BABY IS COMING TOMORROW!!!

QUICK PRAYER REQUEST!!!

Hey guys, the doctors decided that Kimi had enough working against her physically so they have put her in the hospital tonight with plans to induce labor starting tomorrow morning at 5am! Please please pray for us as we start our journey and make our family three! We'll post as soon as we can, probably this weekend.

WOOOOO, I'M GOING TO BE A DADDY!

Lots Of Events

OKAY, I said in my last post that I would tell you what's going on with Kimi's health. This past week, on Wednesday, Kimi went in for a routine checkup and was told again that she had high blood pressure... only this time it was 168/94, much higher than the 140/80 they want her limits to be at. They rushed her over to the hopsital again to do the NST (non-stress test) and monitor her bp for an hour while doing blood work. If her bp didn't go down and if the blood tests came back with bad news, they told Kimi they would induce labor that night. AND OF COURSE, THE ONLY TIME I HAVE NOT BEEN WITH KIMI WHILE GOING TO THE BABY DOC, SHE GETS THE NEWS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE A BABY THAT NIGHT. Man, have I got bad timing sometimes. So I ran out of my office at work, jumped in my car and floored it all the way down to Norman Regional where they had taken her. I met up with her in triage in Labor & Delivery just in time for her to tell me everything was just fine and her bp had calmed way down. Big scare but she was safe for now. She had to do the 24 hour urine test where she collects her, um, pee for 24 hours and then the lab tests it for protien levels. The grossest part though is it has to be refridgerated... sick. Anyway, she's had to do this test several times and each time her protien levels have been just fine.

What we are trying to avoid is preeclampsia. Short version is this can cause Kimi to have damage to her liver and kidneys (protien levels tell this from the blood tests) and if the symtoms onset, she could have a siezure or worse. SO, on Friday, Kimi went back to the doctor, and after 4 tries she still had an elevated bp count. The doctor told Kimi she was worried about her because of her levels so they moved our induction date up... 3 WEEKS! That means that instead of August 1st being the day we meet Makenna, it's in 2 weeks from tomorrow. On JULY 11th, AND NO LATER, we will meet our baby girl. :) :) :) You can tell what Kimi thought about this by looking at the picture on the left. Our wonderful friends, BJ and Wendy will be coming down to visit the week of July 17th so Kimi will get to meet Lilyanah for the first time and we'll get pictures of both of the babies together! Isn't that exciting? We can't wait!

On July 11th, Makenna will cross the 37 week threshold, which technically would mean she's considered full term (hopefully no time in the NICU). At this point, there is really no danger to Makenna unless Kimi has a siezure. The damage from preeclampsia would be dealt on Kimi. On Friday they put Kimi on bedrest for the next two weeks. They told her she pretty much can't do anything. She has to sit most of the day or lie on her side to keep the arteries and veins open to keep good blood flow going. There is a lot of things left to do to get ready for the baby in which I just lost three weeks I was counting on. But it will be completely worth it. I'll rush around and get everything done in time for her.

With all the craziness over the past couple of weeks, here are some of the things you all missed out on. On Saturday, June 17th, we got a phone call from our friend Denise telling us she had tickets to see the OKC Yard Dawgz. It was Christian Persecution night so they tied them up on the field and began to... oh wait, no, sorry, it was just plain Christian night, no persecution, my bad... I know, not funny. But Bob and Larry from Veggietales was there and they took the time to pose with Neecee. In case you were wondering, the Yard Dawgz won by one point. :) Made it worth going.

Then the next day, my brother and I surprised my dad for Father's Day and took him to a gun range to test out our skillz at the biggest hand guns we could afford. Haha We shot a German made Long-Barrelled Luger 22 ca. Very accurate, little kick. We went through 100 rounds in about 30 minutes shooting 5 at a time. We took a small break and went back to the counter. We didn't want to try out the Desert Eagle because the bullets were like $50/box. Instead, we chose the 357 Magnum revolver. My dad called it a thumb-buster, which Terry and I didn't realize until after we shot it. It was a blast, literally. Haha It hurt so bad. But right as we were starting, the range guy came over and said we had 10 minutes left before our time was up. We still had like 50 bullets left so we had to make a decision. We pulled out the camera and went to town on the targets, pretending they were a burgler in the house! Please, if you get time, watch the following videos. FUN STUFF. My brother scarred me a little though...

1. Terry's Video


2. Jason's Video


3. Dad's Video

And last but not least, yesterday, June 25th, my brother Terry turned that crazy 21 years old. SERIOUSLY, he's 21 now. TWENTY-ONE. I really thought that day would never come but I want to offer my congratulations and a big fat Happy Stinkin' Birthday to little T. For his birthday his friend Ricky, my mom, Terry and I went to golf at a course in Edmond. We split into two teams, Terry and Ricky on one team and my mom and I were on the other. Basically, we got whooped. They beat us by 18 strokes and finished one under par for the day. My mom and I couldn't hit the ball straight to save our lives! Very pathetic. But it was a ton of fun and worth waiting for the Hideaway Pizza afterwards. :) Here are two more videos for you guys to enjoy.

1. Mom's Golf Swing


2. Terry's Golf Swing

Like I said, there has been a lot of events happening over the past two weeks, and once again, we will get no rest while we wait anxiously for the next two to get here. Please pray for Kimi and ask God to keep her safe. We go back to the doc again Wednesday afternoon so we'll have an update later on. Thank you all again and sorry for the long posts today.

God bless!
Jason

Grandpa's Funeral

Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you know how my Grandpa's funeral went. We had the service last Friday night and about 70 people showed up. It was very reverent and respectable, which was nice. What you might not know was that I was asked to give the Eulogy speech. I have never done one of these so I was completely nervous and didn't know what to say. The whole week, I kept getting more and more stressed out about it... mainly because what do you say to comemmorate a man's life? I know you talk about the good times and I did that. It was more than just that though because my Grandpa professed not to believe in God and even though I do not know that to be completely true (he was raised in church so there's a chance), it was still very hard to tailer a speech to tell others to lean toward God while still respecting my Grandpa. But my brother summed it up well for me. He said that if Grandpa WAS saved, he'd be in Heaven right now watching the funeral hoping that I'd tell everyone about Jesus. And if he was NOT saved, he'd be in Hell right now watching the funeral hoping I'd tell everyone about Jesus. So I prayed and tried to listen to God's voice and the night before the funeral, on the way home from the store, God spoke to me. So I hurriedly grabbed my phone and recoreded those thoughts as a memo. I love technology. Anyway, I wrote it all down that night and it came out in such a way as to respect my Grandpa but still point people toward seeking God's Will for their lives. I was so relieved.

My family and I just wanted to thank everyone who was able to attend and for those of you that weren't but had us in your thoughts and prayers. It was very much appreciated and my family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I am including a few pictures from the reception before and after the funeral. It isn't very often you can get us all dressed up together so the smiles were for the camera, not Grandpa's funeral. Click on the pictures to view their photo pages at Flickr.com.

I HAVE TO INCLUDE THIS ONE BECAUSE OF HOW FUNNY IT TRULY IS. DO YOU SEE MY MOM'S IMPRESSION OF THE "DEER-IN-THE-HEADLIGHTS" LOOK? SOOOOO FUNNY. ;)






One of the reason's why I wasn't able to post for a few days has to do with Kimi. We're having some medical issues with Kimi right now which I will explain in my next post. Until then, please pray for us three. Thank you all again and I'll write again soon.

God bless.
Jason

My Grandpa

I write today with sad news. My Grandpa Gandy passed away this morning at 3:52am. He has been sick for about 4 years with Alzheimer's Disease, which progressively got worse. I'm not complete on the details because my mom called me at 4:15am to let me know. But he wasn't doing well at 9pm last night when she called to wish me a happy soon-to-be Fathers Day. She said he probably didn't have long and she was expecting all of this to happen next week sometime. She got a phone call at midnight saying to come to the nursing home because he wasn't doing well. She got there, saw he was stabilized and sleeping so since she lived only less than 2 miles away, she went on home and was going to come back at 6am. She got the phone call at 4am that he had passed away. All of this, even though we knew he was sick, was very sudden.

I'm guilty of not visiting my grandpa very much over the last few years. I know I should have but it was so hard to see him in that condition. I first noticed it a few years ago when me and some others (I can't remember exactly who) went to my Grandma Gandy's house to go fishing. My grandpa was there and he went with us across the street into a giant open field where there was a few small ponds and the one we called the "Big Pond". My grandpa used to take us to the Big Pond when I was little to go fishing. We always had a blast. He'd bait my hook and I'd throw the bobber out into the pond under the tree and wait until the ravenous perch (at least they seemed that way) would take it under and I'd catch me a big one. When he went with us this last time, it was different. He wasn't the same. He kept on telling us the same 5 stories over and over again, each time not remembering that he had already told us that story. I know the older you get the more you forget, or so it seems. But this was just more than forgetting. It was the early stages of Alzheimer's.

I have a lot of memories of my grandpa playing basketball with me and my brother Terry. We'd have some close games of H-O-R-S-E. And for a man in his 60's, he'd pretty much beat Terry and I most of the time. Haha. When I went to see him last, I asked him if he knew who I was. He looked at me for a minute, then said Yeah, we used to play basketball together. I thought that was one of the most incredible and saddest things in my whole life. He could barely recognize my mom and yet he remembered that he and I used to play basketball together. This disease is so terrible. It is so hard to describe it without getting broken up about it. Thats one of the biggest reasons why I found it so hard to go up there and visit. I know I should have gone as often as I could but in my heart, I wanted to remember the good times we had and how he used to be. He used to call me Jethro. Haha He got that off of the Beverly Hillbillies character, Jethro Bodine, who would knock you over (and sometimes a wall or a door) trying to get to dinner when he heard Granny cry out, "Come and Get it, Vittles'r Ready!". I wasn't that bad when I was younger but I sure did eat like Jethro. Haha

I'm not sure what day the funeral will be held on or where it is going to be at yet. My mom and her sisters and brother are in the process of figuring all of that out. I just wanted to share a few memories I had of Grandpa with you guys. I do not know if he had ever accepted Jesus Christ as his savior but I truly hope that he did. I know that is the most important thing of all but I'm afraid I might not know the answer until I see him in Heaven. I just wish he could have been both physically and mentally here long enough to meet Makenna. Anyway, when we find out the details of the funeral, if any of you would like to go, just post a comment and I'll get back to you. Thanks for listening guys. We'd appreciate your prayers through this tough time.

God bless you all.
Jason

Baby Shower

On Saturday afternoon, our family and friends presented us with a wonderful baby shower for Makenna! Even from a guys perspective, totally feeling out of place normally at an event like this, it wasn't that bad. We got most of the things we needed and really had a lot of fun in the process. Kimi lit up everytime she saw that the registry was almost completely full of items purchased. You know, the gifts are great but the real joy is seeing all of that stuff and it making us really want to see Makenna that much more. Kimi and I want to sincerely thank everyone who came. You all really made us feel loved. We appreciate the great support. It was especially nice to have a get together with friends and family that we haven't had much opportunity so see in a while. Thanks again. Enjoy some of the pics from the party!

"Cool guys hanging at a baby shower..."


"Kimi and Christine."


"Cameron and Hadley having fun."


"We were laughing at what my cousin Hadley was doing. :)"


"I was getting some good advice from this book."

Many thanks to our good friend Guy Bierwirth for taking so many photos at the shower. Great job Guy! You can view more of our photo collection by clicking here.

Today marks the day of another week down, and only 7 (SEVEN!!!) more to go until the baby birthday countdown ends. Makenna's pushing and kicking and generally causing my wife great discomfort each night but the bright side is she's alive, healthy, and letting us know she's still there and ready to come out soon. ;) Oh, more good news, Kimi is feeling a LOT better. She still has a small cough and the sniffles, but all in all, she's a thousand times better than she was. Thank you all again for your prayers. She turned in her notice that Friday will be her last day at the daycare. She is having a much harder time leaning down and taking care of the kids and is always sore so since her replacement was just waiting for the word, Kimi thought it was time. We want her to get all the rest she can before the big event. SO, that paycheck was fun while it lasted. Haha

I've got to share with you guys one more thing and I'll let you go for today. Last Friday at work, we had another little mishap. You remember when we went on vacation and I posted that there was a flood at work right after I left? Someone forgot that the water main wasn't fixed yet and they turned on the valve again and guess what happened? Yeah, it was a flood of biblical proportions around here! The lobby, teller line, MY OFFICE, generally the whole branch, hallways, exit routes, yeah, they all got flooded. Here's the pics from that fun day before it got way chaotic!


"See the river of nasty red Oklahoma mud flowing past? Yeah, it was everywhere!"


"This is our lobby. It was just beginning to cover the entire floor."


"This is behind the teller line. Lots of fun getting out of there."

Sorry about how big these were but you've got to see the details! :) My life sometimes is a little crazy. But its part of the joy, I suppose. Thanks for sharing in it. :) God bless.

Jason

ps. If you look at the right side of the screen, you will notice two new items I recently posted over there. The first one is our Flickr.com website where we keep our photos. Go by there and check them out. You can even make comments if you like the pictures. Lots of fun ones there.

The second thing is the music player. I've listed a lot of songs on there for your listening pleasure. Just click on it to start it up. You can also shuffle some songs around on there by clicking on the little "s" button on the far right of the player. The volume control is over there too. I hope you all enjoy!

Misc Thoughts

Hello again everyone! I wanted to start out by telling you guys I have a prayer request. Kimi still has that cough but now it has moved DEEP in her chest, so bad she had to take off work yesterday. She has been coughing so much that her throat is very sore and on top of being uncomfortable with pregnancy, she isn't getting much sleep because of the coughing too. So if you get a chance, say a prayer for her that God would bring the sickness out and make her feel better.

Last Saturday, Kimi and I went to a class about what to expect during the birth process. They showed several "birth videos" of which you saw all the live action as it was happening. Let me tell you, sick sick sick. Oh and painful! I was squirming in my chair just watching those women as they writhed in pain from the contractions. Kimi grabbed me during the videos and made me promise to make sure they gave her an epidural when we walked in the door to the hospital! Haha. But seriously, we did learn a lot about what to expect and even though it is going to be a very tough process, we seriously cannot wait until Makenna is finally here. We both have some fears about what is going to happen but we know that God is in control and everything will be just how it is supposed to be. Besides, we're down to single digits now, less than 8 weeks until Makenna's original due date and she can be safely born as early as 36 weeks so she could be here even sooner. Please keep our situation in your prayers as we continue toward that big day. :)

I wanted to take a moment to send a shout-out and big props and majah thanks to my Dad and Mom for spending their Sunday helping me put together a storage building so we can make room for Makenna. In all, we've spent over 15 hours putting together this building, including 9 hours on Sunday in the heat. Mom and Dad, I really appreciated you both for coming together and helping us out. If you are like me, you dreamed of putting together two sets of sheet-metal, finding the hole, and putting in a screw... your thousandth screw. Lots of work but it looks great!

I also wanted to share with you a picture from my good friend, Guy "How much is a..." Bierwirth (pronounced BEERWORTH) and his son Ethan. Guy and his wife, Leah, have a handsome son who is growing like a weed! Guy and I went to Rose State College, aka "Hotel California University" (you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave...). I hope you got that. Haha Anyway, when I started at TFCU almost 5 years ago, Guy was here already but I couldn't remember how to spell his last name so I didn't put his name down as my referral. Unfortunately, they were running a promotion then that if you referred someone and they stated at TFCU for a year, you would get $250. Ooops. He still won't let me live that one down. But we sure had some fun times at the BSU (Baptist Student Union) playing Ping-pong all day and kicking tail at pool. One of the best memories though is when there was a bomb threat and they shut down the school for hours. Minnie and Jeremy Davidson challenged Guy and me to a grueling game of Spades. Minnie and Jeremy were the house champs, having played so long they could beat your in their sleep. Let's just say, it took Guy and I BOTH going double Nil to win that game! Best game of Spades in my life. We had a magic touch that day. Haha, man good memories.

My last thought of the day has to do with another prayer request. Our good friends Denise and Kevon are going to a church camp at OBU called Super Summer. Denise went this week and Kevon goes next week. If you've never had a chance to go to Super Summer, it is one of the most amazing experiences and is deeply fullfilling spiritually. Nothing but incredible memories from my days there. I've been both a student and a leader there. God moves. That plain and simple explanation. God moves. Please pray for them that God would use them to affect change for the Him. We'll be praying for you guys.

Sorry for the long post, just had a lot of thoughts to get out. Hope you all have a great weekend. Baby shower is tomorrow! Hope to see you all there!

God Bless,
Jason

Memorial Day

I know Memorial Day was this past Monday and its now Friday... a little late to write but it's been a busy week. Kimi's come down with a good size cough and hasn't been sleeping much this week. She's pretty tired because of it, which in turn makes me tired! Haha I can't wait to get home tonight so I can catch up on some sleep! We think she caught it from the kids at the daycare b/c they have all been hacking and having runny noses. Yuck. Oh the joys of kids... just kidding. Anyway, here's how the week went.

On Monday, Kimi and I went to visit my Grandpa Fox's grave at Arlington Cemetery in MWC. I haven't been back there since I was a pallbearer at his funeral in 2002. From what I remember and saw, my grandpa was a very good man who loved his family and prayed for us constantly. Unfortunately I only saw him on special occassions like the holidays because of how far away they lived. But it was one of the highlights of my year getting to see him and grandma open their house to the family each thanksgiving/christmas. Kimi and I were just starting to date that year and she couldn't make it to that christmas party to meet him. Sadly, he passed away 2 weeks later. It's a sad thing because she would have loved him as much as the rest of us did, and still do. I'm not going to give another eulogy but it was good to see my grandpa's resting place again. I still think about him all the time and I can't help but wish he could have been here to see Makenna being born... his first Great Grandchild. Man, that's an emotional thought... BUT my Grandma Fox is still here and she can't wait for Makenna to come along either. ;)

And speaking of my Grandma Fox's house, I just wanted to share with you guys this picture from a couple of years ago. My Dad's wife, Brenda, is a HUGE Texas Longhorns fan. I'm sure you can imagine her utter crazy joy when the 'Horns won the national championship game this past year. (I'm just glad they beat USC and shut em up!) Anyway, she has this Longhorns tag on her suv which she is so proud of. Well, my cousins and I (whom are all major OU fans) decided to have a little fun with her by turning the tag upside down and doing the famous "down with the Longhorns" pose. Click on the picture to enjoy a larger version! :) We love ya Brenda!

Okay, while I'm at it, I might as well show you guys a little piece of my past. I ran across this picture and just had to show it off! As many of you know, Kimi and I have known each other for a very long time. I was her first boyfriend back in 8th grade (awww), grew up in youth group together, helped each other out with our "boyfriend and girlfriend" issues when we had them, and basically have been very close for as long as I can remember. This picture is from one of the many summers we spent at Falls Creek and is one of our favorites from those days. We sure thought we were cool, huh? Man was I skinny... Haha! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Back to this week. On Wednesday this past week, Kimi and I went to the baby doc again. The baby's heartbeat is at 148bpm which is great and right where it should be at. However, I had a chance to snap a picture while we were there. Tell me if you can see what we saw?

Okay, okay, so this picture isn't really of Kimi. BUT, ACCORDING TO KIMI, THAT'S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!!! Alright, enough with the goofy pictures. I think you guys have had enough.

There is a small update about the baby shower though. If you bring a package of diapers to the shower, we will put your name into a hat for a drawing for a prize. I'm not sure what the prize is going to be but I hear it's good and would be worth your time! :) If you know anyone who is coming to the shower, spread the word to them for us, will ya? Thanks guys!

Alright, I hope you enjoyed todays post. We'll keep you guys updated on what's going on as it happens! Love you all!

Jason