Megan, you will be missed =(

Celebrating May 5 the Mexican way.

Celebrating Cambri's first birthday,

Celebrating Annie's baby shower.

Celebrating Erin's pre-baby shower.

Goodbye party to all those leaving Des Moines.

Celebrating MY baby shower.

Celebrating the Winter Gala for DMU students.

Megan, Nate, and Cambri have officially moved this week. I try to comfort myself by remembering that they'll be back in a month, for just a few days, to pick up their stuff, but the reality is that they have left Des Moines for good. (Who can blame them? It is miserable to be outside 48 weeks out of the year - either too cold or too humid.)

Megan has been a wondeful friend to me and many others these last 2 years. She is sweet, loving, compassionate, selfless, and a lot of fun to be around. I feel extremely blessed to have had her in my life, and I hope that we will stay friends, no matter the distance that is between us. I wish her the best in Sandusky, OH, and in the future.

Megan, I will miss you tons. Keep in touch =)

Rotations

The countdown and pressure of the boards are ON! Billy is taking the COMLEX on July 13 and the USMLE on July 20. It is a really stressful time because, at this point, he does not feel ready to take the tests.
It's kinda scary to think that the babies could come at any time, before or during these boards. But the doctors have been showing more confidence that the babies will wait until their daddy has taken both tests.

I am actually really excited for Billy's rotations. He'll finally get to walk around and work with patients, instead of reading and sitting all day long, which is soooo not healthy. His third year schedule of rotations looks like this:

8/3 - 8/14: Sports Medicine @ Iowa Orthopedic Center
8/17 - 8/28: Anesthesiology @ Metro Anesthesia & Pain Management
8/31 - 9/25: VACATION (Sort of... This is when Billy will take care of the babies while I enjoy some "me" time, but he doesn't know that.)
9/28 - 10/23: General Pediatrics @ Mercy Hospital
10/26 - 11/20: Family Medicine @ Winterset, a couple of hours away
11/23 - 12/18: Orthopedics @ Metro Orthopedic Surgery
12/21 - 12/25: VACATION (We'll probably enjoy this one a little more since we should have adjusted to our new life by then.)
12/28 - 1/22: Psychiatry @ Iowa Health Physicians / Penn Mental Health
1/25 - 2/19: General Surgery @ Mercy Hospital
2/22 - 3/19: ER @ Methodist Hospital
3/22 - 4/16: Internal Medicine @ Mercy Hospital
4/19 - 5/14: ER @ Madison County Health Care
5/17 - 6/11: OB/GYN @ Broadlawns
6/14 - 7/9: Family Medicine @ Broadlawns

Citizenship

Exactly 10 days from today, I will be taking my citizenship test. I am really excited to finally get this out of the way, but I am also really nervous. I know there's no reason to stress out, but it's still kind of scary.

I have been studying from a booklet of 100 questions. During the interview, they will ask me 10, and I will have to answer at least 6 correctly. Not too bad, huh? Here are some 0f the questions I could expect.

1. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

2. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

3. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

4. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

5. Name one right only for United States citizens.

6. Why did the colonists fight the British?

7. There were 13 original states. Name three.

8. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

9. Name one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for.

10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

11. Who was President during World War I?

12. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

13. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

14. Name one U.S. territory.

15. Who is one of your state's U.S. Senators now?

I have now lived in the United States for 9 years! That's almost 1/3 of my life, although not exactly. I lived in Maryland for 5 years, Utah for 2 years, and Iowa for 2 years. Who knows where school will take us next...? Hopefully somewhere warm =)

The other day, Billy asked me if he needed to come with me to the interview. After thinking about it, I realized that it'd probably be better if he didn't. Let me explain. Whenever we travel and the airport people check my papers before Billy's, I get through with no problems. Whenever they check Billy's papers before mine, however, they end up checking both of our bags, every single time. Maybe they think he married me just to get into the country... Anyway, now we have to pretend we don't even know each other until we get to the gate. At least then, we save some time by having them check Billy's bags only, and not mine.

Projects

Finally, I finished my corss-stitching projects! I also finished reading "Angels and Demons", and "The Happiest Baby on the Block." As you can imagine, it's not very hard to get stuff done when you've got 16 hours every day.

I have been feeling pretty tired lately, though, and I don't know why. It's not like what I do is draining or demanding or anything. Maybe it's because I have to stay in the same position all day, or maybe it's because these babies are sucking the life outta me =) But I love them!!!

Twins and bedrest

This week marks my 28th week of pregnancy, and the babies’ condition hasn’t worsened. In fact, they’re doing better. 3 weeks ago, they were 3 oz part; 1 week ago, they were bigger and 2 oz apart. This means we are past the placental surgery option, which I am really excited about. This also means that the babies could arrive any time now, which is kind of scary. Hopefully, they can hang it there another 10 weeks because by then Billy will be finished with his boards, they won’t be premature, and they should both weigh over 5 lb 8 oz.

I think I could handle another 10 weeks of bedrest. Talking about bedrest, many people have asked me what I do to stay busy and keep myself from losing my mind. So here it is:
- I am cross-stitching a blanket with baby animals
- I am reading books about babies and twins
- I am reading Angels and Demons (thanks Amanda)
- I am watching The Office on DVD (thanks Sara)
- I am watching all the Harry Potter movies (thanks Amanda)

Thank you so much for your prayers and your delicious meals. We feel truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and look forward to opportunities to be answers to your prayers.

Jenni, you will be missed =(

Goodbye party ... Before all the tears.

My baby shower... planned by my wonderful friends, Jenni, LeiLani, and Amanda.

Winter Gala...

We made Christmas decorations this last Christmas '08.

Halloween '08.

Poker night... one of many.

Jenni's Baby Shower... planned by Laura, Sara, Amanda, and me.

Fancy dinner with the girls.

Halloween '07.

Over the last year and a half, I got to know Jenni very well. She is a wonderful friend, neighbor, wife, mom, cook, and hair stylist. She has always been there for me, through the best and the worst, and I hope I have been there for her, too.

This summer, she is moving to Ohio with Nick and George. I will miss her very much but am comforted to know that she already has friends there. I have no doubt that she will make many more and will continue to spread her joy for life through her smile and service.

Jenni, I will miss you tons. Keep in touch =)

Blessed

My heart is full today, and I truly feel blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Being a medical student is extremely stressful. These last few months, Billy has had to not only study for his classes, but also study for boards. These tests are crucial in determining which residency/specialty Billy will or will not get into - in other words, these tests will determine our future. In addition, Billy also has had to:

- do everything that I am no longer able/allowed to do, like grocery shopping and heavy lifting,
- stress out about our boys being born prematurely,
- stress out about our boys being born before he takes the boards,
- stress out about the possibility that I might have to get surgery,
- stress out about the possibility that I might be doing more than I should,
- and stress out about not being able to handle it all.

I wish that there was something I could do to help him, but all I can really do is show my support and appreciation for all that he does. Resting is now my #1 priority, not only because it can save our babies' lives, but also because it can save Billy's education. If I can prove my doctors wrong, carry the babies until after Billy has taken the boards, and deliver them in perfect health, there will be a lot less stress on him.

I know that if I do my part, the Lord will do His.

Bed rest

This is my 25th week of pregnancy and I have officially been put on bed rest since my 24th week... only I haven't been taking it very seriously. It has been really difficult for me to go from moving around every minute of the day to laying in bed all day. This is crucial for the babies, though, because they have some Twin-to-Twin Transfusion. To help you better understand what it is, I did some research and this is what I found:

As a result of sharing a single placenta, the blood supplies of monochorionic twin fetuses can become connected, so that they share blood circulation: although each fetus uses its own portion of the placenta, the connecting blood vessels within the placenta allow blood to pass from one twin to the other. Depending on the number, type and direction of the interconnecting blood vessels, blood can be transferred disproportionately from one twin (the "donor") to the other (the "recipient"). The transfusion causes the donor twin to have decreased blood volume, retarding the donor's development and growth, and also decreased urinary output, leading to a lower than normal level of amniotic fluid. The blood volume of the recipient twin is increased, which can strain the fetus's heart and eventually lead to heart failure, and also higher than normal urinary output, which can lead to excess amniotic fluid.
In early pregnancy (before 26 weeks), TTTS can cause both fetuses to die, or lead to severe disabilities. If TTTS develops after 26 weeks, the babies can usually be delivered alive and have a greater chance of survival without disability.
Other than requiring a monochorionic-diamniotic twin (or higher multiple) pregnancy, the causes of TTTS are not known. It is not known to be hereditary or genetic.
Some doctors recommend complete bed-rest for the mother coupled with massive intakes of protein as a therapy to try to counteract the syndrome. Theories for why this would be effective vary, but some doctors claim to have seen it help. There are, however, no formal clinical trials indicating that the bed rest / high-protein diet is effective.

If the situation persists, there is a chance that I might have to go in to surgery to split the babies' placenta into two placentas using a laser. We are hoping that it won't get that severe. I have been resting a little more these last few days, and it has made some difference, but there is still a great concern, and I have to keep resting. Other than that, there is not much that can be done, and it all rests in the Lord's hands. All we can do now is pray that the babies will grow at the same rate and that the difference in growth will decrease so that it is not a concern anymore.

Twins

Alright, I admit it, when I first found out that we were going to have twins, I felt very nervous, overwhelmed, stressed out, and scared. But now that I have had time to let the news sink in, I feel very excited, and I cannot wait to hold both of my babies in my arms.

So I made up a list of the best things about having twins:
- It's a great conversation starter - in fact, I don't need any other topics.
- I'll have an instant family.
- I'll be the center of attention wherever I go.
- I'll have a special bond with other parents of twins.
- There'll be no arguments about who holds the baby - we've got one each.
- It'll be so incredibly special when both twins laugh together for the first time.
- Watching them interact will provite non-stop entertainement.
- I'll never finish meals or do anything sitting down so I'll lose the baby weight instantly.
- Both my babies will have an instant playmate.
- By the time they turn three, they'll be keeping each other company while I'm busy with baby #3.
- I'll give and receive twice the love, the kisses and the cuddles (my favorite)!

Mother's Day

I love it when Billy surprises me with roses...

... and dessert in bed.

On Sunday morning, I woke up to the yummy smell of waffles. A few minutes later, Billy came into the room and placed a plate of waffles with stawberries and whipping cream on my lap. He also gave me a glass of orange juice and a dozen roses.

Me: "Awww, thank you, honey. These waffles are delicious. You should be Belgian!"
Billy: "I kinda feel like have become Belgian, in certain ways, with all that chocolate I've been eating since I met you."

It was so sweet. I am so blessed to have met such a wonderful man who loves me and spoils me so much. This made my First Mother's Day truly special and I will remember it forever. The babies may not be here, yet, but I already feel like a mom to them.