Our Hope Endures

Family Pictures 2009

2009-12-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

I have totally lost my drive to blog these days...hopefully it will return soon.

But, in the meantime, here are our newest pictures.

Trey - almost 5 years old

Miss Gillian - 4 months old

I love these babes.

Babes that I never thought I'd have.

I am blessed.

Merry Christmas!!

The Cunninghams

Baby Announcement!

2009-10-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Back in May I won a blog contest from

Sarah at Short Stop.

The prize was 20 free custom designed cards from Karen at

Too Cute Designs.

It has been such a great experience to work with Karen who personally

designed this great baby announcement for me!

Thanks so much Karen, you did an awesome job!

Gillian Renee is here!

2009-08-25T10:00:00.004-04:00

Gillian Renee
August 5, 2009
6lbs 5oz, 19in

Trey & his baby sister

Big Brother...almost.

2009-08-04T19:05:00.000-04:00

Will You Please Try?

2009-06-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

This is a plea that I share on behalf of my friend Melissa. I have posted about her before on here and there are some new developments. You can see Melissa's blog here and her sister Jenn's blog here.

This letter is written by Jenn. I couldn't put it better any other way. So please read and consider... And by all means, please continue to pray for her and her family.

Where do I even begin? My sister Melissa is in increasing pain from the growing tumor and lymphoma. She sounds weak when I speak to her on the phone...possibly from the pain, or the pain meds, or the lymphoma itself, or a combination of the three. She said she literally feels like she is waiting for a new heart or a new lung....that's what it is like to be dependent on the generosity of donors.

I'm not just trying to encourage you to join the National Bone Marrow Registry because it's a wonderful, humanitarian thing to do. I'm asking you this because I don't want to lose my sister.

Out of the 7 million people in our country on the registry, only ONE appears right now to be a possible match for her. And that's not even definite yet. Her nurse just told me that yesterday.THAT is why it's so imporant that I get tons more people to join for her sake right now.

Most people hesitate to become a donor because they think either--
a) it's painful (No pain involved--it's a simple cheek swab.)
b) it's complicated (It's 30 seconds on the internet. We easily spend 30 minutes on Facebook.)

Here is the SIMPLE process:

1) Go to www.marrow.org
2) Click on "Join Registry"
3) It will ask you to agree to terms, give your name, email address, create a password, and give your mailing address.
4) They will mail you a cheek swab kit. You collect the cells and mail it back in.Once they receive and test your sample, it AUTOMATICALLY goes into the system. Then it is immediately checked to see if it is a match.

If you have any questions at all, call 1-800- Marrow2. They are very kind and helpful there. The registration process usually costs $50 for that initial testing, but is FREE now until June 22nd.

There will never be any other cost for you. If you are a match for my sister, her insurance will cover it.Please take a moment to do this for my sister...for her husband who is so in love with her...for her 3 smaill kids who need their mommy...for the rest of us, as her family and friends, who want nothing more but to have more years with her.

Thank you BEYOND words...Jenn

Monster Trucks!

2009-05-17T21:00:00.003-04:00

This weekend was the Monster Truck Show...a place this city girl never thought she'd find herself, and then she had a son! :) It was a good time and the looks on Trey's face were worth it!

Here are a few pictures from the day!!

Ramunition

Trey, Daddy & BigFoot!

SnakeBite

SnakeBite's Fangs

The Avenger

He wore his rain boots and rain coat and enjoyed jumping in the very muddy mudpuddles. You only live once, right?

Next weekend is the Antique Tractor Show...more pictures to follow I'm sure. Actually, we are surprising him with Thomas Live on Stage on Wednesday, I almost forgot! A busy month!

Appendectomy In Pregnancy??

2009-05-14T23:00:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but I think I have a pretty good reason...

April 7th I began having some belly pain that I attributed to stress or nervousness about a meeting Frank & I were going to about doing background checks on children's workers at church. We went to the meeting and it went well. Well, aside from the crazy right sided abdominal pain...

When we picked Trey up from our friend's home, the pain seemed to get worse. I thought this was odd, since the meeting was over. I had Frank press on my belly to see what he thought and he had a certain look on his face. He had me take Tylenol and we would see if it got better.

We got to our house about 30 minutes later and the pain was not any better. Frank called my OB who thought it sounded like my gall bladder and said we should probably head to the hospital. So, we left for the hospital.

An gall bladder ultrasound was ordered for in the morning (because an u/s tech isn't there overnight). They started an IV and drew labs. I got pain medicine and was feeling better, however I was feeling crampy/contraction like pain in my lower abdomen. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor and was given Brethine to stop the contractions.

I was only 22 weeks along. Scary.

Frank and Trey were going to go home and come back in the morning...that is, until the contractions started. So the poor guys stayed the night with me.

The next morning my OB came in. We discussed the contractions, which she believed to just be uterine irritability. And she also ordered a CT Scan to check my appendix and consulted surgery. This was around 9am.

I had my gall bladder u/s and they also looked at my placenta, which was all normal.

The surgeon came in around noon. I had still not had my CT Scan. He proceeded to pull his cell phone out in my room and call radiology to find out why Mrs. C hadn't had her CT Scan. He proceeded to tell them that either we do the Scan or he would have to go in laproscopically to diagnose what was happening. The Scan was clearly the better option.

Now, let me be the first to say that radiology in pregnancy is not recommended. I am fully aware of that. I am aware that there could be some effects to the baby. HOWEVER, if my appendix burst and I die, then the baby would not live either. My OB, my doctor husband, and my surgeon all agreed that this was the best course of action.

Unfortunately, the radiologist was not comfortable doing the scan and needed a little "convincing" by the surgeon. My CT was done around 4:30pm. My OB came into the Radiology Dept after my scan and told me that it was my appendix.

I was wheeled into surgery around 5:30pm, put under and had a laproscopic appendectomy, while 22 weeks pregnant.

How amazing is that!?

My OB (who I LOVE) was in the surgery and I saw her before they put me under. The relief I felt can't be described to know that she was there to watch out for my baby. And she did a great job.

The surgeon, who spoke up for me when I couldn't, was awesome. There was some pus around my appendix, which definitely confirmed the fact the this needed to be done sooner versus later. Just the fact that he did it laproscopically is amazing. The recovery time was near nothing. I only took pain meds for less than a week.

We are so thankful that God has been watching out for us. We know that all of this was in His hands. It is just amazing.

I am now 27 weeks along and the baby is kicking me like crazy. I am so grateful for every one of those kicks...such reassurance.

So, that's where we've been...hopefully I'll get a belly picture on here soon. Oh, and ultrasound pics. I'm so behind!!

Trey's Top Ten (Okay, Eight...)

2009-03-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

Trey's Top Eight Reasons to Get Out of Bed

8. I need to take my vitamin.
(We really tried to think of everything the first night, but alas we forgot the vitamin.)

7. I'm cold.
(The poor thing usually sleeps in his underwear (his choice), but without his heater father, he was cold.)

6. Mommy, I want to tell you something.
(And I quote, "ah, um". Yea, he had nothing.)

5. I have to go potty.
(We'll give him credit...it was in the middle of the night and he went right back to bed.)

4. Daddy, the time isn't right on my Chevy clock.
(No, the child does not know how to tell time.)

3. I want to read a book. (At 2:30am)
(To which I told him, "Go for it". And he went back to bed and woke up with his Diggers book on the bed.)

2. I want to sleep with yooouuuuu. Tears flowing.

And the number 1 reason Trey uses to get out of bed:

1. Daddy, I can't sleep. Lightning McQueen is staring at me.
(So, Frank went to his room, removed the poster from the wall and turned it around toward the wall.)

He is doing great! He is making it easy on me, for which I am grateful. And he likes that McGwire (the dog) sleeps in his room with him.

Two is company, three's a crowd.

2009-03-27T15:45:00.002-04:00

Because of the circumstances of December 2007 Trey has been permanently camped out in our bed. And let me be the one to tell you, I permanently put him there. We had tried a few times to put him in his own bed, but the anxiety I felt was unbearable.

The ironic part of all of this is that I was the first person to tell anyone that children sleeping in their parent's bed was crazy. Yes, crazy. And here I am, 15 months into having a child sleeping in my bed.

It has become so convenient in so many ways. Because, just go ahead and try to put him in his bed. Yea, good luck with that. It's not pretty. And who do we have to blame for that? Huh? Who?

Yep...me.

But, you see, one thing I swore I would not let happen, is happening. I refuse to let this circumstance be a "crutch" for him. I refuse to let the abuse define who Trey is. And I as his mother need to stop. He is 4 years-old and needs to sleep in his own bed.

Frank and I need our bed back to ourselves. Yea, it's a king size bed, but not meant for 3 of us. We need a few hours in the evening to ourselves.

(The funny part of this picture is that Frank is all the way at the edge of his side of the bed. Trey is smack-dab next to him, with the entire king bed behind Trey. It really is craziness.)

So tonight is it! After some discussion and planning, Trey will be put in his bed tonight, SuperNanny style. I know it won't be easy, but it needs to be done. So, around 9 o'clock tonight, could ya say a little prayer for us. All three of us.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-25T12:30:00.000-04:00

Flowers From My Boy

2009-03-10T21:00:00.001-04:00

Spring is here...kinda. It was 70 degrees today, but it supposed to be 40 tomorrow. We took advantage of the nice weather and spent a little time outside today.

My sweet little guy was riding his new John Deere bike he got from his Grammy & Pappy.

Which he absolutely LOVES, by the way.

Well, he jumped off his bike and told me he'd be right back. He proceeded to run to the yard and came back with these:

What a sweet little guy. He then told me we could use these when Daddy and I get married. Hee, hee. I told him we already were and he said that no we aren't. I guess he wants to be there for the occasion! Love him.

What I needed to hear...

2009-03-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

I'm in a valley right now. Don't know why, exactly, but here I am. I met with Barbara yesterday and she asked me some pretty profound questions... How's your relationship with God? Do you think God is stripping you so you depend on Him alone? Why can't you let her go?

Lately, I have felt alone. And I just sit in my loneliness. Waiting for...I don't know what. Am I protecting myself? Protecting Trey? I am an extrovert...it's the way God made me and yet here I sit, by myself, at home for days. And wonder, why.

Then this morning I read Angie Smith's blog and here is an excerpt...referring to God.

Because I have no doubt that His hands, His HUGE hands make the sky and the earth and the planets and the stars and so on and so on.

But is it possible that those same hands can wrap themselves around something as small as a knife? Something so small as my day to day needs? My hurts? My fears and doubts? The situations that seem like nothing to those around me but keep me awake at night?

He can make the waters part. No problem. That makes sense to me. BIG hands. Got it.
He can resurrect His dead Son from a cross. That sounds about right- He is God after all. Logical.
But can He wrap those same hands around the "little things?"

As I sit here today I realize God is sitting waiting for me to ask Him to help me...that's all He wants. And yet I don't give Him the "little" things (by my definition).

Please, go to Angie's blog and read today's post. It will be worth it, I promise.

The Best Week Ever!

2009-02-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

Yep! The week of December 14th.

I've been told I should have played the lottery that week. Although, I've not ever played.

Remember back when we got the offer on the house? Our house that had been sitting on the market for over a year. Our house that had a ton of traffic through it, but had not had one offer. None. That was Wednesday, December 17th.

December 17th was also the day of Frank's Christmas party for work. And most of you know what happened last year. So needless-to-say, I was a little apprehensive. Everything went well and Trey had a blast.

Also, most of you know that I suffer from infertility. We tried for 5 years before finally doing our first attempt at in-vitro. We were given Trey through that attempt. Then in February 2008 we did our second attempt, which you can read about here.

On occasion I will have Frank get me a pregnancy test to take even if I'm a day late because, well, even after almost 10 years of infertility, the hope still remains. So, I'll take a test, it's negative, and I go on with my life.

(I'm sure you see where this is going...)

Well, the night of December 17th, I took a test. I left it in the bathroom, set the timer, got something to drink and just chilled. Frank and I don't even get excited, it's just like something I have to do. Well, I walked into the bathroom and sure enough...positive test. Frank's first words were, "I'll bring home another test tomorrow".

And sure enough...that one was positive too.

I called my reproductive endocrinologist and left a message for my IVF nurse. When she called me back her words were, "I have a message here that says you had a positive pregnancy test". I told her yes and I still don't think she believed me.

Let's be honest here. The odds of me getting pregnant on our own are like....nil, nada, not a chance. We always knew that with God, nothing is impossible and He has proved it in our lives.

We don't just do in-vitro...we do in-vitro with ICSI. Which means putting sperm & egg in the same place, letting them do their "thing", won't happen. They actually inject the sperm into the egg. So, God has once again shown His hand in our lives.

I am now 15 weeks along. I have been pretty sick. Not as sick as I was with Trey, but morning sickness is well, not fun. We are moved in, but with a few boxes still hanging around.

We are praising God for what we believe to be His blessings on us for being obedient to His will. The last year has not been easy for us, but we have earnestly sought out what HE wants us to do and how HE wanted us to handle everything. And He has poured out the blessing.

2009-02-11T15:30:00.006-05:00

A friend of mine sent this video and I wanted to share it with you...Enjoy!

What's Happening?

2009-02-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

Boy, have things been crazy around here lately.

My car is still in the shop...supposed to be done by Friday. So, we're praying that's the case.

My in-laws have been here visiting for the last week and have been a HUGE help. They helped us finish moving out of the apartment and cleaning it. They also pretty much unpacked my entire kitchen...which is AWESOME. And...since I was without a car, it was great to have them here for an extra car. Trey had a blast. He laughed so much and so hard this week. I am truly grateful for my inlaws.

Trey's 4th birthday was January 20th. We took him to Toys R Us and he got the royal treatment. He had money from my grandma to pick out whatever he wanted...so needless-to-say, he definitely enjoyed himself. He picked out two "Thomas" trains he wanted. I can't believe we paid $46 for 2 wooden trains. But, he loves them.

We haven't had his birthday party with family yet. We are to travel back to NE Ohio where our extended families live this weekend (hence, the need for my car to be done) for his party. He wanted a John Deere party (surprise, surprise) and we are having it at the Dairy Queen. He's really excited to see his cousins.

Well, I have lots more I want to blog about...in due time. Hopefully I will have pictures of the party to post next week.

Also...most importantly, could you please pray for my friend Melissa? She is finishing up her chemo for her bone marrow (stem cell) transplant. The actual transplant is Thursday. You can check out her blog here. Thanks so much.

While I've been gone...

2009-01-23T14:00:00.001-05:00

Well, today is the first day I actually have internet access at home. The little bit I've been online has been from my families homes. So, I thought you like to see what I've been up to while I've been out...

My front bumper

Passenger side front bumper (excuse the green glove in the corner)

Passenger side front fender

Passenger side rear bumper/fender

Yep, you guessed. Trey and I went for a little "ride". We were on our way to my sister's house and hit a patch of snow. We hit a guard rail on the passenger's side first and then landed the driver's side in the ditch.

Praise God we are and were just fine. Trey wanted his Daddy (and I did too). A nice guy with a 4x4 Chevy pulled us out of the ditch and the State Highway Patrolman was really good to us.

Now we'll be taking it in for a little cosmetic work.

It's good to be back!!

Checking In...

2009-01-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Well, it seems like I have.

There was Christmas and traveling and packing and closing on our house and moving and...

So, I just wanted to let you know I am still here. We don't have internet at our new home we are renting until Friday.

Hope your New Year is great and hope to catch up soon! I have some exciting news!

Merry Christmas From My Family To Yours!

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all!

Our prayer is that you all experience the

season for what is really to be celebrated!

God sent his son Jesus as the ultimate present.

God bless you and your family.

One Year Ago Today...

2008-12-18T19:00:00.002-05:00

Was the day someone we trusted hurt our child.

It's weird to think that a year has gone by...doctor's appointments, child protective services, meetings with the prosecutor, and the trial.

One year ago since, in essence, I lost the relationship with my best friend of 10 years.

Our second in-vitro attempt and then miscarriage...

All of this and yet, I can say that God is good. He has been there everyday. Has it always been easy? Absolutely not. But, He has blessed us. We have learned so much about Him and grown so much closer to Him.

Trey is happy and healthy. We just sold our house after a year of it being on the market. God is blessing us.

The last few days we have been in Cincinnati for Frank to have some training. You see, a few months ago, a letter came across his desk stating that the Child Abuse Physician at the hospital he works for is no longer there and they are seeking a replacement. They were wondering if any physicians in Frank's group were interested.

Frank really felt that it was something he should check into. We believe that God is using our situation with Trey to help others. Frank agreed to take the job. It's only 2 half days a month at this point.

What greater person to see patients who are victims of abuse than a father whose son was abused? Just another way we are seeing God work in this otherwise terrible situation.

You can check out the first parts of Trey's story here and I am working on finishing up the rest of the posts soon.

Family Pictures

2008-12-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

I ~~forced~~ convinced Frank it was time to get family pictures taken again. It's been a while and Trey seems to be getting over his picture-taking issues. He (Frank) went along with it ~~screaming~~ happy as can be.

Well, I think they came out great!

Of course, I could definitely be a bit (ha!) thinner. :)

My little guy's 4 year pictures. He's the cutest ever!! I am not biased at all.

Mr. Stoic. He cracks me up!

This is my FAVORITE!! It captures his personality better than any picture he's ever taken. One of God's greatest gifts to me.

Please Pray...

2008-12-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

My friend Melissa received some news regarding her lymphoma yesterday.

Please go to her blog and pray, pray, pray. I know she and her family would appreciate it.

www.danceintherainmelissa.blogspot.com

Melissa, our hearts are heavy for you...we love you and believe with you that God is bigger than this!

Special Prayer Request

2008-12-10T12:00:00.003-05:00

**Update #2**

As of 5:30pm the buyers accepted our counter!! So, provided our home inspection, etc., goes well, we will close sometime the middle of January!! Thanks so much for your prayers during this time. God is doing great things in our lives!

**Update**

We countered their offer yesterday afternoon. Then, this morning they countered back. We were hoping they would accept it, but in this market...well, it's a buyer's market. So, we just offered our counter back, which we believe is the best... So please continue to pray.

Remember this post??

Well, this morning I received a phone call from our realtor. He got a call to place an offer on our house last night. The offer is pretty low. It's our first offer EVER. We have lowered our price over $10k during this year. The market stinks!

BUT...we are trusting God. He knows what is best for us. He knows how we are so ready to stop making a payment on a house we haven't lived in for almost a year and buy a house where we are now. He knows I'm soo tired of living in a 2 bedroom duplex with only half of our belongings.

So, please pray with us. Pray for the buyers. Pray for the realtors. Pray for us that we would make a wise decision.

I'll keep you updated!

My Rudolph

2008-12-09T14:00:00.002-05:00

Meet Rudolph...

Yep, the crazy child asked me to stick the red "pom pom" on his nose.

All of this after he stuck a small white ~~snowball~~ pom pom up his nose. After trying to get it out with my finger, I finally convinced him to "blow" it out. Oh the joy of boys.

He is soo excited for Christmas. Every time it snows he says, "It's Christmas!!". I love it. He makes me feel like a kid again. And I love having the opportunity to talk to him about the real present of Christmas...Jesus.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-03T16:00:00.001-05:00

Things are crazy around here these days. But, I wanted to post a few pics of whats been happening around here.

Trey and I made a construction paper chain to count down the days until Christmas.

Trey + Scissors = Mess.

Trey and his Daddy at our friend Linn's house. Trey cheeesing, of course.

We got our family pictures taken on Monday. They came out soo good. Hope to get them posted soon.

Have a great rest of the week!!

Things We Cannot Do Without...

2008-11-24T21:30:00.003-05:00

As we all know, times are tough these days. So, I've been trying to cut corners where I can. Some things work out, some - not so much. Frank and I have been discussing what household items can be "substituted" with an off-brand and which ones shall never be touched.

Here is what we've come up with:

Dishwashing detergent: There is NO substitute for Dawn. None.

American cheese slices: Hubby says Kraft Singles only.

Toilet paper: No sandpaper for this families booties.

Toothpaste: Crest only baby!!

Tennis shoes: There is something to be said about comfortable shoes. Nike, NB, whatever. If you've found some that are as great, but cheaper, let me know!!

Well, this is just a few of our things.

Your turn. What items have to be a certain brand for you and your family??