monday night at around 11:15 pm, Justin Ward, a very best friend to my brother, fell down three stories off the side of the escalator at the ElDorado Casino. He had horrible brain damage and was bleeding out of his kidneys. At around 1 pm yesterday, they pronounced him dead. I've NEVER in my life heard my brother so upset before. I couldn't even hardly understand what he was saying on the phone. I was just over at Jeffrey, Ashton, and Katy's house Saturday hanging out with them and Justin. You just don't think that in a couple days..something like that was going to happen!! I'm glad I got to spend some time with him shortly before his death and got to laugh about him and Jeffrey making bets and arguing about football!! R.I.P. Justin Ward! You'll be greatly missed!!!

Updates on Brian - He is doing so well!! He's completely off of the ventilator and is starting to say more and more!! He doesn't even have an I.V. in his hand anymore!! He's just taking care of himself! YOU GO BOY! He's lifting his head up off of the pillow and moving around in the bed all by himself. Sharon and Doug had to leave their sons side and said that was the hardest thing they had to do, but knowing that he's doing much better now has to be some sort of relief to them that things will work out just fine!!! In just a couple weeks, we'll be having Ashley and Levi over there to meet Daddy for the first time. I'm so stoked and amazed at all the help we've already been given!! First Baptist Church in Haughton has raised $1500 towards the trip already! We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives and in our community. We are about halfway there now. Haughton High School and Middle School may be having a "Jeans Day" where if they bring $1, they can wear blue jeans instead of school uniform! Who wouldn't want to do that?!?! I know I always took advantage of days like these when I was in school. And each $1 would go towards Brian's trip! Haughton schools have THOUSANDS of students and we'd do great if lots of people participated. Thank you for your continued prayers...keep praying!!

Pray for the Adams and Ward Families each and every day!!!

Update on Brian!

Brian is doing good today! They had planned to take him completely off of the ventilator today, but when they tried sitting him up and stuff, he was really weak. So they don't want to rush too fast on taking it out! They're gonna let him build his strength up a little more before taking it out! His fever is under control. Once he is off of the ventilator, they will soon transfer him to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. It's about five minutes from Ramstein Airbase, so we're hoping that is where Ashley and Levi will be staying at during their trip over there! We are still needing to raise a bunch of money for the trip, so if you are interested in donating, please let me know!!!

They have sewn his head up and taken off all of the bandages. However, the part of his skull that they took out has not been put back in yet. They want to wait for the pressure to go down and stay down. So they will wait until after he is finished with his rehab therapy before putting it back in.

Tomorrow is the last day that Brian's parents will be in Germany before they come back home. So please pray for a safe flight back home for them and the strength to leave their sons side!! We'll hopefully have Ashley and Levi over there before too long so he won't be without family by his side before too long!! He's got his photo albums he can look at in the mean time!! =)

Please Help Raise Money to Send Levi to Meet His Daddy!

The past few days, I've been in contact with friends and family of Brian Adams. We've been trying to pull together ideas of how to raise money to send Brian's baby Levi over to Germany to meet his Daddy for the first time!! We're trying to set up donation jars at Haughton High School where we went to school, Brookshires where Brian worked, and Pepe's Mexican restaurant where we ALWAYS love to eat in Haughton!! Anything we can do to get Levi over there to meet his Daddy because it'll help in his recovery!!!

Please check out Levi's site for information on how to donate and for the story:
http://levislittledream.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Great News on Brian!! Help Levi get to meet his Daddy!

Brian's Dad, Mr. Doug, called Kim this morning and said that they expect Brian to make a FULL RECOVERY from all of this!!! They are also planning to take him completely off the ventilator this weekend. Even more amazing news...they will be soon transferring him about four hours away from where he is now for Physical Therapy!!!! The doctors are amazed and shocked at how fast Brian has started to recover. He's a very lucky man!!!

I can't wait to see Brian and just hug and squeeze him!!! I promise to be gentle though..HAHA. I'll probably have to wait until after Garrett is born before I can see him though. Since I'm so close to my due date, I can't go far away from home!! It's gonna drive me crazy waiting to see him. I will continue to pray for him daily!!! Thank you all for all of your prayers!!! And lets not forget to thank God for keeping Brian alive and for giving him the chance to meet his son, Levi!!!

With that being said, we ALL know it'll help him 100 times more if he could meet and hold his son for the first time! Ashley has already taken him to apply for his passport (at only two weeks old! HOW CUTE!) and they are waiting to get it back..which we all know can take quite some time!! We're hoping to get Levi over there right after Christmas to meet his Daddy. Unfortunately, the Army will not cover Ashley and Levi's trip over there or the hotel or anything since Brian and Ashley aren't married yet. This trip is going to cost about $1000 for the plane ticket and up to $2000 for the hotel and rental car. So we are all trying to help in any way we can to spread the word and try to get Levi to his Daddy!! Can you imagine Brian's face when Ashley walks in to see him with their son?! It just gives me chills. If you can't help out, please don't feel bad! We all know this is a VERY busy time of year when we're all spending money. Trust me, as you have seen in my previous blog.. Brandon and I KNOW times are hard ourselves right now, but it doesn't hurt to ask for help for Levi!! Brian's been so strong through all of this and he deserves to meet his baby. If you have any questions, you can contact Brian's sister Kim at 318-426-1032. Or if you just want to send a donation towards the trip, you can mail a check to:Ashley Schmidt, 4415 Jeffers Drive, New Albany, IN 47150. More than anything, just keep praying for Brian's full recovery and for us to all find a way to get Levi and Ashley to Germany!! Thank you so much!!!!

Update on Brian!

I got a text from Ashley this morning and it said that Brian has pneumonia, but this is very common in situations like Brian when you're just being taken off of the ventilator and have been "immobile" for quite some time. So with the pneumonia, he is running a fever. But he is still responding and everything well. The doctors did a culture on him to see exactly what meds he needs to be put on, and will do that as soon as they find out! They also mentioned that we're still not quite "out of the woods" yet, but I do have faith in Brian and he's done so well up until this point, I think he's going to do great and come out of all of this well! Please continue PRAYING HARD though!!! The prayers do NOT need to stop or even slow down from what it was like last week because that helped tremendously!!! We need to keep praying like we all were when we found out about Brian!! Thank you for all the prayers!!!

UPDATE

At 9:20 this morning, I got another text from Ashley and the culture came back and it's NOT pneumonia!! It's an infection!! I'm sure they will be putting him on some strong antibiotics to clear that right up!! Praise the Lord! It's possible that he could still get pneumonia, but hopefully he won't!! Just keep praying!! Ashley said he's holding his cross in his hands right now!!! Also, the pressure on his brain is continuing to go down! It's now down to 5%! This is amazing news! They also said that his fever is starting to break!!! YAY for Brian!!!

35 Week Prenatal Visit and Update on Brian!

I got an update on Brian this morning that he has feeling in his feet! The nurse was tickling his feet and he was smiling and wiggling them! He can give a thumbs up, hold a picture in his hands, and squeeze someone elses hands!! They said you can tell he wants to talk so bad, but he's still on the ventilator. He's 75% off of the ventilator at this point! He can also follow with his eyes well..he watches his Momma's every move!!! He is coming back to us and they said the doctors are AMAZED at how fast he is recovering!! I feel certain its with all the prayers he's received and he's ready to meet his son!!! Hopefully we'll have more and more good news as the next few days pass!!! Thanks again for the prayers.

We just got home from our doctors visit! All is still going really well. They did a swab for Strep B today. I've gained 1 pound in two weeks! So I'm now at 151 pounds! We'll go back in two weeks from today and then we'll start going WEEKLY! Before we know it...Garrett is going to be here!!!

On the way home, I was telling Brandon about how much I just LOVE to check the mailbox for mail...and I don't know why because it's usually just bills! HAHA..Well, I was all excited to get to the house and check the mail. After today, I will NOT like checking the mail anymore. All we got was a Cabela's Magazine and a Tax Notice saying we owe $780 before December 31st!?!?! I'm so sick to my stomach. What makes it even more aggravating to me is that we were told that only houses that appraise for over $75,000 will be charged with the School District tax for the new Sarepta High School they will start building soon. I don't know if you've been to Sarepta, but there aren't many houses that appraise for much higher than that. There are lots of old frame homes, trailers and smaller hud-like homes. We have one of the nicer homes in the town. So since there aren't too many houses that appraise for more than that..the ones that do REALLY have to pay high price to take up for all the people in Sarepta who won't have to pay for it. No wonder everyone voted YES..because their houses don't appraise for over $75,000 and they knew they wouldn't have to pay for this new school!! UGH... It seems like we can't catch up! We just found out our air/heating unit has a mold problem and it's going to cost $1200 to get it fixed! Not to mention the outrageous amount we're going to have to pay the hospital for Labor and Delivery!!! All this world is worried about is money. All I can do it pray about it and hope we'll find a way to get through this horrible struggle!

Thank You Jesus!

I just woke up and was in pretty bad pain and it took me about 5 minutes alone to get the strength to sit up and go use the bathroom. This is pretty much how it is each time now and I'm sure it's only going to get worse in the next four weeks, but that is fine! I'll have a precious son to hold and love on...so this pain is worth it!! After I went to the bathroom, I was thinking about Brian and wonder how he was doing and I kid you not, as soon as I sat back on the bed to climb back into bed...I got a text message!!! In the past week, EVERY phone call and text message, my heart has just dropped because I didn't know whether it was going to be horrible news or good news. I felt pretty positive about this text due to Brian's great improvements yesterday. So I checked it and it was from Ashley and she said that Brian is awake!!! He smiled at his parents when he saw them in the room and is sitting there with his eyes open!!! This is truly a miracle and a blessing and God is doing work!! Prayers work when it is His will. It is His will for Brian to make it through this and be with his family and to meet his new son. I couldn't possibly go back to bed before coming to post the update!!! I'm just too excited and proud of Brian to go back to sleep and do it later! HAHA. Keep praying as he continues to come back and let's hope he'll be the same Brian and will be able to remember everything and be able to talk and all!! I know he will. Thank you again for all the prayers, but let's not quit praying just because he's awake now!!!!

When my MeMaw was diagnosed with cancer, we were told to all just read Psalms Chapter 23 everyday. I printed it out on little stock cards for me and everyone around who deeply cares about my MeMaw and to this day...I still have it in my truck. We prayed and prayed and God took care of her!! I knew He would do the same for Brian. Here is Psalms 23:

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

UPDATE -

After I went back to bed and got up, I had a few more updates on Brian. I am bawling my eyes out with happy tears now. They said Sharon (Brian's Mom) held up a picture in front of him of Levi and he squeezed her hand and tears started coming down his face. So he remembers having his baby!! They said he's trying to talk, but you know...being "away" for a little over a week and having tubes all down your throat for that long..it's gonna take a little extra while for that to happen, but I KNOW he will!!! I had to share the wonderful story!!!

GREAT UPDATE ON BRIAN!

I just found out that the doctors pinched Brian's arm and he moved so that tells us that he DEFINITELY felt it and his brain is functioning well in order for him to acknowledge that something was not feeling right to him! HA. I'm surprised he didn't wake up throwing fists everywhere!!! Wouldn't that have been a sight?! HAHA. So this is definitely good news and since this happened, the doctors decided to not give him anymore drugs and to start letting him wake up! YAY!! I also just got off the phone with Ashley (his fiance) and she said that his pressure on his brain has gone WAY WAY down...that it's down to 10% and that is AMAZING! They said when he came in, it was over 30%. Everyday seems to be getting better and better and I thank God so much for that and pray that he's going to wake up and be just fine!!! I knew Brian would be strong and keep fighting for us! I know that all of the prayers have worked wonders in itself and I know Brian and his family are extremely thankful for all of them! Please continue to pray as Brian slowly wakes up from this rollercoaster of a week and pray for the BEST! It's all up to Brian to continue being strong and finish the fight. They won't know if there is any brain damage until he completely wakes up, so continue praying HARD!!! Ashley is taking Levi to the doctor on Wednesday for an appointment and she's going to check with his doctor to see if it'd be okay for Levi to fly so they can get to Brian! Please pray for a good response so that when Brian is awake and alert, he'll get to meet his son soon!!! Brian will be in Germany for a good while after he wakes up because he can't fly or anything for a while because of the pressure and stuff...so it'll be a while before he's back into the States, but as long as he's getting better, THAT IS FINE!! I just know it'd make him feel 110% better if he got to meet his baby and hold him for the first time!!! I will keep everyone updated as I keep learning new things!!!

Thank you Jesus for the great news! Our God really is an awesome God, isn't He?!?

Update on Brian & My Weekend

I have had a VERY fun and exciting weekend, despite all of the stress and sadness I've been in the past week! Some of my amazing friends hosted a Couples (Co-Ed) Baby Shower for Brandon and I. It was so so so much fun and it was wonderful to get all of my friends together again! We had a blast playing games and mingling. Not to mention all of the wonderful things that everyone got our son. We loved it all and appreciate it more than you all know. Garrett will be so happy to have such great friends around us! Thank you to all who helped with the shower to make it so amazing and thank you for everyone who came!! Love you!!

Since I've been in Shreveport the whole weekend and busy, I haven't been able to get on here and give the latest on Brian! So here is the latest - They found out that Brian's fever was being caused due to an allergic reaction from a small pox and anthrax shot that Brian had gotten a couple weeks ago. They have taken care of that and his swelling has gone down some more since they found that out! His vitals are good, blood pressure is good, heart rate is good, he is stable, but still in ICU. The doctor said his pupils are looking good. They said a couple days ago, that if Brian kept improving, they'd try to start taking him out of the coma in two days, but since all of this has come up..they want to give him a few extra days. They don't want him trying to wake up from a coma and also fighting a fever. Not to mention, we don't want them to wake him up too early and him be in too much pain and start stressing out and make this all start over again!! I didn't take that as bad news, I just want whats best for my buddy and glad they aren't just rushing into it!!! They said they would post-pone slowly bringing him out of the coma to this coming Friday. Brian's parents met with a neurologist today and he says that all they can do now is wait and basically it is all up to Brian. Friday, if not earlier, they will determine if there is any brain damage. Brian's Mom, Mrs. Sharon, told Kim that his swelling has started to go down and that his lips are back to their normal color! He still has swelling and is still fighting the fever, but the doctor said that is normal. All of his vital signs are still looking good and his brain waves are still working also! Praise God!

It will be a week tomorrow since this has all started and it has been an emotional roller coaster for me - as well as his family! Continue with the amazing prayers! Brian is a strong person and I believe he'll keep fighting!!! I'll post any new updates that I get.. we're still playing the waiting game!!!

Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving with your families!

Update on Brian - finally GOOD NEWS!

I got a text from Brian's fiance about two hours ago that said that Brian had a fever and they had ice packs all over him to try to get it down. They called her back a couple hours later with good news - Brian's fever is down and he only had mild swelling on his body, but that was expected with the fluids that are being pumped through him. The doctor said his kidneys are taking care of his swelling!! The pressure on his brain has came down some, but not nearly enough yet!! The best news of all though, the doctor said that if Brian keeps improving the way he is now, they will probably be able to take him out of the coma in two days or so!!!!! Praise Jesus! We finally got some good news. Don't for one second think that we can stop praying yet!!! We need to continue to pray!!! We're not all the way out of the woods yet. My prayer will NEVER stop for Brian!!! With your continued prayer, Brian will pull through!!!! He's a strong fighter!! We love and miss you so much, Brian! COME HOME!!!!

UPDATE - BRIAN DOUGLAS ADAMS

I just got a text from Brian's fiance, Ashley, saying that Brian is in surgery right now for his third procedure to help relieve pressure off of his brain! Please PRAY NOW!!! Continue to pray. Check back here for updates later on how the procedure went. I pray to God that this goes well and works and Brian is going to pull through this!!! THANKS FOR THE PRAYERS!!!!

UPDATE

The surgery for Brian this morning did not relieve as much pressure as the doctors had hoped for, but we still have hope! They said Brian's brain is still active so that's amazing news! We know Brian is fighting so he can get home to his son to meet and hold him. His parents made it to Germany just fine and are with Brian now. Please continue to pray for Brian and his family and friends.. When you sit down with your family, please include him in your Thanksgiving Prayer!!! Hope you all have a blessed day.

Brian Douglas Adams

One of my best friends, Brian, went into the Army in March 2007. I was VERY upset to learn that he was leaving out for training the DAY BEFORE MY WEDDING! He tried to have it changed, but..it's clear that a lot of people just don't have good hearts a lot of the time.

Brian and I have always went to school together and have always been great friends!! We were even boyfriend-girlfriend in the 6th grade where our "dates" consisted of him sharing his Shock Tarts with me and swallowing Gobstoppers and making them come back up for me. HAHA. Such a charmer! We continued to be the best of friends throughout middle school, high school, and on afterwards. It's something we'll always be! I have so many fond memories of Brian coming over to our house and him, Jimmy, my brother Jeffrey, and I would just sit around talking and remembering funny things... I was just "one of the guys". I could go on for days and nights about all of the memories we've had.

After training for the Army, Brian got orders to Germany for two years. We were all devastated to learn that he wouldn't get to come home often, but were so very proud of him! We'd all keep in touch through MySpace and everything. No doubt about it! Well, when he got to Germany, he met this sweet girl named Ashley! She was also in the Army and has been an Army Fire Fighter for six years and has been on TWO tours to Iraq!! They started dating and shared the great news with all of us that they were expecting a baby!!! Brian Adams... a Daddy?! It was so crazy, but we knew he'd make a great Daddy. I was so happy to find out a couple months later that Brandon and I were also expecting our little baby shortly behind Brian's baby...so they could grow up together and be the best of friends just like Brian and I are! Then Ashley and I found out that we were BOTH going to have BOYS and that made us even more ecstatic!!! Brian was going to be able to come home from Germany for 10 days while his son was being born and for some reason... he wasn't able to because as I said... I guess some people just don't have good hearts these days? Ashley was admitted to the hospital this past Friday to be induced. They kept Brian up to date on the status and everything for his sweet little mans pending arrival. Shortly after 10 pm, Levi Douglas Adams was born at 8 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long! It was an amazing time for everyone, but hard at the same time with Brian not being able to be there. Brian was having a hard time dealing with it and was very sad and upset. To make matters worse, he was scheduled to leave for Iraq on the 1st of December. So for him to have a hard time with this, is to be totally expected! How would YOU feel to not be there for your childs birth and then leave less than 10 days later for Iraq to go to war?? Not even meeting your child until he's a few months old!!! I totally understand where he was upset and everything.

I got a very upsetting phone call this evening from his fiance, Ashley, who was completely upset and crying to where I could barely understand her. She broke the news to me that Brian was in the hospital in Germany and things aren't looking good. She said that Brian had been throwing up and his head had been hurting since Sunday, but they just thought maybe he had a virus. Well, he went to work on Monday and was still throwing up and not feeling good so he went home. He started having seizures and his roommates called 911. They took him to the hospital on base and ended up sending him to an outside hospital for a CT scan. His lungs started to get fluid in them. The CT scan showed a blood clot on his brain and he had to be immediately taken in for surgery. They had to remove part of Brian's skull to let some of the pressure off and put a tube in and put him in a drug induced coma. They knew that if Brian woke up, he'd be in too much pain to deal with...not to mention, he'd probably freak out a little bit (or a LOT knowing my Brian) not knowing what in the world just happened to him and thats the last thing they would need. So he's still in a coma and awaiting further testing and stuff.

I just got a phone call from his sister, Ashley, and she said that things aren't looking very good. They just called Brian's parents and said they need to do a procedure to suction things out and there is a 50/50 chance that this could fail and Brian could possibly die from it. I'm in total shock at this point and don't know what to do with myself. I don't want to go through losing another friend, especially as good of a friend as Brian. I've had enough of tragic news in the past few weeks to last me for YEARS. I don't want to think about losing another friend!!! I'm praying like crazy now, praying that God will take Brian into his hands and help him recover well and quickly. This wouldn't seem fair for Brian to never get to meet his son, so Lord please be with him! Please be with all of Brian's family and friends as we all take this step-by-step. Please be with his parents as they book a flight to get to their sons side as soon as possible and let their flight be easy on them!

RIGHT BEFORE I got the news, I was going through old pictures and scanned this picture of me and Brian at Graduation Celebration in 2003 when we graduated high school. My mind and soul must have known something was about to be told to me that I didn't want to hear...




And here is a picture of his SPITTING IMAGE son, Levi Douglas Adams, who Brian BETTER COME HOME TO!


"Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid nor dismayed for the Lord is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9


UPDATE

Brian had to undergo another procedure this morning because removing a part of his skull didn't relieve enough pressure off of his brain. So the procedure they did, relieved a little bit more pressure, but he still has no brain function. I am very thankful that Brian survived the 50/50 chance of living through the procedure, but we are not out of the woods yet, so PLEASE continue to pray!! They are waiting on an American Doctor and Translator to get to Germany to see what needs to be done next. I will keep updating this blog for everyone with the latest news!! PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!

My Weekend

I had a pretty good Friday! I went into Haughton and spent the day with Tiffany and Emily and Denny and my Momma! I was at the point where I was about to breakdown any second if I had to be alone for one more day!! So I went in and spent time with them just talking and catching up and doing a little shopping! We all went to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings on Friday Night and it was pretty good. Saturday, Momma, Tiffany, and I went shopping for things for my upcoming Baby Shower!! I'm so excited to celebrate this special time with my friends and family.

I'm starting to get to the point in my pregnancy where I'm having a lot of pain. And I can't really sleep for long periods or get comfortable. I am just sleeping when I feel like I need to, regardless of the time of day or how close it is to night time...simply because I can't lay down and sleep for hours anymore. In the end, it will be so worth it because I'm going to be blessed with a little boy from heaven!!! We're so ready to meet him!

I was extremely restless last night and in a lot of pain this morning, so I unfortunately missed church. I prayed to God for some relaxation and forgiveness for missing church and I know He understands my pain! I still sat at the house and read in my wonderful Bible! I have the New International Version and it's a Women's Devotional Bible, as well. I LOVE it! I can understand the scripture and everything way better!!! As I was reading this morning, I found a verse that kind of relates to me during this time and wanted to share!

Genesis 3:16 - To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

I hope you all have a wonderful week and a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!!!

Patience

Yesterday, I was talking to my friend Amber and we were discussing how we want to become not only better wives to our husbands, but better Christians as well. I was explaining to her how I've grown Spiritually since the deaths of Lauren Hymer in 2006 and especially Jill Attebery just two and a half weeks ago. I've been so inspired by these two and their families beyond belief!

I was telling Amber the story that I heard on Jill's funeral service video..Shortly before Jill's death, her husband, Pastor Scott, asked her "Jill, how do you put up with all of my stubbornness and impatience?" and she didn't say anything like "Oh honey, you aren't stubborn or impatient!". She just looked at him and smiled and said "Patience."

When I heard that story, I got VERY emotional and it made me look at how sometimes I come across the same way as Scott..stubborn and impatient!! I tend to let myself get angry and I take it out on my husband when I should really just be patient! I'm trying to better myself in this department, but catch myself falling back into the angry state again. For instance, Brandon has been working the past three nights in a row and he got home this morning at 6 am and he wanted me to wake him up at 10:00 am so that he could sleep tonight because he starts working days tomorrow. Well, me trying to be a sweet wife, I give him an extra 30 minutes to sleep and don't go in there until 10:30, but he doesn't want to get up. I went back in there every 30 minutes or so once or twice and finally at about noon, I said "I'm not coming in here again!!!!". He finally got up at about 1:30 and started getting ready to go hunting! So my impatience and anger kicks in because he works so much, I barely get to see him... and when he has the day off, he wants to hunt!!! I understand it's a man thing and they love to do it and I am so happy he has a hobby. However, I feel like I am left out of everything and start to feel very lonely and depressed because I am CONSTANTLY home alone... whether he's working or in the woods. I explained to him that he really shouldn't kill anymore deer because he's already killed three. We got two back from the processing plant yesterday and it was $215!!! We still have one more to pay for and our freezer is just about stocked! We don't need anymore! So I thought for SURE he'd spend his one day off with me. When he's not in the woods, all he wants to do is watch TV.. and all I ever have to do is watch TV! So I get upset with that. I try so hard to tell myself to be patient and to just understand, but catch myself showing anger each time. I'm really praying to God for a lot more patience!

With that being said, I was telling Amber that she really needed to get the book Diamonds in the Dust by Joni Eareckson Tada. It's a daily devotional book and only takes up maybe 5-10 minutes of your day and it's SO worth it!! I think I've gotten Amber talked into buying it. For today, one of the devotions is really sticking out to me. I'm going to share it with you. It's from the October 23 devotion:

"Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household. You have bound me - and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me. All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me." - Job 16:7-8,12

You've heard of the patience of Job? To me that never made sense, because the book of Job is one long list of complaints. Not one to take suffering meekly, Job cried out in protest against God. Even his friends were shocked at his impudent anger. Goodness, most of us would bite our nails in fearful trembling if we ever talked to God that way.
God, however, does not get offended. He doesn't get insulted or intimidated. In fact, in a supreme touch of irony, in the end God orders Job's pious comforters to seek repentance from the man himself, Job, the very source of so many heated complaints.
I love that about God. Where it concerned Job, the guy was only human. And, yes, his patience was gloriously played out in that he refused to curse God and die. But it was the Lord who demonstrated the very best of what it means to be patient. God, as it says elsewhere in Scripture, refused to break the bruised reed or snuff out the smoldering wick. God even defended Job!
The patience of Job? I would think it should be the patience of God. The God of Job- your God- defends the hurting, uplifts the oppressed, and listens to the complaints of the suffering. He may not respond to your questions with neat, pat answers, but He will always, always answer your questions with His own patience.

Prayer: O, patient and long-suffering God, thank You for being so tolerant with me, with all Your children who tend to complain. Patiently lead us through our trials until praise is on our lips.

AMEN! Wasn't that amazing?!? I love this book!!! It always tends to lift me up and I find the prayer I need daily!!!

33 Week Prenatal Appointment!

I just got back from seeing the doctor today! It was, once again, a very quick visit! I dread the drive to El Dorado and back when it's such a short visit...especially just when I go to see how much fatter I'm getting! HAHA. But at the same time, I love to go because I get to hear how well my pregnancy is going and get to see the doctor smile and say "His heartbeat sounds amazing!!!". And I know that since I'm going so often..it's getting closer and closer to time for Garrett to come into this world!!! In two weeks, I've gained 3 pounds. Which puts me at a whopping 150 pounds total and means I've gained 16 pounds total so far! He said my urine tests and blood pressure and everything look amazing!

I talked to Dr. Ratcliff today about possibly enducing around 38 weeks or so because Brandon and I had a LIST of reasons we wanted to have Garrett in December. One of the main reasons we wanted to be enduced was because we live an hour and fifteen minutes from the hospital and I've been having anxiety about not making it there... also with it being Winter time, you never know road conditions... and because Brandon works up there too. If I was to go into labor at my house and him be at work...I'd panic to the max! HAA. Another reason that was a big concern for me is the fact that we have people coming..and they are all from somewhere other than El Dorado! I explained to him that we even have people coming up from South Louisiana for it. Lastly, for insurance and tax purposes!!! Wouldn't it be sad to miss being able to claim Garrett on our taxes when he was just only a couple days shy of being born in December?!! Not to mention the deductibles on our insurance!!!! I've been pregnant for more than half of this year, so I think we deserve the right to have these feelings!! HAHA.. So, Dr. Ratcliff said that he doesn't normally consider enducing until a woman is "past due", BUT..Said he understands my concerns about family and stuff being from out of town and everything. He said that as we get closer to time and he starts checking my cervix and stuff, if it's started to "ripen" and it seems like enducing would work fine...then we'll go for it! So please pray that I start to "ripen" mid-December!!!! I certainly do NOT want to put risk on myself or Garrett, so I reassured him I wouldn't want to do it unless it was completely safe. He said that when some people want to be enduced, their cervix hasn't started thinning or anything so the drugs they give to enduce labor would probably fail and cause more complications...so the only way we'll enduce is if everything is looking good and starting to ripe!!!

Our next appointment is December 3rd and that's only FOUR WEEKS until my due date! Wow!!! I can't believe how close we are getting! Keep us in your prayers!!!

"It's not about us, It's not about me. It's about Jesus" - Jill Attebery

The past couple of weeks have really made me open up my eyes and really see life from a different view. When we were living in El Dorado, Arkansas, I started going to Bible Study on Wednesday Nights with Jana at Wyatt Baptist Church. Jana and I were inspired to go by Lori, who we worked with at Dr. Smart's office. Lori is a woman of faith and I've really grown spiritually since knowing her. In June 2006, Lori's daughter Lauren, was tragically killed in a car accident the day before Father's Day and the day before Lori and Donny's Wedding Anniversary. Lauren had just turned 21 two weeks earlier and was Lori and Donny's only daughter! She was on her way to El Dorado from Conway to fix dinner for her parents for their Anniversary and Father's Day. This struck everyone very hard, obviously. I honestly didn't ever know how Lori made it through the days, but God gave her the strength and still gives her the strength every single day!! I am so inspired by Lori!!!

A couple of weeks ago, tragedy struck Wyatt Baptist Church yet again. The Pastor - Scott Attebery, his wife Jill, and their 2 1/2 month old son Bryce, was involved in a car accident on the way back home from a family reunion. Unfortunately, Jill did not make it. She had terrible trauma to her head and brain. She, however, did help save several other lives by having her organs donated! Isn't that so amazing? The first few days after I got the news, I was VERY upset and couldn't understand why God would do such a thing to such a woman of Faith and a woman who just had a newborn baby after she and her husband tried for such a LONG TIME for! I got very upset and cried very often and couldn't take my mind off of it. During the Bible Studys, Jill was always there and speaking about everything she learned in the lessons and her pages would be FILLED with notes she had taken during the videos and during her homework assignments. Jana and I were both so intimidated to sit by her because we couldn't COMPARE to everything Jill had written in her books and we were ashamed we couldn't ever come up with as many things as she did. She never failed to speak to me or anyone else. She was so kind hearted!!! I still can't believe that she is gone now, but I know she's in better hands and is up there praising with our Lord!

Jill and Lauren's death was very tragic and has consumed all of my thoughts lately. It has caused me to want to become a better wife and mother, but most of all it has caused me to want to become a better Christian.

I wanted to share the SlideShow from Jill's Memorial Service that was uploaded by a member of a church. The Attebery and Jarvis family remains in my prayers!!! Jill will never be forgotten!

32 Week Ultrasound

Since our insurance is HORRIBLE and only pays for ONE ultrasound during the pregnancy unless it's a medical necessity.. My wonderful Momma, being an x-ray tech, had a friend that said we could come in and he would do an ultrasound for us! We were SO stoked to get to see our little man. He said everything is looking wonderful. His heart rate was 160 beats per minute! And he's ALREADY 4 pounds 6 ounces. I think we may have a little chunk coming! HAHA. We are so ready to meet him!! Here are the pictures from this ultrasound!

Sweet Feet!


Confirming that he is INDEED a little boy!


His little heart!


Profile view of his face!

Him facing us!

Looking at his little nose and chin and what appears to be BIG LIPS!

Church Baby Shower

Some of our amazing church ladies hosted a baby shower for us today and it was AMAZING! We had a wonderful turnout and had the best time. Garrett got a LOT of good things and it just makes us so much more excited to become parents and ready to meet our little guy. Our wonderful hostesses all went in to get Garrett the Pack'n'Play that we wanted and we are so very thankful for that!

After the shower was over, I was super excited to get home and start putting his room together and decorating! I had the BEST time nesting! I was in his room for hours on end just getting things the way that I want them to be!!! It's so precious. I will try to upload some pictures of his room for everyone to see!

We are so blessed to have such an amazing church family and wonderful family and friends! We will have a Couples Shower in Shreveport on the 29th also that is hosted by a few of my girlfriends and we can't wait for that!! It's going to be a blast! Love you all!

Here are a few pictures from the shower!





Here are some pictures of his room after I got it all put together! Some things still needs its place and all, but we have one more shower to go and we'll get it COMPLETE!

31 Week Prenatal Visit!

We had an amazing visit today at the doctors office! We were told that my blood work came back "just perfect"! No diabetes! My blood sugar was 121. My hemoglobin levels were in the perfect range. My blood pressure is wonderful...and that is seems like I'm going to sail on through this pregnancy with no problems at all!! I've gained two pounds in the past two weeks, which is exactly what I should have!! That makes a total of 14 pounds in pregnancy so far and he said that is the best he's seen in a long time and to just "keep up the good work"...which consists of a bunch of junk food and sweets for me! HAHA. I'm so shocked that everything has went so well and that I haven't gotten HUGE because of the things I eat, but I am NOT complaining!!We also went to the Women's Center to pre-register and get all set up to have this sweet little boy. It made me all giddy inside to be in the building where in a few short weeks, we will be meeting our son! I was also a bit nervous, I must admit! I just pray that everything will keep on going smoothly! I know that God will take care of us! We will go back to the doctor on the 19th! I will post again after that appointment!

29 Week Prenatal Visit!

We had a doctor's appointment today and it was by far the most tortured one so far! HA. The doctor suggested I have a flu shot since I'll be pregnant most of flu season, so they went ahead and gave me the shot. Then it was time to test for gestational diabetes! I had to down this nasty drink and then sit for an hour...and then be poked again and have blood drawn to test for the diabetes! The nurse said that "No news is good news!" and said that if the test results came back abnormal, they'll call me by this coming Monday. Otherwise, they'll just see me at my next appointment! So we are hoping and praying that the results come back great. If the test comes back abnormal, I'll have to go in for a THREE HOUR test where I have to drink those nasty drinks and have to have blood drawn FOUR TIMES! Please pray that everything comes back normal! Dr. Ratcliff says everything is still going great and that I'm doing really great with my weight! I gained 4 pounds in the past four weeks, which means I have gained a total of 12 during the whole pregnancy so far. He said that is wonderful! We will now start seeing the doctor every two weeks until I am 36 weeks and then we will start weekly visits until he gets here!

I can't wait to meet Garrett!! He certainly seems like a little hyper baby in my belly. He is constantly kicking and punching his Mommy! It's the most amazing thing I have ever experienced in my life. And he is ALREADY a Daddy's boy. The other day, Garrett wasn't moving around very much and I was getting sort of worried about him..Brandon came over and was talking to Garrett and kissing my belly and Garrett woke up and started going crazy hearing his Daddy talk. It was so sweet!! Now that that has happened, Brandon must talk to him everyday and kiss him and it never fails..Garrett starts going crazy when Daddy talks to him! I know that makes Brandon feel so excited because it makes me so happy!!!

We will post after our next appointment on November 5th!

25 Week Prenatal Appointment!

We went to the doctor today and the doctor says everything looks great still! I have gained three more pounds since my last visit! So that means I have gained six pounds total during pregnancy so far. We were ecstatic to be getting an Ultrasound today so we could see our little man, but was very disappointed when Garrett wouldn't wake up and move around and Dr. Ratcliff wouldn't even really try so we didn't get to see much other than his head circumfrence and his femur bone and we also learned that he was in Breech Position. Dr. Ratcliff said it is still possible for him to turn back around while he's still smaller, but if he didn't do it soon, he'd probably stay that way! We didn't get to see his little profile, see how much he weighed, or ANYTHING!! Mommy, Daddy, MeMe, and Great MeMaw were all disappointed with the Ultrasound! The doctor even questioned us about the 2D/4D Ultrasound and about him being a boy because he said you certainly couldn't tell it was a BOY on that day because his legs were shut tight and everything. There is NO DOUBT in our minds that this is a little boy though and I think it's VERY OBVIOUS from the Ultrasound Pictures that he is a little boy indeed!!!

I am SO excited to also announce that my bestest friend from El Dorado, Jana, who I worked with at Dr. Smart's office gave birth to her BEAUTIFUL little girl today!! They named her Jada Jewell and she is just precious!!! Jana and I had the best time sharing pregnancy moments and stuff together..until I had to leave her and move back home! But we still keep in touch via text messages and MySpace!!!

We go back to the doctor on October 22nd, and that will be the last monthly appointment and I'll start going every two weeks and shortly after that each week!! I can't believe how fast and well this pregnancy has been going!

My first post and update on pregnancy!

**I have decided to give Blogger a chance at this! I started a website for Garrett back in August when we found out we were having a boy and it only limited us to like 10 pictures and that just doesn't make me happy! So I've decided to try out this Blogger thing and see how it works!!! I am going to go back and post all of the old ones from the other site to keep everyone up to day on here on whats happened so far!**

Hey everyone! We are just getting this website started for our precious baby! I will just do a quick update on everything. Pregnancy has been pretty amazing so far. With the exception that I can't eat a lot of meat and stuff, so I struggled in the beginning and actually lost weight. I've started gaining a few pounds though! As of my last appointment at 16 weeks, I had gained two pounds! With the size my belly is getting, I am SURE I've gained more since then..we will see next week!

We went for a 4D Ultrasound at Sneak Peek down in Lafayette on August 9, 2008 to find out the sex of the baby. Due to our horrible insurance, it only pays for one ultrasound throughout the pregnancy...so we decided we definitely wanted to do the 4D ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby..not to mention the family and friends that were there to share that special moment with us!!! Thank you all for being there! While we were there, we got to clearly see that it is definitely a BOY! We are so excited..words can't even explain. His heartbeat was beating at 145 beats per minute and he was 9 ounces! How precious, right?! The memories from that day will last a lifetime and they will be very clear because we got tons of ultrasound pictures, the whole session on DVD, and not to mention, Billy recorded the whole thing with his camcorder and burnt it to DVD for us! I feel so blessed to have such amazing family and friends! His name will be Garrett Brandon Neal. Garrett after my amazing grandparents and Brandon after Garrett's Daddy!
So when we found out that it was definitely a boy, we all had to go to Babies R Us and all buy him his first little gifts from Momma and Daddy, MeMe, Aunt Tiffy, Aunt Crystal, and Uncle Billy! I will try to upload the pictures to show who all bought what for him.

This is enough for now...it's pretty much my whole pregnancy in a nutshell since I haven't had any complications other than the not being able to eat much! No morning sickness or anything, THANK YOU JESUS! Thank you so much for coming by to visit!