Urgent Pregnancy Update: Prayers Needed!

Dear Friends,

Today (at 18 weeks 5 days pregnant with twins) I went for what has become a routine ultrasound (every other week) at the Perinatal Center.  Since finding out that our twin babies are DiMono-aka Identical, I have been seeing my regular OB as well as going to the Perinatal Center for ultrasounds and consultation with High Risk doctors.  By identifying that our twins are DiMono our risks became greater for both preterm labor and Twin to Twin Transfusion. To put DiMono or Diamniotic Monochorionic into laymen terms, our babies are each separated by a very thin membrane (apparently dangerously thin) and each are in their own amniotic sac (Di) yet share a placenta (Mono).  The best way to explain the risk of Twin to Twin Transfusion is to say, each baby has their own house, yet they share a kitchen, because of this the babies are being watched very carefully to make sure one is not “raiding the fridge” more than the other. If this happens one baby will grow larger at the expense of the other baby not receiving enough blood/nutrients.  There is supposedly nothing I can do to prevent this from happening.  We were told if signs were to appear that Twin to Twin Transfusion was happening the only option for their survival would be laparoscopic surgery.  The surgery would sever the blood connection between the two babies so that one cannot "steal" blood/nutrients from the other.

At our 16 week appointment the doctor actually used the word “perfect!” Both boys (yes we found out that day they are boys) were growing equally and right on track.  This morning, Thursday- November 29, we learned that things have drastically changed! Baby B is measuring 1 week bigger than Baby A.  At this point I have been put on the RX Procardia -a calcium channel blocker that has been proven to restore the proper fluid balance between two babies.  I have also been put on bed rest for at least the next week.  We were told to have low goals right now, week to week, day by day.  In one week I will go in for another check of my cervix and ultrasound of the babies sizes and fluids.  The goal:  for things to remain consistent with what they are now.  IF the babies are progressing with one baby growing larger than the other I will be sent for a referral with a fetal health center (in a children’s hospital) and we may at that time move quickly toward surgery.  The good news is that we caught this early, making me eligible for the surgery.  As the babies get bigger surgery is no longer an option. There has been success from the surgery but it is a major surgery & considered a LAST RESORT effort to save the lives of babies.

For now we are trying to stay calm & trust that God is in control though our faith is weak. Please pray for the very basic goal we have been given: that the babies remain as they are for the next week. I have been told there is nothing I could have done differently to prevent this but that now I must rest. So rest I will. Please pray for our boys. We believe in the power of prayer but need you more than ever to partner with us in our moment of weakness.

Explaining all of this in writing is so much easier than individual phone calls. We'll keep you updated through this blog.  Please don't be hurt if you do not receive a phone call. We are overwhelmed & this is the best way we know to handle things at this time.

Love,
Katrina & Jonny



Ps. On a much lighter note if you still haven't seen our pregnancy announcement from 1st trimester here it is...

Happy Birthday Jackson!

This is one of my nephews with whom I am well pleased…

Yesterday he reached the milestone age of 5 years old! 

I will never forget 5 years ago (11/7/07) sitting in a hospital room with my sister-in-law while she labored.  Pre-epidural she said to me with great intensity in her eyes, “NEVER DO THIS!”  

Post epidural she of course barely remembered saying it.  We laugh about it now and I know she is grateful I didn’t listen because this little boy, now 5 years old, will have new baby cousins in a few months!

Happy Birthday to my nephew Jackson-avid reader, dinosaur enthusiast, and talented drummer!  We think you are AMAZING and we are so incredibly proud of the little boy you are growing up to be!

Delete A Friend?

Well folks the election is over but the divisiveness is not.  Not that I thought it would be, but a girl can hope!  So what does one do when going on Facebook or some other social media site and finding our friends and acquaintances stating opinions that we clearly disagree with?  Most of the time I just ignore it but today I have seen posts that hit right at the core of my beliefs.  One of my greatest passions in ministry is work with the poor.  Here is what I posted…

“My heart is breaking over so many insensitive comments being made about “the poor” so much so that I cannot stay silent anymore. If you want smaller government and people not living off welfare that’s AWESOME but make sure to ask yourself, What am I doing to educate people who were born into poverty and are ignorant to any other way of life? Whole generations of people are stuck in a cycle of poverty & don’t know how to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” If you don’t believe me and just think they are “lazy” spend some time in a poor urban neighborhood or small Appalachian mountain holler. Humanize “the poor” and listen to their story even if it is filled with drugs and crime-the only way they’ve ever truly known. Ask yourself, is my church stepping up so that the Government doesn’t need to? Am I loving the poor as Christ has called me to? Am I part of the solution? Ironically the people who should be the most frustrated with people living on welfare- the social workers, the non profit workers, etc…aren’t the ones complaining in my Newsfeed because they know they are doing the best they can to help poor people have a better life! Are you? They realize the systemic issues of poverty are far greater than mere laziness.”

Shortly after posting this I was overwhelmed by the number of people who seemed to agree, from both sides of the isle, democrat and republican.  I’m so pleased that my getting fed up actually touched people. What scares me though is that I am already seeing people springboard off of this and make their own status updates to say things criticizing others that have previously criticized the poor.  Disagreements are now taking place on the pages of others about whether or not to engage in free handouts and how often and who deserves them.  Really?  Aren’t we missing the point?  EDUCATION!  I am so blessed to have found a Church to work at that not only houses an amazing feeding ministry for homeless individuals/families (handouts) but takes a much more holistic approach with social workers on staff, occupational therapists volunteering their time, job counselors, etc… (AKA Education!)   It is easy to hand out blankets and donate clothing, it is SO much harder to build relationships with someone who may be smelly, addicted to drugs, a former (or even current) criminal, or just plain ungrateful.  Yet this is our mandate from Jesus Christ as Christians. 

The solution many are opting for on FB- delete, hide, or block people you don’t agree with.  Trust me I’ve thought about it. But is that going to help any of us grow?  Yes, if their speech is abusive or damaging to you, do it, of course.  On the other hand if you are just sick of hearing people with a different opinion than yours maybe you need to.  Take a good long look at your friend list. Is everyone the same race or socioeconomic class as you?  Are they all from the same region of the state, country, or even world?  Is everyone of the same religion?    I realize many people go on Facebook merely as entertainment and don’t want to be “challenged” but there is a great big world out there and social media is such an amazing way to truly listen and learn from one another. So for now, I won’t be deleting anyone-unless they call me names ;) I don’t like name-calling.

Now for some humor on the subject thanks to Rage Against the Minivan...

I'm Back!

Now this is the story all about how,

My life got flipped, turned upside down,

And I'd like to take a minute, 

Just sit right there,

I'll tell you how I became…a resident of St. Louis Missouri, not Bel Air!

Anyway, you may remember me asking for prayers for discernment.  At that time I was coming to the realization that four years of graduate school was becoming a very, very, long academic haul.  Plus I was still dealing with the grief of losing my father and desperately wanted to live closer to family again. My husband and I also just wanted to move on and start a family. So we started exploring options.  My dual degree program (a 2yr MA in youth ministry and 3yr MDiv) was set up in a way that at first appeared to make it nearly impossible to graduate in three years with even one degree.  Long story short, after a conversation with our campus Registrar, I nearly kissed the man when together we realized I only needed 11 credits to graduate at the end of the school year! I actually did hug him and told him I loved him, as well as his secretary, that is after screaming, “I love math!” something I never thought I’d say but seriously did after seeing the math that would allow me to graduate so soon. 11 credits!

I dropped out of the Dual Degree program, a program that was my home on campus and one of the main reasons for choosing Princeton Seminary. While it was a tough decision, one filled with a lot of prayer with friends on campus, talks with mentors, and tears with those we would leave behind, it was definitely the right one.  I really didn’t need the MA to get a good job my resume was already packed with youth ministry experience.  I had already been blessed by enrollment in amazing Youth Ministry and Christian Education classes and one more year wasn’t going to make a huge difference. 

Now what!?  We both knew we wanted to be closer to family. We knew we wanted my husband to be able to transfer within his amazing company.  We knew that we wanted to live in a large urban setting, so that I could pursue urban ministry.  Again, summarizing, we landed in St. Louis! 

The start was a little rough, we had horrible movers who ruined some of our belongings and furniture. Then just three weeks after moving in, my car was stolen from behind our apartment (but that is a whole other post worth writing/reading later)!  But gradually God started working all things for good.  It was a huge leap of faith moving without having prospects for jobs for me, but I needed some time off so we were ok with finances being tight for a little bit.  Then it happened!  We got pregnant-fast!  And then…we found out it is twins!!!  Pure joy was quickly followed by sheer panic as I realized how badly I wanted and needed a job, BEFORE, the babies would come.  Again speeding the story up, a miracle worker came into my life in the form of a Pastor who pulled money out of thin air to hire me as a part-time Assistant Pastor at her downtown church.  It is literally the job I dreamed of-working with an urban congregation that is struggling to grow in membership yet growing its homeless ministry by leaps and bounds! Currently I am working only a few hours a week, but that will increase over time, and while dealing with a rough first trimester I was just fine with the arrangement!  

So there it is and here we are in St. Louis!  More posts will come with details about my new job, our current house hunt, and of course details about our twin pregnancy week by week!  Next time I really will keep a long story short-I promise, maybe!

Let's Talk About Sex...

A friend reminded me today that I haven't blogged in a while (hmmm-I think I've started a post like this before) and that I really need to let my "far-away-friends" no what's happening in my life.  Ironically, today I got to take part in something pretty wonderful.  

Let me start by saying, this song has been in my head all day...

All because of a conversation I was privileged to take part in, with two of the best theologians in Youth Ministry, about this AMAZING new book...

Participating in a podcast is a new experience for me.  If you hate hearing yourself after you've recorded an outgoing voicemail message, which I do, imagine how strange it is to be speaking in a phone conversation knowing it's being played live for listeners and recorded to later be posted to iTunes! Crazy! But rather than wasting your precious time telling you about it, I hope you will listen in on the conversation, not because I have anything important to say, but because Kenda Dean does in her chapter titled, Holding On to Our Kisses: The Hormonal Theology of Adolescence 

the Theological Turn in Youth Ministry-Post 8 Chapter 10 12/06 by Andrew Root LiveBlog | Blog Talk Radio

PS.  This is quite the stretch for me, now letting you stalk me by voice, but I think it's worth sharing. Once you get past my opening awkwardness it gets better, also, just know that in the closing seconds Kenda Dean refers to me as "Christina" then catches herself and apologizes...ironically (full-disclosure) she knows me quite well and memorizes names at an intimidatingly quick pace!  It's a common slip of the tongue apparently, I can't tell you how many times I've been called Christina!

The Land of Discernment

Right now Seminary looks & feels a little like this...

I'm dealing with a lot right now.  Aside from just classes and work, and oh yea grief-next week makes just 5 months, Jonny & I have entered into a time of discernment about the future.  We visit this strange land occasionally but don't like to stay long.  It's not a bad place to drop in on, but a tough place to reside. Please pray for us. 

I see beauty...

I've been holding back sharing a blog post with you (whoever you are)about something near and dear to my heart because I didn't think that I was in the right frame of mind lately to write it.  I've been Negative Nancy, Debbie Downer, a parade rainer, balloon burster, etc...for days now.  That's not the mood I wanted to be in when I shared with you the immense beauty that God has been revealing to me lately.  But then today I thought about Philippians 4:8-9

8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

So regardless of my current mindset I NEED to share this with you. God has been doing some amazing work in my life-Leading me down a path littered with trash, broken glass, and used hypodermic needles. On this path I have seen beauty like I've never experienced it before. I have seen what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise in neighborhoods deemed by the masses to be the "bad" part of town.  I have experienced it through conversations filled with laughter and the sharing of mind altering truths.  I have heard it and seen it with my own two ears and eyes in Camden & Trenton.  It is changing me.  I can't begin to unpack for you just exactly what all of this means for my current life and future ministry trajectory but I promise...those blog posts are coming!  For now I will show you just a taste of the beauty I have found. 


I took the following photos on the streets of Trenton...a city I am falling in love with.  To see the beautiful faces I have experienced (photos I have taken of them) go to www.facebook.com/urbanpromisetrenton 

This last set of images, by far my favorite, say it all... 

Mural by Will Kasso

I hope when you see the photos you don't just see boarded up buildings, or trash,

 - I hope you see beauty, I hope you see God.