Raindrops Keep Fallin'....

We made the trip to Idaho to say goodbye to my husband's best friend. Spc. Cody Moosman.  The funeral was lovely. I think the only thing I found in bad taste was the news camera that followed the funeral processional from the church up to the cemetery... I get that its news and a big deal, but there also has to be a level of tact.   According to Cody's family, the news media wasn't supposed to do that, but they didn't even notice- so I suppose we can chalk my offense to it off to pregnancy hormones.

Our trip up was very nerve wracking. About a mile outside of Cedar City, our car decided to beep at us, and the engine shut off, leaving only the electric motor running to get us safely to the side of the road.  We got there, shut off the car, and started it again. It appeared to be working fine...until it did it again on the way up the hill...and again a while later on another hill...Jeff, being the genius he is (seriously, my husband is brilliant!) realized that it was happening when the car went over 3000 RPMs.  So...we nervously kept going, keeping the car under that 3000 RPM mark...meaning that for much of the trip we were going anywhere between 45 and 60 mph on the freeway...we stopped at a Ford servicer outside of Nephi, UT, but they didn't have anyone that was certified to work on Hybrids....so we nervously made our way to Salt Lake City, UT.

Let me tell you, the most terrifying words you can read on a sign are "No shoulder 17 miles." Needless to say, the ride through the construction in American Fork and Provo was definitely NOT a picnic.  Especially because much of that area (coming back to Idaho) is an uphill drive. I prayed the whole way through that we wouldn't break down and cause a traffic jam.... we were almost through Provo when the person in front of us decided to stop and let someone on the on ramp into traffic. We almost rear ended them because they stopped so suddenly, and in return were almost rear ended by a giant yellow semi...fortunately, we AND the semi had good brakes...fortunately, Heavenly Father was looking out for us...

Our Tom Tom is out of date, and we refuse to pay the arm and the leg to update it (maybe we should, but we find for the most part it gets us to where we want to go.) So we had a little trouble locating a Ford servicer. It would say there was one in one place, and it wasn't there anymore...fortunately, my husband is also not afraid to stop and ask for directions. We pulled off at a Sears Auto Store to ask for directions to one. They were super helpful... but Jeff turned too soon and we ended up back on the freeway headed South...so we had to turn around...After a very, VERY long drive, we finally made it to help.

The dealership was super kind.  They originally had asked if there was any way we could leave the car overnight and let them look at it in the morning, but when they found out that we were on our way up for a funeral the next day, they bent over backwards to help us. I fully intend to send them a good old fashioned thank you note sometime this week, that is for sure.  The manager of the mechanics asked one of his Hybrid guys if he was willing to stay late to take a look and possibly fix it, and explained our situation. The mechanic agreed...we probably ended up paying through the nose for it when it came to labor- but it was very nice of them to be willing to do everything they could to get us out and on the road before they closed.  3 hours and $817 later, we were back on the road...

YUCK!

However, in a way, we can see the hand of the Lord in it. We had just recently paid off a huge chunk on our credit card, making it possible for us to fix the car...also, if the problem had gone unchecked there may have been a possibility of us needing a $9,000 transmission repair...that's what we paid for the car... so I will take an  $800 bill over $9000...thank you very much! Heavenly Father was being as good to us as he could be...and I'm grateful for what little silver lining I can find when things seem to be going badly, that is for sure.

Of course, already agitated by burning up $800 on our credit card, it didn't help when we pulled out onto the freeway to make the rest of the trip to Preston, ID and a cement truck lovingly flipped a rock up and cracked our perfect windshield...I think my husband's exasperated cry of , "Come on! Is there anything else you want to throw at us? BRING IT!" said it all for both of us- we were at the end of our rope.... we drove, watching the crack spread and listening to the sounds of our 9 month old screaming in the back seat... the last 2 hours of the trip were a little slice of heaven, let me tell you... I think the only thing that made it palatable was discovering that Faith thinks the "Mahna Mahna" song by the Muppets is hilarious. She stopped crying momentarily and giggled every time the "doo dooo dee doo doo"s came on...


Things seemed to calm down almost immediately once we got to Preston. We unpacked the car as quickly as possible and put the Little Diva to bed...of course, she wasn't happy. She wanted her crib and all we had was a measly Pack and Play that was hard and didn't have a lot of room for her to roll around, but her exhaustion managed to win after about 10 minutes of screaming and she was out like a light.

The funeral was the next day (I've already given my thoughts on that.) The whole town came out to support Cody and his family...literally. Businesses that were along the route of the funeral procession closed their doors and all the employees and customers stood along the road holding flags or their hands over their hearts. All the scouts, cubs, and their masters were along the funeral route holding flags...some of them were literally giving all they had. It was a warm day and a couple of the cubs close to the church ended up passing out in the heat while holding the flags!  It was crazy, but once they were revived, they came to and insisted on continuing to hold their flags.  A national group called the Patriot Riders came and made sure there were more flags being held at every entrance to the church and along the route. They even rode ahead of the funeral procession to make sure there were flags being held as the procession pulled into the cemetery...Jeff said that Cody never would have believed he could be a celebrity for a week or would have wanted it, but that is what he got.

We visited Cody's mom and dad on our way out of town and she said that the military had offered to let him be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. She was touched and in awe of the offer. She knew that her son felt he was just doing his job, and she felt that way too. She said it was an honor even to hae the offer, but she wanted him close so she could visit.

Well, we spent the rest of the trip seeing family we haven't seen in almost a year. We had to travel around to see Jeff's busy brothers and sisters, each stop was wonderful and we were so grateful that they were able to take time out of their days to accommodate us.  My family managed to throw 2 barbecues...one was somewhat impromptu at my little sister's house (she wasn't anticipating we'd be there in time for dinner and had invited my parents over, but was all too gracious and amazing and invited not only us, but my older sister and her brood as well so that everyone could get time with me and my little fam! You rock Kiersten Lynn, you rock!)  My older sister also threw an awesome BBQ at her house on Monday. It was fun to watch all the kids run around and play and the burgers and salads were delicious! Thank you to you too Amber Sue!  

Things would have been much more fun on the trip if the Divine Miss Cupcake hadn't decided to drop on Sunday.  I was pretty much miserable the rest of the time and having scary pregnancy symptoms, some that I knew were normal, but since I didn't experience them with Faith they made me very nervous... Since I was feeling so "off" I checked our insurance company website to make sure that I would be able to get medical care if I needed it and had no luck. There was no hospital in even a 200 mile radius that would take our insurance.  I continued on, feeling miserable and worried for the next few days and finally asked my husband if we could cut the trip a few days short...he heard my concerns, agreed with me that something was off and we decided to head back sooner...

It ended up working out in the end. The day before we planned to make our departure, the doctor's office that I get my ultrasounds done at called and asked if I wanted to come in on a Saturday to get my ultrasound and work done instead of on Monday at my original appointment time...we agreed and hit the road on Friday. The trip home...was a breeze...

Saturday morning, we got my answer about why I was feeling "off"...3 weeks ago I took the Gestational Diabetes test. My doc orders the long form of the test first instead of messing with the 1 hour...the high risk doctor at the place where I do my ultrasounds broke the bad news...I was positive...

I have been kind of upset about it. I took the test 3 weeks ago, and no one bothered to call me to tell me it was positive? The best explanation my high risk doc could give was that the Independence Day holiday may have backed up test results at the lab that my regular OB outsources to. He said they had only received the test results that Friday from my regular OB, so its possible that they hadn't had them for long...

If anything, I'm kind of glad that the high risk doc broke the news. He was very kind and gave me lots of good advice for what to expect. He also reassured me that he will be more involved from now on (which gave me comfort considering how my OB treated me at my last regular appointment. He is usually so nice, but at my last appointment he was kind of a jerk.) and that they will be doing everything they can to make sure that my baby gets here healthy and safe and that I remain healthy and safe in the process.

In short, there is a very real possibility that this baby will have an August birthday instead of a September birthday. We will know after we have another ultrasound at 36 weeks to determine if her belly is getting any more distended than it already is from the extra sugars in her liver.  Apparently, the big concern, if baby isn't showing signs of being high birth weight, is a distended belly that is bigger than the head and can't fit through the birth canal. So, while my baby is measuring to be on track to be an average 7 lbs baby, the belly is measuring a little large in circumference. Again, we will know more in about a month.

So...this means I get to be on a no/low carb diet for the next little while. I will be posting recipes as I come up with them, because at this point I'm at a loss. Its funny, when I was first diagnosed with Insulin Resistance my freshman year of college, I lived and stuck to a low carb lifestyle for years, but as my condition has improved and my medication has worked to help my body process sugars better, I've been able to be a little more lax and let bread, potatoes, and rice back into my life...its so funny that this is such a hard adjustment and that I am having a hard time coming up with things to eat.  I guess I have the added factor of a hungry husband who is already very skinny and losing carbs isn't a good idea for him...which means I have to find more ways to compromise than I did when I was single.

However, I've decided that my silver lining is this: I'd already fully intended to go on a low carb diet after baby got here to lose baby weight and to start feeling healthy again, so this will just give me practice and get me back into the groove a little sooner. Since I'm pregnant any not only my health, but also my baby's health is at stake, it will make it much harder to want to cheat because it would mean that I could be hurting baby, and we definitely don't want that.

Again, be watching for recipes. I will post them as I come up with them as well as tips to include carbs for the people in your house that want them or need them to survive.

I'm not sure how long they will have to monitor me for the diabetes after baby comes, so I will definitely be talking to the diabetic counselor about low carb diets and breast feeding. If I come up with any juicy info for those of you out there that are expecting, or recently had a baby and are breastfeeding and would like to know, I will be sure to pass that information along too. I am supposed to meet with a diabetic counselor this week sometime, so you can be looking for that information as well. :)

In short, as I conclude this little post, when it rains it pours...but I can say how grateful I am that I have been able to stay in the mindset to be looking for the blessings in my trials where I can.  Things in life may not always be perfect, in fact- often times its downright hard. However, I am so grateful for a loving God who is cushioning the fall when bad things happen.  He doesn't give us anything that we can't handle without His help. We just need to remember to be looking for him... remember that at the end of a storm there will be a rainbow in the sky just waiting for eager eyes to discover it!

I won't lie, when we were paying an $800 bill to get the car fixed, and when I was fighting through the anger of having been positive for Gestational Diabetes for 3 weeks without being informed (and having eaten all the junk I did while I was on the trip...)  it was hard and I wasn't looking for God...but I am so grateful for the knowledge that He hears and answers prayers because when I prayed, I was able to center myself and I was able to start seeing where He was working his magic to make my life a little more bearable through the hard stuff.

Here's to a new journey starting...low carb, here I come...and Baby #2...Hopefully if anyone is out there struggling with similar problems I can be of assistance. I am excited to see the diabetic counselor and update my education on living a healthy low carb lifestyle, as well as how to continue that lifestyle after baby so that we both can benefit.

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!