What's in a Name??

I think Shakespeare said it best...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet;"

Or would it??

Would you really feel the same way if someone came to you and said "smell, it's called a skunk"? It's just not as pretty sounding and doesn't sound like something I want to smell. Is that because we have a preconceived notion that "skunk" = stink?? If I came to you and said "this is a thing-a-ma-bob, smell it." Would you like it? Does that roll off the tongue like rose?

Well, here is the dilemma. We are trying to come up with names for the baby. I think this is really one of the hardest decisions as a parent that you have to make. I mean, this is the name that our baby will have for the rest of his or her life. I mean, you go through all the possibilities, is this a name they can be picked on for? Should we go with a unique name that nobody can pronounce or spell? Do we go with a good standard? Do we include family names? Do we do Jr.'s?

I'm not complaining, I'm really not, but it's a lot to think about. We have had our boy name picked out for several years, so that wasn't an issue. I'm not telling just yet what it is, but it is a common but not popular first name with a family name for a middle name. Rob and I, thankfully, feel the same way about Jr.'s or 3rds or 4ths, etc. We just aren't fond of it. Not doggin' ya if you are a Jr., but it's not for us. I just feel that God made everyone different, so why should they have someone else's name? They need their own name. So, we have been going round and round for a girls name for awhile. Rob wouldn't really discuss a girl's name for so long because he is SURE this is a boy. Well, my gut is saying girl, so I'm just trying to be on the safe side and get a name for both. Finally, we agreed on a first name. The middle name is another story. We've gone with names we like to family names to names that are similar to family names. I finally gave up and told Rob the middle name was up to him. He said if we go in and they tell us it is a girl, he'll make up his mind right then. So, let's just hope he doesn't spit out something crazy.

So, we go back to the doctor on Monday and HOPEFULLY, they will be able to tell us if it is a boy or a girl. I'm so ready to find out so I can start looking for bedding and clothes and all kinds of stuff. We are slowly rearranging the house to make room for everything that comes with having a baby. It's crazy!

Well, that's about all for now. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Sneaux Day!

On February 12th, it snowed in East Texas! And, I'm not talking about the usual "snow" that we get. Usually, when they say it is going to snow here, they cancel all the schools and then it just has snow flurries and nothing sticks. So, this time, they decided to wait and see what the snow was going to do. I waited up late on Thursday night because it had already snowed quite a bit, but they never cancelled school. Rob worked early into the morning because this type of weather wreaks havoc on their satellites. So, the girls and I continued like any other school night. They made their lunches and went to bed on time. Well, at 5:33 am on Friday, the phone rings. Rob and I are both still in a daze trying to find a phone. It was the school board telling us that school had been cancelled. Well, since there was no way we were going to go back to sleep, we got up and much to our surprise, outside was a beautiful, white, frozen landscape. There was 6-8" everywhere. It was incredible. We sat around for awhile just looking at it and then we had to get ready for work.

Driving to work was another story. I know if you are from the north, you are thinking...Really? They cancelled school for 6-8"?? I know, but people here don't know how to drive in it. I left early and everyone was driving 10 mph. Only two of us made it in that morning, but we lived the closest. It was not really a productive day since most of the places we needed to get in contact with were also closed. We had lunch delivered to us and it was great. About 2:45 pm, I think the attorney's didn't want to be there as much as we didn't, so they let us go home. It was a nice treat!

Rob continued to work a lot that day. I think he said he closed 18 calls that day. A normal day is 3-4 calls. It was insane!!!

In the meantime, the girls had a blast hanging out with their friends houses that day. Here are just a few pics of the day:

Looking down our street Friday morning. Some people had already ventured out by this point.

A tree in our neighbor's yard. All the trees were beautiful. I wish I could have had some time to do some photography like I wanted to that day.

Daisy May (or Santa)...she didn't know what to think at first, but then she dove right in. She and Cricket had fun playing for a little while. It took some convincing to get Princess out and she stayed as close to the house as possible.

The girls with their snowman- the first one they have built in their lives!

Snowman Mullins

On a medical note, I'm doing great. I hit my 14th week, so I'm in the second trimester. I feel SO MUCH better! Not that I really had a bad 1st trimester, but I feel great. The migraines have picked back up, but other than that... My belly is GROWING! I went from wearing my clothes just fine on a Friday to not being able to button my pants on Monday. It was crazy. I still haven't gained any weight, and have lost 7 lbs total. My doctor is not concerned with this, so we aren't either. I still don't have the results back from the testing they did at my last appointment, so hopefully no news is good news.

Calling all Prayer Warriors...

I have had two prayer requests sent to me recently. Please remember them.

First, is from my friend Kim. Jason is her husband...here is what she sent to me:

I was wondering if you could add a friend of Jason's to your prayer list. His name is Michael Parker. He just found out that he has brain cancer. They are planning to do surgery on March 3 and say that things can go either way. His wife's name is Michelle and they have a 16 month old little boy. He was in our wedding and he and Jason were roommates at Texas A&M.

Please remember him.

Also, is my friend Elisabeth's cousin Tiffani. They found a tumor on her liver in June 2009. When they went in to remove it, they found out it was cancer and had spread. They ended up having to remove part of her spleen as well. It is called Cholangiocarcinoma and is one of the rarest and uncurable cancers. She is at the Baylor Hosp in Dallas, and they admitted her yesterday. She was taking Chemo, but had to stop because her cell count was so low. She hasn't been able to keep food down for 15 days. They have tried giving her blood, but she is throwing it up faster than they can give it to her. Please remember her. She needs the prayer NOW!!!

Tiffani

I hate cancer. In case you thought I might feel differently. We need a cure, and we need it now. Every time I turn around, it feels as if someone else is being diagnosed. Please continue your prayers. I know prayer works!

On a positive note, I mentioned a lady named Julie that was undergoing the same chemo that I did several months ago. I heard from her husband last week and she is in full remission!!! She has one more round to go, but she is in the clear. Praise the Lord!!!

With God, WE WILL BEAT THIS!!!

New Baby Pics

We went this week to have my first trimester screening done. This is where they check for chromosomal abnormalities like Down Syndrome. We don't have the results back yet, and it won't be a yes or no, it will just be able to tell me my percentage of risk. This is an optional test, but with my history, my doctor encouraged us to go ahead, and we felt we should as well. We got to spend a good 30 minutes in with the ultrasound tech. The last time we looked at the baby, there was just a circle and a heartbeat. It completely astonished me that when we got to see the baby again, he/she had hands and legs and a face and was moving, A LOT!!! I mean, I knew that he/she was growing, but it still isn't real to me because I can't feel him/her moving yet. This was incredible. The tech had to measure and my baby definitely takes after me and was being stubborn! He/she moved around and then got comfortable and fell asleep. I had to move around and we had to poke and prod my belly to get him/her to move. It was so cool.

Here are some pics:

This one is a little blurry, but it's a side shot

A 4-D image



The face- still forming

Legs!!!

And, a sweet baby hand.

So, those are my precious baby pics. We are truly blessed!

Hope you all are having a great time and feel fully blessed during this time of your life. And, with the superbowl being tomorrow, I must leave you with this...

WHO DAT!?!?!?! GEAUX SAINTS!!!

Just a Recap of the Holidays

I don't really have a lot to report right now. I've been going to all my different doctors the past month and everything is good. All my bloodwork is in normal range except my Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D. My Neurologist thinks this is why I am still not sleeping, so she increased the amount of B-12 I'm taking and put me on Vitamin D.

The pregnancy is going great. I have evening sickness more than morning sickness, but it still isn't bad. I have several friends who are pregnant right now and a lot of them are actually throwing up with their pregnancy. Mine isn't that bad. I just get nauseaus. It's not near as bad as chemo sickness though.

Anyways, since there really isn't a whole lot to report, I thought I would just post some pics of our crazy life since Christmas. Hope you enjoy!

Natalie opening her Daughtry CD on Christmas Eve

Emilee very excited that she got a very rare Jonas Bros CD. (Thanks Ebay!)

A special present they get from their Pawpaw every year!

Brown Converse shoes. She now has black, brown, red, black with neon colors, and a blue-grey plaid pair.

Christmas Morning- opening up their stockings from Santa

Nat got her LSU hoodie she wanted! Geaux Tigers!

Showing off her camera and LSU snuggie...

My parents gave the 4 grandchildren matching pajamas to wear at the Lakehouse. Aren't they cute??

Wyatt enjoyed the box!

Next, we had a New Years Eve/Birthday party for the girls! I know...what were we thinking?!?!

The Food

Every guest got a cup, New Year's hat, and Noisemaker...again, what were we thinking?!?!?

Blowing out the candles

Opening presents

The clan. It sure sounded like there were about three times the number of kids here...LOL! I think they had so much fun though! It was worth it!

Cricket and Daisy were hiding in the bedroom during the party! They hung around long enough for the food, but once it was put away, they took off.

So, that's a little bit of what has been going on in our house. We also had a party at my parents house for the girls, but my camera died when I took the first picture, so I can't post those. We also had special dinners on their actual birthday. Emilee requested Taco Stew and then we got a cookie cake for her. Natalie requested Crawfish Bisque and she had a chocolate mousse cake. All in all, we had cupcakes, cookie cake, chocolate mousse cake, vanilla cake, and a chocolate cake in January. It was a LOT of cake!

So, that's about it. Hope everyone is doing well.

Here's a few prayer request I have:

Maria Lorick- she is a friend of my mothers and has been undergoing chemo for several years with several relapse's. She is not doing well and at this point, the doctor's are trying to make her comfortable. Please pray for her and her family during this difficult time.

Sam- going through Chemo, but has "normal-looking" bone marrow. Please pray this is a remission!

Stuart and Candace- join me in praying for a miracle! Stuart is done with chemo and from everything I have heard, he is doing well, but they have another need beyond cancer. We all know God is in the miracle business, so please pray and believe with me that God will give them the miracle they are hoping for.

Papaduck- some issues have come up lately with his health. Please pray that God will show the doctors what is going on and will be able to help him.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope the next time I post, it will be a little more exciting!

With God, WE WILL BEAT THIS!!!

Our Latest Miracle

I recently discovered I had a new growth. It's very small, but will grow very rapidly. So, here's the scoop:

It's no secret that Rob and I want to have more children. We were contemplating on trying to have a baby when I was diagnosed. So, we took precautions before the chemo started, but nothing was guaranteed. We opted for the Lupron shot that would put me into early menopause, therefore tricking the chemo into thinking my ovaries were dead and did not need to be destroyed.

Well, a few months ago, I had what the doctor's believed to be a "hormonal imbalance" due to chemo side-effects. Because of this, we decided that maybe I should stop birth control pills since they were putting more hormones into my body. So, I got off the pill and we used "other methods" of birth control. I have been told that it was very likely that I would have difficulty, if even at all, getting pregnant due to the chemo. Rob and I discussed trying for a baby soon and came to the conclusion that we would wait until early next year, like March or April.

Apparently, God had other plans. About two weeks ago, I began to have some of the same symptoms as before. I thought it was still a hormonal imbalance, but decided to take an at home test just to be sure. So on December 11, 2009, I took the test and well...


We were in such shock that we just stared at the stick for several minutes (like 30!). Then we started getting excited. I wanted to tell our families at Christmas since we were only a couple of weeks away. So then we started planning that. We took some pictures for proof and then started brainstorming. We were giving Rob's mom a digital picture frame for Christmas, so I uploaded the pictures of the stick and me holding the stick. Then, we had to figure out a way to tell my parents. We also decided to not tell the girls until Christmas because they are not the best secret keepers.

I called the doctor on Monday morning to get in and get it confirmed. I was told that they don't "confirm" anymore, and they just take the home tests as the final word. Well, I wasn't completely convinced since we weren't trying AND it was supposed to be "difficult" for me to conceive. So, they set me up for my 10 week appointment and ultrasound. Within 30 minutes, the nurse called back and said the doctor wanted to see me that week due to my history. I was relieved. Rob was able to make the appointment with me and I'm so glad he did. Much to our surprise, the doctor went ahead and did the ultrasound even though I was only 5 weeks. See...sometimes cancer can have perks (just not usually)!

So, here is our baby. After getting the ultrasound, it was obvious to me how to tell my family. I framed the ultrasound and wrapped it up and put it under the tree. When the present was opened, it was perfect! The doctor said everything looked great at the moment, but I'm being treated as "high risk". I'm about 7 weeks now and I'm due on August 18, 2010. We are so very excited and are ready for this next adventure God has given us. He has definitely blessed us with a miracle!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

from our family to yours!

May your blessings overflow this year as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. I love Christmas! This year is very special to me and my family as I have been out of the hospital for one year and am doing great!

Here are just a few of our pictures so far this year...

Our end table in the living room...just decorated

Our Christmas tree- decorated for the 4th time this year because Cleo, our cat, keeps knocking it down.

My awesome wreath that my Aunt Patsy helped me make (helped meaning she made it while I watched)

Reindeer, presents and trees in our front yard. We didn't get all the lights put out this year...just seemed to run out of time.

Our 8 foot cross in our front yard. We wanted to show the true meaning of Christmas.

Bone Marrow Drive

Bone Marrow Drive Sunday, December 6 at Green Acres Baptist Church. If you are not on the registry, please stop by! It is only a cheek swab and paperwork! Hope to see everyone there.

The people at Carter BloodCare have been so great to me! They made me a page with my story, so click here and go check it out!

I'm also in the local paper... click here to see the story!

With God, WE WILL BEAT THIS!!!