A Girl and Her Doll

For Christmas this year I was very excited to find a little girl play set complete with a doll, a stroller, a crib, and a highchair. Thank you Costco. I am very pleased to say that Grace LOVED IT! We put together the stroller on Christmas Eve and here was the result:

Christmas Dress

Surprise Surgery

As stated in an earlier post, life never turns out like you think it will. Joe gave you all a quick update on my surprise surgery, but I thought I might add a little from my perspective. I will try to give the brief version.

I went to bed Saturday night with no idea what was about to transpire later that night. At 1:00 am, I awoke feeling very uncomfortable. The pain was different than anything I had felt before, and after trying a trip to the bathroom, some Tylenol, and multiple different positions, I decided to check out webmd. My search yielded absolutely nothing helpful. The pain continued to increase and within an hour I woke Joe up and we decided a trip to the ER was necessary. Normally I would have waited longer, but didn’t want to take a chance with the baby. So we loaded Grace into the car and drove the mile or so to the hospital. Being pregnant gave me a free pass right into triage in labor and delivery. They quickly ruled out kidney stones and kidney or bladder infection. At this point the pain was getting worse and I was now nauseous and unable to even stand/sit/lie still. The nurses and my midwife decided to look at my appendix, and an ultrasound was ordered. They never did find my appendix (due to the fact that everything moves around so much when you are pregnant), but they did see something on my right ovary. The midwife reviewed the ultrasound and within three hours of arriving at the hospital I was told I may have to have surgery.

I had a condition called ovarian torsion. There was a cyst on my ovary, the weight of which had caused my fallopian tube to twist cutting off all blood flow to my ovary. The only way to fix it was surgery. Normally they would go in orthoscopically through my bellybutton; but since Owen was in the way, they would have to make an incision and move my uterus in order to get to the ovary. The worst-case scenario was that we could lose the baby. Another possibility was that I could go into early labor and deliver a 25 week-old baby. However, the chances were slim, and there wasn’t really an option about having surgery or not (the ovary would die and rot). So about 3:00 pm Sunday, I went into the operating room. I woke up about 40 minutes later to the wonderful words, “Your baby is fine.” I remember such relief and joy hearing Owen was fine, and my first thoughts were, “Thank you God! Thank you God!”

Joe was by my side through the whole thing and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without him. It was so comforting to have him there. I can’t even tell you how blessed I feel to have such an incredible husband.

God’s hand was also so clearly in every little aspect of the whole ordeal. My midwife just happened to be there delivering another baby and the best doctor in hospital for my condition just happened to be on shift for the critical 24 hours before and after my surgery. They also found out what was wrong very quickly. I did a little research after going home on ovarian torsion, and it is common for this condition to go undiagnosed for days because it is so rare. I had great nurses and was in the new part of the hospital, so we had our own room with a bed for Joe and plenty of room for visitors. He protected my baby boy who seemed unaffected by the whole ordeal, judging by all the kicks and somersaults going on.

I am also so thankful for our church and Joe’s school. They took such good care of us, and we didn’t have to make a single meal for over a week. Several good friends and family members also took care of Grace during our hospital stay. Thank you so much Bethany and fellow teachers at Willamette Christian. We feel so loved.

And I can’t forget to mention our awesome families. Pam, Joe’s sister, took care of arranging childcare for Grace during our entire hospital stay. I didn’t even have to give it a thought. My sister took Grace at 5:00 am from the ER and watched her again the next night. My mom came up Tuesday night and stayed till Friday to take care of Grace and me so Joe could go back to work.

While recovery has been slower than I would like, I have so much to be thankful for. God is so faithful and good.

Quite the Sunday for the Mogfords - as per Joe

-Status updates-
1am- Ashley wakes up with sharp pains in her stomach and lower back
2am - pain getting worse
3am - to the ER
4am - ...waiting and wondering
5am - Andrea picks up Grace from the hospital... waiting and wondering
6am - making calls to get nursery covered (for Ash) and for someone to lead worship (for Joe) at church... waiting and wondering
7am - ultrasound shows "something;" we move from triage (uncomfortable) to a delivery room (much better)... waiting and wondering
8am - "something" is an ovarian cyst causing ovarian torsion (ouchie twisting) - need surgery
9am - Pam visits...waiting
10am - ...waiting
11am - Brad and Andrea bring Grace to visit...waiting
12pm - ...waiting
1pm - Second opinion agrees with first opinion - need surgery (cut open and dig surgery)
2pm - Jason and Pastor Kevin visit, prepping for surgery
3pm - Ashley is in surgery; I am waiting with Jason, trying to be distracted by Seahawks game (would have been nice if they had at least tried to make it interesting)
4pm - Ashley is in pain but awake, baby Owen is safe, surgery was successful (doc even saved the ovary)
5pm - back in delivery room trying to manage pain
6pm - ...pain management
7pm - Pam and Lexy visit ...pain management
8pm - Ashley's pain is manageable with meds and I pass out on the little window seat bed
-status unavailable-
7am - I wake to find Ashley hasn't needed pain meds for a few hours and is getting antsy to start moving around

Conclusions
#1 - God is good - he preserved my wife and my unborn child.
#2 - I love my wife - she's one tough cookie.
#3 - We have a great family and a great church. Thank you so much for your support and prayers.
#4 - Apparently, Grace is adorable - 97 people offered to take care of her.
#5 - God has great timing - according to our nurses, the doctor we had is they best they have ever seen at dealing with the problem we had; most don't even try to save the ovary.

Driving Miss Gracie

Lately, before I put Grace in her carseat, she has been insistent on driving. When I open the driver door to unlock the rest of the car, she is right there, underfoot, making vroom-vroom noises. Now, mind you, these are little girl car noises, not little boy car noises. They sound nothing like an actual car, but I think this makes them even cuter. So if it's not raining, or we are not in a hurry, I usually let her sit in the driver's seat and push buttons to her heart's content.

And since I am kind of proud of my first real crochet attempt, I wanted to include another picture with a better view of Grace's hat (the one mentioned in my last post); and because it so captures her little personality that I can't help myself.

Dreams of a Perfect Christmas Tree

I have again come to the realization that life is never as you expect, and so much of how much you enjoy life depends on your attitude. I had envisioned today to look something like this: After church, we would enjoy some relaxation while Grace took a nap. Then, as a family, we would head out to pick out the perfect tree. Once located, the perfect tree would come home, where Grace would "help" me decorate as we all enjoyed hot chocolate or maybe some chocolate milk. All the while, Christmas music would be quietly playing in the background.
However, it looked much more like this: After church, Grace went down for her nap and the Seahawks game came on (now mind you, I enjoy watching football on tv with my husband). The game, however, lasted till 4:00, which meant daylight was fading fast. Grace also woke up from her nap a little grouchy, and I was so intent on finishing a hat I was making for her so she could wear it during our tree outing with the hopes of getting a Christmas card picture, that I failed to notice this important detail. Nonetheless, we jumped in the car and headed to the Christmas tree farm. Upon arrival, we were met with a closed sign even though we should have had 20 minutes till closing time. The owners told us to go ahead but to make it fast. In the dwindling light, all my pictures were blurry because I hate the flash on my camera. But it didn't matter, because in just about every shot, Grace is crying, trying to get me to pick her up. Joe had also suggested that I go grocery shopping while he took the tree and Grace home since we had NO food in the house. Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite activities, but I knew he was right. So instead of heading home to hot chocolate and decorating, I headed to a crowded WinCo. I ended up decorating the tree by myself after all the groceries were put away and Grace was in bed, while Joe finally got to the work he brought home this weekend.

Despite all this, I think I will look back on today and smile. It is comical if you stop to think about it. Just about everything I had hoped for didn't happen. In the end though, I had a very relaxing night decorating without any interruptions or helping little hands, and yes Christmas music is playing in the background.
So maybe a little attitude adjustment was needed. Maybe I need a little reminder about what this season is truly about. Maybe I learned a valuable lesson again today: Being able to laugh at life is a irreplaceable gift.