Ben's Special Day

I'm way overdo on this post. We had the honor of celebrating the baptism of our nephew Benjamin Lee. It was a very special day and the whole family joined together. Adam & Andrew dressed in their Sunday best, ties and all. Ben was just perfect and smiled the entire time. He is the best baby! Praise the Lord for bringing this joyful child into our family, what a gift he is to us all!

ALL the cousins

I feel very old now that we have a kids table at family gatherings again and my children are sitting there instead of me!

More October Fun

These photos sets should finish up October for our family.

First up are from a fun afternoon at Lauren & Blake's. The kids painted with their hands and feet, I think they enjoyed the squishy slimey paint under their feet.

Are they sweet or what?

Fun with the Wagon

These pictures are from a Halloween party at Kaylie's house. The kids had fun wearing their costumes and eating goodies.

Adam & Lauren, can't keep these two apart.

Whoa, Hubba Hubba!

My Two Turtles

The boys wore their Buzz Lightyear costumes to their school Trunk or Treat party. Sadly I was under the weather so I had to stay home instead of coming to the school. So fortunately some of the other moms took pictures of my kiddos for me. Thank you!

What a cute pair of Space Superheroes!

Adorable Class!!

October was such a blast!

Celebrating Life

Today I had the honor of attending the memorial service for a precious baby girl named Kaiya. She was perfectly formed and created by the Lord but she was born far too early to survive. My heart broke in pieces for her lovely family who is grieving such a devastating loss. In spite of this grief, baby Kaiya's grandfather spoke on behalf of the family and proclaimed that God is always Good even in times such as these. What truth and hope to remember when things just don't seem to make sense. Parents just shouldn't have to bury their children and we don't understand why, but God does. And sweet Kaiya is free from pain, celebrating with Jesus today and because her parents are believers, one day they will be together again.

In the words of Kaiya's grandfather, please join me in storming Heaven's gates with prayer for this sweet family and most of all for their daughter Kaidyn, Kaiya's twin sister who is fighting a very brave battle in the NICU.

I hate prematurity, I absolutely hate it. I hate how it steals lives and destroys the hopes and dreams of parents and families everywhere. But thanks be to a God who is Good all the time and has overcome even this.

Hmmm, where to start . . . . .

I guess I'll start with yesterday's marathon to Houston and back. Andrew & I left at 6am and because of traffic we just made it to our appt three hours later! The PM&R doc was very pleased with Andrew's mobility but wants to combine his botox treatments with serial casting which will all be done at Texas Childrens. The casting will be good for him and hopefully keep him from needing his heel tendons cut any time soon but they will definitely be annoying since Andrew loves to get in sand and dirt and water and splash around.

They also recommended we look into him receiving therapies at an exclusively pediatric facility, the closest of which is in the Woodlands so we will be pursuing that though driving all that ways once a week will be stressful. We've had some awesome therapists here but the doctor thinks our community doesn't have enough specialized pediatric equipment and experience with cases similar to Andrew's.

After PM&R I went to see my dermatologist where I got one the best reports in ages and didn't have to have any biopsies done so we were in & out, YIPEE!!

Next we met our friends Sarah , Payton, & Avery for a quick lunch, it was fun to see them, we miss them since they moved away!

Then we went back to the medical center to the orthopedic surgeon. He thought Andrew looked good and was happy with the plans to continue with botox/casting/braces. His leg length discrepancy hasn't improved like we hoped so they will continue to monitor that. If it should worsen he may need a procedure down the road for it but hopefully the botox will allow that leg to grow without facing so much resistance. He sent us for a hip x-ray and Andrew's hips look great, which is such a blessing! He wants to see us back in 8 months to repeat it.

After all our appts we got a special treat with a visit from our friends Hill & TJ who were passing through on a short trip home (they are living abroad). SO fun to see them!

Fast forward to today. My kids are now 2 for 2 on xrays the last two days. Not a trend that I care for. I was sitting in biblestudy this morning when I heard some crying down the hall. My kids LOVE going to the church nursery so I didn't think anything of it, assuming it was a baby wanting their mama. But then I looked up to see Adam being carried in and he was COVERED in bright red blood, all over his face. My initial fear was that he had fallen and busted out all of his fragile teeth but the sudden swelling of his nose told otherwise. He had apparently fallen off a step and didn't put his hands down to catch his fall and his nose took all the impact.

I'm thankful and amazed that his teeth were totally fine and he didn't bust up his mouth. But his poor nose look like a marble had been shoved up one side and he was bleeding profusely and could only breathe through his mouth. He told me "I . . sniff sniff . . . need . . .sniff sniff . . Tylenol", poor baby!

Our pediatrician was able to work him in and by that time he was bruising pretty badly but was in amazingly high spirits. The pedi was pretty sure it would be broken and sent us for an xray but I was relieved to learn that he just has a severe soft tissue injury and despite looking terrible there is no fracture, the septum looks good and he should be just fine. What a relief, I had these visions of him having a nose like Owen Wilson or something. Pain meds and a follow up appt are all we have to do. My little man was so brave and tough!

And then somewhere in between all that I got a call from my doctor with the results of some blood work I had done a few weeks back and learned that I have a MTHFR gene mutation which is really interesting because it's known to cause miscarriages (which I fortunately have never had before) and pregnancy complications and the doc said while it probably wasn't the exclusive reason for my preterm labor, it did play a role. Fortunately I don't have the severe form of this and now that we know how easily it is to treat it, there is no reason why we can't have another baby in the future. So going forward for any future pregnancies I have more information to help be as healthy as possible. They put me on a presciption of special vitamins plus an additional high dose folic acid because the mutation impedes the body's ability to absorb folic acid and we are actually fortunate that niether of our boys had any neural tube defects since I wasn't getting proper levels of folic acid. So if we are able to have another child someday I'll be on baby aspirin through out the pregnancy to prevent blood clots to the placenta that cause miscarriage. Interesting stuff!

Now for some pictures of my sweet Adam: I can only imagine how it'll look in the morning, probably gonna have a black eye. The bridge is so much wider than normal.

Not to be left out, Andrew said "Mama, take Andrew's picture too!" And so of course I did!

Going along with the first part on Andrew's medical update. He just got in his new braces. They changed his left foot from a smo to an afo in an attempt to maximize the effect he gets from them and help with his stability and such. It will be a pain to keep clean, makes him sweaty, and is more obvious but it will help him and that's most important.

Check out the theme this time. We have such a great orthotist. When we went in for the molding they had me select the straps and I joked that they really needed to update their selection and he told me I could bring in anything I wanted and he would make it work and so I was able to make my sweet boy smile with his cool new "Aggie braces" and I think it's safe to say his are the only pair like them in the world.

Pair Number Three & The passage of time

Anyways, I'm super exhausted! I'm going to try and keep my family from needing anymore xrays the rest of this week!

A Full Day of Specialists plus a Pumpkin Carving

Tomorrow is going to be a jam packed day at the Medical Center in Houston. Since I have to be at Texas Children's before 9am and that's crossing Houston during rush hour, I really should already be asleep because it will be an early morning. Andrew has an appointment with a PM&R doctor (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation), then I have my dermatology check up, and then we see Andrew's Orthopaedic Surgeon and then we'll have his biannual hip x-ray. Hopefully everything will run smoothly and we won't be stranded anywhere for too long.

My parents are out of town so Kenny is taking Adam to school in the morning and then my sister is picking him up and watching him until we return. I'm praying I don't need any biopsies done because I won't have anyone to sit with Andrew during that. I had some done last time and they were fine so I'm hoping I get a pass this time. Dana loaned me a single stroller since I don't have one so I can strap Andrew down, park him in the corner of the procedure room with a movie while they cut on me if I have too. But I'm praying it won't even be an issue ;-).

It will be an exhausting day for both of us but it will be nice to get all this done in one trip instead of several.

Backing up a bit to last week. We carved our very first pumpkin in the nearly 5 years that we've been married and the first also for our boys. They enjoyed watching and Adam was more than willing to dig in and help but Andrew wanted nothing to do with touching pumpkin guts. I think it turned out nice, way to go Daddy!

Adam helps with the nose

Andrew helps cut out the eye

Another fun "first" and another good memory made

Some funny videos

Halloween 2009

Today was a long but fun day. We watched our beloved Aggies beat Iowa State here at Kyle Field. Before the game we hung out at my brothers house and then walked from there to the stadium. Today's weather was perfect making the jaunt very enjoyable. We also got to stop by the new Aggie Ring sculpture, it's pretty cool! We made it to the stadium early enough to watch the Cavalry ride by, followed by the band, the corp and Lady Reveille.

I wonder if I can get my whole head in here?

Precious Kate

I LOVE this one, it's such a classic Andrew face!

We got a surprise visit from Lady Rev!

The BOB came in handy today since we walked to/from the stadium

We busted out the choo choo wagon for trick or treating and the kids had a blast playing in it before hand.

If you know Pa, this photo is hilarious! He was just holding this puppy for a moment for our friend, I promise it's not his. Ha Ha!

Family Photo in front of "The Scahwee Kitty Cat"

The Whole Crew

Love that mane, Ben!

First time ever to trick or treat, they went on in uninvited to nearly every house but they figured out the handing out candy concept quickly.

The "Trick or Treat Express"

Gotta Love Granny Becky!

You had to watch Andrew, he is a bit of a candy addict and he would keep grabbing handfuls of goodies at every house until I could pry him away

Ben slept through his first trick or treating experience, SO sweet!

The girls wagon

I don't know about you but October 2009 was a blast but extremely exhausting! I have tons and tons more pictures from various activities over the last two weeks I need to post but since today is Halloween I thought I'd just go ahead and post today's pictures.

You were a great time October, but I'm ready for you to be over with! I won't miss your piles and piles of candy all over my house mocking my will power and turning my children into sugar monsters!! See you next year!

Sometimes I hurt when He "can't"

Today the boys were riding the tricycles that Aunt Dana got them for their 2nd birthday last year. Adam has been able to coordinate the pedaling for some time now and until recently Andrew hardly showed any interest in it. Now he's decided he wants to ride the tricylce too and the past few weeks he's been getting on and off and attempting to push it into motion.

Today it just about broke my heart because he seemed to come to a realization that he "can't" do it. Not because he's too young, or too short, or isn't trying hard enough. He just physically can't coordinate the muscles and gather the strength to push the pedals forward and keep his feet on the pedals. That's not to say that he won't be able to in his own time (perhaps even tomorrow because he always surprises) but as of today he just plain "can't".

"Can't" isn't a word I really care for because it's usually used in the context of "I'm too lazy" "I'm not patient enough" "I don't want to" "I'm not willing to try hard enough". But in all sincerity I've never seen someone try so hard to do something and he just was not physically able to do it, "can't" took on a new more appropriate meaning today for someone I dearly love and it was painful.

To make matters worse, his brother, without intending to be mean, was riding laps around him at a super fast speed around and around and around while Andrew was stuck there in once place.

I attempted to help Andrew get started but he couldn't keep his feet on the pedals and he is a two year old that wants to do it "by by self" so he wouldn't let me keep helping him.

At one point when the realization hit Andrew that it wasn't going to happen, he cried out in physical agony over his situation. Ouch, I felt it deep inside as if it were me.

You might disagree or think this moment was rather insignificant but looking back I really think it's okay for him to be sad/frustrated/whatever over his limitation. So long as he doesn't wallow in self pity and he does not.

We encouraged him to keep trying and told him "You'll get there, Keep trying, Way to go!" but that didn't really seem appropriate because in fact he wasn't giving up and he did keep trying and he never once uttered the word "can't". In fact he refused to get off the trike when I called them in for dinner, unwilling to give up until he'd triumphed. But no matter how hard he tries, there will certainly be days where he just flat out "can't" and at the risk of sounding ungrateful, it really does make me ache for him.

Yes, we and he are SO fortunate, Yes we try to focus on what he "can" do, Yes he "can" do quite a lot, Yes we know he is doing more than anyone ever predicted, Yes it could be SO much worse, Yes so many other parents would love for their children to be able to do half the things Andrew is able to do.

But none of those things change the fact that his little heart and mine hurt today in that moment. And I think that's okay to say outloud. It's okay because it's his story.

Sometimes triumph is not in the "can" but the "try". And frustration, dissapointment, or sadness just makes us real and I think it would be unfair to not allow Andrew to grieve his losses so long as it doesn't become a "crutch" for him and I don't see him taking that attitude.

Andrew, even when you "can't" you always "do" make us proud!

This & That

I think I'm overdue on a general update on us. The boys are almost THREE!! I can't believe it and it will be here before we know it. Since Andrew is still in ECI (early childhood intervention through the state) he is being tested to see if he qualifies for any services through the school district. He had a full morning of testing last Friday and will have some more this coming Friday. They are testing his skills all the way across the board: cognitive, gross & fine motor, speech and sensory processing. It will be a while before we hear anything on that but I think he did pretty well, especially cognitively. He identified several letters for them that I didn't even know he could do.

He is scheduled to go back for more botox right after he turns three in December and they've ordered him new braces as he's about grown out of his current pair. They are switching his left brace from a smo to an afo which comes up higher on the leg. He is still struggling to walk long distances, go up/down stair or jump but we continue to be amazed at what God has done for Andrew. He can get around super fast when he wants to, his run is more of a trot with his right leg doing most of the moving. He sure knows how to take what he has and make the most of it! Some people that have seen him getting around without his braces wonder why he needs them but if he goes without them for long he tires quickly, his gate deteriorates, he falls often and walks on his toes.

A few funny things I want to remember them saying at this age: They love to give kisses, especially Andrew and at naptime when I've scolded for getting up before sleeping, he'll be crying and say through his tears "I wanna . . . give you . . a kiss". So sweet!

When Adam misses a basketball shot we'll tell him "Almost" or "So close". I think he has determined now that these are compliments and the other day we were talking about baseball and I asked him if he was going to play and he said enthusiastically "I'm gonna hit the ball close and almost!!!"

Potty training has brought out some funny moments. I've had to use some analogies with Adam which has lead to some embarrassing moments for me. Several times in a group of people he's announced "I need to put out a fire!!" and once when we returned from a potty trip he declared "I have a BIG fire hose!"

Gotta love sons ;-)!!

Pictures from a birthday party. Adam is getting some air!

Dressed in their new fall "Sunday Best"

Daddy's Birthday

For daddy's birthday last weekend we enjoyed the awesome weather playing in the backyard, cooked out and then ate dinner at the kids picnic table under the playground. It was a fun memory we made!

Playground Picnic Dinner

Stargazer

We've had some other fun stuff this week too. All the kids wore orange to school and did pumpkin activities. Then we had a cookie decorating day with our playgroup and the kids helped me make the homeade sugar cookies.

This is my new favorite photo.

Could they be any sweeter??

Orange day at school

Halloween Cookie Decorating

Hudson & Adam were sharing laughs and playing very nicely together all day!

The kids love Miss Sarah!

All dressed up for Kenny's Birthday dinner out at the Republic