The kids had a great time visiting with their Aunty in the hospital tonight. My sister looked good and they seem to be taking good care of her. I love the hospital she is in! That is if one has to be in a hospital. As you can imagine lying in a bed for three weeks can get pretty depressing, but family and friends seem to be keeping her busy with company this weekend. Her potassium levels are 3.5 right now. They have been giving her magnesium and continuing with the antibiotics. Baby Mariah continues to be doing well while she stays put.

Hope she doesn't get mad at me for showing you this pic but I thought you might like to see a face with the name you are praying for. My sister would be the one in the beautiful green gown.  At least she gets to have her own pillow and velvety blanket. Can you see the baby blocks on the table? The kids each made a baby block for the baby. Mini (MIL) helped them over the summer to make these. We brought them in tonight to add a little cheer. The kids also colored her pictures and we gave her a diaper bag full of goodies for the baby.

Do you see the purple stuffed animal on the right of her table? I wished I had thought to take a pic of the front of it. Anyway,  I found this cute little kangaroo with the baby kangaroo peeking out of the front pocket, of course. I told my sister that it was her with Mariah trying to stay put. Well, my sister had a grand time playing with the kids and making the Mama Kangaroo talk to the baby Kangaroo. She said it was the perfect size that they will allow in the incubator when the baby comes! I hit that just perfect by accident as I had no idea.

Btw, Caleb, who is hugging my sister in the pic was my 3 lbs 9 oz two month preemie who was born in Ukraine and in an orphanage for the first 5 months of his life. Ya, our family believes in miracles!! Little Mariah will be no exception to how good the Lord is to us!

My sister had an ultrasound today to check up on the baby. She has had them constantly, of course, but not as extensive as this one. They know the baby weighs 3lbs and 14 ounces right now. They also feel that my sister may be further along than originally thought. This is good! She seems to be at 32 weeks right now.

My sister has been having some sort of contractions during the day. Fortunately, her potassium has not dropped today! YAY! The kidney specialist really cannot do a thing right now as far as testing because she is receiving antibiotics to help ward off infection. That way baby Mariah has a better chance of staying put and maturing a bit more.

Specific Prayer:

1) Potassium levels stay stable.
2) Magnesium levels are going down and need to be stabilized.
3) No infection to occur
4) Baby to stay put and safe

My Mom just got back from the hospital tonight and gave me a call. My Sister's potassium levels are dropping again. This is NOT good!! She is at 3.6 which is still by a hair in the normal range but the concern is she is dropping while ON potassium. There will be a kidney specialist overseeing my sister while she is at this new hospital to see if they can find the mystery as to what is causing the potassium levels to continue to drop. The doctors still do not believe it is pregnancy related.

Speculation is that baby is coming early due to whatever is causing my sister not to retain potassium. Currently the baby remains in the womb and they are testing for infection constantly as they wait it out to see how long the baby can stay. Please pray for safety for both my sister and the baby. Pray for my Mom who is very weary! Remember she is still on recovery from her brain surgery. My sister is emotionally upset about all that is going on with her and her baby while Mom wants to be there 24/7 but realistically cannot.

My sister is safely at the hospital now. However, she currently is NOT in labor even though her water broke today. Baby Mariah is hanging out which is good! The doctors want to keep the baby in the womb for three weeks if at all possible. Basically that means my sister must stay in the hospital for three weeks or until she gives birth. I am told the 34th week mark is crucial for my sister to make it to without giving birth to the baby. As long as no infection occurs then the doctors do not have to take the baby from the womb. This should be interesting.... my sister was screaming to get out of the hospital last time after only four days and she was in danger! I am praying the Lord gives her the stamina to stick it out!! I guess I know where I will be living for the next three weeks to keep her company.

My Sister's water broke and they are rushing her to one of our greatest hospitals closer to home this time. Please pray for my Sister during labor and birth as her potassium has been starting to go lower. Lord keep her heart healthy and strong!!! Also pray for her baby as she will be born two months premature.

Whew! Our family has had quite a scary couple of weeks.  We are thankful to the Lord that He has seen us through it all and for the many who have prayed with us! However, now I thought it was time to for pics to brighten up the mood of my journal.

This picture is for our family who all like to tease us about our "big bus" (aka Dodge Sprinter) we drive around. I especially get teased about the color being red by my siblings! Anyway, we had to take "Beep" to the Sprinter Doctor yesterday for a minor issue with our air conditioner. While there "Beep" was able to have a visit with his cousins. Let's see from left to right we have cousins "Airport Shuttle" in green, "UPS" in brown and "Fed-Ex" in white. The only cousin that didn't make it to the reunion was "DHL" who usually arrives in sunshiny yellow.  Beep, btw, had a shorter wheel base than the others so we aren't that crazy. Now, after seeing this pic, doesn't the color red just make more sense for a family Sprinter?! I think so!

Check out this link for some different ways a Sprinter is used. I especially thought the "Jamba Juice" was fun looking!  My dream camper will someday be in the form a Sprinter too. Maybe when the kids move out we will convert ours into one! For now maybe we should start a photo diary of Sprinters on our trips as our kids are always sure to yell, "MAMA!  PAPA!  LOOK A SPRINTER!" They are every where while traveling in Europe so we should have fun getting some while in Ukraine too.

Sunday morning my sister's potassium count was 3.4 and then just before being released from the hospital the last test showed her levels at 4.2!! She is now in the normal range and out of immediate danger! So, they sent her home to get as much rest as possible. My sister will have to stay on prescription potassium in pill form and will have to go every couple of days for blood work. The biggest question and concern at this point is WHY did this happen in the first place? The specialists in the hospital where she was airlifted could not figure out the mystery. Because of the unknown their speculated conclusion is that it must be some how pregnancy related. My sister and her unborn baby will have to be watched very carefully until the baby is born.  She will also be having to follow up with a Kidney specialist back in our home state(she was airlifted to another state 3 hours from home) just to be sure she doesn't have something going on there.

For now we are praising the Lord that my sister's heart suffered no damage and the baby remained safe and continues to be growing in the womb. Thank you everyone for your prayers!! I know the Lord heard and answered!!

Of course, my sister continues to need prayers that her potassium levels do not drop again and the baby will continue to be fine in the womb until December. Please remember my Mom in your prayers as well as she continues to heal from her surgery. I know she is really tired and needs rest right now!

Btw, the baby is a girl and her name is Mariah! I can't wait to meet her.... oh wait, yes I can! You stay in there baby Mariah!!!

My sister's potassium level today hit 3.4 while on supplements via IV and pill form. This is good news!! She will be having a kidney specialist watching over her and doing testing for the next 12 or so hours.  Pray that they find what is causing her to need the potassium supplementation. Until they find the root of the problem they cannot come close to releasing her because if her potassium levels fall like they did before it could be fatal.

Baby is showing no signs of stress or problems during all of this. Again good news!!