IF I COULD GET $1 PER BEAT I'D BE RICH

Ok... so Jake and I had a rather interesting 'date' together yesterday. We decided to go spend the entire afternoon and night at the ER... 11 hours to be exact!
On Sunday night I started developing some breathing trouble, which by Monday had gotten worse, so we decided that we would go see our GP and have me checked out... well, by the time they got our appointment time right, got me registered and had me sign all the paper work that needed to be signed, I was already hyperventilating, because I couldn't get a good enough breath... so, doc sent us off to the ER.

Now the ER has a system... you register at the front desk, and then you go an sit in the PURPLE chairs... when they call your name, you go to triage where they brand you (name tag on your wrist), check to see if you are still alive, color code you for order of importance and send you to the ORANGE chairs...well, everyone likes the orange chairs, cos we all seemed to stay there for a VERY LONG time... 4.5 hours later, a little green dude came around with a portable machine to check vitals... this is where all the fun stuff began. He hooked me up to his machine, and looks at the machine, then looks at me, and says. "Can you please stand up"... so I stood up, got a little woozy, but stayed on my feet, and then the little green dude disappeared, only to arrive back with a wheel chair... turns out it was for me... LOL...my resting heart rate despite having been doing nothing for hours, was 170... so I was wheeled away in this over sized wheel chair, and hooked up to my first IV and sucked dry of another gazillion tubes of my blood. Then they did an EKG (to check my heart rythyms)... I was covered in little stickers, all hooked up to cables, that were hooked up to machines...

Eventually, they wheeled me into an ER room, and hooked me up to more things... a heart monitor, a BP machine and some finger clip thingy got to do with my pulse... I looked like a science project all covered in stickers connected to wires. I was just all wired up...all I was missing was the flashing lights and I could be a Chrismas tree. LOL
And then we waited... for the first IV bag to finish...



FINDING SOME HUMOR IN OUR VERY LONG DAY...



When the IV fluid was finally finished, they weren't yet happy with my heart rate cos they said it was still too high, despite having already dropped quite drastically from the initial 170, so they sent me for further tests... the first was an ultrasound of the veins in both my legs, so they could check for any blood clots. Then I had an Echo (ultrasound of your heart), and they hooked me up to a second IV, for more hydration.

Finally when the second IV was empty, my heart rate was down to a little over 100, which they said was still too high, but better...so they sent me off to the labor and delivery area so that baby could be checked up on... at first, I got nervous, cos they couldn't hear our 'Bean' on the doppler, but they brought in the ultrasound machine and there was Bean, looking less than impressed to be woken up at 12:30am. The little thing was squirming around, like he/she was trying to hide, and had both arms up, covering his/her face... even the doctor was having a giggle at this little monkey. Jake and I were laughing, and just picturing little 'Bean', shouting out, "Hey, leave me alone. Freak, can't a kid get some sleep in here...?" LOL

Finally, at 1:00am, I was discharged on the diagnosis of bad dehydration that made my heart beat too fast, so I couldn't breath properly... so although my heart rate was a little high still, they sent me home. WHAT A RELIEF....

By this time, Jake and I were STARVING... we hadn't eaten all day, so we made a much needed stop at a 24hr McDonald's drive through for some gourmet budget burgers...it wouldn't be a date if there wasn't any dinner. LOL. :D

Well, today we are tired, it was a long couple days, but sleep will come soon. Unfortunately, I got a call from our doctor this morning, to say that the cardiologist report, from the Echo that was done came back and I need to go back to the cardiologist next week, because they detected a small pericardial effusion, which pretty much means there is some fluid in my pericardial cavity that shouldn't be there. So the cardiologist update will come next week... but we do have the assurance that it is very likely nothing serious as a pericardial effusion can be caused by something as simple as a virus... so it's not likely anything threatening or more serious.

Jake has decided that after our day in the ER, he thinks he might need to stop watching all the 'House' episodes for a while. LOL

Our life just never fails to be interesting... one thing is for sure... we are definitely not BORING.. LOL... :D

BABY GEDDES

On Monday I went for another check-up at the OB-GYN... Jake and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler for the first time. It was pretty cool... very fast... and very reassurring for us. I had lost some more weight since my last appointment, because 'Bean' is still making me pretty sick a lot of the time, so doc suggested maybe drinking some nutritional drinks too give me some extra nutrients and calories. We aren't too worried though, cos I haven't lost a lot of weight, and there is still time to make up for it in coming weeks, so hopefully baby will start co-operating.

Today was an exciting day. Jake and I went for my Nuchal Translucency scan... it was FANTASTIC. I was so excited, well except for all the waiting with a full and very uncomfortable bladder, part. On the screen, we could see 'Bean' bouncing up and down like a little monkey, and waving a hand at us. The silly little thing was also sticking his/her tongue out at us quite a bit.. Jake said, "It is definitely YOUR child"... LOL... I do have a history of 'ODD' genetics in my family that have resulted in some rather interesting people, so I wouldn't be surprised if we just add to that with a little odd ball of our own. LOL...it would make my mother so proud. :D

The doctor who did the scan said that everything looked great, and it certainly seemed that way while watching our little jumping bean on the screen. The Nuchal fluid measurement was low, which is good, and there is a visible nasal bone, which is a good sign when you are checking for Downs Syndrome. They also did a finger prick blood test, which will finalise the scan results and give me a risk ratio for our chances of 'Bean' having Downs... we will get those results in 7-10 days, though neither of us are worried. Everything looked great, and we are pretty sure that it will continue on that way.

Picture #1 Baby Geddes at 12 weeks 6 days
Picture #2 Silly baby sticking out a tongue at us

Picture #1 Scary Halloween baby looking at us
Picture #2 Baby sticking out another tongue and waving a little hand above his/her nose

AND LIFE GOES ON...

Just a quick entry to let everyone know what has been going on lately.
Firstly, I totally forgot to add this a while back, but shortly before going to Nauvoo, I was called to team teach the CTR primary class. They are 5 & 6 years old. The first few weeks, we practised for the primary sacrament presentation, which was 3 Sundays ago... I thought it was great, and that the kids did a fantastic job. I taught my first lesson last Sunday... I thought it went pretty ok... Well I hope at least. My first lesson was on the resurrection, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior so that we are able to be resurrected. My class is great, and Connie, who I team teach with is fantastic...
I seem to laugh at one or a few of the children in my class every week... they are so funny, and sometimes just sooo completely random. Today, little Braeden, came up to me, while he was helping me pack out chairs before the lesson and said, "Sister Geddes...Guess What?", so I said, "What?", so he said, "I know something", so of course I asked him what he knows... and his response was, "I know that you are having a baby"... LOL... I just had to laugh at that one. Now, I am not sure if someone told him this, or if he noticed my slowly expanding belly and somehow in his 5 year old brain put 2 and 2 together... but, smart boy... LOL... it was very sweet. Good thing when he told me that little bit of information, that I knew about it too... otherwise I could have been in for a big surprise. LOL :)

On other news... Jake and I bought a new couch... a creamy-beige coloured couch, and a really awesome floor lamp to stand next to it. The plan is to get some nice bright cushions to throw on the couch, and to hang something bright up on the wall above it, but we haven't got that far yet. We also finally got cable... or U-Verse... and they gave us a really good deal on getting the DVR, so we can record all the shows we want to watch.. which although is a handy little thing, has resulted in Jake and I becoming evening tv 'bums' while we watch all the pre-recorded episodes of House and Charmed... We have become junkies for those 2 shows.

I am really excited, because tomorrow is my next prenatal appointment... It will be the first time that we are able to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler... we have seen it beating, but not heard it beating. On Wednesday, we are going for the next scan.. the nuchal translucency scan... I am really excited to see how much bean has developed since my first scan, where as Jarryd put it, it looked like a shrimp. I am 12 weeks 3 days today.. so I am officially into the second trimester, and I can't wait for it to feel that way. Unfortunately 'Bean' hasn't cut me much slack yet, and I am still sick just about everyday.... Grrrr... but I am optimistic that in the coming few weeks, that will be over. Or at least we hope.

Winter is well on it's way. Autumn has come, and in my opinion seems to be already leaving. We had some really beautiful colours on the trees for a while, and sometimes you still see a pretty tree, but for the most part, it seems to me that the leaves have mostly fallen off, which has made a lovely, colourful mess on the ground everywhere, so despite my objections, the inevitable winter is coming. I am sooo grateful for my black wool coat... I just LOVE IT!

Friday was Halloween... and I have still never dressed up or been trick-or-treating. LOL.. this Halloween, we stayed in and watched more tv, because Jake unfortunately had the flu, and well if he didn't have the flu, then I would have been stuck in front of the tv anyway, while he worked at the temple, which he still does every Friday night. I can't believe the year is passing so quickly. It's already November, and Thanksgiving will be here soon... not that we have any plans for that. LOL... and then it's Christmas (SOOO excited for that, cos we are heading to Utah) and then, it's another year and Oh Boy, does next year have a lot to bring...

OUR LITTLE BEAN

So, 13 days after I arrived in the USA, I started not feeling too good... Hmmm... turns out, I caught a large stomach bug... a 9 month stomach bug... You wondering how on earth this happened so quickly... lol... don't worry, we are wondering that too.

It would seem that I just got off the plane, drank some Michigan water, breathed in the foreign air and caught the 9 month bug.
Well, it came as quite a surprise... so much of a surprise, that I couldn't bring myself to actually believe it until I had done 2 tests and both were positive and got my OB-GYN to do a blood test for extra confirmation. LOL... 'ye of so little faith'... :)

My bean hasn't been very nice to me yet... I am hoping that soon we will start to get along better, because up until now, I have just been pretty darn sick and feeling totally under the weather.

Our bean is due to join the family on 14 May 2009.


We have had the first ultrasound, and it was awesome... 'Bean' is 1.93cm long and has a super large head (space for a big brain like it's dad) and little arm and leg stubs.
We also got to see the little beating heart, which was just really comforting.
Everything was just perfect, and we hope that things continue to go that way so that we can have a healthy little addition to our family, next May.

HISTORIC NAUVOO

This past weekend, Jake and I drove out to Nauvoo...I have never been there, so we had planned it to be out first trip together after I arrived in the USA. Little did we know that I would be sick all weekend... grrr... so I spent a large part of the weekend with my head in a paper bag or over the toilet. BUT, the experience of being in Nauvoo was still fantastic.

I Love this picture with Joseph and Hyrum on their horses facing the temple... how sad that they never really got to see that beautiful picture... this statue depicts the day that they drove off to Carthage from where they never returned to get to see the completed Nauvoo Temple.

On Friday night, after the 9 hour drive... though I think it might have taken us longer, cos I could barely last an hour without ANOTHER toilet stop... we went down to the temple and took some pics... it was really beautiful when the sun set and the temple was all lit up. The sunset that night was also amazing... pictures can never really give it the full credit... it was a bright, beautiful red sunset.

THE BEAUTIFUL MISSISSIPPI AT SUNSET

I was kinda excited to see the Mississippi River... Even in South Africa, you hear about the great Mississipi, and it was kind cool just to say I had been there... I guess it wasn't that big a deal when I actually saw it... I mean, it's just another large mass of water (I did grow up 10 minutes from the ocean) but I can now officially say that, "I have been to the Mississipi"... and that's really all I wanted. lol. Saturday morning, we went to the Nauvoo temple.. that was pretty awesome. It really is a beautiful building, inside and out. After our visit to the temple, we decided to take a wagon tour of Nauvoo...which was pretty fun... and seeing as I wasn't feeling so peachy, the thought of just chilling in the back of a wagon while someone else does all the talking and pointing and I just have to listen, was great... and besides, who doesn't want a free horse drawn wagon ride??? Lol...

READY FOR OUR WAGON TOUR

The biggest disappointment of the weekend, was the buffet... now, don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the buffet, and Jake made full use of the 'all you can eat' buffet rule... the problem was, I LOVE BUFFET's... I am in all round happy mode when I am at a buffet.... for me it's a huge treat... the problem came with the fact that I wasn't feeling well and doing such a great job of eating... so dinner at the buffet (that we had made reservations for like 2 months ago) was like torture... lots of yummy food, that I couldn't eat too much of... After our buffet dinner, we decided to attend the 'Rendevous in Old Nauvoo', at the cultural hall... that was pretty funny... it's pretty much a little play about Nauvoo, put on by all the senior missionaries serving in the Nauvoo area... needless to say, we had much opportunity at the show to laugh at the old folk... we were pretty well entertained. LOL :)

THE SMITH FAMILY CEMETERY
- GRAVES OF JOSEPH, HYRUM AND EMMA SMITH -

Sunday it was time to head back to Michigan... on our way home, we made a stop in Carthage... that was a great experience. During the weekend, we had the opportunity to go to the place where Joseph Smith was killed and also to the place where he is buried... both were special places. Carthage was wonderful. There were only 4 people on our tour, so it was great... the sister missionary there, let us watch a short video about Joseph Smith and then took us on the tour of Carthage Jail... it was quite the experience to hear all the stories she had to tell about things that happened in Carthage and the impact that the prophet had on the family that lived in the jail house. Nauvoo has some very special history.

CARTHAGE JAIL




THE SECOND FLOOR WINDOW THROUGH WHICH JOSEPH FELL AT HIS DEATH



This is an interesting picture... I took this photo from the hallway, outside of the room where Joseph and Hyrum were killed. The photo of the window through which Joseph fell after being shot by the mobs, is taken through the bullet hole in the door made by the bullet that killed Hyrum.

LIFE IN MICHIGAN

So, I have finally arrived in Michigan, and Jake and I are officially starting our lives together. The past two and a half weeks have been great fun. We have had a lot of fun, transforming our apartment from "Bachelor Pad" to "Family Home"... we have been out shopping for the apartment, organising everything, setting up our home and getting used to actually living in the same country. lol... go figure... married people live together... ;)

Even the simplest things have been great for us over the past few weeks.... grocery shopping, dinner, lazy Saturday mornings.... when you are married and can't do those things together, you realise how important they are.

At the moment, aside from working every week, Jake is serving as a temple worker on Friday nights. He is loving that opportunity. I am still awaiting the 'call to serve' in our ward. We are both attending the gym together multiple times a week ( I am trying to keep off the dreaded pounds the USA presented me with the last time I was here) though at least for now, Jake has to be my motivation to work out, cos I have never been one for exercise, but so far it has gone well.

It has been an exciting time for us. Things are coming together nicely, and we are both thoroughly enjoying the new adventure of marriage...