Jehovah-Jireh

“Jehovah-Jireh” (or YHWH-Yireh) means "The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14)

This had resonated with me for over a month now. To see all that The Lord has done in our lives... It's overwhelming. There were some rough patches but it only strengthened our faith and trust in Him. 

We went to Lee's 3x a week clinic appointment today. We had been a little on edge since Friday when we found out his creatinine was back up at 2.1 and had stayed at that level at his check-up on Monday as well. After spending over a month in the hospital, we had been nervous this whole week he may get admitted again or have to undergo another biopsy. But we prayed and trusted that this was all in God's hands. 

Today we went in for clinic... Creatinine was DOWN to 1.9!!! All levels look good!! Doctor said I'll see you in a week! "What? We don't have to come on Friday?" Nope. Everyone thing looks good! I couldn't believe it. I mean I could, because our God is so much bigger than all of this, but it was still so unexpected to hear. So now we are down to 1/week clinic appointments instead of 3/week.

And... Lee finally gets to have his dialysis port taken out on Tuesday!!!

Jehovah-Jireh! Jehovah-Jireh! Jehovah-Jireh! 

I am beyond overwhelmed by the amount of love and support by our family and friends! They have gone above and beyond for us. From financial support (I can't even thank you guys enough) to watching Jace to letting our dogs out to fixing things around our house to having our house cleaned to  the abundance of prayers to providing meals to keeping Lee company at the hospital. The list could go on and on. We have the best support system anyone could have ever asked for. It brings tears to our eyes just thinking about it.

And I'm thankful... I don't have any other words but thankful. 

I was thinking the other day how grateful I am to have a husband with such a huge heart. Every time I hear the song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" I have always thought of Lee.

"You find out who your friends are

Somebody's gonna drop everything

Run out and crank up their car

Hit the gas, get there fast

Never stop to think 

"What's in it for me?" 

Or "It's way too far" 

They just show on up

With their big ol' heart

You find out who your friends are..."

And because of his big ol' heart we have had such a return of big ol' hearts to help us out in our time of need. 

To all of you... Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

Jehovah-Jireh! We serve a Great God! I am in awe!

We Got the Call!

Well it's official! Lee got a call today that the transplant date is set! Come July 22nd, Lee will have his brother's kidney! Thank you Aaron for your selfless gift!

I'm so grateful for all the prayers and support over this last year as all of this had unfolded! Please keep praying for the surgeons and medical staff as they prepare and that all will go smoothly!

---

And in unrelated news: I've always heard about the so-called terrible two's (and I'm sure they can and will be terrible) but no one warned me about attachment one's (I'm not good at witty phrases). Well maybe that's a lie, my pediatrician might have warned me. Today my little man just wanted to be held but at the same time would squirm to be out down, except the second I put him down he would turn and cry to be liked up again. And only mommy would do. This morning I had to work up at the gym so it made work a little difficult.

I knew he was tired since we have to wake him at 4:30 to head to the gym and he usually doesn't sleep past 6:30 up at the gym since there is so much light coming in. So I knew that contributed to the   "please hold me" fuss. Needless to say on the way home he passed out. Usually I can get him to go back down for a nap once we get home but it was a struggle today. We could not get him to nap but yet he was so fussy because he was so tired. Eventually he crawled up on the couch with me...





It's funny how one minute  I can be so exhausted and frustrated and the next this little life God blessed me with falls asleep in my arms and I forget all about it! I never knew I could love this little man so much! I know one day  he will get to big to sleep in my arms, so I'm soaking it all in while I can! Sometimes I just wish he would go to Lee and let him hold him, yet secretly I love that he is a momma's boy :)

My New Obsession

Came across a new obsession. I'm not OCD, but this just might make me.

ERIN CONDREN ...

Ever heard of her? I hadn't until recently when a blogger was doing a giveaway of her products. I fell in love. Became obsessed! Ask my husband. I finally found what I wanted to spend my birthday money on. When her new life planners went live on June 12th, I was up at midnight trying to figure out which one I wanted. Of course it seemed the rest of the women on the planet were doing the same and the website kept crashing/running slow. I waited and promptly when I woke up for Jace's morning bottle, I went searching again! It was so hard to choose. I wanted all the covers, I wanted all the accessories...

Want to see for yourself? I'll show you mine, so you can become obsessed too!
And if you want your own you can use this link to get $10 off!
https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/courtneygoggin0402

What's Included:

 

I'm pretty obsessed with Coral these days. So this is Coral and Grey. Guess what? You can choose your own colors! AND if you get tired of it, you can get a new cover! They are interchangeable!!  

This the basic model for $50

Here is the monthly overview. Birthday Stickers! They come with it. Pic to come. 

You can order designer tape, but I already had some Washi tape that I got on clearance at Michaels. Instead of making a ugly uneven line to cover a span of several days, I used cute/pretty Washi tape. 

(See it's making me OCD)

 Here is the weekly view. This planner starts in July. I got the 18 month planner.

Therefore, I don't have too much planned out just yet. But it's broken up with Morning, Day, & Night.

On the side you have Goals & Notes and the bottom is for extra notes for each day. 

Such as Exercise, Meal Plan, Notes, etc.

 

Look at these super cute stickers for gifts and Inspirational quotes. They came with the book! And some are personalized, some are To/From that you fill in yourself.

 

And look.... EXTRAS. This came in a sample pack with my purchase. 

Can't ever have enough, right?!

 

So in the back of the book you get four sheets of RE-POSITIONAL stickers!  

1 Sheet of all Birthday

1 Sheet of things like Appointments, Party, Day Off, Sale, Etc. 

and 2 Sheets of Blank to personalize yourself.

You can also order extra personalized or blank ones.

 

So in the back there is a two-sided folder and a zipper pocket.

And a perpetual calendar that is removal, so you can move it from planner to planner each year.

Accessories:

 

 

One of the many accessories: Elastic Bands. They can also be used as hair bands when you work out ;) 

If you order the Gold or Platinum, one band comes with it, but not with the basic. You get 3 for $6.95 

 Pen holder. $2.50 

Apparently the red tag on the Elastic Band is also a pen holder, but it would need to be a pretty thin pen.

And one of the main reasons I love this planner so much:

 

 

Coil Clips!! So you can add Invitations, Concert Tickets, Coupons, or whatever you'd like into the week and/or month of the event, sale, etc. The only thing I wish was different is that somehow they could make them reusable. Right now you stick them onto the invitation, but I wish you could reuse them from planner to planner. Maybe next year?

 There are more accessories, but these are the ones that I bought. I came close to adding the personalized note pad to the back of the planner so that I could have a note pad for groceries list or the like, but the frugal side of me decided against it, since I have several other note pads that I can use.

My super cute assistant:

 If you are now as obsessed as me... remember you can get $10 off by using this link

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/courtneygoggin0402

UPDATE ON LEE: His transplant was presented to the board and OFFICIALLY APPROVED!! Now we are just waiting to hear about a date!

What's Up with Lee?

Ok! This is very overdue.

Many people have seen a Facebook post here and there or heard second hand news from the grapevine.

But we hear over and over... What's up with Lee?

Lets start from the beginning.

About 3 or so years ago Lee had a minor recreational basketball injury that turned into Cellulitis. If any of you know Lee... 1) He thinks he is invincible  2) He likes to wait til the last minute. Therefore, the infection go so bad he ended up in the ER and admitted into the hospital to try eliminate the infection. While hospitalized, they ran some routine test. This is where we found out he had some problems with his kidneys. They even did a Biopsy and found scarring on his kidneys. They were unable to really figure out the root of the issue, and thought maybe it was just due to the infection in his leg. So they discharged him once the Cellulitis was under control and told him to follow up with a kidney doctor. Did he follow up?.... See previous 1 & 2 about Lee above. We also did not have health insurance at the time, so he put it off.

Fast Forward to early last year. We now finally have health insurance, so we got Lee an appointment for a routine physical. Later the next day we get a call from doctor that informed him to go to the ER immediately because his levels were critical. He wrote it off, until several friends and family convinced him. So we headed to the ER. The minute they read his reason for coming, they immediately called him back. His blood pressure was 198/120. EEK! They were surprised he felt so fine. Once again, they ran several tests, but still didn't have a grasp on why. They discharged him and once again told him to follow up with the Kidney doctor. This time he did!!! Yay!!

He started once a month check-ups with the Kidney Doctor. We found out he was in stage 4 Kidney failure. Just short of needing dialysis. We were hoping that possibly he could skip dialysis and just get a transplant, but we were told he could not be considered for transplant until he had less than 10% kidney function.

In January we found out that his kidneys were down to 8% function. We filled out the application for transplant and turned it in. Unfortunately, Lee's blood toxicity was so high that the doctor informed him he would have to start dialysis before he could get the transplant. He decided on Peritoneal Dialysis, so that he could do it at home.

In April he had surgery to put the port access in for dialysis. He had to go through a week of training to learn how to do dialysis manually. He has to do exchanges about 4x a day, around every 4 hours or so. He has been on dialysis now for about 2 months. We have boxes and boxes of medical supplies filling our living/dining room.

Fast Forward to last week. His brother Aaron has graciously and selflessly offered to be a donor. So this past week Aaron came down from Oklahoma to undergo a week full of testing and consultations to determine if he is a good candidate to donate a kidney. So far.... SO GOOD!

It looks like they will be presenting Lee's case to the board on Friday! Prayers Please!! We have been told that if all goes as plan that Lee can hopefully have the transplant mid-July!!!!!

Thank yous are in order!
Thank you for your continued prayers. We know that several of you pray for Lee by name every day! We appreciate it more than you know.
Thank you to Aaron for his selflessness to donate a kidney to his older brother. You have no idea how much that means!
Thank you for the many friends and family that have already helped out financially and those that are still contributing. Lee's Aunt has set-up a donation through First Baptist Wellston. We have had many medical bills. Plus Lee has had to miss work because of surgery, testing, dialysis, etc. And we still are not quite sure how long he will be out of work once he has the transplant. We do know that he will probably be in the hospital for about a week, but not sure of what the recovery after that looks like yet.

Prayers please
Prayers that we can get the transplant done before August. Right now we have finally hit our deductible and out of pocket max, but that all starts over at the beginning of August.
Prayers that all will go smoothly with the transplant. That Aaron will have a quick and easy recovery. The same for Lee as well.
Prayers that his body will accept the kidney and not reject.
Prayers for patience as we are anxiously waiting for the next steps.


I know that many, many people have wanted updates and we are not always the best and keeping everyone informed. Hopefully this helps.
Any questions, just ask =)
We love you all!

Welcome to the World Jace!

Our baby boy is finally here. He wanted to come on his own time, 5 days past due, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Even though my midwife was out of town and didn't make it to the birth, I still had my doula. And it happened on the weekend which was perfect for family.

It all started Friday night, the 21st. Lee came home from work and I wanted a date night, and he wanted to go out with friends. Then came all my hormones and emotions... I was afraid we might not get another date night for awhile. I had been feeling a little off that day, but wasn't sure what I was feeling. Now looking back I think I was in early labor all week. We went out to Fish City Grill because I was craving their jalapeno soup, and Lee is always in the mood for fish. Plus I knew there was a frozen yogurt place right next door.. yummm! During dinner my lower back pain starting growing in intensity. And I was having some Braxton Hicks contractions. If this was in fact early labor, my doula recommends trying to ignore, so we were now headed to the movies to see Monsters U. Unfortunately, the movie was sold out. So Lee decided we should just walk around the mall for a little while. After walking the entire mall, I was worn out and ready to go home. My back was starting to hurt extremely bad.

When we got home, I texted my doula to let her know how I was feeling. She told me to ignore and get a good nights rest. So I set up in the bedroom with the Ipad to watch none other than What to Expect When Your Expecting (new on Netflix) and a heating pad for my back. Lee set up to play some Zombies. Just as soon as he came to bed and got to sleep the first contraction hit. Ouch. But I'm going to ignore and sleep. Another one hits... wow that hurt! But I. WILL. SLEEP. Another one hits... ok this may be it. So I pull up my contraction app. They are coming every 2 minutes. They are hurting pretty bad that it wakes up Lee. His response... "What are you doing? Go back to bed." But I can't... the pain is too intense to sleep through. Its after midnight now. So I try the few things that my doula suggests like getting in a warm bath.. that doesn't help. I wanted to make sure what I was feeling was real before we texted my doula and woke her up. But the contractions were not going away and the pain was increasing. So my doula makes her way over the house, where we labor until about 4:30 when I started feeling a lot of pressure. We make our way to the hospital.... worse car ride ever! But I knew I'd have my baby soon!

So we make it to the hospital. They check me. I'm 9 cm dilated and baby is at 0 station. The nurses were freaking out, ha! They can't believe I'm that far along. I won't go into all the details, but as soon as I get to 10 cm they break my water and its time to push. I pushed for probably about an hour and then Jace arrived at 6:17am. No drugs, no IV's. The nurses were astounded... apparently at Irving Baylor they very rarely see natural birth.

My baby was finally here. There are so many emotions flowing through as you hold your baby for the first time. I just remember saying, "this is ours, this baby is ours, we have a baby!"

Lee did an awesome job along side my doula as my birth team. He didn't faint and even cut the cord, which he didn't think he wanted to do. We are so in love with Jace William Goggin. Still can't believe I am a mom. He is so perfect. I thank God we had a healthy baby boy. 10 fingers, 10 toes. So precious.

Born 6:17am  8lbs 2oz  20.5 in long

A Waiting Game...

Bag is packed... House is being cleaned today... Nursery is ready... now to sit and wait. Well... more like walking, eating spicy foods, eating pineapples, eating 6 dates a day... anymore suggestion on natural ways to start labor??

In case you didn't know... I'M GETTING ANXIOUS!! Ready to meet this baby boy!! As much fun as pregnancy has been, I'm ready to be able to sleep on my stomach and my back again. My hips are starting to kill me and I'm having lower back pain. I am seeing a chiropractor, which helps, but I'm still ready for bundle of joy to come out!

I'm 39 weeks today, so most likely I still have a week+. Although Lee and I have decided that if he could make his appearance on Thursday that would be perfect =) Thursday would be the 13th and would stay in line with the generation of birthdays. My great-grandfather - June 14th, Brother - June 15th, and Dad - June 16th. His due date is actually the 17th which would also work, but that being a Monday and one of Lee's busiest days at the gym would kind of be hard. So Thursday would be good and be easy for Lee to take off work and be home with us all weekend! =) So prayers appreciated =) Plus it landing on a semi-weekend would also be great for family. Especially since we have family coming in for Father's Day that weekend as well. I have had a dream he came on the 15th and then also a dream that I got induced on the 14th. Which I will not be getting induced, but I don't know what to make of those dreams. My mom has also had a dream that Jace came early as well. Here's to hoping and praying =)

Happy Mother's Day!

First Mother's Day as a mom-to-be! Only 5 more weeks until we meet our sweet baby boy! So weird to think in such a short time I will be called Mom!

Lee and my mom got me my first ever Mother's Day present! A Pandora Bracelet. I've been wanting one for awhile and Lee has always shunned the idea of one. Now he finally caved in! =)
I got a teddy bear with blue bow, Eiffel Tower, and heart that says Mom! I love it!

 Good news. When we went for our 32 week check-up ultrasound we found out that the woman who did our 30 week was in training so we think she might of misread the sonogram. Because this time they said Jace was just fine, average size and weighed about 4.5 lbs! So now we are thinking he is going to be an 8-9 lb baby... we'll see! But so thankful that everything is going great with our little guy, Praise the Lord, God is good!

Starting to feel pretty big at this point.  I'm told that I look tiny, but my midwife says I'm completely average. I'm starting to get so tired. My legs get extremely tired if I stand for too long and I get short of breath very easily now too. But other than that I can't complain too much, but I would say I'm ready to meet this little guy so anytime after 37 weeks I will welcome him here =)