Thankful

It's 5:00 pm and my husband is on his way home from work. I don't know the last time he was home at 5:30. Has he ever been home by 5:30? I'm especially thankful that he's coming home. Period. He was scheduled to take a business trip overseas for 12 days. Since the plans began, he has been scheduled on a 12 day trip, a 7 day trip, a canceled trip, a 6 day trip, to an officially canceled (or at least postponed) trip. I was so dreading him leaving and prayed from the beginning that he wouldn't have to leave. Add to that the increased terror threats on air travel and in the U.K. (where he was scheduled to go) and I was just a bit anxious. Thank you, Lord, for answering this prayer. Tonight I am most thankful.

The hits keep coming--trying to maintain good perspective

Isabel developed a cough a couple of nights ago. This morning it was pretty persistent, so I called the doctor just to ask if there was anything I could do. The nurse heard her coughing and told me to come in. They suspect Isabel has RSV. So far, it's pretty mild, but it could get worse before it gets better. And, she can't be around other little babies as long as her symptoms persist, which could take a month.

Additionally, Madelyn threw up a couple of nights ago. It only happened once and it wasn't really that bad. Now, though, she has diarrhea. This isn't bad either except that she's going to the bathroom at least 5-6 times a day and is not comfortable with wiping herself.

So, we're homebound, and I'm tired of being sick and tired. I'm trying to keep the proper perspective. I know this is just a short season in our lives, and one day we'll be past bottom wiping and barking coughs, but right now, I just want to cry and sleep.

Child Dedication

These pictures were taken last Sunday at church just before we dedicated Isabel to the Lord. Seven families participated, and we all pledged to raise our children with the knowledge that God loves them unconditionally and that they have an eternal need for Him. JD's parents came as did Sarah and Brian (JD's sister and brother-in-law).

Each child received a letter from the pastor. We will give this to Isabel on her 13th birthday. It reads:

Child of God,

Today as you read this letter, I want to remind you that you were dedicated to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in the presence of family, friends and witnesses on January 17, 2010. At that ceremony, we read selected scriptures from Psalm 139 where in verse 13 we are told that God had formed you in your mother's womb before you were born. Isn't that an incredible thought? The God of the universe took the time to create you exactly how He wanted you to be so that you would grow into what you are today. Not only did He create you, but He also demonstrated how much He loved you by willingly dying for you 2,000 years ago on a wooden cross at a place called Calvary.

At the ceremony we challenged those who are responsible for your care to raise you in the clear understanding of God's unconditional love for you and your eternal need for Him. While dedicating you to the Lord did not ensure your personal salvation, I trust that it has encouraged you in your desire to know the Savior personally. As the Senior Pastor, I want you to know that it is my sincere hope that you have already made a commitment to Christ and His Word will continue to grow and show itself in your words and actions. If for some reason you have yet to make this commitment to Christ, I urge you to make that decision today. Jesus longs to have a vibrant relationship with you!

Jesus said He came that we might have abundant life, here and now. I am praying that God will guide you into experiencing all that He has for you. Also, the people of this church committed themselves to pray for you. That is what the beauty of the Body of Christ and what fellowship and accountability are all about.

Have a great birthday today, and walk closely with Jesus Christ. He will never leave you, nor let you down. I close by sharing with you these words from 2 Peter 3:18, "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

One thousand blessings on your head!

Ron Jones

Senior Pastor

Immanuel Bible Church

Just for fun

Comparison:

Madelyn at 4 months:

Pierce at 4 months:

(what a chunky monkey!)

Isabel at 4 months:

4 month check up

Yesterday was Isabel's four month check up. She gained two pounds since her last appointment, so she's gonna be petite for a while at least. The doctor said all is well and to start her on solids soon. She also received three immunizations--2 shots (DTap, IPV, HIB all combined and Prevnar) and one oral (rotavirus).

Her stats:
12.1 lbs (18th percentile)
24 inches (42nd percentile)
42 cm (48th percentile)

4 months old

Another month has passed, and I am again amazed at the changes that occur in one month of a baby's life. First, of all though, I want to express my thankfulness that the Lord has protected Isabel from all of our illnesses over the last few months. As I looked back at the calendar, someone in this house has been sick since October. We've dealt with two rounds of H1N1, two rounds of pink eye, some pretty rough colds, and pneumonia, and Isabel hasn't had so much as a sniffle.

So, what has been going on this month with little Isabel? She's sleeping much better now--nap times are much smoother and very predictable. However, at night, I can set my clock by her middle of the night wake ups. At 3:30 every night recently, she has woken up. Sometimes she's happy and jabbers and coos; sometimes she screams. It lasts between 15-30 minutes and then she goes back to sleep until about 6:00. I nurse her, and she sleeps until about 9:00. She naps around 10-10:30 and wakes around 11:30-12:00, naps again around 1:00-1:30 until 3:00-3:30, naps again around 4:30-5:00 until about 6:00 and goes to bed around 7:15.

She's reaching for things now and grabbing things. She loves Madelyn's hair and her toys that hang down from her bouncy seat. Last month, she was rolling over like crazy from her tummy to her back. It's almost like she's forgotten how to do that, but she's a champ at rolling from her back to her belly. She's watching me eat, as her eyes follow my fork from the plate to my mouth, and she sometimes opens her mouth, as if she's expecting a bite herself. I'm starting to think it's time to try solids, but I kinda dread adding one more thing to my day.

We dedicated Isabel to the Lord at church yesterday. I'll do another post about that. It was a wonderful church service, as we celebrated Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, as well as listened to a sermon about worrying. That might make for a blog post as well. Until then, here are a couple of pictures of 4 month old Isabel:

This conversation describes our week

Me: Hey, babe, how ya feelin'?

Madelyn: Pretty good. My throat's a little sore.

Me (touching Madelyn's forehead): You don't feel very warm, so that's good.

Madelyn (taking a big sniff): I just swallowed some snot.

Me: That might be why your throat is a little sore.

Madelyn: Do you think God has snot?

Me: I don't think so. Why?

Madelyn: I'd like to be God for a little while, so I wouldn't have snot being sucked into my throat.

Me: What else would you do if you were God?

Madelyn: Give Madelyn lots of bubble gum.

Feeling the need to vent

Now Madelyn has a low-grade fever and is complaining of a headache and sore throat. Just praying it's a cold that's causing these symptoms.

On the mend

I think. Pierce is back to being his sweet, determined, active, destructive self, so I'm hoping the antibiotics are doing their thing. I disciplined him for telling me "no" today, and during prayer time before naps he said, "Thank you God for Mommy disciplining me." Interesting, but I'm sure I've been a little lenient over the last few days, and it's time to tighten back up. Thanks to all of those who've checked in and to Melissa for the wonderful chicken soup!

What a snotty weekend!

UPDATE (2:05 pm, 1/12/10): I took Pierce to the doctor this morning, and he has an ear infection and pneumonia. They actually drew blood from his arm--NOT FUN at all. His white blood cell count was within the normal range, so the doctor wasn't extremely concerned. She is sending a sample of his blood for more in-depth analysis to see what kind of pneumonia he has (viral, bacterial, other (not sure what the term was for this)). He is taking two antibiotics, one that should clear up the ear infection and bacterial pneumonia and one that should clear up the "other" pneumonia type. If it's viral, we'll just have to suck it up until it clears up. They will call later in the week regarding the more extensive work-up. If he has the "other" type, then he will probably need to take two rounds of that antibiotic.

He seemed in very good spirits this morning, and I really could tell a difference after the first round of antibiotics. He also hasn't had a fever all day (no ibuprofen or tylenol since last night.) Yesterday morning, though, he was also in good spirits, so the real test will be his mood after he wakes up from his nap.

UPDATE (5:30 pm): Pierce woke up from his nap with a high fever. I called the nurse, and she said to bring him in to the doctor tomorrow A.M. Rats! Feel so bad for the little guy.

Literally. Copious amounts of the yellowish-green fluid have been flowing out of Pierce's nose since Friday afternoon. He's also had a pretty rough sounding cough. I don't think he's ever been quite this sick. When he was about 8 months old, he had a really bad stomach bug, but with that, there was no fever. Pierce's temperature registered around 104 yesterday afternoon, and I was struggling to hold back to tears. He just looked pitiful. I even placed a call to the "on call" doctor because for most of yesterday Tylenol and Motrin were not making much of a difference. When he had H1N1 a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, he was not this sick. I'm not sure what this was, but it was nasty.

This morning, the fever is down and he is in much better spirits. Still lots of snot, but I can handle happy snot! Hopefully, we can all get a good night's rest tonight.

David and Goliath, according to Madelyn and Pierce

As I'm typing

Madelyn is "teaching" Pierce his letters. She's using flashcards, and he's begging for privacy. You see, he's sitting on the potty, and Madelyn is sitting down beside the toilet, saying "Pierce, you need to look at this card and say "A"!"

Whew!

The holiday season is officially over. It was a whirlwind as always beginning with Thanksgiving at the in-laws', various Christmas parties and other events throughout December, traveling to my parents to celebrate Christmas, and ending at our house as we hosted some of JD's family this past weekend. Am I glad it's over? Kinda. Am I sad it's over? Kinda. Now, I need to undecorate the house and get us all back on schedule. School has started again, so that will help, and JD will be back on a regular work schedule, so that will help, too. I'm happy about school; I'm not so happy about JD being back at work.

Here are a few pictures from our holiday:

Granddaddy getting some Isabel love:

Getting ready to open MORE presents:

Uncle Brian got a kayak:

Pierce got these pajamas from Nana and Granddaddy. He now refuses to take them off and refers to himself as Captain Terrific (Imagination Movers fans, anyone?) in the third person. Example: Captain Terrific needs to go potty!:

It even has a cape: