The Scary Phone Call

Dear Family and Friends,

I just wanted to write and ask you all to pray for Gabe and me and the baby. I got a message yesterday afternoon from my doctor saying that I needed to schedule an appointment with a specialist because of the results of my last ultrasound. I talked to my doctor's nurse this morning to schedule my appointment with the neonatologist. I will be going in for a level 2 ultrasound on June 1st with Dr. Marshall, the specialist.

I asked the nurse if she could tell me why I was referred to see the neonatologist and she told me that my 2nd trimester ultrasound revealed a choriod plexus cyst and they want to take a closer look and do some more testing to rule out anything serious. I told her thank you for the information and promptly went to research just what in the heck a choriod plexus cyst is!

As it turns out, it could resolve itself and end up being nothing to worry about, or, in the case that my other tests on June 1st return questionable results, it could be an indication of a chromosomal abnormality (like Downs Syndrome or Trisomy 18). As far as I know from my blood tests so far, my markers for chomosomal abnormalities have been low (which is good!), so hopefully this means the chances of them finding anything more scary than this are also low.

I believe they will offer me an amniocentesis (an invasive procedure which carries a risk of miscarriage, but can identify the exact chromosomal problem 95% of the time), which I will decline. Like I said, I really do not expect them to find anything further, but if they do, an amnio is not going to fix the problem and will only lead to further possible complications. If our baby is going to have Downs or Trisomy, then our baby is going to have Downs or Trisomy. She will be a gift from God, regardless, and I don't feel the need to run further risk by poking her with a big long needle.

So, if I could ask you all to keep us in your prayers, I would be truly grateful. June 1st is a long way off and sometimes I get anxious about things like this because I am so impatient. I do have a regular appointment with my Nurse/Midwife tomorrow, so I will see if I can get anymore information or just some reassurance. Thank you all for praying for us - I feel so blessed to have you all surrounding us in love and prayers! You all are so special to us and we are blessed to have you all in our lives!

Beth, Gabe, and baby Brent

Baby Brent Update

Hello Friends and Family!
I just wanted to take a minute to update you all on baby Brent. We found out last Wednesday that we are having a girl! Well, at least it looks that way from the most recent ultrasound. After a 1 hour long level 2 ultrasound (checking all anatomy and structures), the ultrasound tech looked between baby Brent's legs and said, "Well, I don't see anything." Gabe asked her if she would please check again because he swore he saw something. She suggested it was probably a foot, but said she would look again. She still didn't see anything, which led her to believe we are having a girl. I started giggling because Gabe and I, and most everyone we've talked to, have been pretty sure we were going to have a boy (for one reason or another). Ha, ha, so funny! I really didn't care what we had, as long as it's a healthy baby. Gabe, well, Gabe had his heart set on a boy so he is working on warming up to the idea of a girl.Wednesday night we got together with my parents, aunt and cousins for dinner and "the big reveal". I baked a cake with pink food coloring but covered it with chocolate frosting so nobody would be able to tell what color the cake was. I told everyone the secret was in the cake, so we all rushed through dinner and went straight on to dessert! They were so anxious to know if we were having a boy or a girl, it was kind of comical! Anyways, uncle Ryan's birthday was just two days away so we lit the candles on the cake, but totally forgot to sing Happy Birthday to him! Poor Ryan, maybe combining a gender-reveal cake with a birthday cake was a bad idea! Leave it to me and need to multi-task! Sorry Ryan! Anyways, Ryan cut into the cake with everybody's heads sandwiched in around him to get the first peek. They saw pink and got so excited (again, they all were thinking boy)! My dad was especially excited because he REALLY wanted a girl. It was a great evening and a fun way to celebrate the coming of the first child/grandchild! Anyways, here are some recent pictures from the last week in the lives of the growing Brent family.

This is the most recent "belly-pic" we've taken. 18 weeks, 5 days.



The gender-revealing birthday cake



Anxiously waiting for Ryan to cut into the cake and reveal the big surprise!
...notice the father-to-be in the background who can hardly contain his excitement...ha,ha!



Secret's out!


And a recent picture of our "not so little anymore" baby. She's about 10 inches long now!



And here's my favorite! I outlined this picture because it was a little hard to see, but I just love those little thighs and toes! She is sitting "Indian style" here, so what you're seeing is the left leg with the right foot crossed over.

Trip to Solvang over Easter Break

Gabe and I had the opportunity to get away for a quick trip to Solvang over Easter Break. It was a well needed change of scenery even though we only stayed one night! We left mid-morning, stopped at In N' Out for lunch in Ventura, then continued up the coast and inland to the little Danish town of Solvang. Gabe had never been before and kept asking, "Now, what do they have here again? What are we going to see?" Ha, ha, explaining Solvang to a boy as a cute little Danish town with cute little shops and cute little windmills didn't exactly go over so well, but oh well! We visited a lavender farm in Buellton and enjoyed just walking around town and sampling a couple of pastries when we got there, even though most of the shops were closed for the day. We stayed at the hotel part of Split Pea Andersen's and had dinner there as well. Yep, just as I thought...I still DO NOT like split pea soup!

The next day we went back into town to walk around and actually visit some shops. It was relaxing and fun and we were able to pick up a couple of gifts as well. After shopping and eating, we hopped over to the Santa Inez Mission on the edge of town. We walked the grounds, which were beautiful, but we didn't go in because it seemed a bit pricey to us, but we did enjoy the flowers and the view!

After the mission, we headed over to the Quicksilver Miniature Horse Farm. This was fun! Who doesn't love miniature horses? Especially when they are foaling and there are miniature, miniature horses all over the place! They were so cute and mostly friendly - rather like dogs, they loved being petted and scratched. We talked to the stable lady for some time and just watched the babies play. Relaxing and fun!

After the horse farm, we headed down the road in search of a winery where we could do a tasting. We ended up stopping at the Gainey Vineyard on our way out of town as we were told they had a tasting running for a decent price. I'm so glad we stopped! Not only were the grounds beautiful, but for ten bucks we got to taste six wines and take home a souvenir glass. Not bad! And Gabe and I just shared one tasting...basically, I took one small sip from each pour, just to taste them, and he finished them off. It was a great weekend!

I know, I know, it's been FOREVER since I've posted!

I just looked at my blog and realized it's been 3 whole months since I've posted anything! I think it's fair to say we have been really busy with school, work, and life, but we want to catch everybody up on what we've been doing.
First, (and I know many of you know this already) and foremost, we are expecting our first little one! Although this wasn't in "our" plan yet, it was definitely in God's plan, and we are really excited to be on this journey together with Him. We are due September 21st and are currently 15 weeks along. What makes this journey all the more fun and exciting is that about 7 or 8 of my other close friends and relatives are also expecting within 2 months either way of me. What a great journey to share together! (But I swear there must be something in the water...) Ha, ha...
Here is a picture of me at 12 weeks, showing early. My students say that definitely means it's a boy, but my doctor says it's just because I'm small and the baby has nowhere to go but out!

And here is a picture of our "little monkey" at 12 weeks as well. I've taken to calling him/her "the little monkey" because I keep having this weird dream that I go into labor and give birth to Curious George (yes, the cartoon monkey!). Ha, ha!
I have been super busy the past few months preparing my AP Art History students for their big exam in May. If they pass it, they get college credit and won't have to take the class in college, so it's equivalent to a free class, which is big (as it should be because it's a lot of work for all of us!) I have a wonderful and dedicated group of seniors this year and have really enjoyed taking them to various local museums to enhance our studies. These pictures are from our trip to the Getty Villa Museum in Malibu (all Greek & Roman AND incredibly well done). We went over Christmas Break - yes, 20 of my 26 students showed up for school work (and some fun) on their vacation! Great kids!

Christmas Cheer...or Bust!

Christmas is my favorite time of year, hands down. I love the cookies, the lights, the music, the tree, and of course, the cookies! Although it came and went rather quickly this year, we enjoyed every minute of it! And now, I am tired! We spent 3 days with my parents, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and various other relatives, and then came home to celebrate Gabe's 30th birthday. We planned on spending the day at Disneyland, but they actually sold out! Yes sir, booked to capacity - and that means crowds for miles and miles and lines for hours and hours - and, who wants that? So we spent the day at the movie theater (we saw Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, and A Christmas Carol!) and had a lovely dinner with friends at The Jazz Kitchen. It was a great way to chill out and relax after a hectic past few days. Here are a few pictures of our holiday fun!Gabe and the in-laws, and Gabe and me and some of our friends at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen at Downtown Disney for his birthday dinner.

Here are a few pictures of our place, all decked (except for our halls, ironically) out and ready for some Christmas celebrating.


Christmas Eve at my Uncle Russ' and Auntie Gail's...we have GOT to get this man a dog. These are pretty much the only pictures we have of the evening because these irresistible pooches were the main attraction.


Given our vast capacity for immaturity, we ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, have a wicked awesome time at my Aunt Deb's Christmas dinner.
(Disclaimer: though not truly wicked in nature, the Aussie term, "wicked awesome", clearly and most appropriately defines the CRAZY FUN time we have when in the presence of one another.)


Awww, first married Christmas picture!

WEDDING PICTURES...finally, hurray!!!

I don't have much to say here, except hurray for finally getting our wedding pictures! They are posted in reverse order because I really haven't gotten this whole blogging thing completely down yet. Please enjoy them! I know we have!

Saying Good-bye and heading off for the honeymoon in the BEAUTIFUL Auburn - thank you Randy & Diana for letting us borrow your wheels.

Already!?!?!?!?!

The Band - Boomer McLennan and the Midnight Riders...or something like that -
they were great!

The first dance

Getting ready to ride into the sunset..er, Reception.

Communion - First act of Marriage

Yee Haaaaa!!!

One of Gabe's favorites

Taking a moment to watch the sunset

...precious...

One of our favorite shots of the day - look out Top Model 2010 - ha, ha..

Ha, ha, I love this shot!

The whole, new and improved, family - woo hoo!

Awww, last kiss "good-bye"

Beth and her ladies before the ceremony

Gabe and his men before the ceremony

Fall Is Here!...kind of.

I have been home sick the past few days. Not really dramatically sick, but just generally yucky and run down physically, spiritually and emotionally. It is good to take a "recuperation" when you really need it!

I am loving that Fall has finally arrived and I hope it is here to stay until Winter - no more of these sunny, shiny days for me, please. Don't get me wrong; I love Summer. But I love each of the seasons in their uninterrupted, glorious passages and prefer not to revert back to the one on which the page was just turned. But I digress...

So far, Fall has been a whirlwind of activity! I am busier than I'd like to be with school, debate team, Life Group, the community garden, Church, and whatever else gets cooked up in all my "free time"! I do love the ministry and outreach opportunities God has put in our lives like the garden and a variety of other church projects. I am also extremely blessed by our Life Group - a Bible study-esque group of about 8 of us who meet weekly, if not more often, for fellowship, prayer, food, and community. We are really becoming a new little family and I absolutely love it!

Gabe continues to work on his website venture idea from home. It is sparking some interest, which is good, and we are praying that God will truly bless the project. Please keep praying that God will give him strength and guidance career-wise.

We would also covet your prayers for our direction as a team. I have been feeling God leading me away from the school I currently teach at, but I do not yet know where the new landing place will be. I am not worried or nervous - kind of excited actually, but this school year has been quite difficult for me in a few areas, and I need God's strength just to make it through. Please pray for endurance and contentment!

God has been putting missions on Gabe's heart recently, but at this point that is all we have to go on. We have been praying for God to guide and direct, and soon we will start "knocking on doors" to see where God will lead us. Its funny - normally I would hastily jump at the idea of going back onto the mission field, but at this point I'd be just as content to stay here in Long Beach. I'm plenty content to follow God if He leads us somewhere else as well, I just haven't been this content with my present placement in quite some years. We do have a pretty awesome community here!

My little cousin, Katie, is getting married this Saturday and we are SO excited for her and Ryan! They have an awesome story and are an incredible example of God's faithfulness to His children's prayers. We couldn't be more happy or blessed to have Ryan become a part of our family.

We will be spending Thanksgiving at my parent's house with the usual and growing variety of attendees. I love how our Thanksgiving celebration seems to grow each year and I love that my parents are open and willing to host for whomever needs a warm place and people to celebrate with. My mom and I (and Gabe, if I can get him up!) plan on shopping bright and early - 5 a.m. - to hit all the great Black Friday Sales...I am such an adrenaline junkie when it comes to this, its ridiculous! I just have to get THE deal!

Other than this, we are just taking life one day at a time - learning how to live with and love each other better, as Christ would have us do. Marriage is certainly not a stroll in the park! It is a strenuous hike up a mountainside. But the view from the top is most certainly amazing and more rewarding than any view you'd get on an old park stroll. So, I think I'll keep on hiking.