The Way of the Bentleys

I keep coming back to the space wanting to fill it with an update for our loved ones on the things that have been happening in our lives... but it has been a struggle. I have actually written a few blog posts and never published them but maybe I will do so today.

The story with my kidneys culminated in us spending an evening in Labor and Delivery. With the return of the renal colic they did an ultrasound on my kidneys. An ultrasound of a kidney should be white... my right kidney was almost completely black. The blackness is from fluid that shouldn't be in the kidney. It gets there because the ureter gets blocked and causes back flow. This can be from kidney stones, but it could also be from the growing uterus housing my baby crushing the ureter or simply progesterone causing the ureter to swell shut.

The official term for the condition is maternal hydronephrosis. My right kidney is a severe case and my left kidney is a mild case. The only cure is to deliver this baby. Once I deliver the problem should resolve itself in short order. Until then... we mostly have to just focus on pain management. I have medicines that I can take at home and I spend a lot of time sitting with my heating pad. If the pain gets out of control, if I develop a fever or other signs of infection, or if I notice many signs of preterm labor, I have to go back to the hospital.


All things considered I feel very grateful and blessed. Since the evening in labor and delivery the pain has gradually subsided to the point that it is manageable without having to take pain medication. It is better and worse at times but overall I feel that I have been very fortunate.

Jake starts a new job on Tuesday. (Yes, RIGHT before our new baby is supposed to be coming). He will be leaving the Distribution department with the LDS Church behind and moving on to be a Quality Assurance Analyst at Extend Health which is a segment of the company Towers Watson. The location is still in downtown Salt Lake but as an added blessing he will actually be getting a bit of a raise in making this move which is something we didn't expect. This is something that we have hoped for for a long time. Working for the church was wonderful for job security but it is extremely difficult to move up throughout the departments. In this new job we are hopeful to consistently move up to bigger and better things that will continue to benefit our family. AND... Jake will FINALLY be off of the phones... something he has longed for for many years.

Abrielle started kindergarten a few weeks ago and is loving it. It took her a little while to understand that kindergarten happens almost every day but she was okay with it. Her teacher is wonderful and although it has been an adjustment to having to do homework and such we are enjoying the journey with her. She is starting to warm up to the kids in her class and now instead of totally ignoring them when they talk to her she waves and, occasionally, talks back. 

We signed Nathan up for fall T-Ball even though the games will run into October. We felt that it would be a great experience for him - fun, but also give him something special since Abrielle is in school and the new baby will be here. My mom is beside herself with excitement. It has been a long time since my brothers were involved with sports and my mom loves going to the games. She very graciously volunteered to take him to his T-ball games while we are busy with a very very brand new baby and I hope that it is a wonderful experience for him. He has a clinic on Tuesday evening and then his first game is this Thursday.

I suppose I could write more but I think I will leave it at that. We are very grateful for the many blessings in our lives and for the many wonderful ways in which the Lord has shown, once again, that he has been watching out for us lately. We hope you are all well and enjoying the last bit of summer.

Loves, Shayla