Happenings

I can't believe the end of summer is almost here - not that it has a large effect on my actions and schedule (or lack thereof), but it feels like it just flew by. I love the fall, so I'm ready for the change. The start of school always excited me, the cooler weather, football season, Thanksgiving... what other season has that much to offer? We've been spending our time slowly making progress on the house and visiting with friends and family. Dustin almost has the kitchen all painted and he even put up new trim and base which looks great! It's so nice to live with such a talented man!

I went to the doctor Friday and the current stats on the boys are: Eli weighed in at 1 pound, 7 ounces and Landon a whopping 1 pound, 11 ounces putting him in the 78th percentile. He's a big boy. After such a large difference in weight between the two of them at the last checkup, I was afraid of it being even bigger this time, but it seems like Eli is holding his own.

I am exactly 25 weeks along today, which means that I could deliver now and the babies would actually have a chance of survival (with major complications and a long hospital stay). It is amazing to me to think that is even a possibility. I go back two weeks from tomorrow and at that point, we will talk about more frequent monitoring, getting shots to help the babies' lungs develop more quickly, and the possibility of a hospital stay on down the road :(
Right now though...things are going great!

We are taking a trip to Hunt, Tx this next weekend for Dustin's family's annual summer trip that always involves water, cabins, lots of food, antique shopping, and dominoes. I'm so excited!

One prayer request before I go: our dear friends Doug and Tisha Young are traveling along with their family to Palo Alto, CA in preparation for Tisha to donate a kidney to a very young boy who could not survive without it. The surgery is scheduled for August 12th and I ask that you keep her and this little boy in your prayers, most specifically that his body will not reject the new organ. Thank you so much! I know what a blessing it is to have the prayers of friends, family, and even strangers during difficult times!

I'll leave you with a few pregnancy pictures (against my better judgement). I have been terrible about taking pictures, so these are the only ones I have:

18 Weeks at Camp

19 Weeks at Britt and Autumn's Wedding

Today, 25 Weeks

You can tell a little more in this one

New Pictures

This is Eli. His brother has all the room in there and instead of moving over a little, he insists on being on top of Eli all the time. I guess it's kind of sweet, but this poor little guy is always so crowded.

Landon all spread out

How sweet is this picture?

Big foot.

One's legs and One's face

Everything still looks good. There is a bigger size difference than there has been yet, but the blood flow in the brain, blood flow in the cords, fluid levels, heart beats, and bladders all look great so the size difference by itself isn't a concern they said. Landon weighs 1 pound 8 ounces and Eli weighs 1 pound 1 ounce. The doctor also said that it doesn't look like I am in any danger of having to deliver extremely early and if that was the case, he would already be able to tell. I didn't realize they could give that reassurance so early, but it's great to know!

Hello from Snyder!

I've been home for about three weeks now and we are doing great! I had my first appointment with my doctors in Lubbock last week and everything is looking great. One baby weighed one pound and the other 13 ounces. It's hard to believe they are so big already. The doctor is expecting me to deliver between 34 and 36 weeks which will be somewhere between October 12 and October 26.

We have so much to do to get ready for these boys and October is just not that far away. On the other hand, it couldn't seem further away. I am so excited to meet these boys. I can't wait to hold them and kiss them and smell them and teach them everything I know. I can't wait to hear them cry and know they are okay. I never ever imagined how much I would constantly worry about them. It's a cycle of the reassurance and confidence I feel right after each doctor's appointment and good report that lasts about a week and then slowly fades into worry and concern for the few days preceeding my next appointment. So...I'm sort of in the worry mode right now as my next appointment is Monday and I just can't wait to see them again.

In other news...I really like Snyder! It's small, but it has a little bit of everything. It has a small Wal-Mart, a really nice grocery store, cute stores on the square, a little coffee shop, a two-screen movie theater, and it even has a bowling alley that we haven't tried out yet. They still have baggers at the grocery store who take your groceries out to your car for you! This has taken some getting used to as I can't ever remember having someone take my groceries out and load them in my car...ever. They insist on it and are incredibly friendly while they do it. The church here has been great and extremely welcoming. We have been over to several families' houses for dinner which has given us an opportunity to really get to know the people here. It's just a different lifestyle than what we have been living. Life here is slower. Dustin works only a few miles from our house and comes home to eat lunch with me, which I love. We are a lot closer to his family and several good friends which I also love. Every minute of our life is no longer scheduled and I get to spend a lot more time just enjoying my best friend...for a couple more months at least.

One more exciting piece of news - I got a box in the mail on Tuesday from my Dad and among the diapers, onesies, and matching outfits, there was a brand new laptop! I am so excited to have a place to put my pictures and keep in touch with everyone. I no longer have to drive to the library to check my email and hopefully I'll be better about taking pictures now that I have a place to save them. I am also excited to have some form of entertainment if I eventually end up on bedrest. Thank you, Dad!

That's about it around here. I'm going to start working on pictures now.

Have a great weekend!

Love,

The Grigsbys

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