End of Month Update

I wanted to update everyone. I know in December, I posted my weight and BMI results so I thought that I would update them on Jan 30. Today, I weigh 164 and my BMI is 26.43. Not much weight loss I know, however, we spent 6 days in the hospital with our youngest boy. He is doing well and thanks for the many emails and contacts that I got about him. Hospital food leaves much to be desired so we either ate fast food or ate late depending on which shift we took. There is just no making up those calories. Before we went in, I had lost about 3 pounds. My goal, for February, is to lose 3.5 lbs. That is going to be hard. My birthday is in February and my hubby always makes me a homemade German chocolate cake. I am going to run several days in advance in order to be able to eat it.
Does anyone else struggle with food? I never used to have a problem with it. But now, I just crave icky yucky things like Fritos, candy, chips. Why is that? A girl at work who is doing Weight Watchers helps to keep me accountable. WE talk about why food all of a sudden has this strange appeal especially pizza. Waiting tables in an Italian restaurant is so hard. The food is great but as we all know Italian is not great for you. I try to be good so, this morning I woke up extra early and met God on my street. I am going to try and do that as many times as I can per week. If you are struggling to lose weight and get in shape, then let me know. You can send me an email or comment below about what is working for you. Let's stop being a statistic and start being healthy. I hope that this finds you well and sticking to your resolutions. Hee Hee!
BTW, if you are looking for something to do with your sweetie on Valentine's Day, yes it is coming. The restaurant where I work is offering a special. It will run from 02/09-02-/14. 1 Appetizer, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts for $30. This does not include drink or tip. Mezzaluna Pizzeria and Tap Room has 50 beers on tap and a good wine list. Hope to see you there! It is located on Main St. downtown Hendersonville, between Tempo music and Black Rose. The food is awesome! And of course the service is fantastic(I wait tables).LOL!
Next update 02/28!!!!!!!!

Sancitity of Life

If you have read my blog, then you know how I feel about the sanctity of every human life no matter the terms of conception, condition of the baby, projected quality of life, value to society, or convenience to the mother. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital with my baby, who wasn't supposed to be or I would have written this on Thursday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. So, just to get caught up, I wanted to take some of the most common arguments for abortion and debate them with facts and not emotions.
"Every woman has the right to choose what is right for her body" That holds no water. Every woman? If the baby is to be a girl, which is a female(definition of woman), that can be seen at the time of conception. All the genetic markers are there from the time sperm meets egg. So, what about the baby woman's right to choose. Do you think she would choose to die? I doubt it. Humans have a strong survival instinct. If we were to weed out the girl babies and only abort the boy fetuses, then that would be discrimination.
"Abortion is all right in the case of rape or incest." Very emotional issue! As a woman who has been sexually assaulted, I have been there. I didn't get pregnant and very few of the rape/incest cases ever lead to fertilization(less than 1% of all abortions are from these 2 causes). No one really knows why. Maybe it is the stress or trauma. However, putting that kind of heavy responsibility just exacerbates the original issue.
"What if the life of the mother is in danger?" No one know for certain when a woman will die. Abortion procedures often carry as much risk for hemorrhaging as does having the baby. We don't ever hear of women dying due to a botched abortion but it happens and happens as frequently as does a woman dying in childbirth. I just came through a situation where my life was threatened by my baby. How was I to choose who was worth more? Me or the baby? While I came close to seeing Heaven, I am here writing to you now.
"It is my body and I can decide what to do with it." This is the easiest to refute. At the moment of conception, the little life has all it needs to survive, if allowed. Often, it will have a different blood type than the mother and will poison her if the 2 bloods mix. Your body has no control over the baby. It will take what it needs from the mother first which is why vitamins and proper eating are recommended. Its brain waves and heart functions(which appear at around the 4th or 5th week) are on a different pattern from that of the mother's. The DNA is different from hers and that would stand up to any CSI inspection.
I am very passionate about this life issue and the fact that we have murdered enough people who could have been essential to helping save Social Security in America. We cannot call ourselves a nation of morals when only situational ethics apply. What is life in some instances is not in others. What is all right for me is not all right for you. That is hogwash!!!!! Life is a lot more black and white than we want to admit. If we did admit this, then we would see the need for a Savior to cleanse us from all sin. That is what I have done. I have seen the need for Jesus's blood to wash over my dark heart and make it full of light again. I am not perfect and won't be, this side of Heaven. But everyday, I strive to be more like the one who saved me!

I cannot believe it!

Well, not one year later, we are here at Mission Hospitals again. AJay was unable to breathe well and so they rushed him to the hospital. I was overcome at watching him being put into the ambulance and taken away from me. His blood oxygen saturation levels were in the 60s. They should be in the upper 90s. They have him on oxygen and are watching him carefully. Since he has RSV, that is all that they can do for him. He will recover but it is hard to watch your 11 month old struggle to breathe.
I am having flashbacks upon arriving here. If you don't know, I spent 81 days at the Mission Hilton before finally getting to go home in February 2008. They brought a tray today to eat and I couldn't touch it due to bad memories of 100s of meals served to me during my unfortunate incarceration. I went up to my old room to see some of the nurses who cared for me and I was glad to see them but not glad to see the floor. I admit that I had forgotten how to get there. Ella Raye was a little nervous at coming back here but she was a trooper and came to cheer up her brother along with Isabela and Grandma.
Thanks for all your prayers and the comfort you have brought to me and my family. We should get to come home Friday, I hope!

Lipservice

I am so disappointed by the numbers of churches who just give lip service to the whole right to life issue. As Christians, we are supposed to speak for those who can't speak for themselves. Those who are in the womb who can't tell you that they would choose to live. We are supposed to speak for them. The Bible is very clear. One Sunday every year prior to the anniversary of Roe vs Wade, the Southern Baptist convention designates it as the Sanctity of Life Sunday. It is the 1 day out of 52 Sundays that we focus on why we believe in what we believe. Abortion is wrong, in all situations. How can I make that blanket statement, you ask? Well, I have been on both sides of the issue. I have been the unwed teenage pregnant mom who made a wrong choice and I have been the mother whose life was in danger. I chose incorrectly the first time and correctly the second. The blessings from my correct choice have been innumerable while the curses from my incorrect choice have been devastating.
I spoke at Southside Baptist church in Savannah, Ga and the pastor scheduled the whole day, music, Sunday School lessons, and sermon to coincide with the life issues. I was so glad to be in a church that didn't gloss over the abortion issue because they didn't want to offend anyone or they didn't believe that anyone in their flock had had an abortion. This is the worst holocaust in the history of the world and yet it goes untouched. There are women who are suffering sitting in churches under the weight of their guilt and shame and many cannot find their way out. Praise God that I heard 7 years ago today that there is hope and there is freedom after such a devastating decision. I heard it from the pulpit. It wasn't statistics or condemnation but the love of God and His redemption that saved me and my marriage.
But here are some statistics, over 50 million babies have been aborted since 1973. 1 out of every 3 women have had an abortion and 1 out of every 6 Christian women have had an abortion. Every 20 seconds an abortion is performed and that makes about 4000+ per day. For every 1000 live teen births, 730 babies are aborted. Over 60% of Christians believe that abortion is ok in some circumstances ie the life of the mother or rape. Less than 1% of all abortions are for either of those purposes.
Let's not just give lip service to what we believe. We should have the courage of our convictions. As BHO takes office, he is promising to pass the Freedom of Choice act and he would like to legalize late term abortions. We cannot afford to be silent anymore as we watch babies being murdered because they are an inconvenience or not in someone's life plan. If we don't speak out, then who will? First they came for the homosexuals, I said nothing. Then they came for the downtrodden, I said nothing. Then they came for the Jews, I said nothing. Then they came for me and there was no one left to say anything.

Blast from the past

I recovered these entries from the LotsaHelpingHands website and after crying for a while, I thought that I'd post them. They brought me some encouragement.

posted by Sarita Edgerton, Wednesday, 11/28/07, 10:44 AM
Just an update. We got our MRI results back from yesterday and it is not good news. The placenta seems to be doing its own thing. It seems poised to attack my bladder and abdomen wall. With this condition, it never gets better only stays the same or gets worse. I'll kind of give you the lowdown. Basically, your placenta is made of blood vessels that nourish the baby. Rarely, these blood vessels attach too tightly to the uterus. This is called accreta. If the blood vessels get to the wall of the uterus, it is called increta. If it stops there, then a hysterectomy will fix the problem. If it decides that it wants to go through the wall, then like an alien it'll need to feed. It begins to attack whatever it can find like bladder, intestines, artery and feed off that. At the time of surgery, the disconnection of those vessels gets messy and that is when blood transfusions are necessary and of course my life is at risk. The baby seems to be fine right now and the longer he stays in the healthier he'll be. We made 24 weeks today and have set the goal of 25 weeks next Wed. I had my 1st steroid shot today (boy,it hurt!!!!). I get another 1 tomorrow and that is it. This will help our son to grow bigger and stimulate lung development. I am in the hospital for good. Thanks, Erin, the Daltons, and the Rhodes, for coming to visit. They really lifted my spirits. Thanks for all the phone calls and emails. I would love visitors as long as you are healthy as my immune system is compromised. Specific prayer needs: the development of the baby, wisdom for the doctors as they plan out my "birth plan", Michael as he is trying to be in many places at once, and my kids and their adjustment without a mommy. I love you all and ask God to return the blessing to you a 100fold!!!!!!!!!!


Praise God from whom all blessings flow
posted by Sarita Edgerton, Wednesday, 12/5/07, 10:29 AM
25 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not enough exclamation points to tell you how excited we are. This is a huge milestone! The baby's survival rate went from 30% to 50% in 1 week. When I broke my water at 23 weeks, we didn't expect to make it this far. Not that we were doubting God but we just weren't sure how this would play out. I am living at Mission Hospital through the rest of the pregnancy. I have had so many visitors who bring chocolate and decorations to make my room homey and my tummy feel yummy. Thanks to everyone who have helped me to feel loved and have helped my children and my husband. Gordon Butler, minister of music, and Matt Jones, interim youth pastor, invited Michael to a boys night out which lifted his spirits so much. My children have enjoyed everyone who brought their children. They ask who is coming today to play with us. We are having our moments but we are learning to be content in all things. It saddens me when Summie won't come to me because he prefers his grandma but I am learning to love that he has a special bond with her.
God continues to teach me through this. I have been studying Psalm 91 and God's protection and refuge. Today on a show I wouldn't normally watch I heard someone say the God's protection is , like a mother eagle who shrouds her young within her wings. A predator cannot harm prey he cannot see. Since, Satan prowls about looking for prey that he may destroy, I feel he can't see me. I have felt cocooned in this room and now I know why. God has His wings around me protecting me from Satan. I am now praying that prayer for my children, my husband and family and for those who are helping us to survive this. May God shroud you from the eyes of the enemy. We love you and hope to be able to update you again next week with a baby still inutero.
Oh yeah! We have a name. Asa Jeb Edgerton and we think we will call him AJ or Ajay (meaning victorious). Now, you can pray for him by name!

What's coming....

I just wanted to share with you a few thoughts about what I think is coming and what we can do as a community to prepare. Everyone is experiencing an economic downturn. There are jobs being lost, 401Ks disappearing, and bills needing to be paid. I find it hard sometimes not to get overwhelmed by all the bad stuff that I see all the time. I have felt that something bad has been coming for a while and have begun preparing my family. First off, I have quit paying attention to the main stream media alone and I get my news from a varied amount of sources. I think that I get closer to the truth that way. Secondly, I have begun stockpiling necessities for my family. Food that has a long shelf life and paper goods(though toilet paper seems to disappear down the same black hole that socks in the dryer do). Did anyone see the news reports about people trampling each other the day after Thanksgiving? This was for a good sale on toys and nonsense. Can you imagine what things will be like if people are out of food? If you are prepared, then you won't have to be out in that craziness. I am going to include this link to a list that you can keep for yourself and your family.
Thirdly, look to your neighbors and church for help. This is what America does better than anyone else in the world. We help each other out. If there is some global catastrophe, the US will be the last place that the UN helps. Fourthly, don't panic. If you are a child of God, then you know that you are covered by Him and He will provide. But God gives us the brain and the where with all to survive. Use those God given assets to take care of yourselves and each other. Lastly, pray. If my people pray and humble themselves and seek My face, then I will hear from Heaven and heal their land. Thus saith the Lord!
I hope I am wrong but this can even help in a flood, hurricane, or snowstorm! Boy scout motto: Always, be prepared!