Update on Jack

We have a little miracle on our hands and his name is Baby Jack. :) I got some pictures from my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law that they have been taking on their phones to share with you all. The first one is super sad and it wrenches my heart to see, but it's imperative for what's to come so I wanted you to see what this little guy's had to endure:

The poor little guy had to have a ventilator to breath, another tube down his throat to clear his colon, a feeding tube, and IV's for pain medication (along with the bag outside of his colon to collect waste). Doesn't it just break your heart?!! But GOD IS FAITHFUL.

Below is the picture my mother-in-law took of Jack from her phone TODAY:

 PRAISE THE LORD!!! This sweet angel is off the ventilator, is drinking milk (not getting fed from an IV), decreased pain medicine, off the tube down his throat that cleans out his colon, and do you wanna hear the best part??? Through some preliminary test results that came back today, they think it is very unlikely now that Jack has Cystic Fibrosis - a big concern turned hardly a concern at all in a matter of a day!!!

So just wanted to share God's faithfulness, His deep LOVE for us, and His promise that He will take care of us - no matter what (and I am confident this is true even the results would have turned painful).

And here are some more pictures - just cause he's so darn cute. :)

Worry Worry Worry

I hate it.
I tend to do it (or so my mother has told me for years).
It can consume me more than most sometimes.
I don't think it's biblical (the Bible says DON'T worry! Not, "don't worry...well, unless you're child is sick, then you can worry...")
So my line of defense when I start to do it is to pray (this works for me everytime).

And I feel like this past week I've been praying a lot! :)

So here's what I'm fighting worry on; I tell you so that it's written down, away from me, because I know I can joyfully look back down the line and see there was never a reason to worry.

*Baby Jack. They still don't know what is wrong with him, but finally got the lung issue resolved and he is breathing completely on his own as of this morning! (See - why am I worried?? God is in this!).

*The House. The inspection is first thing tomorrow morning and they are also bringing us a sale purchase contract. So why am I worried? Because we agreed on a price that is ridiculously low for our house, and therefore are selling it in "as-is" condition. Buyers are currently okay with this but I'm worried something's going to turn up in the inspection that neither of us have the money to fix.

*Bruce Wayne. He hasn't eaten normal for the past week and a half now. Some days he completely goes without eating his food. His energy is boundless and there are no other symptoms, so I haven't paid much attention to it. Until last night when I googled it (google and worry are a freaking time bomb, btw!) and now I'm praying he's okay. We're going to the Vet in 2 hours, so that should be a quick answer.

*Last night was full of worry and panic. Though it's over, I didn't get any sleep and I'm feeling it's effects still. Lincoln has a cough and we've been giving him medicine right before bedtime for it. He came in our room last night close to midnight (very abnormal) and when Jason went to put him back to bed I told him to give him his medicine because I had forgotten to.

He did and sent him back to bed.

Then the crazy tornado child appeared. For the next 2 hours he was up and all over the place, crying, screaming, acting like he was terrified, completely restless, fidgeting like he was hurting...I've never seen him like this and it scared me!

Then after 2 hours, he crashed in a matter of seconds - this as equally as scary.

It hit me. I went and woke Jason up and asked him how much cough syrup he had given him (b/c i wondered if he had heard me wrong telling him the dosage).

He had heard me wrong. He had give him (total accident) 5x the amount of sedative cough syrup he was suppose to! I freaked and called poison control and after being on the phone with them for 45 minutes, they thought he would be fine but wanted me to make sure I could wake him for the next few hours. What they told me also made sense why he was acting so erratic and crazy for the past 2 hours...side effect I guess.

So it all turned out to be completely fine, but it scared me last night!!

SOOOO...here's to me writing down my worries, kicking them in the butt, and knowing God is control of all things. Isn't it nice to know that??


******Note****** - Since I wrote this post I have taken Bruce to the vet and they seem to think he's just a food snob. :) And when I was juggling to kids to get Bruce there, I noticed Lincoln had dried-up blood in his ear canal??? What is that!? Oh today.

Updates

Happy Update!!! Jason just called to tell me that Baby Jack just breathed on his own without the respirator for the first time tonight!! This is HUGE exciting news!!!!

Other, less significant news than the above, is that we have an official offer on our house (with lots of other details) pending inspection which will take place later this week. Bunches of prayers appreciated for this process as well. God is in control.

In the meantime, me and the boys have been playing and of course taking pictures...I can't help it. :)

Prayers Please

Baby Jack

As I mentioned in my last post, Baby Jack (our latest little nephew) was born Thursday morning...beautiful, bright and healthy! All seemed to be going perfect and Erica, Andy, and Baby Jack were set to go home Saturday.
However, Saturday morning some things started to not appear right...sweet little Jack started showing some symptoms that his digestive system was not working properly, and within a short time he was in the NICU being prepped for exploratory surgery!
Our eyes filled with tears upon receiving this news and we all immediately began praying for this precious boy.
The surgery went as expected, only the doctors are still unsure as to what is causing his digestive issues. There are a few possibilities, all ranging in severity, but they might not know for sure for a few weeks.

The big issue currently has been his pain management, The doctors think he is in quite a bit of pain and are trying to help him manage it. The update today was that the doctors are working on the pain and a lung issue (I have no details about what that is).

Jason has just left to go be with his brother for a few days. I so badly wish we could all go and be there with them and Baby Jack, but I think 2 toddlers in the mix would not be the best idea right now. We'll keep saying our prayers from home for our sweet nephew and cousin!! Please keep baby Jack in your prayers!!!

Spring Break Happenings

Some big things have taken place these past few days.

1. We kept Baby Tucker overnight for the first time! It was the first of many cousin sleepovers. We wanted to give Amy and Nathan a break and spend some time with the little booger. It went great and he was a sweetheart but I will say 3 in diapers would not be an easy feat!! I get giddy excited though thinking of the upcoming sleepovers when all the little boys are bundled in their make-shift tent and sleeping bags with popcorn/movies and farting contests. :) I told Amy we should pre-plan to just switch off every other Friday night when they get older to whose house the sleep over will be at. Seriously, how fun does that sound??!! Love me some boys.

2. I am now an aunt of 2 little boys!! Erica, my sister-in-law had her baby (almost 3 weeks early!) Thursday morning!! Baby Jack.

3. Thursday we had an already-planned day at the Tulsa Aquarium with my whole family. We all thought Lincoln would love it (which he did) but Noah's joy was unexpected and super cute! We've wondered if Noah will share Lincoln's fearless passion for water this summer in our community pool and after seeing that little sucker at the aquarium (he seriously was diving into the open tanks - hilarious!) I'm pretty sure we'll have 2 waterlogs on our hands this summer. My parents, sisters, and their families all went and then we finished the afternoon off with Cheesecake Factory.

4. After the Aquarium, Jason and Lincoln continued on to OKC to see Baby Jack. I am one of the hosts for Bethany's shower Saturday and had quite a few things to finish up before the shower, so Noah and I headed back home. So last night + today (Jason and Lincoln will be home late) was just Mommy and Noah time and I LOVED it. We went to the park, took some naps, sang lots of songs, and spent a lot of time getting that little guy to walk more! I think Noah J. is going to be able to sing. :) I know it might seem like my dream since that's my thing, but he is so different about music than Lincoln was at this age...I'm just saying. We'll see. :) Noah, here in the past month or so, has really come alive in his personality. I've pretty much decided age 1-2 are some of the most fun times (so far). We have discussed having another kid soon, but I'll be honest - I'm just loving this stage right now where both boys are at, and I kind of just want to sit and relish in it for a bit.

 5. In housing updates, the couple interested called today wanting our mailing address to mail (what we can best presume) an official offer on our house! Now, we're trying not to get too excited because we also understand that it could be an offer we can't do. I've said a handful of prayers today and had to relinquish some worry over the matter. You can bet I'll be checking that mailbox for the next few days like a hawk.

6. And tomorrow is Bethany's shower!!! So excited!!!!

Now off to finish up some things for the shower and clean the house a bit before the older boys get home tonight.

Joy

Sunshine

I've never been one for summer until I had kids...now I LOVE it. Jason's home more, there's more things to do, vacations just keep getting better the larger our family becomes, and somehow the sunshine always makes my lack of patience subside a little more. :) Some other loves...

1. My dad LOVES to grill out...we're talking borderline obsession. And they love having us over when they do (which is at least once a week in the summer), and I've come to love our little family times more and more. There's something incredibly special about watching them with our kids and seeing the joy and love they have for them!!!

 
 
 (Lincoln just saw this picture as I was writing this and goes "Noah's happy!!")

Time at Mimi's and Papa's also means yummy desserts. :)
 2. Lots of yard time. Last night we got Lincoln his first kite. It was a hit for sure (even though it never really flied all that great).

 3. Ice Cream. And lucky for us a Sonic is at the corner of our neighborhood. Last night we walked down there with our neighbors to indulge.

 
4. Getting Out the Clothes. This afternoon I spent the majority of the kid's naptime pulling down summer clothes from the attic and washing them. The most fantastic news??? Hardley any of them fit last summer (thanks to stubborn pregnancy weight) but I tried them all on as I got them out today (yes - almost ALL of them from boxes and boxes full) and they ALL fit! So yeah for having a summer wardrobe again!!!!

5. I mentioned my parents cooking out, but I also love us cooking out (which means easy/healthy dinners and Jason getting to cook some). Last night we grilled out a huge assortment of fresh veggies (asparagus, broccoli, zucinni, sweet onions, and mushrooms), grilled shrimp, and made some burgers (for Jason - he doesn't do shrimp). But happy to report my husband has discovered now ONE vegetable that he really likes - asparagus. :)

Happy Sunshine.