On the Bright Side

A picture of Cole and Logan looking on the bright side...

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

In the past month we have made three trips to the ER (two for Cole, one for Lauren), Cole had a colonoscopy, have found out we were pregnant (a little more than a month ago) and then we lost the pregnancy, Cole has had pnemonia and with it developed a huge fear of doctors, Logan has had pink eye. Just this week our car was broken into, Logan got hand, foot and mouth disease which led to a fever of 103.7 and I (Lauren) pinched a disk in my neck leading to lots of shoulder pain and lots of medication. So, needless to say there has been a lot going on. While it is easy to focus on the "bad," there are several verses that I have seen lately that call us to pray for everything, and to be thankful--so, I thought I would list what I am thankful for (this list is by no means exhaustive).

So, here are a few:

1. There is something more. No matter what we are going through God is with us and won't let us go.

2. My husband. I am so blessed to be married to him--he has been a great partner in eveything (both good and bad) that we have faced.

3. My Cole. I love his rambunctious spirit. He is so fun and also so loving. He is a wonderful son and big brother.

4. My little Logan. He has brought so much joy with his spirt and I am loving watching him grow.

5. My baby angel. Althought we never met him, God allowed us to created an angel for His kingdom. And as someone told me "all he knows is love: he was created in love, we loved his in my tummy and now he is with his Father and loved in heaven."

6. My extended family. Our grandparents, our parents (the kids' grandparents), sisters, brothers-in law, aunts, uncles and cousins--They pray for us, love us, encourage us, hurt with us, read my blog...

7. My friends. We have been blessed to know so many wonderful people that have prayed for us and loved us.

8. The church body. (They are also included in our friends.) They have called and emailed and prayed for us.

9. My MOPs group. They have been so supportive with their calls, encouragement and meals.

10. The doctors. We have seen some wonderful doctors that have cared for us and helped us get on the medicines we need and give us encouragement. My doctor for the miscarriage and Cole's doctors have been an incredible support.

11. Our health. Although little things do come up, we are overall healthy and happy.

There are so many more things to be thankful for. In all of the "bad," something good has come out of it. We feel so loved and when I look over my list I can see God in each situation. He has provided for us and has surrounded us with love. I could list so many more blessings. Thank you, God, for blessing us.

Inside Our Family

Cole's colonoscopy yesterday went well. The results were both good and bad. His colon looked very good --no polyps or anything. So that is all good. The bad thing is we still don't know what is causing all of this. The GI doctor said it may just be "bad luck intussusception" and he may grow out of it. If it happens again, we may do an upper GI test. The other option is a surgery to pin his colon so it can no longer slip into itself.

As for us, we are doing okay. I thought the grief would be linear--each day and moment would be easier than the one before, but now I am learning it comes more in waves. It also leaves a lot of questions that we are trying to work through. Luckily, we have God and each other and that is making all the difference.

Cole and Logan are wonderful and a constant reminder of the blessings we have received. For that we are thankful. Here is what greeted us first thing this morning.



Cole, of course, had to climb in and join the party. He can't resist a picture.

The Baby We Lost

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

After a difficult weekend, we had a confirmed miscarriage last night. We started having complications on Saturday afternoon and our doctor (who was thankfully on call this weekend) put me on bed rest. We were hoping it was just a normal part of the first trimester and everything would clear up. On Sunday, however, the symptoms increased and began to include cramping. Our doctor had us come into to the ER and through a sonogram, we confirmed that we had lost the baby. We were at nine weeks in the pregnancy. They will monitor my hormone levels, but our doctor prefers not to do a DNC as it does not look like one is needed at this time. We are sad, but healing and preparing ourselves for the fact that we may hurt for a while. Please pray for physical and emotional healing for us and pray for the baby we lost.

As for the future, we are required to wait six to eight weeks before getting pregnant. We will be prayerful in what to do after that.

Please don’t feel like you have to respond to this. We know that you are thinking of us. What we need most at this time is your prayers.

Lauren, Zach, Cole and Logan

A Day in the Life...

Did I mention we are potty training?

This is right before Logan did a face plant when he knocked the basket over. (But he was still happy!)

This sums it up nicely...

Yipee! My son has a wedgie!

Yup! Cole is walking around with a wedgie these days due to the switch to underwear. Diapers are a thing of the past (except for naps and night, or course!). We are officially potty training.

We started on Saturday and once he felt wet on his undies he got it! He did not have a single accident--until yesterday. Yesterday, I think, he decided this potty training was not fun anymore and he really didn't care about M&M's so much. So it felt a bit more like we had switched to cloth diapers than underwear. A bit frustrating when I now know he can do it!

He is back on track today (except for the more difficult one). I think we are going to have to go get some Hot Wheels as an incentive (read: bribe). That is what we started with and it worked very well!

Cole's Half Birthday!

Sunday was Cole's half birthday (two and a half). Between church, naps and community group we had to wait until Monday to celebrate.


Here are some pictures of the glorious event.

Here is Cole awaiting his cake. (His 1/2 cake.)

He looks so old to me!

Here is daddy with his "My wife is crazy, but at least I get cake" look.

Here is what Logan did during the half birthday celebration. Cole was not offended though, Logan did the same thing during his own 1/2 birthday party.

Any Thoughts?

No! I haven't retained all that weight! Yes! It was your first reaction--We are pregnant!

We will find out for sure tomorrow, but somewhere around eight or nine weeks probably. The third baby shows A LOT faster!