Friday we drove up to Apple Hill to choose and cut our Christmas tree. It was FREEZING! You can see by the pictures just how cold we were. We got a beutiful tree though.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Josiah's newest 'trick'
Josiah has discovered his voice and is in constant competition with the girls. He has also discovered that he can make us all laugh at him. His newest 'trick' is to yell, open his mouth really wide, raise his eyebrows and tighten all the muscles in his body. We think it's hilarious, which makes him do it even more. He is such a joy!
Family Fall Festival & Tribute to D.O.
'Jasmine'
'Ariel'
'Daddy's little hunter who wouldn't keep the hat on'
This year Brianne dressed up as Jasmine and Maicee dressed up as Ariel. I think we're keeping Disney in business with my girls love for princess things. Josiah balanced things out by wearing his first camo shirt (from Belleza's) and hat (from Wylie's), much appreciated by his daddy. Mike was busy running the youth booth and I, Holy Grounds coffee so we went as ourselves.
However, the 31st fell on a Wednesday so to youth group I dressed up as a 'teenager from 1993'. I wore my old jeans, pegged my pant legs, wore a Del Oro shirt tucked in and bloused out, hair in a ponytail and curled my bangs and sported my Letterman's jacket. There's no photo, too bad ;) The students were impressed with my jacket since I'm convinced their only view of me is a 30 year old mom. I'm not sure how to take their comments of "you played basketball AND ran track?" Gotta love spending a lifetime with teenagers!
Fall
Autumn Breakfast
Apple Hill with friends
Dressing up as 'mom and dad'
Josiah (7.5 mo.) & cousin Graeson (9.5 mo.)
We love living up in the mountains now and love the colors and feeling of fall (except for this really warm past week). We had an autumn breakfast the week we got home from the hospital to celebrate and have enjoyed any time we've had together as a family.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A little birthday insight
On a lighter note...I think...today I turned 33. My dear husband made me breakfast AND dinner and my mother-in-law (who normally doesn't cook!) brought me a warm chocolate pie! It's all about the food, I guess. My girls picked out a Christmas cake plate to add to my cake plate collection and we had the infamious, 'make your own sundaes' for dessert...well, second dessert, ahem.
I have been talking to many of my friends in their 30's and we've decided we don't like the 30's. For lots of reasons. I think the 40's sounds good - more freedom, less hectic, more settled, more simple. Those of you in your 40's reading this are probably choking. Then I was reminded by another good friend that ten years from now, when I'm 43, I will have 16 year old and a 14 year old daughter and a 10 year old son. How is that less hectic and more simple I asked myself? Then I answered...don't wish this time away. I will look back on my 30's like I look back on my newly married, living in San Diego 20's now. Ah, such a good time of life! So, 33 it is!
the progression
Tuesday, Day 4, first signs of reaction to the med to Tuesday, Day 11, day we came home. Scroll down for the story.
God's Sustaining Word
On September 29th Mike and I rushed Josiah to the ER because he wasn't breathing right, was very floppy and lethargic and hadn't nursed in 18 hours. From the ER we were transported by ambulance to Sutter Memorial in Sac. with only an I.V. for re-hydration. We had chest and abdominal x-rays, stool and urine samples taken, throat culture, blood cultures and fluids through the I.V. but "went to sleep" that night with no answers.
"'For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."' Jeremiah 29:11-13
Sunday morning the Intensivist following Josiah in the PICU came to us and stated he thought it was Infantal Botulism. We had never heard of such a disease. It is extremely rare - only 80 cases in the US a year. It affects children under the age of 2 and is contracted from bacterial spores in dirt that has been stirred up. The spores enter the body and release neurotoxins which cause muscle paralysis. The main symptoms were exactly what Josiah was experiencing: drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, lethargic, constipation, poor feeding, weak cry and poor muscle tone. The reason he wasn't 'breathing right' was because his throat muscles were becoming paralysized. He began to get very swollen and barely open his eyes to see us. His cry was so weak and unfamiliar. We watched as our son gradually became trapped inside this body that was shutting down.
"May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed: he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call." Psalm 20
It took all day for the hospital to make arrangements for Josiah's medicine. It had to be paid for up front by the hospital (ridiulously expensive), be ordered, be flown in from L.A., driven to the hospital and administered under strick supervision. This miracle med is called the Baby B.I.G. (Botulism Immunoglobulin) and takes 24-48 hours to begin to reverse the effects. By the way, this med is only 10 years old. Sutter Memorial Hospital was actually the hospital to partake in the first study of the effects of this drug. God put us in the right place. It took about 36 hours for us to see any changes happening - those were the LONGEST 36 hours of our lives. Sustained only by God's Word and prayers being lifted by countless prayer warriors, we watched and waited.
Slowly we saw Josiah returning to us. His eyes opened a bit more. He lifted his hands to our faces. When we talked to him we got very close to his face and talked about Brianne and Maicee...and home...and our doggy. That day we got a faint but distinct smile. Previously his eyes and mouth drooped and he had no expression. That evening, Mike was wearing an orange hat that Josiah has always loved and his eyes caught sight of that hat and he reached out for it. It made us both cry. His progress was slow but steady enough to know that his body was indeed reacting to the Baby B.I.G. We praised God.
After about 8 days and much movement later, our goals became 'simplier' like coming off the oxygen and feeding tube. The mouth and throat muscles are the last to respond so nursing was not an option. Josiah was 'awake' enough now to notice I was not nursing him and he protested alot, especially at night. This was so emotional and against every mommy fiber in my body to refuse his protests. Day 10 proved to be the most joyeous because the speech pathologist decided that Josiah might be ready to handle the suck, swallow, breath sequence needed to nurse...and because he refused to try it from a bottle (foreign to him) she allowed me to nurse. I cried some more.
Tuesday, Oct. 9, after his previously scheduled ultrasound and VCUG for his UTI's (not related to Botulism) we were discharged and headed home. This was a journey of faith. When I had no words left to pray I asked my brother, who has experienced this heart-wrenching indescribable deep himself, how to pray. He said pray for mercy. And before he left the room he gently reminded me that the character of God never changes.
"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, and the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, save me!' The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." Psalm 116:1-7
These pictures are only to show the progession starting from Tuesday about 36 hours after the med. We give God the glory. Thanks for reading this and celebrating Josiah's life with us. We trust God has great plans for him.
"'For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."' Jeremiah 29:11-13
Sunday morning the Intensivist following Josiah in the PICU came to us and stated he thought it was Infantal Botulism. We had never heard of such a disease. It is extremely rare - only 80 cases in the US a year. It affects children under the age of 2 and is contracted from bacterial spores in dirt that has been stirred up. The spores enter the body and release neurotoxins which cause muscle paralysis. The main symptoms were exactly what Josiah was experiencing: drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, lethargic, constipation, poor feeding, weak cry and poor muscle tone. The reason he wasn't 'breathing right' was because his throat muscles were becoming paralysized. He began to get very swollen and barely open his eyes to see us. His cry was so weak and unfamiliar. We watched as our son gradually became trapped inside this body that was shutting down.
"May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed: he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call." Psalm 20
It took all day for the hospital to make arrangements for Josiah's medicine. It had to be paid for up front by the hospital (ridiulously expensive), be ordered, be flown in from L.A., driven to the hospital and administered under strick supervision. This miracle med is called the Baby B.I.G. (Botulism Immunoglobulin) and takes 24-48 hours to begin to reverse the effects. By the way, this med is only 10 years old. Sutter Memorial Hospital was actually the hospital to partake in the first study of the effects of this drug. God put us in the right place. It took about 36 hours for us to see any changes happening - those were the LONGEST 36 hours of our lives. Sustained only by God's Word and prayers being lifted by countless prayer warriors, we watched and waited.
Slowly we saw Josiah returning to us. His eyes opened a bit more. He lifted his hands to our faces. When we talked to him we got very close to his face and talked about Brianne and Maicee...and home...and our doggy. That day we got a faint but distinct smile. Previously his eyes and mouth drooped and he had no expression. That evening, Mike was wearing an orange hat that Josiah has always loved and his eyes caught sight of that hat and he reached out for it. It made us both cry. His progress was slow but steady enough to know that his body was indeed reacting to the Baby B.I.G. We praised God.
After about 8 days and much movement later, our goals became 'simplier' like coming off the oxygen and feeding tube. The mouth and throat muscles are the last to respond so nursing was not an option. Josiah was 'awake' enough now to notice I was not nursing him and he protested alot, especially at night. This was so emotional and against every mommy fiber in my body to refuse his protests. Day 10 proved to be the most joyeous because the speech pathologist decided that Josiah might be ready to handle the suck, swallow, breath sequence needed to nurse...and because he refused to try it from a bottle (foreign to him) she allowed me to nurse. I cried some more.
Tuesday, Oct. 9, after his previously scheduled ultrasound and VCUG for his UTI's (not related to Botulism) we were discharged and headed home. This was a journey of faith. When I had no words left to pray I asked my brother, who has experienced this heart-wrenching indescribable deep himself, how to pray. He said pray for mercy. And before he left the room he gently reminded me that the character of God never changes.
"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, and the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, save me!' The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." Psalm 116:1-7
These pictures are only to show the progession starting from Tuesday about 36 hours after the med. We give God the glory. Thanks for reading this and celebrating Josiah's life with us. We trust God has great plans for him.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Fun Day
Fairytale Town and Leatherby's Ice Cream - what could be better? Both carry wonderful childhood memories for me. Fairytale Town has hardly changed. Brianne, Maicee and Sienna had a good, but warm, time climbing, sliding, running and dancing. Little Red Riding Hood made an appearance and we had a picnic lunch by the pond. Brianne was surprised by family members who made the trek down to Leatherby's despite the Labor Day traffic and opening day of the State Fair. We devoured the sundaes and Mike even did a decent job on his ridiculously huge banana split. He claims he had no idea what size it came in. Thank you to all who helped make Brianne's day special.
Happy Birthday Brianne
I can't believe I have a six year old. It seems impossible. Her birthday fell on a Thursday so she had her 'birthday breakfast' from her daddy before school. We spent the evening together as a family and had a simple celebration. She got a new bike with removable training wheels that she's hoping to outgrow soon.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Happy Day
My dear sister Gentry decided to brighten my day and FedEx -d me one of my favorite flowers. I have a gorgeous bouquet of 10 bright, cheery, happy little Gerbera Daisies. Thank you Gentry and Ryan (and Ava)! I didn't realize how much I needed some brightening.
New Friend
Maicee's birthday wish was to have her very own kitty, much to my dismay. I guess I blame my intense sense of smell, but having a kitty (ie. litter box and cat food : / ) in the house is not my favorite idea. We told her that after our crazy summer of moving and church and family events we would have a good place to keep the kitty. So... my dear husband called me from the Feed Barn and said I needed to stop putting it off and bring Maicee down to pick out her kitty. My plan was to put it off, oh, about 18 years. So, she picked this tan and white "Domestic Shorthair" kitty and was told it was an 8 week old boy. After getting it home, she insisted it was a girl and her name was to be Sarahfina. I told her I thought we should name him Jack. Nope. It's Sarahfina. I thought it was fine because actually, he's an it now so it didn't matter. After several days Mike and I think it actually is a girl, to which Maicee responded, "I told you guys." My mom gently asked if the kitty was allowed in the house. (my mother - lover of animals) Sarahfina 'lives' in the laundry room but rarely walks around because Maicee or Brianne are carrying her everywhere. My only rule - not on the furniture...or upstairs. :) Maicee has since had puffy eyes by the end of every day so we think she's actually a bit allergic. Oh well. As my mom and husband say, she is such an animal lover, we need to allow her to nurture one.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
First Day of Kindergarten!!!
Today was Brianne's FIRST day of school. She is officially a kindergartner. After arriving home at 2am from our trip to Minnesota, we managed to make it on time to her classroom, with lunch and backpack filled. With little brother and sister in tow, we dropped her off as she happily joined her class. It went so smoothly I had to remind myself of the significance of the whole thing. When I picked her up 4 hours later she was as calm as when I dropped her off. When I asked how her first day was she said, "good". It is times like these that I wish she was more like her mama and would describe in detail what happened and how it made her feel. In most everything I am thankful she resembles her daddy, except in this way. I'm dying to know everything that went on in her little mind...but that's just not her. So, I will continue on this journey we are on together of experiencing so many 'firsts' and pray we just figure it out as we go. It is hard to be able to remember the moment she entered my life and just a blink later...she's in school and is fine without me.
Levi and Rose's Big Day
We spent this past weekend in Minnesota to celebrate my younger brother's wedding. We were joined with most of my immediate family - 17 of us total. All six of us siblings were together which is a rare occasion these days. We were a large group and made quite a spectical with our caravan of 3 minivans, 22 pieces of luggage and 6 carseats. We enjoyed several days of events until the Big Day on Sunday. The church was beautiful and Levi & Rose were gorgeous. It was a busy but wonderful weekend. We will miss them as they are spending their first year together teaching in the Bahamas. Congratulations Levi and Rose!
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