Update by Matt

So, here we are in Auburn, getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had another appointment yesterday at UW. But that was after we went to St. Peter's Hospital in Lacey Tuesday night because Alissa had about 11 contractions in an hour. And before you all start freaking out thinking "What!?!? They're in labor?!?!" I'll tell you that we are not in labor. Actually, there's no "we" involved, is there? It's "she's" in labor...

Yes, we went to St. Pete's, they checked Alissa out, monitored the baby for a while, and said "Yer okay - go home and sleep. Go to your regularly scheduled appointment tomorrow." They gave Alissa a magic pill to help her sleep (I asked for one too, but they wouldn't give me one (sigh...)). So we got home at 2:30am, called the select few we notified before we left that we were okay, and went to sleep.

On a side note: At St. Pete's, the doctor on call was someone we had dealt with before, and she was pretty gruff in our previous engagements. So we were a little nervous about having her take care of us. However, when she came in, she was great! Just another one of those God-moments. I'm pretty sure all of those prayers that you and yours have sent heavenward helped make the horrible-bedside-mannered doctor into a warm-and-caring-bedside-mannered doctor. Thank you!!

Now - back to the story - we are residing for a few days in the home of Alissa's gracious aunt and uncle, Pam and Doug Walker. None of their kids came home for Thanksgiving, so we thought we would have the run of the house. However, Alissa's Grandma and Grandpa (who I call Trouble 1 and Trouble 2) decided to come over. Had I known they were coming over, I might have moved direct to the hotel, but hey - whaddya do?

Some of you may be asking: what now? Well, we'll keep moving forward with the regularly scheduled program - which is stay here in Auburn this weekend, move to Seattle Saturday or Sunday (we booked a hotel), stay there until Sunday, Dec. 4th, then check into the hospital for the induction ceremony.

Another question some of you may ask is: What entails inducing Alissa? Well, the short answer is: it depends. (Anyone notice I've used a lot of : things in this post? me too...). They may give her something on Sunday night, but then again, they may give her something Monday morning. It just depends on what Alissa's cervix looks like. Either way, we hope to have Anna on Monday the 5th.

Aaaannd - the waiting game continues. Alissa has been doing pretty good since the "episode" on Tuesday night. We're going to try and let her just sit back and relax this weekend. As such, I may declare a cell-phone holiday for her. So if you send her a text, and she doesn't respond, it's not because she is ignoring you, it is because I have confiscated the dratted device and rendered it temporarily inoperable. Now, don't get me wrong, we certainly appreciate all of the well-wishing, prayers, scripture, concern, and general checking-in-on-her, but she does need to be able to not have the stress of responding to the copious amounts of texts that she is getting. So if you really need to know something, contact the people listed in the side bar on this blog - or anyone else in our family, who should have up-to date information. I guess you can contact me, but there's no promises that 1) I'll respond, 2) you'll get the info you need (I am, after all, a guy, and as such just don't know it all...), or 3) you will like or appreciate my response. Also, there's no need to panic. If we go into labor early, you will know. One way or another, you will know.

I also suppose all of you were expecting me to write about what I'm thankful for, since it is actually Thanksgiving. So, I guess I'll do the expected. I'm thankful for my wonderful, strong, steady, gracious, peaceful wife. She has been such a trooper during this whole ordeal. From the first moment we heard Anna may have heart issues, she has placed her trust in God. We've taken body blow after body blow, and even a few uppercuts, and she has remained steadfast in her faith in God.

I'm thankful for my in-laws. They have been stupendous in helping us out. Specifically, I'd like to thank Randy for praying for me since probably before Alissa was born. "uhhh...what?" you may ask. Well, I was told when Alissa and I got married that Randy had prayed for Alissa's husband since before she was born. Of course, I think his prayers were directed more towards providing a good husband for her, but I believe that those prayers were reciprocal for me too. After all, if I was to be a good one for her (some people tell me I am, so I'm not tooting my own horn, but just retelling what others are saying, so there!), then she was going to be a good one for me. So thank you, Randy.

Then there's Katie. What a saint! And no - Katie - I'm not going to let you try and deflect my praises like you normally do. I absolutely forbid you to wave it off like it's nothing. It is something, and you have made our journey that much smoother. So accept my thanks and know that your administrative skills have been put to use in a wonderful, and successful way. Criminy! I'm getting teary just writing this. Thank you!

I'm thankful for my family. While we're spread across the northwest, they have been with us through it all. Mom even cancelled her normal grandchild watching duties in Idaho to resume the same duties here in Washington. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

And yes - there are a lot of other family members, not to mention non-family members, who have been helpful. So in the sake of keeping this post somewhat short (yeah, right!!!!) I'll just do the Academy Award version: thank you to all of you, and sorry for those I either forgot or just didn't mention. There, is that good?

I'm thankful for football, good books and movies, computer games, and cats.

I'm thankful for my God, who has sustained me and showed me the true meaning of having the peace that surpasses understanding. I wish I could describe that peace, but the further we get along in this chapter of our story, the more I'm convinced I can't describe it. If you've never gone through a difficult time, you can't understand. If you have, you likely can. Much like a parent can't describe their love for their child to a non-parent, I can't explain what God's peace means. So, I apologize. And I while I can hope you never have to exprience His peace in this manner, I have faith that you can if you have to.

Love you all, and thankful that we have such a great group of people surrounding us. Oh - I forgot - thanks for our small group! You have all been spectacular and gracious enough to take us under your wings and shelter us!!! I'm kinda surprised, knowing that I give you all too much lip in our weekly meetings. Even so, thank you.

Here's another way someone can help out: pay for a class so I can learn to keep my writing short and succint. Geez! I'm long-winded, aren't I?