tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12766002987704437662024-03-05T03:07:48.744-08:00The Hall HouseholdJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-82228179314356773092012-12-18T13:30:00.000-08:002012-12-18T14:23:51.418-08:00Want to sing?<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">T</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">he
Christmas season is such a magical time and we have so many things we love to
do with our family this time of year. We
all go to a Christmas Cantata the first weekend in December to kick off the
season and it stays busy with events from then on out. Luke and I were so lucky to get to go with
friends to the Prestonwood Christmas program this past Sunday. It was such a precious experience to be there
with him. This year Luke is really
starting to understand that Christmas is more than just Santa Claus and
presents. It warms my heart to hear the
thoughts that come from his innocent little mind as he is taking it all in this
year. I love hearing him say anything
about “baby Jesus.” So sweet!! </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">We also love Christmas music, but I really
try my best to wait until after Thanksgiving to listen to it. I did cheat a little and listen to my
favorite Christmas line up during a few workouts before Thanksgiving, but we
didn’t start playing it in the car until after Thanksgiving because as Luke
liked to say this year “it’s still fall why are there Christmas lights up?” </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">But ever
since Thanksgiving Day finished up we have been listening to our favorite
Christmas CDs and radio stations.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">As
much as I love the music and can’t wait to hear my favorite songs, I do have
feel a little twinge when Christmas music starts each season.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">It can momentarily transport my mind to some very
emotional places.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The first year after
the boys were born – when things were pretty much at the lowest point we have and hope to ever experience in our life - w</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">ith Preston
and my Dad’s surgeries, the boys failure to thrive and hospitalization and Randy’s
father passing - </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I just really could not
listen that year.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">The year before when I
was in the hospital trying to put a halt to pre-term labor time and time again,
many times on magnesium unable to get up and being pumped full of drugs, we
would just sit and listen to KLTY playing Christmas music through the day and
night. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">One night in particular it was just
before my Dad’s birthday – Dec 15</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;"> – I was unable to sleep from the
magnesium and stadol (kind of like morphine) combo that were making me an itchy
crazy person.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Ashley and my Mom were
sleeping on a pull out couch bed and Randy was in a recliner chair.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Christmas music kept me company that
whole night while I lay in that hospital bed praying.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">It had been
another scary day but we were starting to get a little used to it – well at
least I was and Randy </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wasn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> nearly fainting each time the doctors came in with
news so I think he was too. Also, by this point I was around 27 weeks so
viability was not as risky as it had been in the weeks earlier. I was unable to sleep and feeling pretty
crummy and the Christmas music was playing in the background of this darkened
labor and delivery room. The only lights
were from the IV pump, and the monitors I was on and the radio across the room
with the red numbers 94.9 shining on the
display. I can still see the image of those glowing numbers in my mind. I remember feeling the boys
rolling around inside me and just sitting and listening to the soft music play as the hours passed by. I have always had a love for Christmas music but this year
sitting in that room not knowing what was ahead for my little family I felt such a peace hearing
songs about the birth of our savior. These two songs in particular I remember hearing played again and again
as the night went on. They are precious songs about Jesus that to me as so touching - </span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://youtu.be/PytP9XPhP1g" target="_blank">Jospeh's Lullaby</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/om5-95_Byjo" target="_blank">Here with Us</a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">I don't think I was never
as scared as Randy was, especially in the beginning, I think the Lord was protecting my heart to in turn protect the babies. But this night I was
struggling with what might lie ahead and I think the drugs and the situation were
starting to wear on me. I just listened
to these two songs over and over as they played through the night and I felt a comfort
that can only come from the Lord. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Like I said
the next year, we were in the hospital again but this time I had two babies in
my arms that were not well and it was so much more real. Preston’s head was
coming down from its bowling ball sized swelling from his cranial vault remodel,
but his vomiting was up to 8 times a day.
Luke was only eating 10 oz total a day, my Dad was home recovering from
his heart attack and surgery but he was still very weak and we were all still
so worried about him. Randy and I had
just returned from Ohio after attending his father’s funeral after his sudden passing right before Thanksgiving. We were not in a good place mentally and
emotionally. We were in the lowest place
I have ever been and most definitely Randy has ever been. We checked in to Children’s Medical Center with both boys through the ER in early Dec and </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">did not </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">leave until Christmas Eve afternoon. Those day were scary and really days no
parent wants to go through with their child.
At that point Christmas music just made my heart hurt worse, ….until the
day we finally got to go home – Christmas Eve!
Things were still rocky, </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Preston was sent home with an NG tube in place, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">all our head were still in a fog and we would be back in the hospital not to many
days after Christmas, but we were all going home together – for Christmas. We were sitting in our living room, –
Randy, the boys and I, Ashley, my Mom and Dad with the only presents we had were 3 for the boys from some very sweet friends. As we sat there, most of us on the floor, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I absolutely didn’t care about
presents or the perfect wrapping paper or Christmas plans or meals. I just thanked God we were all still together,
able to sit in that room and all just be with each other. I listened to these two favorite songs and just
cried in thankfulness for Christ’s birth, the salvation He brings us, the hope He gives us, the miracle I witnessed with my Dad and the fact that we will still see our
family of believers again someday. That
gave me strength to know no matter what the days ahead brought us – there was
hope. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Now we fast
forward 5 years from those days in L&D and we have two amazing little boys
who are full of energy and life - one of whom loves Christmas music like his
Mama. We love to sing and dance in the
car listening to Christmas music. Luke
likes more of the typical kid songs, like Jingle Bells and Up on the Roof Top,
but Preston, oh Preston loves my favorite two songs. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Car rides
are the some of hardest times for Preston and his communication.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">He is usually pretty quiet or repetitive with
his words in the car unless you can find music that really interests him.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now he likes me to put it on my burned
Christmas CD of my favorite songs and he will say “new song” until we get to
“this one” Joseph's Lullaby or “this one” Here with Us and then that is followed by the sweetest question of “want
to sing?”</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> During the song Here with Us I'll even catch him swinging his arms in the air from side to side. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">It will practically melt your
heart!</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">He doesn’t really know the words
so much but he likes to sing like he does.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The sentences are still so new for him that they are very precious to us and really so amazing to hear. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now he may love these two song because I play them a lot, but I like to
think it’s because when he </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wasn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> born yet and we were all praying they would
stay put a little longer, I listened to these two songs over and over as they
played on KLTY through the night praying for the Lord to protect my
babies.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">So each
season when the Christmas music starts my heart can feel a little pain from the
past but it also feels a lot of thankfulness for the things God has brought us
through, along with hope and peace for what’s to come. </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Isn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> that what Jesus brought the world that
night so long ago when he was born in a manager??? May your Christmas be filled with many blessings
and precious time with family and your new year full of the hope that only Christ can bring!!! </span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/76/C7F1C2D875855DDAF9D0D8C5C3F55C4E.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px !important;" /></a>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-50651964951311053692012-03-13T22:14:00.004-07:002012-03-13T22:43:03.417-07:00Two great readsA therapy Mom shared this article on FB today and it's a pretty spot on, honest account of being a parent of a special needs child. I think being a Mom of a special needs child is not a club many would choose to be in if given a choice, but the blessings found in it are abundant and the insight gained is amazing. I have lost good friends during this journey and gained others and grown even closer to the very best ones. That saying love changes everything sums it all up!!! Thanks to all my friends who sometimes give me a break and most of the time just give me a hug! I love ya'll!!!<br /><br />The second is the blog post referred to in the first article and it is written from a father's perspective. Very interesting to hear things from a father's point of view. I can definitely testify that men handle this so internally and so differently. They don't make Mom friends at therapy to vent or sing praises to. They probably don't sit in their car and have a "cry it out" session either. Father's do the heavy lifting and never seem to get that weight taken away, even if just for a second. They are the one's who dry the tears as much as they can and keep you moving forward. I think you will all learn a lot from this father's perspective. I know I did!<br /><br />Here's the link, but I have copied and pasted below:<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parenting_b_1314348.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parenting_b_1314348.html</a><br /><br />6 Things You Don't Know About A Special Needs Parent <br /><br />About 6 million kids in America <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/special-education/" target="_hplink">receive special education</a>, according to the U.S. Department of Education. One out of every 10 children under the age of 14 has some type of special need, which includes any physical, cognitive, or medical disability, or chronic or life-threatening illness.<br /><br />My 3-year-old son Jacob is one of them. He has a disorder of the <a href="http://www.chromosome18.org/" target="_hplink">18th Chromosome</a>. The 18th Chromosome has various named disorders, including Ring 18 and the more well-known Trisomy 18 (which affects Rick Santorum's daughter, Bella). My son has the more rare 18q-. Only 1 in 40,000 Americans have Chromosome 18q-, which means that less than 7,800 Americans are affected by this disorder.<br /><br />Because of this disorder, Jacob has had serious medical and developmental issues. He has had heart surgery, kidney tract surgery, bronchoscopies and endoscopies, slept with an oxygen tube, and has had dozens of medical tests and sees numerous specialists. We've been in and out of hospitals and doctors' offices since he was three months old. He also has severe developmental delays and receives speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and behavioral therapy.<br /><br />Raising a child with any disorder, condition or special need, is both a blessing and a challenge. A challenge for the obvious reasons, and a blessing because you don't know the depths of victory and joy until you see your child overcoming some of those challenges (sometimes while smiling like a goofy bear).<br /><br />Chances are that you know a special needs parent, or you may be one yourself. As a special needs parent, I often don't share my feelings on this aspect of my life, even with my closest friends, so I decided to compile a list here with the goal of building understanding (I was largely inspired by <a href="http://www.exceptionalfamilytv.com/blogs/families/michelle/five-things-you-should-know-about-special-needs-family" target="_hplink">this beautiful post</a>, authored by another parent to a child with a chromosomal disorder). I don't claim to speak for every special needs parent out there, but from the ones I know, some of these are pretty universal. If I've missed any, please leave a comment below.<br /><br />1. I am tired. Parenting is already an exhausting endeavor. But parenting a special needs child takes things to another level of fatigue. Even if I've gotten a good night's sleep, or have had some time off, there is a level of emotional and physical tiredness that is always there, that simply comes from the weight of tending to those needs. Hospital and doctors' visits are not just a few times a year, they may be a few times a month. Therapies may be daily. Paperwork and bills stack up, spare time is spent researching new treatments, positioning him to sit a certain way, advocating for him in the medical and educational system. This is not to mention the emotional toll of raising a special needs child, since the peaks and valleys seem so much more extreme for us. I am always appreciative of any amount of grace or help from friends to make my life easier, no matter how small, from arranging plans around my schedule and location, to watching my son while I am eating.<br /><br />2. I am jealous. It's a hard one for me to come out and say, but it's true. When I see a 1-year-old baby do what my son can't at 4 years-old (like walk), I feel a pang of jealousy. It hurts when I see my son struggling so hard to learn to do something that comes naturally to a typical kid, like chewing or pointing. It can be hard to hear about the accomplishments of my friend's kids. Sometimes, I just mourn inside for Jacob, "It's not fair." Weirdly enough, I can even feel jealous of other special needs kids who seem to have an easier time than Jacob, or who have certain disorders like Downs, or autism, which are more mainstream and understood by the public, and seem to offer more support and resources than Jacob's rare condition. It sounds petty, and it doesn't diminish all my joy and pride in my son's accomplishments. But often it's very hard for me to be around typical kids with him. Which leads me to the next point...<br /><br />3. I feel alone. It's lonely parenting a special needs child. I can feel like an outsider around moms of typical kids. While I want to be happy for them, I feel terrible hearing them brag about how their 2-year-old has 100 words, or already knows their ABCs (or hey, even poops in the potty). Good for them, but it's so not what my world looks like (check out <a href="http://www.shutupabout.com/" target="_hplink">Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid</a>). It's been a sanity saver to connect with other special needs moms, with whom it's not uncomfortable or shocking to swap stories about medications, feeding tubes, communication devices and therapies. Even within this community, though, there is such variation in how every child is affected. Only I understand Jacob's unique makeup and challenges. With this honor of caring for him comes the solitude of the role. I often feel really lonely in raising him.<br /><br />4. I wish you would stop saying, "retarded," "short bus," "as long as it's healthy... " I know people usually don't mean to be rude by these comments, and I probably made them myself before Jacob. But now whenever I hear them, I feel a pang of hurt. Please stop saying these things. It's disrespectful and hurtful to those who love and raise the kids you're mocking (not to mention the kids themselves). As for the last comment, "as long as it's healthy," I hear a lot of pregnant women say this. Don't get me wrong, I understand and share their wishes for healthy babies in every birth, but it's become such a thoughtless mantra during pregnancy that it can feel like a wish against what my son is. "And what if it's not healthy?" I want to ask. (My response: you will be OK. You and your child will still have a great, great life.)<br /><br />5. I am human. I have been challenged and pushed beyond my limits in raising my son. I've grown tremendously as a person, and developed a soft heart and empathy for others in a way I never would have without him. But I'm just like the next mom in some ways. Sometimes I get cranky, my son irritates me, and sometimes I just want to flee to the spa or go shopping (and, um, I often do). I still have dreams and aspirations of my own. I travel, dance, am working on a novel, love good food, talk about dating. I watch Mad Men, and like a good cashmere sweater. Sometimes it's nice to escape and talk about all these other things. And if it seems that the rest of my life is all I talk about sometimes, it's because it can be hard to talk about my son. Which leads me to the final point...<br /><br />6. I want to talk about my son/It's hard to talk about about son. My son is the most awe-inspiring thing to happen to my life. Some days I want to shout from the top of the Empire State Building how funny and cute he is, or how he accomplished something in school (he was recently voted class president!). Sometimes, when I'm having a rough day, or have been made aware of yet another health or developmental issue, I might not say much. I don't often share with others, even close friends and family, the depths of what I go through when it comes to Jacob. But it doesn't mean that I don't want to learn how to share our life with others. One thing I always appreciate is whenever people ask me a more specific question about my son, like "How did Jacob like the zoo?" or "How's Jacob's sign language coming along?" rather than a more generalized "How's Jacob?" which can make me feel so overwhelmed that I usually just respond, "Good." Starting with the small things gives me a chance to start sharing. And if I'm not sharing, don't think that there isn't a lot going on underneath, or that I don't want to.<br /><br />Raising a special needs child has changed my life. I was raised in a family that valued performance and perfection above all else, and unconsciously I'd come to judge myself and others through this lens. Nothing breaks this lens more than having a sweet, innocent child who is born with impairments that make ordinary living and ordinary "performance" difficult or even impossible.<br /><br />It has helped me understand that true love is meeting someone (child or adult, special needs or not) exactly where he or she is -- no matter how they stack up against what "should be." Raising a special needs child shatters all the "should bes" that we idolize and build our lives around, and puts something else at the core: love and understanding. So maybe that leads me to the last thing you don't know about a special needs parent... I may have it tough, but in many ways I feel really blessed. Follow Maria Lin on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/marialinnyc"> www.twitter.com/marialinnyc </a><br /><br />This is the blog post Maria mentions in her article:<br /><a href="http://www.exceptionalfamilytv.com/blogs/families/michelle/five-things-you-should-know-about-special-needs-family">http://www.exceptionalfamilytv.com/blogs/families/michelle/five-things-you-should-know-about-special-needs-family</a><br /><br />Five Things You Should Know About a Special Needs Family<br /><br />Our journey as a special needs family has had amazing highs and astonishing lows. Through it all, I've experienced the joys of a family growing stronger together in the face of a true unknown with Katy's chromosome deletion. Even with all of that strength, we are still faced daily with obstacles and emotions that we don't show many - if any - people at all. In the interest of helping others understand what goes on in our lives every day, here are five things you should know about a - or rather about our - special needs family, at least through my eyes.<br /><br />1. We’re ostracized.Whether you realize it or not, we’re outsiders. We have an all-consuming fear that something will happen to our child because she can’t protect herself the way a “normal” child can. We worry that she can’t say “Stop” or “Don’t” - or that she won’t realize she should have said it until it’s too late. We worry that people simply won’t understand our child. We have seen the sideways glances and rolled eyes from strangers when our child does something they consider rude or disrespectful. We’ve been verbally accosted by strangers who feel we shouldn’t have used a handicap parking spot for our “normal” looking child before I can even pull the wheelchair out of the back. We’ve listened to parents at our children’s school complain about how our child is somehow holding their little boy back. We’ve dealt with the inconsiderate use of the word “retarded” from our children’s own friends to even one of our child’s doctors. And no matter how many well-meaning people try to help, we will still feel alone.We end up by ourselves at parties, whether we have our little girl or not. If she’s with us, than we’re constantly watching her to make sure she’s okay. We don’t make our rounds and say “hi” to everyone. We simply can’t for the reasons I’ve mentioned above. If she’s not with us, then we’re worried that something will happen to her away from us. We don’t go out with our friends the way we used to because it’s too frightening to leave her with someone whom might not understand what she’s trying to say or to sign. Sometimes its even too hard to get your own family to understand just how stressed out you are.<br /><br />2. We’re jealous.Even with a family like ours where four wonderful kids help out every day, we can’t help but feel a tiny pang of jealousy every time a child younger than our little one simply walks up to us. Or talks to us. Or runs past us on the way to ask someone for money.Know what’s even worse? It makes us feel guilty as hell, because we’re so proud of everything our child has accomplished. This little girl has worked harder than any of our other children to accomplish everything she has been able to do - and we wish it wasn’t so hard. We hate that that little pang of jealousy hits us because this “normal” child in front of me didn’t ask for my little girl to have a chromosome deletion. This child doesn’t realize that when he talks to me, for a split second, I think “Why? Why did this happen to my child and not to you?” And then I have to put that thought as far away as possible because it’s not fair to that child or to my little girl.If/When Katy reads this sometime in the future, I want her to know that we have never regretted a second with her. You made us become better parents and better people. You amaze us every day with every single accomplishment you have piled on top of accomplishment.<br /><br />3. We’re scared.We try to do everything we can to set our child up for success and we always worry that we’re not doing enough. Or we’re doing too much. Or we’re doing the wrong thing. Or we haven’t done enough research. Or we won’t be able to afford that. Or how will we be able to afford that? On a daily basis, we wonder whether the decisions we’re making today will improve or degrade her quality of life. And we do it knowing full well we’ll never know the answers to those questions until they arrive - for better or worse.We constantly worry about money because everything involved with caring for a special needs child costs way, way more than it should.We worry what will happen to our little girl when we’re gone. So we hire lawyers to draw up special needs trusts so that our child will be financially protected when we’re gone and won’t find herself fighting the same fights we handle now for assistance and benefits. Did I mention that we worry about money?<br /><br />4. We’re good at hiding things / We’re not good at hiding things.I am a deeply private person and became even more so after my daughter’s issues arose. I’ve rarely expressed my deepest feelings too anyone save my wife. And sometimes I haven’t been able to even do that. I internalize the problems we deal with and swallow them whole, because that’s what a strong father, husband - a strong man - does. What was it that the old deodorant commercial said: “Don’t ever let them see you sweat.” I have never wanted anyone to know just how terrified I have been. I’m not sure I want them to know now.<br /><br />In this day and age, Facebook has become an unbelievable lifeline and community for my wife. She found an entire village of chromosome 6 and other special needs mothers that understood her pain and frustration. That community understood what was going on when she posted what was on her mind. To others, she just seemed rude. For a private guy like me, it took a lot to start Katy’s blog and start to bring some of the emotion of our lives to the public. It has taken even more for me to start to try to become more active within the same online community that my wife finds such comfort in. This post is, by far, the most I’ve ever revealed about our circumstances. I’m still trying to decide if I’ll even hit the post button.<br /><br />5. We’re stronger than you realize. / We’re more fragile than you realize. We’ve had to deal with watching our child get stuck 26 times over two hours as doctors attempted to get an IV in her. We’ve given our little girl over to doctors seven times to perform some sort of surgical or medical procedure that involved general anesthesia - more than all our other children combined. We’ve waited in private agony for her to be returned to us each time, hoping for the best, but scared to death that something will go horribly wrong. We’ve had to develop incredibly tough skins dealing with red-tape corporations determined not to spend a dime more than they have to on my daughter, even if they’re legally obligated to do so. We’ve fought for what we thought was right and just even when it put us at odds with family and friends.And we’ve broken down in each others’ arms. We’ve been hurt by seemingly innocuous remarks that wouldn’t have fazed us a day - even 10 minutes before - but for some reason cut through at that very moment. We’ve hurt each other when our actions haven’t lived up to our expectations.We’re human.So, for our friends and family, for future friends we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, for strangers to us who are friends and family to a special needs family somewhere else in this vast (but ever smaller) world of ours: What can you do?Strive to include. Work to understand. Go out of your way on occasion to help a special needs family out. Realize that the stress and the strain take their toll. We’re just trying our best to survive. If we’ve offended you with our words or are actions in one of these times, we apologize for our moments of weakness. Hopefully, someday, we can move forward together.We do our best to make our family life look normal and to act like everything’s fine. And we wish people might see through that facade every once in a while and understand that we appreciate the slightest effort to make us feel… special.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com" target="_blank"><img style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/76/C7F1C2D875855DDAF9D0D8C5C3F55C4E.png" /></a>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-90300045781045275822011-07-13T16:10:00.000-07:002011-10-06T20:21:44.261-07:00Not so lazy summer days<div align="left">Wow, it's been a long time since my last post and summer seems to just be flying by. May was a very busy month! My Mom (and sort of my Dad) watched the boys the weekend of our anniversary and Randy and I celebrated with a staycation. We got a hotel by the Galleria and just enjoyed a fun weekend sans the boys!! We decided to take our family vacation in May because Preston would be doing a summer long feeding therapy at the Callier Center and we did not want to miss any of it. We had a Texas vacation and went from College Station after Ashley's graduation from A&M (how crazy is that??) to Austin for a few days and then went to San Antonio to see Christina and to go to Sea World with her and her newphew Jackson. Ashley went with us and we had a lot of fun!! We explored lots of different food trucks in Austin, went out on a boat on Lake Travis and even saw a friend from high school I hadn't seen in waaayyy to long. San Antonio was great as always!! We typically go see Christina at least once in every summer, but it's usually too hot to go to Sea World so we thought May would be better and it was. Preston still got a little over heated the first day, but the second day we did more water activities and he loved it!! Luke loved Shamu and he gagged on a grape in one the shows so for a while he was saying "I barfed at Sea World." Nice huh?? We all had a cold that week so the poor kid threw up at least once in each town we visited in this great state. All I can say is that's just the way we roll!<br /><br />This summer Preston is attending the "Extended School Year" (ESY) program for two, 3 week sessions. It is supposed to help him retain his "skills" and continues his speech and OT from the school district through the summer. This week is his break week and next week will start his 2nd, 3 week session. He loves it of course and his summer teacher is extremely nice. He is even having some animal therapy this summer with therapy dogs. His teacher wrote me a note that said the greatest thing at the end of his first week. She said Preston is such a happy soul! She summed him up so well. Preston is such a happy little guy with the greatest smile. It warms my heart that others see that too!<br /><br />Friday is our feeding therapy day at the Callier Center and Randy and I or Ashley and I go with Preston. The first day I was holding back tears the entire time we were there and I couldn't sleep any the night before. I think I was just putting too much pressure on this 10 week session being our last hope. While we were there that first day I was quickly realizing that this 10 week feeding boot camp wasn't going to be the magic pill that was going to cure Preston's feeding disorder. I was also feeling frustrated that Preston's delays where interfering with his therapy. The reality is that they do and they add one more complicated layer to it all that we just have to adjust for and work through. After getting home that day and working through it all I feel like the Lord just gave me a remarkable peace about it.<br /><br />Honestly, I know I never even stopped in my anxious state to lay it at His feet. If anything I think I was praying, asking God to please let this be the answer. He knew what I needed and he took away my anxiety about it. I let go of all the expectations I had created and just had a peace that we are all just going to be on this path for a while longer. Preston won't be eating normally once these 10 weeks are over and he may not even by the end of this year, but I do have a comfort that this will be the answer. That we are in the right place now, and it will just be in His time, not mine. The main therapist at the Callier Center, Jenny McGlothlin is amazing and a huge part of this summer program is focused on parent education. I found Jenny and the Callier Center through a friend of a friend on facebook actually. This Mom's son has struggled with a feeding disorder and they would fly in from out of state to see Jenny. I am so thankful to have been led to the Callier Center. Jenny has a different approach to feeding and I know in my heart, that together, we will get him eating somewhat normally one day.<br /><br />Letting go of expectations, altering our hopes and dreams is something that never seems to hurt any less as time goes on, but I will say the hurt does seem to fade more quickly now. I had a conference at the end of the year with Preston's teacher, school OT and school speech therapist. Randy wasn't able to attend so I went by myself and we spent quite a long time talking about Preston. These conferences always make me cry and at one point Preston's OT, who is a very caring lady and you can tell she really cares so much about Preston, said to me "what's your biggest fear?" I knew right when those words came out of her mouth that what I was feeling really had very little to do with Preston himself and was really all about morning mine and Randy's letting go of some of those normal parent dreams you would have for your child. Preston is happy and he is loved, as she pointed out, and I know that. I do of course have fears, actually more like terrors, of kids teasing him or ever making Preston feel different (and I have had multiple experiences with grown adults to children having straight up asked me to my face and his - "what's wrong with him" along with more obnoxiously rude questions and comments so I know it may happen again). But I know that day I was sitting there in that conference room bawling because we were even having to have a conference about my 3 year old - discussing Preston's improvements, his struggles and his path forward. I realized later that day that I just have to push those feelings away when they creep up. God gave Preston to Randy and I because we were the two people who were meant to be his parents and God created Preston perfectly. He will guide us along this journey if we let Him. Letting Him is where I struggle the most and I am really, really trying to work on that. Preston has made some amazing progress. It is at his own pace and seems to wax and wane, but we are really so thankful he is moving forward!! We were at a family reunion this past weekend in Lubbock with my parents and we were all piled into one room. My Dad wakes up way too early and he was banging around in the room and woke up Preston waaayy too early Saturday morning. Preston jumped on mine and Randy's bed and said "Mamma, Mamma!! Daddy, Daddy!!!" It just about melted all of our hearts. He is still so sporadic with his words and when they come out so effortlessly like that it just brings tears to your eyes. Those are the moments that I will never forget!<br /><br />So we have had feeding therapy this summer, swimming lessons, story time and drum roll please......this June brought about the successful potty training of Luke Jackson Hall. This has been a long time coming and Randy was seriously at his wits end and about to throw in the towel one day and something just snapped in my head. I took Luke into the bathroom and we had a very frank little talk about "gross things" and how big kids, Mommies and Daddies and all big people don't do gross things and bam he has been wearing big boy undies ever since with not one accident, not one! After two weeks of pull ups at night he's even wearing big boy undies to bed. I am kind of thinking we experienced divine intervention, but what ever it was after five days of the big boy undies we were at Walmart buying a bike for the kid. (That was the bribe first purposed in March and we had even made a visit to sit on the bike, touch the bike, ride the bike in the store to increase the motivation which had seemed to fail miserably.)<br /><br />We figured a bike was cheaper than continued pull ups so the bonus of the pull up free nights has made this deal even sweeter. We have also been able stop the onslought of sugar highs from the one piece of candy for being dry, one for a teetee and another for a poop. Now we just say your a big boy with a bike. You don't need candy for going potty. This whole potty training thing has been quite an adventure that am not looking forward to repeating, but I know once the time is right for Preston it will be worth it! (Oh we got Preston a bike too because we didn't want him to be left out and he has been working hard with his feeding boot camp!) Man do these boys love their bikes. They like to sit on them for just a min every time we go out into the garage to get in the car and they try to do the same on the way in. I can see a lot of bike riding in out future this fall.<br /><br />We have been trying our best to stay cool in the heat but still find some time to be outside. We are working on our skills we learned at swimming lessons and the boys even saw their first movie in the theater, Cars 2 with their cousin Caleb on opening weekend. I hope to get to the blog for another post with out such a long dealy, but if I don't just know we are all doing well, working hard and having a lot of fun along the way!!<br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><br />I posted A LOT of pictures this time! Enjoy!<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu0BKNSJTVQYGLeQ96k1PZABgUA4glTQWCMBWSjHmN2MjBXoWtiPMQW8xgLQn5ajYKuwvA9I4OGFDFKssfg09by3dGtXJvre2uKpZ-ZI9Xe2lWWpsUOsYfv1ENTdQpnn-UkldTQ_BiYA/s1600/IMG_4813.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628961764673796066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu0BKNSJTVQYGLeQ96k1PZABgUA4glTQWCMBWSjHmN2MjBXoWtiPMQW8xgLQn5ajYKuwvA9I4OGFDFKssfg09by3dGtXJvre2uKpZ-ZI9Xe2lWWpsUOsYfv1ENTdQpnn-UkldTQ_BiYA/s400/IMG_4813.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu0BKNSJTVQYGLeQ96k1PZABgUA4glTQWCMBWSjHmN2MjBXoWtiPMQW8xgLQn5ajYKuwvA9I4OGFDFKssfg09by3dGtXJvre2uKpZ-ZI9Xe2lWWpsUOsYfv1ENTdQpnn-UkldTQ_BiYA/s1600/IMG_4813.jpg"></a></p><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><br />We had a our pictures taken at the Arboretum on Memorial Day weekend when Caroline was in town. The photoshoot was a little rocky because two little monkeys were in wild moods, but we still got a few good ones.<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepmkrt87SQ47MTdtJoO02Wtx0Wt93Oy2i42XuUw0acBfWwN4lRS89Mzst6DEQHWAa4zexOKxagJLG0cxvcXDvemNwawQq0ENPY5397U6aN3Z_P8ypMNV447ZmbaZ18fU9W1Aj0mxxKv4/s1600/IMG_5022.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 324px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628961491258712402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepmkrt87SQ47MTdtJoO02Wtx0Wt93Oy2i42XuUw0acBfWwN4lRS89Mzst6DEQHWAa4zexOKxagJLG0cxvcXDvemNwawQq0ENPY5397U6aN3Z_P8ypMNV447ZmbaZ18fU9W1Aj0mxxKv4/s400/IMG_5022.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepmkrt87SQ47MTdtJoO02Wtx0Wt93Oy2i42XuUw0acBfWwN4lRS89Mzst6DEQHWAa4zexOKxagJLG0cxvcXDvemNwawQq0ENPY5397U6aN3Z_P8ypMNV447ZmbaZ18fU9W1Aj0mxxKv4/s1600/IMG_5022.jpg"></a>I framed this pictures and gave it to Randy for part of his Father's Day present.<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYCvNpaYi5dcwGRx-FMrKQSjXIOw5rL58IkNny-Ug_ZS6_T89JnkRS1g2pFqKjvQgi4t9C23zyOfX4DDeFlCZ5N5ybY37vBRhtetm1EtYD3lqnzFA1xNy3IQmRmxNmEaCHfXd-6cE3Jg/s1600/IMG_5852.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628961317587984386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYCvNpaYi5dcwGRx-FMrKQSjXIOw5rL58IkNny-Ug_ZS6_T89JnkRS1g2pFqKjvQgi4t9C23zyOfX4DDeFlCZ5N5ybY37vBRhtetm1EtYD3lqnzFA1xNy3IQmRmxNmEaCHfXd-6cE3Jg/s400/IMG_5852.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYCvNpaYi5dcwGRx-FMrKQSjXIOw5rL58IkNny-Ug_ZS6_T89JnkRS1g2pFqKjvQgi4t9C23zyOfX4DDeFlCZ5N5ybY37vBRhtetm1EtYD3lqnzFA1xNy3IQmRmxNmEaCHfXd-6cE3Jg/s1600/IMG_5852.JPG"></a><br />Mother's Day lunch at Houston's (or whatever it's called now) If you can't tell Luke has Nannie wrapped around his little pinky. He's so silly!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtapRKIo3CYulYge_NrQVtinWWoR1ynOuessgMzAbtnS8Zgsrjyzp0NfLnHLLLVyy28n0AIU5_cWhUNmjIcGigNu1ICK2PG-eezU-SK_q_NZTpDQ4zt2Bj6aP3qpVNj2egkEMhbcHjSU/s1600/IMG_5857.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628961170174307218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtapRKIo3CYulYge_NrQVtinWWoR1ynOuessgMzAbtnS8Zgsrjyzp0NfLnHLLLVyy28n0AIU5_cWhUNmjIcGigNu1ICK2PG-eezU-SK_q_NZTpDQ4zt2Bj6aP3qpVNj2egkEMhbcHjSU/s400/IMG_5857.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtapRKIo3CYulYge_NrQVtinWWoR1ynOuessgMzAbtnS8Zgsrjyzp0NfLnHLLLVyy28n0AIU5_cWhUNmjIcGigNu1ICK2PG-eezU-SK_q_NZTpDQ4zt2Bj6aP3qpVNj2egkEMhbcHjSU/s1600/IMG_5857.JPG"></a>My sweet boy on Mother's Day!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4oSO5RbP8IA2KI9pnYWnuv-jvqB2UT1NoVpLKjZKOLpkPanE-8J_3Ux6_A70EXKJzPk8VXLezZSPxYIy4YDu-dsDrG_tCF6BXSCcCXhdPNtiRk9wRtPY2Tyuh7AiZ5XpGGXGCi9_hCw/s1600/IMG_6004.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628960974459544546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4oSO5RbP8IA2KI9pnYWnuv-jvqB2UT1NoVpLKjZKOLpkPanE-8J_3Ux6_A70EXKJzPk8VXLezZSPxYIy4YDu-dsDrG_tCF6BXSCcCXhdPNtiRk9wRtPY2Tyuh7AiZ5XpGGXGCi9_hCw/s400/IMG_6004.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC4oSO5RbP8IA2KI9pnYWnuv-jvqB2UT1NoVpLKjZKOLpkPanE-8J_3Ux6_A70EXKJzPk8VXLezZSPxYIy4YDu-dsDrG_tCF6BXSCcCXhdPNtiRk9wRtPY2Tyuh7AiZ5XpGGXGCi9_hCw/s1600/IMG_6004.JPG"></a>Lunch on the first day of our vaca in Austin at Maria's Taco Express. Muy Bueno!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJXOIPXbfmLnAcDbh64qiZSXQYdPKhuywFicz1TWvcg3XWiazgPj0Jem3A9hNXDPhDb38dwff7QOtEROO2tzU6gukbL9AYV5_ejSrKFNIo3gYVj6C2pVYI2JwPEabLFVvOvaXSVIaB7w/s1600/IMG_6011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628960815723617858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJXOIPXbfmLnAcDbh64qiZSXQYdPKhuywFicz1TWvcg3XWiazgPj0Jem3A9hNXDPhDb38dwff7QOtEROO2tzU6gukbL9AYV5_ejSrKFNIo3gYVj6C2pVYI2JwPEabLFVvOvaXSVIaB7w/s400/IMG_6011.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJXOIPXbfmLnAcDbh64qiZSXQYdPKhuywFicz1TWvcg3XWiazgPj0Jem3A9hNXDPhDb38dwff7QOtEROO2tzU6gukbL9AYV5_ejSrKFNIo3gYVj6C2pVYI2JwPEabLFVvOvaXSVIaB7w/s1600/IMG_6011.JPG"></a>Boat hair and boat face!! Both boys had a blast!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cmVL7Fq2iHm-uNJfBrMoWu5ZTbresi_wjqce1qWS4ZkhZjaTtNI5EWB4ZwmtQsnLDO5McH87ujCxLeB481J5tNqkrSQ0NtHyCRyJkT8hKFLuSwTGsHGB1IVjQjeeSDJ26bv8F3k8oo8/s1600/IMG_6016.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628960636256365842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cmVL7Fq2iHm-uNJfBrMoWu5ZTbresi_wjqce1qWS4ZkhZjaTtNI5EWB4ZwmtQsnLDO5McH87ujCxLeB481J5tNqkrSQ0NtHyCRyJkT8hKFLuSwTGsHGB1IVjQjeeSDJ26bv8F3k8oo8/s400/IMG_6016.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cmVL7Fq2iHm-uNJfBrMoWu5ZTbresi_wjqce1qWS4ZkhZjaTtNI5EWB4ZwmtQsnLDO5McH87ujCxLeB481J5tNqkrSQ0NtHyCRyJkT8hKFLuSwTGsHGB1IVjQjeeSDJ26bv8F3k8oo8/s1600/IMG_6016.JPG"></a>Luke being shy and silly as always!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wAuivqGOad1zYJS8z3u3HuH8TQ97CrfIjXOgycDcfEDQWn7HcBEIAkpGL4VmfF1yD5lDxgGBnbWmgvbDzBpg0jHuVtIaTWJXnMqiQHVQlOzpYtrlhDg0YKCKkZotcHfXfDabaYhG3WA/s1600/IMG_5154.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628960422124163746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wAuivqGOad1zYJS8z3u3HuH8TQ97CrfIjXOgycDcfEDQWn7HcBEIAkpGL4VmfF1yD5lDxgGBnbWmgvbDzBpg0jHuVtIaTWJXnMqiQHVQlOzpYtrlhDg0YKCKkZotcHfXfDabaYhG3WA/s400/IMG_5154.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wAuivqGOad1zYJS8z3u3HuH8TQ97CrfIjXOgycDcfEDQWn7HcBEIAkpGL4VmfF1yD5lDxgGBnbWmgvbDzBpg0jHuVtIaTWJXnMqiQHVQlOzpYtrlhDg0YKCKkZotcHfXfDabaYhG3WA/s1600/IMG_5154.JPG"></a>Sea World!! Just before the boys first rollercoaster ever - Shamu Express!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvnUFJDOGnf-NLMttXoOthTiXmJqN8JeHTqeGtzf5DMGS8pEIBodYCJp4B5JEqdRkB5wziGZCb6vmWXXupKOkIW8F_4ZsJ8pDxaaxxL00SvXno9bWaHRVx5oK222hHYifbMDM7el4Ido/s1600/IMG_5170.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628960262495206162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvnUFJDOGnf-NLMttXoOthTiXmJqN8JeHTqeGtzf5DMGS8pEIBodYCJp4B5JEqdRkB5wziGZCb6vmWXXupKOkIW8F_4ZsJ8pDxaaxxL00SvXno9bWaHRVx5oK222hHYifbMDM7el4Ido/s400/IMG_5170.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvnUFJDOGnf-NLMttXoOthTiXmJqN8JeHTqeGtzf5DMGS8pEIBodYCJp4B5JEqdRkB5wziGZCb6vmWXXupKOkIW8F_4ZsJ8pDxaaxxL00SvXno9bWaHRVx5oK222hHYifbMDM7el4Ido/s1600/IMG_5170.JPG"></a>Worn out from swimming in the wave pool in the Lost Lagoon!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHdH3NZeHjcohI5Owtic-oMuxSA64tw28UjhgZtZb9yeLeYuZeehqgTU6Ov2u0IIu7kkbQIuh1tRCs6HW7w5WPBPntVjv2fDbD_KZYUOeLIQfxFykLIIpuNRFOlpfdxqunW3hRW4C0BM/s1600/IMG_5148.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628960093130626674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHdH3NZeHjcohI5Owtic-oMuxSA64tw28UjhgZtZb9yeLeYuZeehqgTU6Ov2u0IIu7kkbQIuh1tRCs6HW7w5WPBPntVjv2fDbD_KZYUOeLIQfxFykLIIpuNRFOlpfdxqunW3hRW4C0BM/s400/IMG_5148.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHdH3NZeHjcohI5Owtic-oMuxSA64tw28UjhgZtZb9yeLeYuZeehqgTU6Ov2u0IIu7kkbQIuh1tRCs6HW7w5WPBPntVjv2fDbD_KZYUOeLIQfxFykLIIpuNRFOlpfdxqunW3hRW4C0BM/s1600/IMG_5148.JPG"></a>Waiting to see Shamu with Aunt Ashy!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8SPKIb28r4hX9oBv2a4X0UhhZFWTnXmTcUDgth92jYayqCP8ygpkOW_wBZqOPBej_m7k2jIu4KnpxSZrN-wBpLsk0XXM3DtDBXts-m3-zoUirxr5JkLqTFTsjgNW2c7FKnxCknIVSz0/s1600/IMG_6072.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628959807797419858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8SPKIb28r4hX9oBv2a4X0UhhZFWTnXmTcUDgth92jYayqCP8ygpkOW_wBZqOPBej_m7k2jIu4KnpxSZrN-wBpLsk0XXM3DtDBXts-m3-zoUirxr5JkLqTFTsjgNW2c7FKnxCknIVSz0/s400/IMG_6072.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8SPKIb28r4hX9oBv2a4X0UhhZFWTnXmTcUDgth92jYayqCP8ygpkOW_wBZqOPBej_m7k2jIu4KnpxSZrN-wBpLsk0XXM3DtDBXts-m3-zoUirxr5JkLqTFTsjgNW2c7FKnxCknIVSz0/s1600/IMG_6072.JPG"></a>Brotherly love!!<br /><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628959376024723714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iFdU5ZIeiqv9psayl_J6GfdppqJT89jfX637yn4yxAdotNPtVHrZ6pnzhUcayNKauVWmtG_eQ4dTnAO2uUTnDl4h0IFZd5ji1MTMKbkNJV3pTmAQ4FOw8WdSGsqhibxXfAVzzL-Ywus/s400/IMG_6106.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center">Waiting for the Mav's parade to start! Randy took the day off and we went down to the West End at 7am and had a nice breakfast at Corner Bakery. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwb0xxOh775cbOLt6shSSU9RtchbxeUGEO2IPJY_ehGolN_v2NoZBGAYQyl3rpbIYmq194dtRApDEPiit5W40GG84OWdrcAlGA_R6Bz3J5HnOM-nvCzuEYu86fm3OFlCFCA3lBgqeFX4/s1600/IMG_5200.JPG"></a></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwb0xxOh775cbOLt6shSSU9RtchbxeUGEO2IPJY_ehGolN_v2NoZBGAYQyl3rpbIYmq194dtRApDEPiit5W40GG84OWdrcAlGA_R6Bz3J5HnOM-nvCzuEYu86fm3OFlCFCA3lBgqeFX4/s1600/IMG_5200.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628959626286619346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwb0xxOh775cbOLt6shSSU9RtchbxeUGEO2IPJY_ehGolN_v2NoZBGAYQyl3rpbIYmq194dtRApDEPiit5W40GG84OWdrcAlGA_R6Bz3J5HnOM-nvCzuEYu86fm3OFlCFCA3lBgqeFX4/s400/IMG_5200.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwb0xxOh775cbOLt6shSSU9RtchbxeUGEO2IPJY_ehGolN_v2NoZBGAYQyl3rpbIYmq194dtRApDEPiit5W40GG84OWdrcAlGA_R6Bz3J5HnOM-nvCzuEYu86fm3OFlCFCA3lBgqeFX4/s1600/IMG_5200.JPG"></a>Presty waiting for lunch at Campisi's after our fun time at the Mav's Parade!! We had so much fun and downtown was packed!! Go Mavs!!!!!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9uNBEGhZVQRgrp0jnwNQlHDr6U4b-G1NhhON_7Epqvu6A4NfVpDIlmCR7taoLJaw3QaaOD0pfPo4zvjGKz3vLweJ0rbTzp8cdCftnf1ngUFigRfiWLC3Mcf2jyoazGhESoDUAoR30e4/s1600/IMG_5249.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628959245979292882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9uNBEGhZVQRgrp0jnwNQlHDr6U4b-G1NhhON_7Epqvu6A4NfVpDIlmCR7taoLJaw3QaaOD0pfPo4zvjGKz3vLweJ0rbTzp8cdCftnf1ngUFigRfiWLC3Mcf2jyoazGhESoDUAoR30e4/s400/IMG_5249.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9uNBEGhZVQRgrp0jnwNQlHDr6U4b-G1NhhON_7Epqvu6A4NfVpDIlmCR7taoLJaw3QaaOD0pfPo4zvjGKz3vLweJ0rbTzp8cdCftnf1ngUFigRfiWLC3Mcf2jyoazGhESoDUAoR30e4/s1600/IMG_5249.JPG"></a>Trying out our bikes at the store!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTxiUToRMFUMSyPptBh-ortL_lVNx0QOBBkvzZCJijOBi7zj-EwXQegJVrwQBVoYMV41y6qOzqN48OJ6qnD2iyqSTcskIlmOGYzB6Sj9FyGoosP4FnhM6-f_QHDHUGAigts8_0w4RV8o/s1600/IMG_6139.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628959124542498466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTxiUToRMFUMSyPptBh-ortL_lVNx0QOBBkvzZCJijOBi7zj-EwXQegJVrwQBVoYMV41y6qOzqN48OJ6qnD2iyqSTcskIlmOGYzB6Sj9FyGoosP4FnhM6-f_QHDHUGAigts8_0w4RV8o/s400/IMG_6139.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTxiUToRMFUMSyPptBh-ortL_lVNx0QOBBkvzZCJijOBi7zj-EwXQegJVrwQBVoYMV41y6qOzqN48OJ6qnD2iyqSTcskIlmOGYzB6Sj9FyGoosP4FnhM6-f_QHDHUGAigts8_0w4RV8o/s1600/IMG_6139.JPG"></a>Loving his bike! Preston needs a little help and is working on tolerating his helmet, but he loves his bike too!!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-Asehrrryvc1nQIwDtcBdUhH81ub_EeZCp6paIpyac081440eaVS0UW9kF3rG0UK0qMghnJ_U-LViFWv880JXX3C2jsyD01ca1kTw-kq6mY5Z6XNu6L01mpN8RT0z7Fnx6Y8s-hnJFw/s1600/IMG_6142.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628958981370442466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-Asehrrryvc1nQIwDtcBdUhH81ub_EeZCp6paIpyac081440eaVS0UW9kF3rG0UK0qMghnJ_U-LViFWv880JXX3C2jsyD01ca1kTw-kq6mY5Z6XNu6L01mpN8RT0z7Fnx6Y8s-hnJFw/s400/IMG_6142.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-Asehrrryvc1nQIwDtcBdUhH81ub_EeZCp6paIpyac081440eaVS0UW9kF3rG0UK0qMghnJ_U-LViFWv880JXX3C2jsyD01ca1kTw-kq6mY5Z6XNu6L01mpN8RT0z7Fnx6Y8s-hnJFw/s1600/IMG_6142.JPG"></a>Still smiling!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNL53HBKEufJQCWhHlOin3mha5ATztpDfNYQWpXSkv_ineqd2Op-Cidj4mbDcTooH-O4NMe31EBt3E7ZvnAAijVcp39OAokY5NeMVjWh3BGdhUgkcDB9EWdFVOVhyqObLDC0zyk5L3SE/s1600/IMG_5259.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628958759975151554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNL53HBKEufJQCWhHlOin3mha5ATztpDfNYQWpXSkv_ineqd2Op-Cidj4mbDcTooH-O4NMe31EBt3E7ZvnAAijVcp39OAokY5NeMVjWh3BGdhUgkcDB9EWdFVOVhyqObLDC0zyk5L3SE/s400/IMG_5259.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNL53HBKEufJQCWhHlOin3mha5ATztpDfNYQWpXSkv_ineqd2Op-Cidj4mbDcTooH-O4NMe31EBt3E7ZvnAAijVcp39OAokY5NeMVjWh3BGdhUgkcDB9EWdFVOVhyqObLDC0zyk5L3SE/s1600/IMG_5259.JPG"></a>Cars 2 with Caleb!! The boys had so much fun and then spent the afternoon swimming and having pizza!!<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F67IZ2-HOztDcSa9Np27FBzyw1V3XRzph18g6X3OWQPHRGo3HfeRQN6mhwnCSzT93W5vXprpYsLvRCK1vGSW3Dr2C4BK1XLsX2D708NlfDQ_7_qNJ0EwmHlioovWysWFh2w04YR85sE/s1600/IMG_5267.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628958594566908738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F67IZ2-HOztDcSa9Np27FBzyw1V3XRzph18g6X3OWQPHRGo3HfeRQN6mhwnCSzT93W5vXprpYsLvRCK1vGSW3Dr2C4BK1XLsX2D708NlfDQ_7_qNJ0EwmHlioovWysWFh2w04YR85sE/s400/IMG_5267.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F67IZ2-HOztDcSa9Np27FBzyw1V3XRzph18g6X3OWQPHRGo3HfeRQN6mhwnCSzT93W5vXprpYsLvRCK1vGSW3Dr2C4BK1XLsX2D708NlfDQ_7_qNJ0EwmHlioovWysWFh2w04YR85sE/s1600/IMG_5267.JPG"></a>Nannie watched the boys after we got them to bed and Randy and I got a night out. We celebrated Natalie's big 22nd birthday at the Glass Cactus. Ashley and Natalie have been friends since 2nd grade and she just moved back to Texas this summer. I used to take Ashley and Natalie to the mall when they were little!! We had a great night!!!<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSo4iislbUuYtJSTMaO98WpTRi3o3oq9ZE8DSJ6Fe-YQE9c_oH8x0rhzfehlvW3_UEj1MN7dc2N3WUqwdOdCzlcy7TvFVB7xNLSYD0Mj0cE5L1K1yJsj_IHichN69DEfw6UurslSupMEg/s1600/IMG_6199.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628956718357096850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSo4iislbUuYtJSTMaO98WpTRi3o3oq9ZE8DSJ6Fe-YQE9c_oH8x0rhzfehlvW3_UEj1MN7dc2N3WUqwdOdCzlcy7TvFVB7xNLSYD0Mj0cE5L1K1yJsj_IHichN69DEfw6UurslSupMEg/s400/IMG_6199.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSo4iislbUuYtJSTMaO98WpTRi3o3oq9ZE8DSJ6Fe-YQE9c_oH8x0rhzfehlvW3_UEj1MN7dc2N3WUqwdOdCzlcy7TvFVB7xNLSYD0Mj0cE5L1K1yJsj_IHichN69DEfw6UurslSupMEg/s1600/IMG_6199.JPG"></a>Ella sporting her patriotic attire!<br /><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628952074027052786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ma4glqbFbpMSbgYuuWAgBkUtM2CtDu5-GW5lizbH6_6VfihS7P__Wy6zFL1rKcjwNuXwjPeTfGpI0NCXkmos0lxb8_7D12t2l4d253P1gKt1Lq85Vf6uI9BcJwmx9zu7U9Fsnc8YZQU/s400/IMG_6332.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center">Nix family reunion!! We just made up a part of the family there. This the family of my great grandfather, Jim Nix. There were family there of his 8 siblings as well.<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpvX68wQm-BRqoPdfbe6rfzUeWXGx3mJVysPyP_5icpkrXfvcoYrbCYb9Qp5bEpi51CmnWKVVyH36SGcIOWmI7Z8pF53QVwfHVE_HVfuxqsW14bmoPpFnZFPvxkcad8tcoZi4ySVYpYw/s1600/IMG_6303.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628951805512614882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpvX68wQm-BRqoPdfbe6rfzUeWXGx3mJVysPyP_5icpkrXfvcoYrbCYb9Qp5bEpi51CmnWKVVyH36SGcIOWmI7Z8pF53QVwfHVE_HVfuxqsW14bmoPpFnZFPvxkcad8tcoZi4ySVYpYw/s400/IMG_6303.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcpvX68wQm-BRqoPdfbe6rfzUeWXGx3mJVysPyP_5icpkrXfvcoYrbCYb9Qp5bEpi51CmnWKVVyH36SGcIOWmI7Z8pF53QVwfHVE_HVfuxqsW14bmoPpFnZFPvxkcad8tcoZi4ySVYpYw/s1600/IMG_6303.JPG"></a>The reunion was at the Lubbock Windmill Museum. That windmill in the background is a Parish Windmill, which I learned that day were made in Earth, Texas (my Mom's hometown) and my grandfather, Ross Jackson Brock used to sell them.<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76mAnYb6ExKyeAFiYb-quEimtz2RAFZShzXKWNg3mJO1YJol2qnbiSbTrfoCoX2_6_ntfpYaw-bwpQivZabndlBLNuMCOHyftvN0AcaYBgdcCvF8PVXByk60pYenPJwgCZnEoScy2CrI/s1600/IMG_6285.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628951320582197362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76mAnYb6ExKyeAFiYb-quEimtz2RAFZShzXKWNg3mJO1YJol2qnbiSbTrfoCoX2_6_ntfpYaw-bwpQivZabndlBLNuMCOHyftvN0AcaYBgdcCvF8PVXByk60pYenPJwgCZnEoScy2CrI/s400/IMG_6285.JPG" /><br /><br /></a><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76mAnYb6ExKyeAFiYb-quEimtz2RAFZShzXKWNg3mJO1YJol2qnbiSbTrfoCoX2_6_ntfpYaw-bwpQivZabndlBLNuMCOHyftvN0AcaYBgdcCvF8PVXByk60pYenPJwgCZnEoScy2CrI/s1600/IMG_6285.JPG"></a><br />Happy Preston having fun exploring the museum!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/76/C7F1C2D875855DDAF9D0D8C5C3F55C4E.png" /></a> </p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-91344133867390776012011-04-20T23:09:00.000-07:002011-04-20T23:38:39.507-07:00Ups and DownsYeah! Preston made it back to school finally yesterday, but then this morning he woke up with fever and it's been coming and going throughout the day along with his energy level. Poor guy! He missed school today and I think he won't be making it again tomorrow either because he went to bed with fever. I am planning to call the ENT in the morning, just to make sure we are past the window of being concerned about an infection, but I am sure it's just a little bug. So without anything further, here you go with the recap of Preston's surgery and recovery.<br /><br />His surgery went well and they removed Preston's tonsils, adenoids and put tubes in his ears. Dr. Hung did another laryngo/bronchoscope which showed that his laryngomalacia is still present (the cartilage has still not fully hardened and is flopping over into his airway even when he is not having symptoms or stridor). He showed us pictures of the "floppy" area of his larynx and explained that the area that is flopping over into his airway needs to be surgical cut away basically. He did not feel like it would be best to do that during this surgery because Preston had too much going on with his tonsil being removed. He suggested doing this surgery sometime this summer before the next cold and flu season. Definitely not what we wanted to hear and honestly Randy and I have not even gotten that far to even really discuss this. My feeling is that I want to do some more research about it, (cutting on his larynx) consult another doctor and possibly wait and see if the fall brings about another laryngomalacia episode before scheduling a surgery. The normal thing is that this cartilage should stiffens up on it's own as a child ages, but most doctors say that happens by the age of 2 1/2, so I guess he feels like it will not harden up on it's own any further. Further research will be required and I really would like to keep Preston out of the hospital for a while so we will probably look back into this issue in the late summer, unless of course he has a breathing episode between now and then.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597920070107681762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrxPD2xIcbE0-Y1IonRtefn_6i1UjamtB8HYmRPZ6BdC-VfmYS1UEzvio7YrT25EaJCEG0AUsz2g3jz63KvnDQ0se8qmvh68nw2vLD_t5W6PZ7K3ain96bZEg0nK5sL0IYM6ux1IkxQc/s400/prest.jpg" /><br /><br /><p align="center">Presty with his new buddy Scamp the scruffy puppy!<br /><br /><p align="left">Preston did stay the first night in the PICU and that went smoothly. This is the first surgery that Preston did not have any respiratory distress issues afterwards and we were so very thankful for that. He had some periods of dips in his oxygen saturation levels into the upper 80s, so he was on oxygen throughout that first day and then the first night, but they said that was mostly due to the strong pain meds he was on (fentinel and morphine). Preston first started to eat some yogurt the next evening after we got moved to the regular pedi floor and then later he started drinking some milk so we were able to leave the hospital after night 2. My Mom kept Luke while we were there, and I am so grateful!! Luke actually threw up during lunch at his school on the day of Preston's surgery so my Mom got to quickly run in and see Preston in the PICU after he was out of surgery and then she had to run home and pick up Luke from school. He was fine and most likely just had one of his gagging issues while he was eating. Nannie got him to eat like a champ the rest of the day so he made it to school the next day. My Mom can always get Luke to eat! They had fun and planted some flowers and went to breakfast together. I am so glad he does well being away from us. This is actually the first time I noticed a little acting out once we got home though. He was seriously needing attention from us that Friday evening and Saturday once we got home. I know he doesn't understand where we were gone to with Preston. He just knew Preston was sick once he got home and that we had been at the doctor (for 3 days). I try to remind myself what it must be like from his 3 year old perspective. I am so thankful that Luke feels so comfortable with my Mom and that she is there for him when we need to be away with Preston. I really don't have to worry about him and that is so comforting to Randy and I.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597919124303927602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24QD00ufArJCJsCfL4MuKb2_qrn9Ax0OZ5sqr6QyiwIDyAnZCizzIDvcGVtws7U-S9ICbdlJNWg3cIn5iC_qVQkL7sa8TOB6lifAW_lOnps8p13Njn8xDGXLLpkW3n0oLMuNKVxmTLg0/s400/prest2.jpg" /><br />"I guess I'll drink this if you let me out of here!"<br /><br /><p align="left">It was a different experience being at Medical City and not living so close by like we used to. Previous Medical City experiences we would just run home to shower and my parents would stay at our house so they were close by. So this time we were a little more isolated, but my sweet friend Paige came by Wednesday night and I got a chance to have a quick chat with her and she brought us an awesome home cooked dinner - yummy pork tenderloin, mushroom risotto, peas with prosciutto, chocolate chip cookies and the best prickly pear italian soda. It was soo great and totally hit the spot! Sadly, I do get a lot of comfort from good food (so does Randy) so that dinner really helped my stress level - no lie.<br /><br />We had pricelined a hotel room for Wed night because we knew we were going to be in the PICU and they have a one parent staying the night rule. So Randy left the hospital around 10pm to go sleep at the hotel and came back at 6am so he could get in before lock down (PICU goes on lock down between the hours of 6:45 - 8:00 both am and pm during nurse shift change - typical of most ICUs, PICUs and NICUs - Medical City does the if you're in, you're in and if you're out, you're out rule). Well, when Randy got in the car to head back to the hospital that morning some lovely hooligan stole our freaking side view mirrors off our car in the hotel parking lot. SERIOUSLY! That is the 3rd incidence of vandalism that Escalade has had and the one before was totaled when crazy vandals poured house paint all on the inside of our first one. I am scared our insurance is going drop us! So when Randy came to relieve me, I headed back to the hotel to have a lovely conversation with the hotel manager before I got my turn to sleep until checkout. Needless to say I took up my friend Paige on her offer to stay at her house the next night, so Randy covered that night's shift and I had a wonderful night sleep at the Brauer B&B. I even got a blueberry waffle for breakfast!!!<br /><br />The hotel manager was actually very nice (at first) and said he would put a rush on getting in touch with their insurance company and getting back to me. They had a security guard out in the lot and cameras. The manager said you can not see anything on the video because the front of our car is not in view. Now, he isn't being quite as nice anymore. He won't return mine or Randy's calls and I have not received a call from their insurance person. We will see how that all turns out. It is really sad that criminals out their steal from people and they have no clue the circumstances that person is in. The mirrors have turn signals in them, so they will be way above our $500 deductable. This incidence makes me more mad probably even then when our car was totaled. You don't really think your car will be vandalized at a hotel that has a security guard and you don't really think about your car much when your child is in the ICU. I think I was angry that I was even having to worry about something so stupid during that time. I hope the hotel at least covers our deductible, but at this point it's not looking so good. Anyways, just when we were missing living so close to Medical City we got a nice reminder of one of the reasons we moved.<br /><br />Currently, Preston is still only drinking milk and eating about 1 to 2 yogurts a day. He has definitely lost some weight, but I am putting heavy cream in his milk/carnation instant breakfast and putting about a 1T of flaxseed oil in his yogurt. Hopefully he will get past this fever stuff and I may start next week to pushing his eating a little more. He was having a lot of pain upon waking and he was waking in the night until last Friday. I have read that it's painful when you wake up because your throat dries out so much when you're sleeping. I am glad he is past that! We had flashbacks of the first few months we were home with the boys when they were babies and waking up in the 4 o'clock hour is just wrong!! I think that might have given me a few more months of stalling Randy about wanting to have another baby. ;-) Preston is already sleeping so much better and not having any apnea issues what so ever. Even when he was waking up in the night, by morning when he woke up for good he was so much more refreshed than before. I am so happy he is getting some good quality sleep now!!<br /><br />Preston did have two small bleeding issues, the last being Friday night in College Station (we went with my Mom for Parent's Weekend), but thankfully his bleeding stopped quickly both times and I hope we are about out of the woods for that scariness. I just need to get him feeling better and getting him eating some pureed food again. That will be our next hurdle!<br /><br />I don't think I could say this enough, but I am so thankful, touched and amazed at all the people who pray for Preston and our family. This was Preston's fourth surgery and I'm not even sure how many times he's been in the hospital and we are by no means naive enough anymore to think it will be his last. It is so hard to sit in that waiting room, just waiting and waiting to get to go back and see your baby again. This time it took them forever after Preston's doctor came back to tell us he was done to when we were able to get to go back and be with him - 30 min. My mind started playing mean tricks and worrying that he was having trouble breathing and getting off the ventilator, but I just tried to bring my self back to praying and remembering that many of you were praying, too. The power of prayer is amazing, truly amazing and for all the time you spend in prayer for my family I thank you!!! Until next time...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/76/C7F1C2D875855DDAF9D0D8C5C3F55C4E.png" /></a></p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-67228116789137213402011-03-31T14:02:00.001-07:002011-03-31T14:46:00.264-07:00Preston updateI wanted to write a quick update to get everyone up to speed with the upcoming things Preston has going on and to ask for your prayers for him. The big thing is that Preston is going to be having surgery on Wednesday of next week to remove his tonsils, adenoids, put in tubes in his ears and to scope his larynx and airway again to see what's going on.<br /><br />Preston had another stridor/laryngotracheomalacia (floppy/collapsing airway) episode one night in February that we had to make an ER visit for. The steroids and bronchodilators worked quickly again so we were very thankful! He has been having increasing issues with snoring, extremely restless sleeping and waking in the night on and off since then. We saw Preston's pulmonary and ENT doctors last week and they felt like he is having sleep apnea and said that his tonsils are quite enlarged and that may be contributing to his stridor/airway collapsing issues. We originally had scheduled this for the end of April, but he has been sleeping so terribly the last few days that I called them on Tuesday and they felt it would be best to move it up to next week. Preston's surgery will be at Medical City Children's and with tonsils it requires a minimum 1 night hospital stay to observe. Going home depends on how quickly Preston will drink enough liquids to stay hydrated. Since Preston has experienced some variation or another of respiratory distress after each time he has been intubated they have ordered a PICU room for him to go directly to after surgery. We will definitely be having a 24 hours stay in the ICU. I actually feel a little better about that this time because the 2 instances we have been alone with him recently when he started having these stridor issues out of the blue were a little scary and I know the PICU nurses are much more equipped to handle emergency situations. That's the scoop on that. <br /><br />Of course everyone has concerns with his oral aversion issues and how he will respond to drinking and eating while having some pain in his throat. I am maybe being too optimistic, but I really feel like he will want to drink when he is able to. We will see though I guess. Eating, well that's a whole different story, but frankly he has really been fighting us a lot this past month with eating anyways. I think he has been tired, congested and really anything that throws him off of normal makes eating quite a challenge. We will just take his eating one step at a time after his surgery. <br /><br />Luke had tubes put in yesterday morning and by the afternoon he was 100% back to his feisty self. He is the one who has always had the ear infection issues and I dropped the ball last spring and should have taken him to the ENT then, but it was during Preston's inpatient feeding stuff and it sorta of got put on the back burner. Luke was quite funny when he got his goofy juice yesterday morning before they took him back. He was talking and laughing some and playing with a little stuffed animal they give him. He had a little trouble with vomiting (no shocker) when he woke up so our stay after was longer than the pre-op and his surgery put together, but once he got some zofran he was good to go. Poor kid has a sensitive tummy like me! He really was a champ though and after we finally were able to get his stomach settled to leave he even felt like eating a little breakfast out. So we made a trip to Breadwinners after leaving the hospital ;-) <br /><br />Preston has his semi-annual developmental pedi appointment this Friday. This is always a tough one that you kind of have to just let it all roll off you once you walk out of there. We do like Preston's Developmental Pediatrician - she is a nice, caring person, but it is not an easy thing to see on paper, there in black and white, Preston's delays and low scores. It is also always a tough decision as to whether or not we want to go there with the question of what does this say about Preston's future. We now know this is just her educated guess based on her experiences, and if you asked all Preston's doctors they will definitely all give you a different answer. So that's usually mine and Randy's big debate before we go into this appointment. <br /><br />Randy and I were talking earlier this week and we both said it's not like we wake up every morning feeling like we have a "different" kind of family or that Preston is really that different from any other child. This is our normal and it's really all we know. These type of appointments are hard because it really is all focused on how things are different with Preston and again what that may mean down the road. It's definitely difficult to not to let these things weigh on you and bring you down. I am looking forward to getting Friday's appointment over with and filing away the papers and getting on to our weekend. :-) <br /><br />Thank you all again for keeping Preston in your prayers! Preston and Luke are both such sweet boys! It has been so fun since the weather has been nice to get out with the boys and do some fun things. We went to the zoo over spring break and they boys had so much fun watching the otters play and swim - actually we all did. Aunt Ashey wants an otter aquarium in her house when she grows up! ;-) Randy has taken the boys on some great adventures exploring the parks and trails around Southlake and Grapevine. He is wanting to take the boys to Tyler this Saturday if the weather cooperates to do some more exploring around there. <br /><br />I will keep you all posted the best I can. I know some of ya'll are anti-facebookers, but it really is the easiest way to stay connected to family and friends so think again about it. I have had countless great things happen through FB and I totally believe the good it brings out weighs any of the negatives. I am going to leave you with a few pictures I have been meaning to put up since the boy's Birthday Day and Birthday Party! Have a great weekend and get out there and enjoy the sunshine! <br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jxeGgsMQrvM2WYYRaC7P-RiY1qxshxta0N4UNnkcj3sZmyTdF7yn8l4GYss7mD-BY-Vxkv7RqSd8J8XCGZT_LY-JwqmGPkzGfIDZQTQivvi4LWNWK9OBNhVahHk4F1ZLollZitq1Yp8/s1600/IMG_5185.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590355814616714914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jxeGgsMQrvM2WYYRaC7P-RiY1qxshxta0N4UNnkcj3sZmyTdF7yn8l4GYss7mD-BY-Vxkv7RqSd8J8XCGZT_LY-JwqmGPkzGfIDZQTQivvi4LWNWK9OBNhVahHk4F1ZLollZitq1Yp8/s400/IMG_5185.JPG" /></a> This picture is from the boys Birthday Party! It was at a play place that had a bouncy house, a climbing play tower with a slide and other toys and play things. The boys had a lot of fun!!</div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsZ3rrrqr5A3F3l7u7bJY6FJkj96I-2pMBWRaIQaf5veAY1APhv0C52KQ1VHfwfFrXh4Po2dZt-g2IRUpw1KUI-JqwjpbhqB9vFaUg4MlECgBiNBaHylk9ZbbuEl2Ve9JmkBVFS5sk3E/s1600/IMG_506620110330225213358.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 263px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590355653887922114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsZ3rrrqr5A3F3l7u7bJY6FJkj96I-2pMBWRaIQaf5veAY1APhv0C52KQ1VHfwfFrXh4Po2dZt-g2IRUpw1KUI-JqwjpbhqB9vFaUg4MlECgBiNBaHylk9ZbbuEl2Ve9JmkBVFS5sk3E/s400/IMG_506620110330225213358.JPG" /></a>We went to Jump for Fun on the morning of the boys' actually birthday, New Years Eve. It was pretty slow there that day so we practically had the place to ourselves. We broke a few rules and did some group sliding. ;-) We all had fun going to the slides and jumping in the bounce houses and racing through the obstical course. I beat Ashley, but I am pretty sure Josh beat Randy. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CE43QCoR5-45UOa8VOCACQ77yUidEyWg0nGBH-uawyrc2buJLf9kRRseDh18gYMr4EijuDxs4j5m8IRqxxAyJl_hbSH53LR-YOjGhei7ZdtAfBZZxvnJJfEhw8gocSc3iuSgsqZ9MQM/s1600/IMG_509820110330224735146.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 269px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590355521037405202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CE43QCoR5-45UOa8VOCACQ77yUidEyWg0nGBH-uawyrc2buJLf9kRRseDh18gYMr4EijuDxs4j5m8IRqxxAyJl_hbSH53LR-YOjGhei7ZdtAfBZZxvnJJfEhw8gocSc3iuSgsqZ9MQM/s400/IMG_509820110330224735146.JPG" /></a> This was our cute group picture!! <br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoo01Qe39PfeTrXVi5JRxNgEQGa2BUoHr6sTBUisohL3oEk-Jx4Y4aTk530F6YcDFkPs1AkFNJeZVPNTo6cDzJ6EAv8lMS6ME48Ll5A6U0qt_W_yrrsACewN8iHmPO_nwzQNnToglifY/s1600/IMG_528720110330231806684.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 257px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590355283990462338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoo01Qe39PfeTrXVi5JRxNgEQGa2BUoHr6sTBUisohL3oEk-Jx4Y4aTk530F6YcDFkPs1AkFNJeZVPNTo6cDzJ6EAv8lMS6ME48Ll5A6U0qt_W_yrrsACewN8iHmPO_nwzQNnToglifY/s400/IMG_528720110330231806684.JPG" /></a> I thought this picture was pretty cute! Grandpa and Luke walking to Caleb's Birthday Party. It was at Dinosaur Valley Park and we had so much fun!!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLB16mQCdMpqzwtZqXwomouNj-WaSsCdJtjKg9XFqBANBZHvSXdYl5jPj8p_MvD0sbc0N_nNg3ZlSPYl12hYwUF6wypOpGZ_Hmo4xC6mrQra8yFtffJS-7l4tYq_bcINhITetSh3-Ed8/s1600/IMG_529820110330231836620.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590352764205094530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLB16mQCdMpqzwtZqXwomouNj-WaSsCdJtjKg9XFqBANBZHvSXdYl5jPj8p_MvD0sbc0N_nNg3ZlSPYl12hYwUF6wypOpGZ_Hmo4xC6mrQra8yFtffJS-7l4tYq_bcINhITetSh3-Ed8/s400/IMG_529820110330231836620.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div>Luke loves Birthdays and he sat right by Caleb the whole time during the party! Preston was off exploring and not so interested in the cake. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/76/C7F1C2D875855DDAF9D0D8C5C3F55C4E.png" /></a> </div></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-74065141275876141352011-02-11T16:11:00.000-08:002011-02-11T16:15:03.405-08:00Early risers....well we are trying!<div align="left">Hello everyone! Wow, I can't believe it is February already. As some of you know it's my birthday month so I REALLY love February. My cousin's son was born on the day before my birthday and he is the boy's age so we are really look forward to Caleb's birthday party on my birthday weekend. My cousins are having Caleb's birthday party at the Glenrose Dinosaur Park so I know the boys will be so excited to go there and check out the dinos and they really love to hangout with their cousin Caleb!! They have a new show they like called Dino Dan, which totally gets on my nerves, but Randy and the boys watch it. That's a Daddy's time show ;-). Josh (Ashley's boyfriend) also got the boys the Toy Story dinosaur Rex for Christmas, so I think they will really think the Dino Park is pretty cool!!<br /><br />So what have we been up to?? As Randy likes to say, "our lives of sleeping in have changed forever" because Preston started school after Christmas break. We still hit snooze repeatedly until it is 7 and then make a mad dash to get out the door so we don't have to take Preston in and sign him in as tardy. We have had to do it a few times, but I think we made it the first two weeks without having to - impressive if you ask me.<br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572513223714302114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-tzhuyGqCUjHorSFwgho1HmABvMQS0ZtSazt6wHDVYJZQFnIQCG4N8aOrmFj_CRMBA8LmFyqZ2M6Jq50w4Si9eprl6uHwsWixNjp2l35nMZSVMAhw_m3nZWUEAVSiwUNJqsCuQavYz0/s400/IMG_5135.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Are we seriously waking up this early?? Preston's first day of school. </p><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Preston's school is going even better than we expected! His teacher is so incredibly nice and caring. I really hoped he would have a caring, thoughtful teacher and he got that for sure in Ms. Newman. She came up to Randy and I after Preston's ARD meeting before Christmas and told us that she understands how difficult ARD meetings can be (I had a minor breakdown when some difficult topics where brought up). She mentioned that she has a son with autism and she introduced us to him in her classroom. Her son was home sick from school that day so Ms. Newman had had to stay home with him, but she came in afterschool just for Preston's ARD.<br /><br />I was really impressed she still came in for the meeting and it felt very good that she opened up to us about her son. It was so comforting that she knew first hand how hard it was to be on the parent's side of all this ARD meeting and IEP stuff. So many things had to come together for us to be able to move at the end of this past summer. After that ARD meeting I really felt a peace that we were exactly where God wanted us to be for Preston. I know Randy did too. We were really blown away by the school, the administration, the therapists and the teachers.<br /><br />As for Preston's progress, we feel that school has already started to make a difference in his confidence with speaking. Preston has many, many words - most of which he repeats after you say them or says them when you point to a picture. They just don't come out all the time spontaneously and he still struggles to find them when he is frustrated or wants something. We feel like that is very slowly starting to change though. Preston will now pretty reliable say drink when he sees a drink he wants and he will say hi and bye sometimes without being prompted. He can also say a lot more things, it's just really hard to get it out unless HE wants to say it. This weekend Stephanie and MiC were in town and when we were leaving to go somewhere and Baby Caroline wasn't going with us, Preston said "bye, bye Baby Caroline." We were sooo proud of him. He can look at a picture and say Baby Caroline if feels like it or gets excited, but saying it in the moment when we were leaving her was a great thing to hear.<br /><br />At school they are also working a lot on his following directions and social appropriateness, such as staying seated when it is time to sit and participating in group activities. We have seen improvement in this since school started and that has been so exciting as well. His OT, Ashley, at Our Children's House noticed this as well and she was so ecstatic about it. She is no longer having to sit him in a therapy type chair (one with a tray to keep him somewhat confined). She is just sitting at a table with him and he is listening to her when she tells him to stay seated! Ashley is just so cute and she gets more excited than I do sometimes when he does new things. She is such an awesome therapist and person!!<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcJtTPBrFfcBFoXM3IBW0UqzgMnwk8IhaR0jZ4okuH0a464LZ7D6HyRyImvaEjCJP9FV4ZLSRKFGj2AmH5r2ETeozHxkVwxWvqpha4gm_-3Y2yn-3402xlcA8nrDxbY4P4E4DIWJYnss/s1600/IMG_4925.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572543063924611634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcJtTPBrFfcBFoXM3IBW0UqzgMnwk8IhaR0jZ4okuH0a464LZ7D6HyRyImvaEjCJP9FV4ZLSRKFGj2AmH5r2ETeozHxkVwxWvqpha4gm_-3Y2yn-3402xlcA8nrDxbY4P4E4DIWJYnss/s400/IMG_4925.JPG" border="0" /></a> The boys had so much fun playing in the leaves at the begining of December.<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmv8wR2OsaoHZuV-lcDI9_G7G2uWlnJD3sciSYtFTZ6iX4FUffgIOaL6Sx-WrZ5ccHbzFOLwcsZsIO3QyLKtEu8bdwewwn441cj44WPLREpVGvwLShX9rD43mnsnBHNhsAxytwH_y9T0/s1600/IMG_4930.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572542713178255586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmv8wR2OsaoHZuV-lcDI9_G7G2uWlnJD3sciSYtFTZ6iX4FUffgIOaL6Sx-WrZ5ccHbzFOLwcsZsIO3QyLKtEu8bdwewwn441cj44WPLREpVGvwLShX9rD43mnsnBHNhsAxytwH_y9T0/s400/IMG_4930.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9sN23yXplBJO371EolKdhsPhMgNDbNJCVDXkz4Ck7L2SeWQf7amw9AI9z5rnZ9CXqnKppQgDKzoSPIII5LuwqEQHDxJsBxin7cEL9mcFiLjemq6YDZpnZXYzQPf6oSjcnAmye9rHFtQ/s1600/IMG_4926.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572542341970644962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9sN23yXplBJO371EolKdhsPhMgNDbNJCVDXkz4Ck7L2SeWQf7amw9AI9z5rnZ9CXqnKppQgDKzoSPIII5LuwqEQHDxJsBxin7cEL9mcFiLjemq6YDZpnZXYzQPf6oSjcnAmye9rHFtQ/s400/IMG_4926.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />As for Preston's progress with eating that is about the same. We have had to cut back on our OCH therapy visits so that our insurance covered visits will last the entire year. We are actually really up in the air as to what to do now. There are out-of-state options we may consider, but at this point we just really need a break from the outrageous medical bills so we are going to have to put an out-of-state option on the back burner for this year. There is a place called the Callier Center here in Dallas, and two different people have told me great things about it.<br /><br />The fact still remains that our options are limited due to our restrictions on our insurance, but I think we may try to switch to the Callier Center and see if their approach to helping Preston chew is any different. I am also going to start researching non-profit or any type of organization that can help offset the out of pocket therapy costs since we are not even close to qualifying for state SSI or medicaid assistance for Preston. If anyone one knows of any organization that helps with things like the cost of therapy please let me know.<br /><br />For now we are still pureeing and praying - haha, funny aren't I? Randy and I are really just trying to be realistic with our expectations for Preston and it really appears that until we can get some more intensive therapy, Preston is not going to be eating normally anytime soon. We are hoping that with age his therapy might be a little bit easier and more effective, but we also know that age can add to the problem as his aversion to chewing could be becoming more, and more set in stone so to speak. We shall see, but I was thinking back and it has been months since he has attempted to put anything solid in his mouth like a chip or fry. I am really praying that we can get into the Callier Center in a reasonable amount of time and that they have some different options for him.<br /><br />Luke has been doing really well. He is talking up a storm and we are busy just trying to keep up with him. He loves going to school 2 days a week and we just moved him this week to a school that is closer to house so that the picking up and dropping off at two different schools wouldn't be so hectic. Randy and I were both really nervous about switching his school, but he handled the move really well and seems to already like his new classmates and teachers. Luke actually had a harder time starting back to school without Preston than he did switching schools, but once he got the hang of going to school by himself he was fine. I also saw an old friend from A&M that was in PPA (professional program of accounting) with me. Her daughter is in Luke's class. It really is such a small world. We have had fun catching up with each other and it made our switching schools even easier. Luke had his Valentine's Day Party yesterday and it was so cute to see him with his classmates!! He kept saying it was his birthday party all day after school.<br /><br />We are starting to see that Luke is beginning to notice that Preston's communication skills are different from his own, so I am just praying that I handle all that the best way possible. A few weeks ago when we were headed to school Luke started saying "Preston don't talk, Preston don't talk." Preston is extremely quiet in the car sometimes, sometimes not even making a peep, which still even gets to me when I drive alone with him, so I just tried to tell Luke that Preston wants to be quiet and that Preston doesn't feel like "talking" sometimes. That seemed to satisfy him, but he has said similar things a few more times, so I really hope whatever comes to me in the moment will be the right thing to say. Randy and I know we most likely will face some tough questions from Luke or maybe even Preston as time goes on. I suppose you just do the best you can and try to help them see that differences are what make us all unique. I'll just keep praying about that one.<br /><br />We had a great Christmas despite a few rocky patches with Preston. We ended up in the ER in College Station with Preston the weekend before Christmas. He woke up late in the night on Friday night having some breathing problems due to his larygomalasia/floppy airway thing. I started to freak a little when it hit me we were in a small town, with a small hospital, not a big children's hospital, but honestly they took Preston right back and had an albueterol treatment, steroids and a great pediatrician there in no time. It was a momentary flashback of being in the hospital right before the babies first Christmas and getting stuck in a hospital in College Station was not my idea of a good Christmas, but it all resolved itself pretty quickly and so they let us go home after a few hours. Since Randy and I were running on little sleep and frazzled nerves it made for a fun filled trip home the next day, filled with lots of happy campers. Thank goodeness we were with Ash to watch Luke while we were at the hospital and to defuse the situation the next day. Poor Ash she has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of a marriage and family life. She's a trooper and always there for us and we love her so!!<br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeknY0GJYAn7NWeyRAfRd3TMYwliLuEsAijvFDMo3SUHxFaJinSgR3DSHc6Z4zxBhAc7WH8aqU9jZ6h0J2UopvNK7tBmU_DgRTS_IVD29Wir36ZTomKy6fu1vexHpDuw9tB4TydJ_KWY/s1600/IMG_4968.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572537592169079586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeknY0GJYAn7NWeyRAfRd3TMYwliLuEsAijvFDMo3SUHxFaJinSgR3DSHc6Z4zxBhAc7WH8aqU9jZ6h0J2UopvNK7tBmU_DgRTS_IVD29Wir36ZTomKy6fu1vexHpDuw9tB4TydJ_KWY/s400/IMG_4968.JPG" border="0" /></a> <p align="center">Preston loves his bibles songs like "Deep & Wide" and "Jesus Loves Me." He won't be singing any of these anymore at school :-( so I got them a set of Bible Song CDs for the car. I'm not sure who loves the songs more, me or them. They just bring back so many childhood memories! Preston's new favorite is "Peace Like A River." It is so precious to hear him sing it. MiC and I had a fun time oo when they were in town playing all the ones he remembered. :-)</p><br /><br />Preston seemed to get better until Christmas Eve evening and then it started up again, but this time sounded lower in his chest and wasn't so wheezy. I took him to a Care Now because it was later in the evening. This time it was in his lungs and his x-ray showed he had the beginnings of pneumonia. They loaded him up with antibiotics and steroids, wanted me to continue his breathing treatments and told me if he got even the slightest bit worse to book it to the ER. My Mom and I were getting nervous in the afternoon on Christmas Day because he was extremely lethargic, but the meds kicked in a little bit after that and he started to perk up. We were able to make it to my Dad's cousins house Christmas Eve night for a quick little visit with my cousins. That was so nice. I love getting to see them!!<br /><br />We had low key Christmas Day at our house with Nannie, Grandpa, Ashley and Josh since Preston wasn't feeling his best. We really missed Steph, MiC and Baby Caroline. They were at there house in New Mexico with MiC's side of the family. We traded pics with Steph that day over the phone and they told us Santa brought Little Missy a lot of goodies for her first Christmas. Luke really understood Santa this year and it was really cute bringing him down the stairs to see what Santa had left. Little ones really add something very special to Christmas and we really enjoyed our holiday season this year!<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKpfI6kNIZxUrhUl4Mb80vTqTqtwjpMnT9Z-Dw7ushJT-DNR34dfc7ZqtO7OWLAd5d2dfBFD3blBd-KVaG86Zq3znwUt567YL467Cm6fuqPoJTznaq7UQG5LEVJueOGDpKNPeL-ob6GE/s1600/IMG_4981.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572536874744362018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKpfI6kNIZxUrhUl4Mb80vTqTqtwjpMnT9Z-Dw7ushJT-DNR34dfc7ZqtO7OWLAd5d2dfBFD3blBd-KVaG86Zq3znwUt567YL467Cm6fuqPoJTznaq7UQG5LEVJueOGDpKNPeL-ob6GE/s400/IMG_4981.JPG" border="0" /></a>This is Randy opening his suprise present from Nannie, Grandpa and me and the boys!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5pZu9CFPPiWa7gv599TTt2K0I216aKykin0LKeMmI0iEaKE6WTg9RREr5ACDeJX02yqQTTslVsjbRbxndMXKyIg-ycc1sWHJswr9ObbE3oZ0GGR5zTXwCmsRrQ_Oz_GAgmv70x6g6e0/s1600/IMG_4985.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572536519698316418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5pZu9CFPPiWa7gv599TTt2K0I216aKykin0LKeMmI0iEaKE6WTg9RREr5ACDeJX02yqQTTslVsjbRbxndMXKyIg-ycc1sWHJswr9ObbE3oZ0GGR5zTXwCmsRrQ_Oz_GAgmv70x6g6e0/s400/IMG_4985.JPG" border="0" /></a>My Mom wanted to surprise Randy and get him an iPad he was always talking about instead of money. She knows he always spends his money they give him on medical bills. Randy was so shocked he had tears in his eyes. The look on his face was awesome and nearly made us all cry!! Now he won't put the thing down. ;-)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdRmgqOh26g89j-WQySnbQMlYLCzaadoPXqriWFspeEOPEgfpB08TnrYUXH9Im6D8exawEVoDBWxFAmorh5LyXFyuaE4tS8MjNe4yR8b_GoITrqYtGQhjQJI9E5rj-lu-FYkMrAQjHig/s1600/IMG_4993.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572516391196278722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdRmgqOh26g89j-WQySnbQMlYLCzaadoPXqriWFspeEOPEgfpB08TnrYUXH9Im6D8exawEVoDBWxFAmorh5LyXFyuaE4tS8MjNe4yR8b_GoITrqYtGQhjQJI9E5rj-lu-FYkMrAQjHig/s400/IMG_4993.JPG" border="0" /></a> Josh with his A&M helmet for his desk that Randy was so excited to get him.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnJ4g07fpGcGvwFxjStpUDr8-vTICOgDY9FW5AdBhk1ricRsjqzUQWOnfz4844wATyminLJU3dKMf-8ZIulCZWTHychqSAaksHKBYPEafEWeGUsv7N16NIiZFoyX9SXCRpWzMIIMItCo/s1600/IMG_5010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572515737600270850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnJ4g07fpGcGvwFxjStpUDr8-vTICOgDY9FW5AdBhk1ricRsjqzUQWOnfz4844wATyminLJU3dKMf-8ZIulCZWTHychqSAaksHKBYPEafEWeGUsv7N16NIiZFoyX9SXCRpWzMIIMItCo/s400/IMG_5010.JPG" border="0" /></a> Luke loves the Cars movie and he loves the characters in it.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TlVegcnuqrlZmiw1x-ThGivBg1_UKS_AwgN1fqR9SMuIBlMx63mFZwdv_PO1uyBP5zo3JRRNXD2oUXP59kCWCBUocG25Kqq_PTd8c0HT8569Ur3LK4FaRoGhnEurfoUwtd_di_crqOQ/s1600/IMG_5017.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572514842000742370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TlVegcnuqrlZmiw1x-ThGivBg1_UKS_AwgN1fqR9SMuIBlMx63mFZwdv_PO1uyBP5zo3JRRNXD2oUXP59kCWCBUocG25Kqq_PTd8c0HT8569Ur3LK4FaRoGhnEurfoUwtd_di_crqOQ/s400/IMG_5017.JPG" border="0" /></a>The boys looking at their sand and water table from Nannie and Grandpa.<br /><br /><br /><div align="left">Ok, I'll end here for now. I know I am always behind so I'll update on the boys Birthday next post. I hope ya'll are all staying warm. We are really looking forward to a beautiful weekend here, hopefully making it to the 70s. :-) We are tired of the ice and snow and ready to get to the playground!! Take care everyone!! </div></div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/76/C7F1C2D875855DDAF9D0D8C5C3F55C4E.png" /></a>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-33262429235236450242010-12-31T00:06:00.000-08:002010-12-31T00:31:10.649-08:00Look who's 3!!<div align="left">Well, it is after midnight so it is officially New Years Eve 2010 and today is the boy's birthday. At 11:06 pm and 11:15 pm tonight Preston and Luke will be 3 years old. Wow! Time sure does fly! We are surprising the boys with balloons and pancakes for breakfast this morning and then we are all heading to Jump For Fun for a morning filled with bounce houses, slides and lots of laughing! We told Grandpa to wear his best bouncing socks!! We wish Caroline (& Steph and MiC) could be here to bounce, hehe, but she will probably be a little more up for bouncing next year. :-) </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /><br />I wanted to put a few of our favorite pictures up from this last year. We had a great Christmas with our family and we are looking forward to a wonderful New Year! Thank you again for all of you who kept us in your prayers this past year. We are praying for a hospital free 2011 and for many new wonderful memories and special moments. I have updates to come about Preston's ARD meeting and our Christmas. Preston's first day of school is Monday the 3rd and we are anxious, but also excited for this new chapter to begin for him. Thank you all and Happy New Year!!!<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556757580316901970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-w16NbHMV572CThFnepmE7JE1QNK2axKj_HSAyjTGWEDqrY_Djyzh_53wEOV0IoLPSqW58eCrB-JjDyk3ycS5Swnj_Ub0Yo_9tnnR_9ULHqYKfIN3eGjDlKKCDEuJKjDnexXKMsWkZ0/s400/IMG_2050.JPG" border="0" />As Nannie calls them - Hoody & Dooty!! :-) 2 years old</div><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8AP2afDRGzWkLKoT8jz4SjGrDLhiA1HRP1hbN3S3uXoDlSjpmmHN2uN5mNo-9xAmp-jBhP4NFZ7mBR-EJx5iDwtwmFBhgZ1rAlizE634IdInUBcIP0Rgl7XJoRk3MlLun2igMIW_QoM/s1600/IMG_2734.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556756163829472754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8AP2afDRGzWkLKoT8jz4SjGrDLhiA1HRP1hbN3S3uXoDlSjpmmHN2uN5mNo-9xAmp-jBhP4NFZ7mBR-EJx5iDwtwmFBhgZ1rAlizE634IdInUBcIP0Rgl7XJoRk3MlLun2igMIW_QoM/s400/IMG_2734.JPG" border="0" /></a> Two years old!</div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BRHZkoww-1slSJpLBNAgub51I_dfme3qoLpjjigcRp3i847WQe-yaapDrsbZ7w9HbRrDitDelBnWjfwFtMqIOrEz4LnWHeqslzvDY_IxpSmSn8FGNMz_vUtaX41BCchNcPI67CTc3Y0/s1600/IMG_2762.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556749316142737586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0BRHZkoww-1slSJpLBNAgub51I_dfme3qoLpjjigcRp3i847WQe-yaapDrsbZ7w9HbRrDitDelBnWjfwFtMqIOrEz4LnWHeqslzvDY_IxpSmSn8FGNMz_vUtaX41BCchNcPI67CTc3Y0/s400/IMG_2762.JPG" border="0" /></a>Two years old! You think I am going to eat that??</div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaQRhEnKIQ9Cvn3zgVUlLi95uMOBUFEPbx1BSD2CBc4KstuGaWPv1U494yTKedMUoZtirub79qiBJBCZWHq9BIib2OsfSusLFGCFr8UvVNB5ephrL996rvpNjIqsj28Ns_Dd4q5juHW0/s1600/IMG_3029.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556747617596119378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaQRhEnKIQ9Cvn3zgVUlLi95uMOBUFEPbx1BSD2CBc4KstuGaWPv1U494yTKedMUoZtirub79qiBJBCZWHq9BIib2OsfSusLFGCFr8UvVNB5ephrL996rvpNjIqsj28Ns_Dd4q5juHW0/s400/IMG_3029.JPG" border="0" /></a>Sad Presty!</div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHLiZy1AP4jYZ4Mq_ruX3fOoqCHPXcOR4CcBZJaLymKO9L0JRfi7OCl2NQctWGAMvOm5TKr3_KUty9d0GfyDi_uy_ntequCKFpHutMxEGeZAcpxDUT-9uJjn8UAO8FT0gAMm-ySpDUZU/s1600/IMG_3168.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556742946519644914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHLiZy1AP4jYZ4Mq_ruX3fOoqCHPXcOR4CcBZJaLymKO9L0JRfi7OCl2NQctWGAMvOm5TKr3_KUty9d0GfyDi_uy_ntequCKFpHutMxEGeZAcpxDUT-9uJjn8UAO8FT0gAMm-ySpDUZU/s400/IMG_3168.JPG" border="0" /></a> I love dancing to Backyardigins!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG5y0UvNaL-L3zUzzjthzb_5l6D5eRy1aYaUuuKblOHA5sV_fpiil36yf4RUOEnMFJ4iJ85XyabadZ9oKrUL4m9LkKNLhOPFhNaDzXo0lO5C4DTkJxnXDqn-4-EJHEjrz62dihyphenhyphencjYJY/s1600/IMG_3166.JPG"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTYMq1psk03lpBhotK8nDlf_3DYZsHAlgSPVNRkXgFhV-IDOsZJsxsAn7cT5-e7SHrp1Y1UEUSArTWjajNUfVSsWRsCVDsbSicY1izRJUIKsKp4P8hjf1aPD4FBNWO0gFRjHcbd5Z8LA/s1600/IMG_3166.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556742472325385938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTYMq1psk03lpBhotK8nDlf_3DYZsHAlgSPVNRkXgFhV-IDOsZJsxsAn7cT5-e7SHrp1Y1UEUSArTWjajNUfVSsWRsCVDsbSicY1izRJUIKsKp4P8hjf1aPD4FBNWO0gFRjHcbd5Z8LA/s400/IMG_3166.JPG" border="0" /></a> Hi!!</div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSanRkE5PXqPMncmHaoHnl7pud70Jd1k5ETuaMaXes4jAGRI4NgqYD0RfGhqLWoJ-xupGT7HqUZo-Cdr_FO3TWSzI8ZVI65uDwZ9GNcPeF1x5Ed6G3MQrcWao4QdAssZhovrTCiv2uHM/s1600/IMG_3227.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556741030560529314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSanRkE5PXqPMncmHaoHnl7pud70Jd1k5ETuaMaXes4jAGRI4NgqYD0RfGhqLWoJ-xupGT7HqUZo-Cdr_FO3TWSzI8ZVI65uDwZ9GNcPeF1x5Ed6G3MQrcWao4QdAssZhovrTCiv2uHM/s400/IMG_3227.JPG" border="0" /></a>Watching our first movie - "Red Car" - "Cars" Movie!! </div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBNr9TKywlGFbYJM8IjZDnXVSntELFEeKf_Td9ll-2BH09fqDYgC32VfnXnfFBxzd6JpYONGOSgbxtbFEwApaDNP5MU5nj9Oo-W0-8c90XCzLQ5HjMoFbQRWvmxESg3ENonE5Kp1UXtw/s1600/IMG_3207.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556740022155895026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBNr9TKywlGFbYJM8IjZDnXVSntELFEeKf_Td9ll-2BH09fqDYgC32VfnXnfFBxzd6JpYONGOSgbxtbFEwApaDNP5MU5nj9Oo-W0-8c90XCzLQ5HjMoFbQRWvmxESg3ENonE5Kp1UXtw/s400/IMG_3207.JPG" border="0" /></a>Picnics at the Arboretum!</div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Y_Lp3QhKYnn0YVFtlotut9157CWzoHZ0n9cqXO4uuxBuSwI_FiUzBOKYxSe9eyaavni_Y04uWUBbnvFNETyO9t0PPefCqHfpCXSsdzmIgELCScEF0MSoBgofdWhYSAOms9TQ_cWC7mU/s1600/IMG_4281.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556737368782807810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Y_Lp3QhKYnn0YVFtlotut9157CWzoHZ0n9cqXO4uuxBuSwI_FiUzBOKYxSe9eyaavni_Y04uWUBbnvFNETyO9t0PPefCqHfpCXSsdzmIgELCScEF0MSoBgofdWhYSAOms9TQ_cWC7mU/s400/IMG_4281.JPG" border="0" /></a> Trying on Daddy's shirt!<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-fW19dr1cfhBUKDBxf3Tz4dT-sHBpxyMDAUBR2z2VcFT4NkQMVmfu6EfaESfqnLzuEThC1BVeLtutSBzrFn6QoywK_epXP9N4uNjwcWvRR6BSy9UxFwAsGRomnOOyl7JYCT_oz7UqL0/s1600/IMG_4539.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556735883126713426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC-fW19dr1cfhBUKDBxf3Tz4dT-sHBpxyMDAUBR2z2VcFT4NkQMVmfu6EfaESfqnLzuEThC1BVeLtutSBzrFn6QoywK_epXP9N4uNjwcWvRR6BSy9UxFwAsGRomnOOyl7JYCT_oz7UqL0/s400/IMG_4539.JPG" border="0" /></a>Go Rangers!!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANK6MTLjkffnfmjvWzk08XPDBz3NaoTAXtlFoMd3ztirVUn37S6pbiGrujP5493lQd9HgrJMwupaeZj2uHKEbw-Q6FfMChuoDeG4NQ-FMJuXy3W5ZeMq-a691DPwEhWhQ5h8Lnr2wvFM/s1600/IMG_4767.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556735232335058178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANK6MTLjkffnfmjvWzk08XPDBz3NaoTAXtlFoMd3ztirVUn37S6pbiGrujP5493lQd9HgrJMwupaeZj2uHKEbw-Q6FfMChuoDeG4NQ-FMJuXy3W5ZeMq-a691DPwEhWhQ5h8Lnr2wvFM/s400/IMG_4767.JPG" border="0" /></a>Carving Elmo pumpkin is hard work!<br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifysf3hBp1EVEHbN4DjISJoOcBj8X_3urx2NVjunzc1jO770OXia-iNdAU5YPhDeaHElcjHHqSMU_T0Wp0fESVTww2uPhsSXkgdNTonn77bM9I1Ir9fUBri6UzuzuekD7a0aY__e9WmD8/s1600/IMG_4821.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556734121531604178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifysf3hBp1EVEHbN4DjISJoOcBj8X_3urx2NVjunzc1jO770OXia-iNdAU5YPhDeaHElcjHHqSMU_T0Wp0fESVTww2uPhsSXkgdNTonn77bM9I1Ir9fUBri6UzuzuekD7a0aY__e9WmD8/s400/IMG_4821.JPG" border="0" /></a> Two little train conductors!<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhD-OZoVCfD7BSzPmwMa6EVdvhQZTUaOZEmiEduAxZiTWLnNcWmn9YHurTmEp0gXhxNfd8XthrymDPKTr6puR6QGQPB0YpQKGF0Piw9gZZpwIKza4tZ9awk96wTnaRJ5Td-S-po3nWVk/s1600/IMG_4947.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556732891385942786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhD-OZoVCfD7BSzPmwMa6EVdvhQZTUaOZEmiEduAxZiTWLnNcWmn9YHurTmEp0gXhxNfd8XthrymDPKTr6puR6QGQPB0YpQKGF0Piw9gZZpwIKza4tZ9awk96wTnaRJ5Td-S-po3nWVk/s400/IMG_4947.JPG" border="0" /></a>We love going to North Park during Christmas time to see Santa and the puppet shows!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWwl5dCCnXB1iEiLmx6oszE5KlGkH6FqRkLg6mWMBQ0lQPuM_ZaQP8sIQX2JDtXSASbxz9KeDYB2adfFRPp0AlkLvsT4Qk7BJS10y7CBqSO8WO4t_nuVfRPxh03dOQ9zPsJwD8TFF_yU/s1600/IMG_4940.JPG"></a><br /></div><div align="center"><div align="center"><div align="center"><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVydObVSifKOzNUs9EHuUBJ3TDcK3DsQcoQIU0BNKAJbXleX63ZtXiGWRGxdKqe6D8zSyesuxlFGT16JR_-O1cYr-x05yAWd1_LKpxZpiuZLmRcXDUw3SFOzRZLt1qd0b9o2xaergbMnU/s1600/IMG_4966.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556726334289245234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVydObVSifKOzNUs9EHuUBJ3TDcK3DsQcoQIU0BNKAJbXleX63ZtXiGWRGxdKqe6D8zSyesuxlFGT16JR_-O1cYr-x05yAWd1_LKpxZpiuZLmRcXDUw3SFOzRZLt1qd0b9o2xaergbMnU/s400/IMG_4966.JPG" border="0" /></a> Christmas Morning- Preston was sick, but he will still give you a smile!</div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n1djVM3NLgpbYeehX45bhSQDZ4dFAxygRczdoWD9rSJfuQswY2qvREzBM_20Z_qdpLKL1IOseIDHMnThB8Hgj5QWtCVU3AUvtvQdfs7BXHC6abxWSmoBLdzSeI1N31EWaB2GuYYivfM/s1600/Christmas+Card+2010+front.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556725015601397106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 286px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n1djVM3NLgpbYeehX45bhSQDZ4dFAxygRczdoWD9rSJfuQswY2qvREzBM_20Z_qdpLKL1IOseIDHMnThB8Hgj5QWtCVU3AUvtvQdfs7BXHC6abxWSmoBLdzSeI1N31EWaB2GuYYivfM/s400/Christmas+Card+2010+front.jpg" border="0" /></a> Our Christmas Card </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-38154321408873448522010-12-05T22:37:00.000-08:002010-12-05T23:56:45.120-08:00A Sweet NovemberWe had month full of therapy, the beginnings of our PPCD journey for Preston, and most importantly a lot of wonderful family and fun times! The weekend before Thanksgving we went to A&M to watch Aunt Ashy dunk her Aggie Ring. Now you might say, wow that is not quite a child appropriate event. I do agree, but Ashley and her two friends dunking with her had quite a crowd and we were at the back with the boys in their wagon so they really didn't have a clue what was going on. She dunked her ring at their tail gate party before the Nebraska game and the second round of airplane fly-overs occurred right as Ashley started so that was the boys main focus. They were cheering for the airplanes while we were cheering on Aunt Ashy!! I will say she rocked it with at 1 min and 22 second time. Draw your own conclusions as to what my sister has mastered during her time in Aggieland. ;-) Actually, I always loved going to ring dunkings even though I never was talked into dunking my own Aggie Ring (well several Aggies have thrown my ring into a few shots over the years to call it even). I am not a big beer chugger, but cheering people on always made me laugh and I have several fond memories of watching friends dunk theirs. I helped plan Stephanie and Christina's ring dunk at our house in Bryan. I will not go into details as to how that all "came out," ;-) but needless to say I have great memories of this fun Aggie tradition.<br /><br /><br />Christina met us in Aggieland that weekend, too!! It was her first time back since she had graduated and I was so glad she came. I jump at any chance I get to spend time with my best friend and spending it in Aggieland is even better. I just love going back to A&M! Being there brings back so many wonderful memories and things just feel right in the world there. Christina and I were walking around looking for a friend who was also tailgating and we both had this great epiphany about life as we watched hundreds of Aggies having fun with friends, all supporting their school and just enjoying life. Christina and I have said many times over the last few years that as we grow older the innocence of our youth slowly starts to fade and the harsh realities of adulthood win over. As we were walking around, we thought back to the late nights of studying, the stress and pressure of school and grades and what the future would hold with love and life. We both realized that we really had no idea that life could, and would be more difficult/stressful as we grew older and the responsibilities of life would not just be so narrowly focused on ourselves like they were back then. At the time, the stress felt all consuming and at the pinnacle of what life could bring, but wow were we wrong. We had a good laugh as we talked about this and I thought back to how my Dad would always tell me to enjoy college because the real world is waiting for you when you get handed your diploma. Boy was he right! I think that is one reason I love going down to A&M so much, for a bit while I am there I think I "check out" of the real world and "check in" to the bubble that is Aggieland.<br /><br /><br />I will really miss having Aunt Ashy's place to crash at after May!! As Randy, Christina and I were pulling the wagon with boys back to the car, we were dreaming of which house we would like to all buy together so we could come to all the games and tailgate and cheer on the Aggies. I have a feeling I am not the only one who is going to miss Ashley being there! We had a lot of fun that weekend and Luke really got to put his "Gig'em Aggies" saying to good use!! The boys ran and played so hard at the tailgate that Luke fell asleep sitting up in the wagon and Preston was asleep before we pulled away from our parking spot! I was pregnant with the boys when we moved Ashley into her dorm that late summer 3 years ago and now her time is coming to a close. Texas A&M is a special place that is really hard to put into words. I am so glad Ashley followed in mine and Steph's footsteps because I know Randy and I have really enjoyed getting to experience A&M again through her eyes! Who knows maybe we will have some little Aggie's of our own someday???<br /><br /><br />Stephanie, MiC and Baby Caroline made the trek from New Mexico to Nannie's house the day before we went to Aggieland and stayed until the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I had to work late that Thursday night before our trip so Randy took the boys over to Nannie's house so they could all three meet Baby Caroline for the first time. Luke has been saying Baby Caroline since before she was born, so he knew when we said Baby Caroline was coming that he was going to get to see a baby. Preston wasn't quite so into her. Randy said Luke patted her bottom while he was holding her, but Preston was sorta into his own thing and being shy! When I took the boys over on Friday morning to see her before we left I was holding her in the room alone and Preston was being his wild self and climbing on one of the chairs. I was telling him to get down, because he has issues catching himself and has had way to many close calls with his head and tile floor. So as I was holding little 6 week old Caroline and trying to yell loud enough to get Preston's attention it all hit me. Having a tiny baby and rambuncious twins who need some constant watching would be even harder than I always tell Randy it would be. ;-) So I felt very comfirmed in my feelings that we need to wait a while longer before trying to expand our family!<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547456399556522514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7PDPSIliSaVzgcL3Lc1wA-PEVHm3Je6vf0-VBGSx0SgcSEyRmjkeqWWPqMmng_j-f5cujI_J9CYVWzShb_oYzTPnTOS9bg1qlkQVNmg2Wb48scC1OUUBmqzGXZmkyBCbsFFBlnIe9_M/s400/IMG_4914.JPG" border="0" /><br />I mean I really love this Aunt of a baby business!! I have been an Aunt since Randy and I got married, which I love a lot also, but they are older. We have more of the slumber party, stay up to late kind of fun when they come down from Columbus to visit. Having a baby to play with and then to give back when she screams, poops or pukes is a pretty sweet deal. ;-) We spent the whole week cuddling her, snuggling and loving on her and then poor Steph and MiC were the ones up at 4, 5 or 6am feeding her. ;-) Actually she is a really, really good baby as long as you don't make her wait too long for her bottle. When she's hungry, you better get her bottle and fast!! I was in amazement really how put together and wonderful Steph was. She got dressed and had her hair done more that week than I do on a typical week now. ;-) I think I would really have to think about the first time I actually got dressed up after the boys were born??? Stephanie is of course an amazingly loving mother and she has just the right touch to calm little Caroline when she is fussy just like our Mom did. I really loved getting the chance to feed her, change her and do all those things that just felt so overwhelming at times when the boys were little. Being an Aunt is a really amazing thing. Seeing your little sister be "The Mom" and getting to see those things in Caroline that remind me of Stephanie are very special. I can only imagine how it makes my parents feel!! We are all blessed to have this new addition to our family!<br /><br /><br />We all decided to go to Plano one afternoon after Caroline's first photo shoot at the arboretum and have a suishi fest. MiC and Steph always want suishi when they come into town so we waited for Ashley to get home from school for Thanksgiving break that day and then enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the patio at the Shops at Legacy for some yummy suishi and a lot of laughs. Baby Caroline and Luke were awesome!! Caroline slept like an angel. Luke really feels like he no longer needs a high chair so if he is in an amicable mood Randy and I will let him sit on his knees in a chiar - he is bypassing the booster all together. So he sat next to me in his chair and really devoured some edamame. He really loved to chew on the pods - so I let him and he kept Ashley and I laughing. Preston on the other hand was not exactly happy to being happy-houring it on the patio that day. He took a nap on the way over in the car because he failed to nap at school that day. When he was awakened by his brother making screeching bird noises he wasn't too happy about that. As some of you know, if either boy gets too upset while crying it sometimes leads to coughing, which sometimes leads to gagging, which always leads to massive vomiting. So here we were in the car in Plano parked watching "The Puppy" movie (101 Dalmatians) waiting on Steph and MiC when it starts happening. Ashley was in the way back yelling at me to come back there, Randy's yelling at me to get something to catch it in, Luke's making screeching bird noise and Preston well you know what he's doing. So I hop out, get to Preston's seat and I reach down on the ground and what do I grab, but someone's brand spanking new, been in the car for 5 minutes Turkey Trot shirt we just picked up at Luke's Locker. I shove it under his chin just in time before he christens Daddy's new turkey shirt. Poor Daddy he always get the short straw, but we saved Preston's clothes and the majority of the car seat I had some anti-bac wipes to wipes us both down with and away we went. I think Randy and I both had a fleeting moment of pack it up and head home, but we pressed on and with some walking, singing, fountain watching , iphone cooarsing we managed to get Preston in his high chair on the patio that afternoon and MiC had a beer waiting for Randy when he finally sat down. ;-) Preston turned his frown upside down once he got a hold of my phone and the Talking Tubby game on it. We ended up all having a nice time. One of MiC's friend stopped by, the weather was beautiful and the suishi was good. It was so nice to just have a fun afternoon with all of us!!<br /><br /><br />Our Thanksgiving was really great, also. Luke got very distraught the night before Thanksgiving. We had to make a late stop at the grocery store on the way home from Nannie's house and I just ran in to to get the boys their carnation instant breakfast and milk while they waited in the car with Randy. Well for some reason this brought back memories of when we bought our pumpkins from that same store one night probably 6 weeks earlier. I was in the store by myself also that time and Randy text me to buy 6 pumpkins and then he loaded them up while the boys watched. So for some reason this night Luke wanted to get more pumpkins, which turned into "Time to go trick-or-treat!!!" We had to persuade him that tomorrow was Turkey Day and that it was really fun, too. He wasn't too happy about not going trick-or-treating that night, but luckily by the next day he was ok with saying it was Turkey Day!!<br /><br />As we were driving just East of Dallas to have Thanksgiving with my Dad's Aunt Margie and his cousin Suzy's family we passed Children's Medical Center where we nearly spent Christmas at almost 2 years ago. It just again reminded me of how thankful I am that the boys are healthy and we don't have to worry much anymore about spending a holiday in the hospital with a sick child. Randy and I both said a special prayer that day for those families who spent the holiday in the hospital and thanked God for how far the boys have come. We may still have some challenges, but the fear that every lost meal puts us one step closer to a tube or hospitalization is no longer there and that is something I am so thankful for. I try to remind myself of that when one of the boys gets sick. Now it's just an inconvient, mess that makes me sad they are having to experience, but it's not filled with the fear, frequency or anxiety the way it use to be. God has heard so many of ours, our friends, our families and strangers prayers. He has helped Preston and Luke so much! That is one of the many things I am so thankful for! We had a nice time with my Great Aunt Margie and my Dad's cousin Suzy. They are so sweet to the boys and even had booster seats for the boys to sit in for dinner. Preston had yogurt and Luke only wanted a little cheese and a cracker, but I sometimes still sit in awe when Luke says he is hungry. So he basically gets to eat whatever he wants these day. The boys played so nicely there and pulled out every toy in Suzy's toy box - even some match box cars from the 70s. Randy inspected those and claims he had few that were similar himself. ;-) We had a wonderful time and are very grateful to always be welcome at Aunt Margie's!!<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547456904613738546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQvKz9thS6rEI31gxKeIdT85D0IcYIrFtrG-_Np_G_Tq2_gSlov-ZFtGLnZgpBcEXZoM3dZoGDUEkf2mdNszGmzBPsas0i9Q0RlYGMcxYztguW2af1Um0kG7S2xa9Q0SpFZvyzr9uJ-c/s400/IMG_4916.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547458796992393858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZwTfnlLqBblyJtEDbZ5xdbccqY6hGpKprYSrCaJBZcAH0l2Ly1zJ2hyphenhyphenZb9lTVxR6n6EhKi9cekhFP_Bu3-SjpbATTyKN7Yg0PnNgVe1zqtZ3xyyeTNZ5w21b5uPpCtrZ8F07JuP__tE/s400/IMG_4896.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />We had a such a special week hanging out at my parent's with Stephanie and MiC. For a few days it felt like they didn't have to go back, but by Friday I started to remember they were about to leave on Sunday morning, so I snuggled Caroline tight and I was able to feed her after our late night card game on Friday night. I even got to rock her and help get her settled to sleep. She is such a sweet little one and I am going to cherish every time Steph and MiC bring her home. They are spending Christmas in New Mexico because MiC's sister from Latvia and her family are coming to see them. We will miss Caroline's first Christmas, but they are coming home the weekend of Jan 15th and we are already counting down!!! I have scheduled in plenty of snuggling time!<br /><br /><br />Well, this week starts the main week for Preston's PPCD final evaluations. Also, his ARD meeting is Thursday to discuss his most likely acceptance into Southlake Carroll's PPCD program. Our main evaluation with all potential therapists is tomorrow and as this day is closing my anxiety is rising a bit. I know he is going to be in the best place for him. I know he will benefit greatly from being in school everyday and having teachers trained to work with his needs. That is what I keep telling myself when I feel sad about it. I guess it is just a little hard to fully comprehend this path we are about to start on. My Mom is a retired teacher and I remember waiting many afternoons in my Mom's room while she was in an ARD meeting. I quickly learned growing up that ARDs are not something to look forward to as teacher or a parent. I always thought ARD's were for special children and now I have a child that needs some special help. Randy and I are going to be the parents on Thursday sitting in that room advocating for our childs needs and finding the best solutions for him. I know I come into this situation seeing it somewhat differently than Randy just because I grew up over hearing my Mom talk about them. I pray that we can both be the right balance of optimism and skeptism to result in finding the right things for Preston. I do know we are so blessed to have been able to move this summer to such a wonderful school district and I pray that it continues to pay off as we move forward.<br /><br />To answer someone's question from a few months ago about Southlake Carroll's PPCD program here is what sets it apart from other school districts. CISD's PPCD is the only district we could find, possibly in the whole state, that offers what they call a blended PPCD program. Carroll ISD opens the preschool program to all students in the district to go to preschool once they are 3 as of September 1st on a tution and lottery basis. If your child qualifies for PPCD by having certain disabililities they enter the program on the first school day on or after their 3rd birthday for no cost. This is just part of the states requirements of school districs for children with disabilities. From what I have been told the classes are made up of approximately 1/4 special needs children and 3/4 "typically" developing children. This is what makes Southlake Carroll PPCD so unique. Preston will continue to be pushed and learn from his peers like he has been in the preschool his is in now, he will now just also receive the extra help he needs to be able to keep up and hopefully catch up in some areas. So that is the low down as far as I know it now. If I learn anything new I will update as we go.<br /><br />Thanks for following us on this journey. I was at Scottish Rite this past week for the Christmas Tree lighting and I was able to catch up there with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. It always amazes me how caring people can be and how much they keep us in their prayers. Despite things they may have going on they always take time to check in on us. We appreciate the one of you who helps watch Luke while we are at Preston's appointments, who even offers sometimes with out us asking ;-), those of you we know and love and those of you who are strangers who keep us in prayer, I especially thank all of you. And to all of you, you all know who you are, my best friends who provide a shoulder for me to lean on and a listening ear when I need it. I couldn't make it without out y'all. Y'all give me a voice of reason when I struggle to find it within myself. You give me a safe, unjudging place to talk about my fears and you remind me of my faith when I sadly need reminding. You make me a stronger, better person and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I know men and women have different needs, but I will ask you to pray for Randy tonight. I feel like I can really say without a doubt that often Randy doesn't have the emotional outlets like I do, whether he thinks he needs one or not. Through this journey I have learned at times that it can be hardest on the Dads. They don't have the friends and family asking them "how they are doing?" because that's just not what guys do with each other. I just ask you to keep him in your prayers tonight, to guide him, give him a peace about things and to help him continue to lead our family. Randy and I both appreciate all that you do so much! I'll keep you posted on how this week goes. Goodnight!!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-14813980386076384172010-10-30T20:31:00.000-07:002010-10-30T22:19:00.313-07:00Here I am!!<div align="left">I feel like I am always making excuses for my delay in blog updates, but as usually there is never a dull moment around here so needless to say life has been busy and I have been neglecting the blog, so sorry. These past 2 months we were able to bump Preston's speech(feeding) therapy and his occupational therapy up to 2xs a week. So I have been taking him to OCH in Dallas on Mondays and Wednesdays. I have also started working 1/2 day a week at a medical spa in Plano (I know that's not much, but it's sort of all we can handle at this point). A good friend of mine works there and her mother is the director. I have been wanting to work with them for a long time and now it is working out so well. They doctor is also wonderful and very supportive of the medical aesthetic's side of her practice so I feel like it is a perfect fit. They have been very flexible with my schedule, so I am able to still take Preston to therapy 2x a week, have Preston's ECI therapy on Fridays, and take and pick up the boys from school on Tue/Thurs, which has been so awesome. It works well because I go in when the boys go down for a nap on Mondays or Wednesday since Randy works from home. I have missed work so much!! It is such a fun and interesting job and I love the medical aesthetics industry so I am so excited to be working again!! My friend and I gave each other microderms after work on Wednesday and I REALLY missed that perk of the job. If anyone is interested in any medical aesthetic procedures shoot me an email and I can probably help you get a great deal on services.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534049629016367042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlL48JvppMnFMAYzR3l6eiFKH8FC3YFPr3f7ZOa5ij1dVwinrgbBv1jD-hHa2rDz_c23IppRsC668KLoHka7Mmkq6fdBsD7FGBK62HgF-SrPY4e19ovHaq5ZERtiY_gbjkZZJslIXm6U/s400/IMG_4460.JPG" border="0" /></div><div align="center">This is a cute picture of the boys with Grandpa in the backyard!<br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Even though we were able to go 2x a week this past month for feeding therapy it actually didn't really get us anywhere, sadly. Preston got some kind of little bug at the end of Sept and he threw up really only 3 or 4 times and they were really spaced out over a week or so. It ended up really setting him back with his in eating and chewing. His therapist had worked up to being able to get a gold fish in his mouth, with her holding it, and he would take a few bites down on it and not gag on the pieces in his mouth or spit them out. Now neither his therapist, nor I, can get any "chewable" type of food in his mouth. The last several weeks I couldn't get any of his chewing tubes or therapy brush in his mouth, but this week he is letting me again. So maybe we will get back on track in a few weeks. We are dropping back down to 1x a week for his feeding therapy next week because we will run out of visits on our insurance before the year is over if we don't. Insurance can be so frustrating at times, but I am thankful we have it. I just wish Preston could receive more speech therapy sessions. We only get 30 a year which obviously will not last us all year at 1x a week next year. That was actually one of the reasons we did the inpatient feeding therapy, because the therapy sessions during inpatient would not count towards his outpatient 30 year limit. We are not sure what we are going to do about therapy next year, but we will cross that bridge in 2011. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">He was also not eating his pureed food with out a big fight for the past 4 weeks, but he seems to be doing better with his pureed eating this week, too. Not sure what was going on with him, but my best guess was the vomiting just really brought his oral aversions back to a severe level until until he could trust that eating isn't the worst thing in the world again. Today he did try to eat a little chip at a mexican food restaurant and he gagged and vomited. Lovely huh?? Thankful no one was sitting around us, so we didn't ruin any one's meal. Nannie quickly jumped in there and cleaned it up, but Luke was shouting "Presty barfed!" and I was trying to get him to quiet down before everyone heard him. Remember I said never a dull moment. One of them vomiting at a restaurant is just about a weekly occurrence for us - so if you see us eating out somewhere, run the other way ;-). That is actually one of the reason I never take them together by myself to a friend for lunch. Randy actually scooped Luke up last Sunday at bruch and got him out the door before he started. Anyways, I am hoping Preston will want to try something "chewable" again, so I am going to try and work with him with these things called baby mum mums. They are rice disks that dissolve easily that I can break into pieces I can hold and try to get him to bite on. This biggest hurdle is getting him to let you put it on his molars. His feeding issues are a roller coaster of ups and downs. I just have to remind myself it is slowly getting better in the long run, but it really can be trying when you he knocks his food off his spoon and it flies all over me and everywhere. Deep breaths! </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I do have some pretty awesome news about Preston. About 3 out of 4 of the past nights he has let me me brush his teeth. This is huge for him! Preston's new occupational therapist is absolutely awesome and her and I decided to seriously work on getting him to let me brush his teeth. She has been working with him and I have been working with him and now we have reached some serious success! Preston's therapist told me that most of the severe oral aversion kids end up having surgery to place silver caps and pull teeth because they won't let you brush. That was enough to freak me out and get me working harder. Preston has the most precious, biggest, wonderful smile and I sure didn't want it full of silver caps! We started with just letting him touch the brush to his lips and slowly but surely he is letting me brush them, even with infant tooth paste on the brush!! So I am really relieved about that. Preston's OT also has been having great progress with him by using a weighted vest to help give him more sensory input to help calm him and help him focus on a task, like block stacking. It has really been helping him so Nannie is working on sewing Preston a weighed therapy vest to use at home when we do at home therapy things and also feeding. It is very evident now that Preston has some sensory issues as well. We are going to be able to stay at 2xs a week with his occupational therapy through November because we had some time off from OT in August before we got his wonderful new therapist. She is so energetic, caring and genuinely gets so excited when Preston does well in his session with her. Finding the right therapist makes such a difference and it feels wonderful to have found her!! She is truly a blessing! </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534050761933771602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwR922e1u9Jnk1I7rrVzb2TON_Y7eMiG68o-Jm-TloNByvUoHd99zHXHZGAhY-s4yIyf99RVTN2q3WYgRqHJ_gToUhw1lurwswodou6_GnwEtN-vprNWDLF1epyt3JYYkh-UaHDG-jpY/s400/IMG_4269.JPG" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">We also welcomed a new member to our family this month. Stephanie ended up having a c-sect on October 15, the day before Ashley's birthday, and baby Caroline made her appearance around noon that day. Stephanie tried everything from inversion tables to wierd chinese smokey stick things to get Caroline to turn head down, but she didn't so they had scheduled the c-sect for that Friday. My parents and I were able to drive to New Mexico for the big event. I was so happy to be able to be there for her birth. Caroline Cruz Ferguson weighed 6lbs 7.5 oz and was 21 inches long. She is beautiful and it was such an amazing thing to see her minutes after her big entrance. She was so perfect!! Obviously, I didn't get to see the boys for several hours after they were born because they had to get them "settled" in the NICU and get all sorts of things hooked up. Stephanie was beaming when MiC brought Caroline in to the recovery room for Stephanie to hold her for the first time. It was such a special moment and I am so, so glad I was able to be there. Caroline is so sweet! In person I thought she looked a lot like Stephanie, but now in seeing pictures I see a lot of MiC, so we will see. Stephanie, MiC and Caroline are coming home for over a week at Thanksgiving so we will get a lot of time to snuggle! Luke loves to say baby Caroline! The boys really loves to look at babies so I can't wait for them to see their new baby cousin!!! </div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534052357641013010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCmQnIjpHme_O1CmvBjtAMTFrpdnWr_7CZ6T958lmaUwVFPUdc1NXJNI6e2kGWysf42GMF40sNyn5n5Dc-pzU7PmS-NTXK39GXkCoSzROHKYf8WLyXKKGLsOUPWYMdyG_R-PcxQtJhN8/s400/IMG_4606.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">This was Stephanie's first time to hold Caroline. It was the sweetest thing!</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534052971866502386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSenF0VRIS5A486twd_y0TPWZU1xiwQizoz0u011twTeUAjC46vsTj5Ac5SPjlOUtv1mGnTyDIlvQEJ0CI2sywzMq6rnLLKGRqUanHtP_J23X22T1xl05N_lpili3TsFLnyYV1HyXvsU/s400/IMG_4618.JPG" border="0" /> </p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534055513346393762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMweJbZcIL9cCtfoWbf6mWMwsmyFloogcI7MffJj7ShZJBFZOVcos4bmnArksDYiEsIsZdml-4EpFsw1Tlvy_s2vY4sMd62WGHyth94IL1ir0uTTCn-_p0oDt1CMrWt_VgJiqUy2vVDY/s400/IMG_4675.JPG" border="0" /> Nannie snuggling with Caroline!</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534056017778445570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyAJxiuULIYBmoSEYgAAsuenIMRnyNgOslp447W6V1buhabPMaKJIQx-vTfdANxa98mO8tLxYtUVTwG_xl8PQZGeF6vBAJ5X5nORUwC9FB3Ub_p9NgQPe_uCmce5OL4Eb3UfVggwe424/s400/IMG_4646.JPG" border="0" /> </p><p align="center">Grandpa proud of the new girl in the family!!<br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534056313269382562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5S6nzybJV-cqGzESMRrDArNnh-_PlVIA4H3NcBJjpusG7jMkrkghGSWrL-9EqU73zXs_gYZmUsMBH_0o8U0sxxaFOPsLGxWn5-BLnmDX_KRm5edEmvPotDmV-nhaHV7VgsUSS1sj8Fo/s400/IMG_4723.JPG" border="0" /> </p><p align="center">Caroline headed home from the hospital in Roswell to Clovis. She slept like an angel most of the way.</p><p align="left">Last weekend Aunt Ashy was home and we got to celebrate her birthday. Ashley is 22 and wow I can't believe she is that old! I still vividly remember the day she was born! It's so crazy she will be done at A&M this May. We had been planning to take the boys to the game the weekend Caroline was born, which was Ashley's birthday, so we are now going to take them to the game on the weekend of November 20th. We are so excited to take them to their first Aggie game. But this past Friday we were at TCU representing Randy's undergrad alma mater for Frog Fest. Randy was asked to be on the Marketing Advisory board for TCU's Marketing Department this year. We are very proud of him and then at his meeting a professor asked him to be a guest speaker for a MBA class next month. I teased him that he must be really old to be a guest speaker because I always remember guest speakers seeming soooo old, haha!! This puts him one step closer to his dream of some day possibly teaching at TCU, or another university, and I am proud of him for being so passionate about it!! We went to Frog Fest last year with the boys and my parents and we had a lot of fun so we wanted to go again this year. This time it was tricky because the Ranger's game was on, but Ashley and Grandpa went with us (Nannie was still with Stephanie in New Mexico) and we stayed for a while and then went to Pappas Burgers to watch the end of the Ranger game and see history being made. We all cheered on the Rangers with the rest of the restaurant!! It was so exciting to watch the Rangers beat the yankees!! Here is our picture outside after all the excitement!! GO RANGERS!!!!! </p><p><br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534056622094248642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Xt55V9LbSPT253ggbuoQOVYG_lWnfYDq_HfOkwVDDoDevJOA_finwQKCWv9PEYnO2v4QyfBoPO6lmZGetQ5dcauFOd4aKtQsUPkyE3iM707m3fcZTDAGuGcH2-riL0efkGrQTlBe2nI/s400/IMG_4547.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>We all went to Joe T's on Sunday night for Ashley's Birthday. We love eating outside at Joe T's and it had been quite a while since we had been there. It was a beautiful night! We had a lot of fun with Aunt Ashy last weekend. She is a great sister, best friend and a loving Aunt. Randy loves Ashley like a sister and she adds so much joy to our lives! Thanks Ashley for always being there for us and making all of us smile! You have been there to help us through so much these past 3 years and we ALL love you so much!!! Sorry, Ash, that I didn't get you a card...did that just count? ;-) Happy Birthday, I love you!!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534057048166704194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwP_ERGd94EsYcXzqyLd7QgZgGIkV1daKLEAxRnFZYQhOw9Bbf9sd4VIOMvc0-sBNB4mEhxB7-TJ1_bOzavB7fXFdrgIbmGVjlK0UhScAZHGFAt53e-8-ek0yOOrHhpYX18rcfP7muutw/s400/IMG_4554.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534057469600350930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBQVnb6NO1BdylDMRV04oToGZmrEMoyV6TkUzEdZmnh9TDOyicKjkh9P-tN4pbU6X7DW26JE496ImO6AQVlP7ytX8wDAxjjvso5KjMKgoIacw8WYDqMdLxcK3Und-cWZvXDZI62YQI9U/s400/IMG_4514.JPG" border="0" /><br /></p><div align="center">We have gone a few times to the Hall Johnson pumpkin patch. Both boys love, love the tractor!</div><br />We are having a fun Halloween weekend. The boys had a Fall Festival at school Thursday and Randy took the morning off so we could be the parent volunteers to help their class. We ended up mostly just helping Preston, because it was a bit of a chaotic scene and Preston really has a hard time being still and calm in crowded, crazy situations. I am really glad we went so Preston could enjoy the festival with the rest of his class!! My parents went with us last night to take the boys to the Grapevine Halloween on Main Street. It was really crowded, and there were long lines for candy but the boys really liked to just sit in their wagon and look at all the "interesting" people. Grandpa wheeled them up and down main street trying his best to let me take them into the haunted house area. I told him NO WAY!! He's crazy! The boys are dressing up as train conductors or "choo choo costumes" this year. I think they could easily be confused with farmers, because I can't get either of them to wear their hats. But they look cute as farmers, too. We got to meet some distant cousins we had not ever been able to meet before. My Dad's first cousin's son, so my second cousin once removed I think, went to A&M and was there the same time I was. He married a girl that was in my sorority and she had twin girls that were born in April, one month after the boys due date - weird huh? They are super cute and their names are Camden and Grayden. We got to meet Camden and Grayden at their parent's restaurant Lazy Bones just off Main Street last night. Ashley worked at Lazy Bones the summer before last, but we just never managed to meet up with them then. It was a quick little meeting, but it was fun to see both sets of twins together and the girls were the cutest Kangaroo and Koala bear I have ever seen!!<br /><br />We will go trick-or-treating for the first real time tomorrow night in our new neighborhood. My parents are coming over for homemade pizza and then we will go out and see how the boys like trick-or-treating. We have been watching "Little Bill's" Halloween episode all week to get prepared. Luke has practiced saying "trick-or-treat", but it will probably all depend on his mood and whether he will say it or not. Randy absolutely loves Halloween so he is already thinking that next year we need to come up with a family theme of costumes and all dress up. We'll see! So far I haven't managed to get much of a picture of the boys in their Halloween costumes yet. I will try to get a picture of the boys in their costumes and put it on the next update. I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween tomorrow night! Thanks again for all who keep Preston and us in their prayers. We haven't had much change medically lately and that truly is a blessing and answered prayer! We have a few rounds of doctors appointments next month and I am praying for continued smooth sailing!!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-84053789021996374522010-09-21T21:00:00.000-07:002010-09-21T21:51:50.954-07:00Thankful!!<div align="left">It's been too long since my last update I know, but today I am just going to tell you about our day today and who our day was about. Today is a special day because today is Randy's Birthday!! I chose to ignore Randy and get him an actual birthday present this year even though he always tells me not to (just like I do, but I never really mean it like he does). So I ignored him and got him the one thing he has actually been saying he has been wanting lately - a charcoal grill. Not that exciting I know, but he swears charcoal grills are way more awesome than gas so since grilling is his thing I got him what he wanted. So I did my usual research to find out which one was the best budget friendly charcoal grill and I found it. And I have to say it was totally worth the surprise look on his face when he went in the garage to find it this morning. I think I like ignoring him about this no present business.<br /><br />Now, here's the part I definitely do not do often enough and it's probably actually a true fault of mine. I do not thank Randy enough for the wonderful father he is and for all he does for our family! So since today is Randy's b-day I am going to give y'all a little glimpse at all he does and has done on the roller coaster that has been our life for the last 3 years.<br /><br />It all started a little less than 3 years ago. From the first day we ended up in Labor and Delivery when I started having issues carrying the boys at around 22 weeks, Randy has been there with a brave face holding my hand along the way. Randy has slept on hospital chairs, fold out couches, air mattresses and he even slept on the cold floor in the PICU (which is a violation of the one parent in the room rule and probably the no parent sleeping on the floor rule) so that neither of us had to face these scary things alone. Randy has been an advocate/fighter first for me when a nurse or doctor made me mad or made me cry and then for Preston and Luke when they needed someone to stand up for them. He has stepped in when I have demanded that "they" (who ever at the time had made me mad) just needed to hear it from "the dad" because they were treating me like "the hysterical mom" even though I know his plate was already too full. He has spent countless hours fighting with our insurance company, doctors offices, and hospitals, often not even letting me in on the current denial at hand just so I don't have to worry. For all that I am so very, very grateful!!<br /><br />That November day, one day after Preston's big cranial vault surgery, Randy raced from Preston's room at Medical City with me down to the ER when we found out that my Dad was having a heart attack and he cried and pleaded with God with me in the hallway there just like it was his own father. And then it was his own father there in the ER at Medical City two weeks later, except God's plan was different and this time the miracle we prayed so hard for didn't come for Randy's Dad in the way we were asking for it. His father did not make it out of the cardiac ICU. With Preston recovering from a gigantic skull surgery and also still suffering from failure to thrive because of his continuous vomiting, Luke also suffering from failure to thrive because he was refusing to eat, a father-in-law who only lived from a massive, killer heart attack by the grace of God, Randy sat with his Dad in the hospital and was able to tell him goodbye and let his Dad go peacefully. He honestly didn't have a full chance to properly grieve because of all that we were going through at the time (we were back in the hospital with both boys 3 weeks later for several weeks), but he has always remained thankful that God gave his father a full, healthy life for 80+ years and that his father did not suffer for long. How he has dealt with this loss amazes and perplexes me to this day. I still have days when the events of my Dad's heart attack brings me to my knees and I am sure Randy does the same in dealing with his father's passing, but he hides it well, too well.<br /><br />Randy is the chief barf cleaner-uper! I certainly have to thank him for that. I usually take the barf soaked kid, whomever the culprit is at the moment and we head to the bath. But Randy doesn't get the one that, despite the frustration, sometimes anger and overwhelming feelings, with vomit coming out their nose, they find a smile through theirs tears that reminds you that didn't do this on purpose and they can't help that they have soaked your whole house, car and even their parent's with unbelievable amounts of puke for the last 32 months!! Nope Randy gets the car seat, the floor, the chair, the mattress, the walls that can't smile back at him. And I can tell you that alone should bring me to make him what ever dinner he wants every night of the week - or at least his pick of where we go out for dinner ;-).<br /><br />Don't get me wrong this hasn't been an always rosey, adversity makes the heart grow founder kinda of thing. At times it has been, but at times we struggle in our relationship with knowing how to be there for one another in the way that the other needs them most. But there have been countless nights that Randy has flat out said he doesn't want to get into it and "deal" with my needs to talk about the things in life that are weighing on my heart, but in the end he listens and consoles me until the wee hours of the morning because he knows I need him.<br /><br />We both agree that these acts are not extraordinary or things other parents wouldn't do when faced with similar situations, but the fact still remains that when called to action Randy has been the father that I always knew he would be and then he has done even more than I ever imagined he would have to do as a father. He is the one who walked into the NICU to find our tiny 3lb baby Luke getting an emergency chest tube inserted because one of his lungs was collapsing - not me. He has done way more or the dirty or heavier stuff than I have, trust me.<br /><br />I think since I am the Mom people often tell me or compliment me more about how hard it must be to have twins or have a child/children with medical issues or special needs, but really day to day Randy is in it just about as much as I am and honestly if he wasn't I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay home with the boys every day if he wasn't here helping me day in day out. I am very proud of the father Randy is for the boys and I know his Dad is very proud of him, too! Randy's Dad loved little kids and really he even loved babies. He would cuddle the boys when they were swaddled up like baby burritos and he would also get down on the ground with the boys and "play" with them even though they were just little babies and just barely rolling over or pushing up. Randy has inherited that love from his Dad, too. When he is on the ground playing with Luke's train set or looking at books with Preston it reminds me of his Dad. I know how very proud he would be of Randy and the glow that would be on his face to see Randy playing with the boys, teaching them and even disciplining them. I know there are many more moments to come when Randy's Dad will be smiling down from heaven when Randy's teaches them to fish, ride their bikes and so much more. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519583700630275602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsfF174hgXHoexxEU7hpfE2_LH6OQMu8t5OOA-A0jKo94kBYvs-7kOmZ8XDgSlOoHKDtW1QwOCyfO9TNP49kM6OC5StM5XTGC5vpHeruOnHnMj3AS1RY-mcJ5e1SQK7YivEVWbDjVFgoY/s400/276.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="left">Here's a throwback picture from the NICU! I think it is a very precious picture!!<br /></p><br /><div align="left">Today was a great day! It was a great day to think about Randy and all he does for the boys and I and it was a great day to remember who shaped him into the father he is today. I know I do not tell you enough, but I do thank you so much for all that you day to make this crazy life, Our Crazy Life!!! I love you!!</div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-50232619285397721672010-07-24T01:49:00.001-07:002010-07-24T02:33:29.358-07:00I know, I know, this is incredibly past due!!!!!!So sorry for the forever long delay!! I so appreciate all of you who pray for us and I know my delay must be driving y'all nuts. We have had a CRAZY June and now July so I will try to catch you up on the major things along the way.<br /><br />Preston was released the Thursday before Memorial Day and I CAN NOT describe to you how happy we were to all be under the same roof again!! Steph and MiC got in town that evening for their first visit since Christmas and it was our first time to see her with her baby bump (which was really tiny at that point, but it was still really cute). We had a wonderful weekend with them and the fam. Lot's of swimming and just in generally trying to get a nice kick off to our summer and feel the blessing of being out of the hospital.<br /><br />The biggest challenge once we got home, and sort if still is, is the preparation of Preston's pureed food. He eats 4 meals a day and despite his wonderful inpatient speech therapist Carols' best efforts we were only able to increase his volume and variety of pureed table foods. We are still taking baby steps with any type of crunchy or chewable foods. We do a home speech therapy session with him ourselves as much as possible and he goes to outpatient OT and speech/feeding therapy on Thursdays at OCH.<br /><br />The outpatient has been slow which is basically what I expected, but it still frustrates me beyond belief. So I try to take deep breaths and pray for God to take away my anxiety about it. I just don't want Preston to be 3 and only be eating pureed food. So I have really started to take an initiative this week to help Preston eat some of his pureed foods on his own spoon feeding himself. He has made some great efforts, but gets frustrated so I am going to make it my mission to get him at least spoon feeding himself by his 3rd bday even if it is still puréed. I think that having someone feed you has to hold you back more than the advancement of the food your eating. I DO NOT want Preston to feel different someday because of the way he eats. So if that's another thing I can do right now to help him eat I will definitely do it.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">This is a sneak peak to the next update I plan to get to next week. We went on a kind of last min trip to the beach in Florida for a week over the 4th of July with Steph, MiC and Ash. Disregard Luke he is in a no picture phase right now. I'll share the fun we had on my next post. </div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497394118687122546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWFVmWqp5AiN0O3VtfSPWB-jttP0m831x9o51bjYvpFTmMEbJk5PLJz0fGOQiTiSq26X_mvLSQZVz9odUDczc7wDsZwKiRlbwjq9kn-C4gkbukbgOxmsmgZa2amfUYrACdCjt1usydqA/s400/IMG_3815.JPG" border="0" /><br />That sort of brings me to our second big news.....................................we are MOVING!!!! This is another huge reason I am so behind on the blog. Between making Preston's food, feeding him and then looking, negotiating and now doing some remodeling on the new house I barely have time to check my email - oh and the boys new sleeping arrangements which I will probably fill you in on my next update have added a new level of fun to our life right now.<br /><br />Right before Preston was admitted to OCH Randy and I had some long discussions, did lot's of praying and even consulted with Preston's current ECI therapist, his pediatrician and ECI therapists and early childhood diagnosticians in the mid-cities and we came to the conclusion that it would be best to move to Southlake Carroll ISD to be prepared for Preston to start in their PPCD program in January. For those that don't know what PPCD is, it is the way the state continues to provide therapy to children who may need it past their 3rd birthday. ECI (in home state therapy) provides therapy from birth to 3 and the day of their 3rd bday ECI stops and they start in the PPCD program (as long as they meet the requirements through developmental testing) in the local school district in which the child lives. This is basically more of a group type therapy in the form of preschool.<br /><br />We currenlty live in DISD and always planned to either do private school or move out of DISD once the boys were ready for kindergarten, but that was OUR PLAN and I think God had a few others and as that saying goes he laughs at plans right???? So the reason we chose Carroll ISD is because they are the only district that starts inclusion at that level - the preschool level. Therefore Preston will be in a classroom of peers who may function near or beneath him, but he will also be with his peers that perform above him as well. Luke will also be able to go if we chose to send him there. For children who do not qualify for the PPCD, like Luke, we would have to pay for him to attend and it's an expensive preschool so we will probably stay at the new school we found for the boys to start at St. Timothy for now and possibly revisit next fall 2011. So they will hopefully just be in different schools for one semester, the spring semester.<br /><br />So we are now very busy trying to keep up with boys, pack and do some remodeling at the new house. I have made a top five list of why we are happy we are moving and the top five why we are sad to be leaving the bussle of the big D.<br /><br />HAPPY!!!!!<br />1) Preston will be in the best school we could find for HIM and that is worth it all!!!!! </p><p>2) I am very excited to be able to go to Super Target and Sams and not have to "watch my back" for homeless people or beggars. And yes, we have seen two different groups of beggars at two different places off/near Greenville at four different instances. It's ridiculous and makes my heart so hardened and cold to any stranger who tries to approach me now, but many times the babies were with us and we had our hands full and it scared the crap out of Randy and I - so I will not miss that and maybe my kind heart towards strangers can heal some!<br /><br />3) We will live 15 min closer to my parents than we did before so that's awesome!!! My parent's help us sooo much and we are so appreciative for all they do for us. I know it will be easier on my Mom to come watch Luke when we go to Preston's Drs. appt since we will live closer to her and we won't have to take traffic into consideration anymore!! It also feels like I am moving home, which sounds silly, but it's a neat feeling I had the other night after we had been at the new house and were looking for a place to eat. I am back home!<br /><br />4) This somewhat ties to 2) but I am so happy to move to just an all around safer place. We live in a very nice part of Dallas, but bad stuff still happens all around us so you just have to be more careful and on your guard. It will be refreshing to put the boys in the car and be able to run in the house to grab something and not freak out about locking the doors and be lighting fast to get back to the car. And so far this is the only summer in the last 3 that our car hasn't been vandalized, like extremely vandalized. Two summers ago some kids thought it would be fun to go up down our ally and pour paint on what they thought were nice cars. Well unfortunatley somehow our not new Escalade got picked and they broke in and poured paint all of the inside, even on the babies car seats, totalling our car. So I will DEFINATELY not miss that kind of meaness.<br /><br />5) The top 5 reason I am soooo happy we are moving is for the boys. I am so excited for them to be in a school district they can go to from kindergarten to their senior year. I am so happy the boys will have a bigger yard to play in. Our new house is walking distance to Meadowmere Park which is on the Lake Grapevine. So Randy is already invisioning a lot of fun times teaching the boys how to fish!!!<br /><br />SAD :-(<br /><br />1) We will miss all our friends over here that we will now not be soo close to. But were are not that far so don't be too sad!! And trust me we have millions of drs appt, private therapy and I still have Junior League at Scottish Rite over here and shopping, oh and eating so trust me I might just be sleeping in Tarrant county and spending many days in Dallas. ;-)<br /><br />2) We will sooo miss the boys school they have been going to - First Kids preschool at First Baptist Richardson and their ECI therapists. Ms. Ann, Ms. Dot and Ms. Cheryl have been a blessing in the boys life at school and I can't describe how much they made their first year of school so wonderful!!!! They are all 3 so extremely caring and loving and took such a genuine interest in the boys well being this year. They prayed for Preston during his surgeries this spring and during his inpatient stay and they loved on Luke when he had to finish the school year alone without Preston. I could not have asked for more from their teachers and I feel like God put this special ladies in the boys life this past year to help them love school and learning. The boys ECI therapists have become like friends to me. First was Rebecca Preston's PT before he was walking. We still stay in touch and she has twins that turn one in two weeks so we are going to their party!! And then there is Donna and Michelle. All three have been there to help Preston , listen to my fears, give me reassurance and give me the confidence to push our doctors to act instead of react. Thank yall all so much!!! The boys have been so lucky to have been impacted by all these wonderful ladies in their short time on the earth. We have been so blessed to have each and everyone of you!!<br /><br />3) We will also miss Preston and Luke's babysitters at LifeTime at mockingbird stationand the club it self. This group of ladies that work at this Lifetime are awesome!!! The babysitters are a set of twins who are in there 20s and there mother along with another girl Crystal who is so wonderful as well. They know Preston and Luke when they walk in the door and they give them hugs and play and love on them while Randy and I go have a break, um I mean workout. ;-) After all the boys medical stuff I was concerned about taking them to the gym so we waited until they were 18months old. And I can tell you I wished I hadn't waited so long!! The Life Time at Mockingbird is considered a Premiere club and you have to pay out the waazoo, but it's so worth it. I've been to 2 other Lifetimes and they girls in the childrens center are not anywhere close to as nice. So I will miss the nice private yoga room they have there and the nicer cardio equipment, oh and seeing Mark Cuban play basketball or eat lunch. Tha's pretty funny!! Bye bye Lifetime Premiere club!<br /><br />4) Two words................................. WHOLE FOODS. I love that place. I could run to it from our house and now the closest will be in Fort Worth or maybe back to my old one :-( This is a sad, sad thing so I guess I'll just have to make do with the Central Market in Southlake. They do have all the assortments of Preston's brown cow yogurt he loves, so that's good. But I will have to make Whole Foods runs weekly to stock up on Luke's stuff he likes and all my blending ingrediants for Presty's meals.<br /><br />5) Randy and I are both a little sad about leaving our favorite restaurants behind, but trust me we will drive over because we love to eat. Here is a short list but trust me all these places are awesome so if you've never been you have to go!! <strong>Houston's</strong> if we were rich Randy would eat here everyday, I think we have had 2 different conversations about opening one in Southlake, <strong>Celebration Restaurant</strong> off Lover's super yummy stuff and they use as much local produce as possible, great place for lunch, <strong>Bread Winner's</strong>..if you haven't had brunch here you must not live in dallas, and if you do shame on you, enough said, <strong>Chuy's</strong> love the free queso on the nacho car at happy hour if we can get the boys outta their nap in time to make it ;-), <strong>Javier's</strong> we never go there as much as we would love to, but it's so so good, <strong>Prego</strong> they make the best red sauce in the world and we sometimes just buy it in qts and bring it home, and last but not least are two we only got to visit frequently when the boys where either in the NICU or at OCH and these are <strong>Scalini's </strong>off Gaston, they have the best chicken piccata and then <strong>Bangkok City</strong> <strong>Thai</strong> off Bryan st near Baylor, best thai I have ever had!!<br /><br />6) I guess I have a 6th reason and I am trying to figure out how to explain this. All I can think of is they way our first church home in Dallas would put it - First Baptist Dallas downtown, their goal was to be a light in the dark. And they chose to stand firm and stay downtown to be a ministry in that area not matter come what may. I think Randy and I often felt like us staying in Dallas was keeping another good, strong family in a big metropolitan area to stand ground against the "meaness". I don't think the meanness won in our case, we just chose to go where our son would be in the best hands everday at school, but a small part of me is sad to take our what I presumptously call our "goodness" and move. I pray someone with strong values and a mind for giving back to our community takes our place and does an even better job of keeping the meanness away and letting the light shine.<br /><br />I have more to update on about the last 6 weeks of so but I think I'll end here. Thank you all for praying for Preston and us and for patiently waiting for me to update. Your prayers have helped us in many, many ways. One quick thing Preston is slowly starting to talk a little more other than just repeating. I saw him point at a star on a video yesterday and say star, star. It makes me cry to hear his little voice and it's just so precious to see him so happy!! I know God is hearing our prayers!! Thank you all!</p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-23198855116387392572010-05-19T20:36:00.000-07:002010-05-19T21:10:31.544-07:00OCH week 4We are cruising along here at OCH. This is Preston's 4th week. It looks like we will be staying through next week - which is a good thing!! He had some more vomiting issues (not sure if you non-face booker knew about the vomiting, but it started got a littlle better and then at the end of the week and over the weekend it got REALLY bad due to his delayed stomach emptying. It seems to be resolved for the moment by uping one of his meds and by limiting the volume of his meals and taking out his morning snack.<br /><br />We (mostly me, or my mom, or randy or randy's mom) are now staying all day here and I am now doing the feedings. So far so good! It has been a lot easier this time, since their way of doing things is what we have been doing at home for over a year now. The days are long, but he seems so much happier now that one of us is with him all day. They are still working on his chewing in speech therapy and getting us set up for outpatient therapy after he is discharged, as well as a home plan. If your are bored - we love visitors, between the hours of 3 -5 (that is honestly the worst, slowest part of the day, and 5:30 to 8 (I'm mostly here during the week and Randy does weekends - but we are both up here at night so the boys can play together).<br /><br />Preston is really being a trouper and has been babbling a lot today - which just melts your heart!! He was sitting on the playground this evening with a cup and a stick and putting the stick in his mouth - which is something he never does. And I thought I heard him saying something and I got down next to him and he was saying "good bites." That is the verbal reward he is given after he "takes his bite." He was taking the stick out of the cup and basically poking it in his mouth and doing it over and over and saying "good bites" and sometimes clapping for himself. It was the most precious thing!! It made me cry. He was just poking the stick in his mouth, but it was great to see him imitating his meal protocols and I really feel like he WANTS to learn how to chew things. So I think desire to learn to chew could be half the battle in my mind!<br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center">This was taken on Mother's Day - how can you not love that sweet smile!!</div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473192249556454210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQRfItQozc4OohFchvW45UW3n2FgSHa9CMUquxtZxfl5kZw7RxUt5KHW6UjuE7DFYgb477JTj1e9clzCcf17_95812PxVi_-qs0bpiCgeFAyGKe7kwDOR6OM_DJ5krBePk7Z7Ttesw8Q/s400/27803_1372653010807_1666236316_856075_6923288_n.jpg" /><br /><br />Even though we had first hoped (months ago before being given realistic expectations) to be stopping by McDonald's on our way out of here it is pretty clear we won't be leaving with him even eating anything disolvable. But he is very slowly overcoming his fears and aversions to things in his mouth, so we are feeling glimmers of hope that with a lot of hard work Preston will one day be eating a cheeseburger. Thanks again for the prayers, support and encouragement! They all mean so much to us!!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-29150813607543374612010-05-05T23:28:00.000-07:002010-05-06T19:31:27.226-07:00Sippy cup success!! :-)<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ok</span> I am finally getting to an update - sorry for the delay. Preston settled in pretty quickly and once he got the routine down he seemed a lot happier when we came back for the evening. We have brought Luke up every night to play with him and they have both really enjoyed it. They play on the playground and really love to show off their sliding skills when Grandma, Nannie or Grandpa visit. We have also made friends with some of the other feeding patients kids and their Moms so we all have our playtime in the afternoon to get the kids outside and some in the fresh air. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468050061984256002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjek8jMebnNEi1tavv7P_F69n1PbAHM09BYVBsdTB4qbPXEY59H7VpoNLTpmqXrSeW9fIsYMJfQa2PD-Utz8HD52cMhMY7dL-9FuRxNWc1adsOhTW4b8UNfdCLuXt7aZ4i7RJEsLeR2A/s400/IMG_3375.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468050397818081490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIj-QHO3tMeZCnJNoOg7MijxxyawEst5r4kvvS4MRBrak3RvBsZT3rwfkvY4gdlfTkqlALzOuCS4wixLT0YMzKK3YghThVJUgL8tJOv_TOV1S1YpWekl1Ji2oBKbYU9p_1iYMgpHM5Hs/s400/IMG_3376.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468050722804790930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPPgFKnYCcgIaOZl6fVHIlVk2Ox7cH0x8_p9p0g3ta_ud4buZCJ5QFpRGLZN2GpBmsKTLiQaNLqfG6EBoxJXmCXw8c3FtXYIsEvhDfauHOOqhSDQWkqn9_ssP5v2jvy4wejQysQLiMRk/s400/IMG_3388.JPG" /><br /><br />Preston is slowly staring to drink out of a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">sippy</span> cup. They have been gradually replacing his bottle with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">sippy</span> cup in his meals and he is doing better and better with it. He is drinking out of a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">sippy</span> cup 3 of his 5 meals and is usually getting between 2 & 3 oz each time. So we are really happy with that!! They let us give him a bottle when we get here after his 5 o'clock feed to "top him off" and we also give him a bottle before bedtime, so that has put us out of any <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">NG</span> tube talk lately. As long as he continues to do okay during the day (as long as he doesn't just hold out for a bottle in the evening) they are going to let us continue with those bottles and a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">NG</span> tube should stay off the table.<br /><br />On Friday and Saturday he did start having some issues with vomiting, but we feel like that was due to his delayed gastric emptying. His feeding schedule is a lot closer together than at home and more of his food is pureed table food than it used to be so that is definitely slowing his down his already slow digestion. So they have decided to back down on the amount some they give him in the middle of the day and by Sunday he didn't have any issues and we haven't since. We definitely don't want him to get into any patterns of vomiting again. That's no fun for all parties involved!!<br /><br />We had a conference today with his team here and we didn't exactly come to an agreement as to where we are headed yet. They don't think he will go home eating any type of puff or soft <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">dissolvable</span> because they feel he has a such severe oral aversion to chewing, that it will take a long time to work through. They wanted me to start sitting in on his feedings this Monday, which means we are on our way out the door, because once the parent starts to sit in they really don't start working on any new skills past that point. So we sorta stood our ground and basically told them we want to be here as long as possible - as long as our insurance will allow to maximize this stay - and that so far him eating completely smooth pureed food is actually less than he was doing at home. We had been working on pureed foods with some chunks of pasta, veggies or fruit in it at home.<br /><br />They agreed to address that tomorrow and basically come up with a new plan. As far as we have been told by the insurance coordinator here this inpatient stay is a one time thing as long as we are with the same insurance carrier. So we expressed our concerns about that and basically told them that we don't want to waste this and that we really wanted to be aggressive with his therapy and to push him. We shall see what they come up with tomorrow!!<br /><br />Randy stayed with Preston on Friday and Saturday night, so I had a chance to catch up on my sleep. Him and one other Dad are the only one's who trade off with the moms. I am so thankful that Randy does this!! He is a great sleeper and he said he slept <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">ok</span> on his nights, but that he did toss and turn some. One of the other Mom's and I are convinced they have a party in the hallway during the 4am hour. We both can not sleep during that hour and literally wake up 5 min after we fall asleep. Not quite sure what the nurses do at 4am, but I am going to find out. Preston has been sleeping pretty restlessly too and waking up some in the night. But he woke up this morning in a great mood, so I think he is getting used to it. I did get some ear plugs on Monday night and they have actually helped a lot. I have slept a lot better since I got them - only woke up once during the 4 o'clock hour last night. ;-)<br /><br />I have to give a shout out to my Junior League - Scottish Rite girls - and say a BIG THANK YOU!!! My junior league placement is Texas Scottish Rite Children's Hospital and we do craft nights for the inpatient kids there. I have not been able to go much since January and my sweet Junior League friends surprised me last night and brought me a super cute <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">goodie</span> bag filled with all sorts of great stuff. They even got me a gift card for a manicure and pedicure. I was so shocked when I saw Angela's face here last night and it totally made my night. Randy, Luke and Ashley had just left and just seeing a friend for a little surprise visit was just what I needed!! Thank you girls so much!! That was so incredibly thoughtful!! Preston had a great time laying in my bed digging through it before bed tonight - see the picture below. (Notice the cute quilt on the bed - Ashley found that for me ;-) Trying to make the room feel less like a hospital - and Randy really loves the floral accents - <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">haha</span>!!)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468051132517196930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbo_0rg_KeqetCDtsDNYygtCg3zVVqTlHsGTy6dITR1Lw-BbEKkD0_a-QnX7dwZTHp22i7KHcXdk9nP_i91QQo25JiZTKHfYxvlfSwLKf1ODnxXYEpWnNEYsbqN6vyXhMiRaOQnVkx50/s400/IMG_3424.JPG" /><br />Preston has one of the most severe oral aversion when compared to the other children in the inpatient floor right now, but over the past year he has been gaining weight pretty well (on his mostly liquid diet) and he is not at such a dangerously low weight like most of the other kids here. So once again, we are reminded that it can always be worse and to thank God for his decent, stable weight and ability to maintain it mostly on formula.<br /><br />Ashley and I were <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">texting</span> last night. We both just had a huge confirmation of something we tell my parents often, but probably not as often as we should. We both said how we feel so blessed to have been born to such wonderful parents. Parents who taught us how to live, love and be caring adults. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for setting the bar high and always telling us we were smart enough and great enough to do what ever we wanted with our lives. I know people can sometimes pull themselves up out of terrible childhoods, but wow - but from some things I have seen lately it seems to me to be a sad cycle that is so hard to break!<br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ok</span> - I have to try and sleep. I just had a little interruption. It's 1am and Preston woke up vomiting, which hasn't happened in a long, I mean long time. I think it's because within the last 4 hours he has started to get congested and has started to cough a little. I just talked to the nurse and she is going to get orders in the morning to start his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">neubulizer</span> steroid and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">bronchodilator</span> treatments. Those are directions per his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">pulmonologist</span>, if he starts to get a cough or congestion, and maybe that will keep him for getting too congested or something. Hopefully he can blow through this cold quickly without any more issues like just now. I'll keep ya posted on this latest little development.<br /><br />Thanks again for all the prayers, sweet cards and words of encouragement! We are honestly doing pretty good with our new little routine right now. The boys had a fun bath tonight and Preston taught Luke a new thing - how to recline in the bathtub and chill!! It was really adorable!!! Have a great rest of the week! Oh and it is officially May 6<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> - so Happy Anniversary, Randy!! I wish we were on a beach in Mexico!!!!!!!! ;-) Love - JJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-91442595595926500042010-04-28T22:27:00.000-07:002010-05-06T19:33:15.421-07:003 days down!!Well we made it through days 1, 2 and 3. The first day we just had our evaluations and meetings with the team. We had discussions about the NG tube and then discussions about our goals here. It seems like the consensus is that a lofty goal is to get him chewing on some melt away solids, like a baby puff or puffed cheeto. They said that we might not even be there by the end. So our dreams of Preston eating pizza this summer were just that - dreams. This is not exactly what we were hoping to hear, but it seems to be in line with what the pedi has said. I am praying, praying, praying that they get him to a puff!! That is huge hurdle and it's something we can advance on more easily with outpatient therapy and work at home. The past two days his speech therapy has been a slow process and they are really just trying to figure out the best approach for him. I hope by Friday they have a pretty set plan and start to make a little progress with him.<br /><br />The first day leaving him here (Tuesday) went ok, but today he started crying when I left and chasing after me. Poor little guy! I think he had figured out this wasn't so fun after all. When I got here today was very down and not acting very happy and not even babbling at all. I didn't here him say one thing for 2 hours. He is always a pretty independent player, but this afternoon he would only play by himself and he seemed so distant when I arrived. It really broke my heart and made me scared. I tried to read to him, but he didn't want to. We tried to swing outside in the courtyard, but that was a no go......but he perked up big time when Luke and Randy got here. He really, really missed Luke. Luke gave him the sweetest hug and later Preston sort of gave him one too - which is a first. Luke is usually the one who wants to play with Preston more so than vice versus. But Preston was following Luke around on the playground when he got here and he started "talking" more like he normally does. I think it became very obvious to us today that Preston likes having Luke around even if Luke usually just torments him. We are really going to make sure they get to spend as much time together as possible. This is certainly not fun for us, but he is the one having to be pushed past his comfort zone, alone with strangers these first two weeks, and in a whole new environment without his twin, so we are trying to make it as home like as possible when we get to be with him in the afternoon and evening. We gave them a bath here together just like at home and got them both ready for bed before Randy had to leave with Luke. I hope that helps Preston feel more secure and not so lonely.<br /><br />I think last night sleeping was an adjustment for him too. He is usually a pretty good at sleeping no matter where we are and the first night he slept just fine, but last night was not so good. He woke up several times and was NOT happy! Luckily he was pretty easy to get to calm down and back to sleep, but I know he didn't get a good nights rest. I brought his radio and favorite bedtime CD up here and I'll leave it playing softly all night so maybe tonight will be better. We have to get up early - 7am - I know that's not too early to most people, but for the Hall Household it's early. Preston is actually better at waking up early than Luke, so that's good. I know Preston will be happy once I am able to stay throughout the day with him, but there's a lot of work to be done before that will happen.<br /><br />Over the past two days Randy and I have gotten to meet most of the other Moms of the inpatient feeding kids. They,for the most part, have all been really welcoming, nice and friendly. At times it can get to be like swapping war stories around here with the other Moms. It's hard to not sit and go on and on with the other Moms about what Preston's been through and vice versus with their child. It can really bring all those scary feelings to the surface, not to mention depress the heck out of you that there are other children suffering through different things they may never get better for some of them. But the one great thing is it helps to not feel all alone in this. To see that Preston is not he only child who has severe feeding issues and to hear other parents say they hate NG tubes, too can help make this process easier!! We never really experienced that when the boys were in the NICU, partly I feel because they were at Baylor (if you can't figure out why, well, I am not going to tell you - but don't get me wrong we love Baylor and no matter where we move I will stay with my doctor to deliver again at Baylor) but I know some people who's preemies were born at smaller hospitals and they met a great network of other preemie parents and were able to share advice and successes and I am sure share the fears as well. So I know that meeting these other Mom will be a great support and resource as we go forward. One Mom already told me about a horse therapy program in Keller for sensory issues. I had thought about doing therapy with horses once Preston got a little older, but heck if they start at two I am certainly going to look into it.<br /><br />It also makes the nights seem less depressing overall (as long as we don't spend hours strolling down medically history memory lane), because Randy and Luke are supposed to be out of here by 8 - but we have been pushing it to 8:30 ;-). So we all sit in a small little lounge area and tonight we all just did out own thing, but if you know me, I don't like to be alone, so it was nice to have the company.<br /><br />Now these other Moms are smart and head to bed around 10, but that doesn't work for me so I am just sitting here alone on the computer. I have trouble sleeping at home on a good night, much less in a hospital with nurses coming in every few hours. They just poke their head in, but it seems to always wake me up, so I may end up addicted to ambien cr before this is all said and done. I am still trying to give myself a couple more nights and just sticking to benedryl, but so far that isn't cutting it. I hate taking ambien night after night, because it definitely does make your sleep problems worse for a while after you stop. I had to take it when the boys where at Children's and I had a hard time getting normal sleep again once they got out, so I am going to try some other things first. I might try melatonin, but I've heard similar things about it as well.<br /><br />I always take a bath before bed and the rooms here don't have private bathrooms - ;-( !! We had to scrub down the bathroom with the tub so we could give the boys a bath tonight and their are two more that have showers, but it really grosses me out. So I am sriously craving my nightly bath and I think I may have to give in and try the shower because I am going through my bedtime bath withdrawl. I brought shower shoes, our own towel and I will spray it down, too, but I can't decide if the creepy factor is over riding the cravings of my night time bath (subsituted by shower). I will probably have to get over it, because when I am here all day with him, I probably won't get a chance to go home and shower. This place is fairly new and nice, but a community bath room in a hospital just gives me the creeps. Our Lifetime Fitness is probably about half way in between here and our house, so I might could run up there some times when I am here all day. Who knows?? Preston and Luke didn't seem to mind - they were splishing and splashing and having a grand old time. They both go nuts when we say it's bath time and it always makes them soooooo hyper! So they could care less where their bath is.<br /><br />Ok, I should probably head to bed. Thank you all so much for the prayers! I wanted to say a special thanks to a family who knows who they are. It is so amazing to Randy and I that people who don't know us, or go to our church or even live in this same town as us, keep us in their prayers and are so unbelievably generous to our family. I know that God answers prayers and I have to lay all my worries at his feet, because you know what - to this day God has never let us down. My prayers may not have been answered in my timing, with my answer, or in the manner I expected, but I truly know God hasn't left me hanging. So thank you all again so very, very much! Preston will know someday of all the generous hearts that kept lifting him up in prayer - I can promise you all that! Goodnight!!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-37060573773697786682010-04-25T14:18:00.000-07:002010-04-25T18:20:09.689-07:00It's about that time!!Sorry it has been so long since my last post. We have had lots of doctors appointments and stuff going on and I think I was dreading Preston starting feeding therapy so much that I was just avoiding writing about it. But here we are. We found out late last week that a spot for Preston had opened up early, so we are starting tomorrow. YIKES!! I am very glad to start this because that means we are closer to it being over, but these foreboding feelings are really starting to sink in today.<br /><br />Tomorrow we will drop Luke off at preschool and then we have to be at Our Children's House (OCH) at 10am for his admit meeting. From my understanding, tomorrow will mostly consist of evaluating his eating skills and setting up his treatment plan for his stay in the hospital. We will meet with the admitting physician and then with a team of therapists (speech, psychologist, occupational, physical) who will be doing his evaluations.<br /><br />The plan for the first 10 to 14 days is for us to leave him (like leave the hospital) in the morning, kind of like dropping him off at school, so that he can have his 4 to 5 feeding sessions and all of his therapy sessions during the day without the interruption of having to constantly tear him away from us, and then one of us will return by 6pm and spend the night. The therapists are all on very tight schedules and if they have to spend 10 or 15 of his 30 min session calming him down it wastes his valuable therapy time. At OCH they do their therapy one-on-one with the child, without the parents present. This is different from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ECI</span> therapy Preston has most recently had. It was a little difficult when we did this last year during the day patient and out patient therapy at OCH, but for the most part I think he needs to be just one-on-one with the therapist - as long as they are patient and kind to Preston. Don't worry we can check up on them through a one-way window and we will.<br /><br />So Randy and I understand their thinking. He is developmentally (like the age he functions at) on the edge as to whether or not us leaving him all day will be tolerable for him. If he just can not handle being away from us for so long, than I will be there with him during the day from the beginning. I really think he will be <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ok</span> with it. He does really well when I drop him off at school on Mondays, and at the child center at Lifetime and at church. He is the one who will cry sometimes, but it never lasts more than 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">mins</span> and he will always let whoever is watching him comfort him and distract him enough to get over his sadness pretty quickly. He has done this funny thing a couple times now. The Lifetime we go to is close to downtown and is in a tall building near Mockingbird station. A couple of time we have driven by on the service road and he must have seen the building and when we didn't turn in to go into the parking garage he started crying in his car seat. We finally figured out that it is because he wants to go play at the gym!! HE is always the one that never wants to leave!! So I hope at least the OT and PT will be fun for him and it will help him get through the crappy feeding sessions - because he will definitely cry through those.<br /><br />The program director and I also discussed something on Friday that had been on our mind regarding this inpatient program. She mentioned that they might need to drop a feeding tube if he really drops off on his daily caloric intake because of not cooperating. Right now he knows that no matter what he will get his bottle and the is holding him back. To get him to move forward (assuming his evaluations say he has the skills to get off his bottle) they will withhold his bottle and try to progress his nutrition more towards a solid based nutrition. If he doesn't eat enough, he can not have the bottle as back up any longer and they would need to supplement his eating with tube feedings.<br /><br />We knew this was possibility and a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">NG</span> tube is something we are really against. An <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">NG</span> tube is a tube that is placed down your nose and into your stomach. Both the boys had these tubes when they were in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">NICU</span>, which is standard because they can not suck, swallow and breathe until they are at least 34 weeks and then they are weaned off as they get to full feedings by mouth. But the boys also had to have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">NG</span> tubes when they were hospitalized in Dec. '08 for failure-to-thrive. Luke's didn't last a day - after repeated times of holding him down and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">shuffing</span> it down his nose, 2x of him <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">vomitting</span> it up, and him repeatedly ripping it out I made them stop that day - he had it for a total of like 5 hours. Preston made it about 4 days - 1 off those days at home - and then we were done with it for him as well.<br /><br />In my opinion it is totally barbaric - and I know this because I had a tube down my throat, very similar to an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">NG</span> tube like this one, for 24 hours when I was a kid and it was incredibly painful. Within 10 hours it rubs your throat raw in the back and it is makes it painful to just swallow. I feel 100% confident that this took Preston's orally aversions over the top and I do not want to torture him again like that. Obviously they have to restrain a baby to get it in and the repeated "dropping the tube" among other things during that 2 week hospital visit seriously traumatized and scarred him. After that he stopped using his pacifier, would not let you put anything near his mouth - you could barely get to his face to wipe his nose. I fully understand that both my children needed them and honestly they probably still do. And I know that some babies/kids finally get over it and do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">ok</span> on a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">NG</span> tube for a long time, but there is another way - and to me it's a better option for babies/kids with oral aversions. It's called a g-tube and I basically begged for it that time when the boys were hospitalized back in '08, but they wouldn't do it. This tube is surgically placed in the stomach through your abdomen. And honestly when we see new therapists they are always shocked both the boys don't have one. It's a quick surgery, which he would have to be put under for, but not <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">intubated</span> (the way that causes his respiratory problems). It is a more long-term solution and in my opinion for any child that is under weight and is having any oral aversion issues why not just do that instead of torturing them with a feeding tube down their nose and back of their throat.<br /><br />Randy and I actually had it out with two nurses and a resident at Children's that Dec in 2008. They were going to make us take Preston's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">NG</span> tube out -the one we had finally gotten to stay in and was finally securely taped to his face (that's another reason they are so terrible - try keeping adhesives and a tube stuck to a drooling babies' face) before he could go home on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">NG</span> tube so that we could learn how to drop the tube ourselves. We basically told them they were crazy - why would we put our child through that again for no reason and that we wouldn't be putting it back in our selves anyways. We said we would wait on the home health nurse, so they finally let us go home without doing it after they sent everyone and their dog in to tell us we had to. They also said we were the only parents they had ever had that refused to comply. Seriously?? Let me just get on my soapbox for a minute, or take step higher because I might already be on it, and tell all of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">ya'll</span> reading right now - doctors, nurses and especially hospitals and their policies do not always know what is best for your child and if you feel adamantly against what any of them are trying to do, educate yourself and then stand up for your child. My sister Stephanie told me something when we were having the great MRI debate with Preston's doctors around Dec this past year. She said "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">ya'll</span> have to be Preston's quarterback - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">ya'll</span> have to be the one who stands up for him and take charge of his care!" I think that is so true and it took me a while to learn that. Now I take all of Preston's medical care under advise, not as the law.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Sooo</span> my famous question to them about the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">NG</span> tube is always - "have you have shoved that tube down your nose and left it there for a while?" They always so no, just like the director did this past Friday when we were discussing it. She did say they put in g-tubes at OCH and if it comes to that we can discuss it. So obviously as you can tell from my ranting that this is a big deal to me and Randy, too. He is actually the one that says no way, never again and I have said maybe we could try and see if he does better this time, but the thought of holding him down and putting that tube down his nose makes me want to cry right now. Not because it is terribly painful putting it in, because it's not, it just feels weird, but because it is so scary to him - it literally is like torture to him. He is scared of things near his mouth, partly because of that dang tube. So this is a huge area we need prayers in - for all of us. I am praying that he moves forward with his eating and doesn't just depend on his bottle as a back up, so that we don't have to even worry about the stupid <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">NG</span> tube.<br /><br />So that's where we are today. We are washing and packing up his clothes and it makes me cry every time I think about him not coming home for 4 to 6 weeks. I just pray that this works. We had a very long meeting with his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">pedi</span> two weeks ago to discuss all things concerning Preston and in regards to his feeding therapy he was unsure as to whether this will get Preston eating up to his age level. He wants us to give this a try, but he set up the expectation that this may only get him up to eating a puff or something like that, that is very <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">dissolvable</span>. He said we may need to explore some of the out of state therapy hospitals if this does not bring a great improvement (I was afraid he would say we might need to do that). I am still going to pray and remain hopeful that he is more ready now and that he can surprise them all!!!<br /><br />Luke will be able to come visit after 6pm and one of us will always be there with him at night. After the first 10 to 14 days one of us will start staying all day and sitting in on the feeding sessions, but not the therapy sessions. And they will slowly start integrating us into the feedings sessions. It is going to be a crazy month, but even if he is just eating a puff without vomiting that will be a huge thing for him. He is not able to self feed himself and I know he is starting to notice that that is different than his peers. So if he can take some puffs to school and eat puffs for lunch, at least he can sit with his peers and put "food" in his mouth and not feel different!!<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Ok</span> - that's all about the depressing feeding stuff. Over the last month the boys have done some fun things!! They actually watched their first movie - like sitting on the couch and actually watching it. It was....Cars!! We didn't actually watch it all in one setting because it got too late, but it was the cutest thing to see them sit on the couch and really watch the movie. Luke kept saying "Oh no, Oh no" when the cars where racing in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">beginning</span> and crashing. Luke <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">looovvesss</span> cars so we knew this would be the perfect first movie. This was a present from the Easter bunny! Our Easter was pretty low-key! My Mom was in Lubbock for my uncle's wedding, so we didn't really have much planned. We went to the arboretum on Saturday with Aunt Ashy and Josh. It was a beautiful day, so it was really crowded. But we found a spot to have a picnic and relax (we made Randy and Josh chase the boys ;-)) It was a lot of fun!<br /><br />I took the boys this past Monday to College Station to stay with Aunt Ashy for a few days. After a minor bump in the road - I had to take Luke to an urgent care Tues <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">morning</span> because his ear drum burst Monday night late from an ear infection I didn't know he had. But he is such a tough little guy that by the time we got in to see the doctor Tuesday he was perfectly fine and so we had a fun trip to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Brenham</span> to go on the tour at the Blue Bell Creamery. It was neat and the boys were surprisingly cooperative and sat like good little boys in their stroller until the very end when Luke just had to start punching on Preston - 30 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">mins</span> of being good was just too much to handle! ;-) Ashley and I enjoyed the free ice cream at the end and the boys decided they would rather run and play in the grassy area out front instead of eat ice cream so we got to eat theirs, too. We went to all my favorite places I like eat when I visit <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Aggieland</span>!! That's always a highlight for me. I even splurged and got a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Shippley's</span> cinnamon twist donut on Tuesday morning when I got Luke some donut holes. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Shippley's</span> has the best donuts!! Luke is so skinny he could eat donuts all day and probably still not hit the growth chart, so I got him donut holes twice when we were there. He really loves donut holes! On Tuesday night we took the boys to the tennis court in Ashley's apartment complex to let them run out all their energy. Ashley said people let their dogs run around in there sometimes, so we figured it would be a good place to let the boys run around and be caged in, too - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">haha</span>! We played with bubbles and that's what these pictures are of below. They both like to laugh at the bubbles, especially Preston. We had a crazy, but wonderful visit!! It was so nice to get away and get this feeding stuff off my mind for a bit before we are in it knee deep. I never thought when I first moved to College Station that I would say I miss it, but I do sometimes. People are so nice, warm and friendly there and it's fun to see all the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Aggies</span> making their way through college. Thanks for letting us come and helping me with the boys, Ash!<br /><br /><div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464233800462452754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55aWYXL9BClyOZH_Q-uma8CEEeMA8U846VP1nZSlWXwhTVbGkvKDX8O_lph-rFLgTFSCFiIo8V4zv6I94VItNdMIhy_jkrACDIXA8GGiLRhs6PgYukFXZBR6uPlyGXGb1GDnjKcIrez4/s400/Twins+spring+%2710+visit+006.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464236292161729474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHYbdpCCmizLgN5PXLLRCEfTxmFFWjWi4EcHdxbuyTcnyMZmSq958fYcl-vOEFat42Uc3wT-ksyJTEpaFG_CBmOozuiqPQy9BFcllFpcXCVE6hL2sJGEInJ4mgPMWxKM-oQ7hP1VSYXY/s400/Twins+spring+%2710+visit+002.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464236498989632146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 366px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRVc2tS8M7WV3fMjIPnRGOACisPGmiGQSSvGtjy3DHbnhYOEADCtcVDNjn_rs18XDQgC6iMXI9f26MvjELHj0VG4jogd6p702KKFoHPMt56slfuUaJMmoM6tqtDl5sihJ0y5tQM7yveU/s400/Twins+spring+%2710+visit+009.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464237475151401218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 308px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQKpPNMpje-3uzXMfCboIuhKLhBnBD2-6kacYE8Qpn8uvC8T20cGZu3YcTStLs-Mjyag_0wMBpsAgKx1wmbx-7Yu4Z3L9Kf-izo7DanE3obYFkJ9ByQ_g6uRf1WTfKRak0bsWupdTkM4/s400/Twins+spring+%2710+visit+014.JPG" border="0" /><br />Well, I plan to keep everyone updated on the feeding stuff here and on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">facebook</span>. I will try to post <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">regularly</span>, but if I don't just email me or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">FB</span> me if you want an update. Thank you so much for the prayers, support and love! We appreciate it so much!<br /><br />Love, Jennifer</div></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-58624446570572160862010-03-25T19:01:00.000-07:002010-03-25T21:31:44.426-07:00Confession!!We have had a monumental thing happen in our house this week - drum roll please - Luke is officially off his crazy expensive, prescription formula Elecare!!! I never knew it would be so exciting to have a kid who can drink milk (with calorie boosters in it of course), but wow it is such a great feeling. We tried introducing milk last summer and it was a no go - bad GI things occurred. He had gotten to where he would drink out of a sippy cup just fine, but he would only drink his formula out of his bottle and only drink milk or really anything besides formula out of his sippy cups. He has been taking drinkable yogurt or milk to school for a while now, because he wouldn't drink any of his bottle at school - to cool for bottles at school. ;-) Then we were able to get him to milk 2x a day with no GI side effects, so this week I just went for it. This is the fourth day with no formula and he is doing great!<br /><br />So we actually got rid of his bottles and formula at the same time - YEAH!! We were so sick of washing those stupid Dr. Brown bottles. Preston moved on to a Nubby bottle this past summer so we are saying goodbye to the Dr. Brown's and putting them away!! I did try to get Preston onto a sippy cup this week, but that was a disaster and very frustrating. Long story short, we will be trying in feeding therapy to teach him to use a sippy cup or straw and we will not be trying milk with Preston until he is tolerating solid foods very well, so probably end of summer. He is the one with the bigger GI issues, so it makes sense that he would be on the Elecare longer. One down works for me!!<br /><br />Now onto my confession - I love hip hop/rap music. I don't think this is a real secret to many of you, but as soon as I found out I was pregnant I told myself when the babies got here I didn't want them to listen to crazy music, so klty or kids music it would be when they were in the car - best laid plans, right?? Well, when they first got here we actually did listen to a lot of classical music because it was soothing to them in the car, but somewhere along the way - well I think I know when it was specifically, that changed.<br /><br />I was driving with both babies in the car, by myself, stuck in traffic, in the rain taking the new to us, used escalade we were getting (after mean vandalizing hooligans broke in our old escalade and poured paint all on the inside, TOTALING it) over to my Dad's car guy to check it out. The babies were about 5 months old, around 3 months adjusted, and they were both screaming their heads off. I tried the classical station and the extremely annoying baby CD, but they didn't even give a glimpse of relief. So I just said screw it and turned it to 97.9 or kiss or one of those and just tried to find a song that would soothe me (and drown them out). So thus it began, I started having no problem listening to the stations I liked because they obviously didn't understand the lyrics and maybe even liked the beat of the songs sometimes.<br /><br />Well, here we are today, in the car going to lunch with a friend and OUR favorite song comes on - David Gueta and Akon's Sexy Chick. The boys love it when we "dance" in the car to songs.... so WE DANCE and Preston bobs his head and kicks his legs and Luke waves his arms and claps, while I sing "your a sexy chick". Here's the song below if your interested in getting the full mental picture (I only know how to attach a youtube video so please disregard the crazy video and/or the whole song if your horrified by it too ) just picture us "car dancing" to Sexy Chick.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/efOR4gR1Vjw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/efOR4gR1Vjw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />So when am I going to stop listening to crazy songs I would not want to have my child repeating?? Not sure yet, but I think we are getting closer to that point. Preston sings a lot of songs - twinkle twinkle, row your boat, itsty bitsy spider - parts of jesus loves me, wheels on the bus, and the backyardigan's theme song and Luke is singing most of those too. But they aren't singing Sexy Chick, Usher's Lil' Freak or any other songs on the radio - YET.<br /><br />Here is the exact reason why I won't be listening to these songs much longer. Once time, when Randy and I were engaged, I was sitting at Stone Briar Mall in Frisco, the land of a thousand children, eating lunch. The mall was swarming with kids and this little girl was playing near the table where her mom was eating. She was probably around 4 and out of no where she busts out the Gwen Stefani song Hollaback Girl - a full rendition of it including dancing. So there she goes, "I ain't no hollaback girl, oh this my shih, this my shih (supposed to be shit), let me hear you say this shih is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s." That, then and there, made me say to myself that is not going to be my kid.<br /><br />Now I know moms say things they are going to change all the time before their children arrive, but this one is one I want to stick with. So time is drawing near. I better load up my ipod and go on some long runs because my days of dancing with the boys in the car are close to being over. But I will say we have a lot of fun being silly rolling down the road and it is a going to be sad when that day ends. Don't get me wrong I love Christian music, but it's not that easy to dance to and there ain't no dancing to kids silly song cds. I may have to go on a search for good, danceable songs that I wouldn't be mortified if my 4 year old started singing and dancing to at the mall. I'll let you know if I find any!! ;-)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-13537615835266035852010-03-17T14:47:00.000-07:002010-03-17T16:33:05.937-07:00Do you think you're Irish?Once again the weather was fabulous this past weekend so we decided to head out to the park on Sunday. We have still been back and forth staying at my parents because of the work being done at our house, so we went to Parr Park in Grapevine. When I was first on the American Eagles soccer team we practiced there, so we love that park and they have really made the playground area very nice so the boys had fun. Luke really loves slides - and going down them head first. Preston is starting to like them more if you hold his hand on the way down.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449740615917398530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpb6I7lAIA1O42EGjxglmngOur7rWnAz-nOS5jglMm8lvjurmZjIT5EsfmfFKJo-INroUKYlPNweY0uqedI5nfricwvwmK2r7Nj3l7piKz7VD5mTukueukrMmLu4Eieu3RUjNi3J-zUQI/s400/IMG_3102.JPG" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449739639940236594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7rTnx3Cddg5dDfrOBP3S0DrbEnRx_RHhV-7Y_uAzfg7t-dURtC6Y_LyCocbq2puAwlyO07kRFl8IvjqdDz7U1kLwPK_Pc-tfOLEblNCvitMJDwkhgQCVklezYqnilPJUQBwEqak8bYc/s400/IMG_3111.JPG" border="0" /><br />We brought the boys tricycle that Aunt Stephanie and Uncle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MiC</span> got them for Christmas. They can't quite reach the pedals, but it's adjustable, and has a handle on the back so you can push them. It also has seat belts so they don't fly off. They actually love pushing each other in it. It was really cute! We brought our outdoor blanket and after the boys played on the slides they decided to just run around and explore with Daddy, so me, Nannie and Grandpa just rested under the tree. I am pretty sure Grandpa snuck in a little nap, too! We brought Bianca with us and she was a pretty good girl. I was walking her and pushing Preston in the tricycle and she loves to pull until she starts snorting and being all crazy and Preston thought is was so funny. He couldn't stop laughing at his silly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">doggie</span>. He pays more attention to the dogs than Luke does. He pets them both every now and then. He even tries to "ride" on Bianca if I am not looking. So we had a nice Sunday relaxing outdoors! I just keep telling myself to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather, because before you know it, it will be July and 100 degrees out!!<br /><br />Since this week is Spring Break, the boys didn't have school Mon, no bible study on Tuesday, no music class for Preston today and the only therapy we are having this week is feeding/speech therapy tomorrow. So this week has been kind of slow!! I have been getting lost in my days and for some reason I keep thinking we are a day ahead - strange. We are celebrating St. Patrick's day by having a sort of traditional Irish meal. I don't like corned beef, so we are having roast, but we are having Irish bacon and cabbage with carrots and potatoes. Should be interesting! I am not the hugest cabbage fan, so well see. I know Luke will like it because he likes cooked carrots a lot!! Oh and don't get the false idea that I cook every night, because that would be a joke. I am not a bad cook. I think I am actually a pretty good cook. I am just a bad planner. We never have any <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">groceries</span> in our house to actually cook dinner with. This is the first time I have cooked (or gone to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">grocery</span> store) all week, but I am hoping to improve on that. ;-) </p><p>Randy and I always do this on St. Patrick's Day - we tease each other about him not really having any Irish in him (that he is aware of) and me most likely having some Irish in my family. It's just a funny little thing we do, we tease each other like it's bad TO NOT have or TO have Irish in you, each of us bragging our heritage is better - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">haha</span>. But that does remind me about that new show on NBC on Friday nights called "Who Do You Think You Are?". I definitely recommend watching it. It is a really cool show that totally makes you want to go search your families' genealogy. I hope someday to do that! Who knows I might have more Irish in me than I think??<br /><br />I have had a lot of people on my mind that I have been praying for this week. I have two friends going through some unbelievably hard times right now. I received the sweetest e-card from one the friends and she said something in it very profound that I don't think she would mind me sharing with you. She said "when I was angry with God and couldn't pray, you prayed for me". She went on to say that God answered my prayers in a specific way for her. I was deeply touched by that. It is an amazing reminder that our prayers are not futile and that they may be helping in way you would never realize.<br /><br />I know many people we have never met lifted my family up in their prayers when Preston had his first head surgery and the following day my Dad had his heart attack. I definitely was praying then myself, because that's the only thing I knew how to do at those moments. But afterwards when I found out that people - groups of people I have never met - where praying for my family specifically by name it made me really feel the power of prayer. I am sure many of those people prayed for things I never would have thought to and I know with out a doubt their prayers impacted my life. I think it is a good reminder that the prayers your are saying for others do not go unnoticed or unanswered - so keep them up!! And thank you again to all of those who keep my family in your prayers. I know God is listening to them.</p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-84831000325622099902010-03-10T11:59:00.000-08:002010-03-10T14:10:30.096-08:00Preston's surgery update!We were able to come home from the hospital yesterday and Preston was so happy to be home and be FREE. He has been playing with his toys, singing and generally unphased by the last two days. He even had a few bites of spaghetti sauce last night at dinner and he said yum yum!! His Grandma (Randy's mom) kept Luke while we were at the hospital and she got them some fun new cars that Luke has loved playing with. Luke really loves to play with cars!!<br /><br />Preston's surgery went smoothly, but he did have some breathing issues again when he was extubated that landed him in the PICU instead of the regular pediatric floor. His respiratory issues were resolved fairly quickly, but they wanted us to stay the night in the ICU to be safe. Preston had a bronchoscope done by his ENT as they extubated him after his surgery and they were able to get a good look at his airway. He has laryngomalacia (a floppy airway). It is a congenital abnormality of the laryngeal cartilage. So when his airway gets irritated it collapses and restricts airflow. This is hopefully something he will outgrow and the cartilage should stiffen up.<br /><br />So anyways, we had to stay in the PICU which isn't a fun place to be for a little boy who hates nurses touching him or for us either. Obviously in the ICU they are more concerned about taking vitals all the time because the situation putting you there is more serious. But Preston's breathing issues had subsided and he was screaming his head off and every time he started to settle down they would come take his temp or try to take his blood pressure and he would start screaming, wiggling and generally going crazy. So after about an hour of this I was about to lose it and go off on his nurse. Poor thing she was very sweet, but I was sitting in his bed, trying to hold him and get him to settle down and I was freaking out that the stupid wire was going to break. Randy and I, sort of panicked and said we have to get out of the PICU because this is not going to work. Also, you can't get a good reading if he's screaming, the pressure will appear high because it goes up when your screaming at the top of your lungs. So we told the nurse we wanted to be moved, and she got the head nurse, who called the ICU doctor and she said she preferred that we stayed here just because the ICU is more equipped to intervene if his breathing should act up again. She did agree to back off in monitoring his vitals and treat him more like a regular floor patient. She still made us keep the heart and lung leads on him so they could monitor his respiration and heart rate, but they at least weren't coming in to bug him every 15 minutes. I got really good at sticking those leads back on to get the monitor to stop beeping at you when the boys were in the NICU so that wasn't too bad. So once, they left him alone we were able to get him to calm down (with lot's of help from his favorite elmo videos) and Randy and I calmed down too ;-).<br /><br />To prevent the wire from breaking again they wound the wire up around his head and covered with bandages so that the flimsy portion of the wire was under the bandages and the sturdy portion was the part coming out. I was still a little nervous about it so I basically sat up the whole night watching him to make sure he wasn't tugging on it as he rolled around in the bed and he was in a regular hospital bed so I was also scared he would fall off if he woke up and tried to get out. Randy and I have always called Preston "The Roll-Arounder" because he tosses and turns so much in his sleep.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447123246617353554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSnfWYUGnWSHG3-nOP9g226DcYvMq2Nv2_qUYMYCoPzpP4QH8R61N94968y5u3Ci8gejx94sOGDtpSxIm136UkRlNL61ybuaEtLGpf82WwWRtxHnxsGXIBiOWQGl73mQA6MQ5Tn9qzWU/s400/IMG_3040.JPG" border="0" /><br />Thankfully the precautions to keep the wire from breaking worked well and we were able to get the information they needed. His doctors felt confident after the monitoring that he does not have excessive pressure on his brain from his abnormal skull growth. This is very good news and now we should be able to watch him and wait to do another cranial vault remodeling a few years from now. The longer you can wait, the more permanent the results are, making it less likely to need another surgery. We have to keep an eye on his development and watch for plateaus or regressions, but hopefully he will be fine to wait a few years and we pray that he only makes strides to catch up developmentally. Then in a few years we will have to decide if another surgery is necessary or not, depending on how his head growth has been. </p><p>That's the long and short of it. Preston was supposed to start an intensive inpatient feeding therapy this month to get him eating solid foods and age appropriately. This was post-poned because of his skull issues. So we are back on the books at Our Children's House, a Baylor pediatric therapy hospital, inpatient feeding program. He should be admitted mid to late April. He will be actually in the hospital for up to 5 or 6 weeks straight, but I haven't actually let myself think to much about that yet. I know that it will be worth it in the end for him to be able to eat. A few months ago he was getting brave again and would try some things every now and then, and it is heart breaking to watch him try to eat something so small as a dissolvable puff and him gag and throw up from it. He is now back to not putting food close to his mouth again because we think he got frustrated from not being able to eat. My prayer will be that he catches on quickly because feeding therapy is brutal. Last year the day patient program we did with the boys nearly sent me over the edge. Now that was with trying to juggle both of them, but we got to go home at the end of the day. The hard part is that you have to keep going past the tears, the screams, the gagging, the vomiting and the psychologist or speech therapist sitting next to you doesn't make it any easier. They tell you to talk like a robot when you give them the command to "take your bite" and then be super happy and praising when they take their bite. About 100 times last year I wanted to throw the spoon at the lady and say is this happy enough for you!!! But you know what you get through it and you do what you have to do for your babies.<br /><br />On Monday night in the PICU waiting room I was sitting out there eating the Mico's enchiladas that my Mom brought me (enchiladas means it was a bad day-that's my comfort food) and my Mom started talking to this other Mom sitting out there. That's so not me to start carrying on a conversation with stranger so I sat off to the side until it was starting to be awkward that I wasn't joining in. So I walked over and introduced myself and her name was Jennifer too. I had already heard that her baby had leukemia and as some of you know leukemia families hold a special place in my heart because my best friend had leukemia when we were in middle school. Jennifer was the sweetest, most kind hearted person I have met in a long time. We sat their sharing our stories with one another and what her child has gone through was unbelievable. Her son is 18 months old and in remission from AML (just like my friend had, and just like my best friend Christina's cousin just recently had) and I felt embarrassed that I had thrown such a huge fit about moving Preston when I should be thankful his breathing issues hadn't been so severe they couldn't get him off the vent. Jennifer's son had coded several times since the beginning of his illness and it's truly a miracle that he has made it through it all. I know it's all relative when it comes to what your going through, but every time we have been at the hospital and are maybe feeling a little down or sorry that Preston is having to endure this I am reminded that it can be SO MUCH worse. Jennifer and I both cried a little when were talking. We talked about how things could be so much worse and how you have to be thankful for what you have. She had to watch as a family in the room next door to there's child passed away and sit there holding her terribly sick but alive little baby. Those are things no parent should have to go through. My heart goes out to Jennifer, her son Lucas and their family and they are now on my prayer list.<br /><br />Randy and I take turns on who we hold when we put down the boys at night and I was rocking Luke last night and thanking God for his health and safety. No matter what I am facing and when I get down about things, I try to thank God for the blessing he has given us and I try my best not to dwell on the things that are lacking. So I encourage you tonight when your holding your babies to hold them a little tighter and thank God for the blessings he has given you and pray for the families who are struggling through any parent's worst nightmare - a child with cancer or any life threatening illness or disease. </p><p>Thank you all for your prayers and support!! It feels good to start moving past Preston's head issues and start getting to his feeding. I am just going to focus on how wonderful it will be to watch him play this summer and eat some table food just like Luke. Thanks again for all the prayers and offers to help! I will be taking ya'll up on that while Preston is in the hospital for his feeding therapy. We will definitely need help with watching Luke and Randy always loves it when people bring food! </p><p>I also encourage you to register to be a bone marrow donor or if your pregnant think about donating your cord blood. You can register to be a donor at <a href="http://www.bethematch.org/">http://www.bethematch.org/</a> and if your pregnant and interested in donating cord blood call the hospital your going to deliver at and be persistent about getting an answer as to whether or not they collect cord blood to send to a donor bank. I just looked at the be the match site and they also have info about donating cord blood. No one ever told me about this when the twins were born and we were able to bank Luke's cord blood, but from what I have read now donating is better because you may never need your child's. Jennifer told me that even if they had banked Lucas's cord blood his own wouldn't have worked and her other son's wasn't a match. So please look into donating cord blood - it is what is saving Jennifer's son Lucas's life and many more are looking for a bone marrow donor - so think about it!!</p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-65080918142913281592010-03-07T20:49:00.000-08:002010-03-07T22:47:51.458-08:00Spring days are here!!Every year when the weather starts to turn nice I try to tell myself to take full advantage of the awesome days and get outdoors and enjoy it. Friday was a beautiful day, but we had Preston's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pre</span>-op visit at Medical City and that pretty much ate up the whole afternoon. When we woke up Saturday morning we decided to go to the arboretum and enjoy the day. It was a gorgeous day too and tons of people where there just soaking up the warm sun. We (well us and my Mom) invested in the family arboretum membership and it really has been money well spent. We definitely got our use out of it last year and I think we will even more this year. If you ever want to go we can get in 6 people and park for free.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446126265600003010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkOmN2GJFlwxmobP9sn6OOvmsHkLnrxo-UzQf9afJD_l2fa4R5hfJL7_-CTbK9uKxHnPzgRdLtXq9jRYvJ5iqHnpxxMpUwhIN891E4rPkUlZcvfK9B5eIzEcIel5GERnPc1IWi1Pc3Wo/s200/IMG_2921.JPG" border="0" />The boys love to run wild there. They love climbing steps, finding sticks, throwing rocks and generally trying there best to run away from us. ;-) It's quite a workout keeping up with them.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446128489194041010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9MZt9eNqlfH8buSsZ_J_SEK0UAbHtmqDmJcsx1Ljfq6qMMIdb7Ly852NNc02WPFG0pVhVSguDxZwWLOC7g0H2uhxhxTt4cMXIg_wK_p_PJmtv4cqFvmePijBjB8I6hhqYrc4Sf6RKEw/s200/IMG_2966.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446128494229393570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Cwjx5DjE5QShD9h61cHKbKM5Ks6UkSaWRMzRsdrEKb1rkWtYT0AEvBApxZNC4va0eA3cD_AU23y7Pu1DRL42AQ5ZctMSehGJusR5yzqHVg5QhYbPy2-RIQNA3EWAhO-wlrCHilPeNIw/s200/IMG_2908.JPG" border="0" />Luke had fun trying to hang from this tree - don't worry Randy was holding him.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHtpH815Qetz70jOLv3hkAa-RGBM-0YyvOJamT-54EVb9g4Sb0r0xH-A-_AkEPa3P1EiYeiesMgyzwHhLpt1Y3W8eJwN-5_eEeuxLgn1QaWctTVPRdDWhWD2jdEoPnelVbmxDAyUoRts/s1600-h/IMG_2936.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446130102177136290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHtpH815Qetz70jOLv3hkAa-RGBM-0YyvOJamT-54EVb9g4Sb0r0xH-A-_AkEPa3P1EiYeiesMgyzwHhLpt1Y3W8eJwN-5_eEeuxLgn1QaWctTVPRdDWhWD2jdEoPnelVbmxDAyUoRts/s200/IMG_2936.JPG" border="0" /></a>The tulips are coming up, but most haven't bloomed yet. The arboretum is so beautiful when all the tulips have bloomed. We are planning to go back in a few weeks to see them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4iVdi0n12HuTweb9Hq6C2e5NglbB_S_poFolqsSPFYHwpOWPJ1UXzBinZR2LAcPAq-XJAVag4Yfp_MD8uE_RxxCR_j08PKCgikZYvJx2HpWoiLZvi-vhyphenhyphenlWDXTUU9ksWmjOHAz_hHkc/s1600-h/IMG_2945.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446130097318150562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4iVdi0n12HuTweb9Hq6C2e5NglbB_S_poFolqsSPFYHwpOWPJ1UXzBinZR2LAcPAq-XJAVag4Yfp_MD8uE_RxxCR_j08PKCgikZYvJx2HpWoiLZvi-vhyphenhyphenlWDXTUU9ksWmjOHAz_hHkc/s200/IMG_2945.JPG" border="0" /></a> We have had such a crazy time with our house lately (the roof leaked really bad, which created an enormous hole in our living room ceiling). The boys and I were staying on and off at my parents while they were doing the repair work, so we really haven't had much time to really think about Preston's surgery tomorrow. That is probably a good thing! We did start his breathing treatments last Monday and he did so awesome. Within a couple minutes he was letting me put it up to his nose and mouth. I was shocked and really feel like God answered some prayers. He had a few treatments that he just was into to and didn't really get much of the medicine, but all in all I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pleasantly</span> surprised and he did really well.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nM6HUgLcdUVxEypEh2ySw2PRlD38GHc705lDD6CDZeWkhkKgJumjH_2YS3Y6G4JrylH6yF-EzQFe8g-Tul9lkK4fhTp9SqIQw7Rsvv2PWDVAzBvKU4AWfCXgY67x6OAgRkJnN6k7D30/s1600-h/IMG_2861.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446130090007914690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nM6HUgLcdUVxEypEh2ySw2PRlD38GHc705lDD6CDZeWkhkKgJumjH_2YS3Y6G4JrylH6yF-EzQFe8g-Tul9lkK4fhTp9SqIQw7Rsvv2PWDVAzBvKU4AWfCXgY67x6OAgRkJnN6k7D30/s200/IMG_2861.JPG" border="0" /></a> Preston's surgery is tomorrow at 11:30 at Medical City. He will be having the same anesthesiologist as last time and she was really great. They will be starting an IV <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">steroid</span> as they put him under and they are also trying to get an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ENT</span> to come in before they <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">intubate</span> him to insert a scope really quickly to look at his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">larynx</span>. His pulmonary doctor feels like he may have a floppy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">larynx</span> and they want to take a look at it. From what he explained it is supposed to be hard like the cartilage in your ear, but sometimes it is floppy and it can contribute to breathing issues when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">intubated</span>. If this is the case it is something that he should outgrow. </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>His neurosurgeon is planning to wrap the cord up and bandage it to his head under a turban so that the thin part of the wire is under the bandages. This way the only part coming out will be a thick wire that will not break. This should take care of the wire breaking issue.<br /><br /><div>With the information we get over the 24 to 48 hours of pressure monitoring we should have the answer to whether Preston is having another cranial vault remodeling in the upcoming months or whether we can wait a few years. Please keep Preston and his doctors in your prayers over the next day or so. It will be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">relieving</span> to know which direction we are headed and to know either way where we stand. Thank you for all the prayers in advance and I'll post again when I can. </div></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-697837391981797062010-02-26T09:42:00.000-08:002010-02-26T13:27:01.185-08:00Birthdays, Birthdays!!This past weekend we went to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Stephenville</span> for my cousin David's son, Caleb's 2<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">nd</span> birthday party. We played in the park and everyone had so much fun. Luke really loved to launch himself down the slide head first and Preston had a fun time exploring the park!! Caleb had very cute <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">elmo</span> and cookie monster cakes and he got <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">lots</span> of cool presents. We had a great time celebrating with Caleb and we had a nice dinner at a fun hamburger place after the party called Grumps. Luke really liked the corn nuggets I got. ;-)<br /><div></div><div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442614115359939714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUsyYDpsEVY0_8oB0Cug7r9WYY5wRynI4I79WE9hsnnSmiUO9RTOkGxTGnHynj6YbdxUvM3_a2F2ZF8RBV1tydlyez-eRfQT3O2VhEwSwKr2peVyvmO9aJ3KTdEnnVMtvj19QzxiE6M88/s320/IMG_1574.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442614371059602434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiyIpdKiOte4UA_RL66kvnx69Y0WWeRFCVKY5zzVP6I3WuZIny4v-geYD94y4Kmv2UWstA3xabKmCkhcHNNpS7orfmeXv773buhQTEcinPiJwCB0NkNi4KUo2Y65ZKSayUR2OnYEKRBs/s320/IMG_1575.JPG" /><br />We celebrated my birthday on Sunday because we were in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Stephenville</span> on Saturday. Caleb's birthday is on the 19<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> and mine is on the 20<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span>! So we have a lot of birthday fun to look forward to in the future. We went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Sunday afternoon. I hadn't been there in forever and wow has it changed. I wanted to go there because I heard they had a new Children's Museum <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">exhibit</span>. We had a good time and you always know it's a fun place when there are tears when you pull them away to leave. ;-) </div><div></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442616359755002658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4w4xiHj4ymIIiL45DYVHaYr5N1gIDUruQVvTiUytVh41L3n2bM5EUGT7WpfUa1cfeFuX6OQDUDnd9rJCUGCdGtazK2mEYb5uVPOW10_2MBwoQqFfRSQS2RhtU9LmHo30Q5j-mGrj3J4/s320/IMG_1597.JPG" />Luke had a lot of fun playing with the cars on this little race track and Preston loved pushing the buttons to make the bubbles shoot up the tubes. They both really liked to push the little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">grocery</span> carts around and play with the cash register. We had a very busy weekend, but we had a great time with our cousins and made a lot of great memories!!</div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442617526229735442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01Q_oGzQJGNhhPjNsxvsp191cG_STvo-qOuqZCefjX-i4LraEdliOhKHiCCbr0AD4ch-j_mUMucerNbNj2pTFQxcRm27EsH9gZboVIDXxc0kDY14eB0rPv2HliyXl838wFSHsBs6RAOM/s320/IMG_1613.JPG" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442618133214222290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZR635cxzMt7QlP9VP2_gH6EHAhDtbmJMzA6JFXpWVJiVlSAuhGObMqUh4ShO5A1RBHDRiIwkQIKe7dDRcDw6TZ2NaS2Xm2uJLSJUFh9f5ZtdsSJagwhzSuTxcZyskioMxi822Hy2s7Y/s320/IMG_1630.JPG" /></div><br /><div>Next week we will be starting Preston's <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">steroid</span> treatments in preparation for his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">surgery</span> on March 8<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span>. Preston had some respiratory issues in recovery after his last surgery and he had respiratory distress in the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">PICU</span> several hours after his big head surgery in November '08. Preston was evaluated by a pulmonary doctor 2 weeks ago. They feel like his lung <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">capacity</span> is below normal (which isn't that strange since he was premature), that he has wheezing, and they feel like his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">trachea</span> becomes inflamed when he is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">intubated</span> for surgery. So they wanted to start <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">steroid</span> breathing treatments the week before surgery and a bronchial <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">dilator</span> to help prepare his lungs and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">trachea</span> for the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">intubation</span> during his surgery. His doctors don't really know the long term implications of all this. He may have asthma or might be able to outgrow all this. We sure hope so!! </div><br /><div></div><div>We ask that you say some prayers that Preston will tolerate his upcoming breathing treatments. As you may know Preston has severe oral aversions. He does not eat any food with texture and will not let you touch his mouth or put things near it. He will only put his bottle in his mouth and will sometimes let you feed him pureed baby food on spoon. This is most likely from all the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">vomiting</span> he went through his first year and also the feeding tube he had repeatedly put down his nose during his hospital stay before his first birthday. It took a lot therapy to get him to accept a spoon with pureed food and even that he does not do very well, so I am worried about these breathing treatments. We have tried the breathing treatments once before and I got more of the treatment than he did. We will be using his feeding therapy techniques to try and get him to take the treatments. We would definitely appreciate your prayers because these treatments are very important to help reduce <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">inflammation</span> while he is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">intubated</span>. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I will report back on how the breathing treatments go. </div><br /><div></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1276600298770443766.post-81561657367913229902010-02-13T13:41:00.000-08:002010-02-18T22:52:04.958-08:00Welcome to our Blog!!Welcome to our family blog. We have decided to move to a blog and shut down the boys website. I basically stopped updating the boys website a year ago so now we are going to see if I can stay on top of a blog. We shall see! ;-) <p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437852550452411074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_2OT2ajWaKoKDEaZfzuqpQwMowmleU6YdApPY9RdpRma8qsFOw6yd-BB5Kr-mJBGBMoci26Fydy5CjQJEOfykGQdc8rZ8-RmaGy-YomVzPE3LI6jInkvTIF1LBgxQo5PM9xMI9yL47c/s320/49-2.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>The boys are both doing pretty good. They started a day of preschool in September and have really loved it!! They have the sweetest teachers and they love to play outside when the weather is nice and love to do art projects. Preschool has really helped with their verbal skills. Luke is a little jabberer now and Preston has started to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">consistently</span> say a good amount of words, too. We had a great Christmas and we were really so happy to have not spent any time in the hospital in 2009 (besides day patient feeding therapy, but we don't count that). </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439808022711300306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbppkeEuNeWc113CiY1nEouevJlfuyHCgYUbg25d_OSN9Ty_e5PvoPxXus8U53SC3x6OEXPmXxF-3Atq9AcA7vzkb4NT0tOZT2RXdn5wIWDk5ghfCwIbyEUW1ozAPaZnt0WOvFxlTuUQ/s320/8-2.JPG" border="0" /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439808030674673890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFkq_KwRlomYNBwKDC-aswovvAil4-oes2ZsSK5XSZaDfLQFHH-H_tKSzAduVq3OmkpkRgOg0UfwdPovtM_AQrK-wycfavVwj11VAbmrkUjsMf7p_L8WAdU05aCw0bJxTQnT5M4eUMmw/s320/34-2.JPG" border="0" />Preston has had some new issues that have come about with his head. At Preston's 1 year follow-up appointment, in November, much to our surprise, his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">craniofacial</span> surgeon was not pleased with the growth/shape of his head or the size (on the large side). Preston's head has not responded to the cranial vault remodeling surgery in the expected way for a child that had 1 fused <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">metopic</span> suture. His skull has not gone back to the shape it was with the fused suture he had when he was born, but actually it is growing somewhat irregularly in a new way. Which, from what we can ascertain, is not very typical. So his doctors were in a wait and see mode, mostly thinking that within the next 3 years he would likely need another surgery. They weren't really thinking about doing anything at the moment unless we saw a plateau in his development or any new problems arose. <p>After much discussion amongst Randy and I and his other doctors, we asked Preston's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">craniofacial</span> surgeon - the main doctor following this issue - to order an MRI because we felt uncomfortable with waiting and seeing. His <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cranio</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">dr</span> is a wonderful doctor and ordered it without question. That was done in January. They did find something a little concerning with his MRI. His ventricles are smaller than they were before his surgery in '08. This can be a sign of pressure on Preston's brain. His <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">craniofacial</span> surgeon consulted with his neurosurgeon and they decided that he needed to have an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">intraventricular</span> catheter placed for 24 hours to monitor the pressure on his brain. </p><p>This is called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">intracranial</span> pressure monitoring (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">ICP</span>). His neurosurgeon makes a small hole in Preston's skull while he is under general anesthesia and they thread a small catheter down into his brain. It stays there for 24 to 36 hours while a monitor records pressure readings. He is awake and trying to have as "normal" a day as possible, in the hospital, so that we can get accurate readings. This surgery was done on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">February</span> 1st, but unfortunately the catheter broke after 3 hours. The 3 hours recorded were within normal limits, but his doctors really want to see what the readings are while he is sleeping (which is the most concerning time) so we are having to repeat this surgery/monitoring on March 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">th</span>. </p><p>That pretty much gets us caught up. We were pretty upset that Preston was put through a surgery that didn't really give us much information, but we are both thankful that he is a tough little guy and we know that God will watch over him again in March. It is hard to understand a lot of things that life brings, but we try our best to always have faith that God is using all things to make us all stronger and we truly strive to be thankful for all the we do have. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Every time</span> we go to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">pre</span>-op <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">appts</span> for Preston's surgeries we see other children who have much more severe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">craniofacial</span> disorders than Preston and it is really so moving. You can't help but feel grateful that it is not so much worse. </p><p>Well that's all I have for right now. I will try to stay updated and post pictures more regularly! Have a great weekend and the next time I post I won't be posting as a 30 year old - I'll be a 30 something (my b-day is Sat) - crazy!!</p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352645921034787268noreply@blogger.com3