A Very Deserving Cause

I usually don't post this kind of stuff on my blog, but, I just couldn't ignore this. This is my friend, Ryan Hess, and his sweet wife and kids. I got to know him my Sr. year of High School when we moved to Star Valley. We sang together in Jazz Choir, and he is such a genuine, great guy. One of the very few people I actually got to know well during my short stay there. Their story just breaks my heart, and I wish I could do something to help. It really hits home to me, because they have such a young, beautiful family. I just want you all to know that this is 100% legitimate. I would not be putting it on here otherwise. Here's their story below:

***FEDERAL EMPLOYEES- PLEASE DONATE LEAVE TO RYAN HESS***My name is Margie Hess, my husband Ryan was diagnosed on June 12, 2009 with a rare and aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Since this is an aggressive form of T-Cell Lymphoma, his doctor has put him on an aggressive chemo regimen that will result in him being unable to work for the next 4-6 months and possibly longer. At the time of diagnosis he was finishing up his 1st year as a Podiatry Resident at the V.A. in Tucson, AZ. Ryan is a devoted husband and father of two children, Hallie (5) and Max (2). By the end of this month (June 2009), Ryan will use up the last of his vacation and sick leave and will have to go on unpaid leave. Ryan is the sole provider for our family; I stay at home with both the kids. Without him working we have no income. I need to stay home to help care for him, so I cannot get a job right now, either. As difficult as it is for our family to have to ask for help, we have realized that we must do so at this time. We were told that any federal employee (ie: military, Border Patrol, DEA, FB I, Dept of Justice, EPA etc. EXCEPT Post Office employees) can donate vacation time to be used as sick leave for another Federal employee. We would be so thankful for any number of extra paid days we can accumulate. Thank you so much.How can you help if you ARE a Federal Employee?Go to your HR department and request to donate leave to Ryan Hess who works for the VA. (Your HR person will know the form that needs to be filled out- each Federal agency has their own form to donate leave)Once filled out and signed, the HR person will then need to fax or e-mail the form to:OLIVIA McCLURE – Benefits Specialist (TUCSON V.A.)Phone #: (520) 792-1450 x 6076Fax # : (520) 629-1849E-Mail : olivia.mcclure@va.govALSO, for those who are federal employees, please print out this message and post it in break/lunch rooms to help get the word out as well as emailing it to co-workers!How to help if you are NOT a Federal Employee:PASS this along to ANYONE and EVERYONE that you know and then ask them to pass the message along. Post it on blogs, Facebook…whatever you can think of.Thanks again everyone- this will help SO much!GO TEAM RYAN HESS!(E-mail teamryanhess@gmail.com to receive updates or to send a message!)

Bye Bye Baby Ticker

Stupid Baby Ticker doesn't know what it's talking about, so I say "Vamoose"!! When is this baby ever gonna come out?

Trying out the new camera again.

Here's a picture of Nat & Bryce battling Wii Sports. She got really mad because he was so much better than her. Although she had no problem beating me. . .

Here's another video of one of Taylee's made up songs. Those of you with Primary kids probably know the tune. Pretty cute, actually.

Not as Innocent as he Looks

Such a cute, little face. But, being hugely pregnant, and grouchy, this little boy can absolutely make me CRAZY!! He wakes up in the morning with sooo much energy. He jumps around wreaking havoc on my house, and tormenting his sister. So, I am once again faced with the dilemma of what to do with him that day. This morning when I asked Jake he said, "Just love him." That doesn't help. The last thing Rohne did that made me want to ring his neck, was that he broke our camera. I almost lost my cool. In fact, if my sister wasn't here, I probably would have locked him in the basement, I was so mad. Here we are, about to have a baby, with no camera. And, we Do Not have money to buy another one. My sweet sister searched the Internet for ways to fix it, and after many hours of toil and labor, we decided it was gone for good. Nat and I went out the next day, and found another camera. I loved our old one, and it took great pictures, and videos. I'm still not so sure about this new one. The picture quality isn't as great, and the videos loook grainy. I still might exchange it. We'll see. The problem is that we have a limited budget. Here's Rohne explaining the broken camera, and me telling him he can NEVER touch our camera again!!!

He's NEVER coming out!!

So, I went to the Dr. on Wednesday, feeling a little optimistic. My sister had just told me that Baby Boy looked lower, I had gone on a long, brisk, walk, and felt a few contractions the night before. Surely, that had done something, right? So, not right!! By just looking at me, the Dr. said, "well, I can try and check you, but I assure you he is still too high, and you're cervix is probably still closed." I guess that she probably looked at the Ultrasound I had had done 20 minutes prior, which showed everything in proper order, including Baby who is weighing in at approx. 7 lb. 6 oz. already! The technician had no problem locating everything she needed to look at, because he is still just floating away in there, biding his time. A couple times she asked me if my due date really was June 21st. Yes, I replied. I mean, who forgets their due date? Come on! Well, after my lovely Dr. had told me that I had made no progress, she calmy informed me that she was pushing BACK my due date by 4 days, to the 25th. By this point, I was almost hyperventilating. Ya know, when you try so hard not to cry that you can't breathe? That was me. Looking back, I wish I would have just cried in front of her. Maybe it would have made her more sympathetic. I am so so so tired of being pregnant, and so worried that he will get too big, and I will not be able to get him out. I had a very hard time with my other 2, and this one, I know, will be my biggest yet. When I finally convince my Dr. to deliver this baby, she will be eating her words when she has to do a C-Section on me. I told her, she wouldn't listen, and I am already so mad!! It is now 2:40 a.m. Tay got up about an hour and a half ago to have me take her to the bathroom, and I've been awake ever since, crying in my bed, that I will be pregnant forever.

Some Pictures from the Weekend

We went and picked up Natali in Tacoma on Friday, and she stayed with us that night. She lives right in the middle of the city, which was a little bit scarey for me, and Taylee. Rohne didn't seem to mind. There's this great park behind her apartment. It seems pretty safe, and nice, except there are Bums camped out all over. Nat still hasn't gotten brave enough to run there. I don't blame her. This park had an awesome playground, and we fed some bread to this cutest little family of ducks. The kids could feed the ducks all day long, they loved it so much. We can't wait to go back and visit again.

Friday night, we went out, just as girls to The Cheesecake Factory, and then we walked around the mall. It didn't really count that much, though, because Jake's mom had the kids. So, we went out again on Saturday. We went to the Farmers Market, Costco, Snoqualmie Falls, and the Outlet Mall. I have a bond with my sisters that can never be replaced. I sooo wanted to give Tay a sister so that she could experience the same thing. I am so happy to have Nat around, even if it's only for a couple of months.

Here's Nat in front of the Falls.

Gorgeous, isn't it? It has been such great weather here lately. I feel really lucky, seeing how everyone else is getting rain, and cold. Jake and I actually got engaged at Snoqualmie Falls. It's wierd to think that we are weeks away from our 9th Anniversary. Such great memories.

After we got back, the kids were a little stir crazy, and Nat wanted to go for a run, so we tagged along. The park we like to go to, has a trail around it that's good for running, so I usually just let the kids play, while we exercise. But, when we got there, the park was closed. So, we followed Natali around for awhile. Here they are stretching before the jog. We walked so much that day, I was sure that I would feel something that night, but no such luck. Not one contraction. My feet were just really swollen, and hurt, and I was really tired.

Here are the kids looking into a pond on the trail.

Jake thought the kids looked so cute after I had dressed them for church yesterday, that he wanted to get a picture. We tried to get a good one of them smiling, but no such luck. The best one was this one with the silly faces. We had a good weekend. Hopefully it was our last one as a family of 4!! Come on Baby #3!

Update

So, there's not much going on in our household lately. I never take pictures anymore, so I guess we aren't doing anything really exciting. We have been spending time outdoors, and enjoying having my little sis, Nat, and her husband Bryce, around as much as possible. Yes, they finally got here, and, are starting to settle into their small apartment in Tacoma. My kids absolutely adore Natali, (still aren't quite so sure about Bryce - the red hair throws them off) and get so excited whenever she comes around. I am not very good company right now, being huge and ready to pop, so my little sister with some more energy, and patience, is greatly appreciated. Jake is still really busy with work, and Softball, I am so looking forward to the baby coming, to MAKE him slow down, take a breath, and spend some time with us. Nat and I are doing a girl day on Saturday kind of as a last Hoo-rah before Baby makes his appearance, which may be NEVER.

To those of you who don't know my history. . . . my belly makes for a very happy home for my babies. So good, in fact, that they never want to come out. Taylee was 12 days late, and Rohne would have waited that long, if I wouldn't have had a Dr. who induced me. My Dr. now, is the one who delivered Taylee. I love her, and trust her, but, she doesn't like to induce. I came home from the office almost in tears when she told me she would let me go at least a week overdue before thinking about it. I really had a hard time being induced with Rohne, so, it's probably the best thing, but, I wake up every morning not knowing how I can make it through another day. As I sit here typing, Baby Boy is kicking and squirming so much that I can barely breathe. I swear he has no room in there. So, why is he so content? If any of you have any good ideas on how to go into labor, share away. Maybe he is waiting until we settle on a name for him, or maybe he wants my house to be completely clean and organized, or maybe he just wants to stretch my skin out some more, and give me a couple more stretch marks. . . Darn kid. Anyways, so there ya go. We're just kinda waitin.' Everyone is telling me to savor these last few days. He will be here before I know it, and then, I will probably still wish I was pregnant. I should probably pray for a little more patience, and understanding, I guess. Life is gonna change with 3 kids!!!

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot

Although I complain about busy city life, one thing I have liked about living in the Pacific Northwest is the mild weather. Yes, it rains, and is overcast a little more than I would like, but, overall, it is very pleasing. There is not much wind, not much snow, and not too many hot days. Alas, this area has been hit by a heat wave. Now, normally, I would be quite overjoyed by this. The kids can spend all day outside doing the things they love. Swimming, running through the sprinkler, trips to the park, picnics, you name it. Just slather with sunscreen, grab some ice water, and we're off. However, if you haven't already noticed, Baby Boy is very close to his due date. I am big, uncomfortable, and scorching HOT. No, I don't mean that kind of HOT. Come on, who really feels attractive when they are so close to having a baby? (Thank you for all the compliments, honey, I know you don't really mean them though. I'm glad you still love me when I look like a beached whale.) I walk outside, and immediately start sweating bullets, and my feet and hands swell up like a balloon. My poor children beg me to walk faster, but, I just can't. I feel like I'm walking around on really fat stilts. Baby Boy cannot come fast enough. Please, oh please, oh please, do not let me go overdue. I can't stand it!!!

Snuggling picture of the kids after a dip in the kiddie pool.

WARNING: DISGUSTING PICTURE BELOW

Yes, I know how much you all wanted to see a picture of my feet. I'm just asking for a little sympathy. I know at least my mom will say "Oh, poor, sweet, Emily."

Now Enters MY Salvation:

Ta Da!! A brand, spankin', shiney, new, portable A/C unit. We sooo wouldn't have bought this if I wasn't so large with child, but, I really and truly was dying. (I know you believe me. Don't you Mom?) So far, it has not taken away my yucky edema filled feet, but I sure feel better laying on the couch, my feet propped up on a pillow, watching So You Think You Can Dance. The moral of this post is. . . . Please pray for me to actually have Baby Boy soon. I cannot survive another overdue pregnancy. Send the happy thoughts my way everybody. I'm counting on you!