Thursday, August 16, 2012

Update

My older sister Kelsey told me that she was tired of looking at the same post on my blog since Tinsley was born.  With that incentive I have decided it's about time to update this thing.  It's funny how time seems to fly and before you know it, your blog is months behind. 
In March we moved into our first house.  We have a beautiful fenced backyard, finished basement with a mother-in-law suite, gym room,play room, craft room, deck...the list goes on and on.  My favorite room however is my piano room.  I don't get the opportunity to play the piano as much as I like, but I just love the feel of the room.  It feels like a great escape from the chaos of the rest of the house.  We still have a lot to do with the house, but I figure since we own it we can take our time.
Once Miss Tinsley was born I had a slew of health problems.  Before I left the hospital my right eye was blurry and I was seeing spots.  I didn't think anything of it when I mentioned it to the nurse right as we were about to leave, but they took it very seriously and had me stay an extra night and have an ultrasound of the arteries in my neck and an MRI of my head.  Luckily they didn't find anything, and they send me on my way.  2 weeks later my postpartum bleeding picked up and I was sent to the hospital to have it checked out.  I had an ultrasound done and there was nothing left over from the pregnancy but I found out that I have multiple ovarian cysts on both ovaries.  The bleeding continued and then I started feeling dizzy.  I felt dizzy everyday, it was like I was walking on the moon.  Nothing I could do, could make it stop.  Again I went back to the hospital for a brain scan, head scan, back x-ray, and other tests.  The results came up with nothing, except for a little bit of fluid behind my right ear.  I was sent home again with no answers, and dizziness.  I went to an eye doctor, and then an ear doctor and he found out that my sinus' are inflamed.  I have been on a nasal spray, and have a follow-up appointment next week.  It seems to be better, however I have days where I get super dizzy. 
Despite all the scary issues, we had some good news come these past few months too.  I went in for my monthly breast appointment and found out that my breast mass is completely gone!!!  What a blessing to hear, and a huge relief.  I will follow-up after I am done nursing to make sure everything looks good. :)
Since Tinsley's birth we have had a slew of visitors!  I was so blessed to have my sister-in-law Julie come out with her kids to help out with Arista and Tinsley, and it was fun to catch up with her in the process. 
Since my Mom wasn't able to come out, my younger sister Kipley came out for 10 days to help out.  Despite just having Tinsley that didn't stop us for going to the mall numerous times, Mt. Vernon, DC Cupcakes, National Geographic Museum, and National Harbor.  It meant so much to me that Kipley came out for the short amount of time that she did.  Arista loved to tease Kipley and told her many times to go on the airplane.


After Kipley left my other younger sister Mikelle came out for 2 weeks.  It was so great to have help once again, since I was still have medical postpartum problems.  Mikelle and I were able to read an entire book, visit Annapolis, National Geographic museum, eat too many M&Ms and watch lots and lots of movies.  It was hard to say goodbye to Mikelle, and we can't wait until she comes out for New Years. ;)

Not long after Mikelle left another visitor came!  My best friend Courtney from high school came out for a week and we took a trip to NYC.  It was my 3rd time there, and it didn't disappoint.  We spent 3 full days and 2 nights there, and we did EVERYTHING!  We saw Mary Poppins, Newsies, The 9/11 memorial, the top of the Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, and of course Times Square.  It was so much fun, and exhausting!  We are planning on doing a girls trip every 2 years.  I hope I see her again before then.


A week after Courtney came my second cousins Gracie and Mallory came out for 5 days.  It was a lot of fun to have young girls around the house.  I felt like I was an older sister again having fun with  my little sisters.  We played many board games, watched movies, went to six flags, and had a spa night!  Yes, I even did their toes.  I was sad to see them go, and hope that they will come back soon.  They were a great help with the girls and I never had to ask them to help either.  They just jumped right in.


We are looking forward to having my parents and brother come out in September.  Here is what you all have been waiting for....

1 Month
                                                                            
2 Months
 3 Months

Tinsley has been a wonderful addition to our family.  She has such a sweet spirit and a beautiful smile.  I can't wait to see her grow up, and I am so grateful that I get to raise another sweet spirit.  I'll try my best to update my blog more often!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Introducing

Tinsley May Martin
9lbs 5oz
21 inches long
May 2, 2012 @ 4:53pm





Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Lump

"So I go to the doctor, and he did the bio... the b... the... the bios... the... b... the "bobopsy." Inside the lump he found teeth and a spinal cord. Yes. Inside the lump was my twin." - My Big Fat Greek Wedding


I am so behind on blogging that I find it just pointless to even go back to where I left off. So I figured I would try to move forward and do better. :) I have been thinking a lot about trials lately and why we get the ones we do, and why it seems like sometimes others don't get any at all. Chris and I feel like we had a calm from the storms of life for awhile and then I found a lump in my left breast. I don't think I would have thought anything of it, except that my Mom had breast cancer 2 years ago. I decided to have my high risk doctor take a look at it and go from there. She was concerned and sent me to a breast center to have to checked out. My lump is the size of a walnut and immovable. The specialist ordered me to have an ultrasound and biopsy done a few days later. When the ultrasound was done the mass was huge! I tried to make a joke to the technician "It isn't the size of a pea is it?" to which she seriously said "No, it's not." I began to worry because she didn't say anything but told me that the doctor would come into talk to me about it. When the doctor came in to do the biopsy he said he thought it looked like a fibroid cyst, but the results would let us know for sure. After a PAINFUL biopsy...I went home feeling at peace about everything, and knew that no matter what happened our family would be okay. I felt strongly that I wasn't alone while having my procedure done, and that the Lord was with me.

After a LONG weekend, I finally got the call that the results were clear. My heart was filled with gratitude to my family for their fasting and prayers and to a loving Heavenly Father who answered my prayers. I don't know what the future holds, having a big history of breast cancer in my family I have almost come to grips with the fact that I may get it...eventually. No matter what happens I know that we can get through anything if we remain faithful and roll with the punches. There were times during this experience of pure fear and sadness, but I kept telling myself that we will be okay no matter what happens.

"Come what may, and love it."