Ode to 2016

Oh 2016, you were quite an eventful year for us.  You were full of many excitements and sad times, but we're still here to tell about it so for that we must be grateful! 

2016 started out planning my first Disney World Vacation which would double as our romantic honeymoon and a vacay with the BFFAE and her husband.  

February - On the 15th, Bill was hit by a person who ran a red light. This totaled the car that we owned for 81 days ..... I'm so thankfull Bill wasn't hurt, but he was very, very mad!  

March - I went on my 2nd ever plane ride to Washington DC for a Union conference with my Union President.  She was brave enough to take me.  My first time in DC.  It was a fun little trip!  Right before Easter - we got a positive pregnancy test.  Something we'd been hoping and praying for.  Oh my goodness, that began a wild ride. We were excited, scared, elated, worried and everything in between.  We couldn't wait to tell family and friends and were so very thankful when we made it through the first trimester. 

May - We ended another school year.  That was my 8th year and Bill's 3rd year in the books.  We looked forward to a summer together, our Disney vacay and just having some time to relax. 

June - We hit the road (the VERY LONG road) to Disney and had a great week doing all things Disney.  It was fun just to get away and spend some time with the BFFAE. 

July - Oh July, the month I'll never ever ever forget .. especially July 14.  This was the day that my pregnancy went from everything's great to everything's ending in what seemed like no time at all.  At 19 weeks and 5 days pregnant, this was the day we became parents to a beautiful 10 in, 12.2 oz baby girl, Kendyn Kathryn.  We held her, loved on her, and cried with her knowing that we'd only have a short time with her.  She lived for a little over and hour and then left this world to be with Jesus.  We went from buying and putting together a crib in our nursery one week to planning our baby girl's funeral the next week.  Horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days. 

After this, the remainder of the summer felt like a flash.  Bill and I were able to spend time together to grieve and just be us.  We have wonderful family and friends who were there to cry with us, laugh with us, and just be everything we needed.  Without them, I'm not sure how we would'd made it through. 

August - We started another school year.  I hated to think that we were just "moving on" with our lives, but I also know that we must continue to carry on.  It is what is best for us.  Bill and I went to Peoria for a night to celebrate my 31st birthday and we welcomed a niece, Miss Zella, the day after. 

September - Oh my ... September 16 - we had a positive pregnancy test.  I smiled, cried, laughed, ate cake, and just worried - and that was all before 7am.  Bill and I were about to embark on yet another journey that just scared the hell out of both of us, but we knew that if God put us to it, He would most definitely get us through it. 

October - Bill and I (along with other members of the family) participated in A Walk to Remember in honor of our precious Kendyn.  This is a local walk held to remember all the babies who's lives on earth were very short.   The 14th - 3 months after losing our baby girl, we were at the OB's office to get our first glimpse at this precious baby growing inside.  We met with the dr, discussed our plan of attack for keeping this baby inside, and left with a plan. 

November - Bill celebrated his 34th birthday and a few short days later we celebrated our 1st anniversary.  What a year for us!  We met with the high risk Dr. who was going to be putting in the cerclage (basically sewing my cervix shut to help keep the baby in.)  We had the cerclage scheduled for thanksgiving week, so I'd have plenty of time to rest before returning to work.  Well .... that didn't go quite as planned.  I began bleeding before the Dr. even touched me and it turned in to a very, very scary situation.  I could tell by the look on the Dr's face that he was scared and it made me scared too.  It turns out, they found a pretty large bloodclot in my uterus that caused the bleeding, and we were unable to get the cerclage.  We spent one night at St. Johns so they could monitor me and check in on our baby.  We found out we were having a baby GIRL and she looked great. We left with a plan to come back in a week and try again.  Well ... after that ultrasound showing the bloodclot still there, we decided to wait .. which turned into weekly appointments to check in on this precious girl as well as me being on "modified bedrest".  I could still work, but I need to be sitting and resting as much as possible.

Which brings us to December. We attended a  cold but very neat ceremony at the Angel of Hope statue in Springfield which now has our Kendyn's name on it.  We've continued to have an ultrasound every week to measure the length of my cervix and check in on our baby girl who is still tucked safely inside and doing well and the bloodclot is shrinking!!! 

December also brought time spent with both of our families that we greatly enjoyed.  There's nothing better than dedicating time to spend with family.  We will forever be thankful for the families that God blessed us with! 


So here we are the first day of 2017.  I'm still on modified bed rest and we have 2 appointments to see our girl this week. I still dread tomorrow ... that 19 weeks and 5 days mark. That's the day we had Kendyn and painful memories flood my mind. 

We're looking forward to what 2017 has in store for us!  We hope and pray we'll be welcoming a baby girl that we get to bring home this time! We are very thankful for the Dr's that are keeping a close eye on us to ensure we're doing what's best for the baby and I.  

We pray that this year brings joy and happiness to all and we thank God for another year of life!