First of all, I have to thank everyone for their advice and input! Many of your suggestions we hadn’t thought about or considered. A couple days ago, while doing the dishes, I found myself crying out of gratitude for all the wonderful people the Lord and placed in my life. Through all of this people have been so supportive— willing to do anything to help our situation.

I thought it’d be fun to respond to each of your comments in a post.

Thanks for your support, Jessica. It’s nice to know other people have made it through similarly difficult circumstances!

Michelle, you’re right about the fact that we at least have insurance. I could be worse. Your encouragement that it is possible to take care of the kids by yourself was helpful. I am more confident now that Link and I will be okay. For now, staying in California while Miles is in Utah looks like our best option. I can’t believe that the medical bills for Isabelle were so much! That definitely put things into perspective when we were considering just taking a chance and paying out of pocket in Utah. Thanks for your prayers! And no, we don’t have any idea where we’ll be living. We’re looking at a few complexes that are close to Miles’ work, at least within biking distance. That way, he won’t need a car and can leave it for Link and I to use.

Lilly, it was good to talk to you about this in person a little bit the other day. You’re right that making a few phone calls doesn’t hurt. We are planning to talk to HR hopefully Monday or Tuesday after we get all the details of the offer in writing. As for the Kaiser possibilities, from the phone calls I’ve made we really have no possibilities. It stinks.

Jason, it was good and surprising to hear from you! Your advice was definitely comforting and informative. And we’ll possibly hit you up for that dinner when we finally arrive in Riverton! We too feel guided by the Spirit in all of this. Hopefully we’ll be in contact again soon!

Sara, through all of this, the option of delivering in a birthing center was not excluded. I definitely think natural child birth is a good thing and it is cheaper. However, we decided there is still a risk of being transferred and then we could still be stuck with a huge hospital bill. It stinks that making these decisions comes down to money! Good to hear from you! It’s been awhile!

Amber, I appreciated your insider’s view about how the hospitals work. I’d heard similar stories from a couple other people but you helped clarify how this works. Though we don’t have a strong Plan A, working with the Riverton hospital is our Plan B. You’re a very wise women.

Laura, I’m so excited we’ll be living closer! I thought about that the other day and am wondering where you live exactly. Is your condo in South Jordan? I couldn’t remember. I’m not sure how the move-in part is going to go, but we might just take you up of your offer for help. At this point, I think Miles is planning to drive the Uhaul up next week while I camp it out in California.

Monica, unfortunately Kaiser doesn’t have any out-of-network coverage options except for emergency services. Thank you so much for your well wishes!

Abbi, I couldn’t believe how creative your idea was! I brought it up to Miles, be alas, we figured out that we’re not going to have a lapse in employment. Miles will be receiving paychecks from the University through May. And unfortunately living in “poverty” as students here in California doesn’t equate to poverty in Utah. So, we don’t qualify for medicaid even with our current salary.

Bri, like I mentioned to Sara, I thought natural child birth would be a great option, but it doesn’t solve our problem with not having insurance. And yes, I agree that it stinks to make the decision based on money!

Thanks for your kind words Jackie! You’re such a sweetheart!

Love you all. We’re so so so grateful for your kindness!

Miles is planning to leave his PhD program with a Masters and find a job in computer programming. One position in Durham, NC looks promising. Miles and I are flying out in a little over a week to check out the area. After two interviews and two projects, they still haven’t officially offered him the position, but we pretty much think he’s got it in the bag. My mom, sister and nieces will be staying at our place to watch after Link while we’re gone.

We have another possible option that would be much closer to home. This job is in Sandy, UT. We should be hearing from them soon as well. Personally I feel good about both options. We are just praying for a lot of direction right now.

We’re hoping to move sooner rather than later. This baby is coming in June, and it would be really nice if we had a chance to get settled before she comes. Besides, packing boxes at 8+ months does not sound pleasant.

Miles has been down and out with a toothache this week. He’s on Vicodin, ibuprofen, Nyquil, and two types of antibiotics and is still miserable. I took him to the endodontist (root canal guy) and he sent him home saying there’s nothing he can do until the infection clears. So I’ve been basically taking care of both my boys full-time. It’s reminded me just how much Miles helps out around here!

Chasing a toddler while pregnant sure is exhausting! It’s been interesting though. As I get bigger, Link seems to grow more and more independent. As long as I am patient, he will climb into the car and up into his car seat by himself; he’ll walk up and down the stairs to our apartment while holding my hand; and he’s been much better at not running off. We made great pizza dough together the other night. It was the first time he successfully helped me in the kitchen. He is just my little buddy these days. We have so much fun together, even though I may get a little tired of him asking me to play basketball with him all day everyday. There’s nothing I love more than seeing him grow and develop and learn new skills.

Life these days is unsure, but good. One thing is certain though, we are on the verge of some exciting adventures!

I’ve been meaning to write this post for what seems like an eternity. But alas, life gets busy. Though I’m sure 90% of you who read this will already know our wonderful news, I wanted to make an official announcement!

We’re having another baby!

Our bundle of joy will arrive somewhere around June 19th—which is the official due date! I will be 13 weeks tomorrow. Link and Baby #2 will be almost exactly 2 years apart!

FAQs

Was is planned?
Yup. And we are thrilled! But we didn’t know it would happen so quickly. It took us 9 months to get pregnant with Lincoln and only 1 month with this one! What a blessing!

Are you going to find out what you’re having?
Yes, yes.

Do you want a boy or girl?
No preference! Either would be really fun! I don’t even have an inkling as to what to expect. I knew Link was a boy. This should be a total surprise!

Did you pick a fetus name?
You may remember us calling Link “Feets” while he was in utero. Miles has again named our little fetus. This one goes by “Sneaker.” There’s a bit of a story with this one that I won’t tell here. But doesn’t sound good with Feets. Feets, Sneaker, get it?

How’s your pregnancy been?
Sicker this time. Not as bad as some women have it I’m sure. But I’ve been uncomfortable at times. And I’m a big baby and complain a lot. Poor Miles!

Are you showing yet?
Well, let’s just say that I shared the news with my boss last week, and she told me she had already guessed that I was pregnant from the sight of my belly! It’s just how it is people, when you have basically no waist. There’s no where for all my organs and fat to go but out! And don’t get your hopes up, I won’t be showing bare belly pictures this time around. The battle scars from the last one aren’t pretty!

Did I get all the basic questions covered?

Though sometimes I can’t believe I’m doing this all over again already, we are so thrilled about adding another member to our little family! Lincoln is going to be an outstanding older brother, and I already know this new baby will touch our lives and fill our home with more love. We’re so excited to meet him or her.

Thanks, Andrea, for the FAQ idea

I tried to do this photoshoot closer to Link’s first birthday, but it took me ’bout 6 weeks to get around to it! Lincoln is so fun and such a joy! As he’s getting older our days are being filled with more screams and more giggles. I feel the toddler years approaching!