OK, I need to dedicate this post to my wife. If you know the back story behind our having these quintuplets (which you can find in our first posts) you know that we had a pretty difficult time coming to the decision to go through with it. The thing that finally helped us make the decision was a meeting with our Stake President (local church leader) where both of us felt very strongly that this was the right thing to do. From that day, Rachelle went from being worried and sad to being excited and very upbeat. She is at 29 weeks! For many women in similar circumstances, they are in absolute agony right now but Rachelle is as calm and as happy as ever. In fact, she was actually working to cheer me up yesterday! I think she is actually more calm with this pregnancy than with the previous two normal pregnancies. There have been a lot fewer random crying episodes and stuff like that which is amazing. I have found that when she decides something, she really goes after it with all she has. The doctor has been amazed with how well she is progressing and I believe that her progress is in part due to her wonderful attitude as well as all of the MANY prayers being offered in our behalf.
Something else she has that I really miss is a great ability to organize. That has hit home more than ever with my recent move into our new house. Although it is mostly because I don't have a ton of time due to work and other things, I have been in the house two weeks and have only managed to put up the garage door opener (which I did in only two nights!), assembly one of the cribs, and clear away enough boxes for me to move around. If she were here, the house would be totally devoid of clutter and everything would be in it's place. I end up spending a lot of my time trying to find small things (like screws for the crib) that have gone missing after the move.
Rachelle is very intelligent and methodical. That was actually one of the most significant things that attracted me to her in the first place. She has always been very bright. When we first met, I found that it was very refreshing to date a girl that could be interested in technical things but was still very girly. I wish that other girls would follow her example and let themselves just be intelligent. Some of the girls I have seen and known purposefully try not to be intelligent because (I assume) they think it makes them unattractive. It is true that there are some guys that like to date girls that are bimbos but I was not one of those guys. In fact, I have often felt that Rachelle and I are fairly evenly matched, except for that fact that she has a masters degree and got way better grades than I did.
The methodical part of Rachelle is something I have tried to learn from. By nature, I am less methodical and more creative. We found this out during our first week of marriage. We were trying to put together a futon and she insisted on actually reading the directions while I wanted to just look at the pictures and start going. In the end, I think I put something on wrong and have had to learn to read directions more as well as have a little more patience before just diving in.
All in all, I am so lucky to be married to such a wonderful woman. This whole pregnancy has further helped me realize just how great she is.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Lots to be thankful for
I really have a lot to be thankful for right now. Rachelle is almost at 28 Weeks and the babies are each over 2 pounds. That alone is really exciting. I also have a bunch of other things to be thankful for. I will list them here:
1. One of our friends from church, Liz Horton flew out to help Rachelle for the week when her aunt Jeanie was at the family reunion. It was really nice of her to take time off to go and help Rachelle out, get food for her, go be a personal shopper for her, and help her organize stuff from Rachelle's baby shower in Arizona.
2. One of Rachelle's old employers, Peter Peterka from SixSigma.us offered to buy us the quint stroller that Rachelle wrote a blog entry about! That makes us pretty excited.
3. Last week, another member of our congregation, Dr. Darrell Park at Buttercukp Dental (see www.buttercupdental.com), offered to give our quintuplets dental care until they leave home for church missions or school. That is awesome and it gives us some good incentive to never move.
4. My aunt Gloria Wilkinson went to order some micro preemie clothes from a company based in Utah. Micro preemie clothes are smaller than normal preemie clothes and are for babies in the NICU. The company was created by an LDS grandmother of a preemie named Elliot. When Elliot was born, the Grandmother wanted to do something for Elliot and decied to make him some clothes to wear while in the NICU. After she made them, she saw that it helped her daughter and son-in-law feel a little more a part of her grandson's life at a time when it was most difficult for them. Anyway, when Gloria placed the order for some sets of a t-shirt gown and cap in each of their colors, she got a call and found out that she was the 500th customer so the order was free! First, I was really grateful that Gloria was even thinking of ordering the clothes. But second, I was really grateful to Elliot's Preemies for giving us the order for free. The name of the website is: http://www.preemietees.com/
5. I am grateful for all of the woman that gave us stuff at Rachelle's baby shower in Arizona. Many of them came from her aunt Jeanie's congregation and didn't really even know Rachelle very well. They did tend to give a lot more girl clothes than boy clothes which leads me to my next thing...
6. I am also grateful to a colleague at work, Jackie Keating, and her friend Sherri who actually gave us a big bag of left over boy preemie clothes which will help balance out the girl clothes.
7. I am also grateful for the Wilcox family (another member of our congregation) who, just this Sunday, offered to help us by taking care of our yard on a regular basis while we deal with the baby situation.
8. I am also grateful For my parents who took care of Riley and Kaiya for the last two weeks and for my sister Alicia and her husband Mike who are going to be taking care of them for the next two weeks.
9. I am also very grateful for all of the many other people that are constantly offering support and encouragement!
I am amazed at what I have seen so far with people and I am really grateful for it. It is difficult to constantly feel in debt to so many people but I suppose that I will need to get used to it. I hope that all of these people are blessed for the service they are offering us. My heart goes out to those who do not have a church or friends like ours because I can't imagine what it would be like without all of the support we recieve.
Thank you again,
Jayson
1. One of our friends from church, Liz Horton flew out to help Rachelle for the week when her aunt Jeanie was at the family reunion. It was really nice of her to take time off to go and help Rachelle out, get food for her, go be a personal shopper for her, and help her organize stuff from Rachelle's baby shower in Arizona.
2. One of Rachelle's old employers, Peter Peterka from SixSigma.us offered to buy us the quint stroller that Rachelle wrote a blog entry about! That makes us pretty excited.
3. Last week, another member of our congregation, Dr. Darrell Park at Buttercukp Dental (see www.buttercupdental.com), offered to give our quintuplets dental care until they leave home for church missions or school. That is awesome and it gives us some good incentive to never move.
4. My aunt Gloria Wilkinson went to order some micro preemie clothes from a company based in Utah. Micro preemie clothes are smaller than normal preemie clothes and are for babies in the NICU. The company was created by an LDS grandmother of a preemie named Elliot. When Elliot was born, the Grandmother wanted to do something for Elliot and decied to make him some clothes to wear while in the NICU. After she made them, she saw that it helped her daughter and son-in-law feel a little more a part of her grandson's life at a time when it was most difficult for them. Anyway, when Gloria placed the order for some sets of a t-shirt gown and cap in each of their colors, she got a call and found out that she was the 500th customer so the order was free! First, I was really grateful that Gloria was even thinking of ordering the clothes. But second, I was really grateful to Elliot's Preemies for giving us the order for free. The name of the website is: http://www.preemietees.com/
5. I am grateful for all of the woman that gave us stuff at Rachelle's baby shower in Arizona. Many of them came from her aunt Jeanie's congregation and didn't really even know Rachelle very well. They did tend to give a lot more girl clothes than boy clothes which leads me to my next thing...
6. I am also grateful to a colleague at work, Jackie Keating, and her friend Sherri who actually gave us a big bag of left over boy preemie clothes which will help balance out the girl clothes.
7. I am also grateful for the Wilcox family (another member of our congregation) who, just this Sunday, offered to help us by taking care of our yard on a regular basis while we deal with the baby situation.
8. I am also grateful For my parents who took care of Riley and Kaiya for the last two weeks and for my sister Alicia and her husband Mike who are going to be taking care of them for the next two weeks.
9. I am also very grateful for all of the many other people that are constantly offering support and encouragement!
I am amazed at what I have seen so far with people and I am really grateful for it. It is difficult to constantly feel in debt to so many people but I suppose that I will need to get used to it. I hope that all of these people are blessed for the service they are offering us. My heart goes out to those who do not have a church or friends like ours because I can't imagine what it would be like without all of the support we recieve.
Thank you again,
Jayson
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Moving and Stuff
Well, we are officially moved into our new house now, thanks to a bunch of people from church. We did have some funny things happen when we moved in though. First, I backed into my van with the rental truck while trying to avoid the neighbors van. I dented the door a bit but I don't think it is too bad. That made me kind of sad when I did that but it could have been a lot worse. The move went pretty fast but now I am in a sea of boxes.
Something really nice that happened before we moved (and before Riley and Kaiya left) was that Cassaundra Redman, the person that has been cutting Rachelle's hair lately, came over and cut Riley's, Kaiya's, and my hair which was really needed. Since we got married, Rachelle has cut my hair. She didn't actually know how to cut hair when she started but it only took her about three haircuts to learn. However, because she was gone, I just had a hard time stomaching the cost of having someone else cut my hair. The last time Cassaundra cut Rachelle's hair, she offered to cut mine and the kid's hair for free while Rachelle was gone. That was really nice and I can definitely recommend her as a talented hair stylist and a wonderful person.
Something else that was really nice was that our friend and realtor Barbara Oldham (a really good realtor too) gave us her not-so-old entertainment center. It was a really nice one to and fit much better with things than our older one. Moving in to a new house is not nearly as fun when it is just yourself. I am trying to guess where Rachelle would want stuff because I want her to be excited and relaxed when she comes back.
She now only has about 7 weeks left which is really not very long. In reality it could be less than that. There was recently a sextuplet birth at the same hospital Rachelle will be going to and it was hard for me to look at those babies. They are just so small. It was when I was looking at them that it all hit me again. Lately, I don't think about it much because I so many other things to deal with. However, seeing those babies kind of freaked me out and made me realize that it will be me in a fairly short amount of time.
Well, we are officially moved into our new house now, thanks to a bunch of people from church. We did have some funny things happen when we moved in though. First, I backed into my van with the rental truck while trying to avoid the neighbors van. I dented the door a bit but I don't think it is too bad. That made me kind of sad when I did that but it could have been a lot worse. The move went pretty fast but now I am in a sea of boxes.
Something really nice that happened before we moved (and before Riley and Kaiya left) was that Cassaundra Redman, the person that has been cutting Rachelle's hair lately, came over and cut Riley's, Kaiya's, and my hair which was really needed. Since we got married, Rachelle has cut my hair. She didn't actually know how to cut hair when she started but it only took her about three haircuts to learn. However, because she was gone, I just had a hard time stomaching the cost of having someone else cut my hair. The last time Cassaundra cut Rachelle's hair, she offered to cut mine and the kid's hair for free while Rachelle was gone. That was really nice and I can definitely recommend her as a talented hair stylist and a wonderful person.
Something else that was really nice was that our friend and realtor Barbara Oldham (a really good realtor too) gave us her not-so-old entertainment center. It was a really nice one to and fit much better with things than our older one. Moving in to a new house is not nearly as fun when it is just yourself. I am trying to guess where Rachelle would want stuff because I want her to be excited and relaxed when she comes back.
She now only has about 7 weeks left which is really not very long. In reality it could be less than that. There was recently a sextuplet birth at the same hospital Rachelle will be going to and it was hard for me to look at those babies. They are just so small. It was when I was looking at them that it all hit me again. Lately, I don't think about it much because I so many other things to deal with. However, seeing those babies kind of freaked me out and made me realize that it will be me in a fairly short amount of time.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Closing on a house and sending the kids off to Grandma and Grandpa's house
The last week or so have seen a lot of interesting things. I visited Rachelle for Memorial Day weekend with Riley and it was a lot of fun. She is doing well and things seem to be progressing as good as we could hope.
Closing on our new house
Right after I got back, I had to get everything ready to close on our house. That turned out alright I suppose. At the final closing, my realtor, Barbara Oldham (a really good realtor if you need one) asked me if I was nervous. I honestly replied that I had a lot more to be nervous about that a simple house closing.
Doing the whole power of attorney thing was really tedious. It meant that every time I had to sign Rachelle's name I would have to sign, "by Jayson V Wilkinson attorney in fact". It took forever but I eventually made it through and got the keys to our new house which turned out nice.
Getting the kids to Grandma and Grandpa Wilkinson
Two days after closing on the house, I drove the kids to Amarillo which is approximately half-way between Denver (where my parents live) and Austin. I found that it is much more difficult to drive without a copilot who can both navigate and meet the needs of the kids. They were mostly good but had a few issues along the way and I only missed two turns which I felt was pretty good considering everything.
It is nice to not have the kids around because I can get a lot more done but at the same time, I already miss them. I really have great kids. Kaiya was starting to be a bit of a stinker (I think it was mostly from not having a lot of stability over the last few months) but I am sure she will be better when things settle down.
Article in Meridian
Last week we also got an article published in an online LDS magazine called Meridian. It was recounting the whole story but a lot of people saw it and sent some really nice emails to us. Here is the link to it:
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/journey/070601quint.html
Moving
I am now getting ready to move on Saturday June 9. I was going to try to visit Rachelle this weekend but realized that since she left on April 10th, I have only had two Saturdays that I was here in Austin. We decided that I would stay here and move and visit her again on the fourth of July weekend. I am hoping to recruit a bunch of friends from church and any from work that are interested to come and help me move.
It seems pretty amazing that in just about 8 weeks or less, these kids will be here. We still don't have any agreement on names but we haven't discussed it as much as we need to (which is my fault). There just seems to be so much going on that I haven't really had a chance to sit down and ponder names. A lot of people have a lot of opinions on this which makes it challenging. In the end, I am sure that we will probably ignore most of the opinions and just go with what feels right.
Closing on our new house
Right after I got back, I had to get everything ready to close on our house. That turned out alright I suppose. At the final closing, my realtor, Barbara Oldham (a really good realtor if you need one) asked me if I was nervous. I honestly replied that I had a lot more to be nervous about that a simple house closing.
Doing the whole power of attorney thing was really tedious. It meant that every time I had to sign Rachelle's name I would have to sign, "by Jayson V Wilkinson attorney in fact". It took forever but I eventually made it through and got the keys to our new house which turned out nice.
Getting the kids to Grandma and Grandpa Wilkinson
Two days after closing on the house, I drove the kids to Amarillo which is approximately half-way between Denver (where my parents live) and Austin. I found that it is much more difficult to drive without a copilot who can both navigate and meet the needs of the kids. They were mostly good but had a few issues along the way and I only missed two turns which I felt was pretty good considering everything.
It is nice to not have the kids around because I can get a lot more done but at the same time, I already miss them. I really have great kids. Kaiya was starting to be a bit of a stinker (I think it was mostly from not having a lot of stability over the last few months) but I am sure she will be better when things settle down.
Article in Meridian
Last week we also got an article published in an online LDS magazine called Meridian. It was recounting the whole story but a lot of people saw it and sent some really nice emails to us. Here is the link to it:
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/journey/070601quint.html
Moving
I am now getting ready to move on Saturday June 9. I was going to try to visit Rachelle this weekend but realized that since she left on April 10th, I have only had two Saturdays that I was here in Austin. We decided that I would stay here and move and visit her again on the fourth of July weekend. I am hoping to recruit a bunch of friends from church and any from work that are interested to come and help me move.
It seems pretty amazing that in just about 8 weeks or less, these kids will be here. We still don't have any agreement on names but we haven't discussed it as much as we need to (which is my fault). There just seems to be so much going on that I haven't really had a chance to sit down and ponder names. A lot of people have a lot of opinions on this which makes it challenging. In the end, I am sure that we will probably ignore most of the opinions and just go with what feels right.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
My birthday and some unrelated thoughts on mothers and the value of sacrifice
Short Update on Rachelle
To start off, Rachelle is doing well and the babies seem to also be doing well. At 24 weeks, they are technically viable and actually could have some potential for surviving if they were born soon. However, that said, we know that things can change fast and we are still really hoping to get her at least 32 weeks if we can make it.
Bonding with Riley
Riley and I have been bonding over Spiderman, Harry Potter, and baseball. It has actually been very fun and I will miss all the one-on-one time I have been able to spend with him. I recommend that every dad get a good month or two of roughing it with their son.
My Birthday
Last week was my birthday and, at first, it was a pretty bad one. At work, we had a big company meeting where I was ultimately responsible for making the A/V stuff work. It was a bit nerve racking but fortunately, I have some really great people that helped make it a success. Still, it wasn't exactly the most fun thing to do on your birthday. When I got home, the youth in my church congregation all came over and cleaned my house and fixed up my yard. When they originally asked about doing it, I had assumed that it would only be maybe 10 of them. Instead, all 50 or so of them came. I was a bit nervous when I saw how many there were but I think the overall result was positive. When they were done, they all gathered around and sang happy birthday to me which was very nice of them.
I know I almost always write this, but I am still amazed that this has really brought out the best in people. The people from my church are really amazing and I feel like I could ask just about anything and they would help us out. I kind of feel sorry for people struggling with similar issues that don't have what we have with our church.
The sacrifices we all must make to be happy
Another thing I wanted to write about was an article I read about Jane Clayson Johnson, a former co-host on "The Early Show". The article is about a book she wrote called "I am a Mother" that detailed her television career as well as her choice to eventually give that up to be a Mother. The article, which I recommend, is here:
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/books/070420Mother.html
There was one part in particular that really struck me in this article. It was a quote from someone named Jeffrey R. Holland, a leader in our church, that said:
In those crucial moments of pivotal personal history [we must] submit ourselves to God even when all our hopes and fears may tempt us otherwise. We must be willing to place all that we have — not just our possessions…but also our ambition and pride and stubbornness and vanity — on the altar of God, kneel there in silent submission, and willingly walk away.
-Jeffrey R. Holland
I tend to believe that all of us, at one time or another, will have to do just that. There are times when we have to throw logic aside and put our faith in a higher power. I believe that our future happiness depends on it. The peace Rachelle and I felt when we decided to go against conventional logic and do whatever we could to have these babies, was wonderful. However, I also know that making those choices and placing everything "on the alter of God" does not mean our lives will be easier. Putting your trust in God often means volunteering to go through the "refiners fire". The only real guarantee you get is that when you come out of it, you will be something more than what you ever thought you could be. This is the hope that I will continue to try to remind myself of when I am sitting there in the NICU praying for my babies, listening to them scream at three in the morning, and eventually helping them work out bathroom arrangements as teenagers.
To start off, Rachelle is doing well and the babies seem to also be doing well. At 24 weeks, they are technically viable and actually could have some potential for surviving if they were born soon. However, that said, we know that things can change fast and we are still really hoping to get her at least 32 weeks if we can make it.
Bonding with Riley
Riley and I have been bonding over Spiderman, Harry Potter, and baseball. It has actually been very fun and I will miss all the one-on-one time I have been able to spend with him. I recommend that every dad get a good month or two of roughing it with their son.
My Birthday
Last week was my birthday and, at first, it was a pretty bad one. At work, we had a big company meeting where I was ultimately responsible for making the A/V stuff work. It was a bit nerve racking but fortunately, I have some really great people that helped make it a success. Still, it wasn't exactly the most fun thing to do on your birthday. When I got home, the youth in my church congregation all came over and cleaned my house and fixed up my yard. When they originally asked about doing it, I had assumed that it would only be maybe 10 of them. Instead, all 50 or so of them came. I was a bit nervous when I saw how many there were but I think the overall result was positive. When they were done, they all gathered around and sang happy birthday to me which was very nice of them.
I know I almost always write this, but I am still amazed that this has really brought out the best in people. The people from my church are really amazing and I feel like I could ask just about anything and they would help us out. I kind of feel sorry for people struggling with similar issues that don't have what we have with our church.
The sacrifices we all must make to be happy
Another thing I wanted to write about was an article I read about Jane Clayson Johnson, a former co-host on "The Early Show". The article is about a book she wrote called "I am a Mother" that detailed her television career as well as her choice to eventually give that up to be a Mother. The article, which I recommend, is here:
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/books/070420Mother.html
There was one part in particular that really struck me in this article. It was a quote from someone named Jeffrey R. Holland, a leader in our church, that said:
In those crucial moments of pivotal personal history [we must] submit ourselves to God even when all our hopes and fears may tempt us otherwise. We must be willing to place all that we have — not just our possessions…but also our ambition and pride and stubbornness and vanity — on the altar of God, kneel there in silent submission, and willingly walk away.
-Jeffrey R. Holland
I tend to believe that all of us, at one time or another, will have to do just that. There are times when we have to throw logic aside and put our faith in a higher power. I believe that our future happiness depends on it. The peace Rachelle and I felt when we decided to go against conventional logic and do whatever we could to have these babies, was wonderful. However, I also know that making those choices and placing everything "on the alter of God" does not mean our lives will be easier. Putting your trust in God often means volunteering to go through the "refiners fire". The only real guarantee you get is that when you come out of it, you will be something more than what you ever thought you could be. This is the hope that I will continue to try to remind myself of when I am sitting there in the NICU praying for my babies, listening to them scream at three in the morning, and eventually helping them work out bathroom arrangements as teenagers.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
My trip to Europe and Rachelle's trip out of the hospital
This last week has been fairly eventful which was why I didn't write a blog entry. I was in Europe all of last week while Rachelle was, thankfully, coming home from the hospital. Normally, when people think of Europe, they think of old culture, great art, and a lot of interesting things to eat. Last week we my first time to Europe and the only thing I really experienced was the nice (but fairly expensive) things to eat. In the 5 days I was in Europe, I visited Norway, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Although I am sure that each of those places has some interesting stuff to see, I didn't really get to see any of it because I just didn't have time.
We were shooting video of some of my company's customers that turned out pretty interesting. The problem was that we were either in the hotel room, the customer's building, or the airport. It was funny because I kind of felt like I could have been in any American city except that there were a lot more people smoking. In the meantime, Rachelle was in the hospital really hoping that she would be able to get out of the hospital. I felt really bad when I called her from the St. Paul airport and she indicated that she wasn't sure they were going to let her leave. In the end, however, they did let her leave and she seems to be doing fine now. She is trying to actually follow the doctors orders this time and actually not do things that are not strictly necessary. It is really hard for her because she likes to be busy and really doesn't like others to do stuff for her.
Despite our hurried trip, we did have a few interesting things happen. First, when we were in Belgium on the way to the customer's building, we were stopped by a large group of policemen. The person driving the car was our local sales guy and he seemed to think this wasn't strange. They put something down his gas tank to check what kind of fuel he was using. Apparently, there are two kinds of fuel: one to heat your house and one to run your car. Although these two fuel types are the same, one is colored red and the other is clear. Using the red fuel is bad because it is much less expensive so they want to make sure you are using the white fuel. The police also had him take a breathalyzer test. This was at 8:30 in the morning. Apparently, in Belgium you can frequently find people that are drunk by 8:30 in the morning.
Rachelle and her aunt Jeanie were featured in an article in the Gilbert Community section of the Arizona Republic newspaper last week. With Rachelle pregnant with quintuplets and Jeanie having MS, it makes for a pretty interesting story that I hadn't really considered before. You can view it by going to our home page on wilkinsonquints.org.
At home, I am still dealing with paying the bills, and getting the stuff ready for moving in to our new house. We are still receiving dinners from people and other things that are very nice. The 16 year old young men and young women are planning (weather permitting) to come to our house tomorrow to take care of our yard and vacuum the house which I really appreciate. Riley is doing well with me also. We have been reading Harry Potter and he thinks it is great. I think it is great too because it gives me a good chance to practice a variety of British accents. Also, it is just nice to simply spend some time with my son bonding over broomsticks and magic wands (because I think we are not going to have as much time for that in the future).
We were shooting video of some of my company's customers that turned out pretty interesting. The problem was that we were either in the hotel room, the customer's building, or the airport. It was funny because I kind of felt like I could have been in any American city except that there were a lot more people smoking. In the meantime, Rachelle was in the hospital really hoping that she would be able to get out of the hospital. I felt really bad when I called her from the St. Paul airport and she indicated that she wasn't sure they were going to let her leave. In the end, however, they did let her leave and she seems to be doing fine now. She is trying to actually follow the doctors orders this time and actually not do things that are not strictly necessary. It is really hard for her because she likes to be busy and really doesn't like others to do stuff for her.
Despite our hurried trip, we did have a few interesting things happen. First, when we were in Belgium on the way to the customer's building, we were stopped by a large group of policemen. The person driving the car was our local sales guy and he seemed to think this wasn't strange. They put something down his gas tank to check what kind of fuel he was using. Apparently, there are two kinds of fuel: one to heat your house and one to run your car. Although these two fuel types are the same, one is colored red and the other is clear. Using the red fuel is bad because it is much less expensive so they want to make sure you are using the white fuel. The police also had him take a breathalyzer test. This was at 8:30 in the morning. Apparently, in Belgium you can frequently find people that are drunk by 8:30 in the morning.
Rachelle and her aunt Jeanie were featured in an article in the Gilbert Community section of the Arizona Republic newspaper last week. With Rachelle pregnant with quintuplets and Jeanie having MS, it makes for a pretty interesting story that I hadn't really considered before. You can view it by going to our home page on wilkinsonquints.org.
At home, I am still dealing with paying the bills, and getting the stuff ready for moving in to our new house. We are still receiving dinners from people and other things that are very nice. The 16 year old young men and young women are planning (weather permitting) to come to our house tomorrow to take care of our yard and vacuum the house which I really appreciate. Riley is doing well with me also. We have been reading Harry Potter and he thinks it is great. I think it is great too because it gives me a good chance to practice a variety of British accents. Also, it is just nice to simply spend some time with my son bonding over broomsticks and magic wands (because I think we are not going to have as much time for that in the future).
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
My visit to Rachelle, her subsequent hospitalization, and other fun stuff
Last weekend, I got to go to Phoenix to visit Rachelle. It was fun to see her again. She seemed to be doing fairly well and the people there are taking really good care of her. Her aunt Jeanie is so incredibly nice to have Rachelle and Kaiya over.
It was hard to be there only a short time but I had to get back. I guess my visit was a little too exciting for her because the day I left, Rachelle went for her normal doctors appointment and they found that she was 50% dilated which wasn't good. They rushed her to the nearby hospital and decided to do a cerclage which is where they sew up your cervix. She started having a bunch of contractions too which was also not good. We think it was the anxiety of the situation or maybe the sadness of seeing her super cool husband (that's me if you were wondering) return to Austin. They put her on a magnesium medication which helps to stop contractions but also makes her feel yucky. I was pretty worried for her on Tuesday morning because I knew that she had the surgery on Monday night and I didn't hear anything from her until about 2:00 PM. Fortunately, things seemed to go pretty well but she still felt rotten. She has since gone off the magnesium and they are trying to figure out if she can go back to her aunt's house. We are praying that she will...but if not, we will do what is best for the babies.
Another "fun" thing happened right before I went to the airport to go to Phoenix. I got in my van and found that the battery died. I had about 30 minutes to get to the airport so I found someone to give me a jump and made it there. When I came back from Phoenix, the battery was dead again so I called my friend Randy and he came and gave me another jump at the airport. I had actually been driving the van because my normal car (a super cool two door 1993 Honda Civic hatchback) refused to turn it's break lights off so that I had to unplug the fuse every time I parked the car. Another fun thing that happened right before I left is that the house we are renting had a pipe from the water heater that started leaking and got water into the walls. Our very nice landlord has been tearing out sections of the wall in the master bedroom to get it all fixed. It seems to be fixed now but I feel sad that he had to go through so much trouble. Anyway, the moral of the story is that if a bunch of bad things all happen at the same time, it makes for a much more entertaining story later.
On the flip side, I have seen some really nice things from people lately. Rachelle received a bunch of bookmarks from the Cub Scouts at our church to use while she is on bed rest. Today, the 16 to 18 year old boys from church came and did my lawn (in the rain) and did a much better job than I have ever done. Several people from church also brought over dinners and I think I may have enough frozen dinners to last me well into August. One person, Jayd McFerson, brought over Thai food from a really good local Thai restaurant (Tamnak Thai off Buttercup Creek and 183) which was awesome.
I have to say that it is very uncomfortable to be the one that receives the service. I feel so grateful to all of the people that have helped us out. Several people have helped watch Riley as one of our original volunteers had to be hospitalized last week with meningitis (I believe she is doing much better by the way). We are continuing to feel the effects of the many prayers that are being offered on our behalf. Thank you again.
Jayson
It was hard to be there only a short time but I had to get back. I guess my visit was a little too exciting for her because the day I left, Rachelle went for her normal doctors appointment and they found that she was 50% dilated which wasn't good. They rushed her to the nearby hospital and decided to do a cerclage which is where they sew up your cervix. She started having a bunch of contractions too which was also not good. We think it was the anxiety of the situation or maybe the sadness of seeing her super cool husband (that's me if you were wondering) return to Austin. They put her on a magnesium medication which helps to stop contractions but also makes her feel yucky. I was pretty worried for her on Tuesday morning because I knew that she had the surgery on Monday night and I didn't hear anything from her until about 2:00 PM. Fortunately, things seemed to go pretty well but she still felt rotten. She has since gone off the magnesium and they are trying to figure out if she can go back to her aunt's house. We are praying that she will...but if not, we will do what is best for the babies.
Another "fun" thing happened right before I went to the airport to go to Phoenix. I got in my van and found that the battery died. I had about 30 minutes to get to the airport so I found someone to give me a jump and made it there. When I came back from Phoenix, the battery was dead again so I called my friend Randy and he came and gave me another jump at the airport. I had actually been driving the van because my normal car (a super cool two door 1993 Honda Civic hatchback) refused to turn it's break lights off so that I had to unplug the fuse every time I parked the car. Another fun thing that happened right before I left is that the house we are renting had a pipe from the water heater that started leaking and got water into the walls. Our very nice landlord has been tearing out sections of the wall in the master bedroom to get it all fixed. It seems to be fixed now but I feel sad that he had to go through so much trouble. Anyway, the moral of the story is that if a bunch of bad things all happen at the same time, it makes for a much more entertaining story later.
On the flip side, I have seen some really nice things from people lately. Rachelle received a bunch of bookmarks from the Cub Scouts at our church to use while she is on bed rest. Today, the 16 to 18 year old boys from church came and did my lawn (in the rain) and did a much better job than I have ever done. Several people from church also brought over dinners and I think I may have enough frozen dinners to last me well into August. One person, Jayd McFerson, brought over Thai food from a really good local Thai restaurant (Tamnak Thai off Buttercup Creek and 183) which was awesome.
I have to say that it is very uncomfortable to be the one that receives the service. I feel so grateful to all of the people that have helped us out. Several people have helped watch Riley as one of our original volunteers had to be hospitalized last week with meningitis (I believe she is doing much better by the way). We are continuing to feel the effects of the many prayers that are being offered on our behalf. Thank you again.
Jayson
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