We're alive and well...

It's been a while since my last post. We are all doing well. For Thanksgiving, we are headed to San Antonio for a few days....We're really looking forward to our mini vacation. Before school let out, Miss Lydia had her school Thanksgiving Feast. I will attach some videos. Lydia also opened an early Christmas present from her Granny - a Little People nativity. She loves it...

Happy Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas!!

An update....

It's hard to believe that it's been two weeks since we lost our little boy. On that Tuesday night, I went to bed around 8...no problems....around 9 or so I started to have some pain, not bad though. By 10:30 I told Matt I probably should call the doctor. I talked to him shortly after and he said to go on to the ER to get checked out. By the time we got in the car, I knew I was having contractions. They were about 2-3 minutes apart. When we got to the ER, we had to wait for a little while. I threw up twice while waiting and the contractions were very close together and very painful. Finally, the nurse came to get me - I had been getting sick in the bathroom and then couldn't really move so she grabbed me a wheelchair. She wheeled me into the ER and took my blood pressure. While she went to get something, I told Matt that I heard/felt a pop and thought my water broke (it did not). He got the nurse - she told me to move to the triage bed. I stood up and our precious baby boy "fell out". I told the nurse, "I just had my baby." She told me to sit down and I told her no and repeated myself. She got a doctor and sure enough, little Levi had slid out, still in his amniotic sac. They moved me down the hall, while I cried for my baby. While we waited for the OB doctor to come, they brought Levi to us. They had left him in his little sac and placed him in a pink hospital bucket. He was the most beautiful little boy - he was perfect in every way - 10 fingers and toes, eyes, nose, ears...just precious. The chaplain prayed with us and then they wheeled me down to Labor and Delivery to undergo a D & C to remove the placenta. That was the most heartbreaking day of my life. God has given us tremendous peace and strength in the days that have passed. There have also been so many blessings along the way.
Just a few....
With Lydia, our first ultrasound was not until 18 weeks. With Levi, we had one at 8 weeks and then another at 13 weeks. At the last ultrasound, we were told he was a little boy. We decided on his name, Levi Elijah Elgin. God allowed us to form a bond with our precious little boy early on. God also allowed us to see Levi, peaceful and perfect - what a blessing!! Since that day, there has been a tremendous outpouring of love and support from friends and our church family. We had a memorial service the Saturday after we lost Levi. It was a precious time of remembering our little boy and resting in the knowledge that God is in control.
I have since wished that we had taken a picture of Levi, but think God has given me a more beautiful picture in my mind than I would have in a picture.
Yesterday, Matt and I went to the doctor for our follow-up visit. He told us that everything looked normal. He said that baby Levi probably had a chromosomal problem that would have resulted in multiple physical and mental problems. From what I've read, a baby will grow and develop until the problem won't allow any further growth. The doctor said there was no indication that there would be any future concerns if/when we want to grow our family again.

Another blessing....I was very nervous and anxious about our appt. and sitting in the waiting room where I had just a few weeks ago held new sonogram pictures of our little baby. We happened to be the first appt. after lunch and were the only ones in the waiting room. God gave me an incredible peace and calm after our appointment. I know our little boy is healed and perfect in his heavenly home.
In my journal the day before we lost Levi, I wrote, "God continues to bless us richly." I am resting knowing that that is as true today as it was the day I wrote it.
I still miss my precious little boy, but have a peace knowing that God had his days numbered before we even thought of him. God is sovereign and God IS good!!!!

"He gives and takes away...Blessed be His name!"

Loss

A message from Matt while we were at the hospital on Tuesday night....

Dear friends and family,

Well, God had another plan for little Levi Elgin. At around 1138pm, Holly passed him in the ER at Baylor Garland. He was in the womb for 15 and a half weeks.

They showed him to us and he was in his little sack still. He looked perfect. They don't have a medical reason for the early delivery yet.

Right now everything is a little surreal. This came way out of left field. We just saw his beating heart two weeks ago. One minute I was sitting on the couch watching the replays of the Tour de France, and two hours later our son is laying at the bottom of a four quart tub. This one is tough!

Holly is being prepared for a DNC to remove the remain placenta. They are administering the medication now (145). And off she goes ...

As stewards of our children the hardest thing to do is let them go back into the Father's hands. His grace is sufficient in times like this. You really are placed in a situation that is completely and utterly out of your control. You couldn't alter anything if you tried. You are faced with the choice to throw your hands up and scream that it just isn't fair, or rest in the knowledge that He really has our best interests at heart and is in complete control of every detail.

Thanks for your support surrounding the pregnancy, and your prayers are coveted as Holly recovers.

These are the email addresses I had stored in my phone at 2am, so feel free to share the news. Our prayers have already been that God would use this trial in our lives to change someone elses for His glory.

Doc just came back to inform me that the DNC went as well as could be expected.

-ME
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Miss Lydia is growing up....

We have had a busy summer already! Miss Lydia turned 3 at the end of May and at the beginning of June we went to IL to visit Grandma and Grandpa and drop off our little charge. Matt and I headed to Seattle and set sail on the Sapphire Princess for a 7 night cruise to Alaska. It was amazing!!! The weather was in the mid 60s to 70s - what a refreshing break from the hundred degree weather in Dallas. We visited Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, BC for our port visits.

Formal Night on board the ship - We were able to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary aboard the ship. It's hard to believe it's been that long. And our first date was Sept. 3, 1997 - nearly 13 years ago!!!

Below is just a glimpse of the beauty we saw....

Here we are at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau - this is just some of the "runoff" :)

Sunning ourselves :)

In other news, we had a sonogram when we returned home and found out we are having a little boy!!! We've decided to name him Levi Elijah Elgin (same initials as Lydia). We have another sonogram in two weeks - hopefully they will confirm that he is indeed still a boy :)
I've been fortunate to already have 2 ultrasounds and be scheduled for a third. They are keeping an eye on a fibroid so we get to see baby a lot :)

Here is Miss Lydia showing off for us :) She is developing her speech more and more each day and we are so proud of her.

Change....

Change has been the word of the past few months. Several exciting and new things have happened in our life recently. The smallest of these things is that we re-carpeted the entire house - I absolutely love the new carpet and am thankful that we were able to do it - Thank goodness for a good deal at Lowe's. The next exciting adventure has been the start of a new journey for Matt in terms of work. He gave up his post at DTS to take on the position of Facilities Manager at Criswell College. He now works about 2 blocks from his old job. He just started on Monday and is adjusting a little slowly. There's a lot of work to be done, but I know he's up for the challenge and will really enjoy it once he gets a handle on everything.

Here's a picture of the new carpet...

The last, but not certainly NOT least of our big changes is that we are expecting a baby on December 27!!! I am currently 8 weeks and 2 days. We had our first appointment today and a sonogram. Little peanut is certainly in there and has a heartbeat of 162 bpm. We are so excited! There is nothing like seeing your little in there and.... REAL!

This is a picture of the sono picture so it's a little hard to see. Peanut is off to the left in the little black sac :)

Of course, baby seems to have a large head and a bit of a tail but I'm sure that will all work out :)

"Daddy and Me" Tea Party

On Sunday, Lydia and Daddy had the opportunity to attend a "Daddy and Me" Tea Party at church for Valentine's Day. It was so cute. Lydia and Daddy got their picture taken, played "Daddy" Bingo, and ate M & Ms and cookies -what could get better?

Has anyone seen my Daddy?

Questions and Answers: Yes, my dress matches Bear's and No, Mommy did not make them...Of course, if you know Mommy, you know she did not make them :)

Finally, I found my daddy, just in time for our picture.

A family photo...

Daddy and Lydia had a busy weekend. I was at a Director's Retreat in Ft. Worth during the "big" Dallas storm so I missed the snowball fights. On Saturday I had another training so they hung out again. I think it was good for both of them, of course. In two weeks, Matt will be running a half marathon in Forth Worth. We'll go and spend the night in a hotel and then cheer him on! For Spring Break, we're planning to head to Illinois.

Miss Lydia is getting to be so big. She is increasing her vocabulary daily. It is so wonderful to hear her talk and communicate her wants and needs. Her latest phrase is, "yesser"...We're not sure if she's saying, "Yes, sir" or "Yeah, sure". She continues to be a joy in our lives and we are so thankful for her!

SNOW in Big "D"

Miss Lydia awoke this morning to find 2 inches of Snow. Throughout the day it continued to snow, and to this point we have 7 inches of snow on the ground. The temperature is cold enough that the snow is sticking on the ground. The attached video is Miss Lydia playing with the snow in the backyard.

Early Valentine

Grandma and Grandpa Elgin sent an early Valentine's Day gift for Miss Lydia. She found the box and was begging for daddy to "open, open, open!!" So, under pressure from the "little" one, daddy broke down and opened the box. Inside were multiple little gifts. The attached video is little Miss having her way with the presents.