why i'm doing this...

hi friends=)

i have entered the blogging world-something i never thought i'd do in a million years. here's why...on january 3 we got such fun news: we had baby #1 growing in my belly=) we proceeded with the typical first trimester experience-constant nausea, sleepiness beyond belief, being entertained by the unpredictable hormones=) as april 2 approached, we were so excited with anticipation of finding out what we were having...i honestly did have that little mama feeling that it was a girl, but i had no idea how reliable that little feeling was, and being the planner that i am-i just couldn't wait to know for sure. april 2 came and we settled into the ultrasound room and were told that it was indeed a baby girl in there! the excitement of knowing was quickly dampened when they told us they were also seeing a pretty severe birth defect. it's called a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and there's more to come on what exactly that means...but basically with what we've been told, there's a pretty big chance she won't be able to live very long once she's out of my belly. more to come on why that is as well...

now i get to the reason i'm doing this. i kept debating on how private of a person i was-i always thought of myself as pretty open but it felt strange to think of displaying our deepest thoughts and feelings on the internet as we process what might be one of the most trying times we ever go through. however...we have been blown away by the amount of love and support expressed to us since april 2. there are so many people praying for us and i finally came to the conclusion that this is a great way to keep people posted on how we're doing, where we are emotionally with all of this, and what specifically people can be praying for. it has been overwhelming in the most wonderful way to receive so many letters and emails and phone calls, showing us how the body of christ is joining together with us GLOBALLY (thanks shelly) to carry us through this time of preparing to potentially lose our daughter just as soon as we see her. so, with all that said, please read on if you care to-we appreciate you so much walking with us during this time, and we can't thank you enough=)

we love you all...

katie and donnie