News update from Saturday April 29, 2000

Dear Friends,

Another extremely eventful year has taken place in the Lacey household. It started in January when I got the Egyptian flu? you know...the kind where you become a Mummy after 9 months. I had the normal 8 weeks of nasty "all day" sickness and extreme fatigue. Taking Papaya with chlorophyll tablets helped tremendously. Once that part was over I enjoyed the fun things of feeling the baby's movements, kicks, and hiccups.

We, of course, had to have genetic counseling because of the Methylmalonic Acidemia (MMA). There is always the 25% possibility any of our children might have MMA. While shopping in Wal-Mart for a baby gift for another blessing in our church, I looked through a "Name Book" and found the girl's name that I have had picked out since before we were married...just in case we would have a girl this time.

I must go back to when I was pregnant with Jonathan. Tim had picked out his name and when I found out the meaning, "God is Gracious," I had peace from the Lord that he would be OK, and he was. As I was looking up the name "Shauna," it meant "God is Gracious." Once again the Lord gave me peace that everything would be OK.

About 3 weeks later, I had an ultrasound. I was 18 weeks along. Tim and Joshua were with me because Joshua had gotten his routine blood draw. Kathy, the technician, was using a new high definition machine. She asked if we wanted to know the sex and we said yes. When she zeroed in at the appropriate position I said, "That's a girl, isn't it!" Tears came to my eyes. We were having a girl after 4 boys. It was hard to believe. Kathy did a thorough check on the rest of the baby's body and found everything to be perfect except for some dark spots on the brain. She couldn't say anything to us but had to call in the high risk doctor. As I lay there having the ultrasound, he proceeded to explain to us that these were cysts on the brain. He called it a chromosomal abnormality, Trisomie 18. Trisomie 21 would be Down syndrome, Trisomie 11 the baby miscarries during the 1st trimester and Trisomie 18 meant that Shauna could be born very small, severely retarded, physically deformed, and would die within the first few weeks. THEN, he said it was a 1/8000 "chance" of a problem. A lot of times the cysts go away and there are no problems. We would trust God because He designed this precious being and He makes no mistakes. We declined an amniocentesis. At 38 weeks, I had another ultrasound. There were NO cysts on the brain. Everything looked great. She was head down, no cord around the neck, seeable hair, and cute pinchable cheeks. And, she was still a girl.

I awoke at 4 AM on Oct. 13th with contractions 15 minutes apart. This looked like the day. I finished packing, made arrangements for the boys, and Tim and I left at 11 AM for the hospital. A dear friend of mine, Ellen Lawrence, met us at the hospital to help during labor and delivery. To give you all the birthing details would take another entire letter. So, I'll just say I had the best labor and delivery with only 20 minutes of intense labor during transition, two pushes and we had our girl. Shauna Mae (middle name after great grandmother) was born at 3:45 PM, Wednesday, Oct. 13th, 1999. She weighed 8 lb. 3 oz. (my biggest) and was 20 1/2" long. What a cutie! She's loved and admired by all. A urine analysis showed she does not have MMA.

We found out Tim would be reassigned here in Ohio after completing his master's program through AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology.) So shortly after Shauna's safe delivery, Tim and a realtor friend went house hunting again. After they selected homes that would meet our family's needs, I would go look at them. Within a couple of weeks we found a house, got packing material and boxes from other families moving on base, and moved on Dec. 10, before Christmas. Our home is such an answer to prayer. We live in a quiet neighborhood, have a fenced-in back yard, and have another homeschooled family next door.

Shauna will be 7 months old in May and is doing all of the normal baby things. I am having so much fun dressing her in pink, ribbons, and lace. She is a real joy to our hearts. Jonathan will be 5 this May. He loves to ride bike, climb trees, swing from ropes, play ball with his Dad and brothers, and of course play with his baby sister. He is such a good helper and really sticks with a job. He got a play guitar for his birthday last year. I think he'll be ready for a real instrument soon. Joshua is 6 1/2 and continues to do very well genetically. The Lord has kept him healthy without a cold or cough all winter. He started some kindergarten work this year and is doing very well. He enjoys riding bike, playing baseball, (what a slugger!) and basketball. He keeps very active but tires more easily than the other boys. He loves to sing along to Bluegrass - has great pitch, and not knowing all the words doesn't stop him. He and Jonathan have also loved their Pocketful of Praise club at church.

Joel is 10 1/2 and continues to be our family clown. He loves to do impressions of people and animal voices. One day while sharing some interesting facts he read about humming birds, he told us that their nests were the size of a half of a walnut shell and the eggs were the size of ? the size of an "Army" bean. Of course he meant "navy" bean. He knew it was some sort of military term but got his "branch" of service a little mixed up. Daniel is 12 1/2 and is eating us out of house and home. I fear it will only get worse in the next couple of years as Joel joins him in adolescent growth. Daniel and Joel have both been busy with Patch the Pirate club at church. They perform skits and sing in our PM services once a month. This spring they will be playing on an organized baseball team consisting mostly of other homeschoolers. Tim will be helping coach. They are avid baseball card collectors. This ongoing enthusiasm blossomed from a unit study on the "History of Baseball" we did last fall. A goal we have pursued for our homeschooling year was to memorize the book of 1st John (about 100 verses.) We have chapter 5 left then review. Dad gets to reward with the $100.00 this year.

Last August we attended Tim's 20 year High School class reunion in GA. I was 7 months pregnant and it was the 1st time his family ever saw me in that condition. Tim finished his Master's program and graduated March 2000. He got an "A" on his thesis and of the two conference papers he submitted, both were accepted to be published. Now he is working as the deputy director of the communication's directorate at the AFIT school. His job is to oversee the several hundred computers and networks at the Institute.

Me, well I went through a pregnancy, gave birth, moved and setup a household, was co-vice president of our ladies fellowship at church, and homeschooled to name a few. For my birthday and Mother's Day, Tim is buying me a mandolin. We hope to be able to do more bluegrass gatherings at our home now that things have slowed down a little (Ha!). In March we were finally able to take Shauna home to GA to see family and friends. We will be home in WI for Mother's Day weekend. My older brother Steve and wife Mary are celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary. We are anxious to see everyone and have them meet Shauna.

This has been a most difficult letter to finally get out, but we hope you have enjoyed getting caught up on our family news. The Lord has been gracious to us in so many ways. We thank Him for His special watch care over our family and are looking forward to serving Him in the days ahead. Please keep in touch.

Love in Christ,
The Laceys

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