Big news for our little family

This has been a difficult week for us and is slowly improving. On Monday we had the ultra sound for our baby and learned that there were some problems and we were being sent to a high-risk prenatal center for more intensive testing. I also did some blood tests to test for certain potential factors as well. Today we had our round of tests and met with specialists in genetics, ultra sound and a perinatologist. The diagnosis was confirmed that our baby has bilateral club feet, but is otherwise healthy with no known other defects or problems. I was reassured that my baby, since he is otherwise normal, when treated by expert hands will have normal looking feet with normal function for all practical purposes (I was given a referral for an Orthopaedic Pediatric Specialist). I was informed that the well-treated clubfoot is no handicap and is fully compatible with a normal, active life. This is a picture (not my baby obviously but you get the idea) of what my babies feet look like, I will post the ultra sound pictures later when I can get access to a scanner.




This ultra sound was so good, and the technician so wonderful, that we were able to find out that we are having another boy, yay!. I am relieved to know exactly what is going on with my baby and what to expect later on. Brent gave me a blessing on Monday and I feel that it helped me tremendously. I don't want people to be sorry for us or treat us or the baby any differently - this is simply something that we will take and handle along with anything else that may come along.

Update

The weather up here has been absolutely wonderful since about last Friday. We can actually see the sun! Yesterday I opened up all the curtains, windows, front door and sliding door and let the breeze clear away the "sick" germs in the house. It gave me such a burst of energy that I used it to clean and disinfect the house (much needed). It feels so lovely to have such nice weather and clean air to breath. I am grateful for clean air.

Jacob is doing better also, he still has a yucky sounding cough and some wheezing, but I don't expect that to go away for a few more weeks. The antibiotics seem to be working on his ear infection, he still has poor balance and falls constantly though. His appetite is slowly coming back.

Jacob is VERY sick

We took him to the hospital to get checked today. On top of having the stomach flu (which is now gone) he has a 101.2 degree fever, an ear infection in both ears and he tested positive for the RSV virus (a highly contagious respiratory virus for children). He is on antibiotics for the ear infection and has been prescribed an infant albuterol inhaler until further notice (until the coughing and wheezing stops which could be 6 weeks or longer). The poor boy is lethargic and will not eat. It breaks my heart to see him so sick and I would appreciate it if you all would keep him in your prayers.

(Brent and I are doing well)

General update

Brent
Works every day and is gone too long. He works hard with his calling too. He leaves every Sunday morning at 5:50 to go to Bishopric meeting then ward council all before 9 am church, he's so wonderful. He loves the chicken bakes at Costco and goes there once a week for lunch. He got a new WarHammer truck that he is so excited about and has been tinkering with for days now, I don't know when he'll finish it but at least he is having fun.

Me
I'm really enjoying my calling as Choir Director. I found this song that the BYU concert choir performed and I fell in love with it. I'm going to order the sheet music and have my choir perform it in sacrament meeting, which I'm so excited about. There was a really nice video tribute to our military set to this song that is on YouTube, so check it out and listen to this absolutely beautiful song. Let me know what you think.

Pregnancy update
I have been feeling better. I am 16 weeks and the nausea is finally starting to subside, unless I have dairy. Yup, this baby has decided to be mean to me and make me sick when I eat dairy, which means no milk (I drink rice or soy milk instead), no ice cream (which makes me cry), no yogurt (which I miss because I have eaten one every day for about 7 years), and limited cheese. I hope this doesn't mean the baby will be lactose intolerant, that would suck big time (for the kid). I have a prenatal appointment today and I will get to hear the heartbeat for the first time and schedule the ultrasound that will let us know the sex of the baby, so I'm excited for it.

I'm definitely feeling more energetic and I'm getting more things done around the house which makes me feel good. I do have some crazy weird dreams though, and every one of them for the past few months have had something to do with food or have had food in them. Last night I dreamed I was Sonic the hedgehog and I was trying to beat the doctor up with spaghetti noodles and meatballs... I'm telling you.. crazy!

Jacob
He got his first experience with snow on Monday. We took pictures to see what he'd think and as you can see he didn't like it. By the end tears were rollin' and it had only been about 45 seconds. Maybe next time. Also, he hates shoes. We put these VANS on him that Grandma Turner gave him and he just stood there and cried, when he did try to walk he would trip over the toe and fall down, crying even harder. So I'm going to look into some soft-soled shoes for him to get him used to the idea of having something on his feet besides socks. I like the Robeez shoes, but they are $27 each and I'm not about to buy shoes that will only last for a few months since his feet grow so fast. Any ideas out there?

Husbandly Tag

Saw this on a friends blog, and I know how much we all like surveys...

What’s his name? Brent Ashley Turner
How long have you been together? Well, we were engaged Aug 21, 2003 -- and we were together for over a year before that... so just about 5 years?
How long did you date? just over a year (with a little split mixed in there)
How old is he? 28
Who eats more? Brent. However, I will say that he does great with portion control.
Who said I love you first? We kinda said it at the same time (how romantic is that!) :o)
Who is taller? Brent.
Who is smarter? Brent. I can beat him on quite a few things, but overall he wins.
Who does laundry? Me. However, he does help me fold... sometimes.
Who does the dishes? Me. However, he will unload the dishwasher once or twice a month.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Who's right? If you're ON the bed -- it's me -- if you're LOOKING at the bed, it's Brent.
Who pays the bills? I pay the bills but we go over our budget, together, every month. Brent even does our own taxes (he's awesome)
Who mows the lawn? Mostly Brent, but I have done it once or twice
Who cooks dinner? Me
Who drives when you are together? Me, Brent drives so much every day he gets tired of it.
Who is more stubborn? Good question. We both can be, but I think I am more often.
Who kissed who first? Brent kissed me. That is a fun story if you ever want to ask. Cute, shy Brent!!
Who asked out who first? Brent asked me out first.
Who proposed? Brent, to me.
Who has more siblings? Me with 5
Who wears the pants in the family? I'm not really sure. We stand equal on a lot of stuff... but we can be stubborn and that can get interesting. It depends on the issue.

I love my Mom

So my Mom came in to town this past weekend for the baby blessing of Eva's new baby girl, Serra. It was great to see her, we got to spend time together on Sunday and talk and hang out. I wish we weren't so far away, I miss her hugs and all her encouragement.

Today I made a birthday cake for my nephew Michael. It is a space ship.













I am 12 weeks pregnant now and finally feeling some energy return. I am not a fan of the first trimester that is for sure.

Home again

So here we are back in Portland. Today's been kind of strange because you know when you come off from vacation you seem to feel kind of lost, well I've been feeling like that all day. I feel unmotivated and not quite sure what to do with myself, plus there's no good food in the house.

We had a really nice time over our Christmas break and really enjoyed spending time with our family and friends. I've really missed California and it was nice to be back for a few days. Jenny and Chris let us use their apartment, car and car seat, since they were in Idaho, which was nice because then we didn't have to take so many things on the airplane and also Jacob slept better being in a crib and did very well with all of his naps. The only thing different this Christmas was that we didn't have very many desserts; no Egg Nog, pies, cakes or ice cream however we did have some awesome Rice Krispy treats that John made. I didn't mind the lack of deserts since I wasn't feeling very well the whole time anyway.

I'm looking forward to the New Year and all of the changes that life will bring, the biggest change of all will be the addition of a new baby to our family near the end of July.