Where have we been.....

The last seven days has been very busy.........Phil's mom arrived last Thursday and is staying with us for a while, his dad had a route down here and brought her down. It has been nice having a few extra hands. As some days are very hectic.

Last Friday, as Phil calls it he got neutered. Before Maddie was born we were using multiple forms of birth control and still got pregnant anyway. So we decided once we got a handle on Maddie's medical bills he would get "fixed". He really has been a trooper about everything and a sense of humor. We have joked about it a lot the last week or so...what else can you do.

I had Phil sleep in the recliner Friday night as it was the most comfortable place to be at the time. Feeling so bad for him I slept on the couch next to him just in case. So neither one of us got much sleep this weekend. Every chance I got I took a nap since we had extra hands with the kids. Phil is doing much better now and will go back to work Thursday. He is getting cabin fever and wanted to go back Wednesday but his boss called and checked on him and told him to come in Thursday.

Sunday we went to a surprise birthday party for my friend and Katie's god-mother Linda. She was very excited and we had a good time. A mutual friend had it at her house and she has a pool so the kids were able to go swimming too. Sunday night the kids were so exhausted, they passed out pretty quickly.

Poor Katie she woke up Monday morning and her right eye was swollen closed. We didn't know it at the time but could only assume she was having an allergic reaction to something. Since Phil was home I went to work and he took her to the doctor. The best thing they could tell us was to continue to give her the allergy medicine and once the swelling goes down we will probably see some type of puncture mark.

Well it took till Tuesday morning to finally see the puncture mark right below he eyebrow but she had an allergic reaction to a bug bite. She has always had a problem with this. When she gets mosquito bites they swell up to welts bigger than a quarter. The worse part about it was Monday morning..................

Maddie work up early Monday Phil fed her while I got in the shower and she fell back asleep in our bed. I got Katie out of bed and realized that there was something wrong with her eye. I took her in to our bedroom and turned on the ceiling like so I could get a good look at Katie's eye. Phil looks at Katie and starts making pirate sounds. I held back laughter and told him to cut it out. The next thing I know Maddie wakes up and sits up in our bed and it looks like the back of her head was styled with a grenade. I started laughing at that point and Phil made more pirate sounds and I lost control of the room. I gave up and when to go get Jack dressed.

Later that morning Phil took Katie to the doctor. He called me to tell me what we already knew, the allergic reaction. The doctor actually told Phil he could get a patch to go over her eye so she would not irritate it more. I thought Phil as going to fallout in the doctor's office. He said he almost made more pirate sounds but refrained. I am so glad I was not in the room with him. My laughter would not have been contained. Tonight Katie told Phil he was not allowed to sound like a pirate anymore because her eye was better.

Maddie also had her nutritionist visit last week and Maddie was 17lbs 2oz which was thrilling. She really is doing superb and we are very happy. I really do hope we are at the bottom of the hill and that this is all a memory. Due to a vacation schedule Maddie's PT had to do her therapy at the daycare Friday. She was really excited to see how quick and mobile Maddie was. She expects Maddie to walking in a few weeks. She is working a little bit on her speech therapy too.

Maddie qualifies for this assistance until she is three. However, I believe we will stop the therapy at the end of the year. Maddie really is doing so well. I believe all of this additional assistance is giving her a great start back on track. I believe that her spot should be filled by a child more in need. I just want to make sure she has no set backs before we stop it.

As you can tell on the go is an understatement. We will get back to a more normal schedule by the end of the week. But we will also be getting ready for Jack's birthday party. We will be celebrating Jack's birthday Saturday but he will not be four until Monday. I am really excited that he will be four. With all the difficulty he has been having, it will be fun just to have a day for him. Maybe it will help him.

Hoping your life has been a little less crazy and demanding...........TTFN

The barber shop is now open.....

A few years ago I was outside "mowing" Phil's head as I like to call it and two of the neighbor boys came up to me and asked if I would "mow" there heads too. After getting permission from there parents a crowd developed. Then one of the fathers asked if I would do his too. It was kind of a fun night and the birds had a field day the next morning for all the free nesting materials.

Since that day I have always "mowed" Phil's head. One night our new neighbors saw us from over the fence the man was looking at me and shaking his head. I am sure he was thinking 'never in a million years would I let my wife come anywhere near my head with clippers'. His wife on the other hand liked my "skilz", as she called it.

Anyway tonight I needed to open the barber shop back up, Phil was looking pretty rough around the edges. All the sudden Jack says, "Mommy shave my head". I just looked at Phil with big eyes waiting for a response from him. Since it was summer and hot, we agreed. So out came the clippers on Jack-Jack's head. We have a before and after photo. I think he looks really cute with his buzzed head. Not too mention it saves me on hair cuts.

I also included a photo of my two men together. As fast and as thick as Jack's hair is this style may stick around for him for a while. Enjoy the photos.

TTFN

4th of July

We had no plans for the 4th of July. I was talking to Katie's god-mother, Linda and made plans for Katie to send a few hours over there. Sometimes a little brother can be too much. So when Katie needs a break and wants one on one attention I sometimes can not give her, she spends a few hours with Linda. It is really great because she only lives 3 miles away.

After an hour or two Linda called me asked if she could take Katie swimming at a friend of hers house. I know the friend we met them through Ray and Linda. After a few phone conversations it turned into the whole family spending the day at the friends pool. It was a great afternoon. It has been great for Jack, the water is very calming for him. I have been working with him so he is not afraid.

Because we spent the whole afternoon swimming and the only one who napped was Maddie we decided not to go to a firework show. Maybe as they get older we can find a great place to go other than uptown Charlotte. We'll see. Enjoy the photos the kids had a great day and Phil was able to relax.

TTFN

A little update

As the family visit has now come to a close I finally had a chance to pick up my disk from my dad of everyone's photos. I have posted just the family photo and the baptism. There are so many more I need a few more days to get through the rest. Enjoy what is out there so far.

TTFN

Coming full circle..........

We have just been through some of the craziest days. The family came down for an annual visit that also correlated with Madelynn's baptism. My sister and her husband and three girls, my brother, my grandmother, my parents, and Phil's sister and her mother, made for some busy times. I was hoping to have photos to share but I have not picked up my disk from my dad yet.

So I'll just tell you the story and share the photos later. About 10 days after Madelynn had her open-heart surgery she was to be baptized. I had to post-pone it. I did not want Madelynn to be baptized at the hospital unless her situation turned grim. Fortunately that never happened. Not saying that the up and down days weren't some of the toughest days I have ever travelled. Each day Madelynn grew stronger and stronger.

There were times, like when I had to take Madelynn back to the hospital in December, twice, again in January. Her weight gain was a huge problem and there were days I just cried because I knew what she was eating was not enough. However I never gave up. The days she didn't want to eat I would sing to her and the next thing she knew she had emptied the bottle. I watched therapy as it happened every week so that I could work with her on those things until the therapist came back.

On a day to day basis the Lord has to regularly teach me patience. The one thing he has never had to teach me is persistence. A little over six months ago Madelynn could not hold her head up, she was 5 months old. Our case worker that oversees Madelynn's therapy was very worried. At that time she also hooked us up with the nutritionist.

To date Madelynn weighs 16 lbs 14.5oz. This is a six lb gain in less than 6 mos. I am sure that that is below normal standards but for her it is great strides. I still take her for regular weight checks. Madelynn also sits up, crawls, stands and holds on to things to walk. She is still weak in the walking area but she won't be a year old for another 5 weeks.

I feel like Madelynn's baptism was one part of her life coming to an end and another one just beginning. When we arrived at the church for the baptism we did not know it would be in the chapel instead of the church. So we sat in a hallway near the chapel also near the perpetual prayer room. The perpetual prayer room that is always open.

After the children were settled and just waiting, I decided to walk in the prayer room for just a few minutes alone before everything started. As soon as I walked in the room tears just rolled down my face. There were no words that would come to mind to say, I just cried. I was so grateful I had reached this day I didn't know what to say. Even when the priest asked what we ask for Madelynn Rose, I could barely get the words out.

If you saw Madelynn today and did not know her story you would never know what she has been through. I believe she is ready for the next step in her journey. I believe she will thrive at it. I believe she will continue to show people, other than myself, just how truly strong and courageous she is. I believe I will watch her for the rest of her life fight for what she wants and she will prevail. I believe, as her mother, she will always know she was a precious gift and it will not be wasted or taken for granted.

Back in January, I listen to a family therapist talk about parents like me who have huge burdens to carry for there children and it will not be easy. Then she said something else...don't ever forget you were chosen to do this.....At that point in the meeting I just kept writing the word chosen on paper. When I got home, after having a melt down in the car that I didn't believe it should be me, I looked up the definition of the word chosen. To select from a number of possibilities. Of all the parents in the world especially those who pray, hope and beg for children He chose us. I hope I never let Him down.

TTFN