It's a....

sweet baby BOY! (insert tears of joy here)

Bailey thinks that it's funny that our family is following the AB pattern (girl, boy, girl, boy). We are so thankful that it is a healthy baby. Beckham is excited to have a baby brudder :) and Bailey said that she and I are totally outnumbered and that we may have to run away from home!

Until today I don't think I had let myself really let this pregnancy become real to me. I thought I had, but today I finally can breathe with relief and hopefully enjoy the upcoming months.

I have been praying specifically for the following things 1) a healthy baby 2) that I would be at peace when the baby arrives, not letting our last experience overshadow the joy of our new little one. I really believe that God is sending us a baby boy so that the memories linked with Olivia won't be as strong as if it were another little girl. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but it is comforting to me.

I am excited to be able to post pictures of a future nursery! So much more fun than many of the topics I've blogged about this past year!

Thank you for rejoicing with us and keep those prayers coming! I think I may need to go buy the James Dobson book Bringing Up Boys!

We will continue with our regular OB appointments and an addition we will go back to the specialists in 5 weeks for a heart echo on the little one, I mean, our baby boy (still so strange to say that!)! Everything looked fine in today's scan, but they want to follow up and I'm game for another look at the little guy.

Still need help with names!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget to pray for Boothe and her delivery tomorrow. She has a new blog post from tonight.
http://conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com

Baby update

We had a 100% normal doctor visit today. Praise Jesus! Everything looks great and the fluid at the back of the baby's neck is totally normal. Yes, we do know the sex of the baby but I cannot tell until I have finished the phone calls to everyone who needs to hear firsthand! Check back and I'll let you know by tonight at the latest. Sorry to string you on! Have to get hold of the grandparents first! Can't wait to share "the" news, but had to tell you that our prayers have been heard and our baby is HEALTHY!!!!

Catching up...

What a difficult week. As I watched the people from Argyle C of C surround the Lee family I was once again reminded of how many of you surrounded us when we were in the beginning stages of grief. Thank you from the depths of my heart. I am humbled yet again by God's people and their ability to rise to the occasion and show their love for their christian brothers and sisters. It leaves me speechless. Please continue to pray for Ryan, Amanda and Griffin in the weeks and months to come. Baby Jack was loved so deeply and will be greatly missed. If you would like their address to send them a note, email me and I'll give it to you (gsbbking@aol.com).

Baby Jack and Griffy

The Lee family

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This Thursday at 10:30 am will be baby quatro's level 2 ultrasound. And yes, we are going to find out if it's a boy or girl. My perspective on that has really changed. Once you have a baby that does have a problem, you really realize the ultrasounds are not just to determine what color to paint the nursery or what gender clothes you need to hang in the closet. We are prayerful that this ultrasound will continue to give us pictures of a beautiful HEALTHY baby. Although we will not be able to totally rule out Down's Syndrome at this ultrasound, we should be able to look for some "clues" that would lower the possibility. Again, our goal here is to bring a sweet baby home. We are at peace with whatever happens.

On a lighter note, Greg and I are not on the same page with baby names. Any suggestions? We aren't ruling out using another B name, but we are open to all name suggestions. Keep in mind that our last name is King...no Smo King or Jo King or Lion King's please (that's for you Amy)!

The kids waiting for the Disney World firework show

We finally finished Bailey's soccer season. Bailey was the leading scorer for her team! I think she scored every goal with her left foot. Her confidence has really blossomed this season and she is finally learning that it's ok to get kicked in the shins and fall down every once in a while. She is really getting tougher! She will play co-ed basketball starting in January with the YMCA. That should be fun to watch!

Soccer star

Bailey on some hay bales at her friend Kristi's farm

Kristi and Bailey

Beckham still has to turn 4 before he can start playing on an actual organized team. He practices everyday with his soccer ball and even wears Bailey's shin guards and shoes when she's at school. He has also been carrying around Bailey's trophy and claiming it as his own. I guess we haven't totally jinxed him with the name Beckham, because he really does show great interest in sports.

Greg has been playing in pick up games at a local park and last night a group asked him to join their league team. He was very excited that they noticed his awesome talent (my words, not his!) and that he can play consistently on a league again. The kids and I look forward to being able to cheer him on. We all enjoy watching him play. The weather here is so beautiful that I don't anticipate it being miserable sitting outdoors and watching the LOOOONG games!

As for me I'm just staying busy with the kids and with being a housewife. It's never ending! I can only imagine when we have three little ones! I am not quite in my maternity clothes yet but the day is quickly approaching. I have had to swipe a few pairs of Greg's shorts to give my tummy some breathing room. I also have to confess that while having coffee at IHOP with some girls from church a few nights ago, I had to unbutton my pants before I could partake in any of the sweets. Luckily the girls are chill and they forgave me for unzipping my pants in a public place! I guess it's time to break out the stretchy stuff! :)

Picture from Disney World

That's about it for now. I'll post the doctor visit update as soon as all the family is called. By the way, Boothe is having her baby on Friday. Some of you may have followed her blog last year during the loss of their daughter Copeland to Trisomy 18. Please pray for them as they deliver their newest baby girl. http://conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com

Prayer Request

Please pray for our friends Ryan and Amanda Lee and their daughter Griffin. This morning baby Jack passed away. He had just turned 5 months old a few days ago. I really have no words right now. My heart hurts for them. Jack has been a fighter from the beginning and his parents have been true heroes. Too much sadness in this world. Shannon

http://theleefamily4.blogspot.com/

October

At our most recent OB visit we heard the sweet wooshing of a strong heartbeat. We will go for the "big" ultrasound in 18 days (not that I'm anxious or anything!). I have been feeling flutters for a week or two now. Even in a 4th pregnancy it's still amazing to feel the little life moving around. So sweet!

A little over a week ago we got the results back from the specialist's ultrascreen tests. Results: abnormal. Lovely. The NT test results (see previous post) made our results come back abnormal. I wasn't surprised, but it still stinks. We were told that trisomy 13 and 18 were ruled out. That is good. Really good. We were also told that our chances of having a baby with Down's Syndrome is 1 in 67, the same as that of a 42 year old. Nice. Although every other marker in the testing was completely normal besides the NT marker, it has been stressful to get the test results.

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In our next ultrasound we can try and look for other markers indicating something isn't "normal". Other than that, the only other thing we can do to find out for sure if the baby has Down's is to have an amnio. My first thought on that was "No thanks, we'll pass on that" but then I started thinking about the relief it would bring to just know one way or the other. Of course finding out results wouldn't change anything. We'll love little quatro no matter what. Right now I think I am back to no amnio. I am praying for peace in that decision. I know that God will lead us to the right decision on this.

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Other than that, I am excited to get a glimpse of the baby again in our next ultrasound and can't wait to get started on a nursery! I never got to do that for Olivia and it was odd being pregnant and going to term, yet never preparing a room for her. It wasn't just odd, it was heartbreaking. Sooo, after 9 months of pregnancy with Olivia, 1 year waiting to try again and 20 more weeks of pregnancy with quatro, I finally get to do what every mother should get to do for her new little one. I think I am still hesitant to hope, but I'm getting there!

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On to Halloween...

We had a great time at our church Trunk or Treat. I call it "our" church now because we finally placed membership this past Sunday. We can officially change our name tags from the red stickers to the blue stickers. Everyone at Argyle C of C has been WONDERFUL to us. It is a growing congregation of about 350 members. They are very involved in community outreach and have a growing small group program. The worship time is very heartfelt and genuine and the preacher is great. Bailey opts to stay in the auditorium instead of going to "Wee Worship" because she likes to fill in his sermon outline. If a preacher can keep a 7 year old interested and engaged in a sermon, he's won me over! Sometimes he breaks out into a CCR tune and it cracks us up.

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Anyway, back to Hween. Bailey was a doctor and Beckham was a boxer. Good times. Beckham asked me what I was going to dress up as and I said that I was going to go as a mommy. He said, "A scary mommy?". Hmm....what's he trying to say? Maybe I should up my meds.

You should see the other guy!

I took this picture for the Land family. Too bad about the game Saturday.

Is this what JH looked like after the game?

Bailey and I went to see High School Musical 3 the night it opened. It was great to have a girl's only night! The atmosphere in the theater was fun because it was full of chatty girls. They cheered and oohed and aahed in all the predictable places.

Before we went on our "date". Beckham crashed the photo!

After we ditched Beck.

My favorite part of the night was when the girls screamed as Zac Efron was on the screen without a shirt on. Bailey became confused. She thought she had missed something. "Why did they scream?" she asked me. It warmed my heart to know that she is still so innocent that she didn't understand why a boy without a shirt on would elicit that response from a group of girls. Stay that way for as long as possible little one! Bailey also became extremely embarrassed and pinched my arm the entire time that Troy and Gabriella shared an onscreen kiss. She could have totally done without seeing that. Again, I am so thankful for her innocence! About 1/2 way into the movie she got out of her seat and came and sat on my lap. I think one of my legs went to sleep, but you couldn't have paid me a million dollars to get her off my lap. Such sweet moments are sometimes few and far between with a 7 year old! I savored every moment. After the movie we went to Barnes and Noble and treated ourselves to Starbucks and book browsing. Don't worry, Bailey gets the hot chocolate!

A few weeks ago, Bailey's class hosted an Italian dinner. Here are a few pics. They did a great job coming up with a menu, cooking the food, serving it, keeping the bread baskets full and refilling our drinks.

The weather here has been beautiful. Last week it was slightly chilly in the mornings before school, but by afternoon it was warm again. Although I didn't think it was THAT cold last week, locals here said that usually it was January before they had weather that cold. So strange, but I can def. get used to it! We might freeze when we come back to Arkansas for Thanksgiving!

Have a great November!