BeautyRevealed | The Blog of Melissa J. Dillon

Dear Family and Friends,

Yes, our little girl’s name is Ava. We wanted to wait till she was born to announce it, but as we are writing to ask you all for prayer for our baby girl, we want her name to be lifted up to heaven as much as possible.

On Wednesday evening, our doctor called with some concerns over Ava’s ultrasound pictures that had been taken the previous day. He had sent them to Duluth, and the specialist there wanted to see us right away. So yesterday morning we headed to the Duluth Clinic to have another ultrasound done and to meet with Dr. O’Day. Our “Ava Baby” has what is called Duodenal Atresia which is a blockage in her small intestine. This means that she will have to undergo surgery as soon as she is born to remove the blockage and reattach the intestine. We are told that the incision in her abdomen is fairly small and this procedure, in most cases, should not have any sort of complications arising from it. Our hearts are grieved, though, for our precious little one having to go through surgery the day she is born. She will not be able to breastfeed right away, which of course was our hope… we wanted to begin that bonding process right away, and to keep her safe in our arms~ just loving on her and adoring her. But she will need to  be fed through tubes for the first few days, and then with a bottle, then she will be able to slowly begin to breastfeed. The overall recovery time is two weeks, and of course we will stay with her in the hospital until we can safely bring her home.

At the moment, we are working on getting her in to Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis. There is a Christian Surgeon there who comes highly recommended through friends of ours who’s daughter also had intestinal complications. We have such a peace about this hospital and staff, and it will also be so good to be near Jamie and Angela during this time. My family will be there as much as they can, and it will be such a blessing that they will have a place to stay that is close by. There is so much changing to do now, though. Please pray for us as we meet with the Surgeon, Doctors and staff, and begin the process of working through all the changes that need to happen in the next few days or weeks: transferring, consulting with physicians, insurance logistics, changes in birth plan, lots of questions, packing for two weeks or more, traveling to The Cities, etc. She is due soon, so time is very much a factor for us. We are told that a vaginal birth is still possible, unless other complications arise… so we are praying and believing for a natural and blessed delivery.

There is still so much that we don’t know yet until we meet with the Surgeon and Doctors, but we will give updates here on the blog when we find out more. Please pray with us for Ava’s quick and thorough healing in the hands of those caring for her. We also know that we serve a God who can heal her in the blink of an eye! Our faith muscles have been exercised a lot in the last few days, and Mark and I desire that we would not doubt, but trust in our God who loves us and our “Ava Baby” even more than we could imagine! My Dad reminded me the other day that it is so important to praise the Lord on this side of the Red Sea, and not just when we get to the other side. Too often we wait until we have proof of God’s goodness before we praise Him rather than putting our trust in Him when we cannot see the outcome. The bottom line is: God is good ~ all the time. He deserves our praise no matter what, and we will praise Him in this Storm. Jamie reminded me today that there isn’t one aspect of Ava’s life that is outside of the Lord’s influence and authority! The Lord is intimately involved in all things concerning our precious daughter. And “by His stripes we are healed.”

If you have prayers, scriptures or wishes for Ava, please write them in the comment section… We believe that the Lord will be glorified through this, and we want to show Ava how good her God is! Thank you for all your prayers for our “little bird”… she is so loved! We know she has so many friends waiting for her to come home!

We love you all!

With so much gratitude,

Mark and Melissa

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand

and for a talk beside the fire. It is the time for home.”

- Edith Sitwell

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without spending it at Mom and Dad’s cabin in the woods. This year was perfect and magical as the snow fell for 3 days straight, creating such a cozy atmosphere. We actually aren’t celebrating Christmas with gifts and traditions until Jamie and Angela come this coming New Year’s weekend, so we made Christmas week special and relaxing with delicious food, games and Christmas movies at Jodie’s cabin. We watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” on his big flatscreen… my favorite Christmas movie. It is so nice to extend the holidays by celebrating two weekends in a row. We’re so excited to have the whole family together in a few days. Our New Year’s celebration will be at Jodie’s, and then we’ll have our Christmas celebration on Friday night.

I love Mom’s decorating on her front porch. It is so welcoming and festive.

The snow coated the trees and made a magical scene for us on Christmas Day.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I’ll post more pictures after our family Christmas this weekend. Blessings in the coming New Year!

“Sugar and spice, and everything nice; that’s what little girl’s are made of.”

- English Nursery Rhyme

I’m sure ya’ll know by now… word of mouth travels fast, but we are so excited that we’re having a little girl! I’ve been so behind in blogging that I’m sure this is old news by now to most of you. Her due date is February 23rd, and she is growing healthy and strong. Thank you for all the sweet gifts that we’ve been receiving already… her room is filling up with pink ~ So sweet. This sweet blessing is an answer to our prayers… and her grandparent’s prayers!

“Silver Bells, Silver Bells… It’s Christmas time in the city.”

- Bing Crosby

Last year’s Christmas in the City was so much fun that we decided to make it an annual tradition. This year we decided to take the Light Rail from the Mall of America so we could have the full city experience.

We went to downtown Minneapolis and headed to the Macy’s building to see the Christmas display on the Eight floor.

This years theme was “A Day in the Life of an Elf”. We can’t wait until next year when our little Muffin can see what’s going on! We’ll have a ten month old next Christmas… wow!!!

It was so much fun to experience Santaland… it was so well done.

Next we stopped downstairs for some much needed Starbucks. Then we headed to Barnes and Noble for a bit (we are a book family!) while we waited for our reservations at “The Local” Pub. Great food and a fun atmosphere.

We left the restaurant just in time to see Santa’s float come by in the Holidazzle Parade. Sorry about the blurriness… my picture taking skills are really not that great at night. I’m definitely not the photographer in the family!

Then we headed back to the Mall of America via the Light Rail…

…where we caught the late showing of Disney’s “A Christmas Carol”. I must say that I highly recommend this movie… especially if you can watch it in 3D! Such a fun time and soooo Christmasy! (Although I thought maybe a few parts might have been a bit scary for children. I recommend it for a little older children).

On Sunday we headed back to the Mall of America for some Christmas shopping as well. It was a full weekend, and we came home exhausted, sore, and very, very happy. So many wonderful memories were made this year. Jamie’s already planning next year’s “Christmas in the City” adventure… we can’t wait!

Oh, and Angela, you must share your recipe for Tortellini Soup… it was spectacular!!

“He who thanks but with the lips thanks but in part,

The full, the true Thanksgiving comes from the heart.”

- J. A. Shedd

This was Jodie’s second year to host Thanksgiving at his cozy cabin. Last year was so special that we dubbed his house our official Thanksgiving spot from now on… whether he likes it or not! So glad he doesn’t mind. We had such a special time again this year. We were so grateful that Jamie and Angela could be home this year (we get them every other year), and Grandpa Swan was able to be with us again from Alexandria. With a house filled with loving family and wonderful food, we counted our blessings once again and thanked God for His faithfulness in our lives.

My first pie. The crust could’ve been better… but it could’ve been worse! Thankful that it wasn’t worse.

I love Jodie’s woodsy dinnerware… he always sets such an inviting table for Thanksgiving.

Mark and I are especially thankful for our Little One on the way… what a gift from the Lord! We have waited so long for this dream to come true. Our hearts are eternally thankful for God’s goodness to us.

Mom’s beautiful turkey before Daddy takes it away to be carved. It was so yummy.

Another recipe that I will have to post on my blog is this wonderful Orange-Cranberry Bread that Jodie made. He had just pulled it from the oven before we sat down to eat…. ohhhhh, my, we were in heaven! It is going to have to be a Thanksgiving tradition from now on. We also think it would make a wonderful breakfast bread.

I loved this picture of Jamie and Angela… she just looked so cozy and content. We’re so thankful for Jamie and Angela’s union… She’s such a perfect addition to our family.

One of our favorite things to do in between all the preparations is to watch the Dallas Cowboys play every Thanksgiving. And it’s always a bonus when they win!

Having some Wii fun with the siblings.

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving with your loved ones. I am so grateful for all of you… friends, family and so many new acquaintances. Blessings to you during this Holiday season!

“If a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can hear the voice of God.”

- George Washington Carver

So our camping trip took a bit of a hit this year. At the last moment Jamie and Angela were unable to join us due to sickness, and we were trying to think of ways of postponing it so that we could all be together. But alas, with many work schedules to juggle, it wasn’t going to happen… so we decided to swallow our disappointment and go without them.

As it turned out, this may not have been the best year to “break them in” to Northwoods camping, anyway. It was chilly this year! We were bundled up in our winter’s finest and mostly stayed close to the warm fire or played games in the tent when it was rainy or windy. We didn’t even venture out for a hike this year, not wanting to get too far away from the fire! (All except for Jodie, who is the true adventurer in this family. He took daily hikes with Jack).

It was cloudy almost the entire time, which is really hard on picture-taking. But I still tried to get a few to capture the memories of our time at Owen Lake this year. The Northwoods is still gorgeous, no matter what the weather, and it was actually fun to brave the elements for a few days.

Papa, Marmie and Mark cooking around the campfire.

Our favorite meal that we look forward to every year is Jodie’s famous campfire breakfast. Usually we have oatmeal around the campfire for breakfast, but on Saturday mornings he makes us a huge feast. Mmmmm.

We had a little raccoon “friend” this year who so badly wanted to share our food rations with us. He actually unzipped our camp kitchen storage shelf and helped himself to our hamburger buns before Jack woke up to scare him up the tree. The men shooed him away, but our little masked bandit came back every night to try again. I don’t think poor Jack got much sleep out in the wilderness at night, so he took many naps during the day to make up for it. Good Boy, Jack.

Sunday was a bit warmer so Mark and Dad threw around the football a bit… while Jodie grilled up some of the best tasting burgers… ever.

So although we had so much fun this year and felt a sense of accomplishment from surviving the cold, we have decided that for all of our sakes (and our baby’s sake!) we will go earlier next year when it’s warmer. Jamie did confess that he was glad he was home sitting in his cozy easy-chair, while we all were “roughing” it. No excuses next year, Bud… you’re going camping!

“I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel.”

- E. B. White

One of my favorite summertime activities is our County Fair. We always go as a family to enjoy the sights, the smells, the sounds and atmosphere of our small-town fair.

We went first to check out the Home Activities building and to look at this years entries and blue ribbon winners. Mostly because Mom entered her Cranberry Orange Scones and won a blue ribbon!! Congratulations, Mom!

So if you still haven’t made these scones, maybe now you will! Find the recipe here. You’ll love them!

Next stop was to see all the animals. Mine and Dad’s favorite is the horses. Unfortunately we missed the barrel racing and horse showing contest this year… we were a little too late. We did get to see plenty in the barns, though, so that was fun. Then to the cows. I really like cows for some reason… I think they’re cute.

My friend, Melinda, has 2 adorable Jack Russell Terriers, and these guys reminded me of Molly and Major.

This rooster was the loud-mouth of the group! He just kept crowing over and over. He did quiet down a little after I snapped this picture, so maybe he just needed a little attention.

It was just getting dark when we entered the fairway… I think this is the most fun. Even though I don’t ride the rides anymore (I can’t stomach most of the rides any longer), I still love the atmosphere of all the kids laughing and screaming, and the music and smells of mini-donuts and caramel apples. I guess because the fair only comes once a year, it all feels so nostalgic each time I go.

One of our favorite things to do is to watch the itty-bitty kids on the kiddy rides. Some are just all smiles and squeals, and some get a little frightened and melt into tears. I’m very excited to have a six-month old with us next year… maybe his/her Daddy will bring him/her on the Merry-go-round or something slow.

Mark’s highlight of the Fair is always the foot long hotdogs. I think he could’ve eaten two this year!

Would it even be the Fair without the Gravitron?? Remember this ride, Alison? We were both a little ill after trying this one. That was the last time I ever went on the Gravitron!

Sometimes just watching some of these rides can make me sick! … Especially while pregnant.

I used to get the cotton candy every year… but in the last few years I’ve finally graduated to a caramel apple. Yes, I’m growing up… sigh.

I can’t wait to have children, though, who love to eat cotton candy.

Every year at the wonderful County Fair.

Good-bye dear Fair… until next year, my friend!

Just returned from the wedding last night at about 1:00 am. What a week! The wedding was gorgeous, and although it was quite humid outside and warm in the church, the day went without a hitch. Such an honor for our family to witness Jamie marrying his bride. I didn’t get many good pictures since I was in the wedding, but I got a few before and a few at the reception.

The guys looked so handsome in their tuxes… I know they were hot, but it was worth it to be so dashing for the day. I was so proud of Jamie this week… he worked so hard to make it the most special day for Angela. He went without much sleep so he could complete every detail. I will always remember the way he put her first in everything he did. Such a shining example of a man who truly loves a woman.

Mom and Dad looked amazing. I wish I had gotten a better picture of them together, but hopefully the photographer got a few.

The happy couple at their reception.

Jamie took Angela to the Grand Hotel in St. Paul for two nights before they headed up to the North Shore for a week. At the gift opening on Sunday, Angela said that their room was absolutely beautiful and that she felt like a queen. I hope they are a having a wonderful time on their honeymoon… resting a lot, I’m sure, after such a busy wedding season!

Mark and Jodie taking a breather. These guys worked so hard… I was so proud of them. They made sure to do whatever it took to make the day run smoothly. From setting up, decorating, running errands, cleaning, hauling gifts and tearing down until midnight, they were there. I don’t think Mark knew what he was signing up for when he married into this family , but he never complains.

In all it was a gorgeous day. The Lord’s presence was truly there during the ceremony… many people said that. We wish Jamie and Angela a lifetime of happiness and joy together! Bless you both!

“For this child we prayed.”

I know they are blurry and hard to see, but these are the first pictures of little Baby D! I had my second Doctor’s appointment today and got to see the little heartbeat ~ healthy and strong. Such a precious moment for Mark and I, watching our little one with his or her little legs elevated and crossed at the ankles… kickin’ back and relaxing in the womb. I’m taking that to mean our child has a laid-back disposition. I know, I sure jump to conclusions.

We finally got a due date as well. February 23rd. We’re shooting for the 25th, though, which is my brother’s birthday. We’ll see how we do!

And as far as I’ve been feeling, I have good days and bad days. I’ve only thrown up a couple of times, but for the most part it is just some queasiness at certain times of the day. Jodie fitted me with some groovy sea-sickness wrist bands which seem to be helping… and I look really cool, too! Ha! This week a headache was added to the mix, turning into a severe migraine on Sunday. I have a sweet and loving husband, though, who takes good care of me while “I’m baking his muffin” as he calls it. He’s already an amazing and protective father, and I keep falling in love with him all over again as I watch him love our unborn child.

We’re excited to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl, but it will still be a couple of months yet. I’m almost 3 months along, and we need to wait until about 20 weeks (5 months). Then we can start really working on the nursery and preparations.

Our Doctor is a such a wonderful Christian man, and he prays with us during each visit. He asks the Lord to fill us with His peace all along this journey, and for protection and wisdom. I couldn’t have asked for a better doctor to deliver this baby!

Thank you all for the sweet comments and emails, and for sharing in our joy with us. There have been so many questions, so I’m relieved to finally have some definite answers for you. I’m almost done with my first trimester and I look forward to more energy and less queasiness coming up around the bend. Please continue to pray for health and protection! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives to share in this precious time with us.

We leave Wednesday for the wedding… yippee! So we’ll be gone until Sunday night, but I’ll post pics of the beautiful day when I get back. Blessings and love to you all!

~ Melissa Joy (and the little muffin, too!)