4th on the Beach

Dave and I were trying to figure out the best way to spend the 4th for us – and HAD to take into consideration the heat.    Last year we had a great time watching the Zilker Park Fireworks. (Highly recommended)  It was hot, but doable… especially once the sun went down.  I am a heat hater anyway, but then being pregnant on top of it makes it near impossible to spend the hours needed to enjoy the 4th outside.  You know, where everyone spends the fourth.  It would just be very, very, very bad to get overheated while pregnant.  We finally decided to make a trip to the beach!   That way if I got hot I could at least just get in the water to cool down.

We left at 6am and drove the 3 1/2 hours to Corpus Christi… and hung out at Mustang Beach:

It was fun, but when everyone says they’re not the same as California beachs, they aren’t kidding.  Smaller beaches, not great accomodations (bathrooms, closed down, etc.), nothing around the beach at all…. The biggest difference is it was hot, hot, hot.  We saw on weather.com that it would feel like 105 – and yep, it did!  There was always a nice breeze, but without the super cooling chill of the CA beaches.  (Coronado – I heart you.)  The benefit though was that I actually loved the water because it was warm enough for me to get in the water!  I’m sure if it were too cold, there’s no way Drew would have gone in either, but he loved it.  Well, I should clarify that Drew had a love/hate relationship with the water.  He was in heaven until he fell and got some salt water in his mouth.  THEN he was hesitant and wanted to be in, but then would run out… only to turn around to go back in… to run out.  Once he found our cooler he was all about opening and closing the lid.  Then would cry when his fingers got caught, but then go right back to work on opening the lid once we got them out.  And when he saw my water bottle he sat in my lap for a long time opening and closing the cap.  I guess he’s practicing cause and effect right now.  haha  We got to the beach RIGHT at his naptime, so he struggled somewhat, but was a good little trooper.  I guess he’s like Collin and really effected by sleep!  We just had to go in the morning since it would be the coolest part of the day.  He was VERY ready to leave when we finally packed everything up and fell asleep before we actually started driving to leave!

Collin had a blast.  When we told him we were going to the beach he told me his stomach was jumping he was so excited!  Then Dave woke him up in the morning (bright and early!) and said, “Collin…. we have to get ready to go to the beach….!”  Collin replied, with eyes still closed. “LAGOON!” and then said, “I don’t know why I said that.  I guess I was just trying to be funny.”  And then jumped up to get dressed. LOL He’s such a goof.  He played in the water a lot, but mostly he was into finding seashells and tiny clams things that would dig back into the sand once you put it back down.  I was so glad he had fun!  We wanted to do something where Collin could really enjoy the holiday and do something different than our every day stuff.  So yay!  I LOVE the pictures of him on the way home.  He looks SO stinking adorable.  When we were in the car ready to leave he started tearing up because he couldn’t get his seatbelt on… SO NOT like him.  Poor little guy was so exhausted!  After that got figured out, he said, “Here comes the big hunger burst!”  LOL And he wasn’t kidding – he ate and ate and ate on the way home.

We were thinking we could fit in a trip to the Aquarium while we were there, but everyone was so wiped out we thought it’d probably be best to just get back home.  (good thinking on our part.)  We’ll have to ask around a little bit more and find out the best beach communities to visit in the future.  Maybe next time we’ll check out Galveston.  I’m sure we’ll let you know all about it.  Lucky you!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July!

Pray for Kate McRae

Just wanted to ask you to pray for this little girl today.  I don’t know her, but I seem to know a lot of people who do.  They are all asking for prayer and thought I’d pass it along, too.  This video was taken yesterday, so the operation is today at 9:00 a.m. AZ time.  Please be praying for their family and especially that God is with little Kate and the doctors today!

Psalm 88:13
But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

Father’s Day 2009

Just for today…

Just for tonight I will switch to the template titled Sweet Blossoms.  Described as, A narrow two-column design that satisfies the pink lover in all of us.

To help illustrate a point…

About the baby…

On the day of the 20 week ultrasound.

If you can’t figure it out by now, you may need help.

It’s a Girl!

Dave and I were completely not expecting it and taken off guard!  I honestly thought we were a boy family and would have 3 boys.  You just never know!  Crazy!  We’re very excited and can’t wait to see our new little daughter!  Gosh, it’s going to be a long 20 weeks.  And on a totally shallow level, it will be nice to not have to shop only in the little token “boy clothes” corner of baby stores now!  How fun!

The Story of Drew, Part 5

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 in case you missed one.

The LONG Story

Part 5 – NICU and Home

The NICU time was rough.  I didn’t have much energy from the blood loss and would feel spacy and woosy and, although I was always sitting, would need to leave to go lay down.  After I had been discharged from the hospital, the drive there and walk up to see him would be enough to wear me out.  You cannot believe how frustrating that was when all I wanted to do was be with my baby, but physically couldn’t handle it!  Leaving him every day was heartbreaking and I was often in tears, I felt like a horrible mother having to leave.  But my doctor had instructed me to rest… told me that it was my job to rest and it helped to know this was the best place for Drew right now and they were taking good care of him.

Dave and I would drop Collin off at school and drive to the hospital in the morning.  We’d spend as much time as I could handle – usually only a measly hour – and then leave to allow me to crash back at home.  Dave would usually go back that night after he put Collin to bed at night.  My parents would go sometimes during the day to check on him during their lunchbreaks.  Every night we called in the middle of the night to check up on him.  3:00 am seemed to be the magic number for us.  We would love hearing from the nurses how he was doing and how many cc’s he had been drinking.

Drew’s main issues in the NICU were maintaining his temperature and having some jaundice.   Mostly we just had to wait until he got a little older so his body could maintain things for itself.  When he started taking bottles he took to that immediately and we loved watching his weight go up and up every morning when we came back to the hospital.

We were so anxious the day we brought him home.  We could not wait!  The staff could tell we were chomping at the bit and made a couple comments to us as we waited for him to be discharged.  Maybe most parents are more tentative or nervous bringing such a teeny baby home, but we just couldn’t wait for him to be part of our normal lives and introduce him to our home!  I’m sure it helped that this was our second child.  I probably would have been a little more scared if I didn’t have prior baby experience to lean on.

The part I love about this story is God’s timing and how it’s just so perfect.    The first full day we had as a family at home — after our 2 week journey of uncertainty, fear, pain, peace and thankfulness — was Thanksgiving Day!  Now I dare you to tell me that God doesn’t like to make us laugh and smile.  My parents brought over an entire Thanksgiving meal the night before that we just had to throw in the oven and cook.  So Dave, Collin, Drew and I quietly celebrated and gave thanks to God for our family, our lives together and the amazing blessings he had given us.

What a beautiful ending He wrote for Drew’s debut into the world.

Splash Park

We took the kids to the Splash Park on Sunday.  We had a little Subway picnic first and then the kids cooled off in the water.  We were so proud of our little Baby Bear. Last time we brought him (only a few weeks ago) he cried and was irritated the whole time with the water.  His temperment is one where you have to introduce him to things a few times before he’ll actually like it.  This time we brought him kind of expecting the same crankiness, but knowing we have to keep bringing him because he will eventually like it… but yesterday he loved it!  Already!  It took only 2 visits.  Yay!

I don’t know how he does it, but that’s some serious cuteness.

Hesitant no longer.

Oh yeah, I’m totally diggin’ it now.

Kids are so funny and you have to expect the unexpected.  Our Jr did this probably about 75% of the time.  Usually he is running anywhere and everywhere.  This time?  Any time I’d go back and try to get a picture of him, this is where he’d be.  He said he was being R2-D2.  Looks kind of boring to me, but as long as he’s using his imagination he having a good time. LOL

What Jesus Didn’t Say

I woke up with this on my mind today.  Not sure why, but thought I would share.

Luke 23:39-43

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.^[f]“

⁴³Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

All Jesus said was , “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”  He didn’t say, “You’ve got to be pretty messed up to be here.  Before I know you’re really with me and not against me I must know…”

• “…where you stand politically. Red or Blue?”
• “…how you feel about the gay community.”
• “…if you said “The Salvation Prayer” repeating someone word for word.”
• “…whether or not you believe in creationism or evolution.”
• “…if you are going to commit to a ‘body of believers.’”
• “…,what is your stance on abortion?”
• “…that you line up with all of my core beliefs.”
• “…how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”

Point being that most of our questions have nothing to do with what truly matters when it comes to grace and salvation.  Not only is God bigger than our sins and our jaded pasts (and present), but God is bigger than our politics, our cultural belief systems, our Christian denominations.  All of these things are valid and important to us as a society and within our own convictions… one way or another.  But Christians come in many shapes, sizes and belief systems.  I think this tends to get lost.  One Christian might hang their head or shake their finger at another Christian because they’re obviously “off track” (or, say, part of a different denomination) when that person is where God has wanted them to be.

The way I see it is Faith is a journey… and he’s much too creative to make us all take the same one and end up in the same place.

The Story of Drew, Part 4

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 in case you missed it.

The LONG Story

Part 4 – Love & Thankfulness

I blinked, opened my eyes slowly and heard a tender “Hey…”

It was Dave.

It’s hard to find the right word to explain what I felt just by hearing his voice and that one little word. Relief, Joy, Contentment, Love….  Any of those would do, but not begin to truly explain how full my heart felt.    It took just a second of time to recall every event from the last few days… it both overwhelmed me with painful memories, but gave me immense gratitude.  Thank you, Lord.  Thank you for getting me through this. My Dave, my Collin, my baby boy, Drew – I was given my life back.  I loved my life before, but now I was truly grateful – I knew I was given a gift.  My chin began to quiver and I felt a tear run down the side of my face.  Dave, of course, was right by my side and holding my hand.

I was still in the surgery room under a few layers of toasty warm blankets from head to toe.  I asked him how Drew was doing and then asked him some more questions.  I only remember this happening once, but Dave tells me we had that conversation a few more times.  I would fall back asleep, wake up and ask him the same questions again and again.   We took our time talking and I slowly woke up completely.  Dave told me he should maybe step-out and update my family.  They were all in the waiting room on bated breath and really worried about me.  I suggested we take a picture with his phone and let them know I was alright.  That’s right, I always know how to dork up a situation:

I guess I had been in surgery for 2 hours and had 2 blood transfusions because they couldn’t get the bleeding under control.  My nurse said that in 25 years of nursing she hadn’t experienced a case of HELLP that was that bad.  The doctor who had been on-call advised Dave that we should stop at two kids – that is was just too risky for me.  My regular OB told me she disagreed with her when I mentioned it, but to me it still just showed me how serious things really were at the time.

Once I was alert, they wheeled me into my new room and we got settled.  I asked Dave to go check on Drew because it had been some time since he’d been up to see him.  I really wanted to know how he was doing.  It was so hard knowing I had delivered my little baby, but he was nowhere to be seen.  And I truly had no clue when I would be able to see him.  Dave wanted to check on Drew too, but was hesitant to leave me.  I assured him it’s really what I wanted him to do.  After he left, the nurse asked me if I wanted something to drink.  She told me what they had available and I decided to go for a hot tea with creme.  ”Ah!  You take it the British way!” she said.  I do?  Uh, okay.  lol  My nurse was so great and made me feel very much a ease.  In fact, all of the high-risk nurses did.  They were so friendly and they really knew what they were doing.  When she gave me my tea it felt so good to drink!  Even at the time I thought it was a weird thing for me to take note of but later found out I had a breathing tube down my throat during surgery.  It had been irritated and the hot tea really did do it good!

My family was allowed to come in to see me… first my mom and dad and later my sisters peeked their heads in room.  (Collin was with his cousins and my brothers live out-of-state.)  It was kind of surreal. Everyone had a strange look in their eyes…kind of like a deer in the headlights with large saucer round eyes. You could tell they wanted to let me rest but HAD to see me…  had to see that I was actually okay with their own eyes.  I was given lots of love and hugs and was able to watch the process of them coming in, tentitive at first, then relaxing as we talked and ultimately leaving the room with smiles and contented sighs.  They each had there own moments of fear, prayer, tears and gratitude while they waited for news.  I’m sure I’ll never understand what they went through being on the other side of things.

The first time I got up to use the restroom was funny because I was able to look into the mirror for the first time. LOLOLOL  Oh, good times.  Delivery never agrees with me.  Some women look nice and healthy and have rosy pink cheeks.  (Makes me sick.) Yeah, not me.  I tend to look pale and poofy and, well, just gross.   And after this whole ordeal – HA!  I looked into the mirror and I swear I saw the Bride of Frankenstein!  I was shocked!  My skin was a new shade of pale and my lips had no color whatsoever from the blood loss.  My eyes had mascara underneath and my hair looked like it was in knots and like it was trying to run away from my head.  I came out and said, “Can someone help me with my hair?” because I had the IV drip and couldn’t manage with the tubes and wires.  My nurse said, “Hey!  She’s starting to care about her hair!  Things are definitely turning around!”  They did what they could, but it was too far gone and a bit of a lost cause.  Not something that really matters, but just a funny moment and memory.

I spent the rest of the evening continuing to be monitored and finally relaxing by talking with Dave and watching TV.  We would both drift in and out of sleep and both truly needed it.  I don’t remember why, maybe to allow me to rest for a bit, but it was around midnight when we finally went up to see little Drew in the NICU.

CLICK HERE FOR Part 5… The ENDING!

The Story of Drew, Part 3

Sorry, at this point it gets pretty graphic! Consider that before reading! Part 1 and Part 2 in case you missed it.

__________________________________________________

The LONG Story

Part 3 – The Delivery

The next morning there was a hustle around the room as various nurses came in to organize whatever it is nurses need to organize. I was still having blood taken hourly to test my enzymes and platelets as well as someone coming in to check my blood pressure and body temperature.  They started taking my vitals every hour the moment I was admitted and wouldn’t stop until I was discharged.  I was getting exhausted just from lack of decent sleep!

I was hooked up to the pitocin drip and waited for the action to happen. It took quite a while for me to feel any sort of contraction at all, then I felt some mild contractions for about ½ hour, then they became very intense, like only pitocin contractions can be They rechecked my labs and found out that my platelet count was dropping dramatically. Normal range for plateles are between 150,000-450,000 and mine were down to 26,000.  Um, yikes.  That meant an epideral was way too risky and things were becoming very complicated.  This was the possible quick dramatic turn they kept warning me about.

No no no no no no no! Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!

I started freaking out when I heard that I wouldn’t have an epideral. My contractions were SO painful and I just couldn’t imagine not having one. Then I snapped myself out of it and tried to pump myself up, You can do it. You can do it. You can do it, over and over in my head. Maybe I’ve seen one too many train videos with Collin, but whatever works, right?

I seriously remember it like it was an hour+ of pushing… but I was shocked when Dave later told me it was just 3 contractions and he was born. I was so out of it from the magnesium, so exhausted from the week, and in so much pain it was a total blur and seemed to go on forever.

They took him to the other side of the room and the NICU staff quickly surrounded him, along with Dave taking pictures. In my delirium, I remember hearing his tiny screech and thought it sounded so loud and healthy. Dave was saying about Drew, “He looks awesome!” “He’s so tiny!” and came over to me and said, “You did so good, I’m so proud of you!”  He was so happy and wiping away tears.

They eventually brought Drew over to me all bundled up and I got to talk to him and really see him for myself. I was extremely spacey and out of it, but I remember thinking he was so tiny and that he looked better than I expected. Tiny, but Healthy. Thank you, God. Turns out the ultrasound was off and he was 4lbs 5oz, which sounded huge. I was so glad he was over the 3lb mark.

Dave left with Drew’s staff to take him up to the NICU. I was sad to be apart from him, but so glad that Dave would be there… that someone who loved him would be watching over him.

Things seemed to be much calmer in my room as we waited for the placenta to be delivered. We waited and waited but the placenta stayed put – I was naturally still out of it and only half aware of what was going on. Then my doctor decided it was long enough (the placenta only has about 30 minutes to deliver or it then creates a risk for infection). She tried scraping the placenta out, but it would not budge. Oh yeah… and remember? No epideral. This was the worst, most painful part of the delivery process. I won’t go into detail about it, but it the nurses had to hold me down and there was a lot of screaming.  By me, not the nurses. I tried to scan my memory looking for a Bible verse to cling to get me through, but I couldn’t think of anything! Why didn’t I memorize more verses! I scolded myself. Finally all that came to mind was “This too shall pass.” And I just kept repeating it over and over again.The doctor then stopped and said, “I think we’re going to put her under.”

THANK YOU LORD!

I did not think or care about any complications, I was just so happy that they were putting me under and I would be done with all of the pain. They started wheeling me out of the room and I heard the nurses whispering things like, “Oh my gosh, don’t let the husband back in here!” and “This place needs to be cleaned up! Don’t let the husband back in!!” Apparently there was blood everywhere.  I had a hidden tear on my cervix (sorry, it is what it is) and my low platelets, which are what help you clot, were causing uncontrolled bleeding.

I was in and out of consciousness as they wheeled me to surgery.  Then I heard Dave’s serious and panicked voice, ”So what’s going on???”

My mind was fully alert the very second I heard his voice. My eyes were closed and I looked completely unconscious to everyone, including Dave, but I was fully aware. The bed stopped moving and I heard more frantic whispers, “It’s the husband.” “It’s the husband.”  They had called him down from the NICU and he crossed paths with us in the hallway.

Someone explained that they were moving me to surgery and some more details that I missed because my mind started racing.

Oh God! What if something happens to me! What if I don’t make it! Dave will be left alone. Collin will lose his mommy. He needs me! Drew will never even know me! Oh God, be with me! Help me through this! I can’t leave Dave alone. I can’t leave my kids! I love them so much, Lord. Help me.

I didn’t think about the fact that I was in trouble until I heard his voice and heard the concern. I had been only thinking about the pain stopping, but what about my family!?

They brought me into the surgery room. I was trying to open my eyes, but it seemed my eyes couldn’t stay open.  What I saw were quick images of a very white room and a very big, bright light hanging above me.  Someone said, “Josie, we are putting oxygen on now.” And they secured the mask in place. My eyes still closed, I lifted my hand to my face and tried to scrape it off because it was hard to breathe with it on, but I was too weak. I just moved it a little off center. Someone immediately put it back into place. That was the last thing I remembered until I woke up hours later.

Pictures after Delivery

4 lbs 5 oz Baby Drew

Not too pretty, but happy to hold my little boy.

Happy Daddy

Just born and knows his Daddy’s voice.

CLICK HERE FOR Part 4

Crazy Night in Austin

View from our backyard. I really don’t like those clouds…

Oh look, they’re rising.

Clouds continuing to slowly rise up from the groud. Hmm… not really a good feeling….

It was coming together so slowly I wasn’t really sure of what I was seeing… but um, yeah, that was the tornado forming. It was moving SE and right down the 1431 highway toward Round Rock… A couple minutes later is right when & where there were reports of a tornado! (when it had moved down the road a couple miles.) OMG!

Um, maybe we should go take cover.