A Little Scary

I wouldn't normally share such a personal thing but there may be someone out there who is experiencing the same or similar thing and this may be just what they need to hear to help them know they're not alone.  I'm also sharing because I am a bit scared and would love you all to say a little prayer for me and my little one.

Tonight on the way home I started bleeding, this isn't the first time in this pregnancy, in fact this will be the third time.  Both of the other times everything was fine but it doesn't change the fact that it's scary.  My amazing doctor said I could come in any time to listen to the heart beat, but I think for now I'm going to say a little prayer, talk to my little one, and rest. 

I'll keep you updated.

Charmian 

Big Round Head!

May 13, 2010....Pearce would have been 10 months old today.  In an ironic twist of fate, we celebrated his birthday in the doctors office with Charmy receiving a 12 week ultrasound. 

While we were waiting in the waiting room I nervously chatted Jon's ear off, but he was quiet and thoughtful.  All he really said was "So all we really want is a big head, right?"  I giggled and agreed.  We finally were called back and the ultra sound tech put the cold gel on my belly and started the scan.  She barely started when Jon said "That looks like a big head, doesn't it."  I said "Yeah" but I didn't want to jinx it or get our hopes up until the tech said everything was okay.  She didn't really understand and started telling us that the baby's head wasn't too big.  I told her that Pearce had anencephaly and she said "Oh, yes!  That is one big, round, beautiful head!"  Jon and I were so excited.

It is amazing the noticable difference between Pearce's 12 week ultra sound, and this baby's.  Now that Charmy and I know what to look for, we find it unbelievable that our doctor in Texas missed something on Pearce's scan which is now so obvious.  The outcome would not have changed, but to have not diagnosed the defect is unbelievable.  Regardless, our doctor and his staff here in Colorado (thanks Renee) are amazing.  Come to find out, the ultra sound technician that confirmed Pearce's anencephaly last year heard we were coming in.  She sat in the back office and watched our scan, just so she wouldn't miss it.  Once everything looked good she came running into the room we were in to congratulate us.  Unbelievable!

Well, this trip isn't over yet.  In four weeks we'll get the blood results back and in 8 weeks we'll have our big 20 week anatomy scan but Jon and I are just so happy that our baby has a big round head.  We aren't naive enough to think that there isn't anything else that can go wrong but we're so glad that we can check anencephaly off the list.

Thank you all for your continued love and support.  It is because of you, our family and friends, that we've been able to make it through the tough times and look forward to all of the good times ahead.

We love you!!!

Jon & Charmian

Amazing Creatures

Since summer is getting close, all of our migrant birds are returning, including the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird.

I find hummingbirds particularly spectacular. I don't think any other animal on the planet is capable of such gravity defying displays.

However, trying to photograph these little guys is a MAJOR undertaking. Thankfully, digital photography costs reduce with every image you take. I think I recovered the cost of my camera this morning. 20 minutes and 200 photos later....

I like this shot. The composition isn't what I wanted and the depth of field was too shallow for the whole bird to be in focus, but this shot makes me feel like I'm trying to jump on his back.

Getting nice shots of these little and fast creatures is a challenge, but when an image turns out, it is pretty spectacular. Obviously, capturing a shot when a hummingbird is in flight presents many more challenges than when they are stationary. I have found through trial and error that all the settings on my DSLR need to be in "Manual" mode. Every possible setting (except for white balance) is set by me, including ISO, apeture, shutter speed, and focus. I also believe that my success rate increases when I turn off image stabilization.

Anyway, sometimes I get neat images. When a shot turns out, they are pretty spectacular. Tiny bird with really big abilities!

Garden Fresh Salad....Almost

I love food! I love to make it. I love to look at it. I love to smell it. Most importantly, I LOVE to eat it! I would like to think of myself as a "foodie" but really, I don't care how a dish is plated, I care about how it tastes.

In an ode to great, fresh food, I think it only fitting to enjoy where great food comes from. Hence, our summer garden. I can already feel the nose tingling burn from the fresh red radishes and taste the crunchy, candy-like sweetness from a new sugar-snap pea.

Unfortunately, it is still early in the +7,000 ft above sea level growing season, so I am limited to only planting peas and radishes right now. Pretty soon though....lettuce, tomatoes and beets, Oh My!

Mother's Day Fun

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

To all the mothers, grandmothers, and aunts in my life!

I love you all!

After church on Sunday Jon and I did what we do too often - last minute shopping. Sometimes we do it for weddings other times birthdays but on Sunday yup this past Sunday it was for Mother's Day.

We decided to divide and conquer as we were already late to our Mother's Day brunch with my mom. I went for the chocolate, he went for the cards (it's always better to leave the cards to Jon you see I have to read every card in the given theme and then slowly but surely eliminate the cards that won't do until I've found the perfect card, to be honest I don't know how Jon does it but he can be in and out in 2 minutes - a true miracle in my eyes.) Anyway - I find the chocolate and I'm making my way over to Jon as quickly as possible because I see he's already at check out. I'm hustling, I'm dodging grandma's and small children and the next thing I know Jon's whistling at me and doing his best not so discreet sign language to have me stop and wait. Well I instantly know he's bought something for me but I play coy.

I begin to look at the magazines and wait for him to come over to me. He finally does and I notice he has a little bag and inside my silly card - that was totally perfect of course - and a pack bubble gum.

I love my husband!!!