Hospital Stay

Psalm 112:6-8b "For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid."
This verse has been close to our heart these last few days. I am so thankful for a God who is completely good, trustworthy, and in control.

Wanted to give a detailed update:

Friday morning I went to Grand Island for a couple of appointments. I went and got my weekly shot and then I went to the hospital for my first non-stress test. During the test there was a time where baby B's heart rate dropped which proved to be concerning. I went from the hospital to see the specialist from Creighton. The girls looked good- Baby A was 3 11 and Baby B was 3 15. There was only a 8% difference between them-which was really good. Before I left, the doctor took a look at my stress test and then did some tests on Baby B and her placenta. She was really concerned and told me to go back to the hospital to get monitored. I asked her how long it would take because Clay had his first game and I didn't want to be late. She said, "No, you won't be going home. You will stay at the hospital until they come." I was pretty shocked, scared... I then went back to the hospital where I have been since. I am monitored 24/7 and can't get out of bed unless I have to go to the bathroom, and even then the nurses have to unplug me.
Clay was ready to come to the hospital right away but I finally convinced him to stay until his JV basketball scrimmage and varsity games were over- which his team won- Great job sweetheart!
I thank God for such a great husband. He got here on Friday night and has been with me since. He will be staying at the hospital with me as much as he can while also teaching and coaching- please be praying for him! I am so thankful for everything he has been doing.
The girls have been doing pretty good. Only a couple of drops each day by Baby B. I continue to have contractions but not nearly as many as I did on Friday. The staff have been preparing us for delivery at any moment-which is scary. Our room is right by the ICU- which they have set up for us and we are right by the operating room. We have many doctors and nurses who aren't as optimistic as we are. I keep reminding them that we and many others are praying that I will be here for a LONG time. My doctor left for a week and a half on vacation- I would really like her to be here when we deliver.
As of today we are 32 weeks and 6 days.
Thank you so much for all the prayers, thoughts, and encouragement.

We have been Super blessed by people calling, praying and visiting.

Visitors:
Mother Mankin- Clay's mom
Gib and Jim
Tonya and Cailyn
Kadi
Women from our church- brought Christmas tree and decorations!
Julie, Neil, Kara Ostrand, Jessica, Tristan, Sophie, and Jordan from Anlsey
Mark, Kate, Alexis, and Emily Perrey
Adrian
My mom, dad, Zach and Jake S


Please continue to pray for us!
Erin, Clay, and girls

Praise the Lord for another day!

Praise the Lord for another day that the girls haven't come! We have been so grateful for each day that God keeps our little girls growing. However, they don't feel like little girls anymore! We are praying that God would keep them growing as they have about 56 left till due date.

November 5th I had a doctor appointment with a specialist from Creighton. The girls were measuring well at 2.6 lbs and 2.9 lbs and there hearts and everything looked good. The doctor did have some concerns though and I am taking shots every week to help prevent pre-term labor. The doctor didn't put me on bed rest but told me to really slow down and keep my feet up and rest. I was really nervous as I left and still am! I have been taking it easy- working more from home and resting more.

November 7th Clay and I went to Lexington for a baby shower that my mom and sister Megan held. We were really surprised to walk in and see not only Megans little girl Izzy but also my other sister Michala's little girl, Julia! I couldn't figure everything out for a while but was so surprised that Michala had come from Tulsa with her twins. What a great surprise to have both my sisters and their kids home! It was so much fun having them there and my mom was very excited to get all 3 of the pregnant sisters together in some pictures! I ended up going back to Lexington on Tuesday evening thru Wednesday evening to spend some extra time with Michala and my family including my grandparents in Lex. It was a blessing!

Clay is busy as basketball has officially started. He has 25 guys out and is excited about the new season. We have been trying to figure out the best way of communicating when/IF something happens and I need to get a hold of him ASAP. Clay has also been very busy putting our 2nd crib together, shelving, blinds, and an ice maker in our freezer. He has been such a great husband and doesn't make me feel bad for just "sitting there!"

Last week I called my mom as I sat in the nursery and told her that I was really overwhelmed and needed her help! She was able to come yesterday and we are so thankful she did! What a difference.... we can now walk in the room and it actually looks like a nursery! We have been given so much clothes and items and we are thankful for the generosity of people.

Clay is speaking at the UNK FCA tomorrow which will also be my last time at FCA at UNK. It is really hard to believe that I will be done working in a week! I will really miss seeing the athletes, coaches, and students each week.

I have a doctor appointment tomorrow and we are praying for good news! We appreciate the many people and their prayers and would ask for you to continue them!

Megan, Me, Michala

Megan, Zach, Me and Michala

My friends from Kearney

75 days!!!

Every day that God gives us with our 2 little girls is a blessing to us!

Clay had his last football game last week and will have a couple of weeks off until basketball starts. The football team was plagued with injuries and their 2 and 6 record doesn't show the big improvements from last year. Their record could have easily been 6 and 2 with a lot of really close games! Clay is still pretty busy with school but has been working really hard on getting done early so he can spend extra time at home. I have put him to work as I start to get anxious over all the stuff we have to do before they get here! Clay has started putting up window blinds in our living room and his next project is putting our crib together!
Our volleyball season is still going as we have districts on Monday. If we win our first game, which we should, we will play the #1 team in the state. I will miss coaching the girls as I won't be able to help with basketball this year but my body is starting to slow down so the break will be nice. I have also kept very busy with recruiting huddle leaders for our FCA weekend of champions on Nov 6-7th. Both Clay and I will be their for the event and we are looking forward to the great speakers that are coming!
The girls have been moving a lot more! Clay really enjoys this and tries to get them to move/kick more. He tells them that they are playing hide and seek and he waits till they move so that he can find them!! I told Clay that I wish he could have the experience like I do with the babies. He said that he likes them in me and doesn't want them in him!
We have been spending most of our weekends in the NE Christian dorm as substitute dorm parents. The boys love it when we stay with them and they get Clay involved in a lot of basketball and ping pong games! We will be staying in the girls dorm this weekend. Clay let me know that during the Husker game we will be taking them to GI for a shopping trip. We will have to camp out at Best Buy!
We also had a great time celebrating our niece Izzy's 2nd birthday. Megan and Conrad had a party for her and rented a huge jumping house which Izzy loved!
I had another good doctor appointment on Monday.
I have a big appointment next Friday in GI- please be praying that everything looks good! We have experienced so many blessings from family and friends and are thankful for all the generosity and support! We also treasure your prayers!

Erin and Clay






Clay playing basketball with the International students






Me and Izzy at her birthday party

27 weeks

Rejoice in the good from the Lord!

Deuteronomy 26: 11a " And you shall rejoice in the good that the Lord your God has given to you and your house"

Yes! We are rejoicing in all the good that the Lord our God has given to us!

Clay and I were both able to go to my doctors appointment last Monday (September 27th). This was one of the big appointments where they do ultrasounds to look at every part of the babies. This was the first time Clay has been able to go with me to one of these- he loved it! He kept asking questions to find out what we were looking at. Baby A was moving around a lot so the doctor had a hard time getting all her measurements. Baby B was more cooperative even though I feel her moving more than Baby A most of the time! The doctor said everything looks good. Their heart rates were good and they were growing at the right rate for twins! I couldn't believe it when they told us that the babies were 1 lb. 1 oz.-the size of an apple or pear! I feel AND look like they are a lot bigger! They have started moving around more, kicking some, but mainly making themselves VERY known! Clay loves to feel when they do this and keeps trying to get them to kick for daddy! I came home from being gone for a night and found 2 notes from Clay. One was to me and the other note he wrote was to the girls- he is such a great dad already!

Clay and I have both been really busy this last month. Clay is enjoying school more and more- we thank God for his grace in this! He is also busy every Friday and most Mondays with football games. They have had some really close games lately and have been disappointed when they haven't been able to pull them out. They have 3 more games and are hoping to make playoffs! We are also hosting the Central City FCA at our house. Clay has done all the lessons so far but we have a couple other great friends that are also helping. He is going to Grand Island Saturday and helping with a junior high FCA event where he will be helping coach football.

I have also been busy with FCA and volleyball. We have games at least twice a week and sometimes up to four times per week. This week we played Monday (JV), Tuesday (varisity triangular), Thursday (varisty triangular), Saturday (varsity quad.). We have played 14 games before this week and this week alone we are playing 7- which doesn't include our JV game! We also had our FCA Fields of Faith event on Wednesday night. It was a great night! We had a main speaker who did a great job of sharing the gospel and 2 athletes share as well. I am trying to take it easier and have been praying that God would give me wisdom in what I should and shouldn't be doing. I met with my FCA supervisor and we decided that I would work through Thanksgiving- with the Lords protection!

I have started getting a little anxious with getting things ready! We don't have much of anything right now however, Clay and his mom, Kathy, painted the babies room on Monday. We will be getting our 2 cribs in a couple of weeks and I hope we can get some other projects done!

We are so thankful for all the support and help that has already been given! Our friends and family have been such great blessings to us!

Please pray for the girls- that God would protect them, nourish them, and that they would continue to grow and be healthy! I am currently at 24 weeks, 3 days.

I have been asked and asked to put pictures up on the blog! I had the excuse that I didn't know how for a while- but I figured it out! It seems like every day, especially the last 2 weeks, the girls are growing so much!

22.5 weeks

24 weeks

It's a girl.... AND..... another girl!

"For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods" 1 Chronicles 16:25.

Last Tuesday, August 24th, my mom and I went to Omaha for my first appointment with the specialist. The doctors did extensive ultrasounds and looked and measured both babies. They measured femur bones, organs, lobes in the brain, head,.... it was amazing to see such detail! My mom and I were anxious to find out who Baby A and Baby B were! Both doctors confirmed that they are 2 girls! How exciting... now Clay and I can speak to them and know who we are talking to. However, we only speak of their names when we are alone- it will be a surprise for everyone else! Clay was surprised and still thinks that one is a boy. He did a poll with his classes in school and they had to vote if we were having: boy and girl, boy and boy, girl and girl. The babies are 19 weeks and 1 day now- and they are growing! I feel huge and am trying to keep in mind that this is only the half of it! Running out of clothes to wear! Please continue to pray for the babies and us! Thankful for God for all the blessings that he has given!
Clay had his first football game last Friday in Shelton. My parents and Clays mom Kathy came. The NC team did good with the exception of 4 big turnovers that led to touchdowns. The team is more aggressive this year and works hard- Clay is proud of them. They ended losing the game 28 to 48. They have their second game this Friday in Harvard! Looking for the first win of the year!
Our volleyball team starts with 2 games tomorrow. Being a coach is going to keep me really busy along with FCA. I am excited to start the UNK women's Bible study that I lead tomorrow morning. I really enjoy the girls that come and will miss them after this semester!
Thankful for all the prayers, support, and encouragement!

16 weeks!

My doctor appointment was yesterday and everything went well! Doctor Johnson does an ultrasound each time I see her and it was a surprise to both of us how much bigger they seemed to be! Not only are the babies getting bigger but so is Mama! I was a bit worried because I hadn't gained any weigh the first 14 weeks. I made up for it though by gaining 4 pounds this last 2 weeks.

The ultrasound showed Baby A all curled up and Baby B was moving all about! I am continually amazed when I get to see our babies moving and hear their hearts beating. I asked Doctor Johnson if she could tell yet what sex our babies are. She tried to look but said its still too early. I see a specialist in 2 weeks in Omaha. I will be able to tell you all by then!

There is only 1 week left before Clay starts school so he has been going to the school each day. Football practice and volleyball conditioning started for us yesterday. I never knew how blessed we were in Lexington to have an air conditioned gym- it is SO hot! The kids are doing great and working hard!

Thankful for all of you, your prayers, and love.

15 weeks today!

The countdown has been on for a while! Looking forward to meeting baby A and baby B. The doctor said that we have to wait for a while to find out if they are girls or boys or one of both! Clay thinks we are having at least one boy, Tonya my friend thinks 2 girls, and Michala thinks 2 boys. My next doctor visit is on Monday..... maybe then we will know! The doctor said that she never delivers twins past week 38. I decided that I can change my due date then from January 25th to January 11th- that would be 38 weeks! Please keep the twins and us in your prayers!
Clay and I finished up our crazy summer of traveling, camps, retreats, family time, and clinics. Our last trip was to Lincoln last Tuesday for a coaches clinic where we got to stay with Megan and Conrad and Izzy- which was a blast. From there we went down to Tulsa for a couple of days to spend with Michala, Jared, Kai, and Julia. I was exhausted just watching Cala care for those 3! She gave me a lot of good advice and tips.
In Tulsa we celebrated Clay's 29th birthday! So thankful for the man that God has created him to be and thankful that the Lord brought us together. I couldn't imagine having a more wonderful husband!
Looking forward to updating you again!