A VERY surprise homecoming!!!

After 21 days in the hospital, we're thrilled to announce that


Whitley Mary
is FINALLY home!

Born : October 17, 2009
7 weeks early, 4 lbs 4 oz

Home: November 7, 2009
4 weeks before her due date, 5 lbs

Whitley had a really rough start to the week with her feedings, and I was feeling like a failure. It was an EXTREMELY discouraging time. But something happened on Tuesday that shocked us all... I am convinced that Whit simply decided she was coming home--and no one was going to stop her! It was a complete turn around, and she wasn't looking back! Suddenly, Whit went from tube feedings [from being SO tired], to eating everything with a bottle (and nursing twice a day)-- PLUS meeting all her stats [staying warm and breathing well]. It was INCREDIBLE! By Thursday Whit was doing so well that the nurses were telling me we could probably bring her home in 3 days to a week. Time to order a car seat and get the house in order...and QUICK!! I went home and made plans to work all weekend getting ready...buying things, sorting stuff, and 'attempting' to clean whatever I could with my still aching, post C-section body. Friday I showed up for her 8:30 am feeding to hear, "You can probably take her home TOMORROW morning." What...really?! "But I'm not ready!!!", I kept telling the nurse. Not that I wasn't excited to finally bring her home...but how on earth would we ever be ready! I must be the ONLY mom with a NICU baby ever to ask if she could stay "just a few more days...please". So much for cleaning and sorting! Plus, I had to to borrow a really old car seat since ours was still being shipped....we had chosen 2 day shipping, but even that wasn't going to be fast enough!

It wasn't necessarily ideal, but ready or not--our [very] little, Whitley Mary, came home today--exactly 3 weeks (that's 21 days if you're counting...and I am!) after her birth. How wonderful it is to FINALLY have her home and be a family again!!!

Here's Whit's last NICU pic and her borrowed car seat

I think my favorite nurse was nearly as shocked as I was. She had left us on Tuesday with things still not going so well), only to come back on Saturday to see us going home. When they say that the babies just flip a switch one day, they really aren't kidding! We truly didn't even expect to have Whitley home before Thanksgiving. What a whirlwind the last few days have been!!

Here are LOTS of pics of Whitley's big day (Sorry, I can't help it!):

The kids meeting Whitley

Logan LOVED Whit! He wouldn't let go of her. It was like she was his newest toy...and he didn't want ANYONE else to touch her! He giggles every time she moves or makes a sound. And he LOVES to give her kisses!!

Its feels completely different than bringing home all of our other kids. But we're so glad to have her home! After moving 10 times in 10 years (being pregnant or having just had a baby for half of those moves), living overseas for 2 years, and having a baby in a third world country; I think I can safely say that HAVING A PREEMIE (with 4 other kids at home...especially an 18 month old) is BY FAR the HARDEST thing I have ever done!! I have a feeling it's going to be a VERY long road ahead, but somehow we'll make it!

Here's a few pictures from our trip to the hospital today. She had the oxygen removed from her for a few hours today. She only has the feeding tube in her nose. She also was moved to the isolette. She seems to like it a lot better. She is doing very well. We hope we can bring her home in about 3-4 weeks, but the nurses tell us to count on bringing her home the first week in December. She is a very precious little girl.

New baby

Katie gave birth to a new baby girl. Whitley Mary

4 lbs 4 oz
17 inches long
13 head circumference

The baby came at 33 weeks. She was transverse, and so the doctor had to her cesarean.

Baby and Katie are healthy. Mom should go home after 4 days, and the baby should be able to go home after a month.

A year--already?!? Couldn't be!

One year ago today we left our Expat life in Manila behind, and headed back to the States. We thought we were heading back to a much more "normal life." However, the last year has been anything BUT "normal"! What a whirlwind it has been for us since stepping off that last plane and coming back "home"!!

We were told it takes a good year to adjust to being back in the rat-race that IS an American life, but I think it's going to take us AT LEAST two years! Coming home with a newborn, and now having another baby arriving soon hasn't left us much time to work on adjusting. Maybe next year!

I was talking to my friend the other night, who still lives in Manila. She asked how I remember Manila now that it's been behind us for a year. I look back on Manila and am amazed at all we lived through and experienced. I can't believe we survived typhoons, coup attempts, bombings, and several earthquakes...not to mention typhoid fever, TB, and having a baby in a VERY third-world country. It all seems so surreal, and yet was a part of our everyday life in the Philippines.

Here's some of what we experienced living overseas:
Exapt life is a constant roller-coaster ride. You have VERY high highs, and EXTREMELY low lows--with no straight-aways in between. You're either up, or you're down. That alone is stressful enough, but there is also a constant state of stressfulness that never leaves. You go to bed stressed, and you wake up stressed. It's like you're in over-drive all the time. You never know what to expect, you have to be ready for anything. Life in America is a lot more predictable....you know you can go to the store and find tomato soup, for example. Overseas, something as simple as tomato soup is not a given...it could be there one time, and gone for 6 months the next. You just never know. Our motto was always: If you see it, buy it--cuz it probably won't be there the next time! Not to mention the fact that the store employees re-arrange the stores every single day. So even if it is there, you won't be able to find it again. I learned that the hard way!


The Expat Cycle:
There's an Expat cycle that the seasoned Expats often referred to in Manila. You start out in the
"I can't believe we're really living overseas" phase
This is where you're a little scared, and weary of everything and everyone, and just in shock that you are actually there (usually only lasts a few days). Then you quickly move on to the "Honeymoon" phase
Where you LOVE being there and think everything is hunky-dory. Nothing phases you...not being stuck in traffic for hours at a time, not seeing people peeing on the sidewalks or begging on every street corner, not even having to walk in the "female" door while your husband walks in the "male" door to the department stores--and you both get patted down. You see it all as a "cultural experience". This phase can be short, or it can last a very LONG time. In my opinion, the shorter this phase is, the better you will be at dealing with life overseas. The longer it lasts, the harder the fall downward will be. And there is ALWAYS a fall! Then there's the
"Survival" phase
When you get to this phase, you are just surviving day to day...trying not to yell at your helpers for ironing your underwear again when you've already told them 10 times not to, trying not to get car-sick because your driver only knows how to slam on the brakes instead of slowly pushing them down, and trying to deal with all the "for awhile ma'ams" ["for awhile": can mean wait 2 min, or 2 hours...or can mean that they don't know and will make you wait until you get so mad you just leave--instead of simply telling you, "I don't know ma'am"]. This is the phase that usually lasts the longest, and is the hardest to handle. When you're in this phase, you can't stand to be around people in the "honeymoon" phase. They are WAY too perky and don't understand the life that you've been leading over the past few months. You secretly can't wait until they hit their low!! Then they'll understand! Finally, you come to the
"Count Down" phase
Where you have less than a year to go, and are counting the months until you can get on that plane and get out of there! You're also so busy shopping for all the things that you want to take home, that you don't get nearly as upset when you discover that your helper re-arranged your spices by the color of their lid!
Going Home
You feel like a foreigner every day while overseas…then you actually go ‘home’ and still feel like a foreigner!!!


Here's to all my expat friends....I know you can relate!! :)

You know you're a former Expat when:
1. You spend hours in Wal-Mart just browsing the aisles and looking at all the choices of shampoo!
2. You still buy a year’s supply of deodorant, toothpaste, make-up, and shampoo just in case it's not there next time--after all, you never know!
3.Your baby has a frequent flier number and is a seasoned air traveler.
4.Your kids assume you're flying when you tell them you're going to grandma's.
5. You finally realize your husband's not the tallest person, and you're not the whitest in the country anymore.
6. Your kids know where strange countries like Uzbekistan and Oman are, but can't even find their own state on a map.
7. You clean out your purse and find Pesos instead of Dollars.
8. You try to remember that a red light means stop, not go faster.
9. You have to consciously remind yourself not to bribe police officers.
10. You can pack a suitcase to 49.9lbs without a scale.
11. $4 for a gallon of gas – man, that’s cheap!
12. You are astonished to find apples are cheaper than mangos.
13. Your kids would rather fly around the world first class than drive an hour in a car.

We are back, but as you can tell, we're FAR from feeling truly American!

Here we go AGAIN

Bedrest. Yuck! I'd say that 4 times is more than my fair share, wouldn't you?! I knew it was pretty much a given, but I honestly didn't think it would happen THIS soon!

The low down: I ended up in Labor and Delivery at barely 25 weeks with MAJOR contractions (as in full-blown labor contractions). Nine hours, 3 shots, and 2 IVs later they finally let me go home. The resident who took care of me (since my doctor was a no show until the very end), left me with these words "If you go into labor again, we don't want you here." WHAT?! "Our NICU can't even handle a baby this premature, so we'll have to send you to another hospital....and you have to get here fast because they can't deliver the baby on the way there (apparently ambulances and helicopters can't handle a premature baby either)! So take it VERY easy!" Uh...just a little nerve-racking, don't ya think!!

Needless to say, I've been "scared" back to bed...which is probably the only way I would have gone!

The problem: As I was laying in that hospital bed in labor for 9+ hours (with no tv and no pain meds to take my mind off it all), I had a devastating realization -- We DON'T HAVE A NAME for this baby girl yet!! All I could think about was: What if this baby does come prematurely--I can't leave her in NICU w/o a name!!! What kind of mother would I be?! And now, here we are nearly 3 weeks later, and STILL no name. We're not even close either...there's not even names in the running. We need some serious help, people! Anybody have any cute, unique (but not weird) girl names they're willing to share??? I think I'd pay money at this point! HELP!!!

The verdict is in....

Will it be PINK or BLUE at our house???

Looks like the baby will be wearing this:

And there will be a lot more of these around:

Things are a little different in Africa...AND in Manila!!

I found this on a blog that I happened upon recently, and thought they were rather amusing....and yet totally believable (Am I right, fellow Expats?!). These are pictures from this lady's friend who lives in Africa. Brings back some fond and some not-so fond memories of Manila. I wish I had taken more of these kind of pictures while we were there! After all, this IS everyday kind of stuff in Manila too!! You've got to give them a little credit though....at least they've got some ingenuity! :o)

Walkman

Capitol Hill Offices

Transportation

Ambulance

What were these guys smoking?? Poor goat!

It takes teamwork and a little human ingenuity to paint a swimming pool.

Notice where this electrical pole is located:

This picture was taken near Makerere University, Uganda:

Must be Zimbabwe:

Reminicing of Manila

I was thinking about Manila today, and it hit me....HARD....

The handful of LDS Expat families that were there when we first arrived have all left now. Some of us are back in the States, while others have moved on to new posts in other countries. Wherever we are, one thing is certain--we are all experiencing something VERY different than our lives in Manila!! That is such a crazy thought since we all became so close and really "needed" each other over there! People here just don't "need" each other in that way. I miss that...ALOT!

Adjusting to a different lifestyle is hard! I'm not sure how other "former Expats" are taking it, but this re-adjusting stuff really stinks! We've been back for about 9 months now (wow--that FLEW by!), and I'm still struggling to feel normal. After 2 years, life in Manila became normal and comfortable. But this American lifestyle definitely DOESN'T feel comfortable yet. Hopefully it doesn't take me 2 years to get to that point!

My "condition"....

I wasn't planning on posting much about this, but people keep asking. I figure I might as well just lay it all out there and be done with it. The question I keep getting is: "So what exactly IS your condition?" Good question, but a little hard to answer since I don't exactly have a definable condition. It would be nice if I could just give people a one word medical term--but I can't. Here's the low down for those of you who have been wondering--the rest of you can just skip this post altogether.

Basically, I have this extremely rare (and rather odd) thing where I have no immunity to rubella--even though I've had several immunizations for it. I've actually had about 3 rubella shots in the last few years, but for some strange reason my body still has no immunity to it. The doctors don't know why it's happening...it just is, and I'll probably never be immune (which isn't a big deal--unless I'm pregnant). Rubella isn't extremely dangerous to the average person. It just causes a rash and a high fever. However, if I am exposed to rubella while pregnant, I am 99% likely to pass it to the baby--which can cause a whole slew of problems including miscarriage, blindness, or deafness. I actually have a friend who's mom got it while she was pregnant, and the baby ended up being deaf. So with every pregnancy it has been a HUGE concern. We've been lucky so far and I haven't ever been exposed. But I have had to take extra precautions with each pregnancy. While we were living in Texas, for example, there was an outbreak of rubella and chicken pox. My doctor wouldn't let me go anywhere for over a month. I missed church and we basically just stayed home. That was when I only had Parker though, and it was MUCH easier to stay home then! Staying home really isn't even an option anymore though, so this pregnancy has been a lot more worrisome as far as the whole rubella thing goes. I am skipping out on all our family reunions, not having many playdates, and trying not to go where there are a lot of big crowds. They also released me from Primary so that I didn't have to be around so many kids each week. Adults and older kids who've had all their MMR shots aren't a problem...it's the younger ones that we worry about. So before you come over, if I ask you if anyone in your family has a rash, now you'll know why! Rashes are not allowed at our house. ;0)

So there's that...and then there's the whole pregnancy episode that happened in Manila. I had a severe hemorrahge at 7 weeks, which landed me on complete bedrest for the ENTIRE pregnancy. Not so fun! After Logan was born, I had some other issues and ended up having surgery when he was only 3 months old. If you think having a baby in another country is rough, try having surgery with a newborn sharing your hospital bed...again, not so fun! After the surgery, I had 3 different doctors tell me that we shouldn't have any more kids because of all the past issues, and other issues that could develp. They basically said that my body couldn't handle it. So while, I don't have an exact condition...it's all a little scary. And it doesn't help that I can't get my records from Manila either. I don't think my doctors here really believe me when I tell them what happened. It would be nice to have some medical records to back me up. So far the doctors have just looked at me funny and said "We can't do anything UNTIL something bad happens". Uh, the point is to NOT end up on bedrest again--not to just deal with it when it happens!! Frustrating! So I've taken matters into my own hands. I'm making myself take it easy and rest A LOT, in the hopes the I don't end up on bedrest again! And if I do...I'm blaming it all on the doctors!! Too bad I can't make them sit in bed for a few months and see how they like it--maybe then they'd take me a little more seriously.

That's the story....not too terribly exciting. Now, don't you wish you wouldn't have asked?!

A sobering thought....

This morning, I was supposed to be on a plane with Brett bound for Europe. Two weeks with no kids...just us, the sites, and all the yummy German bread we could eat. It was supposed to be a surprise trip for our 10 year anniversary today. Brett started planning it quite a while ago. He was actually busy planning way back in Manila when I was on bedrest the last time. I think he felt sorry for me (and himself, to be honest) that we weren't getting to travel all over Asia, like we had planned (planning never seems to work very well for us). Remember the bag of baby carrots Brett found for me last year in Manila...well, this year was even going to top that one (and let me tell ya, I was pretty thrilled about those carrots!!!). But things didn't quite go as planned once again [ahem...another baby for example]. Funny how that seems to work!! Note to self: Stop trying to plan out life and just live it as it comes!

So, instead of being on a plane this morning sipping cranberry juice and watching an in-flight movie on my way to a restful vacation with my husband; I took my4 kids to a baseball game at 8:30 am; where Addie and Lily declared all out war on each other, Logan ran after every dog he saw, and then tried to join Parker's team on the field OVER and OVER and OVER again. I couldn't help but think to myself: My plane is somewhere over the ocean right now with strangers sitting in our seats--and I'm doing this?!

Luckily Brett used some of our skymiles from all our trips to Manila to get the tickets....so we can change the dates and it's not a total loss. STILL....the thought struck me that it will be AT LEAST a good year or two before we will be on that plane headed for Europe and two relaxing weeks with no kids. Ahhh, life is funny isn't it! But it is what it is...and this IS my life...screaming kids or not. So I better enjoy it--even on the craziest and most sobering of days!

Besides, Europe can't keep us away for too long!! Now we just have more time to plan! ;o)

It's time to fess up....

We're having ANOTHER baby! After everything that happened with Logan in Manila that's pretty shocking, I know! Believe me, I was as shocked as most of you will be...if not more so!! We thought we were done, but apparently the big guy had other plans, which really shouldn't surprise me. We haven't planned any of our pregnancies. They've all sort of snuck up on us. Honestly, I can't say that I'm completely thrilled at the thought of being pregnant again, and all the issues it "could" bring along with it...but Brett and the kids are ECSTATIC!! I'm hoping some of that will rub off on me once I'm feeling a little better! :o) We're due Dec. 3rd, which according to my history really means the middle of November. So....ready or not, here comes Baby #5!

Moving again.....

A guy from the ward called Brett last night and said, "So I heard you guys are moving again." What?!? How did that rumor get started??? I guess I shouldn't have said that I was ready to move again out loud...apparently the neighbors heard! That's why I hate small towns...everybody knows everything about you, except none of the facts are right! Brett told the guy, "That seems to be a theme in our lives...but NOT this time!"

I hired a new "helper"

He may be small, but he's a mean little sweeper!!

!

Spring means yardwork...and LOTS of it!

Our backyard is a MESS! I don't think the previous owners ever trimmed a thing, or worked in the yard. The neighbor told us, and I quote "They weren't really outdoorsy people!" Uh, yeah...I can tell!! We were amazed to find several flowerbeds (with lava rock) in our grass! We only realized they were flowerbeds when the tulips started coming up in odd places. Needless to say, we've got many weekends worth of yardwork left! Here's a picture of just one of the 5 loads we have already taken to the dump. Remind me NEVER to buy a house that needs so much yardwork again!!!

I'm freezing!!!

It's about this time that I'm wishing we would have just stayed in Manila! I miss the palm trees and sun! Brett and the kids took a nice dip in our hot tub for Family Home Evening the other night....it was a balmy 30 degrees outside at the time!! They tried to convince me that it was warm and to join in, but I know better!!! After over an hour, Brett had to bribe the kids to get them out! Am I the ONLY one that hates (despises may be a better word!) the cold?!?

I thought they would give me a little time to adjust...

But no! I got called into the Primary Presidency only a month after our return to the States. Welcome back, huh!!

Between Primary meetings, morning preschool, afternoon Kindergarten, a 3rd grader/cub scouter, and dragging a baby along to all of the above....I am simply BEAT by the end of each day!! Is this really what American life is like? Did I just forget how crazy it is??? How do all of you do it?

The adjustment to being back Stateside has been EXTREMELY difficult to say the least. Everyone expects us to be "normal" now that we're back....and I feel FAR from it! In Manila, I only had to worry about the basics...that in and of itself was stressful enough in a third-world country! But here, I feel like everyone has so many expectations of me. They expect me to be "normal", and I'm not. They expect me to be able to do everything, and I can't. They expect me to just fit right back into an American lifestyle, and I definitely don't!

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely glad that we took the giant leap of faith (and it WAS giant!) and went overseas...I learned and experienced more than I ever could have imagined!! I grew immensely! I am just a totally different person now...and I'm not sure where I fit into this fast-paced American lifestyle anymore. Since being back, our life hasn't slowed down enough for me to wrap my head around any of it. It's almost like I have to re-learn how to be American again. That probably sounds odd to most of you, but I'm sure my fellow Expats can relate! Re-adjusting is hard!!! Now I know why returned missionaries are so "weird" for awhile when they come home! Adjusting is a long difficult process for anyone....but try having 4 kids in tow while doing it! I can tell you from experience that having a baby in a third world country has got noth'in on this adjustment stuff!!! They say it takes a good year to feel "normal"....and I definitely believe them! The funny part is that we had to take hours and hours of classes to prepare to go overseas, but no one prepares you to come home! Kinda ironic, don't ya think?!

On the upside, I can tell you that I am LOVING doing my own housework (minus the toilets of course)!!