Happy News!

at 05/10/11 10:32AM
I am sure most of you have seen our news on Facebook. We are so thrilled to be expecting another baby girl September 9th! Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who have prayed for us. God has been so good to us through all of our ups and downs. I am 22.5 weeks and feeling good now. My kind doctor really helped us through some anxious times, doing extra sonograms and appointments close together. We have had 5 sonograms and everything looks just great so far. I am feeling sweet baby move every day now and that is a great comfort and blessing to me. Now just to tackle the almost impossible task of choosing another girl's name! We have had a boy name picked out for 4 years but girls names are so much harder for us as a couple to agree upon. Annalise called the baby "JoJo" for a while and then switched to "Ulna." What? Where in the world did she get that. She just smacks random syllables together sometimes. We went to a Build-a-Bear birthday party this weekend and she tried to name her bear Ulna. I convinced her that Rainbow was a better name. :)

We are doing great, staying busy, leaning on God, loving life and all of the special people in it. Hope you are all doing well!
  • sallyanne
    Congratulations!
    by sallyanne at 05/10/11 12:18PM
  • nthnswmn
    Rainbow is a very appropriate name for that bear. :-) It was so nice to see you.
    by nthnswmn at 05/10/11 2:52PM
  • crazy_mama
    I am SOOO happy for you guys. It's very fun to me to think that we're right behind you. I'm 20.5 weeks and due on Sept. 25th. Fun huh! We had our ultrasound today and couldn't determine the gender so maybe another one. We'll see. We only wanted to do one unless we medically needed to do more but we'll see if we can wait for the surprise or not. I totally know what you mean about girls names. It was SO hard to come up with Maleia's name and now I think about us having another girl's name and I'm totally clueless. We have 4 boys names with middle names. Crazy huh! Malachi was almost another name but we switched his a couple weeks before he was born so I think if this baby is a boy he'll get that name (I still love the name we just didn't feel it was the best name for our 1st son).

    Maleia does the same thing Annalise does. We called Noelani "Sunshine" before she was born and Noelani nicknamed Maleia "Blueberry" because I ate a lot of blueberries when I was pregnant with her. Malachi was "Little Taco Man" because of my taco salad obsession. With this baby I'm having some crazy cravings for bbq sauce. It's totally out of control how much I want it. Anyway, Noelani started calling this baby "Barbeque Baby" but Maleia calls it "Baby Gonna". I have no idea where that came from but she told people at church that and now they all call the baby Baby Gonna too. Not my favorite name for the baby. So maybe one day Baby Gonna and Ulna will be friends!
    by crazy_mama at 05/10/11 8:29PM
  • leahhallnoats
    I had not heard on facebook, but that is so exciting and I'm thrilled for you all!
    by leahhallnoats at 05/19/11 9:50AM
  • meg
    Oh, that's such wonderful news! What a lovely blessing!
    by meg at 06/08/11 3:21PM
  • crazy_mama
    Oh thanks for the update. I've been off of pleo for about a month so I Just got your message now. I'm just thrilled for you guys about your growing family. Sisters are the best! I'm sure you guys are enjoying her. I have come to terms (sometimes) with my house not being very clean all the time. I can't seem to get it all done and I'm learning (very slowly!) to be ok with that. I would love for my house to always stay clean and organized but I don't have an endless supply of energy and I do have to sleep sometime! Oh and as far as the baby weight, like I said it's never happened this fast for me before. In fact I'm now working on getting Malachi's baby weight off! Once I get there I'll work on Maleia's baby weight!! Then I'll be what I was when I got married! I'm sure you'll get there soon!
    by crazy_mama at 12/08/11 8:49PM

Sad News

at 09/10/10 10:30AM
Most of you have seen this post on Facebook. Thank you all for your sincere expressions of love and sympathy. We are strengthened by you. God is being glorified through you.


I am so saddened to have to share this news. We went to our 16 week prenatal visit and were unable to to hear the baby's heartbeat. The doctor performed a sonogram and we have lost our precious little one. Most likely, I will have surgery next week. Will you pray for us? We are heartbroken and we are anxious about what's to come. Thank you all for your care and concern. We are thankful for you.
  • deusvitae
    May God's comfort be with you.
    by deusvitae at 09/10/10 10:40AM
  • nthnswmn
    I will pray. My heart hurts with you. love you.
    by nthnswmn at 09/10/10 11:19AM
  • crazy_mama
    Stephanie, my heart is just so heavy for you right now. I can't imagine the sorrow that you are feeling. There is an amazing sense of awe in knowing that this baby was a blessing to you from God and that the baby is now perfect and whole with our Father. It will never know the challenges and pain of life on earth. We love you guys and want you to know that we are praying for you. That God will give the comfort that only He can give. May God continue to bless you in the future Stephanie.
    by crazy_mama at 09/10/10 1:16PM
  • sallyanne
    I'll pray. I'm so very sorry for your terrible loss.
    by sallyanne at 09/10/10 1:54PM
  • mreid72
    So sorry to hear Stephanie. Praying for y'all.
    by mreid72 at 09/10/10 1:55PM
  • txwhittlec
    Much love to you. It will be wonderful someday to be reunited with our loved ones we have lost. Praying for God's healing and comfort for you all.
    by txwhittlec at 09/11/10 11:05AM
  • lastoflakewood
    So sorry to hear this...will say a prayer for you!
    by lastoflakewood at 09/11/10 8:13PM
  • pohatmom
    You are in our prayers. We know your heartache, and know that you will allow God to comfort you.
    by pohatmom at 09/12/10 9:41PM
  • lb1178
    So sorry to hear this news! Prayers for you!
    by lb1178 at 09/14/10 2:49PM
  • leahhallnoats
    Oh Stephanie, I'm so sorry! Love you and praying for you.
    by leahhallnoats at 09/28/10 8:44AM
  • create_a_way
    Stephanie, I am so very sorry about this...ever since heather told me about it, i have been praying for you guys like crazy. I love you both so very much...you know that, but please know that I love your baby as well, and I greatly look forward to meeting that precious soul in Heaven. I wish I could be there in person with you guys to just show my love and support.
    by create_a_way at 02/16/11 12:56AM

Check Out My Ticker!

at 09/01/10 9:55AM
You might notice I have a new ticker posted! We are so happy to be expecting our 2nd baby February 22nd! As routine pleonasters know, we had an ectopic pregnancy in the Spring of 2009. We also had an early miscarriage in March 2010. Understandably, we've kind of been on "pins and needles" the first trimester. But, things have progressed beautifully thus far. We are so grateful to our friends and family for your prayers before this pregnancy and during this pregnancy. We are thankful to have a very kind and compassionate doctor. He performed two ultrasounds - one at 6 weeks and one at 8 weeks to confirm that things were going well. We heard the heartbeat at week 12 which was just music to our ears! Lord willing, we will have our big ultrasound in 3 weeks. We can't wait to see our little pumpkin!

  • smiley_beth
    So hard not to be anxious every step of the way, I know. I will pray for your pregnancy and your nerves along the way.
    by smiley_beth at 09/01/10 10:17AM
  • mreid72
    Woohoo! Congrats!
    by mreid72 at 09/01/10 10:48AM
  • asc
    :) May it all g0 well! S0 happy! C0NGRATULATI0NS!
    by asc at 09/01/10 11:09AM
  • nthnswmn
    Congratulations!!!! I rejoice with you!
    by nthnswmn at 09/01/10 12:46PM
  • zabdi
    Molly is expecting our second around the first week of February. I think that will put both of our kids about the same age as both of ya'lls!
    by zabdi at 09/01/10 9:47PM
  • dressednyella
    So cool, Chris! I hope they will meet someday! :)
    by dressednyella at 09/02/10 9:20AM
  • crazy_mama
    OH how exciting!!! What a special blessing. Can't wait to find out if you will have a boy or a girl. Either way, they are so special. Frederic's birthday is the 26th so maybe you can come 4 days late and they will share their special day!! I was 4 days late with Noelani and I really don't wish that on anyone!!
    by crazy_mama at 09/03/10 4:11AM

Thank you, Soldier

at 05/29/10 12:13AM
All day I ran errands in this Alabama heat with my two year old. As I was leaving Publix, I was struggling with getting the groceries in the trunk, the cake in a safe place in the car, and Annalise out of the cart. In the middle of it all, my cell phone rang. Annalise's feet got stuck in the cart and I was having a hard time getting her free without dropping the cell phone. A thoughtful young man in army fatigues quietly walked over, freed Annalise's feet, and returned my cart for me. That was a small thing for him but it made my day. Thank you to all our soldiers who do big and small things to serve our country. Let's remember them in our prayers - especially on Memorial Day.
  • asc
    Small things mean so much sometimes :) Glad it made your day better!
    by asc at 05/29/10 10:35AM
  • txwhittlec
    Awww, that was so sweet of him. Good thoughts about remembering our soldiers. Thanks for the compliment on our name for Alyssa. :)
    by txwhittlec at 05/29/10 3:40PM
  • trolleem
    Great experience! I was at Lowe's a few weeks ago and the young man who helped me out with flowers was so courteous. I asked him if he was in the military. It seems like many young men who have a certain courtesy about them have had that training....I really appreciate folks who go out of their way to be polite and am thankful for any training that guides people to help struggling moms in parking lots! :)
    by trolleem at 05/31/10 7:35AM
  • crazy_mama
    So sweet! I am always amazed at how most men will watch a woman struggle with strollers and such without even offering a finger.
    by crazy_mama at 06/01/10 1:28AM
  • txwhittlec
    We heard about your wonderful news on FB! Congrats! God is wonderful! Much love to you! :)
    by txwhittlec at 08/16/10 10:20AM

Our First Family Pet

at 05/21/10 11:34PM *
We're enjoying our first family pet. He's a goldfish named Tweedle. I bought him and another goldfish for a centerpiece I used at my sister's birthday party last Saturday. It was a Mad Hatter's Tea Party so I named the fish Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in keeping with the Alice in Wonderland theme. Sadly, Tweedle Dee passed from this life on Sunday (barely lasted 48 hours!). Tweedle Dum's name got shortened to Tweedle. He actually seems to be a much happier fish now. We're hoping he'll last a little while. Annalise asked where the other fish was. We tried to be vague at first but she kept asking. I finally said, "He got sick and died and Daddy flushed him down the toilet." She didn't seem the least bit phased by it. She likes to inform us a few times a day that the fishy is "way hungry." I guess eating is the only interesting thing he does. :)
  • gemma
    AWW!! I'm glad Annalise is enjoying her first pet! I'm sorry the other one died but I hope this one will last a long time for her. =)

    We have to leave tomorrow. =( But we've had a lot of fun here. =) Tonight we played two games Settlers of Catan with Joel's and Anna's neighbors Speiridon and Lisa and with a guy from church named Manuel. Sooo much fun!
    by gemma at 05/22/10 12:09AM
  • crazy_mama
    Tweedle is an adorable name! I love it!
    by crazy_mama at 05/24/10 7:05AM