The Space Needle

Matt and I went on the coolest date last week!  We got reservations at the Space Needle for dinner!  It was incredible.  I've never been to a 'fancy' restaurant and I kept trying to act like I didn't feel out of place.  We arrived before our table was ready so we went up to the observation deck to get some good pictures:

I didn't take any pictures of our dinner, I didnt think you'd be interested!  But we had a very interesting Mozzarella appetizer that I've been craving since we tried it.  There was a chunk of freshly made mozzarella in the center of the plate surrounded with fresh cherry tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, some sort of meat, olives, and spinach. By itself the mozzarella cheese was so so but with the stuff on the side it was So Amazing.  Mouth watering just thinking about it!

Matt ended up having a Tuna plate that was incredibly fancy and I had some chicken with an artichoke that I've never seen before.  Oh, and we had something called a Mt Rainier for a drink... it had chocolate and some hazelnut and some Irish cream...and it was also amazing.  We were planning on having dessert but after the dinner, there simply was no room. Again, my mouth is watering!

This is just a fun picture of the Space Needle that Matt got while we were waiting.  

And the best picture is:

I was completely joking about this picture.  I turned to Matt and said "Wouldn't it be funny if I could get a picture holding the space needle?" And he got down and some how I managed to be in the exact right place for the picture to look perfect!  Also, its a pretty good shot of my ever growing belly!

The night was amazingly fun.  We managed to not talking about the kids or being pregnant all night long.  We managed to enjoy a fancy restaurant where I couldn't even understand half of what was on the menu, and we managed to get some fantastic pictures in the bargain!

Happy Birthday Emmaline!

Emmaline Turned 5!

Because of being in a hotel room we didn't end up wrapping any of her presents.  Instead, we blind folded her and made her guess what she was getting.  It was a pretty fun change up!

This year she got a cute make up bag/purse with lotions, a charm bracelet, socks, and a new playpen for her baby dolls!

I also took her to get a pedicure and a manicure.  I thought it amusing that her finger nails matched her shirt and her toe nails matched her shoes.  I joked that she would have to wear the same out fit until the nail polish came off.  She laughed at that but later came back asking if she really had to wear the same clothes every day, lol.  

We took Emmaline to the EMP (Experience Music Project) on her birthday as well.  Sadly, we didn't actually get any pictures inside the museum... but we got this fun one outside!  We are literally 50 yards away from the base of the Space Needle in this picture.

After the younger kiddos went to bed we took Emmaline out for icecream at Baskin Robins.  She didn't get a big fun party, but I think overall she had a really good day.  I'm excited to continue watching my first baby girl grow up!

Description of Thaddeus's Heart

I know I've posted all this information before and I'm pretty sure I've passed on a link to a website that can explain it, but in light of the fact that my son is set to be born any day now, I wanted to repost the information I have.  

This is what a 'normal' heart looks like.

This is what our son's heart looks like.  

As of right now, the official diagnosis is 

1.  Double Inlet Left Ventrical- this is seen in the center where there is one opening that dumps blood into both chambers.

2. Hypoplastic Right Heart- this is seen where the chamber on the bottom left (the picture isn't the same direction as the real heart) is under developed.  It will never 'grow' to its full potential.

The doctors say he should be fine the first several days but slowly the oxygen rich and oxygen poor blood will flood the body and make it difficult for him to eat and he will turn blue.  Also, there is so much blood going to the lungs that his body won't be able to replenish the blood with oxygen fast enough.  The doctor said to picture holding a hose up to a sponge. Sure, blood is going through the lungs (water through the sponge) but there is so much blood going through that the lungs can't get air (air can't push past the water in the sponge...).

Surgery will be at 1 week, 5-6 months and then again around 3 years.  Thaddeus will be in the NICU roughly a month to a month and a half, depending on how long  it takes for him to stabilize and heal.  

I'll keep this blog updated as I can as we get more information over the next several weeks!

What's going on?

Britta: hanging out in Seattle, trying to keep myself occupied. I just hired a Doula, which is cool. 

Thaddeus: currently getting a bit too big for his current apartment and is considering moving.  He loves being photographed weekly but even more he loves to wiggle right at the moment where the ultrasound tech is getting the perfect picture!

Matthew: is working hard to get everything together to come here with the girls in a few weeks.  He should be getting a TDY status which will allow him to take care of me and the baby without having to go into work every day. 

Emmaline: is so glad Grandma is there to spend time with her. She loved hanging out with a bunch of different friends but she has moments that show she is getting stressed out with all the change.

Lottie: also enjoyed hanging out with friends. She is learning to string words together and get her needs across. She does struggle a lot with mom being gone and is very emotional.

Gabriella: Is learning to talk and babbles constantly. She picked up on walking super quickly. Her hair is growing so long and if we don't put it in pony tails every day it gets in her eyes.  Daddy says she misses her mommy but she isn't as emotional as her sisters, which is probably good.

In the near future Matt is going to bring Emmaline and Lottie here by Space-A flights . My mom is going to being Gabriella here on a commercial flight.   When they get here, my medical care will be transferred to the University hospital, which partners with the Seattle Children's hospital.  The doctors have said I could deliver anytime after 36 weeks so then we will just all be on baby watch. 

After the baby is born we will be dealing with the possibility of him being in the NICU. But he could also be strong and healthy enough to come home for a few weeks before needing surgery. So life will be up in the air for a while.  

As a planner, it is really difficult to not have any idea what is going on in the next few months. And the idea of planning on not having a plan makes me laugh. Obviously God is making me work hard on relaxing and taking things as they come.  

I'm so grateful for all the families in Guam who are helping to take care of my family, I think this all would have been even harder without all of them! 

Guess where I am!

Wanna guess where I am? Here are some clues!

When I got here I realized that having only one pair of socks is not going to work. My pants will get wet walking around and my toes will freeze.

I am excited to go to the two zoos that are nearby.

The view of the mountain is amazing fom many places on base.

The trees are evergreen but the grass is ever-brown!

I felt really really weird driving the speed limit on the freeway. I could drive 30 miles and cover the entire length of Guam without even tapping the breaks!

Guess yet? No?

Well, I'll definitely want to visit the needle, ride a ferry and visit my old stomping grounds.

What about now? Figured it out? Well, I'll tell you. I'm in Seattle, at Joint base Lewis-McChord.

Matt is working on getting orders to leave Guam, but we have no guarantee that he will be sent here. And no guarantee that he will even stay in his same job.  I will be delivering at the Seattle Children's Hospital and Thaddeus will have some amazing doctors.

Life has been incredibly herd lately, I have felt like things are completely out of my control. But I have dealt with difficult thing before and I'm choosing to trust God in all this. It's always better and easier if I do that.

Seeing God's hand in our lives...

If you are coming here for an update in Thaddeus, scroll down to the previous post first. While talking to my dad this morning, he pointed out a few things that prove how much the Lord is watching out for my family. Where I had thought about it, I didn't really put it all together. So I want to here. Matt went to Korea two and a half years ago. It was really hard on our family. But him going to Korea provided the opportunity for us to come here to Guam. It was a crazy impulse we had to come here, but nowhere else we thought about even seemed appealing. But within 9 months we were adopting Ganriella. At first we felt that being in Guam was a hinderance to the adoption, but after only a few months I felt impressed that it was important for us to move the adoption to Guam. Moving the adoption here was easy. We found the right lawyer, the paperwork flowed smoothly and before we even knew it was over, we had full legal custody of our daughter. It could not have, would not have worked that well had we been in Missouri. To think that the adoption was finalized only 7 days before I left the island... I really feel like God had a hand in it all along. Now that Thaddeus needs the help he does, I feel confident our time in Guam is over and I just hope we did all we were supposed to do there. And I also feel that wherever we are sent will be exactly where God needs us to be.

...and here's the worse news

I tried to upload images of the heart that the dr showed me but my iPad doesn't want to go with it. So hopefully I can explain what is going on well enough. I had two ultrasounds today. The first one was with a doctor who deals with defects inutero. After visiting with that doctor I went to my second appointment with a pediatric cardiologist. Typically that doctor works with kids after they are born, but having him on the team was important because of his extended knowledge of the infant heart. Without going into too much detail about the appointments themselves, the bottom line is that TJs defect is quite severe. TJ has a double inlet left ventrical, a hydro plastic right ventrical, a hydro plastic mitral valve and a single ventrical. The one positive that the doctor noted was that he seems to have two normal great valves. TJ will be born just fine but within a few weeks of his birth his oxygen levels will drop. This will result I difficulty eating, fast breathing, and slow growth. Depending on how well he is doing, he will need surgery by one to two months old. Then he will need two more surgeries around 3 and 6 months old. Through out his life he will always have difficulties with his heart, needing regular appointments with cardiologists. As a teenager or young adult he may need another surgery or even a pacemaker. He will never be a sports player but he will live a normal, fulfilling life. The biggest thing right now is that I will not be delivering in Hawaii. They do not have the means to take care of the baby's heart here. I have to leave here within a few weeks. We have not yet determined where I will go. Several pieces have to fall into place to decide where that will be. The last big piece of news is that we are moving. Where ever they can move us to that has a good children's hospital...we will be moving there within the next two months. The doctor seemed to think it vital that Matt be here to hear the information and help make decisions, I agree. He will be immediately flying out, being here within a week. The doctor also doesn't think I should be taking the two girls with me, so Matt will take them home with him. Hopefully he can get the house packed up and moved easily and quickly. I know we will need to be together as a family over the next few months. Because of the sudden change in plans (again...), we need to sell our cars, a few other items around the property, get babysitting for Emmaline for nine days while Matt is here,and we have a lot of talking to do. Fun fun fun. Please don't worry about TJ. I know he is perfectly fine right now and once he is born he will have some of the best care the military has. Prayers are always welcome, as well as meals and babysitting for my family.