When Girls Come To Play

This morning a bunch of mommy's friends came to visit. This is what happens when a bunch of girls get around a baby. Soon Jack-Jack was surrounded with ALL of his little stuffed animals. Is Jack really in this picture? Can you see him? There he is!

Happy Half Birthday!

Jack is 6 months old today! We celebrated by taking some pictures outside and with Grandma Poo.

Busy Days

This is going to have to be quick--it's late, I'm tired, and I've got to get up early! We have been going non-stop for a couple of weeks now. Here are some updates:

Sharon is doing great! She is getting around great with her walker and wheelchair. She still needs my help with a few things, but she's becoming quite self-sufficient. Jeff has teased her that we will have to hide her car keys in case she tries to run away. She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get the staples removed, so please pray for her. Pray that I can get her in the car and down to Indy and back without trauma. Aunt Laurie has graciously agreed to take Jack, so he's going to have fun, fun, fun!

My grandmother is not doing very well. Her kidneys are failing, she has fluid around her heart and lungs, and her blood pressure keeps rising. On Sunday, Jeff, Jack and I made the trip down to Henderson to see her. I kissed her little mouth that was all droopy and paralyzed and told her that I love her. It was Mother's Day. I don't think that I've ever spent Mother's Day with my grandmother. I doubt that I ever will again. Please pray for her and also for my Bampy. This is absolutely heartbreaking for him.

My sister is coming on Tuesday of next week. She decided to make the trip all the way from Temuco, Chile. She is praying that she makes it in time to see Mamaw alive. It is hard for her to be so far away. It costs close to $2,500 for her and my 2 year-old nephew, Joshua to fly to the states.

My brother Jason had his back surgery today. Everything went well and he is recovering. Pray for my mother as she cares for him. Pray that she doesn't smother him with a pillow in his sleep (hee hee), and vice versa as soon as Jason is strong enough to move around!

Pray for me because Jeff is leaving tomorrow and will be gone for four days. He is helping his cousin Nick build a bathroom in their home near Chicago. It will be the longest that we've ever been away from each other. I am afraid that Mamaw will die while he is gone and I will have to go alone to the funeral. I know, Philippians 4:8. Trust me, I'm trying to think right about it. Why borrow trouble, right? It's just there in the back of my mind, you know.

Jack is doing great. He is SO growing up. He just moves around and laughs big belly laughs and plays with toys and is just the cutest thing that I've ever seen. I love him so much.

Good night, friends! Pray for our little family!

House Guest

Jeff's mom is home from the hospital and is staying with us indefinitely. Please keep praying for her, as this has been quite an adjustment. She is a very active lady and an expert in her field of nursing. Her hospital will no doubt feel her loss, and she is already missing her busy life with patients, co-workers and new learning opportunities. She has also had to put her masters' program on hold since she will be unable to travel to Indy several times a week to attend classes. She is doing great and being a trooper, but it is hard for her. I am hoping that her friends and co-workers visit her often, and any of them that might be reading this blog (as I know that some of you do) please consider this an open invitation to visit her anytime.

On another note, please also pray for my grandmother, Boots Cummings. She had a stroke this last week and is in the hospital. She is paralyzed on her right side and unable to communicate very clearly. It appears that she will need to go to a nursing home, and since my grandfather is blind and relies on her greatly, he too will have to go the nursing home. My mother and her sisters have been making arrangements for them to be together. My grandfather is very upset and extremely emotional. My grandparents are the greatest example of two people who have been in love with each their whole lives, and it is especially sad to think that there might have to be a time when one lives without the other. As hard as it may seem for the rest of the family to lose them both at the same time, I hope that when God calls them home that He takes them both together.

For now, God has definitely increased my ministry to others and I am thrilled to be able to take on this new role of caring for such an incredibly caring and loving lady!

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my 36th birthday. I never really liked to do "big" birthdays, but I had a friend who was excellent at making my birthday a "big deal", and I kinda got used to it. I've been thinking that a person as old as me probably shouldn't have "big" birthdays (too many over-the-hill gag gifts, the increasing fire hazard, and now, the difficulty of finding a babysitter) but my husband thinks differently. He made my birthday so special. It lasted for 2 1/2 days! It started the night before last when he took the baby from me and gave him a bath and put him to bed so that I could go and take a nap or just lay on my bed and watch TV. The next morning he made a special trip into town to buy me a bottle of my favorite coffee fru fru, and then he made me coffee. We spent the day working together around the house. At 3:30 p.m. we got all dolled up and went to town. First we went to a bird store where Jeff bought me the mother of all bird feeders and a bird book to go with it. We have a lot of birds out here on our property, and I'm getting excited about learning their names and songs. Then we took a quick trip to Home Depot since it was close by and Jeff just couldn't resist. Then we went to dinner at Mountain Jacks. YUM. It was great and romantic (Aunt Gi Gi was at home with Jack) and totally tasty. THEN.....we saw Mission Impossible III. Awesome! We loved it! I think it's the best one yet. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Definitely a fun flick. We got home and were in bed by 11:00 p.m. And that was the end of the day before my birthday! Today is actually my birthday, but we had church this morning and Jeff's mom came home from the hospital this afternoon, so we planned most of our fun for yesterday. I did get a nice lunch out with the Gray side of the family and the choir sang a very goofy rendition of Happy Birthday to me during practice. Gaylene made me a rockin' Margarita cheesecake that was yummmy yum yum. Of course, any day that I can wake up next to the most wonderful man of my dreams and go in the next room to see my smiling, lovely baby boy is a spectacularly special day! Thanks everyone, for making this birthday wonderful!

Our Fallen Hero

Last evening we received a call from a very teary Grandma Poo saying that she had fallen and hurt her knee. Uncle Jason and Aunt Ashley came to the rescue and took her down to Indy to her fabulous hospital to be evaluated. Several hours later the call came in--she had broken her leg just below her knee. Ouch! They admitted her to the hospital and she will be having surgery sometime soon. They would like to do it right away, but there are evidentally 11 surgeries scheduled ahead of her, so it could be a bit of a wait. In the meantime they have her souped up on some yummy drugs and so she is stable. We'll update more as time goes by. For now, pray for our Grandma Poo! We're happy to have the opportunity to get to take care of her instead of her taking care of us!

Hmmmm.....

My fellow blogger Beth got me interested in this quiz. Here are my results.

You Are a Jam Cookie

On the outside, you project a straight-laced, innocent vibe. But on the inside, you're complex, exotic, and full of flavor.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

I'm just not sure what to say.

Run The Race

I judged a vocal competition at FCS yesterday and there met a lady who attends church with an old college buddy of mine, Warren Brokering. I was shocked and devastated to hear that Warren is battling colon cancer. He has evidentally had some success with surgery, but I really don't know more than that. I jotted him a note with my email address, so hopefully I will hear more soon. This is the second college friend that I have recently learned is dealing with cancer, the first being Ed Horn. While it greatly saddens me, I know the character of these two men well, and know that in this trial they will seek to please God. It is comforting to know that when such hardships and trials come at us unexpectedly, we can see through the examples of godly people around us that God's word truly is sufficient for our every need. God bless you, Ed and Warren. Keep running the race!

Running The Race
--by Laurie Dutton

I'm running the race
I'm pressing ahead
I'm striving to reach the goal which God has set
I'll focus my eyes
I'm setting my sites
Obeying the call in order to win the prize

And I'll press on
Running the Race
And I'll press on
'Til I see His face
He's run the race before me
He knows what lies ahead
He gives me grace and wisdom and strength
He's by my side
My Faithful Guide
I'm running the race
I'm running for the prize

I'm turning from my sin
And the weights that slow me down
I'm pressing toward the mark
So I can win the crown

I'm pressing ahead
Not looking behind
I'm staying on course
No matter what turns I find
There's no need to fear
For my God is near
Directing each step and making my pathway clear

And I'll press on
Running the race
And I'll press on
'Til I see His face
He's run the race before me
He knows what lies ahead
He gives me grace and wisdom and strength
He's by my side
My Faithful Guide
I'm running the race
I'm running for the prize

I'll run 'til I see Christ!
'Til I see Christ

Night Out

Last night Mommy and Daddy got to go out! Jeff's company hosts a "year end" party every year in Indianapolis, so last night Aunt Gi Gi (Gaylene) watched little Jack while we went and had some stimulating "adult" conversation (adult as opposed to infant, not indecent) and some yummy food. It was fun to be all dressed up and driving down the road towards a fun evening. Made us feel like the "old" Jeff and Betty.

Just A Spoonful Of Sugar

Today is a different day! Yippeeee! Already Jack was doing better, but my sister just called me and shared with me that her son did the same thing to her! She put a half a teaspoon of sugar in his bottle until he got to drinking it good and then started weaning him off the sugar. So I tried it and he sucked down a 6 oz bottle without blinking an eye. So I think we're on the right track. The best part is that after he takes a good bottle he likes to take a long nap! So I think I will do the same. Nitey nite!

Triumph

Well, it took more than an hour, but I managed to force down 4 oz. Don't worry, I'm not going to update you everytime he takes a bottle. Let's just assume the best and that the eating trend is going to continue.

Round Two

It's now more than 4 hours since the last "ba ba" attempt (a successful one) and we are currently head to head for round two of the match. He is hungrily chewing on his bunny but will not take the bottle. So we will wait 30 minutes and try again!

One Down, Several To Go

Hey! I know that the first blog only just published because something was up with blogger, but I am happy to report that after a two hour nap, Jack woke up HUNGRY and ate 5 oz of formula with 2 scoops of cereal in it! I've decided to spend the next few days getting him re-adjusted to just the bottle and then we'll try the spoon-fed route again later. At any rate, I'm very relieved that after 12 hours of a hunger strike, he has finally drank his bottle!

In The Battle

I think I've created a monster. Remember how I said that Jack was just loving eating cereal from a spoon and drinking from a cup? Well, yesterday it was cute, but today it is downright ugly. I have only been nursing Jack in the middle of the night, so last night when he woke up at 1:00 a.m. I nursed him and put him back in bed. That was the last time that he ate. That was 10 hours ago. He refuses to take his bottle. He has done everything from laughing and giggling with it in his mouth to throwing a crying fit and gagging on it. I was concerned that he might be unwell, or that some reasonable problem was causing him to not want his bottle. But in every other way he is FINE. He is laughing, playing, watching his aquarium toy, peeing, burping....everything normal....except eating. I can only conclude that he doesn't want to and so he is exerting an unbelievable amount of will (where the heck did he get that from?). At this point I have put him in his bed to "cry it out". My plan is to continue to offer him the bottle every half hour until he takes it. I'm not going to give him spoon-fed cereal. I think that he would eat that, but he needs to drink his bottle. There is nothing nourishing about just eating cereal from a spoon. I have also definitely concluded that last night was the last night of nursing. And it may be the last night of eating in the middle of the night. Obviously, he is able to go for LONG periods of time without eating, so it is ridiculous for me to be getting up (sometimes) twice in the middle of the night. So, please pray for me today, and pray that Jack makes a good choice, and if you have any suggestions, PLEASE give them to me! I know that there are mothers out there right now reading this blog. You know who you are and so do I. Please weigh in. If you don't want to post, then email me or call me! I'll update you all later on in the day!

Growing Up

Today we celebrated Jack's grand old age by drinking water from a cup! I noticed that as I was drinking my Frapaccino today that his gaze was following my drink all the way up to my mouth. So we tried it! (not with the Frap!) He did REALLY well! And he loved it. I was really surprised but after the first few little dribbles he actually got the hang of swallowing the water as it went in his mouth. My little baby!

Happy Five Months, Jack

It's hard to believe, but another month has passed. Where does the time go? In one month Jack has progressed to playing with toys, eating from a spoon, turning over onto his back and giggling with a vengeance. If every month is this packed, Mommy and Daddy better hold on tight!

Wha'cha doin?

Here's what I did today! What did you do?

Happy Day

Today is a much better day for Jack! Thank you to everyone who said a little prayer for my boy. We ran the vaporizer in his room last night and that seemed to really help his breathing. I went in once to turn his head so he could breathe better, but that was all. I sleep with the monitor beside my bed and can really hear him well in the night. Nothing woke me up, and usually if he is having a bad night I will be aware of it. I don't really understand why the vaporizer helps, if his breathing is hindered by the trachial malasia. It shouldn't make a difference. Jeff and I both think that there is more going on there with his breathing than just the malasia. For now, we wait until our May 8 appointment with the ped ENT and we'll ask her all of our questions! But just so you know, he's having a great day--completely different from yesterday!

As a side note, I bought him two toys today. One is an exerciser/walker and the other is a toy that dangles toys in front of him while he lays on his back. He loves both of them, but especially the walker. He has to work at sitting up in it (he has a tendency to fall forward when he gets tired) but that just adds to the fun since the little turkey has been trying to sit up on his own since he was 2 months old!

Catch Your Breath

Today started out like any other day. Jack woke up at 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. for feedings. He went back to sleep and woke up around 9:30 this morning. It's not a bad schedule, really. I am very thankful that he sleeps so well. It's true that he still gets up in the middle of the night, but when he sleeps until 9-9:30 a.m., it's easy to catch up on my sleep. At any rate, this morning was normal, until around 10:00 a.m. That's when I noticed that he was having a lot of trouble breathing. He had just had a bottle and was very active, and his breathing is worse then. I watched him struggle for an hour, rasping and gasping, alternating being on his back and then his tummy. It was really kind of scary. He hasn't been like that since he was tiny and I had hoped that by now he would be growing out of it. He was actually distracted by his own breathing and refused to play with me. It's very disconcerting to see his chest caving in as he tries to take in air. So, I called the Pediatric ENT in Indy and got him an appointment for May 8. I didn't really want to take him down there, because I know that they will run tests on him that will be uncomfortable for him, but it can't be any more uncomfortable than not being able to take a breath when you need to. He may just have some congestion that is making it worse today, but I really was kind of frightened this morning. He's still struggling this afternoon, but not as badly. I'm planning to try and catch it on video so that the doctor can see when he is really bad. It really makes you think--there is so much we take for granted--like breathing. You don't know just how precious it is until you sit and watch your little one fight just to take one breath. Please pray for little Jack that he will get better soon!

Hi!