Back to Infusions

A few weeks ago, my hematologist suggested waiting a little bit to redo blood work and then determine if I needed more iron. During the break I worked to transfer us to a hematologist here in Arlington to keep us from even more long trips to Frisco. That ended up being a disaster. The Arlington office was extremely unreliable and even rude at times. So, after waiting too long, I decided to just suck it up and go back to Frisco where I was taken very good care of anyway.

We went in last Friday for blood work to check and see where my levels are. I didn't get exact numbers on the phone today, but Dr. T. does want me to receive more iron. So, I go back in for another infusion this Thursday. We will also see the dr at that time to determine how many more infusions he wants me to have.

I'm definitely ready to be done with all of this, but we are so close to Carter's due date it can't last much longer. Lord willing, I'll soon be back to my normal blood levels! We shall see. Thanks so much for your prayers!

Resurrection Unleashed

I'm still processing so much from our retreat this weekend. In an effort to help process, I decided to just get on here and bullet some things that were said or talked about this weekend that made an impact on me.

-If we say we need resurrection, then we have to die because God resurrects dead things.

-There are a lot of people living like they just want Jesus' blood (like a get out of hell free card), BUT Jesus is a way of life!

-In Luke 22, Jesus looks at Peter after the third rooster crows. What face do I picture on Jesus? Is it disappointment? Is it compassion? Is it shame? Is it the same face I see on God in response to my sin?

-Jesus' Resurrection reverses the shame of the Fall in Genesis 3. He is alive, right here, right now.

-Sometimes we are living under the guilt and shame of past sin letting the guilt and shame guide our lives. So, what do we do to open ourselves up to the Power of the Resurrection that will take away the guilt and shame?

-Do I believe the resurrection is the best news for the world?

-How do we measure the fruit of the resurrection and how it's unleashed in our lives? Maybe using Galatians 5?

-In Genesis 1 and 2, the stage is set for the resurrection. The Hebrew word for "formless void" means "chaos." God created out of chaos. The God of the Resurrection is the same God that created out of chaos. He created out of chaos in the beginning and He can create out of chaos in my life right now. THAT'S the power of the resurrection!

-In John 19, we see that Jesus is buried in a garden. When Mary comes to the tomb that morning, she mistakes Jesus for the gardener. In a way, Jesus does become the gardener restoring life to the way it was meant to be. Am I willing to let Jesus be the gardener in my life?

-If I was followed around for a month, what fruit would be represented in my life that shows I'm living the power of the Resurrection?

-When we come to believe in the Power of the Resurrection, then we believe that sin, shame, guilt, cities, families, etc. will bow down to the power of God.

-Have an imagination with God so that we can dream with Him of the possibilities that He can redeem.

-What does it say about a God who would choose to descend and get into the middle of brokenness with people? There is a God who enters into the brokenness and mess of life to REDEEM IT! (If you read my Memory Verse 9, this is the other reason I chose John 1:14)

-Do you believe that God has the power to enter your life to rewrite the next _______ years of your life? To redeem what's happened in the previous________ years of your life? This is the Power of the Resurrection!

Like I said, so much to process! Biggest question right now: Am I letting the Power of the Resurrection be Unleashed in my life???

Memory Verse 9

It's time for my next memory verse! During the last couple of weeks I discovered that going over my verses while I"m putting on my makeup or drying my hair is a really great time for me. I think using that time in this way is going to make a big difference in how ingrained in my brain and on my heart these verses become!

There is actually a couple reasons for this next verse. The first reason has to do with the weekend retreat we just had at our church. I am going to post my thoughts about that in the next couple of days, so I will address how it relates to this verse at that time. The second reason has to do with a lot of thought and conversation I've been having recently about being a person that is full of both grace and truth like Jesus. As Christians we tend to fall one of two directions-either fully on the side of grace that we forget to hold people accountable to the truth. Or so focused on truth that we forget to be gracious and forgiving. When Jesus came into the world, He was full of both and represented both in all his relationships throughout Scripture. I am needing to learn how to do that. So, here's the verse I am going to be learning and meditating on for the next two weeks:

John 1:14
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

More to come about our church retreat in the near future!

Update on Gestational Anemia

Hello all!!!

I saw Dr. T. on Monday (my hematologist), and all the blood work results were back yesterday. My iron levels not only recovered from being low they are now on the high side. There's nothing wrong with that, so we are very excited to know that the iron infusions worked extremely well!!! My hemoglobin levels did not change a whole lot though. While hemoglobin levels are very tied to iron levels, mine didn't move very much because of my Thalassemia. As of right now, Dr. T. wants me to come in again next week to recheck my hemoglobin levels. Depending on what has changed in a week's time will determine whether or not he wants me to get two more rounds of infusions. I've been a little confused as to why he would recommend more iron infusions if my iron is now high and it's just my hemoglobin that's low, but he's the "blood doctor." He is trying to make all things in my blood work together to my benefit. He's still trying to find a balance in treating the Thalassemia and the anemia. Anyway, there has been much progress, and I have definitely been feeling better. Now we wait another week to see if I need to do a little more or not. As always, thanks so much for all of your prayers! We are 6 weeks away from my due date, and it's feeling very real. I'm thankful that the doctors are striving to have me in a very healthy place to deliver! Love you all!

Memory Verse 8

The next memory verse is due tomorrow. We have a very busy, very fun weekend planned and I didn't want to get behind like last time. I was thinking today about all kinds of different things all while knowing in the back of my mind that I needed to choose a verse. Anyway, I was thinking about how sensitive I have become to negativity in others. It drives me bonkers and makes me angry when Christians spend SO much time focusing on the negative and complaining constantly. But, then I realized that it ends up dragging me into the negativity by spending time angry at them for their negativity. It's a vicious circle. And, that's why negativity is so awful-it's contagious. On top of that I realized how easy it is at this point in the pregnancy to focus on the less-than-glamorous, painful, and frustrating parts of pregnancy forgetting to be in awe of the miracle that's happening.

SO-with all of that rambling in my head, this verse popped in my mind. I decided it was perfect for the next two weeks. I know it enough for it to pop in my mind, but I don't have the entire thing engraved on my heart, and I would like to change that. With that said, my next verse is:

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."

Infusions Complete

Hi all! I finished round 4 of my iron infusions yesterday! We do not know official results of how it is working yet. Dr. Trillo wanted to give this last round a full week to get into my system before doing follow up blood work. So, I go back up there next Monday to visit with him and get my blood work done. I'm praying that sometime mid-late week next week we will be told that my iron levels are looking great, and I am all clear to deliver (when Carter is ready, that is).

What I do know is that I am feeling much better. I am able to be up and around doing stuff WAY more than I could a couple-three weeks ago. I do still have some very tired moments, but the fact of the matter is that my Thalassemia is still affecting me and I'm in my third trimester. Who isn't tired during their third trimester? :) The tired I'm experiencing now is very different though than the pervasive exhaustion of a few weeks ago. One of the biggest differences is that a night's sleep or a good nap is actually refreshing now when before it didn't matter.

We are very thankful for how the treatments have worked. It was scary early on, but it has been so helpful. I'm so glad that I can be in nesting mode getting our house and Carter's room ready for him. Thank you so, so much for all of you that have be praying for me. Please keep it up as I progress through these next 7 1/2 weeks til my little man arrives!

Memory Verse 7 and Iron Update

Hi all! Yes, it's April 6th, and I'm just now documenting my verse for the first half of the month. I have had a very crazy first week of the month. In fact, all of April is just nuts! It's time for me to buckle down and start making this a bigger priority cause I'm sure once my little man is here it will become easy for me to forget about this. The verse I've chosen for the next two weeks is just perfect for this time of our lives. We have so many changes coming up and so much unknown as we add to our family that I want to start engraving this on my heart RIGHT NOW! Life is about taking it one day at a time, and I need to enter into parenthood with that in mind as well!

Matthew 6:34
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

I also wanted to give a brief update to how my infusions are going. I'm down 3 with one to go on Monday the 11th. About mid-week last week after my 2nd infusion I began to notice a difference. My mom came into town for several days to help me with some baby stuff and go to my church shower, and I was able to be very active the whole time she was here. I'm definitely not at pre-pregnancy energy levels, but I'm beginning to be able to do more. In the end, I'm still in my 3rd trimester and will tire out quickly; BUT I'm noticing a HUGE difference. I want to do stuff around the house or get out and run errands, and I can. I'm also finding that as I get a little more energy I'm finally able to give into the nesting I've been wanting to do. I'm working to pay really close attention to my body so that I can sit or lay down and rest if I need to, but I'm also thrilled to be more active for the time being. Round 4 will be on the 11th, then on the 18th they will check my levels and see if they are high enough for me to deliver safely. It's been a time commitment the last few weeks, but we are so excited to see it working! Thank you for your prayers!!! Keep them coming!