Day 178

I have an ear to gear grin that has lasted since yesterday around noon. As many of you know, I have gone through some struggles over the past couple of years; the loss of my father, Mom’s battle with breast cancer, MD’s divorce. What many of you didn’t know was that while I was doing my best to keep myself sane through all of this tragedy, I was dealing with my own issues. For the past two years, Leah and I have been trying to get pregnant. People take for granted the ease of childbirth. The majority of the people we know have gotten pregnant with relative ease on the first try. That wasn’t the case with us. Without getting into the particulars, Leah and I have gone through the emotional wringer with this. But today, I am as proud as I have ever been. I am overly ecstatic to announce to the world that the Dery family you see above will be adding another person - Leah is pregnant and due on February 27th. Casey – watch out, the attention you have been receiving over the past two years is probably going to dissipate.

We had gone to different doctors in Chicago and now here in Cleveland. We have had three Doctors appointments since we moved back and each one we were more nervous than the one before. Two weeks ago we saw the first makings of what actually looked like a baby – the picture posted above – and saw the baby’s heartbeat. Everything was normal. We had two more weeks until our third trimester (12 week) end appointment. That was today. We sat in the doctor’s office and I have never felt Leah’s hands so sweaty. As the doctor took an outer ultrasound for the first time, he told us that we would be able to listen to the baby’s heartbeat if all things were good. They were. We heard our baby’s heartbeat and couldn’t stop smiling. If I am this happy about Leah being pregnant, I cannot imagine what I am going to feel when the baby is actually born. The Doctor told us that everything looked great and normal and we could go ahead and tell our friends and family.

Everything is starting to come together for us. We are moving into our new house in 2 weeks, Leah is pregnant and happy, and work is going well. It’s about time our luck is moving in the right direction. I’m sure the condo will sell soon and everything will be off the books. I’ll say this; the power of positive thinking has gotten me through a lot. It’s something that cannot be overlooked. Sturch has told me this for years – negative thinking does no good. Staying positive is good for your overall aura. Now I don’t believe in any sort of higher being, but things and timing happen for a reason. We will be settled in our house by the time the baby will be born. We will be with family, in the city I was born and raised. I can only hope that my baby will be brought up as well as I was in this easy going town.

I have to thank my family and friends for being so supportive throughout this whole process. I have said this before, but I am nothing without all of you. I have seen my mother in action with her grandchildren and know how good she can be, but I really cannot wait to see Max and Stacey with their first grandchild.

I promise to share my upcoming experiences with all of you through this blog. The February 27th date couldn’t be a better target – right before the NCAA Tournament! So the way I look at it, as I told Sean today, we can celebrate the birth of my baby and a Kansas National title all in the same 6 week period!

Days Until we Move into the House: 14
Song of the Day: “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers