I'm Home!

I had one last appointment in College Station Thursday morning and we got more great news. The babies hadn't been measured in a few weeks and when she measured them, the big one was 11 ounces and the little one was...11 ounces. One is on the higher end of 11 and one on the lower end, but it seems like the little one is catching up! To say that we are thankful is quite an understatement. I drove home Thursday afternoon and hopefully I don't have to do any more driving for a while.

Here are a couple of pictures from about a month ago

And here are the most recent pictures at about 20 weeks:

Landon Dale Grigsby

Eli Randall Grigsby

I just can't post without thanking you all for your interest in our family, your encouragement, and most especially your prayers. God has certainly answered our prayers and we continue to pray for a healthy last half of the pregnancy.

Love,

The Grigsbys

Happy July!

It's been a while, so I'll start with a baby update...

My last two appointments have gone well. Both babies are doing well and are growing - just at different rates. While there is a size difference...there is nothing that would indicate a need for intervention at this point. The doctors thought that by this point in time, the situation would have declared itself, but we are still sitting about the same place we were six weeks ago which is great! The best part about it is that they have made arrangements for me to be monitored weekly in Lubbock instead of Houston so that I can go be with Dustin in Snyder. Of course, at the first sign of a shift in the situation, I'll have to come back to Houston, but in the meantime, I can go be with my husband and start getting ready for these boys. I have one last appointment in College Station tomorrow morning with my doctor here and then I go see a whole new set of doctors in Lubbock in about a week and a half. I also learned on Monday that the laser surgery is only done between weeks 16 and 26, so I have about six more weeks before I am not eligible for that and a different type of intervention will have to be done. We are just taking one week at a time and giving thanks for every good report we receive.

Between doctor's visits, I have been to Snyder, Pecos River Family Encampment, a wedding of two really good friends, an Astros game, and spent time with best friends who I haven't seen in a while. I am ready to go see Dustin tomorrow and try to establish some sort of normalcy in my life again - whatever that means. I also couldn't be more excited that this weekend is the 4th of July - one of my favorite holidays. I love any opportunity to cook out, spend time with friends and family, eat homemade ice cream, and play games. Watching fireworks is just an added bonus!

I have a lot of pictures from the last couple of months, but I'll have to work on those later.

I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday weekend.

Love,

Amy

Babies, Snyder, & Camp

Good news! I went to the Houston doctor on Wednesday and things are looking even better. There is so much I don't understand about all of this, but I do know that the measurements and dopplars (measures of blood flow) from this week indicate that the little baby is making progress. He is not only growing, but his blood flow looked a lot better. The doctor's exact words were, "it looks like this thing just might be turning around on us." He seemed pretty surprised. While he mentioned this as a possibility in the beginning, he didn't make it seem realistic. That doesn't mean that we haven't been praying for it though. Along with many others, it has been our constant prayer that God watch over our boys and help them through this. While we certainly aren't in the clear yet, it is so comforting to know that my little one is making progress instead of getting worse. So, thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray with us for these babies. God is so good!

The other good news is that I don't have to go back until June 23rd, giving me 12 whole days that I don't have to see a doctor. The first thing I did was drive to Snyder to be with Dustin. Even though I have only spent two nights there and even though 90% of our stuff is still in boxes and nothing at all is familiar about it, when I walk into that house, I know I'm home and it feels so good. I can imagine bringing my babies home and cooking for my family and spending holidays there and I love the way that feels. Then I open my eyes and I see the mound of boxes and the terrible paint on the walls and all of the things that need work and I get overwhelmed, so I just close them again :) It will definitely be a work in progress and it might be five years before my terribly long to do list for the house gets accomplished, but as we finish one room at a time, I can just sit back, drink my sweet tea, and bask in the wonderfullness of it all, being ever so thankful for my patient and talented husband who puts up with me.

Next on the agenda is camp! I am so excited that I get to go. Nothing compares to a week away from the evil of the world, TV, cell phones, and work to be spent with family, friends, good food, and Bible study. I have loved the last four years of being a counselor, but I wasn't able to commit to that this year not knowing if I would even be able to go, so this year I can just enjoy my time with no agenda or schedule. So we'll leave tonight or in the morning to head down there and I will be away until next Monday when I return to civilization again. I hope you all have as wonderful of a week as I plan to!

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement! We appreciate you all so much.

Until next week...

The Grigsbys

This is my life

I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Last Friday was the last day of school and I had to turn over my laptop, so I've been sort of disconnected this past week.

I went back to the Houston doctor Monday and he says everything looks about the same. That is a good thing because we really need to get past the next couple of weeks so that it will be safer to do the surgery. I am at 15 weeks right now and he mentioned the time frame of 20 weeks, but he really can't predict when exactly things will get to the point of needing the surgery.

This morning, I went to see my doctor and had another ultrasound. Over the past week, the little baby has gained a centimeter of fluid, which means we're moving in a positive direction instead of getting worse and we are very thankful for that! God truly answers prayers and He is taking care of us. The sweet sonographer made Dustin a DVD of the babies for me to take to him so he isn't missing out on everything. She just had twins herself 7 months ago and she treats us so well! I know that I am not the first woman to ever experience pregnancy, but it is new to me and it is such an amazing experience. To see them each week and watch them develop before my eyes is just indescribable. To look at their pictures and think about how they are growing inside of me is overwhelming. It makes me amazed that anyone could doubt the presence of God.

I got to go see Dustin last week which was good for the heart! It was a lot of driving and a short visit, but much needed. Hopefully we'll manage to see each other on the weekends somehow and not have to spend more than a week apart at a time. The people at the church there in Snyder have been wonderful- praying for us, inviting Dustin over, offering to unpack our boxes, taking us out to eat... I'm so thankful he has met such nice people to spend time with - I hate to think of him there by himself.

As far as I go, I finished up the school year and between doctor's visits and driving, I've gotten a lot of rest, eaten a lot of good food, watched several movies, and done a little shopping. Sounds rough, right? I'm trying to just take care of myself and keep somewhat busy to keep my mind off of everything. Without a house to unpack/decorate and a husband to cook for and take care of and without a job or hobby to speak of, it might make for a long few months. I've been really lucky to have a best friend who not only is letting me live with her, but has been to every appointment with me and spends all her days hanging out with me. I know it will be short lived as she probably needs to get on with her own life, but it sure has been nice! Thanks, Eva!

This has truly been a humbling experience so far and I want to thank all of you for the emails, phone calls, words of encouragement, success stories, offers to help, and especially the prayers. It means more to us than you may ever know that so many are willing to share in this with us and help us along. We are so blessed.

We continue to pray for strength, understanding, and God's careful watch over our babies.

My next appointment is next Wednesday in Houston and I will try to not be so long in posting.

Until next week...

Amy, Dustin, & the boys

Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome

These last couple of days have sort of been a whirlwind and after talking to thirty different people on the phone in one day, I decided I need to have a central place to keep friends and family updated on our boys.

By the way....we're having BOYS!!!

Some of the best words I have ever heard (after I got past the shock) was the news that there were two babies. I felt blessed to have one and twice as blessed to have two! Fast forward 6 weeks to yesterday and the scariest words I have now heard are that my babies might have a rare and serious disease.

Sparing too many details, I went to the doctor yesterday a little worried that something was wrong. What I was worried about turned out to be nothing, but from the ultrasound, my doctor could tell that one baby was growing quite a bit more than the other and had a significant amount more fluid in his sac than the other. Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) has been mentioned from the beginning as something that they would be watching for and these things were the first indicators that it might be developing. I was scheduled to see a specialist in Houston this morning and after the long emotional appointment, this is what we now know:

*I have the very best team of doctors in the nation. This alone gives me confidence in the road ahead.

* I do not have TTTS....yet. My doctor feels fairly certain that it will develop at some point in time, but I do not yet fit the criteria for it. The time frame is very uncertain. I could go weeks, months, or it could develop overnight. It was mentioned that he has seen this problem "fix" itself, but he didn't really entertain that as a realistic possibility.

* Once it develops, I will have a procedure where they cauterize the blood vessels that are being shared by the babies so that each baby is independent of each other. After the surgery, there is a 50 - 60% chance that I can take home two healthy babies and that is everyone's goal.

*For more information about this disease, visit this website.

*Most importantly...I know that we need prayers. Please pray that our babies will come home healthy when this is all over. Please pray for wisdom as we make decisions in the coming weeks. Please pray for me and Dustin as we will be separated throughout most of this as we have just moved to Snyder where Dustin is working, but I need to stay close to Houston to be closely monitored.

You can tell me all the statistics in the world about this disease, but none of them matter too much because God is in control and taking care of us.

I go back Monday afternoon and I will try to keep updates posted on here.

Thank you for your prayers,

Amy, Dustin & the boys :)

My Babies

I don't want to bore you all with endless pictures and ramblings of my babies, but as it turns out...it's pretty much all I think about :) After three weeks of praying, worrying, and wondering about their well-being, I went back to the doctor last Thursday and they are both growing and doing well. The risks are still high, but for now, our babies are well and I couldn't be more thankful. Here is their latest portrait. I think one inherited Dustin's nose on the back of it's head and it looks like I already have a thumb-sucker.

Happy Mother's Day

This time next year, I will have a whole new perspective on what this day truly means, but today I honor two women I am blessed to have in my life and call family.

There are a million things I could say about both of them, none of which could truly do them justice. They are selfless, loving, kind, and most importantly: God-fearing women. So as Dustin and I start our family, I have confidence in the fact that I learned from the best and will have them there to help me.

Happy Mother's Day!