Home Bodies

Yummy Bread and Butter
Analise loves her balloon
Anyone else tired of sick season? I know I sure am! Thankfully Sadie is all better and doing great. Thanks again for everyone praying for her. Maisie also got the cold, but she managed pretty well. This past Monday we noticed Analise was having the cold symptoms. We weren't too concerned until the middle of the night when she threw up and was running a temp of 102. (Of course this was the first night where I didn't have to get up and give breathing treatments!) Needless to say, three of us didn't sleep well that night. The next day her fever was 103, and Tylenol wasn't bringing it down. So back to the doctor we went. Analise was a trooper! They swabbed her throat to check for strep; they did a nasal wash for influenza and RSV, we took chest x-rays and they drew blood. The only test that came back positive was RSV. Both the doctor and I were a little surprised she got it that bad. She is almost five and had it last year. We came home with some antibiotics because the x-ray showed some infection.
She was doing better the next day and has improved rather quickly...from the fever anyway. She is chatty once again! It's a lot quieter around here when she isn't feeling well. Brandon brought home a balloon for her to cheer her up; plus it was "B" week at school. She has carried that balloon all over the house.
While we were home bound again this week, I thought it might be a good time to try and potty train Maisie. She figured out what to do on the potty, if I got there in time. She didn't seem to mind if her undies were wet. So after three days, I gave up. Potty training is one of my least favorite things to do. We will try again when she shows some more interest. While trying to teach her, I would put her in undies with a Pull Up over it. One night Analise asked me if Maisie had gone potty in her "tulips" again. Speaking of Analise, I called her my potty training assistant. She was a little too helpful. :)
Another quick comment. Analise announced at lunch that she has two "rascals" on her arm. (She meant freckles. :))
Maisie said "happy" today. We celebrate each new word around here!
Sadie is still doing well. She was bored in the hospital and so glad to be home with her sisters. I didn't realize how entertaining there are until we didn't have them around.

Home!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Sadie. We were able to come home last evening. Yeah! Her oxygen levels were high enough on room air for both her naps. We continue to do treatments at home, but I think the worst is over.
I still have no idea where she got this bug, but we are thankful she was getting her "liquid gold" shots. Though it didn't prevent her from getting RSV, she was able to have the antibodies to protect her from it getting severe. My doctor told me that most kids in the hospital for RSV need 2-3 liters of O2, and Sadie was only at 1 liter for a short time. We know that's important because her lungs are small and don't need that added stress.
It feels great to be home with the family again. Maisie is now experiencing the "cold" side of RSV. Lord willing it won't last long.
On a fun note, the girls were able to play outside today because it's 55 degrees! Such a teaser for spring. :)

Quick Post

Thanks for everyone praying! I took Sadie to the urgent care yesterday because I felt like she wasn't improving. I also knew our Ped. was in, and that was comforting. Her O2 levels weren't as high as we would like, so they admitted her to the hospital. Joy of joys. I am so thankful that she is where she needs to be, but I wasn't ready to be in a hospital again. The memories are too fresh. It was a year ago on the day that we thought we had lost Sadie, and now a year later we admit her because of RSV.
I'll keep you posted when I can. She has to sleep through the night on room air before she can come home. THANKS!

Blogging for Prayers Warriors

Well, when I last posted, all were healthy in this household. Unfortunately, that is no longer true. Sadie had her appt. on Weds and checked out great. Thursday morning she had a little cough. By yesterday afternoon, there was a little wheeze that went with the cough. So this morning I decided I was going to take her in, and I am thankful I did. My sheltered little daughter has RSV. Can you believe it? Of all the girls, Sadie has to be the one to get it. We haven't even had colds in our house! Poor girl. She is acting pretty normal and happy, but now I have to give her the breathing treatments every 4 hours, an antibiotic (it looked like on the x-ray that there could be some bronchitis or pneumonia) and a steroid. I can give her the breathing treatments every 3 hours if she needs them, but I am to call my doctor if Sadie needs them more frequently than that. She has had two treatments already, and they were about 2.5 hours apart. Lord willing I won't have to call my doctor, but only time will tell.
Please pray for her and her tiny lungs. Pray for wisdom on my part as a mom and for the doctor, too. And please pray the other two don't get this. We were blessed with being able to see our pediatrician today. Thank you!!!

Girly Updats

Analise is decorating cookies
Maisie likes the Thomas view finder
Sadie in her exersaucer with a rubber snake
I thought it was time for an update on the girls. Thankfully we are all doing well. We started this month with a little of a stomach bug. I think Maisie had it first, though she only threw up once (in bed, of course!). We didn't think much of it until Analise did it a week later. (In bed, of course!) She had to miss a day of school, so she was bummed. Thankfully she is old enough to get where she needs to, and she was only sick about 24 hours. Sadie hung on to it a little longer, but she had more of the big D. She ate fine and seemed happy, but I kept her in pjs for easier changes.
Now onto happier thoughts...Sadie had a doctor appointment this week. At 10 months she is weighing 15 pounds! She got her monthly shot to help her against RSV. I am thankful she can get this, and I am thankful that health insurance will soon cover the cost. Each shot is $2500...can you believe it? Sadie is sitting up great and likes the new view. When she is on her tummy she is rolling. The other day I found her several feet away from where I put it. Now begins the teaching process for the older girls about keeping small things off the floor!
Maisie had a couple of milestones not too long ago. For the first time I heard her try and sing a song with me. Maisie has always loved music and never forgets a motion that goes with a song. However, when she began to sing the BIBLE with me, I was almost in tears! She is also putting two words together. She said, "Daddy bye-bye?" This, too, was very encouraging! She probably has close to 20 words (which isn't much for her age) but she is signing a few things, and her sound effects and voice inflections are priceless. One of her new words is "die". Nice, huh? I don't think she knows what it means. Maisie is still my "I like my routine" kind of girl. I put on some new flannel sheets for her bed, and the first night she wasn't too happy with me. She wanted her pink pillowcase. Funny girl.
Analise was busy with month with friend's birthday parties. My social butterfly was in heaven. After one of the parties, I asked her what kind of cake she would want for her party. She announced, "A boat!" Her dad was proud. :) I am beginning to plan a birthday party for her, and it's a stretch for me. Thanks to a dear friend who is crafty, I might make it. :) School is going well for Analise still, and she loves going every day! The other day I took the girls to meet some friends at the Children's Museum. As we left Analise mentioned that I just stood and talked and didn't watch what she was going. I told her that mommys could do more than one thing at a time. She asked if daddys could, and I told her not as well. (Heehee). Later in the afternoon I had my hands in a project, and she kept asking me to get her a snack. So I said, "Analise for some reason you think that I can do more than one thing at a time." She replied, "Mommy, you said you could!" She got me there!
A couple more quick things...I have three girls and they like to play with a rubber snake. I looked at Sadie in her exersaucer the other day, and she was chewing on the snake. And then yesterday I heard Analise say to Maisie, "Come on, let's play tackle football!" Only in a house full of girls...

A New Year

I am slowly catching up on my blogging. Once I am caught up, I hope to keep up. :) First let me mention that I am trying to change this Christmas background. Last week the site was down and then today they want a password? I've never created anything...
The first week back from vacation was chaotic but fun. Brandon began to take out the wood floor in the kitchen and eating area. What hard work and a mess! My kitchen table was in the living room, along with all the new Christmas stuff. My oven was in the entry way and dust was everywhere! Bless his heart he worked for several long, hard days not only taking out the old floor, but he put in tile. It looks great! I am thankful to now have my kitchen table and oven where they belong. :)
During that week we spent time at his folks so the girls could nap, and they were gracious enough to let us eat there, too. We had lots of fun! Aunt S. spent time at our house, too. She even fed the girls supper one night so Brandon and I could go out! It's not hard accepting an offer like that! Thanks S! She and I watched a movie one night...High School Musical. We felt like a couple of teeny boppers. :) But we enjoyed it, I will admit! Next time she's home, we're watching the second one.
We finally celebrated our own little family Christmas the morning of the 2nd. The girls enjoyed opening gifts again and didn't seem to mind we were a little late in celebrating. Later that day, the mom in law let the girls nap at her place so we could go see "Bolt" with Aunt S. Thanks! So, like I said amongst the mess and chaos, we squeezed in the fun.

Christmas Celebrations

Sadie in front of her stocking
Maisie got the mark on her chin from a fall on the ice
Analise is wearing Brandon's new face mask...with some bling
Christmas day was nice and sunny and very relaxing. The girls didn't get up too early, and they were very patient before opening gifts. We started with the stockings. As you can tell, they are more like large gift bags that my mom fills. Sadie is sitting in front of her "stocking." They had fun pulling things out and opening them up. After stockings we ate the traditional yummy breakfast of egg casserole and the best coffeecake ever. We finally started opening gifts after 10:00. The girls were showered with some great gifts. The big excitement was the Smart Cycle. Analise has had a lot of fun with that! Maisie loves building with her new blocks, and Sadie looks cute in her new outfits. Rest of the morning and afternoon were spent playing and taking it easy. My sister and her hubbie got there around 4:00. This was the first time we met their basset hound, Flash. Maisie was okay from a distance, and Analise was pretty much scared to death. Brandon carried her everywhere. :) After a delicious meal the adults opened their stockings (again large gift bags) and presents. The girls pitched in and helped, too. We had lots of fun being together!
The Luke celebration didn't take place until Jan. 4th. We, too, had a delicious meal and then opened presents. I think this was the longest it's ever taken to open gifts. For some reasons there were several delays. I guess we just stretched out the fun. The biggest blessing is having close family to celebrate with. We all love being together, and I never want to take that for granted! I hope the girls learned about the true meaning of Christmas being the birth of their Savior and that giving is better than receiving. We may need to work more with Maisie, though. After every present, she would announce, "More! More!"

Fun Times

Maisie with a bubble hat
Maisie's head was barely above the bubbles


Our time at home was full of fun, and we made some more great memories. Each day flew by way too quickly. Here is a "brief" highlight so I remember...We were able to go to church and several people got to meet Sadie for the first time. It was a special thing to see people who had prayed for her tear up when they saw her.
We were able to take the girls to Penney's to get their picture taken. Though none turned out perfect, they are plenty real looking and still cute. Later in the day Brandon and I were able to go back to the mall to shop by ourselves! What a treat! That evening I saw some good family friends for dinner and then went for coffee with some dear girl friends. Miss you!
Tuesday we went out and about to a fun grocery store and to Dicks; we then ate lunch out.
Weds. Brandon and I went to a movie while the girls napped - another treat! We saw "Fireproof" and loved it. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's funny to me now to watch Kirk Cameron on film knowing that when I was in 4-6th grade, he was plastered all over my bedroom walls. :) For Christmas Eve service we went to a different church, and it was great. The service was simply beautiful. Analise sat on my lap, and though she got a little bored, she knew what was going on. The pastor talked about God Being With Us, and when he asked if God was with us, Analise shook her head yes. So sweet. That night each girl opened one present - a new pair of jammies! Being girls, they get excited about new pjs. :)
Rest of the week was filled with running places, eating out and hanging with the fam. The girls loved being there and were so sad when they left. They both enjoyed Minnie, and thankfully she did a nice job with them. She's getting old. My mom has kept some of my toys from when I was a kid, such as the little people. The girls had a blast playing with all of them. You know they enjoy something when they go off to play quietly by themselves! One of the girls' highlights was taking a bubble bath in my mom's big tub - with the jets on. They LOVED it!
We decided to stay an extra day to drive 3 hours to see my Grandma. We had hoped to go see her on Weds, but the weather didn't let us. I have a wonderful husband who saw the importance of doing something like this and he put his blessings on this extra trip. We were so glad we went. I not only got to see my dear grandmother, whom shouldn't be here (according to a doctor), but I got to see other family members that I haven't seen in a couple of years. It was a special, special time for me. She got to meet my Sadie May, whom we named after my grandma. As my dad said, "It was one miracle holding another." It was a day overflowing with God's blessings and I will never forget it. As we drove away in the rain, I saw my grandmother standing by the window and waving. I don't know if I will ever see her again on this side of heaven. God only knows I would love to. There was not only rain on the outside of the vehicle, I was making my own rain inside, too.

December Travels

Brandon was gone for a few days this month to Houston. The girls and I managed fine without him, and I even had to laugh that it snowed in Houston while he was there. He got back a day late due to plane mechanical problems, but he came home with a great story! While he was in the Denver Airport, a water main line broke, so there was water and complete chaos everywhere. He had to miss to our small group party, but thankfully I can enjoy my friends even if he isn't there. Don't get me wrong; I really missed him!
He was home for less than a week before we headed to see my parents. Our goal was to make the 12 hour drive in one day so we wouldn't have to do a hotel stay with three kids. We were going to leave Sat. morning, but the route we take didn't have good weather planned, so we put plan B into action. We decided Friday afternoon at 4:00 to leave that night and drive a different route. We'd travel 5 hours and then spend the night. It was mayhem around here! Thanks to a mom in law coming over to help and entertain and feed to girls, and me having most of the laundry done, we were on the road by 7:15. Good thing I had my list of things to take because I think I would have left my own mind on the counter!
The girls did really well. Sadie fell asleep pretty quickly, and the girls watched one DVD before they finally fell asleep. We checked in to the hotel at 12:15. The girls did great once again. PTL! The older two even shared a bed for the first time!
The next morning we didn't rush out, but we didn't try to linger either. I'm usually a mom that doesn't allow kids to run in a hotel hallway, but this morning was an exception to the rule. We were a few rooms from the exit door, so I had the girls running back and forth between doors. They needed to burn energy.
God was good and gave us good roads, mostly content travelers and dry weather. We finally pulled into my parent's drive at 11:15 our time. It felt great!

December Days

Analise created her own recipe



The girls enjoyed the Christmas season. They loved the trees, looking at lights, shopping for gifts, and singing Christmas songs. Analise does a great job at keeping secrets! She went shopping with Brandon for me, and she knew some things I got him. She doesn't make a peep.
The girls loved playing in the first deep snow. They spent lots of time of there and came in without being too cold. Brandon makes sure they have warm hands and feet.
One evening while I was making dinner, Analise wanted to create her own recipe. I let her imagination fly...and she flew to the moon. I can remember a few things she put in there: water, salt, pepper, sugar, lettuce, tomato, even snow! Needless to say, none of us were brave enough to try it!
Again the girls had a tree in their room. Analise put the ornaments on, and she did a nice job spacing them evenly. They liked going to bed with the green, tree lights on.
The tree in the living room is my favorite. I have a s'more ornament collection that we started years ago, and we keep adding to it. (We have over 60!) We also have ornaments from trips we have been on. Most of the ornaments are dated on the bottom so I remember. It's not a fancy decorated tree; it's a memory tree for me. Sadie had some special ornaments on the tree this year. One of her NICU nurses gave her a Willow Tree called "The Angel of Miracles." It was a dear gift. This month one of my dear friends gave me the Willow Tree ornament "Angel of Prayer." I was almost in tears when I looked at the two together; if it wasn't for prayer, we probably wouldn't have our miracle!

Tis Past the Season

Analise was a donkey in the program
She makes a cute little lamb!
Wow...I knew it had been awhile since I had blogged, but goodness...only once in December! I've been wanting to update for ages, so here it comes in days and stages. As you can tell from the pictures, Analise was in her preschool Christmas program. I have a thing for kid's programs anyway, so when my own daughter was in it, I just loved it! All the kids did great, and I love that they are learning songs and stories about Jesus. Can't get better than that! She sang every song, knew all the motions and loved waving to Brandon in the back with the video camera. My favorite was when all the kids sang and boogied to "The 10 Commandment Boogie." The song is by Go Fish; if you haven't heard it, check it out. It's great!