Anna Grace Blair

2lbs. 5.5oz, 14"L

Here we are again...

Almost 6 six years ago we left a phase of life behind that we hoped to never revisit, but today we find ourselves there again.  Anyone who has had to spend time in a NICU with their baby, knows how much you hope to forget the sounds, smells, ect associated with it.  Well, just 24 hours ago, it came rushing back into our hearts and minds, only this time we are in TN reliving the experience with another Preemie.
Yesterday morning at 2:56am we welcomed miss Anna Grace Blair into this blustery world.  She is only 31 weeks gestationally, but is already known as a "firecracker" to the NICU nurses here at Vanderbilt.  We are rejoicing that she has four more weeks behind her than when Addie was born and it is evident just 24 hours into life.  Anna is breathing on her own and has already received her first CC of mommy's milk!  I am happy to see that her little 2lb 5oz self is doing well so far, but I remember that we still have a long way to go.
Please join us in prayer over the course of the next several weeks, as we pray for Anna's continued growth and health and also, as we try to balance the needs of three other kiddos with hers.  When I can shake this magnesium induced cloud that my head is stuck in, I hope to share more with you all, but until then I am sure the Lord has a purpose in this and we will wait on Him.

"Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!"

We have a mouse problem and it's not one that I can fix by changing the channel.  I wish it were Mickey Mouse, that would be a much easier problem to solve, but unfortunately the small furry grey creatures we are trying to exterminate are not as loveable!!  And it has me pondering why in the world a cartoonist chose to animate and personify such a pesky and disgusting nuisance.
A short time ago, we noticed evidence of our house guests in the garage. Although we were bothered by their presence we were not terribly concerned, because our garage door is consistently left open while the kids play.  We figured the mice were likely foraging guests, not permanent ones, that is until they found their way to the chocolate.  It turns out that chocolate is an aphrodisiac for mice, imagine that.... they have the same weakness I do!  And once they discovered my stash I, of course, declared war.  You don't break into a pregnant lady's chocolate and expect to get away with it! 
Our current body count is three.  One for the mouse trap, one for Brandon and his skinned up knee and one for Mazie, the fastest mouser east of the Mississippi.  I am appalled that we have actually caught that many and worried that there is likely a nest of them under our home.  So now it is time to call out the big guns.  We have an exterminator coming tomorrow with the guarantee of getting rid of our current pesky residents. ( Don't worry, I will make sure that Ian is not in the way, as he can sometimes be confused for such a resident.)  I would have had pest control out last week if I could have had my pick of days, but hopefully tomorrow is the beginning of the end and I will no longer feel like Jack Sparrow wondering "But why is the rum chocolate gone?!" 

"I'd like to check you for ticks"

Now that you are all humming Brad Paisley's hit song.... we can discuss how this has become an almost daily phrase out of my mouth!  I grew up with these little blood sucking monsters and can't tell you how many I have taken off of various pets, but now this phrase is not only for Mazie, but for the kids too. 
We have "woods" in our backyard.  Yes, I use this term very loosely, but this is how the kids refer to the small wooded green belt in between our house and our neighbors.  Daily, I am asked if they can put on their rain boots and tromp through the trees.  They build "houses" with the sticks and rocks, look for bugs and generally expand their imaginations!  I LOVE that you stick a kid in the forest and their imagination comes alive.  Growing up if I was not in the pool, then my brother and I lived in the forest every summer pretending to be settlers, pioneers and Indians.  I forgot what a treasure that was until recently when my kids discovered the same thrill from being among the trees.
Not only do they spend countless hours outside, but they have already become aware of things such as poison ivy, spiders, snakes and TICKS!  There is real value in learning that every plant is not a good plant, that some bugs can make us very sick, to have fun but always be aware that there are dangers and, of course, not to act like a complete girl when you get a tick or have chigger bites!  Take a lesson for your little brother and be fascinated by the bugs instead of screaming bloody murder and running.  Hopefully one day we will have real wooded acreage for the kids to romp across, but in the meantime the small quarter acre behind our house might as well be as large as the whole of Smoky Mountain National Park!