Going Private

So, Brian informed me today that because of his current job, which I'm not allowed to even talk about publicly, it poses a threat to our family. Without going into much detail, it was a big enough concern for him, that he asked me to make our blog private. So, for anyone who wants to be added to our list so you can continue to view our blog, either leave me a comment or shoot me an email at daleen.royer@gmail.com. I'll give it about a week before I do the change, so there's a bit of time.

Trisomy 18

Some of the blood work tests came back yesterday, and Jayden has Trisomy 18 or Edward's Syndrome. It's a genetic disorder that has an extra chromosome 18, which continually repeats and causes all kinds of problems such as heart problems, kidney problems, clenched fists, mental disabilities, etc. (If you want to know more about it, go here). About 50% of babies that actually make it full term die within the first week, but some can survive until their teenage years, depending on the type you have (there's 3 kinds). I'm not sure if they know yet what type Jayden has. The "good" news out of this is that it's not likely to happen again, unless one of them is a carrier for one of the 3 types (hope that makes sense).

So now, Katie and Cory are faced with a decision of what to do. Her doctor is suggesting terminating the pregnancy (she's 21 weeks today) because of the harm it can cause to Katie to have a still born baby, and the body not being ready to deliver can also cause problems with the placenta not detaching, which could lead to a huge infection. Another option is to try and get further along, then induce labor. What a crappy decision to make. I'm amazed at how well Katie is taking it! She said that she'd been preparing for the worst, so she's actually pretty calm about it. She's been getting every one's opinion about it including her doctor, family and she's going to talk to her Bishop (our church's congregational leader) about it to get his insight on the spiritual side of it. Then, comes the hard part of making a decision. I have total faith that my sister will know what's right for her and Jayden, and that Heavenly Father will provide a way for this whole experience to be more bearable for her.

More than my sister

She's my best friend, and even more than that, she's an answer to my prayers! Looking back, having a little sister was probably the first huge answer to a prayer in my short 10 year old life! She is our miracle, our "Saturday's Warrior", our family just wasn't complete until she came! I prayed for years to have a little sister, and as soon as I found out that my mom was pregnant, those prayers were in even more earnest.

My sister is seriously awesome! She is so talented in everything that she tries. She got all the good genetics, tall, thin, wavy hair, amazing eyes (you know how sister's like to compare everything even with a 10 year age difference ;). She also inherited my dad's ability to feel everything so deeply, and because of that, she is one of the most compassionate people I know! She's always the favorite aunt to all her nieces and nephews (she says it's because they're closer in age to her, but she has an amazing way with every type of person in every walk of life). As Katie (my sis) put it recently, "I can never get mad at you", and I totally feel the same way! We are able to communicate in such a way that we never get offended, which is pretty unique I think, especially since we're both girls.

And now, my beautiful, younger sister is going through the hardest trial of her young life! Her and her husband Cory are expecting their first baby, due December 31st, a little boy to be named Jayden Dale Sharp. Of the pictures I've seen of him, he's perfect, and Katie has been so overwhelmed lately with being able to feel him move and how active he is. But, she went in for an ultrasound on Wednesday, and she's being told that her perfect little baby boy might not be so perfect. What they know for sure, is that he only has 3 out of 4 chambers needed in his heart, and that his kidneys are enlarged and not working well. What they don't know is if it's something chromosomal/genetic, which will take a couple weeks for results to come back for sure!

My heart is breaking for my sweet, compassionate sister who loves her unborn son so much. But amazingly, my sister is already teaching me about the tremendous faith she has! She's so much stronger than I think she even knows. So, now I ask anyone who reads this to offer up prayers in behalf of my sister and her family. They need comfort, and to feel the peace that only our Heavenly Father can give them.

Are we there yet?

Where have we been? Oh, moving to San Antonio, TX ;). We left Rexburg on July 29th and headed down to Utah for a few days before we left for the 3 days of travel to San Antonio on August 3rd. While we were down in Utah, we tried to spend as much time as possible with family since we're not sure when we'll be back up there anytime soon! So, on Saturday we spent the day with Brian's side of the family on temple square and had a BBQ at his uncle's house. Landen had never been to temple square, and he had fun hanging out with his cousins and seeing the large Christ's statue. It had been awhile since I had been there too, so it was nice to see all the beauty the the church has kept in the midst of such a busy city. Here's a few pictures:

A quick family picture (you can see Abrie's bow poking out of the top of her carrier)
The Church administration building

The Conference center

SLC temple

The historic tabernacle

Everyone just mingling around ;)

I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of hanging out with my family, but we had a little get together at my parent's house. It's so sad how much Landen has been asking to go home. He even had my keys and was trying to unlock the front door with them saying "go home mom". Sadness. It would probably make a difference if we actually had our stuff in our house down here, but because we weren't here on the day it arrived, it was put in storage. It got here on the day we were "allowed" to leave by the military! Because this is the busy time for moving with the military, and there are 3 different military bases here, they can't get our stuff to us until the 17th!!! So, we've been camping out in our house. Our rental manager brought us over a bucket of basic supplies for the kitchen so we can at least cook some meals and not have to eat out all the time, thankfully. I'm going to be so sad tomorrow when my sister has to leave tomorrow! She came out with us to help with the drive since we were taking two cars and needed help with the kids, especially Abrie. I'm going to miss her tons! She's totally my best bud and we always get each other laughing like no one else can. Other posts of what we've been up to will follow