Prayers for a friend

Last week I found out some horrible news. I've been tearful and had an upset stomach just thinking about it. As you all know, I work on the oncology floor at the local children's hospital as a nurse and our worst nightmare became reality last week when one of my fellow nurse co-workers received the news that her son was diagnosed with leukemia. She is also a friend outside of work and I've been helping her study while she attends nurse practitioner school too (she's a single mom). She was scheduled to graduate next summer, but unfortunately has to take off time from school to care for her sweet son, Austin, who will have to be home school for at least 1 year. He will receive treatment for the next 3 years though!!! They have started this website to inform family and friends about his status. He started chemo last week and is responding very well to so far... praise Jesus! If you want to read more about his diagnosis and treatment and even post a message to Austin, go to:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/austin31

If you would like to add them to your prayer list at church or send them a card, their home address is:

Kristen & Austin Douglas (her older son's name is Dalton)
4633 Cripple Creek Rd.
Haltom City, Texas 76137

Their biggest need right now is prayers and more prayers!! They are all firm believers in Jesus and have hope that He will heal him! Everyone has asked me how they can help, and of course prayer is the biggest thing right now. Any kind of gift card for restaurants that deliever/pick-up would be greatly appreciated too since they will be in and out of the hospital/clinic for the next 3 years... I'm sure cooking is the last thing she wants to do.

Thank you so much! Other than that we're having a great week. I go back Wednesday for my second glucose test and I'll keep you posted on those results once I hear... I sure hope I pass!! I ordered some really cool crutch covers that I'll have to post a picture of too. They've saved my armpits :) Very soft and make crutching much easier. Speaking of, prayers for my brother-in-law tomorrow too. He's having a minor ankle surgery tomorrow and then will be on crutches for 6 weeks as well (even when he starts at Baylor later on this month). What's up with this family and our injuries? Crazy!! Hope you're having a good week too.

27 weeks belly growth & nursery update

Yep, here's my HUGE belly! I'm still on crutches and can only put minimal weight on my leg, so I carefully balanced myself to take this picture without crutches to get a good belly shot. Our little Charlie is still very active!! Oh- something to pray about is I failed my first glucose test and have to go back next week for a 3 hour test. I really hope I pass the second one because if I don't then I will be diagnosed with gestational diabetes (pregnancy diabetes). I do have a sweet friend, Katie, who has had it with both of her pregnancies and she has been very encouraging about the whole thing. Maybe the Lord was teaching me to eat a little better too!! :)
Here is the beginning of Charlie's nursery, very exciting!!!!!!!! I keep walking by his room and it feels so much more real now that there's a crib in there, I'm just imagining his little body laying in there... sleeping obviously :) I just ordered a rug so I will post pictures once it arrives and we add more to his room.
I painted the letters and I must give Carson credit for coming up with the idea to hang them off of a fishing pole. I think it turned out very cute! We've had the glider/rocker for about a year but I'm sure that thing will be worn to death over the next couple of years/kids. Don't worry it's super comfy.
Didn't know if we would have room or money for a changing table, so we just used an old desk! What should I hang above the changing table?
We bought the dresser when we purchased the crib and they're both beautiful! Then Carson and I went to this cool store in Fort Worth called Old Home Supply and found this neat wooden fish. We wanted to hang it all the wall above the dresser but that may not be an option because it's very heavy! There's Charlie's diaper bag hanging on the bed too. Since we live in a cozy 2 bedroom house, we left the double bed his nursery (on the right) for guests/parents who come to visit. Don't worry... if you come to visit us we will put Charlie in our room (in his playpen) so you can the whole room to yourselves!! :)

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday to me!!

We had some good times last weekend for the 4th and then on the 5th, 6th, & 7th for my birthday! If you know me at all, I love to drag out my birthday celebration for at least a week... this year it was ONLY 3 days. (Actually bday on the 6th) But all celebrations were fun and I loved every minute. Yeah for fun friends & husband! Thanks too for all the bday wishes via mail, email, phone calls, texts, Facebook, etc.

For the 4th, we enjoyed a beautiful (but SUPER-DUPER HOT) day with our friends Ashley, Zoli & their little son Mac at her parents' lake house. I was pumped to get in the pool again!! We (Carson, Charlie & I) enjoyed floating around just talking with friends. I say that because Charlie was kicking a lot before and after I was in the pool but VERY calm when I was floating around. Here's our little family of 3, enjoying our non-alcoholic beverages :) (Sorry for flashing my stomach to the world, I guess Charlie wanted to be in the pic too!!!)

Two pregnant chicks enjoying the shade! I took my brace off so it didn't get all nasty and sweaty! The scarring on my leg is so minimal... check it out. I go back next week for x-rays, wish me luck!!

After a little time in the sun, we headed to our 2nd party at our sweet friends, Megan & John Branagh's house. It was bittersweet because they are moving to California in August, but we really enjoyed time with good food and great friends. After dark, we all drove over and enjoyed some AWESOME fireworks at Colonial Country Club! I have never been that close to fireworks in my life. Very beautiful and of course they threw in a Michael Jackson song with the traditional patriotic ones :) Here we are after the show.
Sunday (the 5th) I enjoyed a lovely time out to eat with the girls! We hit up Mi Cocina and then some of us went to Central Market afterwards for some gelato!! In the words of one of my friends, "that sounds like a great birthday celebration for a pregnant chick!" And of course it was so fun!
Kat, Megan, Kelly Kay, me & Emily
Ashley, Esther, Katie, Debbie, me & Sara Beth

What's humorous is there were 10 girls there and 7 of them were pregnant!! Seriously!! Thanks girls for making my birthday a joyful celebration.

Proof that I have trained Carson well: Monday (my bday) I woke up to Carson singing me happy birthday with a candle stuck in a donut with a kolache to enjoy for my birthday breakfast... Soooo yummy, then I hung out with a friend all day. Since I'm on my crutches all of the time and can't drive... we had some fun girl time together doing what we wanted to do!! We went to two girly stores, ate lunch from a girly deli and even watched a girly movie. I was... needless to say... a happy GIRL!! :) To top off the fun day, we ordered pizza and made our husbands watch The Bachelorette on TV with us. Ashley even gave me a little piece of birthday cake with another candle in it... I got two wishes that day!!

Then on Tuesday, after a long day at clinicals, Carson and I went out to eat to celebrate with just the two of us. I slowly began to realize... Whoa!! This was my last birthday EVER with just Carson... with out having a child in my life. Very exciting but very overwhelming thought! CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!

Other than that, it's been a great week. I finished my very last TEST for school today which was an awesome feeling! Now all I have left is to finish my clinicals, one day of class and then graduation on August 14th. YESSS!!! I still can't believe I've been doing this for 3 whole years, time flies when you're busy.

Carson is still hanging in there looking for a job. He had some really good interviews this past week... so keep sending those prayers up the Lord!

Corny Charlie :)

Thought this was humerous... Charlie's growth is compared to the length of an ear of corn, read more below:

Copied from Babycenter.com... How your baby's growing:"Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."


And to think that we bought some ears of corn at Target this week for $0.10 each!! Carson and I love to eat grilled corn on the cob in the summer, especially if it has some melted spicy blue cheese butter on it!! (Carson's homemade recipe) But obviously our little ear-of-corn Charlie worth more than 10 cents, he's is priceless!!! :) We get more and more excited about our little Charlie everyday. He's a wild man this week flopping and moving around in there... guess he's a very flexible ear of corn!

He has a name!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't worry, the wait is over! Carson and I have decided on a name.... Charles Stewart Anderson!!! We're going to call him Charlie though. After referring to our little son as "Baby Charlie" for few weeks now... Charlie is stickin'! :) When I looked it up, Charles means "manly or well loved" so we thought that was cute but we originally chose it just because we loved it. Then we found out that Carson's great grandfather was named "Charlie" so it was for sure!! We decided on Stewart because it's Carson's middle name. So.... he will have the same initials as Carson which we are both think is very fun!! Now we just have to physically get ready for CHARLIE'S arrival! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! Carson and I get more excited everyday about our son.

Yes, this picture is real! We saw a friend from church while we were in Babies-R-Us and she just laughed at the scene of the 3 (actually 5) of us together and insisted that she take our picture. Pictured is my sweet friend, Ashley, who is obviously pregnant (due 6 weeks before me) and her sweet little 1 year old, Mac. She went with me to the store to help me register for Charlie. I was tired after a day of clinical and visiting the doctor so I opted for the wheelchair. Even though I'm holding the scanner in the picture, with the basket locking me in, Ashley pretty much scanned everything for me! To keep Mac occupied we fed him some little Gerber treats and he ate half of the whole bottle! He was a such a trooper! I think we were able to pretty much register for everything though so that was good. We had some items in my basket but all I ended up purchasing was the already eaten Gerber snacks and some belly butter... fill up Mac's belly and keep mine from not stretching out too much! :) Needless to say, I came home and crashed.

Yes, we went to the doctor again and were able to hear Charlie's little heart beat and hear him moving around in there which is always a treat! Carson is definitely not missing anything on this pregnancy... my personal driver hasn't missed an appointment yet. She said everything is great and next time I go early to have "dreaded" glucose test. Well, at least everyone says it's nasty but if you know me... the words "too sweet" have never come out of my mouth! Let's just pray all my sugar eating habits over the past 20 something years and 24 weeks of pregnancy haven't hurt me.

The only thing that my doctor was not happy to hear was that I've "slipped" a few times on my crutches. Only 2 times where I actually ended up on the ground. Once in Marshall, I landed slowly on my bottom outside because the ground was wet after it rained... and last week when I slipped again in the bathroom at clinical. Now picture this: Just washed my hands and about to walk out when... my left crutch slowly moved away from my side. I put a little (I stress little) weight on my "broken leg" (protected by the boot) and then plop on my left knee and then my bottom and then... here's the worst and most embarrassing part... I hit the side of my head on the tile wall!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sat there for a second looking at how ridiculous I must have looked. Good thing I was alone in there because I looked quite silly doing all of this in a dress! Well, I knew the baby and the leg were fine, but I took a Tylenol just in case my head started to hurt and went on about my day. Everything WAS fine. My OB pointed out that my stubbornness could possibly be a problem with my need to slow down. Wow, she's good! I like to use the word "persistent" but yes, I need to slow down. Don't worry that was my only "slip" and I plan to be more careful! I can spot a drop of water on the floor now a mile away :)

Charlie has reassured me that he's safe and doing very well in his little home of my belly because he's tossing, turning, flipping. and kicking quite a lot!!!! I noticed that he kicks more when one of my preceptor for clinical talks a lot... so I think he has a crush on her. If she's telling a story or talking to a patient, he starts kicking my left side like crazy!! It's very cute and exciting to feel him move so much. Carson has only felt him once, but I'm sure it will soon many more times VERY soon.

Poling Cousins Reunion 2009

Last weekend we drove to Amarillo for a reunion with Carson's cousins, aunts, uncles, etc at his grandfather's ranch (He's in the middle with the blue shirt). Kinda like "Where's Waldo?" you can play "Where's the crutches?" :) Pretty easy to spot. We had a great time with everyone and yes, we're honestly in the panhandle and that is rain in the background!!

Here's the old sign that the men took town. Some crazy person drove by one night a couple years ago and ruined the old sign with a shotgun. We all pitched in for Father's Day and bought his grandfather, Walt, a new shiny one!

Wait, is this that show "Man vs. Wild" on The Discovery Channel.... nope, just Carson being silly! Carson does need some meat on his bones though because we now officially weigh the same amount. Maybe grasshoppers will help him put on some pounds with me??

Even though I was on crutches, it didn't hold me back from having fun. We even had a fun girls' night on Friday while the boys when to shoot guns (see below). Thanks to Wendy (Carson's cousin's wife) and Carson's mom, Wendy, we packed it up and went to Jo-Ann's fabric store!!!!!! You know good and well that for the past 9 weeks of me being on crutches, Carson would not take me there. So the Wendy's, her two little girls, and myself were able to have some good girl time and craft shop! Again, I rode in the wheelchair and didn't care how sore and tired my arms were... because it was worth it! Thanks Wendy and Wendy for a fun night!!

You're probably asking yourself, "why did you post this Jules?" Well, this is Carson shooting some big fancy gun that weekend that: made him feel really cool... more like a man... raised his testosterone... etc.... so I thought I'd post a picture from "one of the coolest days of his life!" Actually, it really was neat to hear about. They shot at these huge 200 lbs rocks that when the bullet hit the rock, it would just turn them into pebbles. That's pretty powerful!! Carson was happy, so... I'm happy! :)

Picture update!!

Here is another pic I found from Mother's day that was too cute not to post.
This was from my cousin, Brian's, wedding reception in Marshall back in May. I was about 19 wks prego here!
With my two beautiful cousins, Jessica and Jennalee. The only girls on this side of the family are the 3 of us and their little sister, Janae. Love them!!
Here with my big brother, Joshua. It was so great to see him and his wife, Laura (below).

I love this picture that Carson took while fishing with my dad in Dulac, LA with my dad. Carson said this was the name of a fishing camp down there... they funny thing was the house was barely standing on it's stilts. He said it was pretty "amazing" that it was still standing up after all those hurricanes down there.
Here we are with Andrew (Carson's youngest brother) right before his high school graduation from Tivy High School in Kerrville. We took pics at their parents' house because we knew it would be impossible for me to try and get down on the field after the ceremony to take family pictures. We made it to graduation for the intro, speeches, and to see Andrew walk across the stage. I was still in some pain at that time so Carson and Justus pushed me into the stadium in a wheelchair!! Yes, I'm serious! Prego girl in a wheelchair.
Brothers

I was super excited to have a girls' night with the ladies from our Bible study. We went out to eat yummy Mexican food. This picture I'm here with Jayme, Ashley & Cameron (prego).
Other side of the table is: Katie, Debbie & Ash (all 3 are prego!) All 6 of these sweet ladies have been prayer warriors for Carson and I over the past few years and I don't know what I'd do without them. (Esther missed you not being there!!... she's prego too. We have LOTS of babies in the mix!!)


One more picture of us from Andrew's graduation.
Our friend, Esther Cowan, had her 30th birthday celebration earlier this month! Since she was born in 1979 they had a 70's themed bash! Here are two of my sweet friends, Whitney & Megan.
Here I am with Sarabeth!! Anyone recognize that top from back in my Pine Cove days?!?!
Emily and Grace... I loved that Grace's outfit was actually her mom's from the 70's! It was such a fun time!!

Carson has just been busy taking me to clinicals every week day (yes I'm doing about 36-40 hours of clinicals for school every week on crutches!!!) It's humerous to see the patients' expressions when I walk in... and then especially when I tell them I'm pregnant!! Carson has a few interviews set up in the next few weeks so please keep praying for him. Looks like we need to bump that prayer request back to July for him to have a job. His job for now is taking care of me. He's been getting a lot done around the house too so that's helpful. Keep the prayers coming for him though!!!!!!!!

I went to the doctor about 2 weeks ago for xrays and he said to still not put any weight on it. I go back again July 15th for more xrays and there is a chance I can walk on it then, but "probably not" were his words. Frustrating, but I know it will be worth it.

I'm 23 weeks pregnant this week and can really feel him moving around in my belly... especially after I eat! Carson is jealous because he hasn't felt or seen him move yet. I'll post some more pics this week from our trip to Amarillo last weekend so you can see my big belly! He's making me look more "round' than prego because he's laying sideways. It's kinda funny cause I look a little square! We ordered a crib and dresser last week so I when the nursery starts coming together I'll post some pics. I better get back to clinical... I just typed this on my lunch break!

It's a boy!!!!!

Well, sorry for the delay in posting!  We've had lots going on....

First is we found out on Thursday, May 21st that we're having a baby boy!!!!!!  We weren't supposed to find out until this week, but the sonographer hooked us up last week.  I went to the doctor because I was having some SERIOUS upper abdominal pain... they did a sono of my stomach, liver, pancreas, gall bladder, etc.  Thankfully everything looked OK, so it was probably a horrible stomach bug combined with my body reacting to coming off the Vicodin too quick.  After he was done, we asked if he could tell us the sex of our baby a week early... he said "Sure!"  Our son's legs were WAY up by his head and he was showing off his package!  :)  So needless to say, it was obvious!  My motherly instincts were correct.  YES!!!!!  By the way, he's a very active little child.  I have felt some serious kicking this past week and love feeling it everytime!  (and some hard core indigestion too... little stinker!)

Name for our little boy.... we are about 99% sure of our name, but Carson is hesitant to tell everyone yet.  He keeps saying "he will have that name forever.... what if he doesn't like it.... its a lot of pressure to give him a name.... are we sure that's what we like..."  and on and on.  Well, I love the name we've picked, but when he says it's ok, I'll tell everyone on this blog and Facebook.  Until, just wait patiently like I am.  :)

Of course, after we told our families and close friends... I started looking online for fun baby boy stuff!  Haven't decided on anything yet but definitely getting some ideas.  I found a crib with my mom in Longview that I really like, so I'll talk to Carson more when he gets back from fishing with my dad on the Louisiana coast.  Haven't found bedding I like so I'm leaning towards my mom and I making it.  We'll see.  

I've been in Marshall since Friday spending some wonderful, much needed time with my mom.  I also loved having my cousin's wife, Cara, and their daughter, Madeline, and my niece, Ava stay with us for the past few days... loved the girl time!  We even went to see Carson's grandparents in Carthage for a nice lunch and to tell them that we're having a boy.  My mom has been babysitting me for the past few days and doing a great job!!  

Carson is coming to get me tomorrow, stay Wednesday night in FW, go to the doctor Thursday morning, then off to Kerrville for Andrew's graduation.  Last high school graduation for Carson's parents!!!!!  I'm really excited to visit the fam in the hill country.  I have some cute pictures from the past few weeks, but Carson has the camera with him in Louisiana so I'll post later.

Many of you have been asking about my ol' right leg.  Well, I still don't have a "name" for that rod in my leg.  Any suggestions?  It's ok.  Not great, but better everyday.  I still have pain when it's not at least waist level, but if it's up it doesn't hurt too bad.  I'm able to get around slowly, if someone else drives me, and hobble around on my crutches.  Good thing my belly isn't too big right now!  :)  Only 5-6 more weeks hopefully...

Last bit of good news actually happened a couple weeks ago!  I accepted a pediatric nurse practitioner job to start after I graduate.  I'm so excited!!!!  I will start after I pass my national exams, so that will be September at the earliest or January after my maternity leave.  The new job will unfortunately not be in the oncology department where I've been for 4 years... but it's still at Cook Children's in the pre-operative department.  I know it's going to be a great first job as a PNP, assessing kids before scheduled surgeries.    One prayer is answered.... now just keep Carson in your prayers.  He's still looking for a job, but we have faith that the Lord has something in store for him in the near future.  My prayer, if you so wish to join me... is for Carson to find a job by the end of June!  I'm praying expectingly for Carson to have a job by then!  We have lots of people praying for us and know that the Lord hears us.  So, we double-dog-dare you to join us in that prayer!?!?!?!?