A Sad Day

 If you have read the last post you already know that my mother-in-law was diagnosed with late stage cancer in December. When she first called and told me that she was going into the hospital I debated on how to tell my husband since he rarely was able to call and never could check email. I wrestled with what to do for a few hours until it was determined that she was being admitted indefinitely. I made the decision to contact the Battalion Executive Officer. and see for where in the world they were. I knew they had started their turnover processes but I had no idea where they were or how soon they'd be ending their deployment and starting the long journey home. My second question for him was for the Red Cross number to have an emergency message sent.

My mother-in-law with our oldest, July 4th 2011.

 As I dialed the Red Cross I was questioning if it was the right decision or not. I knew they were SO close to being done but was I over reacting? 'Cause we all know that pregnant women NEVER overreact and have the emotional coolness of a Drill Instructor, right? The women who answered my call was very nice and told me that it depends on where he was but that he should get the message to call me in no more than 24 hours. I anxiously awaited the phone call all day, and finally at 2am my phone rang. It was my husband and my Red Cross phone call couldn't have been more perfectly timed. He was out of country and he and his Marines were heading to their next destination. I filled him in on what little information we had been given that day. He asked me if he needed to be on the next flight home and I told him I thought so but it was up to him and that I was going to be at the hospital first thing in the morning.

 I got to the hospital at 11am and my mother-in-law had settled into her room and was waiting for all the tests to begin. My phone rang with the usual funny number that shows up when my husband calls from a foreign country. The first thing he said was, "I don't have much time. My flight is leaving, I'll see you tomorrow morning, can you pick me up?" OF COURSE!!!!

My husband with his mom at our wedding in 2007.

I had less than 24 hours to get the house, myself and baby ready to welcome him home. It was a crazy, whirlwind time to say the least. We picked him up from the airport at 7am, came home so he could shower after 9 months in Afghanistan and let baby get a nap and have my dad come watch her so we could go up to the hospital. That extra 2 weeks home was priceless. Had he not come home just that little bit early, he wouldn't have gotten to spend that little bit of time with his mom.

She lost her battle about a month ago. We are so thankful for the time we had with her, and we know she is in Heaven. She was an amazing mother and teacher and she will be greatly missed.

Homecoming

 What a crazy few weeks it has been for us! I have been having some signs of pre-term labor and been on doctors orders to take it easy. For those of you with a toddler and a deployed husband you know how hard it is to "take it easy". About 2 weeks ago my mother-in-law called me with news that she was being admitted into the hospital. Her doctor had found nodules on both lungs and said she needed to be seen immediately. I contacted the Red Cross to get a message to my husband so I could let him know what was going on.

......Well, what a crazy few weeks it has been! I started to write this (the above part) on December 7th, 2011. It had been a long day at the hospital with my Mother-in-Law. My husband was finally tracked down by the Red Cross and was able to call me at 2am. I filled him in on what little we knew at the time. His Command put him on the first flight out they could and he arrived home on December 9th, just 11 days early from his original Homecoming date. Those 11 days in hindsight are priceless! My mother-in-law was in the hospital until just before Christmas and we were going to host Christmas at our house since I was ready to pop and didn't want to drive anywhere 9+ months pregnant. She had several procedures done and it was determined that she has late stage cancer of an unknown origin. They know it started either in her Pancreas or GI Tract but can't pinpoint it. She did her first round of chemotherapy.....

Back to Christmas:

 My husband and I stayed up until about 1:30am Christmas Eve finishing putting together our daughters play kitchen since Santa's Elves didn't send it assembled. I woke up at 6am on Christmas morning...in labor! I poked my husbands shoulder and told him "Hun, I'm having contractions and they're 2 1/2 minutes apart." In typical fashion he told me to give it a little to make sure and call the doctor. I went down stairs and called my OB/GYN to let her know we'd be on our way to the hospital and then called my best friend (who's more like my sister) to watch our daughter, and then called my brother-in-law to let the family know we would NOT be hosting Christmas this year. We were able to get ready to go and open presents with her before we left for the hospital. Our beautiful baby girl was born on Christmas Day at 2:50pm!

  Just a week later my mother-in-law was readmitted to the hospital. She has remained in the ICU since she was readmitted and last Friday it was decided that only her symptoms will be treated and we will just do pain control. Please keep her in your prayers for peace. We are so thankful that my husband was able to get those last few good days with her while she was out of the hospital and that she was able to hold her newest granddaughter before she went into the ICU. I hope you have all had an amazing end to your 2011 and a very happy and healthy 2012 so far! I'll post about what's going on with Baby Battle Rattle products and changes to the store very soon!