Watch us Grow

I wuv woo

2010-01-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

As I was holding my son -my 18 month old son - he looked up into my eyes and said "I wuv woo" and reached up and kissed my lips then wrapped his arms around me and hugged me.

Christmas Ponderings...

2009-12-11T10:55:00.001-08:00

Today I am pondering Christmas....hence the title of today's post. Christmas for some is stressful full of impending debt. Not for me. I love buying things for others expecially for my children. I love to watch my children open up the gifts with so much enthusiasm. Then my heart melts when they remember to say thank you with out any reminder from me.

So far I have been very traditional in our Christmas celebration. Gifts under a decorated tree, visiting with families, making cookies...the whole Santa bit. But you see my little girl is three this year. She is understanding so much and is also remembering everything. What do I want to instill in this little girl, who do I want her to be when she is grown. I need to change things...I can feel it in my heart when I'm reading Natalie and Elijah the story of Saint Nickolas....even the Veggie tales version. Something is missing...something isn't right.

I will do some research and find out all I can about "Christamas". I will have to have Steven on my side....I will have to change.

Elijah is 16.5 months old!

2009-12-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

Elijah is such a BIG boy! He is so cute and smart too.

He is bigger than a lot of other boy babies his age. He is so cute because his hair spikes all by itself...he has one dimple on his left cheek...and he winkles his nose when he smiles!

He is smart! He really understands most things that I say. He likes to pretend to use the potty. He tells me when he is wet or dirty....he pulls at his diaper and pulls me to his room to get changed. I can ask him if he is wet or dirty and he will shake his head yes or no.

Elijah is very interested in cars. He doesn't like the little ones that are made for babies his age, he wants the model lamborgini cars made for ten year olds. He loves to sit in the camry and pretend to drive...he will pitch a big fit when he is taken out though so I don't let him do it too often.

The latest adventure with Elijah has earned him the nicknames "Slick" and "Crisco Kid".

One evening I was cooking supper. I allow my children to play in the cabinets while I cook. I actually give them a pot with a spoon and some cheerios. They "cook" the cheerios while I cook supper. This allows them to be busy in the same room that I am in and lets them have a snack to tide them over while supper is cooking. Well, this one night, Elijah decides to go looking in the pantry. I let him because there isn't anything in there that can hurt him. Well, I turn to my cooking and then I hear those words....."Uh-oh", I turn to see that my son has taken a big bottle of vegetable oil, opened it, and poured it on the floor. So - I grab him up and get him in the bath tub....I bathe him with some dawn, I start thinking about the mess in the kitchen (it was running under my fridge) and then I think that Natalie is still loose in the house....So I get Elijah out and let him go...(yes he in naked) I go in the kitchen to clean up the mess and Elijah is right behind me.....running....then sliding....then falling back into the oil. It was hilarious.

We will never forget that night.

Hello blogg world!

2009-12-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

It has been SIX months! Oh my word! That is a very long time and I have a lot to catch you up on! But...GUESS WHAT!!! I have a laptop! YEAH! I'm so excited because now it is so much easier to watch my kids and work on my pictures or catching up on facebook or you guessed it - updating on my blog! The reason I started blogging wasn't really for everyone else to know what was going on in our lives, but to help me remember my children growing up.
You see I'm absolutely horrible, yes horrible. My children do not have a baby book...and I didn't write down a lot of things that I should have and I didn't take the pictures that I should have.
I like to scrapbook...I have lots of scrapbooking things...thanks to my wonderful friend Tracey and my mother....but I don't have any scrapbooks completed. I have one started...and it is from back when Steven and I was dating. I had another friend, Melissa, that introduced me to digital scrapbooking....yeah I wanted to do it, but still, it didn't happen.

SO now I have a laptop....no one else can get on it - I can work on it while the kids are playing or while I'm watching yet another action movie with my husband.

Here I go on another try...I hope that I can keep up this semi new adventure!

Melissa as of July 15, 2009

2009-07-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

Me and the kids playing on the floor - 1/2/09

I'm going to get better at this!
I have decided - I hope! - That I will start using this blog as sort of a journal - I'm going to keep it open ALWAYS - so I can just type down a story really quick and then be done!

Well - Me - I think the wierdest thing is that I have read the Twilight saga THREE times! I swear I'm not hooked - I just haven't found something better to read! I have finally started the Harry Potter stories - don't laugh! I figured that I like series - so since everyone else likes it - I might as well give it a try! Any suggestions on what I can read next?

I have found myself in a new place in my life. I'm more confident about myself than what I ever have been. I know more of who I am and I'm not afraid to embrace it.

I'm still liking my photography - sometimes! I had a bad experience with a ballet recital and I really just wanted to quit all together after that - hmm - I'm still not done with it either!
But anyways - I learned a lot from the experience!

I have been haveing some trouble with my heart racing and heart palpatations - Not to mention losing weight like crazy! (I'm not trying to do this either) So I have went to a cardiologist that had me wear a monitor for 24 hours. Haven't heard back from them yet. I also went to a endocrinologist - hel thinks I have a bit of post partem hyperthyroidism. I have to see both of them again in a month. The cardiologist will do an echo to rule out some possibilties.

That's about it for me! I will update on Steven next!

Remember - I don't check my grammer! So bear with me!

Pictures that should have been uploaded a LONG time ago!

2009-07-15T14:57:00.001-07:00

This is our Home! It's a picture showing off Steven's carpentry work on the window He Rocks!

Home Girl Natalie - Jan 15 2009

This is Huggie! He is with another family now.

This is Natalie's first black eye!

Yes Yes - another three months has flown by!

2009-06-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hello - I hope that all of you are doing amazing and enjoying some really nice weather.
I have LOTS to update - but I have chosen to take my little girl outside to do some worm catching

Here we go again!

2009-03-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like you can check back for an update once every THREE months! Can't believe it's been this long.
Sigh - but that's motherhood for ya!
I will write an update now -and then I will hopefully post pics tonight!

Guess what? Natalie got her first black eye! Actually it turned a really pretty pink and lavender instead of black. But she had a nasty scrape beside her eye to go with it!
Here is what happened -
We were at my Aunts house having a small little family gathering. Lots of kids. They have a swing - like those that you see at Wal-Mart made for about 4 grown ups - metal covered in a canvas type material. Kaden, my cousins little boy, was standing on top of the swing holding on to the bar above it and pushing it out with his feet. Well, Natalie walked in front of it and WHAM! It hit her. At first I was just going to pick her up console her a little and then help her brush off - but when I looked at her eye - it looked as if she was bleeding from her eye! So I got pretty upset. - But after looking more closely her eyeball was not bleeding - it was just her eyelid and the skin right beside her eye that was bleeding. DRAMA!
Natalie is doing really good though - she has to count to 12 to get most treats. Next week it will be 13! She loves to dig up earthworms! And she loves to look for bugs with her magnifying glass. I'm downloading all the pics from my camera as I type so I can actually get pictures of her doing this. Potty training - is just that - Training. Its all hit or miss. LOL! I'm as consistant as I can be without pulling out my or her hair. I decided that I will take her as often as I think about it and then let her decide when she wants to stop having pee run down her legs - it just takes time and she is still quite young. So I'm just training.

Elijah is SOOO active! He army crawls all over! He can't stand to be still unless you are up walking! He has to have everything that he can see that is just out of his and his mommies reach! Yesterday I walked in his room in the morning to find him standing up in his crib - hanging on for dear life! He didn't realize that he could sit back down! Nope - didn't get that pic either...I just really need to get more organized and I'm trying my best - starting with my closet.
Back to Elijah. He likes to chase his sister through the house - he will do it army crawling but loves for you to help him run by holding his hands. Natalie zooms by and screams with Elijah following screaming just as loud. He is liking his sippy cup. He doesn't want me to feed him - he wants to do it all himself. At dinner I just rinse all - if any - salt off of our food and give it to him. He loves it. We have a really big backyard - it has a small drainage ditch that runs through it - yesterday Natlaie went out in her rainboots and was splashing around - when I put Elijah on the ground - where I thought he would sit and play with the flowers - he immediately pushed down to his belly and started dragging himself toward the water - he moved so fast - and was screaming with delight! So - I let him go. He loved splashing in the water with his sister! I just need to get him some boots too! Actually I think a rain suit. Nope no picture! - I can't carry my big camera outside by myself with two kids - So i'm working on my little camera - it just doesn't take as good as pics as I want it to. - But I have to stop passing all the memeories!
Elijah's last echo was good I guess - They still can't see where they want to see - but his bloodpressure in his legs is still good so - they don't want to see him for six months.
Praise God!

Steven is working hard and harder. He has decided to take on some extra kids to make some extra money. He is working in Rayville LA today on his dissertation research. He is planning on graduating in December. Then he will be a DR.! Woop Woop! Anyways - he is also getting back into shape - doing tons of pushups and other things. He did have me conned into doing a competition with him on pushups - but I'm having trouble with my right shoulder - I think it's from picking Elijah up in his carseat - it just hurts - has for at least two months now. So we are doing a sit up contest - I can do more!!! But he can do a ton of pushups and I can't get off the floor!

Why my Husband Rocks!

2009-01-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks Kirsten for posting this for your husband. I figured I could do it to!

My Husband Rocks because he comes home from a long day at work and dances with our daughter. He helps her put on her little ballerina outfit and then they turn on some music (usually Phil Collins) and they dance! Steven will even get really silly with her!

Elijah Creed

2009-01-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

Actually I call him - 'Lijah Creed or Creed. It's funny because I actually do forget that his name is Elijah....when people ask me his name I say....(pause) in my head I'm saying (Lo - no- nat - no- huh?) And then I say "'Lijah" and people say "What?" Then I have to say Elijah.
Elijah is doing very well. He is rolling, rolling, rolling! I laid him on the floor in his room the other day and watched him roll across the room and out the door! He loves to roll. OH and that rule about babies sleeping on the belly - oh- uh-uh! You lay him down on his back and he roles right over!
He loves to SCREACH and SCREAM and HOLLER! He gets this from Natalie!
He said "mama" first - He said it for me on my birthday! (it was really cute) We were at Chilie's and I looked at him and said, "Lijah, it's my birthday say mamma." And he replied - (see if you can keep up) He smiled, said mmmm....then he made a big frown and said maaaa -(tears were in his eyes) and then he smiled and laughed and said "mmmm" and then frowned with the tears and said "mmmaaammaaa"! Then he smiled and laughed again! and you know what - he hasn't said it since!
Now he likes to say "yayayaydadadaddaaayayayddaaaadadadada" aka "dada"
He loves his daddy! He can be so fussy and then Steven comes home and he starts kicking and laughing and is just exstatic to see his dad. He won't let Steven pass him up either!

Elijah used to sleep ten hours every night - then we went to Nana and Pawpaw's house and WAM!!! - He is only sleeping 5-6 hours at night! Which is still good for a 6 month old but come one what happened to my 10 hours!

Elijah's last Echo came back inconclusive. They said that there is a part of the aorta that they couldn't get a good picture of and that there seems that there might be a little more scar tissue forming that is causing a little bit of a narrowing....sigh. We go back to the Dr. in February.
He is a really healthy baby though and you can't tell that he was ever sick, except for the scar along his ribs that only I see when I change his clothes or give him a bath.
Speaking of baths! He loves to splash and doesn't mind at all if Natalie splashes back! Yes we bathe them together - It's so much faster and funner. Grant it, it will have to come to an end when Natalie starts asking more questions.

Elijah wants to crawl SUPER bad! He lays on his belly and just swims, swims, swims. (he does it really fast too!) He knows how to pick up his upper half way off the floor, but then he drops down and puts one knee under him....he just has to put them together.

Natalie!

2008-12-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

All I have to say here is that she is TWO!
I would say she is in the terrible two's but I promised myself I would never ever say that! So she is in the - never get sleepy, run circles around momma, doesn't want to eat her vegetables, and wants to get her way two's - !
I could also call it the "thankful two's" - This little girl is soooo polite! She always say's "Thank You" to everybody for anything - She always say's Excuse me when she burps and when she .....er well...you know! She tells everyone "Bless you" if they sneeze or cough or even grunt.
She is an amazing little girl and she teaches me something new everyday!
She can say her ABC's (and even identify most of those letters) She can count to ten!
She knows that dishes belong in the sink - she often picks mine up for me and say's "Sink O.K." and I tell her "O.K" and she packs all the dishes to the sink!
Yesterday she packed her brothers humidifier to the sink also!
She really enjoys playing outside - to the point to where we have to spell the word! She also knows the way to the park - so when we get in the car she say's "This way" "Park" - and if you don't turn that way she will try and convince you that you are going the wrong way, by saying, No, NO , NO....This way!
The other day I had her and her brother down for a nap and I thought I could get a good shower before they woke up -
Well, as soon as I stepped into the shower I hear a thud at the door - I open it and Natalie looks up at me and says, "My Hungry" - It was so cute! frustrating but cute!
Natalie loves to puddle jump - when we go outside she always has to wear her rain boots - because if there is mud or water she will be in it no matter the temperature!
We finally told Natalie about Santa! I was really apprehensive about it, because I don't like the idea of lying to my child and I still feel guilty, but she did have fun with it. I do remember when I found out Santa wasn't real - and I wasn't hurt too bad and I lived. So maybe I will keep it up, but I may change my mind next year....not sure.
Natalie really likes animals and bugs and lizards. Whew, I have to get my wits about me with this girl!
Natalie loves to read and play pretend. She likes to build with blocks with her daddy.
She also likes to watch T.V. Not something that I'm real proud of, but it's working for us at the moment. Right now her favorite show is Kung Fu Panda - of all things! But soon it will have to go back to Netflix.
Natalie plays well with other children, but other kids can be mean. We have taught her not to push, but other parents seem to think that pushing is a major milestone or something. So when a child pushes her down, she say's, "No, Stop it, I don't like it" I'm so proud of her, but boy do I just want to take those kids by the ear and march them over to the parents or better yet just spank them myself! It's really hard watching my sweet girl get pushed.
Natalie also likes to jump on my bed (it's big enough for her not to hit the wall).
If you close your eyes for just a few seconds she will shout, "Wake UP" Wake UP" until you open your eyes. It's a game her daddy started one Saturday morning, so he can stay in bed a little longer.
So this is what I have about Natalie! Hope you enjoyed it. Yes, I will be posting some pictures, maybe even a video if I can get it on here....
Now I'm off to start on Elijah's Update!

Melissa!

2008-12-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Yeah I know you want to hear about the children - but I figured I could make you wait!
Well, Me...Lets see.
I stay at home, change diapers, feed babies, pay bills, clean house, play with babies, watch Kung Fu Panda OVER and OVER!, and that is about it!
Okay - on to someone else!
Just kidding!
I have found that I'm not much of a creator - but a re-creator! I really like to do crafty things and such but I don't have very many original ideas! So, I used to be pretty fussy about that - feeling like I was cheating or something - but then - I realized that there really aren't many new ideas out there - and it's ok to copy cat as long as I'm not taking something away from someone else - and of course, if it has a copyright! So I'm settled now with the fact that I'm a re-creator!

I have a gazillion things that I love to do, but sadly it usually only gets half way done. I like to sew - I have made Natalie two dresses - one I didn't finish until she was too big! LOL
The other looked pretty good (yes there will be a picture) It is brown with pink polka dots!
I like to make those really pretty chunky beady bracelets (are there enough adjectives there!)
I have a TON of scrapbooking stuff -and I have had it for a long time - and I only have about three pages done - I even have a table for all of it - but - sigh- It's like blogging - I just don't want to do it unless I can make it look awesome - maybe I will have to just start doing it - and be happy with what I can do! Just like my blog!

An amazing women, also named Melissa, sent me a personalized prayer book for each of my children...it adds your childs name into scripture - So you can pray the scriptures for your little ones! - And I have started making those....I figured that I live far enough away from the lady that made them that it would be ok - and there isn't a copyright anywhere on it. My friend from Abilene is also picking that up - Go Kirsten! ( I think I spelled that right - some friend I am.)
OH! I LOVE taking pictures! I don't do it as often as I like or should because....you guessed it...I want it to be perfect! - I really have to get over all that!
Photography has been in my mind for awhile and I really want to learn all about my camera and about the photoshoping techniques - It just takes time - something I don't seem to have a lot of during the day.....ha!....or night! This is the place where I find that I'm the creator - although I do like to try and get the same shots of other pictures that I have seen - I find that I can really let loose and just have fun!
I also like to play the piano - I FINALLY have a piano - I have wanted one my whole life! Way to go hubby! He bought me an anitque grand cabinet piano - it is 108 years old! It needs some tuning and some more cleaning - but it sounds SOOO beautiful - especially since we have hard wood floors! I took piano lessons when I was younger but, I didn't get very far. So I try and teach myself! I have learned to play: Jesus loves me (with both hands!) - I can play a full chord down the piano - and I'm currently learning "Bella's Lullaby"! (it's easy and hard at the same time!)
Which brings me to TWILIGHT! I absolutely love the Twilight saga! I have read all the books and I'm anticipating the next one. I know that these books are a bit teenage - ish - but I really do not like romance novels (gross!) And I really don't like reading horror either - So this is just a clean book that has romance, action, suspense - it has it all! I have seen the movie twice! I can't say that I would have liked it so much if I hadn't read the books. They left out soooo much detail. - Okay I'm going somewhere else.
I haven't made many friends here is Warren. Kirsten, I read your blog the other day about being proactive - and I felt sorry for myself. I have phone numbers for two other ladies with a child the same age as mine - but I feel soooo awkward! (mainly because I met them in Wal- mart or at the park, so there is no other connection!) HA! Steven even asked a lady for her phone number once and gave it to me.
Also what I find hard is that I'm attracted to couples that seem to be a lot youger than us - and the ones that are our age - I think that they are older. I just need to let go and just do it. I miss my Monroe friends ALOT! I miss the church and the stores! I miss my babysitters - KELSIE - I need you to move up here!
The congregation here is - hmmm - stuck. It is a traditional church _which I don't mind. But it is a "family" church. Everyone has grown up in that church and they don't need anymore friends. We have tried SOOOO hard to get the couples to come over and visit with us - but they are just - not available.
There is one familyl that has really taken us in, they generally have us over for Sunday lunch- and they have brought us goodies and things when we were sick - they are a very sweet, funny family.
Well -OH yeah...something else I do. Last week we were stepping out into the cold wintery night to go to worhip....and this poor little puppy greated Steven at the doorstep. This is a 6 week old lab/chow puppy that someone just dropped off. Now, Steven and I both like dogs....but niether of us want one! We were going to get one ...L-A-T-E-R ! But there it was - a sweet little cute PUPPY that someone left out in the cold. (this is the week that it was 19 degrees at night) SO Steven scoops him up and puts him in our guest bathroom. SIGH. I took the poor pup to the vet the next day - he has sarcoptic mange - ewe! - (also known as scabies!) So we had to get him treated for that and get his shots and get him dewormed - Okay this free puppy just turned into a $100 dog. Not to mention that if we keep it, we have to bould a $2000 fence. I DON'T WANT A DOG! Oh and did I mention that it's a male! I don't like male dogs (you can use your own imagination to guess why)
Plus side - this dog is very quiet - he only whines to go outside - and he is house trained. (I didn't do it) -So he is a good dog. I don't know what we are going to do with him. By the way - His name is Huggie. (he sleeps in an empty box of huggies diapers)

Overall, I feel as if I have become a better person here in Warren. No friends leads to a lot of self- examination. So I have looked at what I considered my weaknesses and either I'm working on fixing it - or I'm learning to embrace it.
I know I didn't talk a lot before - but I really talk a lot less (can you tell by this super long post!)
The reason for that is that I'm trying to "respect" others more. I don't always have to give my opinion. I have mainly started trying to learn to respect men more. I used to would talk to them like they were inferior sometimes, but now (after some Bible study) I know it's not my place.
I also don't try so hard to please the world. That one is hard to explain - maybe another post for another day.

I love all ya'll and Miss ya'll!

Steven!

2008-12-22T21:43:00.000-08:00

Time to update the going on's with my wonderful hubby!
Steven is busy, busy, busy.
He works for Millcreek of Arkansas, an in patient facility for boys and girls ages 6-17.
Steven is a therapist for the older boys. The boys are either placed by: DHS (Department of Human Services), parents, Juvenile court or they just don't have anywhere else to go. These boys mainly consist of trouble makers.
With each client Steven does individual therapy and family therapy sessions. He also has to do three group therapy sessions a week. He often tells me about his group ideas and I have to tell you, they are really good.
He generally has around 14 kids to see a week.
These kids are generally really rough around the edges and they need a lot of help. Steven does have a few scary stories that makes me wish he was working in a better environment, but he has proved that he can handle himself.
He has applied for the clinical director position, which we think will be a great oppurtunity to get some knowledge and experience.
Steven is an awesome dad and husband. He comes home from work and helps me until we go to sleep. He is no where near one of those men that just sit on the couch. Soemtimes he will even take over cooking dinner and watching the kids at the same time so I can have some alone time. He was shown his carpentry skills in many ways: he was replaced some wood siding on our house (he had to make the siding because they don't sell it in the stores anymore) And it turned out great! The only way you can tell is because the paint isn't layered on (they didn't scrape the house before painting it so it has a cool texture!) , He has built two very sturdy window seats for our house. And he has built a very pretty dollhouse for Natalie's Christmas!
Of course I will upload pics of everything!
Steven is leading singing during worship some Sunday's and he is teaching the young adults class.
His dissertation is well - a work in progress- he is mainly waiting on the research period to be over. Then he will have to really buckle down if he wants to graduate in August 2009.
I will get Steven to update a little in this space too!
Pictures are on the way!

A Maybe Promise!

2008-12-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm making a promise to myself and to my family and friends right her and now!
I promise to keep up with my blog better!
Hmmm...I'll try!
You see, I don't have that much time and I want to do a really good job, so since I know I don't have time to do a good job - I just don't do it at all!
But I have to get rid of that trait and just forget about it.
Too many amazing things happen that I want to remember and share with others for me to just sit and whine about not getting to blog about it.
So - forgive the mess that I may make on here - including grammar! and lopsided pictures (for some reason I can't get blogger to upload the "touched up" picture)

So I'm going to do a BIG update! I will start with Steven -
Soon.

Natalie's 2nd Birthday!

2008-11-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

Natalie had her 2nd Birthday Party!

We had cupcakes with the "2" on them!
We had water balloons, a slip and slide and a little pool!

Natalie helping with the cupcakes!

Natalie "dolling up" with Momma!

Natalie was very VERY thankful for her presents - Every one she opened she said "WOW...WOW" "thank you"

hol em!!! hol em!!

2008-08-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Natalie loves to hold her bubba

7 Weeks!!

2008-08-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

Oh WOW!
I knew time was flying by fast with Natalie, but this is no contest. Two babies make the clock spin out of control.
Elijah is now 7 weeks old!! And he is getting soooo BIG! He is also getting better and better at letting me sleep at night...so far 4.5 hours is a row.
The last Dr.'s visit we had went pretty good.
They took a chest x-ray - oh I wish I'd had my camera - they put him in this clear tube with his arms up over his head! It wasn't funny - but it was interesting. He did really well for them...so well that the x-ray tech was telling him to cry (because she needed to know when he took a deep breath so she could take the picture!)
His x-ray looked just fine.

Then the cardiologist checked his blood pressure with a dopler machine and found that he has some discrepancies. Usually the blood pressure in your leg is the same or just a bit higher than in your arm. Elijah's was different....his was lower in his leg than in his arm about 12 points higher - they get concerned at 13 points higher.
Needless to say he is still on his blood pressure medicine. They will re-check it in 2.5 months and they will do an echocardiagram.

On Sept 11 we will take him to a nephrologist (sp) - a kidney Dr. They will run a dye into his bladder and see if both of the lines to his kidneys are working and not swollen any more. He has something called - hydrophranosis (sp) Which is reflux of the kidney. So hopefully he will check out fine and we can take him off his antibiotics.

He is a wonderful baby! Hardly cries at all, except for during his fussy time - from 6pm till 9pm - He isn't crying the whole time - he is just hard to pacify during that time.

He loves his sister - he would rather look at her than me! I know this because I will be lying on the floor talking to him and then she comes over and steals his attention away. Natalie really loves to kiss him and to tickle his face with her hair.

Elijah is cooing and making all the sweet baby noises. He loves to watch his mobile and kick up a storm.

Otherwise he isn't doing much else.

I will post pics soon. Hopefully I can catch his contagious smile and show off his dimple!

More pics

2008-08-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Arkansas Children's Hospital

2008-08-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

When we arrived at Arkansas Children's Hospital there were friends from the Monticello Church waiting for us - what a blessing.
We were updated by a young female Doctor...she was very sweet and kind to explain everything to us. She told us that Elijah was a very sick little boy and would need surgery. Elijah had a coarctation of the aorta. Along his aorta there is a "kink" or a narrowing - like in a water hose. This caused him to have minimal blood flow to his extremities. This "kink" forms at about 6-8 weeks of gestation...so the problem was there before we knew we were pregnant. So, why didn't we see a problem during pregnancy.....you see, God is very clever. In the womb babies have a "bypass" this is a small tube that bypasses the lungs and sends the blood elsewhere - it is called a ductus arteriosus. This is lined with special tissue that slowly closes after birth. When there is a narrowing this causes the left ventricle to work harder, since it must generate a higher pressure than normal to force blood through the narrow segment of the aorta to the lower part of the body. If the narrowing is significant enough - the ventricle may not be strong enough to perform its task which results in congestive heart failure and shock.

After she explained all this- I just asked "So he is going to be o.k...you can fix him?" and she replied "Yes, this is not the most common thing we see, but we do see a lot of them."
This made me feel much better and the crying stopped.
She did inform us that sense Elijah's coarctation had went so long undetected he had damage to his internal oragans and they were going to have to wait for him to heal a bit before they did the surgery.

Just a note - the coarctation is very detectable. My advice to every new mother is to have the Dr. check the babies blood pressure in both legs and both arms...at every Dr. appt until he/she is at least a month old. The blood pressure in the arms and legs are supposed to be the same...if one is higher than the other it is usually in the legs and not by much. So if there is a difference have them do further tests. Especially if the pressure is lower in the legs.
Oh and if you are worried about your baby...don't wait go ahead and call the Dr. and if they say its nothing....go ahead and go to the ER - its not worth it....trust you instincts.

It was really a sad sight to see Elijah hooked up to every machine known to man. He had so many "holes" in his little body from iv's and such. I could barely get my hands in around all of it to touch him. I constantly wished to hold him. I was able to stay in the room with him. He had one nurse every twelve hours. That was really nice, because I knew that they only had to think about my son and no one else. We spoke to about 15 Dr.'s in our 9 days there. They all explained and re-explained everything. Tiring- but real nice.

Elijah had his surgery on July 4th. This is a rundown of the procedure; They made an incision inbetween his ribs under his left arm - they cut through the muscle and then pried his ribs apart - When they found the narrowing they put a clamp on both sides of it and then cut it out, then stitched it together. Then they closed. I don't remember how long it took. The nurse came out and showed us the part that was cut out - it was so tiny. He said that the surgery was really boring and he even had to wake one of the scrub techs. So that was good...no surprises.

Elijah stayed in CVICU (cardiovascular intensive care) for a couple more nights. We really liked his night nurse - Joe. He would encourage us to help take care for him; oral care and changing diapers.

It took awhile, but they finally took out the ventilator and he was breathing on his own and beginning to eat.

We were there for nine days...We were able to sleep in the waiting room until he was moved to a semi-private room where I could stay with him.

Things progressed very slowly...I was finally able to try nursing Elijah...oh it was rough...he had forgotten everything we had worked so hard to accomplish. It didn't help that they gave him a bottle first, but I understood, they had to see how much was going and coming out.

Before we could go home we had to do a car seat test. We had a, what we thought, was a two hour drive (really 1h 20min) so he had to stay in the car seat for two hours straight, no interruptions, hooked up to machines monitoring his heart and his blood oxygen levels. He passed! We did have to console him with sugar water on his paci...another reason nursing didn't go well.

After that we were finally ready to go home....we made it!

OH, Natalie stayed with her Nana 8 hours away!!! I had never been without her for more than a few hours and I had always been able to get to her quickly if needed....so that was hard for me...easy for her.

Elijah was slowly dying

2008-07-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

July 2nd 2008 -
9pm - Elijah had been trying to nurse every hour and a half without much success and he was acting very sleepy. (not uncommon for a newborn) He was also breathing rapidly. Not struggling just breathing fast.
10pm - We put Elijah in the bed with us because his skin was cold...I wrapped him in a blanket and slept with him bundled next to my chest. A little later he woke me with a weak scream - He was sweating so I put him in his changing pad (which was in between Steven and I in the bed) I looked at the clock and noticed that it is time for him to eat. I tried to nurse him and he just wouldn't eat. It had been 6 hours since he had really eaten. I tried to feed him with a medicine dropper and he took in just a little and he went back to sleep. He was still breathing fast. We searched the internet to see if this was a cause for alarm and everything we read said "it's normal."
Around 1am Elijah was crying- he was cold again. I figured he was having trouble keeping himself warm and I checked his temperature. It was 96 degrees. Babies are supposed to at least be 97. I tried to warm him again. And he began to sweat. We checked his temp with a temporal thermometer and it reads 97.3. Normal. I checked it with the arterial thermometer again and it still reads 96. I think the thermometer is broken.
We were up and down all night.
We called the Dr. office at 8:00 they didn't seem alarmed so we made an appointment for 4pm.
Steven leaves for work telling me to call if he gets worse.
About noon - Elijah broke into a cold sweat - still breathing fast and every 30 minutes is screaming - his temp reads 95.
I call Steven and tell him to come home.
When Steven arrives Elijah has calmed down...not sweating....still breathing rapidly.
We took a few more minutes to get ready.
1:40pm. We are all in the car heading towards the Dr. office.
I call the office and tell them that he needs to be seen sooner and the lady tells me that if I can be there by two she can get me in. Perfect...It takes us 20 min to get there.
In route, Elijah cries and then sounds weak....cries...and then is weak again.
We arrive at the Dr. office and I get him out of the car...his head feels REALLY cold and he is sweating again.
Inside there is a line...Only takes one minute.
The receptionist asks me what I need and I tell her, "I have an appointment for 2 and you said that I could go right in...He is really cold."
She answers the phone....
I start to cry.
God walked a nurse by the window and made her look up at me.
She came to me and asked, "Are you o.k?"
I choke - "He's so cold."
She reaches through the window and grabs Elijah.....I watch him go limp in her arms....
She runs to the back motioning for me to come back.
Steven sees the nurse run with him and grabs Natalie up to follow us. They take us to a room where they have his clothes off with an oxygen mask on him....he's blue and not moving.
The Dr.'s came in and told the nurse to take him to ICU across the parking lot.
They usher us over there and put us in the ICU waiting room.
We wait.
Finally a sweet nurse comes in and touches my shoulder she says, "I'm not supposed to tell you this but your baby is going to be o.k." We calmed just a bit and then she continues, "The helicopter will be here in just a few minutes."
WHAT??!! I was thinking - If my baby is o.k. why do they need a helicopter?

About 40 min later the Dr. comes in and tells us that Elijah is stable. There are two things that could be wrong.
One is that he could have a bacterial infection in his blood - treated by lots of antibiotics and fluid and time in the hospital.
Two is a heart condition. They needed to do an ecocardiogram on his heart which they were not equipped to do.

They tell us that we can see him before he goes on the helicopter - but warn us of the iv's and wires.

We go in to see him and we are shocked even though we were well warned. He had several things hooked up to him including a tube down his throat and an i.v in his head. He was on life support. If we would have waited another 20min....he would have died. They had also tried to put iv's into his leg bone so he was bleeding there.

The helicopter arrived shortly after and they assessed him.
The Dr. from the helicopter administered a med called Prostaglandlins (sp) This was to re-open a valve in his heart...more on that later.

The helicopter then flew away with are baby.

Elijah's Birth Story

2008-07-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

For about a month I pondered the thought of being induced. I really didn't want to be, some have told me that contractions are more painful if you are induced and that there is an increased chance of c-section. Well, since I had a horrible experience with an epidural with Natalie I didn't want one again and with the thought of labor being more painful I really didn't want to be induced.

THEN my Dr. decides he wants to go on vacation on my due date! I realize that doctors have to have lives too but he could have told me much sooner so I could have found one closer to home. I had been traveling two hours to see this Dr for every appointment.

SO....we start discussing induction. He thinks it would be best especially since I live so far away and I began thinking it would be easier on everyone (except my uterus) to go ahead and induce.
Well we schedule the induction for June 23 10pm. I prayed for days that I would go into labor on my own and you know what....I DID!!! It was 4 pm on the 23rd and we were half way to the city where I was to give birth. YAY!!! We had a very busy morning...packing and loading, caring for my daughter and missing our naps! Well, when we finally were in the car and down the road a bit I pulled out my pillow and began to try to take my nap. Then I had a contraction....then another...I started watching the clock and they seem to be coming every 7 min. I made a deep sigh and quietly thanked God. I then opened my eyes and told Steven...."Honey, I believe I'm in labor." So we started timing them and for the rest of the way the contractions were every 6-7 min. We were to meet Steven's mother so we could eat dinner and she could take Natalie for us.

To pass time we went to Target and bought a mirror for the backseat so we could see our son in his carseat on the way home.
Then we went to pet smart.
Then we went to Ross.
(Yes I was still in labor contractions about every 6 mins now.)

Steven's mom arrived and we went to eat at Applebee's. We had a really nice visit.
When we finished eating my mother arrived and we took Steven's mom and Natalie to the hotel. After we had them settled in we headed for the hospital. I was thinking that since I was already in labor they would let me go and walk and come back when the contractions were 3-5 mins apart. But no...they wanted to go ahead and start moving things along, so they hooked me up to a small drip of pitocin. They told me to get some rest and that the baby would be here sometime after lunch the next day.

Yeah...we turned out the lights and were about to go to sleep when I turned the lights back on and told Steven, "Get up...I can't sleep with these contractions." SO for hours we worked through each contraction...they kept getting harder and harder to handle...We finally turned on the hypbirth...it helped a lot!
Then I just became too tired...I had been up forever and didn't get a nap...I was exhausted. So I asked for some pain meds. About 10 minutes after they gave them to me I went to sleep.....only to wake up to another hard contraction. (I think the meds only put you to sleep, I don't think they help with any pain)
I finally asked for an epidural...the guy was real nice and he did a perfect job....I didn't feel a thing after about 30 min.
I slept.
2 hours later, about 8:30am....My Dr. came in the room and said that I would be having the baby around noon. About 20 min later he said it was time to push.
He asked how the epidural was doing this time and I said, "It's like Heaven."
All I could feel was a lot of pressure in my right ribs (i think he was pushing off them with his foot)
But just three pushes and Elijah was here.
He was born at 9:32 am June 24....He weighed 7 lbs 4oz and was 20 and 3/4 inches long!

A Hug from God - Luke 18:16-17

2008-06-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

" But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

2 weeks ago I was in a major slum. I was being very sensitive to everything. Steven and I had tried to highlight and color my hair (isn't he sweet!) We did this because we are trying to save some money. Well, It didn't turn out right and I had asked Steven Friday morning if he would be mad if I went and had my hair done professionally (we were scheduled to take pictures that evening) He said, "I guess I'll get over it." Which to hormonal me meant "Yes, I will be mad but do what you want." Well, I had a horrible day...I just cried and cried (Steven wasn't at home). Natalie and I left to find an outfit to wear for the pictures and when we returned she decided she would run from me. You don't run from a 9 month pregnant women...you just don't! Needless to say she received a nice little spanking. When I finally got her inside I just started to BOOHOO! (pointless, yes...but my feelings were hurt) and I HATE spanking my child!
Then my little girl, who's bottom I had just spanked came and sat in my lap and hugged me! Not just a little hug, but she held on for quite awhile...then she sat up and took my face in her hands and looked me over and hugged me again! The next time she sat up she said some toddler jabber and smiled at me! It made me feel sooo good! So I truly believe I was hugged by God that day!

Natalie!

2008-06-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

Natalie likes to help with the laundry...but today she decided it would be fun to pretend she was the laundry!

Princess Natalie Loves her Crown!

So...I'm new at this

2008-06-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hello!
This blogging thing seems to be a bit harder to figure out than what I thought it would be, but hey we are all friends here and you will forgive me....right?
I decided to create a place where you can get a "franks fix" anytime you want to.
I will be posting pics of our family and the silly things that we do and hmmm I might just use this time to write a few of my thoughts and musings.
So please come and visit and comment anytime you want.