An Accident and a Doctor's Visit

Two or Three Somewhat Unconnected Circumstances in the Life of Tim and Julie Ann
September 11th was a surprising day for me. It started out with Ladies' Bible Study in the morning - we are going through a book on Romans 8 and discussing verse 28.

Sometimes I have those moments where I tell myself, "Okay, this is what the Bible says. If I took this for the truth that it is, what would my life look like?"

I chose to be thinking this thought as I drove home on Minnow Bucket, a winding Mississippi road. I was also incredibly hungry and thinking, "Wow, I just need to get home and eat." At that moment, I saw a truck coming towards me - with his left wheels over the double yellow line in my already narrow lane.

Celebrating 20 Years - our '92 Camry

Thinking that I was perfectly in control of the car, I eased onto the shoulder and stepped on my brakes. The truck passed and I eased back into my lane. What I didn't realize is that a soft shoulder in Mississippi can act just like black ice in New York. As I eased back onto the road, my brakes locked and I slid into the oncoming lane. Suddenly the car was doing it's own thing and all that I could do was hold on. The car veered back across the road and I saw a lot of green as I bush-whacked through the Mississippi jungle.

By God's grace, I was perfectly safe. No oncoming traffic, no big trees, and I was wearing my seat belt. I called our insurance, our roadside assistance, and our dear landlady who came to help me.

September 17th - The day we found out!

All this to explain why I wasn't too worried when I started to feel weird the next day - probably just a result of the stress of the day before. When the icky feeling persisted for the next five days (along with a small fever and cramps), I started getting a little concerned about other possibilities - my first thought was a miscarriage. So I looked up miscarriage symptoms and discovered that I actually had PREGNANCY symptoms! (Call me dumb and inexperienced).

So then we had to decide who, how, and when to tell. I thought we could just wait until it was obvious - maybe four or five months. Tim wanted to tell the whole world immediately.

We started by telling our family. Dad Mayfield in particular seemed to be suffering from Jealous Grandpa Syndrome (what happens when all your other friends show off pictures of their grand kids and you don't have any). We had told him months ago that a lot of military couples wait until they make Captain to have babies. So he would always ask us, "So, when did you say that Tim makes Captain?"

Eleven Weeks

I wonder what he would have done if we'd told him that some military couples wait until they make Colonel to have kids.

This morning we had our second ultrasound and heard Jr.'s heartbeat. He had settled down for a nap so we didn't see much action (unlike last time!). Apparently my doctor doesn't check the gender until week 28, which leaves me just twelve weeks to sew pink or blue before Jr. comes. (My guess is boy).

Incidentally, ever since I ran our Toyota into the bushes it has been getting better gas mileage, and the hood now closes (it had been dummy-rigged since our fender-bender in Pensacola).

And I really need to find something to eat now.

Thirteen Weeks - Today!