The Beach or Bust...

Last week we had the priviledge of spending the week at the beach with Brandon's family for Christmas.  Yes, you heard me correctly, for Christmas!  This year there was a joint decision to spend time together and make memories in lieu of giving gifts.  Let me tell you, we LOVED the idea and loved even more getting to spend quality time with family.
At first it seemed that this was going to be a sequel to National Lampoon's Vacation.  As we were all headed south, Mark and Lindsey's transmission decided to die in their newly acquired Honda Oddyssey, leaving them stranded in Birmingham.  Fortunately, thinking quick on their feet, they rented a car and left their van to be repaired for the week.
Next, we receive the news that hurricane Isaac is threatening to ruin us with flooding and evacuation. The surf rose, it got a little windy, we filled the fridge with water and bought batteries, but amazingly we only had one afternoon of rain!  Every other day we were out combing the beach for the flood of seashells that were washed in.  We discovered that Ian is our shell connoisseur!  I think he collected 10lbs of "special" shells and then slept with them every night.  (Not sure he slept comfortably, but he would not relinquish them for the world.)
Before we left for the beach, Brandon surprised me with an afternoon of scuba diving for our anniversary.  As you can imagine with a hurricane in the Gulf, it was postponed and rescheduled 3 times.  Then as we made our way out to the beach with our classroom training finished and gear in tow, thinking this is actually going to happen, it was cancelled once and for all because you could not see your feet in the water! Ughh... Anniversary FAIL.  But wait... we did managed to sneak in a romantic breakfast of McDonald's coffee and oatmeal.  I know you are all jealous of that one.
So the last day at the beach and plans have changed.  No fun Gulf adventures for us, now we were just soaking up the last rays and waiting for the evening to fall so we can have one last walk along the beach together.  But it was not to be.  That afternoon Brandon began to feel ill and bunked up for the evening nursing a fever.  We just can't catch a break!  So my mommy's heart "settled" for a quiet morning walk along the beach with my favorite boy in the whole world!!  I must admit... that last morning hunt for seashells with Ian made my week.    :-)
In all honesty, we had an amazing time and enjoyed every minute of our chaotic vacation.  God gave us beautiful weather despite the forecast and we made memories that will last forever.  Can't wait to see what the Christmas vacations in the future will hold for us all!!!

Happy Birthday, Addie!

Yes, it is hard to believe, but Addie is 6yrs old today!!! We have moved up to two hands!  Don't you remember when that was such a big deal?  Personally, I think the bigger deal is that she has ignored our express desire for her to STOP growing.  We are constantly calling Anna, "Addison," because it is so hard to believe that Addie is no longer our sweet baby girl, but our sweet big girl now.  She was such a little pip-squeak at 1lb 14oz, but her fiestyness has brought her a long way....  Happy 6th Birthday, sweet girl!

Addie's first picture.

Here she is today on her 6th Birthday.  We went horse back riding!! 

School is in session...

The lunch bag is packed, water bottle filled, new clothes laid out, hair washed and kids in bed early!  Why??? Because tomorrow is Addie's first day of school!! Not sure that she will sleep much tonight, but I promise I will post a picture of our big girl with her big grin and new clothes tomorrow! ;-)


UPDATE:

So here she is! Bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to go! She was SO excited and so independent.  When I asked her if she would rather be dropped off at the front or have me walk her to her room, she said "Just drop me at the front, Mom."  Geeze.... it starts so early!  But she did not get her wish, I walked her to her room anyways. ;-)

Williamson County Fair!

Last Saturday evening we purchased a last minute Groupon, loaded the kids into the car and went to the County Fair.  I, personally, have not been to a fair in about 12 years and figured it was time to revisit the bright lights and barnyard smells from earlier years!  We had a great time.  The kids were able to be "farmers" and pick vegetables, care for animals and sell their produce to the farmers market.  From there they were paid a "dollar" and were able to buy a treat at the store.  Then we went onto see and smell the real deal!  There were pigs with piglets, a longhorn cow, llamas, sheep, goats, chickens and I could go on and on.  But the real highlight of the night was the cotton candy and funnel cake!  Yummy.
I did take pictures for you all, but before I post a few for you to see I have to complain for a minute.  Why in the world is it so hard to create a simple photo collage to post on the blog?!  I promise that I do take pictures more often, but when I sit to post them on the blog I become so frustrated that they never get published.  So PLEASE if you know of an easy way to do this....Share!!! And the likely result will be more pictures for you all to view. :-)

 

It's hard work milking a cow!

Catching our breath, or not...

Wow!  Where has the summer gone?!?  I know that there have been crazy days where I can not believe that time has passed so quickly, but these past couple months have just flown by.  I feel dizzy at the thought of all that has happened in such a short amount of time.  For those of you who know us over the last year, you are probably wondering why I have not become more accustom to this? (ha, ha)  Anyway, here we sit at the end of a whirl wind summer looking ahead to a full fall.
This fall will be a first for us as we begin the challenge of officially homeschooling Addie.  We attended her Back to School Bash this morning and are even more encouraged with our decision to send her to TCS on Mondays.  She is going to LOVE it!  Now the biggest challenge of this phase of life is for me to remember that we are now committed to her attendance and participation in school.  Which means that I need to pay attention to the calendar before I plan things like a family vacation that will cause her to miss school. (Ooops!) Thankfully, most of her education is at home anyways and now I have learned my lesson for the future!  So bring on the Bible Studies, Gymnastics, School and so on. Here's to a wonderfully full fall! :-)

Happy 4th!!!

You would think that this video would be something patriotic and would stir your loyalty to our proud country on this memorable day, but NO!  Really we just wanted to make you all laugh a little at our kiddos, because we sure do. :-) Enjoy and Happy Independence Day!

Happy due date, Anna Grace!

Can you believe it?! Anna turned 2 months old yesterday and today is her due date, CRAZY.  When we are out n' about and people come up to us to coo over Anna, the first question asked, after the rote response of, "Ohhh, that is a real baby!" is, "How old is she?" And instead of dumbfounding them with the true answer of 2 months old we say, "She is a week old."  We did this for a long time with Addie and will probably have to do this for a while with Anna.  It really is mind-bending to think that until a couple of weeks ago, we given a beautiful inner look at what happens in the womb.  Preemies are a blessing in that way.  What a privilege and miracle to see first person, not simply through ultrasound, the person that God has knit together.  We are praising the Lord that although our perfect timing would have delivered Anna today, he had a different plan for her and has safely carried her through.  I know today will always have significance for me and I will forever be thankful for God's grace poured out on us through precious little Anna Grace.   

A quick update...

Anna Grace has been home for almost two weeks!  Praise the Lord.  I have had several people ask how she is doing and how the other kids are adjusting?  Well, Anna is doing great.  We have learned from both of our NICU experiences to "look on the bright side." And one of the brightest things about being in the NICU is that they come home on a schedule, which means we don't have quite as much of the unpredictably of a regular newborn.  She pretty much eats and sleeps according to the schedule she had in the hospital and thankfully that coincides, more or less, with a regular day for us.
The other kiddos are doing well and honestly, I don't even think they have noticed much of a change since we brought Anna home.  As far as Brandon and I are doing... it felt like more of an adjustment when we went from 1 to 2 and then when we brought Elle home than it has with Anna Grace.  Maybe we have just adjusted and come to expect chaos over the course of this past year!
Now I want to leave you with a picture of our sweet tiny girl, who happens to be somewhere in the 4.5lb range now! :-)  A childhood friend of mine, who now has her own photography business, allowed me to snap this shot of our sleeping beauty while she was doing her Newborn pictures.  I cannot wait to see the "real" thing!  Thank you Lindsay, for your time and talent.

Welcome home!

As you can guess by the title, Anna is home!!!! Praise the Lord!  We are so excited to have our whole family home under one roof.  As we were getting ready for bed last night Brandon joked that we needed to call the NICU before we went to bed.  This has been our habit for the past 5 weeks and it is one that I am glad to send packing! Now we can just look in the bassinet to see how Miss Anna Grace is doing. :-)
The kids were excited, as well, to come home and find that their baby 'sis was there waiting for them.  Ian had not yet met Anna and the first thing he did was ask if she wanted to play trucks and offer her his new Leggo truck from his birthday (sweet boy!).  Since then all of them have asked to help hold and feed her.  I am sure that some day soon the eager offer's of help will wind down, but it is sweet to see their excitement for their newest sister.
Also, for those who are curious, Anna is 4lb. 4oz and 15"L.  She fits well in her car seat and seems to like it, but it would be easy to pick it up to go and not realize that she is in it!  She is such a little peanut, but I am sure it won't be for long.  Welcome home, sweet girl!!

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Today is Elle's 5th Birthday!  She has now been home with us for almost a year (not real sure how that is possible!) and tomorrow we will be celebrating hers and Ian's Birthday's at Grandmom and Granddad's pool.  When I went to post a picture of her, I thought I would look back at some that we took last year and can you believe that this is the same little girl?!

Summer 2011

Easter 2012

I feel like we have "baby" pictures of her, because of all the changes and growing that she has done over the past 11 months. Amazing!  Well... Happy Birthday, Elle.  I hope you enjoy your first American birthday party! :-)

My baby boy is 3yr today!

I can hardly believe that Ian is a whopping 3yrs old today!  Where has the time gone?  I am constantly telling him that he has to stay Mamma's little boy.  He says that he will, but I can see that he is not listening.  It's obvious, because here he is at 2 days old....

And here he is now, kissing his bug!  How does that happen that they grow so fast?!

 Oh, Ian.... I hate that I can no longer use the excuse, "He is only 2yr!" for your behavior!  Happy Birthday, sweet boy.  I love you. 

Our little girl is so big at 3lbs. 6oz!

So one week ago Anna took her first little bottle of 10ml and let me tell you, she took it like a pro.  In fact, she has been doing so well with her feeds that she is now allowed to take as much of her "lunch" as she wants from a bottle, which for her is the whole 27ml that they give her!  And she is also allowed to do so from a bottle as often as she wants to.  This is such great news, as this is a huge step toward her showing that she truly is a big girl and is ready to come home.  Now don't get me wrong... she still has a little ways to go before we have that welcoming party, but she is getting closer everyday, Praise the Lord!
I have had several people ask what the criteria are for Anna Grace to come home.  Most think that there is some weight that she must reach before that can happen.  Well, that is not true, but it does often coincide with the criteria established.  The basic list of things she has to do to be discharged is as follows:
1. Take all her meals by bottle or breastfeeding, while maintaining her weight & growing.
2. Maintain and regulated her body temp. on her own.
3. No Apnea or Bradycardia spells.  Which are fun medical terms for remembering to breath and keep her heart-rate up!
Once she meets all these requirements, be assured that we will be the first to let you know! :-)

Got milk?!

Anna is our little rock star!  She had her first bottle today, a whole 1/3 of an ounce!  And let me tell you, she took it like a pro.  We were prepared for some sputtering and possibly a lower than normal heart rate or O2 saturation, but no.  She rocked it! She might be little but she continues to show us that she is a big girl.

2 weeks old today!

Well, Anna received a gift today for her 2 week birthday!  She was "upgraded" to a private room in the Children's wing of Vanderbilt.  (YAY!!)  Now you might be asking, "What does this mean?"  Well, it means that when we visit her we can now stay over night if we want, because there is a pull out bed/sofa, private bathroom with shower, TV and a mini refrigerator.  We can also have 4 visitors in her room at a time, instead of 2.  This is a blessing because both Addie and Elle were able to come back and visit with Anna at her bedside today.  Until now, we were quite content to stay in the other area of the NICU because it was very familiar to us and was so similar to our experience with Addie.  But WOW!  We now know that we were missing out and are very happy to have such a great "suite" now. 
The other great part about being officially in the Children's hospital, is that it is SO much more family and kid oriented (obviously).  The colors and decorations are cheerful.  The waiting rooms are designed for families, so the kids don't feel so confined.  In fact, I think they thought they were visiting some sort of children's museum and we had to settle them down a couple of times! :-)  Anyways, we are praising the Lord, for the small blessing of a comfy room to visit in and for the huge blessing of a healthy baby thus far.  Anna's headed into her 3rd week of life @ 2lbs 12oz and we are hoping to cross that 3lb mark soon!  Thank you for your continued prayers.  Hopefully, I will be able to post a few more pictures soon!

One week update....

Anna Grace is doing so well, Praise the Lord!  Brandon and I are continually amazed at how different a 31week baby is from a 27week baby.  It took Addie a whole year to get to where Anna is now on a respiratory level!  Anna has been completely off of all respiratory support (no pressure, cannula or O2) for the past 4days and the doctor's hope that she will be up to "full" feeds in the next 3 days, so they can stop all IV fluids.  For those of you with no NICU experience, this is really a wonderful place to be!  It means, for now, she will only have her feeding tube so holding her is much easier and she is overall healthy, just tiny.  We know that any day she could take a step backward, but we are praising the Lord that right now her biggest hurdle is to eat and grow.

She always looks very comfortable wrapped in her snuggie.

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!

A hard day...

Today is a hard day.  I knew last night that it would be hard and tried my best to stop it from coming.  You see today, we have to say good bye to Ned, our boxer, whom we have had for the past 7 years.  For those of you who know him, you know how hard this is.  I can not tell you how many people have asked us where we got him, if he has any puppies or have offered to "take him off our hands" if there was ever need.  We have even had friends who went and began the search for their own "Ned."  His personality is wonderfully laid back and playful when he needs to be.  He is patient with the kids and Mazie (his doberman sister) and he has the softest floppy ears that lend him the cutest quizzical expressions.  When Ned greets you at the door his whole body shows his enthusiasm as his hind quarters twist from side to side!
But Sunday afternoon Ned began to vomit and was very lethargic, very.  We prayed and hoped that the morning would bring a change for him, but unfortunately there was none.  So, Monday morning I took him to the vet.  I am ever the optimist and was sure that he just had a "bug" that would pass.  The vet ran a bunch of tests and x-rays that proved fruitless and then resorted to an ultrasound of his belly, as that is where he suspected the source of the problem to be.  The doctor was right and found a mass on Ned's spleen that is cancerous.  He told us that we could pursue treatment, but in 6 to 12 months it would return as it is a blood born cancer.  Wow!  Just 24 hours earlier he was romping around the yard with Mazie and now this afternoon we have to say good-bye.
I am thankful that this has been quick for Ned's sake and mine, as I would hate to watch him hurt any more that he has to.  Even Mazie knows that something is wrong.  She normally pesters him incessantly and shoves him off their bed so she can lie down, but amazingly she has let him have the bed and did not even try to steal the eggs that I made him this morning.  I am concerned about how she will do in the long term, because she has never not been with Ned.  Thankfully, the kids do not yet understand what saying "good bye" will mean, making this easier on them.  Brandon and I, however, are heart broken.  Ned is the first pet we have ever had as a couple.   It is really an understatement to say that he has been a blessing to our family.  He has been somewhat of a constant these past 7 years, especially for me.  We have moved 3 times, brought 3 different children home, welcomed countless friends and family to our house and through it all Ned has been Ned.  I, of course, got little sleep last night because I would wake up tearful at the thought of home just not feeling the same without him. I will probably weep for the next couple of weeks whenever I see one food dish and collar, instead of two or accidentally ask the kids to let the "dogs" out.  But despite my sadness at losing a great companion and dog, I am SO thankful that God allowed us to have Ned for the 7 years that we have.  The bar is set high and I don't think any other boxer can ever come close!
In a few hours we will say good bye to Ned, knowing the he will go to sleep and will be able to rest under the shade trees in my parent's yard, free from pain.