Tidbits

A few random updates...

• The leg pain I was having as a result of hamstring muscle spasms finally--after nearly 3 weeks--is all but gone. Thank you, Jesus!
• My mother-in-law will arrive Saturday, January 28, to stay with us indefinitely. I am so thankful we will have her here to help with life in general as well as when Verity makes her appearance.
• Not knowing what the future holds, Ted and I have been going on date nights like crazy...or as crazy as a married couple with 8 children can be. We've seen Hidden Figures (excellent!), watched the on-stage musical The Pirates of Penzance (very fun!), and attended an open house for Ted's DO. During one of these dates we discovered that Olive Garden isn't nearly as good as it used to seem before actually living in southern Italy.
• I did ask on the Trisomy parents page if "practice breathing" in utero was any indication of what Verity's respiratory abilities might be after birth. The answers varied from "it doesn't really indicate anything" (meaning those parents' experiences were that their children had problems despite ultrasounds showing the diaphragm moving) to "it's a good sign" (meaning those parents' children did great). So...yeah.
• Our wonderful church family is planning a couples' event to celebrate Verity's life in the form of a baby shower/potluck/fellowship. It was very touching to learn folks wanted to do something like this for us, and our small group leader's wife has been asking me about it over the last week or so. Once again I turned to the Trisomy parent page to ask for advice and input, which I passed on to Connie, and this is helping us plan for a February 4 event. My initial response was to wait until after Verity was born so we could see what she and we might actually need (although preemie clothes and diapers come to mind), but a couple of moms encouraged me to think about doing it sooner rather than later because I may very well not have the time or mental/emotional energy after Verity is born. Good point. I am grateful for the love and support we have from our friends and family in Christ...and that includes loved ones near and far.