A new computer + an update

I'm baaaack!!! Roger set up my new computer tonight. It is wonderful to be among the internet surfers again!

Update on Miles:

Miles began crying as soon as we pulled up to the hospital. It's not that he recognizes the hospital, but he knew we were there for him. Roger dropped us off and I made my way to admissions while he found a place to park. Miles cried through the lobby and I could see the fear in his face as we entered the admissions office. We were quickly called back to an office for paperwork to be completed and Miles became unglued. I was done! I couldn't hold back the tears anymore, so I sat there with Miles on my lap and we were both sobbing. Very sad! Roger walked in and asked what was wrong. I felt so bad for Miles. It is so hard to see him so scared.

We were taken to the 8th floor for his tests. He was very unsettled and I asked if they could give him a nasal mist to help him calm down. The anesthesiologist didn't want to use that because it would make him sleep longer. I thought sleep would be a good thing for Miles! They put his IV in while he and I both cried. The nurses kept asking me if I was okay. :-) I was okay, but I felt so nervous for how Miles was feeling and I am quite hormonal right now! They let me carry him back to the procedure room while they gave an injection through his IV to put him to sleep. They warned me that he would go limp very fast! He did!!! The procedure was over about 20 minutes after that!

The doctor took pictures for us and we are waiting on the results of the biopsies. He let us know that he also biopsied for lactose intolerance, so I look forward to getting the results back. As far as the appearance of his esophagus, and stomach, and intestines...everything looks good and normal. We also received the results from the Impedance Study (testing for acid and non-acid reflux) and it was normal, as well, so there are no signs of reflux.

The question now is...where do we go from here? We know Miles still had reflux as of a few months ago, and we are grateful that there is no damage to anything inside. To be honest, we were hoping the doctor would find something. It's not that we really want anything to be wrong with Miles, but we were looking for answers for why Miles has always been so miserable. I'm glad everything seems to be fine, but I am disappointed that we didn't find a way to help him. We were hoping we could just change his medication and have a happy boy.

We will receive the biopsy results next week, and then Miles goes to an allergist in a few weeks.
Please pray for wisdom for Roger and I. We are trying to deal with some of Miles' behavior, but he is so different than our other kids, so this is a new journey. I think having a new baby is going to be really difficult on Miles, and therefore, on our entire family. We have a few books we will be reading to glean some advice, but we would really appreciate your prayers.

One last post

I'm still here, but my computer is nearly dead. I'm grieving...seriously! My dear, sweet, wonderful husband has ordered a new computer for me, which should arrive next week! But for now I do not have access to the internet, nor anything else except email...and I get that most of the time. I feel lost without the internet! Sad, isn't it? I will post about Christmas after I get my new computer and look forward to adding some pictures!

This will be my last post until after I get my new computer, so I wanted to ask you again to pray for Miles. I took him off his reflux medication Tuesday for the procedures he will have done Monday and Tuesday at the Children's hospital. He has had a very unhappy week. He is sleeping better at night than he ever has when we have reduced his medication, but I hear him coughing and choking a little every now and then. I don't know if he is getting a cold, or if he is refluxing.

I'm not concerned about the procedures, but I know this will be a difficult time for Miles because of his sensory issues. Would you please pray for peace and comfort for Miles, and for clear answers for the doctors? Please pray for me, too! It's so hard to see Miles when he is so scared of everything around him. Roger will be with me during Miles' procedure, so I am grateful for that. I will be having Ian 5 weeks from this week, so please pray for rest for me, too.

I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you so much for praying.

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Every so often a family hits a snag in their adoption. Often times it's during the paperwork process and they can't continue on. Usually there are finances involved. Sometimes that is mixed with an unexpected blessing like a pregnancy. For the Newbold family, their story is a little different.

Not so long ago Heaven's doors opened to their sweet daughter, Chloe, and she left the pain and difficulty of the Leukemia she was fighting. Little Chloe was around 2 years old and had Down syndrome. She was an only child. Now her parents are fighting another fight- not one with illness, but one with the possible loss of another 2 year old daughter.

A few months ago the Newbolds went to complete their adoption of two sweet little ones with Down syndrome from Eastern Europe and their younger child, Dasha, was not yet registered for the right amount of time to complete her adoption. This turned her adoption from a "two at once" into two completely separate adoptions. FOUR trips to Ukraine. Thousands more in airfare. The light in all of this was that they were told by their facilitator that they would still only be charged the amount of money it would have cost if it had been done in one trip. What a blessing!

Unfortunately, their facilitator recently reevaluated and found that there was no way she could complete an adoption for that amount and even with an extra $2,000 she would just barely scrape by and would be working for free herself. Now the Newbolds are in Ukraine to get their sweet Dasha and their court date won't be held until after Jan 12th (because of the orthodox Christmas they celebrate in January). They are having to add yet ANOTHER trip to get her because they aren't comfortable leaving their other newly adopted child for that length of time to stay until then.

Now, the reason I write to you all is to let you know of the family, the need, and to petition your hearts that if you have a desire to help get little Dasha home to her parents you now have a means to do so. Click the button at the top of this post and it will bring you to their blog where you'll find their Paypal link as well as the info about their family.

This family already lost their first 2 yr old little girl and the feeling that they may lose their second just due to finances is daunting. PLEASE KEEP THIS FAMILY AND THEIR SITUATION IN PRAYER EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT IN A PLACE TO CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY RIGHT NOW. REMEMBER, THOUGH, THAT EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.

Thanks, I don't come out with pleas for help very often. This one really needs it though.

I finished wrapping all of the Christmas presents yesterday, so the kids woke up this morning to find presents under the tree. They were so excited! Franklin asked me if Christmas was today.

We have had a busy week! Monday and Tuesday evenings were free, so I was really looking forward to watching the Biggest Loser. It's about the only show I watch right now. I was not disappointed! I was happy with the person who won because she was nice throughout the competition...which is not what I can say about a few of the other women! Wednesday we had AWANA store night, and a birthday party for Jesus. It struck me this week...we don't do the Santa thing, but I knew of a church in town who was doing a "breakfast with Santa" and then I wondered...why don't people get their picture taken in a live nativity rather than with Santa? Just a thought! Thursday evening we hired one of our favorite babysitters, so Roger and I could go to a Christmas Party. Friday night Ari and Franklin had bell choir practice. And today I took Lauren and Miles with me to Walmart (I know!!! Crazy thought! But it really wasn't as crazy as I expected.), came home, gave Franklin and Ari haircuts, fixed lunch, gave everyone a bath, put the two little guys in bed for a nap, made jello salad and macaroni and cheese, woke the two little guys up, got everyone dressed and left for Roger's family Christmas party. It was a fun evening!
Tomorrow we have church, I will be singing tomorrow evening at church if I can stop coughing, then we have another babysitter coming tomorrow evening, so Roger and I can stop by another Christmas party. We don't hire babysitters very often, so it is odd for the kids to have another babysitter so soon. They will be excited though!

We are going to take a break from school for the next week. We'll do a couple of things in our curriculum since I will be gone the following Monday and Tuesday with Miles, but for the most part we are going to have a "fun learning" week. We'll bake and do crafts, and go to the park, and run around outside. I have an OB appointment Wednesday. And then, of course, it's Christmas!!!

I may not be able to post much this week. Our computer is dying quickly! I can't stay on very long because the fan doesn't seem to be working, so we are afraid it is going to burn up. We may have a new computer by the end of the week! I hope you enjoy your week...and have fun with your kids!!! Remind them daily why we celebrate Christmas!

An update on Miles

I took Miles to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist this morning. We left at 7:30 this morning and got there at 8:35. They wanted us there early to make sure all of the paperwork was filled out correctly, but his appointment was at 9:00. We didn't get out until about 11:00. Whew! That was a long time, although the entire staff was very kind and compassionate. They seemed to understand how to deal with a child with sensory issues, so they were very patient with every little thing they needed to do, and Miles did wonderful! I took some new, little toys, so that helped take his mind off of the stress of being in a new doctor's office.

Miles had surgery when he was 5 weeks old for Pyloric Stenosis. This condition occurs when the muscle that contracts causing your food to go from your stomach into your intestine becomes enlarged, and therefore, no food can pass through your body, so everything is vomited back up. We were told that the surgery should cure his reflux, too, but the doctor told us today that Pyloric Stenosis and reflux are two different things, so the surgery shouldn't be expected to cure the problem with reflux. A lot of infants have reflux and it doesn't seem to affect them. For the first six months Miles had breathing problems and sleep apnea and both were associated with reflux. He turned two in September, we cut his dose of Zantac in half, but he began immediately waking in the night and during naps, so we knew we had to increase his dosage to the normal amount. This was his first time to see a Ped. Gastro doctor, and I wish we had done it sooner.

Miles will be admitted to the Children's Hospital December 29th for an upper endoscopy where they will take a scope and look at his esophagus and stomach, taking small biopsies to see what is happening on the inside. While he is asleep they will insert a tube through his nose, and down his throat and then halfway into his esophagus that will monitor the acid in his esophagus. This tube will need to remain in place for 24 hours, so we will be spending the night. As much as I want to know if something more is wrong with Miles, so we can help him...it kills me to think of what he will go through in those few days. He already has sensory issues, so this will be a BIG deal to him and very difficult for him to handle. It's kind of difficult for his very-pregnant mommy to handle, too! It breaks my heart. I know it could be much worse, and I am grateful that it appears his medication has probably protected him pretty well. Please pray for Miles!

I cannot find the Brach's chewy peppermint candies! What's up with that?! I couldn't find them at Walmart yesterday, didn't see them at Target, and forgot to look at the grocery store. This may be my first Christmas without the enjoyment of one of my favorite pasttimes...eating chewy peppermint Christmas tree candy!

A one man choir, and a sister conductor

A busy day

The day started like any other. Get up, shower, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, do morning jobs (the kids have jobs they do each morning, ie brush teeth, empty trash cans, make beds, etc), start school...We finished with school around 11:00, which is much earlier than normal, so we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather. We were playing outside when Roger's mom called and asked if she could take us to McDonald's. She had asked on Wednesday, but I was too nauseous to handle the task. So, we met at "Old McDonald's" (that's what the kids keep calling it), had lunch, let the kids play, got to see a friend who showed up unexpectedly (so happy to see you *S*!), and then we were out the door. Right after Grandma called this morning another friend called and asked if Franklin could come play with her little boy this afternoon. Lauren loves to play with her little girls, so I asked if Lauren could come, too. I felt kind of bad for asking, but Lauren is usually more of a help than a hindrance. After McDonald's I dropped off Lauren and Franklin to play for the afternoon and brought the other two boys home for a nap. That didn't last very long. I laid down on the sofa while the boys were sleeping and dozed off just in time for the phone to ring. It was a sales call! Bummer! Ari was awake soon after that and then Miles woke up, too. Still, I had a few minutes to lay down and rest. I picked up Lauren and Franklin and hurried home to meet our two little guests we would be watching for the evening. We greeted our guests, ate dinner, turned on a movie and played until the little ones were picked up at 8:30. I was so glad Roger was here to help me tonight. I could not have done it on my own.
I am ready to rest!

Have you ever tried...

Edy's Special Edition Peppermint ice cream??? It is sold in stores every year in December and I have been hooked for years. I look forward to December for so many reasons:
1) Christmas! It is always a joy to celebrate the birth of my Savior!
2) Peppermint ice cream
3) Egg nog
4) Christmas tree peppermint chewy candy (Brach's?)

The ice cream felt really good on my sore throat tonight. Ari is my Egg nog buddy!
I love the weather in December, too!

Christmas shopping

Roger is at Target right now and then going to Walmart as I type this. HE is doing the Christmas shopping!!! I don't think this has ever been done before! Of course, I told him what to get...well, sort of. We discussed it, but I pretty much knew what I wanted to get for the kids. As he left the house I thought, "I better grab the phone because I know he is going to call." Yep! I just got off the phone with him! He's so great! We aren't spending much, and the kids are getting three things each, so it's pretty easy. We still don't know what to get for our parents and siblings, but we'll figure out something that is small and inexpensive. We are spending very little on everyone this year. I already got my gift! I was able to donate money to Reece's Rainbow to an orphan I pray for every day. This money will go toward his adoption grant, so whoever chooses to adopt him will have the money to use for his adoption. I'll post more about Reece's Rainbow soon, but if you want a little bit of extra information now you can click on the button over to the right that says "Reece's Rainbow."

I find it very hard to let Roger do the shopping. I enjoy buying things for the kids! Still, I don't feel well, and today has been a bad nausea day, and I have a cold on top of that, so I am thankful that he is willing to brave the madness of Christmas shoppers!!! Have I told you how wonderful he is???

Record breaker

I really have no idea how this happened, but we were done with school by 10:30 this morning!!! Everyone! This never happens! So, I called grandma to see if we could come over for lunch and decided we would go to the library before going to her house. And then I decided to see if Franklin's best friend/cousin could come over and play and his mom decided it was his turn to come to their house (that made Franklin very happy!), and then Lauren felt left out, so she called and asked her grandma if she could spend the afternoon with her. So, here I sit with two little boys in bed taking naps, two other kids off having a wonderful afternoon, and I have time to get something done! So, what should I do? I think I will clean the bathrooms and then read a book I got at the library this morning.

And, I feel better today. I am not quite as nauseous. My throat doesn't hurt as bad, but it has turned into a cough. And for the first time in this pregnancy something actually sounded good to eat...Chicken McNuggets from McDonald's! And yes, I picked them up on the way to grandma's house, but shared them, so I want more!

Weekend update

Saturday: We went to a Christmas Parade. Miles wasn't happy most of the parade. The firetrucks were too loud for him, the horns blowing were too loud, he doesn't like clowns, and this was just not the place for him! The other kids had fun! Roger played music with the bluegrass band after the parade and they were playing longer than expected, so I took the kids home and he got a ride home later.
Saturday evening we hired a babysitter (she's wonderful!) and Roger and I went to a Christmas/reunion party for a company he used to work for. The dinner was catered and was absolutely wonderful!!! We were sent home with leftovers for our entire family. Very nice!
I came home from the party with a headache, sore throat, and pretty bad pregnancy nausea, so I went straight to bed.

Sunday: Roger and I both woke up with sore throats and it got worse throughout the day. Oh no! The kids seems to be fine so far. Our church choir sang a Christmas cantata in the morning service. It was really good! Beautiful music! Lauren sat so well through the entire service. All of the boys were in class. We went back to church for the evening service, came home, put the kids in bed, Roger ate dinner, I tried to think of anything that sounded good to eat, so I ate a pear and a piece of cheese, and off to bed we went.

And now it is Monday morning...I have tons of laundry to do! I didn't do any laundry over the weekend, so I have a lot to do today! I have school planned out for the week, so as soon as I get all of the laundry sorted and started in the washer our school day will begin. I don't feel like doing school! I really don't feel well... Let the day begin!

A family outing

Well, it was nothing terribly exciting, but at least we got out of the house...we went to the grocery store tonight! Oh yeah, all six of us! I was asked twice if Ari and Franklin were twins, which is nothing uncommon. I get asked if the boys are triplets sometimes, too. That seems like a bit of a stretch to me, but I sure have been asked a lot.

Tomorrow night we are going to another family's house for dinner. Roger knows the family, not me, and we are taking all of the kids, so we'll see how it goes.

Miles had OT today and did really well. I wish we could focus more on the issues that are more of a problem now and back off the issues that he has already improved so much on. It always seems so rushed, so I don't feel like I can ask many questions. We just started, so I'm sure we'll get in a groove at some point. We have some homework to do, and I'm not sure how well it will work with Miles, but I hope he enjoys it. I also have some great ideas to do with Miles when we go to his future doctor appointments that will hopefully help him be more relaxed.

And now...it isn't even 8:30, but I am tired. I'm going to go put on my pj's, prop up my gorgeous varicose veins and watch TV. The house is so quiet...shhhhhhh....

Time to Decorate!!!

We decorated for Christmas tonight!!! I was really excited about it...until we got started! It was hard decorating with 8 extra little hands! Only one ornament got broken...and that was my fault! After all is said and done...the tree is beautiful! And we are extra blessed because the tree was given to us today...along with jeans for the older two boys, and a bicycle for Ari. Thank you so much *C* family for blessing us! We love our new tree!!!

What could be better than Disney World?

For my kids...I guess it's Cracker Barrel! They have been begging to go to Cracker Barrel for months and today was finally the day we could go. We had a $25 gift card, so we knew we could manage the bill. Ari asked constantly from the time lunch was over when we could go eat at Cracker Barrel. Well, the bill came to $24.98!!! Amazing! We left a big tip, but that was all we paid for all six of us (plus Ian!) to eat. It was wonderful! It's amazing how much money you can save when everyone drinks water! Drinks add up really fast! The kids were great...everyone ate well...and it was nice to have the time together!