And the baby is a...

So I made Terence a card to tell him the sex of the baby... So here's the pics! See for yourself what the baby is! :)

Gideon????

Ok so this is quite possibly the most hilarious thing that has ever happened to us. We had this cat. His name was Gideon. We got him off Craigslist last year for FREE when we were looking for a mouser, you know, because we live in the sticks. So he was the best cat EVER. Probably about 5 years old. All this loose skin like he used to be overweight, green eyes, fixed, and BIG. He snuggled inside, and caught mice, and spent half his time outside, bonus because it meant less mess in the litter box.

Terence was deploying, and my parents didn't especially want a cat at their house. So Terence asked around at work to see if anyone wanted a cat. Then when he thought he might be coming back he just tried to find someone to cat sit. He finally found someone. So they watched the cat, and we left to go to WA.

When he got home he started asking about the cat. Because of scheduling issues and busyness it took him almost a month to get the cat back. When Gideon came home he acted funny, wouldn't jump up on the dryer to eat his food, he was extra clingy and needy to Terence, and he wasn't really interested in catching mice. Weird.

So I get home a few days ago, and I start to suspect, this is NOT Gideon. First, he is smaller, and all his extra skin is gone. Then it hits me, this cat is NOT fixed. Finally I realize the thing that really makes him look different is that this cats eyes are light brown/yellow, and Gideon's eyes were green, super green. This is not my cat.

So who would pull a stunt like, that is what I want to know, and why? I don't care too much as long as he's nice and catches mice. I think the thing I'm most annoyed with is that now I have to pay to get this cat fixed, wormed, and vaccinated. The great cat switcheroo. Who knew things happened like that except in movies??? Hope you had a good laugh. I did.

Day 9

Last day of travel! 590 miles! We made it home about 5pm. The kids were super excited to be home and so was our little dog. I think he got the short end of the stick on this trip. He wasn't allowed to get out of the car except for walks and potty breaks the whole 9 days. What a champ, he made it! We'll see if I get revenge played out on my later! Haha!

Day 8

Today was our last day with the Oddens. :( We had so much fun though, running errands, lunch at Panera Bread, and LOTS of playtime! Terence decided he'd rather I tell him the sex of the baby then hear it accidentally so I made him a card(with Steph's help!) Here's some pics of it! Sad and super excited to be heading home tomorrow morning! NC here we come!

Day 6

We drove another 650 miles from Fort Riley, KS to Fort Knox, KY. This was after not getting to bed until midnight, and then waking up at 3am to Jeffrey crying because Ryan woke up and puked all over him. I swear one day we'll get through a road trip without any vomit, but Terence says I have to wait until all the kids the house! So we were on the road by 7 and made it to my good friend Stephany's house by 7:30. The drive was great other than one puking incident and I even got to pull over and snatch some flint from the flint hills! I know I'm a dork but I've always wanted to grab some! :) I also got the BEST gas mileage in my van this section of the trip!

Day 7

Today was spent just relaxing and playing and relaxing! The kids played inside, then outside, then inside again. It was so good to spend so much time with good friends! Steph and O stayed up until 1am just talking(shocker!) :)

Day5

We covered 480 miles from Denver, CO to Fort Riley, KS. It was a nice quick trip. The kids did great. We were stationed at Riley when the kids were little so I thought it would be fun to war dinner at their old favorite restaurant. Not my favorite place but the kids were so excited. We even ran into someone my hubby worked with in Alaska. See people, small Army world! :)

Day 4

Today we spent with some really good friends. We went to the park and took the kids swimming! I'm surprised that they're still awake. The only sad thing about today was that I waited so long to do my laundry that I have to stay up late AND there's only 1 working dryer at this hotel. So sad at my own bad choice! Haha! At least tomorrow is my short driving day.

Half way

I am officially halfway home!!!!

Day 3

We traveled from Butte, MT to Denver, CO, which is 780 miles. I'm pretty proud to brag a little that we made it in 12 hours! :) The kids did good and they were very excited to make it to the hotel. The kids even built tents in the car to keep themselves entertained! This was our longest leg, so with that behind us the rest of our trip should be easier!

Day 2

Great day spent with great family! I especially loved seeing my sisters in law and my nieces and nephews! I always leave feeling like I didn't get quite enough time! Hers a pic of all the kids. Good looking group, right? :)

Day 1

We made it through our first day! Bonney Lake, WA to Butte, MT 607 miles! Phew! This preggo lady is beat! It only took me 11 &1/2 hours to make a 9 hour drive with 6 kids so I'm pretty proud! :)

Family update

Ok so without FB I know so many of you are lost, and to be honest, it's even hard for me to keep up with whats going on with our family!

So in December we picked up and moved our kids in with my parents to make things easier for this deployment. Terence took a plane back to NC early January for the end of January deployment. So, OF COURSE they decided at that point that they would keep him on rear d. So, what does that mean? The kids and I are packing up and heading back to NC.

Yeah... it's a trip. We're making the best of it, taking about 10 days to make 3000+ miles. We're stopping to see friends and family along the way, so it should be fun! It better be fun... got that kids??? :)

I'll try to update on the road, but no promises!

Good News! :)

So we had our follow up ultrasound today, and it was good news all around! The doc said that the hole was no longer visible by ultrasound and the baby is growing great! My original due date was June 2nd, and the doc wanted to change it to June 12th. This ultrasound placed the baby's growth at a June 8th due date, which means, not only did the baby grow how much baby was supposed to, but even more! So my due date is now officially June 12th, so those of you who know me, know this kid might even wait until July! ;)

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! I know some of you are just now finding all of this out, and others got a frantic text or call from me 3 weeks ago, but thank you either way for supporting and loving us! Baby bump pic update soon I promise! :)

Baby Boyer

Well the last post I wrote as I was waiting for the ultrasound tech to come back in the room so I could leave. I ended up waiting for quite awhile. Turns out I had to wait to speak to a doctor because the ultrasound showed a problem with the baby's heart. Our little tiny baby has what's called a ventricular septal defect(VSD), which is a big long term for a hole in the baby's heart in between the 2 main chambers.

It's the most common of all birth defects, and there's a chance that it could close up on its own. The doctor is playing it extra safe though since our baby is also measuring about 10 days behind. The plan at this point is to have an echo and a growth check ultrasound on Feb 11th.

Sorry it took me so long to update with this, but I needed time to process and talk to all our family so that they weren't blindsided by the blog. We appreciate all your prayers and I'll update again after the 11th.
 
On a funny note, 3 of the middle kids (Elizabeth, Ryan, and Anna) wanted to know the sex of the baby. Since I felt like they should have a little fun too I let the ultrasound tech tell them, fully knowing that they would eventually spill the beans to me. They actually didn't tell me, but someone they did tell accidentally told me the same day.

If you know us, you know that we don't ever find out the sex of the baby so this is a whole new thing for me! I'm actually having a lot of fun knowing, and it makes me feel closer to our little baby. Terence doesn't want to know, so until someone accidentally tells him, you'll all have to be in the dark! :)