Reagan says

"I saw Uncle Eldon! He's a boy! And he has nooooooo hair!"

:)

Officially PE

Just a quick update: I got the test results back today, and I do have pre-eclampsia. I have an appointment on Monday to repeat the testing to see if it's holding steady or progressing. If I have any other symptoms between now and then, I'm to go in immediately. I had my first steroid shot today to help develop the babies' lungs, since it's very likely they'll be premature.

Full Bedrest at 31 Weeks

Many of you know that I've been on partial bedrest and medication for the last nine weeks due to pregnancy-induced hypertension. This morning, my blood pressure crossed the "magic line" of 140/90 and stayed up even with the meds. After being evaluated at BroMenn, I'm back at home but on full bedrest. They will run a test tomorrow morning to see if the PIH has progressed to pre-eclampsia or not. Either way, I'll be on bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy.

We ask that you would pray for my health and the health of my twins and that the doctor will find the proper balance between staying pregnant for their sakes and delivering for mine. If it is pre-eclampsia, average time from diagnosis to delivery is 2 weeks, and in my previous pregnancies I delivered within 48 hours of diagnosis. We are praying for at least 3 more weeks, or if I can't last that long that the twins will have a short and easy stay in the NICU. (I'd be transferred to Champaign if they come in the next 3 weeks.)

June 6th is coming fast

Hi everyone,

It’s starting to get very busy around here. Yesterday Sue ordered all the flowers she will need for the weekend of June 6th. On that Saturday Sue’s business, Create A Scene, will be setting up for three weddings. At one of the weddings she will be doing the flowers not only for the table centerpieces but for the bride and all the bridesmaids as well as the boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen. This is the wedding that she so kindly bid me out to be the photographer. We will start by shooting at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria. We will then go downtown Peoria for some fun shots on Water Street. The wedding is at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Peoria followed by the wedding reception at the Peoria Country Club on Grandview Drive. Stacie will be helping me shoot the wedding. It should be a very exciting day. Here is a picture of me practicing in front of the bathroom mirror with my new flash bracket.

Happy birthday Sue!!!!!!

Eldon

Happy Birthday Tim

Happy Birthday Tim! Sorry I forgot on my first post. I hope you had a great day. Brent is still doing good so we are very thankful. He is in a lot of pain but is breathing on his own. Eileen

Brent Update

We are so thankful to report that Brent is doing very well. He was out of surgery by 12:30 last night. The doctor said it was the best set of lungs he has seen. This morning Brent drew a heart on Trudy's hand and then pointed to her to tell her that he loved her. We are very thankful that they are this far. We need to pray that he doesn't show signs of rejection. Eileen

Prayer Request

We would like to put out a prayer request for Duane's nephew Brent. He is in surgery right now getting a new set of lungs. They started about 5:30 tonight (Sunday the 24th) and it will take anywhere from 6 to 8 or 10 hours. Thanks! Eileen

Happy Birthday Reagan!

I can't believe Reagan is 3 years old today! This is a picture I took with my phone at Thomas and Friends Live! A show we took her to for her birthday.

She is a very funny girl and keeps us cracking up! Her latest thing is to make up new words to songs. For example, the other night we had chicken for dinner so she sang:

Father Abraham
Had many sons
And many chickens had
Father Abrachicken!

For mother's day she sang me this song:

One, two buckle my worm
Three, four shut the worm
Five, six pick up worms
Seven, eight lay them worms
Nine, ten a fig bat [big fat] worm!

Can't wait to see what she will entertain us with this year!

Happy Mothers Day

Hi everyone,

It was great to see everybody at Tims Sunday and I was lucky enough to have a little girl model for me. Do you think she has a secret? Just click on the image to see it in a larger view.

Eldon

Gene mutation?

I just posted my 27 week pregnancy update on my blog. I found out today I have a gene mutation that is a known trigger for pre-eclampsia, which I've had twice. I've got MTHFR a1298c, an inherited blood clotting disorder. Besides triggering PE, it raises the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack, although those risks can be easily managed now that I know I have it. I wondered if anyone on this side of the family has been diagnosed with this.