Piccadilly "Pink" Circus and a Few Pics...

The last two weeks have been interesting and great practice for us to learn how to be better at accepting to “expect the unexpected!”

I’ll start with the move. We moved into my parents house about two weeks ago.  The first week was really rough on Gray, but he is doing much better now and I think becoming more adjusted to his new home.  Merging of our two families has been quite interesting.  We officially “ONLY” have 2 dogs, 2 horse, a cat and one child under this roof right now…..I had to stop and marvel at these numbers this past week as I stood in the kitchen looking at a glass pyrex container of green beans that fell out of the refrigerator and shattered on the tile floor when I opened the door, all while Gray was trying to “feed” the dogs, a.k.a throw handfuls of dog food across the floor, as this is all happening I look down because I feel something wet and notice the bottom of my skirt is floating in the dogs water bowl.  Y’all I had to stop and think for a moment…this little bit of chaos is with one child….what in the world is it going to look with 3 more?!?!?!?! I can’t help but laugh (ok maybe there is some crying when I think of it) but at that very moment in the kitchen laughter broke out between my mom and I!   For all of these little incidents and MANY more ahead….we have decided to call this new adventure, or our official home name “Piccadilly Circus!”  (Thanks Angie our British Blood for the help with the name) For those of you who are not familiar with what Piccadilly Circus is, it is a busy public square , where main roads intersect in the the heart of London.  When Tigh and I visited London, we fell in love with this spot, and the name of it…. That was about 3 years ago.  Little did we know, it would be a great name for our busy daily rhythm of life! So a plaque must be made soon to be placed outside the door, warning all who enter the Holmstrom House….”Welcome to Piccadilly Circus!”

So now for the “pink” part.  Two weeks ago we went in for our normal two week ultrasound and asked the technician if she could take a guess at the gender of the babes.  To make a long story short…after holding our breath and looking at each baby she concluded that ALL of them were BOYS!! She pointed and showed us that special little part that could mean nothing else beside boy! We were a little shocked, me especially because this pregnancy has been SOOO different than with Gray.  However after finding out they were all boys, I just thought this sickness was due to the fact that we are magnifying it times 3! Tigh and I were happy with this verdict, although we had hoped to maybe get 1 girl out of this deal just to experience raising both genders and the different bonds that are formed with each.  But with all that being said we were excited at the thought of our own little scout troop on the way.

This past Tuesday I went to go see a new Dr. a Maternal Fetal Specialist who I will continue to see every 2 weeks.   During the ultrasound, I asked the tech if he would take a guess at the genders, he said “absolutely not, if I see the gender and am positive of what it is, then I will tell you!” …. So the ultrasound begins and again to make a long story short after examining all 3 babies, he points out to me that all 3 are............. GIRLS!!!!!!  My heart kinda skips a beat yet again…(there has been a lot of that through this so far, again learning to accept how to expect the unexpected). After asking him about 5 times, “ARE YOU SURE” and him responding with “yes, and let’s let the dr confirm,” I sat there in complete skepticism.  The Dr. came in and after doing an extensive ultrasound, pointed out to me the three parts that looked totally different than what we saw last week, and confirmed we have 3 GIRLS in the oven!!!! 

I’m still not convinced.  After being told all boys, and coming to terms with what that may look or feel like for our family (a picture of me being VERY tired chasing 4 boys) to the opposite extreme of 3 girls (still a picture of me being very tired, but maybe they will play with baby dolls for moments at a time??) I am going to give it another 2 weeks until the next ultrasound to really allow myself to believe it, even though it has now been confirmed by 2 people! (that persister in me, just wants to really make sure)

Either way boy or girl, at the end of the day our heart is that these babies will be healthy.  The appointment with the specialist was a tough one as we had to discuss all the risks and complications that can happen to both the babies and myself… I left the appointment in complete surrender to our Maker.   Our hope and faith is in him alone and we know that he has a story written for each one of these babies, whether that means they come home with us, or go home with him.  Trying to prepare my heart for all avenues has been tough, but I continue to re-site the verse in my head that I clung to while Gray was in the NICU and we were unsure of the outcome of his health.  Col. 1:17 “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” He has this story written for each of these little lives, and we will trust that it is just the way he wants it.

Below are a few my favorite ultrasound pics from the past couple of visits…. Please continue to pray with us for the health, development, and growth of these sweet little babies, we appreciate it more than words can say!

THIS IS MY FAVORITE!!! (now they are too big to all fit in one picture) :) 

Baby A- Boxing! 

Sweet Baby B's Face and Belly

Two little loves, living in close quarters... sharing a room!