An unexpected blessing

God is so good. And I know for sure that He uses people to do His work. Even if they don't always realize that is what they are doing.

I have some wonderful friends I met online about three years ago. I know, most of you are probably wary of that sort of thing, but I can tell you, that these friends (and others) I have met online have touched my life in so many ways. From phone calls, flowers, and food (Pizza Hut gift card!!!!!! Do they know me or what??) after Benjamin was born, to lavish and *very* useful gifts, to an email sounding board where I can ask for prayers or just say what it is I really want to say without fear of being judged. In the group, we are all ages and from all over the country. We are very diverse politically and religiously, yet we are more alike than different. I "talk" with these friends almost every day, way more often than any friends I have "in real life." I don't even refer to them as "my online friends" anymore; they are my friends. Plain and simple.

I say all of that to say that they came through for me today in a BIG way. Let's just say that when we arrived at our hotel today, we had a suite and it was paid for. So now we can reserve the same room tomorrow night and pay less for one night in a suite than we would have for two nights in one room. Matthew and I are hanging out in the living room, watching TV and relaxing, enjoying a break, while Benjamin is sleeping peacefully in his pack-n-play in the bedroom. When I feed him in about an hour, we'll move his bed in here and sleep in the bedroom, with a heavy door separating us from our noisy baby. :) Oh, and there's a king bed. Yummmmmmm..... I love stretching out!!

I have debated whether or not I should call them by name in reference to this. I know it would never be their intention to gain any glory from this. Here is what one of them texted me:

I can't do anything to lift your burden right now. If we lived closer, we'd all babysit and cook and clean for you. But we can't do that, and this is something we can do.

Wow. Just wow. This is one of the few times in my life when I could physically sense others taking life's burdens from me. And it wows me. (Yes, I used "wow" three times in that paragraph.)

I just want to say thanks, girls. You can't know how much you helped us out. I love you girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a fabulous trip here. Andrew was THRILLED to be at my parents' house. When we left, Andrew was checking out my dad's police car, and they were going to walk down to see the neighbor's two dogs. THEN they went to CiCi's Pizza. The night was rounded out by a bath with Curious George bubbles. Ah, the simple joys of life.

Benjamin took a nap that was over an hour, then he just sucked on his fingers and looked around. He was happy to get out of his seat and roll alllll over the king-sized bed before eating and going to bed.

We have to be at our pre-op appointment at 8:00 central time, which is 9:00 our time. We are going to eat breakfast (free!) at the hotel before heading to the hospital, which is less than two miles down the road.

Here are some pictures before I sign off:

A beautiful Tennessee view from the road



A car snooze



Couldn't you just gobble up those chubby baby feet??

My worry for today

Benjamin won't be admitted to the hospital until Thursday, so for the next two nights, we have to sleep in a hotel room with him. Umm...yeah. Not sure how that's going to work. He goes to bed at about 7:30. It's going to be hard for us to be quiet and have it relatively dark for almost 12 hours. Plus, *he's* a noisy sleeper and I am a light sleeper. Ugh.

The hotel does have a one-bedroom suite (which would work b/c we could put him in the bedroom and then just go in there when we're ready to sleep and then move him out to the living room) but they only give the medical discount for the regular room. There's a $60 difference (for two nights). I don't know that it's worth $140 (after tax) to get two good nights of sleep. Ugh again.

Anyway, it's certainly not the end of the world, but the control freak in me does not like it!!!

Everything else is going well. We got to bed at about 1:00. Matthew was up at 6:00 and left for work at 6:40. The boys were gracious enough to let me "sleep in" until 7:18. We're going to Mom's house at about noon. They will nap over there, Matthew's coming over there early from work, and we're leaving at 4:00.

Thanks for the prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am starting to get really sad about leaving Andrew. I *know* he will be in excellent hands. He is SO excited. All he knows is that we are leaving for a few days to get Benjamin's heart fixed. He obviously doesn't comprehend any of that. But what he *does* comprehend is that he is going to Namma and Yampa's and that Aunt Edie is taking him to his library lapsit class and the PLAYGROUND on Thursday. If only he knew when Thursday was.


:)


Check out Andrew's crazy bedhead from yesterday. Ignore the balloon. His hair looked crazy like this straight out of bed before he started playing with his Chick-fil-A balloon. (His new favorite toy...I *love* this kid!!)

Pictures as promised

Here they are! Hope you have time. :)

Andrew and Benjamin before Andrew was "banned" from being close to him. LOL



The next few pictures are of my mom's school's Fall Festival. Andrew was too young for most things but had fun nonetheless.

Taking off shoes to go through the obstacle course.



About to get pummeled by elementary-aged children.



Going up the stairs for the giant slide. (This is right after a mini-tantrum b/c he wanted to walk around on the grass with just his socks AND he didn't want to wait his turn...ahh, the joys of toddlerhood.)



Going down the preferred way b/c he's too chicken..err...cautious to go down like normal kids.



We probably shouldn't have told him that this was a "Cake Walk" because though we went twice, we did not, in fact, get to eat cake. Oops.



Fishing for prizes....



And look what we caught!



Ah, yes, the quintessential hayride.



My smiley boy. I fear it will be many days post-surgery that I get these sweet smiles, so I'm getting as many as I can and snapping lots of pictures.



Look what he can do!! He's propped up in the corner of the pack-n-play. Granted, he needs lots of blankets and doesn't last long before he tumbles over, but it's something!



Ooh, ooh, another "new" thing!! With the help (again) of those blankets, he can now spend a little bit of time in his exersaucer. I gotta be honest, while I'm very glad he can now do these things, it still stings just a little bit that he's five months old and just now able to do these things...with assistance. Letting go of that "norm" is something I think I will always be doing.



Big smiles. I think he looks like my baby pictures in this shot.



Staring intently at the toys. He was turning them!!



Taking a breather.



My silly boy. We went upstairs to take Benjamin's five-month pictures in the chair. I told Andrew we would take some pictures of him, too. So he grabbed a rubber duck and the top of the Curious George bath bubbles and ran into the room, saying, "CHEESE!!!!!"



Another "cheese" moment. (George and the duck have been forgotten and are behind him.)



FIVE MONTHS!! He kept wanting to lift his legs.



I took this one mainly to get a good "pre-surgery, pre-scar" chest shot, but LOOK at this adorable smile!!!!!! He melts my heart.



I "caught" Andrew reading a book. :)



Thanks for looking!! We only have three more days before we leave for Nashville. Here is our plan:

Today--clean the house
Sunday--laundry
Monday--packing
Tuesday--leave after Matthew gets off work
Wednesday--We have a pre-op appointment at 8 a.m.
Thursday--surgery (time TBA)

:)

Another day, another headache

Wow. Today was crazy. I'll try to update quickly b/c I need to feed Benjamin and put him to bed, but he's content in his bouncy seat right now with his duck, cow, and dinosaur. (Incidentally, the only stuffed animals that are officially "his" and not Andrew's--or passed down from Andrew.)

My friend Kristy was *going* to watch Andrew this morning (bless her..she has four children, homeschools two of them, and was already watching another friend's toddler, so she was willing to have six children ages 10 months to 11 years at her house) BUUUUUUT he is sick and still contagious so we scrapped that plan. So Matthew went into work at 5:30 and worked until about 8:00, when he came home so I could take Benjamin to Children's for his urology appointment.

On the way there we almost died as a black BMW 740iL had a total tire blowout right as you top the ridgecut and we all literally screeched our brakes to come to complete stops. I almost ran right into a Mustang. (I only mention the exact type of BMW b/c that's the *exact* same kind of car that Matthew used to DREAM of owning. He bought one (used) last September and had it about six months until he traded it for a 2007 Honda Accord. He's far too practical to own a BMW. The upkeep is so expensive. Oh, well, I wonder what *I* will buy for my midlife crisis? A new wardrobe? Hmmm....I have awhile to think about it.) ANYWAY (wordy much?) we made it to the doctor's and basically Benjamin does have a hypospadias (a second opening in his penis) but it is a very mild case and surgery would be no big deal. We don't even have to have it done b/c it won't interfere with function, but the doctor said it just makes sense to do it b/c insurance will pay for it and it's a 45-minute outpatient surgery. (Though they may keep Benjamin overnight b/c of his heart issues.) We go back in six months to the urologist to review our options.

I came home to a very fussy Andrew and a Matthew who was itching to get back to work. Thankfully, "work" today meant our office b/c he brought stuff home to work on. YAY!

Andrew has not had a fever all day (though I did give him some blue-raspberry Children's Advil b/c he was really crabby and irritable and I figured his throat may hurt. He's not quite old enough to tell me where he hurts unless it's a "boo boo.") so he's on the upswing. Ugh. I hate that phrase. But I just used it. It's official. I'm old. (Well, really, what made it official was that I watched "Coco Chanel," a Lifetime movie and really enjoyed it.)

The doctor said that he's not contagious once his fever has been gone for 24 hours, so we're almost there!!!!! It's waaaaaaaaay time to clean the house anyway, so I'll just go nuts with my Clorox Anywhere Spray and we should be good to go. Unless Benjamin picked up a germ and it's lying dormant for a couple of days. Ugh. Please pray it isn't!!!!

A special shout-out (holla!!!!) to my wonderful cousins Casandra and Philip who called and told us they were bringing us dinner tonight. See, Matthew, something good DID come from my blog!! They read it, sensed that I was going loco, and came to help. Everyone knows that "help" to me = FOOD! So they brought us some muy delicioso (I really don't know what is up with all the Spanish tonight) fajitas (ah, there it is) and chips/salsa from Chili's. Plus, the best part..the gift that keeps on giving (twelve times anyway)...a twelve pack of Dr. Pepper. Ahhh....I'm really trying to convince myself that I already had one and I do NOT need another one.

Okay. That was not quick. But it was fun. And after the week I've had, fun is more important than feeding my child. Oh, wait. That's not what I meant..... :)

I'll try to post some cute pictures tomorrow. If you're lucky.

Update

Matthew just got back from taking Andrew to the doctor. I called her today and she said to bring Andrew in to do a strep test. Strep would have been a *good* thing b/c Benjamin is too young to get it. Well...it ain't strep. :(
He has red bumps on his throat and a fever. So he has a viral infection that will just have to run its course. Meanwhile, Benjamin absolutely CANNOT get sick or we'll have to postpone his surgery.
Please pray that Benjamin does not get sick, that Andrew gets better soon (for all our sakes...a crabby toddler is no fun) and that I do not go crazy trying to keep them separated. I think I've already washed my hands 30 times today. Ugh.

No weigh-in today and Andrew may be sick :(

Breastfeeding Support Group was cancelled today b/c the hospital is being remodeled. So I wasn't able to get a weight on Benjamin. We go see the urologist (about the penis issue) on Friday so we'll get a weight check then.

Today went fairly well. But when Andrew sat down to eat dinner, he just started crying. For no reason. It was pathetic. And I *knew*. When you're a momma bird, you just know. I took his temperature. 102.1. So sad. He made a through a bath but didn't want any dinner. My only consolation is that he wanted me to take him upstairs to put him to bed. ("Mommy, tell Daddy to stay downstairs.")

PLEASE pray that Benjamin does NOT get sick!! He cannot have his surgery next week if he is sick. We took his temperature and it was 98.3. So far, so good. I can only imagine how hard it is going to be to keep Andrew's germs at bay the next six days. UGH.

By the way, I made some pasta tonight. Let's just say I am not a wheat pasta kind of girl. That stuff was NASTY. Gimme my white stuff any day. :)

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

So he never reads my blog, but I feel compelled to wish my sweet husband a happy birthday. It's late, and technically, almost NOT his birthday anymore, but just the same....

Matthew is THE most selfless and patient man that I know. Anyone who has met him for five minutes can attest to it. I know that God is good when I just think about how wonderful my husband is. He is so wonderful to me and to our children. He's smart and funny and such a great spiritual leader and provider for our family.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Virtually impossible tasks

If you are successful at either of these things, leave a comment and let me know. I have yet to accomplish either one.

1. Say "toy boat" three times fast. And by fast, I mean fast. No slowing down on purpose. Don't worry; this isn't one of those junior-high pranks where I trick you into saying something dirty. It just sounds really funny because everyone thinks it's easy and then can't do it!! My fourth graders used to try it over and over and over and giggle hilariously. Go ahead. I dare you. Then have someone else try because it's just as funny to hear someone else's failed attempt.

2. Eat six saltine crackers in one minute. Easy, eh? Not so. There are some stipulations. You cannot drink anything. And you have to swallow all six crackers in their entirety in sixty seconds. I saw this attempted on a new show I love on the Food Network, "Food Detectives." (Heather, you're gonna show me how to hyperlink....) On the show, the food techs tried different techniques, from eating them one-by-one to smashing them up first to eating three at a time. The last attempt was the closest, but it is still SO hard. I tried but failed. I still had about half to go. Matthew tried and was SOOOOOO close. Seriously, he probably only needed about five more seconds. The reason it's so hard is because the crackers are so dry and you don't produce enough saliva to chew and swallow them that quickly. If you do attempt it, I want pictures. :)

Lastly, and this has nothing to do with this post, but I wanted to add it. It's a fashion don't. And, no, I'm not talking about me here, so just back up off me. (Sorry about the weird facial expression; the sun was very bright.) Look carefullly. Do you notice anything about Matthew's shirt and our location???

Yes, sirree. He made the mistake of wearing his Hard Rock TOKYO shirt to Pearl Harbor. Maybe the sun was so bright because God was trying to get our attention. "Hey, you, dumb move!"

:)

Wednesday weigh-in (9/17)

Whew! To quote Eugene Levy from Splash, "What a WEEK I'm having!" Yesterday was just one of those long, crazy days where your baby doesn't do what you want him to do, and your schedule is all thrown off, and you miss your kidless days and having a job you can leave at the office.

This morning Benjamin was up early (5:30 is early, remember?) and I was still reeling from my day yesterday. The thought of getting both boys and myself ready and out the door for Bible study by 9:00 was just too much to handle; I simply did not have it in me. So we stayed home.

I weighed myself and I have lost another pound! That's 8 1/2 pounds since July, so not bad! Plus I can now wear a few pairs of pants that I have not been able to! That motivated me to work out while Benjamin napped.

Andrew has been super cute and more obedient today (thank goodness), so that, too helps. The three of us headed off to the hospital so I could weigh and feed Benjamin.

He gained another 3.8 ounces!! He went from 12.04.2 lbs to 12.08.0 lbs! YAY! Then when he ate, he gained 4.2 ounces! That is a real encouragement b/c he's been kind of lethargic lately and not wanting to eat as much.

So that's what is going on here. I am posting some recent cute pictures below.

Wednesday weigh-in (9/3 and 9/10)

I just realized that I didn't "weigh in" last Wednesday! Sorry.

Well, in that case, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that Benjamin actually *lost* weight last week. He went from 12.03.0 lbs to 12.01.8 pounds, which is a loss of 1.2 ounces.

The good news is that he gained this week and weighed 12.04.2 pounds yesterday, a gain of 3.4 ounces from last week. So, yay!

We got our packet from Vanderbilt yesterday. Well, technically, I had to call (again) and she ended up faxing it to Matthew at work. It's a good thing, too, because in it, I learned that Benjamin is supposed to take vitamins w/iron beginning three weeks prior to the surgery. Ummm....yeah, that's today. I called the pharmacist at CVS (literally less than half a mile from our house) and talked to him last night. They have infant drops (over-the-counter), so that's what Matthew got last night. I am planning on starting them tonight. Problem. They STINK. Horribly. And I'm sure they stain. It pretty much looks and smells like iodine. Ick. Poor guy.

The rest of the information was pretty much what we already knew, but here are the highlights:

• The surgery is scheduled for Thursday, October 2. (Happy birthday, Dad, Uncle Peter, and Laurie!) We will find out the time of the surgery the day before.
• The day before, October 1, we have a pre-operative meeting at 8 a.m. This will take four to six hours. They'll run tests, take us on a tour, etc. We'll meet the surgeon and the nurse. We'll find out all the things we need to know.
• Because we have to be there so early on the 1st, Matthew, Benjamin, and I will go up to Nashville (about 2 1/2 hours away, but an hour behind us) on September 30. (Happy birthday, Elizabeth "Lizard"!)
• We are on the waiting list to stay at the Ronald McDonald House starting on Sept 30. We can call a day or two prior to see if there is room. There may or may not be. There are local hotels that give a medical discount if we cannot stay in the RMH.

That is pretty much all! Here is how you can pray for us specifically at this time:

• That Benjamin will continue to gain weight (even minimally) up until the surgery. The bigger he is, the better!
• That he will not go into heart failure before the surgery. (This would simply mean that his heart cannot work hard enough to keep up with his body's demands. He would be very lethargic and weak. He would not be in any immediate danger, as the surgery is already so close.)
• That we will get a room at the RMH for the entire stay of our visit.
• That Matthew will be able to get all his work tied up for the time we're gone. We won't know how long we'll be there until we see how the surgery goes and how Benjamin starts to recover. They say minimum three to four days, which would be from the surgery date. So that would mean the *earliest* we would most likely be home would be Sunday or Monday, the 5th and 6th. I would think we'd be there a little longer, but you never know. There could be complications and we could be there two weeks or more. We'll save those prayer requests for later. ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!!

More pictures, anyone?

We don't really have much of an update but lots of cute new pictures. Plus a really cute video of my sweet baby.

Who *knows* what was being said here...





At least it ended with a kiss!



My father has this funny habit of putting his eyeglasses on my sons' faces to see how they look. Here is Andrew at just over a month old.



And here is Benjamin at just over four months old.



And, of course, we can't leave anyone out! LOL



Yampa and the boys.



Tummy time, anyone?



Most of my sons' time together ends with a kiss. :)



How in the *world* did he get from Point A to Point B? This was in just a few minutes. Go, Benjamin, go!!

Point A



Point B (Notice how Nancy has also changed positions in the background!)



My sweet, sweet baby. He really is precious. Mostly a very happy baby. Much different from Andrew, who wasn't necessarily unhappy, just kind of...pensive. :)





*You'll have to pause the music on my playlist (alllll the way at the bottom of the page) in order to hear this. Sorry that you have to endure my voice. I'm sure I sound much more southern than I realize. (And much more like my mother than I'm ready to admit..) :)

More pictures

It wouldn't let me upload any more pictures, so here are some more!! These are of Benjamin. They kind of make me sad, honestly, b/c it's more and more apparent that he has Down syndrome. It's not that I'm ashamed of him at *all*. It's just more of a visual reminder. Just the same, isn't he the cutest thing? I especially love the last one in the brown outfit. His nose is adorable in that picture. I sure love this little guy. ;)