Reflections...

Thoughts going through my heart and mind...

First, this past weekend was a blast! Brandon and I were able to leave the kids with grandparents (thank you!) for 28 hours and enjoy a wonderful time together. We drove three hours away where we met up with dear family and friends for a nice meal out. That in itself is a luxury these days. Then we walked downtown for the concert of the decade...MWS and SCC! It was a little taste of Heaven. It was three hours full of laughter, tears and praise.
Brandon and I then spent the night, got up the next morning and went to the college football game. It had been eight years since I last went, so I was excited! We sat in the end zone, 71 rows up, but we could still see really well. I liked watching the game from this angle. The weather was beautiful, and I learned that I can burn in Oct.! It was even more fun when our team won.

Today is the year marker for a big event last year...an event that began to rock our world. To be honest, it wasn't the first even to rock us. That event was a few weeks prior.
We had celebrated the weekend with my parents being here and having lots of fun. That Monday we were taking them back to the airport (2 hours away. Have you learned that all the "real fun stuff" is two hours away? :)) My dad was driving, and I didn't feel quite right. As we neared a rest area, I knew I needed to stop. My worst fear seemed to be coming true...I was bleeding heavily. I knew then, without a doubt, that though this pregnancy caught me by surprise, I didn't want to lose my baby. Sobbing, I went out to the car to tell my parents. My dad remained calm while looking for the nearest turn around, and I called Brandon at work telling him what was happening. I sobbed the 45 minutes home, but I did get a glimmer of hope while talking to my sister in law. My dad drove as fast as he could to get me to the ER. Here's where is gets a little exciting...as we pulled off the exit ramp, we saw an old pick up truck, with an old man standing by the door. We we came up the ramp, then the man got in the truck and pulled in front of us. I think we all thought, "Aww..now we have to pass this slow, old truck." Sure enough, he was headed in the same direction we were and even turned on the country road we wanted. However, this man must have driven 90 mph, because my dad was going almost that fast and never caught up with him. Plus, we passed no other cars the entire five miles on that road. To this day we believe it was an angel paving the way for us. Still gives me goosebumps!
We arrived at the ER where I met up with Brandon. It seemed like forever, but we were able to get an ultrasound (fearing the worst and praying for the best). As soon as the tech started, I saw that little heart beating. Praise God! As far as we know it looked like I had a slight tear in my placenta. My doctor just "happened" to be there...another God thing. We visited and knew then that things were a little shaky. I was put on bed rest until further notice.
And here I am a year later, holding my Sadie a little longer while she slept in my arms. A year ago I didn't know if I would even get that chance. A year ago I didn't know if I would ever hear my baby laugh like I did today when Analise had her laughing like I haven't heard before. One thing I did know a year ago, that God would be and is faithful - no matter what you're going through.

No more....snow

Yes, it's October 23, and yes that is white stuff on the grass. It's a little too early for me. Thankfully we didn't get as much as they thought we might, and Analise had a blast playing in it after lunch.
Now on to better news...The doctor gave us permission to take Sadie off her oxygen at night...no more O2!!!! We gave her the trial week, and she did great. I get teary eyed just thinking about it and how far we have come...watching her O2 stats all over in the NICU, learning she would be on it when we came home...adjusting to a newborn attached to a long tube...taking portable tanks whenever we went somewhere...weaning to just nights...and now completely finished! Many of you had a part in this by faithfully praying. Thank you, thank you! Maybe one of these days I won't get teary when I think about it all, but honestly I don't know if I ever want to get to that point. I never want to get calloused to God's faithfulness. I am also excited to have those tender grips off her face. I can't wait to kiss those little cheeks whenever I want!

You Are Special

As you can tell in the first picture, the girls got to meet some special veggies! The second picture has nothing to do with veggies; I just thought it was cute. :)
This past weekend, Veggie Tales Live was in a city a couple of hours away. For weeks I wanted to take the girls, but I just couldn't convince myself. I didn't seem logical...driving, price of tickets, etc. As the weekend got closer, my dad reminded me that I have a cousin that tours with the Veggies. That threw logic out with the wind. I decided I could manage a two hour trip with the three girls, and we would make the most of the opportunity. And our cousin did make us feel special. He gave us tickets for great seats and also meet and greet passes. Thanks, J! Analise just loved it, and Maisie, well, she was Maisie....busy! Sadie stayed with another sweet family member. We got home at 10:15, but it was all worth it!
Rest of the weekend was spent around the house. It was beautiful weather, so the girls were able to be outside. We enjoyed having Brandon home from his trip. He spent most of the time building a shed in the back yard. Thankfully, he had some great help. I always love watching Analise help, too. She goes and gets her own tools, and likes to help her daddy. It's pretty sweet!
I've started Sadie on some real baby food. I've been giving her peaches. Once she gets over the initial flavor shock, she seems to enjoy it. I like to think she is getting a little better at swallowing. Many of you were so encouraging with this, so thank you!
One quick funny - before the show began the other day, a gentleman from the church got up to make some announcements. One of them was he told the kids that if their parents for lost or wandered off, they needed to tell someone with a yellow vest. As serious as she could be, Analise patted me on the arm and said, "Mommy, I'm glad I don't have to worry about you wandering off."

Sadie - Seven Months

Seven months already - I can hardly believe it! My pulmonolgist called yesterday and thought Sadie's oximeter readings looked pretty good from a couple of weeks ago. He suggested I try having Sadie alternate nights of being on and off her O2 for a week to see how she does. If she seems more restless or doesn't eat as well, that could indicate she isn't ready to be finished with it. Last night was the first night without O2, and she did great. She slept just as well as other nights. Praise!
I took her to the doctor today to see about her weight gain for the last month. She was 11 pounds a month ago, and today she weighed 12-6. Doctor is pleased. However, I told her that the cereal she is getting is in a bottle, because she pushes it out with her tongue when I try to feed her. She told me to keep trying to feed her every day and to try adding some real baby food to help the flavor. I guess in my mind I know she is seven months, but her adjusted age is really five months. I know neither of my other girls were ready to eat until five months. I'll keep praying. She got her first flu shot, so we get part two next month. Next month we will also start the monthly shots to help protect her against RSV. Praise the Lord that insurance is covering this because each shot is ~$1500!
We have much to be thankful with this little munchkin!

Fun Fall Times

We had a fun weekend...my parents were in town! This leads to great fun for the kids, less dish washing for me, running errands by myself, and a lunch date with my hubbie. THANKS Mom and Dad!
The girls loved playing and reading books. They went for a picnic lunch at their favorite playground, played games and did lots of giggling.
We took them to the rock garden in town so we could take pictures of the girls. I love doing this each fall. Toward the end it was getting a little too dark, so we may need to go again. It's always a challenge to get all three girls to look at the camera and smile at the same time. I believe it falls under the category of a "miracle." :)
We also went to a pumpkin patch. We debated because the weather was cloudy and cool, but I am glad we went. We practically had the place to ourselves. The girls rode a pony, went down the big slide, rode big trikes, and we enjoyed the wagon ride to pick out a pumpkin. We convinced Analise to pick a big one to carve. She loves small things usually.
We also did a little shopping at the mall. It was time to buy Analise some new athletic shoes. It's like she outgrew hers overnight. She's four and wearing a size 12 now! We had a hard time finding some, but the last store came through for us. I never thought I would be a mom that bought Nike shoes for her girls, but in the last month I have bought some for both Maisie and Analise. We looked for other shoes, but I don't like "characters" on shoes. That rules many out. Now both girls think they can run fast!
Sadie is doing great! My parents couldn't believe how content and happy she is. Of course she loved all the extra attention, too. She is sleeping mostly through the night and doing well with cereal in her bottles. I'm still waiting to hear from my doctor about her oxygen; it's been over three weeks.
Hope you are having a happy harvest!

Maisie Moments

Up and down, up and down...that's how Maisie has been the last couple of days. She's either joyful and happy or whiney and clingy. I much prefer the happy Maisie! I don't know if she is working on her two year molars. It would be nice if she could tell me.
We can add another word to Maisie's vocabulary; that brings the total to about 11.
:) We learned this week that she could say the word "mom." But she would never call me mom. Until a little bit ago...she was in her room for nap time, and I heard her call, "Mom, Mom..." I truly believe she was calling for me. My heart about melted.
If my heart melted today, it laughed last night. I take Maisie to a Kindermusik class once a week. It's some good 1-1 time, and she just loves going. She loves to do actions, and use her entire body to learn. Anyway, there is a story time on a story blanket. Unlike Analise who would sit to still and quiet for the story, Maisie is again up and down. During part of the story the teacher asks the kids to look in their pockets for some imaginary seeds to plant. Maisie had two small front pockets, so she followed along. However, the second time she looked for seeds, she dug around hard enough her pants fell down to her ankles! Wouldn't you know it, this was one time she was up on the blanket for all to see. It was so funny!
I was reflecting today and realized it's been almost a year since Maisie's little miracle. During her first year of life she had a blocked tear duct so her eye was always watery and goobery. Most clear up on their own, but her eye just didn't. We saw an eye doctor and scheduled a common procedure to open it for her. However we kept praying for it to open so she wouldn't have to be put under for the procedure. Well, God answered less than a week before her appointment. It cleared up on its own. PTL! We are praying now for Maisie to start talking so we can communicate even better, and maybe she wouldn't be so easily frustrated.

Time is ticking away...

First time in the high chair

Sadie means princess

My litte zoo animals

Hmmm...where to begin. I have random thoughts and never know what people really want to know about. All I know is I love reading other friends and family blogs.
So I will begin with last Friday night - Brandon and I had a date! Oh, it was so nice. We left the girls with their aunt/uncle and cousins. THANK YOU! I didn't once worry about any of them, and we really didn't talk much about them while we were out. We went to Red Lobster and enjoyed an uninterrupted meal. Ahhh...it's been awhile! Our next "date" is a double date as we will be going to see MWS and Steven C. Chapman in concert. I can hardly wait! I wouldn't be able to go if I was nursing, so as much as I miss it, I will enjoy the plus side of a bottle.
Speaking of sweet Sadie, she is doing okay with the cereal. I try and feed her at least once a day, but she still has the reflex where her tongue pushes it forward. I know she is swallowing some. In addition to that, I put some cereal in a couple of bottles. She slept through the night last night! I put her to bed at 8:00, and then I got up with her at 6:00 to feed her, and she even went back to sleep. That is the longest sleep I have had since pre-hospital days.
Analise is still loving preschool, and I was able to go with her class on a field trip to an apple orchard. It was lots of fun, but then again, how could it not be when the other moms are my friends? Analise was excited I was there, but she is independent enough that she wasn't clingy at all.
Analise has had a couple of cute sayings recently. The other day I was peeling carrots (a rare sight), and she asked me if I was shucking the carrots. Shucking corn was not a rare sight for awhile. Then the other day, she was rather honest. She told me she loved me more than Maisie, but that she loves daddy the best. She then added me to that statement. :)
Maisie is becoming a little more cautious and tender than she used to be. She actually is fearful of some things now. I find that I am not as frustrated with her as I once was. I've learned that if I explain things to her, she is very adaptable. She is answering yes/no questions, but she still isn't saying much of anything. We have someone coming again this week to do an evaluation on her since it's been a few months. Anyone have any suggestions on getting her to say more words? She has about 10 words that she says: please, up, ball, balloon, Boz, uh-oh, ouch and hot are about it. Analise doesn't talk for her, but she does talk a lot. I've been hoping that with Analise gone more often that Maisie would try talking more.
Today was spent with my mother in law and sis in law making applesauce. It was an all day affair, and now we will enjoy fresh applesauce for many months. Mmmmm...
So these random thoughts have made for a long post. I was a few days behind, thanks to a great book, "Sunset" by Karen Kingsbury (my favorite!). I don't let myself read much anymore, because I'm not very disciplined with it. I will admit though that I tried to do most of my reading while riding the exercise bike.
Enjoy your weekend!