Over the next few months...

  I am sure you are all wondering if I am ever going to catch up to present day.  Yes, I will.  However, I don't want to forget any of the details of our journey along the way, which explains all the detailed posts.  I will now skip a couple months ahead.
  During August and September I went on with life as usual doing what I love to do...teaching my sweet kids at school, spending time with friends enjoying Alabama football season and spending time with Jarod before Harper Kate was to arrive.  I had multiple doctor appointments as you can imagine.  Not only did I see my OBGYN every month, but I also saw a maternal fetal specialist every month for an ultrasound.  The doctors wanted to keep a check on fluid in Harper Kate's brain.  Many Dandy Walker patients end up having hydrocephalus later in life and will need a shunt to reduce the fluid.  The ultrasound would measure her ventricles each month to make sure they were not swelling.  We counseled with a genetic maternal fetal doctor and she wanted to do a couple other tests which I had done later. 
  Pregnancy for me physically was quite easy.  I wasn't sick very much, had lots of energy and for the most part really enjoyed being pregnant.  Of course, as I began to show a little, I had to tell my students at school about my little baby.  The kids were so excited.  We decided the best way was to send a letter home to the families explaining that there had been some difficulty with the pregnancy, and to continue praying for our little baby, but that everything was looking better now and that I would be leaving my classroom at the beginning of February.  The students were thrilled & incredibly sensitive.  Each day they prayed for Harper Kate during our morning devotion.  After each doctor appointment, they wanted to know how things were.  Sure, everything for them was put on a 5th grade level, but those students walked through a journey of faith with me.  They knew things weren't perfect with the baby, but I wanted to teach them to TRUST.  We can trust God even in hard times.  I am so grateful to the Lord for giving me the perfect students to share that experience with.  What a wonderful blessing it was to share with them life lessons I was learning then to encourage them later in their life when hard times would come.  
  As I went on with life as usual, Jarod continued to search for jobs.  In the midst of this difficult journey, it was made more difficult at times with Jarod having graduated, but not yet had found a job.  I can't explain to you how hard it was to stand by, having watched him work so hard in school, and have to wait for the perfect job God would provide for him.  This was just another part of God's faithfulness to us in our "Plan B" of life. Soon enough God would show us how our period of waiting would be worth it in the end.  
  The picture for the day....our little miracle at the pool this weekend!