Poppy Seed

Well... the doppler might not be the best idea right now. I had a little scare last week. Britney and I were able to find the heartbeat just fine until Sunday night. I kept myself calm and decided I would try again Monday morning. As soon as I opened my eyes I ran and grabbed the doppler. I searched and searched but couldn't find our baby Olives heartbeat. I was a wreck. I kept telling myself it was going to be okay. But I didn't feel that way. I really had it in my head that we had lost yet another baby and if this was true I was done. No more babies I had decided. We would just have dogs and that was it. I sent Jyl a text to see if I could come in for an ultrasound. She told me I could see one of her friends at 1:30 that afternoon. I can't even begin to tell you how slow the hours went by that morning. I walked into Brit's house and sunk down into the couch I couldn't keep myself from bursting into tears. I was so scared! Taylor was out of town for...

My adorable nephew came into this world on December 19th. He and mommy are healthy and happy. I put together a slideshow that I hope you all enjoy. - Sarah

This is the cutest video! Check it out when you have time. It will bring a smile to your face. - Sarah

I got a call and my liver enzymes are normal!!! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!! They are testing for a few more things and we should hear back this week. My parents rented Taylor and I a doppler from Stork Radio . It really puts my mind at ease being able to hear baby Olive's heart beat any time of the day. If you are interested be sure to go check out the website.

This holiday season has been filled with hope, joy, and happiness. I just feel better this year. God has calmed my heart and given me strength to go on. We all miss Mamie so very much. I think about what little presents we would be putting under the tree and how half of the ornaments wouldn't even be up because she would have already pulled them off. But again this year I think of what an amazing place to be spending her second Christmas. In heaven with Jesus. I bet it is amazing! I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We have so much to be thankful for and what a sweet, sweet day. It is Jesus' birthday. - Sarah We want to thank our awesome friends Sarah and Jon Stringer. Every year they light a tree at UAMS in memory of Mamie. Thanks for never forgetting! We love you.

Well we have made it to 12 weeks and are doing great. Yesterday Taylor and I went in to see Dr. Sellers and got to hear baby Olives heart beat for the first time. What a sweet sweet sound and it was 165 beats per minute! We discussed everything that happened with Brit and the cholestasis (post to come). When Taylor and I were trying to get life insurance about a year ago through 2 different companies my liver enzymes were elevated both times. Sellers is going to keep a close eye on this and they drew blood yesterday. Once we hear back I might be sent to our G.I. doctor for further testing. Seller was excited to tell us that he and his wife are due a few weeks before us. Crazy since last time they were due a few weeks behind us. We are so happy for them. I go back in 4 weeks for another check up. Jyl , is going to do an ultra sound on Jan 11 and hopefully we will find out the sex of our little Olive. Be sure to cast your vote on the blog of what you think the sex might be...

Sunday October 31st, 2010 Today was one of the happiest days of mine and Taylor lives. Our prayers were answered, we are pregnant! The excitement is totally different from that of when we found out we were pregnant with our little Mamie. There is a bit of nervousness and fright. But I am leaving it in Gods hands. He will take care of me and this baby I know it! So here is what happened.... Taylor and I went away that weekend to the river with some friends from our Sunday school class. We had such a fun weekend but I was feeling a little off. I really didn't look too deep into it since it has been month after month of waiting and trying. I really just thought, I didn't feel good and I was close to the end of my cycle. On our way home from the river I told Taylor we might want to stop and get a test. I was suppose to start fasting the very next day for my colonoscopy on Wednesday. YUCK:( We ran by Walgreens and I ran in and bought the very same test that I too...

We had a pretty crazy weekend. Saturday while I was out and about getting stuff for holiday parties and doing some last minute shopping I got a call from mom saying that I needed to come over and help her with Silas. Jason was taking Brit to labor and delivery because she was itching like crazy from head to toe. Even the palms of her hands and bottoms of her feet were itching. While we were all waiting at the house Brit and I began texting back an forth. They thought her liver enzymes might be elevated. Come to find out they were and she had formed cholestasis . You can click on the word to read more about it. Print Some women experience a very severe itching in late pregnancy. The most common cause of this is cholestasis, a common liver disease that only happens in pregnancy. Cholestasis of pregnancy is a condition in which the normal flow of bile in the gallbladder is affected by the high amounts of pregnancy hormones. Cholestasis is more common in the last trimester of pre...

December 2-6 I went to visit one of my sweet and talented friends Tania Lezak . We had such a fun weekend. She and her husband adopted little Annika last January and I have been dying to meet her. She is precious and has such a cute personality. We played, watched movies, drank lot of hot tea and I can't even tell you how many M&M's we ate. Saturday morning Tania and I headed to Philly to photograph a wedding. I haven't second shot in years so I was pumped. The couple was lovely and Tania and I had a blast shooting together. I haven't laughed that much in a really long time. Since I have been home we have been skyping with our other good friend Kate from California trying to get a girls trip together for Feb. I CAN NOT wait. - Sarah

I was filled with joy and tears a few months back when Judy Adams from Catering To You called me. She had heard about Mamie's Poppy Plates and wanted to discuss some things with me. She was so touched by the idea of what I was doing and wanted to help in any way. While we were talking she said, "Sarah, I want to fund all the plates for UAMS and for Little Rock Childrens Hospital." Ya'll I almost went to my knees. I began shaking and tears of joy streamed down my face. Since then Judy has done so much for us. She has put us in touch with an amazing law firm that has taken us on probono so we can achieve non-profit status. There is way more exciting news coming soon. To say thank you to our sweet Judy Adams we had two plates painted for her to say thank you for adopting both hospitals. We hope that more businesses will adopt hospitals and we can be state wide soon. Thank you thank you thank you Judy. You are such a special person that I believe God brought in...

The Arkansas Hospital Association trade show back in October was a true hit. The interest and enthusiasm we received was both heart warming and proved that what we are doing is going to go so far. Thanks to everyone that came to help. We would like to give a special thanks to one of our biggest supporters, Judy Adams from Catering To You who helped us get our booth and made the yummy and beautiful petite fours for everyone that stopped by our booth. Me and Britney Me and sweet sweet Crystal. The two Sarah's :)

A few weeks back Amanda and I had to rush Brit to labor and delivery because she was having serious contractions. Being only 30 weeks at the time made it very scary. Baby Abe needs to say put for a while so he can keep cooking. They hooked her up and monitored her while they gave her fluids and pain meds to stop the contractions. Thankfully she had not dilated and it all turned out to be okay and she got to go home after a couple of hours. Everyone has been taking turns with Silas to get him out so she can rest. Dr. Wendel said she needs to take it easy and rest as much as she can. I picked him up for the park the other day. I took him to the old park that Britney and I grew up playing in. We had so much fun running around and hiking the trails. I love that little guy. - Sarah

Last week was another really hard week. We were super busy in the office when I got a text from my sweet sweet friend Mitzi saying they had gone in for their 20 week ultrasound and there was no heartbeat. I wanted to start screaming. WHY! Why is this happening to so many people that I love? Why does it happen to anyone at all. It just isn't fair. The pain you feel..... I can't even describe it. No one should have to join this horrible club. I immediately picked up the phone and called her back. As soon as I heard her sweet voice on the other end my eyes welled up with tears. She told me she didn't know what happened. I could tell she was in total shock. We closed down shop here and Britney and Amanda got out with me to go gather some very important things for Mitzi. Touch has been so important to me. Anything that Mamie touched is so precious to me. I headed to Target and found a soft cream blanket that we could wrap the baby in, I also found 2 books that really helped me t...