Her Story (Part 2)

Finally, part 2! I can’t tell you how much energy it takes for me to write this. Some of it I will never forget, some of it I have to try really hard to remember exactly what happened which frustrates me, most of it I re-live, and a lot of it I cry through but I am going to get it all done!

Continued from here

So, she was whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She was unable to breathe on her own she was vented and placed on oxygen. She weighed in at 6 lbs 7 oz so she was big to be 5 weeks early. Aaron was able to go down and get updates on her and finally at around 3:30 am I was able to go down to the NICU to see her. I waited over 6 very long hours to get to see her but I was determined I would not go to sleep until I laid my eyes on her. We were unable to hold her of course. I remember entering the NICU and she was covered in tubes and wires and it did upset me a little but I was just so glad to see her. Looking back now I keep thinking of what was going through my head at the time and I am not really sure. I think I was so happy that she was alive that nothing else mattered at the time. I have to add here that the entire NICU itself is an experience which is very overwhelming. That night there were some very critical babies in there, at one point she was beside what they referred to as a heart baby (a baby with major heart complications), once there was a baby who had been there for months and months and no one had been to see her (which was not that uncommon), once she was beside a baby with some form of dwarfism, a baby that weighed 13 ounces at birth. You simply cannot grasp just how much of a miracle it is when everything works as it should in our bodies until you have been a part of something like this and see just how many things can be wrong. It is amazing! Later that morning Aaron went down to see her and they had drained the fluid from her lungs and tried to take her off the vent but she was not ready yet but the news that morning was promising. She was undergoing lots of tests that morning. In the afternoon Aaron took me back to see her and the nurse (Stephanie was her name and she was wonderful and I can still see her-she called her Mustang Sallie and she had made a bow for her hair) told us that they had some results for us. Stephanie got one of the doctors and he told us that she had a cleft palate, one kidney, several heart defects, that the sutures in her skull were fused together and that in order for her brain to ever expand she would have to have surgery to hopefully create space in there, and that it appeared she had some type of genetic disorder or syndrome. My heart aches just thinking about sitting there that day and being told this news. I simply cannot describe the feeling. What? I didn’t do drugs, I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke, I took care of myself, there was no family history of anything like this. How could this happen? What did I do to cause this? I cannot tell you how long I dealt with the question of what did I do to cause this. I was certain that I had to have caused this. Praise God that I have been set free from those thoughts that tormented me for so long! When I finish her story I plan to do something on the things I learned most but I have to say this now. Never think you are exempt from things like this happening. It happens every day to people just like you and me. However, also do not live in fear that it will happen to you. God has a plan for every one of us and our children (even those we do not consider “complete”-we are all “complete” in HIM). Sorry for the digression! Stephanie stood beside us with a box of tissues in hand, patting us occasionally. I remember the doctor asking, “do you have any questions?” I often wonder if anyone has any questions at that point. I do think Aaron asked a few things but it is kinda hard to think in that situation. We came out of the unit and both my sisters were sitting there waiting on their turn to see her. I guess we somehow told them what we had been told and Aaron wheeled me back to my room on what felt like the longest journey ever. My dear sisters held it together for us and they would do so many times from that point on. The remainder of that day we spent crying and telling the rest of our family and friends what we had been told and praying. They of course assured us that we would all make it through it together and would do whatever it took for her. The next morning A went down first thing to see her and the Drs were making their rounds and they told him they had done another test and that it did indicate that there was movement of the sutures in her skull and also they were able to remove the vent and she was now breathing on her own. Praise the Lord! That same day when A and I both went in to see her, the geneticist was examining her. Not sure what it was about that but I did not like it. Why was she looking at MY baby? I mean I knew why but I just can’t explain the feeling. I felt like my child was some specimen and I just had a hard time with it. Keep in mind I was less than 48 hours postpartum (very emotional and still on the magnesium to make sure my blood pressure stayed Ok). She told us that she did not know what Sallie had but that it did not appear to be Downs to her. They did the genetic and chromosomal testing that day and told us we would have to wait for 6 weeks. 6 weeks that felt like 6 years. At some point that day (I think it was that day. I know I was still in the hospital because I can still see myself lying in that hospital bed and the Lord revealing this to me). From the time they gave us the news about her health, I kept thinking it is just not supposed to be this way. I verbalized it, I thought it to myself over and over and over and finally the Lord said to me, “I never told you it would all be great. I never told you things like this wouldn’t happen” To this day, I feel so strongly about this. The Lord does not promise us our lives will be like we think they should or desire them to be. We are promised trials as Christians. “Beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” I Peter 4:12 I had no idea how much our faith was going to be tested over and over again (and continues to be). My Dr came in that night and told me I would be dismissed on Sunday which brought a whole new set of emotions and decisions. It was much easier being right there in the same hospital. Where did we go from here? That Sunday night we stayed in a hotel and both my sisters were with us. We ate at Chili’s (also where Aaron and I ate on our first date-it has a special place in our hearts!) that night and I remember feeling like I was in a dream. I was sitting in Chili’s eating and my newborn was in a NICU. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t think, it was just strange. We had no idea what we do from this point on. We obviously couldn’t stay in a hotel every night. Our home was 2 ½ hours away and we had been told that she would probably have to stay for about 6 weeks. We got settled in (as settled in as you can get under the circumstances) and Aaron told me he had to go back to the hospital to check on her. He had always been a wonderful father but he took fatherhood to a whole new level when it came to Sallie. I admit, I was very intimidated by her and I felt really guilty about being that way. He just embraced it all so much better than I did. I will share more on this later but he is always the one who has it together when we get bad news about Sallie and I fall apart and later he falls apart and by then I have it together. God knew just what He was doing when He put us together! The next morning his mom called us to tell us that she had been able to get us in at some townhouses that were a few blocks from the hospital. The Baptist Association in that county operated a floor of that building. Aaron’s mom worked for the time at the AL Baptist Children’s Home and through connections was able to get us in to one of the townhouses. It cost us $12 a night. That is such a wonderful ministry. Individual churches are responsible for the upkeep and they do a wonderful job. There was scripture everywhere you turn and my healing (emotional) really began there. At this point, we had been taught how to feed her with the cleft. We had special bottles that you squeezed the formula into her mouth. She had reflux terribly and she screamed through every single bottle we ever gave her. Only by the grace of God, did she thrive. We forced every drop down her and she threw up most of that (every time). We spent our days at the hospital and after her 1O o’clock feeding we would go back to the townhouse and then Aaron would get up to go feed her every 2 hours. I remember saying, “baby, you need to rest” and he would say, “she needs me more.” Now you know one of the many reasons I am so crazy about him! They did vision tests which were good, and they did several hearing tests and she failed them all but they told us this was not completely uncommon and we would have to wait and see what happened. After a week we were told that we could do everything she needed at home and that we would be released. We were so thankful! What we thought would be 6 weeks was 1 week. Something to be very thankful for in the midst of so much uncertainty. So, we headed home with a baby we had no idea what to do with but love, a stack of appointment cards for the first set of what would be hundreds of doctors appointments and to wait for her genetics and chromosome testing to come back.

Neat Website

I found this website that you can turn your photos into sketches for free. The address is http://www.dumpr.net/. These are the only ones I have had time to play with but I wanted to share. I uploaded a couple that didn't really look good as sketches so you kinda have to pick and choose a little. Enjoy!

What happens at 2?

Elleigh and Sallie both seemed to have more behavioral issues at 3 than at 2 so I have always said it should be Terrible 3's as opposed to Terrible 2's. Just let me say that if 3 is worse than 2 for Lizzie we are in real trouble!!! In the past week or so she has gotten really brave! She is very strong willed anyway but it has magnified times like a trillion! Our days go something like this:

"Lizzie, go play or go pick up your toys or don't do that" and her reply "NOOOOOO!!!" (very loudly I might add)

Finding Lizzie pouring Murphy's Oil Soap on a fabric chair

"Lizzie, here are your clothes for the day" and her reply "NOOOOOOOO!!!" (very loudly I might add) Very opinionated about what she wears and like her sister Sallie wants to change a million times a day. Oh, and is very picky about what panties she wears! Really prefers some kind of designs on them.

How could I forget that after she screams NOOOOOO she will stick her tongue out and say "mama" and point to her tongue. Yes, she does!

Often as she is screaming NOOOO about pretty much anything she is running away from us and stomping her feet.

BITING! This has gone on for about a week and yesterday I had enough. So, I bit her back. Sorry, if you think that is cruel. I bit her back. Twice! She never cried! Big marks on each arm and she never cried. I was thinking ok, when are the tears coming and she just looked at me like "what are you doing?" I have never had a biter but have always been told that if you will bite them they will stop. Well....

I WILL WIN!!!

Disclaimer: She can be so sweet and is so loving. She is just having some "issues" right now! Nothing a few million spankings won't fix!

The little princess herself!

Change

What would our lives be without change? I think we have become so accustomed to change that we would be really bored without it! So, as usual we are about to experience more change. Aaron has accepted a position as Interim Pastor at the church where he has been supply preaching. Yes, our lives are about to get even busier! This is not something we were seeking. It has been very hard for him not to preach very much while he has been in school. He has taught Sunday School the majority of the time but still not the same. It is not easy to find opportunities to preach. There are so many seminary students looking for that same opportunity, not to mention professors who do some preaching as well. As a wife, it has been really hard to see him struggle with this a lot at times. The man is called to preach and so he wants to do just that! It is also neat to watch him long for that so much because it confirms over and over that this is his calling! A few months ago, a former boss and dear friend of his called to ask him to fill his pulpit while he was on vacation. Aaron of course was thrilled. He also mentioned to Aaron (because he knows the strong desire for him to preach) that he knew a man from another church that was without a pastor and that if he wanted him to he would give him Aaron's name as someone to fill in. This is the church that I wrote about where his dad went and preached, etc. Long story, short they formally asked him to be the interim about a week and a half ago and he asked for a week for us to pray about it and on Monday he accepted. It is a long drive and it will be a challenge and we know that but more importantly we know God has called us there for this time and so we go. We love our church and it will be different for us to not be there all the time. We will still be there on Wednesday nights because we do not have to be at Red Springs on Wednesday. Elleigh will be able to continue with LITs and we will not completely lose touch with our church family here. The girls and I will also stay here on some Sundays but we will go with him most. We feel for the most part we need to be together as a family for church and also we are taking this interim as something we will all do and gain knowledge and experience from. They have a parsonage and we will be going over on Saturdays a lot and spending the night so that all of our driving is not on Sundays and to be able to spend more time there. It is in the country and is in a beautiful part of Texas. It really is a wonderful opportunity. This post is getting way longer than I intended but I really have to share this. Last year I did some co-teaching twice a month for Kindergarten Sunday school. In the spring I began to pray about whether I should continue in that role. There were several factors weighing on me about this decision. However, the one thing is that the Lord kept laying on my heart that Aaron was going to get the opportunity to preach and I needed to be freed up to be with him. God is so good! So, when they called to offer this to him he asked me what I thought and I said, "I think I had my answer some time ago." But, I did have to make sure that this was the place. It really was not an easy decision still because we did have to make sure. Elleigh was not happy (she is better). She is at a really hard age for change and she loves our church here and she is anxious about what our future holds. We pray that one day she will be able to look back at her life and say that her parents went where God led regardless of what WE want and that she will be thankful we did. I don't think she will mind me sharing this. Now that Elleigh is older and we feel spiritually mature for her age we are sure to include her in these discussions and prayer for direction. She let us know from the beginning she did not want to do this but after praying for a week her response was, "I know it is the right thing, but that doesn't mean I want it." That sums it all up! How many times do we know the right thing, but we don't want to do what it takes to do the right thing. The Lord often calls us to do things we don't want to do. It is often not the easy thing to do. The important thing is that we do it regardless. I assured her that as Christians we struggle with this every day-from the minor things to the major and that it is all about the decisions we make. After we had all agreed that God was leading us to do this Aaron shared with us that the Lord laid it on his heart to be the interim there the first time he preached there. He had not told us because he said he had to be sure and he did not want that to affect our discernment. I will end with a funny story. Aaron did his first Lord's Supper at this church. He had done it as a deacon but never actually preached, etc. I know he is mine but y'all that was the best Lord's Supper I have ever been a part of. Ever! I get chill bumps and tears just thinking about it. I wish I had it on video to share but it wouldn't be the same because the Spirit was in that place in such a powerful way. The way he did it was just great and his heart was so full and it was just great. Anyway, after they called and asked if he would come as interim this was Elleigh's response-"You just had to go and do the best Lord's supper ever didn't you!" It was hilarious!!! If you know Elleigh you can hear her telling him that. After he accepted he told her that the man he was talking to told him that they already loved us but that the Lord's supper just took it to a whole new level! Elleigh was right! We appreciate your prayers for us and for the church!

Her story (Part 1)

For almost a year I have contemplated sharing Sallie’s story through our blog. Many of you already know it but many of you do not know the full story. The idea of sharing her story keeps coming up. Some of you have asked and I have no idea why but I really feel God telling me to do this. So, I am giving in! I also want my blog entries to be something for our girls to have as a journal of their lives. Believe it or not, I have never written down Sallie’s story. Honestly, I kept telling myself I didn’t have the energy for it. Now that you know what it has taken to get me to this point, here we go. I must add that I wrote this portion a couple of weeks ago and have not typed it until now. One because I was beginning to talk myself out of it again, and two because it is so long! Last week, my friend Rebecca and I were having dinner and she brought it up again and I was reminded again that I had to do this. We tried nearly a year to get pregnant. In fact, I had called my OB/GYN and he wanted to see me because it was taking us a while and it was our second child. I went to my appointment and as usual did the initial urine sample and went to the room to wait on him. He walked in the door and said “you are pregnant.” We were thrilled! I had my initial blood work done that day and they called me the next day to tell me my progesterone was low. I began taking progesterone 3 times a day and went once a week for labs to monitor my levels through week 14 at which point the fetus takes over in the production of progesterone. Actually my levels never got as high as they wanted them to but even though this is part of the story it has nothing to do with her complications. Progesterone is needed in order for you to continue to carry the baby and so low progesterone often leads to miscarriage (As a side note, this exact thing happened when I was pregnant with Lizzie.) After week 14 we progressed along as usual. Around week 20 we went in for our ultrasound and everything looked great and we found out that Elleigh would have a sister! Once again, we were thrilled!!! Her name would be Sallie! Sallie was my great-grandmother’s name and I could do a whole (very long) post on what she meant to me. Ma lived just down the road from us and she kept me during the summers and after school. She thought I hung the moon, that I never did anything wrong (HA!), was funny, loved people, and most importantly loved the Lord. I can’t sing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” to this day without crying because I so vividly remember her singing it to me as a child. I never thought about using her name when I was expecting Elleigh. We both liked the name and Elleigh and I told Aaron to choose her name and he did. However, when I first began thinking about having another baby, I really thought it would be a girl and I knew that I wanted her name to be Sallie. I do not want this to sound the wrong way because all of my girls are very special to me but I know that it is no coincidence that my Sallie is named after a woman who has such a special place in my heart and who had such an impact on my life. I could have never imagined how much the second Sallie in my life would impact my life. At week 32 I went in for my check-up and I measured 41 weeks and had gained 7 lbs. in 2 weeks and I just did not feel right about things. My Dr. was alarmed and took me in for an ultrasound. Elleigh was 9 lbs. 2 oz. so we had already discussed that Sallie would probably be big as well. So, I am thinking oh she is just a really big baby. The ultrasound did show that she was large for her gestational age. However, the real problem was excessive amniotic fluid. We had no idea how much our lives were about to change. We now had to find out why the fluid was excessive (by the way, you can have excessive amniotic fluid and there not be a problem). They sent me for a 5 hour glucose tolerance test to make sure that I had not developed gestational diabetes later than normal. The test was normal. Dr. Dupre (my OB/GYN who was wonderful!) did some other tests which were all OK and then sent me on to a specialist in Birmingham. I had a targeted ultrasound and her organs looked fine. There was fluid on her lungs which also indicates a problem. However, I was told that there could be nothing wrong or it could mean that she had something like Downs. We are now at week 33. Aaron and I did not want to have an amnio so we declined and they put me on bed rest and told me to come back in 2 weeks. The plan at this point was for me to still deliver in Montgomery with my regular OB/GYN with a great possibility of her having to be moved to another hospital. This was very upsetting to me. I had visions of me having her and then them taking her away for me to not be able to see for days. The Lord was working all this out for me though. 35 weeks arrived and we went back to Birmingham to see the specialist. Everything looked about the same. They put the monitor on her and it indicated she was in distress. They admitted me for observation and to monitor her response to contractions. The next morning I was scheduled for an amnio so that they could determine her heart and lung maturity in order to come up with the best plan for delivery. They woke me up at 5 to go for the amnio and when I sat up and my blood pressure was at stroke stage. They immediately started magnesium to bring it down. They told me it would make me feel like I had the flu and they were right. They told me there was no reason to have the amnio because she had to be delivered regardless due to my condition. Our lives felt like they spinning out of control. They did more blood work and it turned out that I had toxemia and preeclampsia. They began the pitocin and things progressed pretty slowly. They broke my water early that afternoon which was risky because with excessive amniotic fluid when the waters break there is a chance that the cord will come out ahead of the fetus which would mean they would have to rush me to the OR. Two doctors took turns holding her in as they slowing broke my water. The Drs came in around 8:30 that night and said it would be another 4 hours or so. I was at 5 cm. I say Drs because I was at a teaching hospital and there were at least 5 doctors each time they came. Ms. Sallie had a different plan though-very indicative of Sallie! They had just walked out and I began having a very painful contraction that would not ease up. The nurses saw it on the monitor and thought I was hyperstimulating from the pitocin but they said that would be odd since I had been on it for so long. They got the Drs back in and they checked me again and Sallie had grabbed my cervix and would not let go! I had a 5 minute contraction that took me from 5 to 10 cm and at 8:44 pm on November 8, 2001 our sweet Sallie came into our lives. Anticipating problems, they had a large team of neonatologists in the room waiting on her to deliver. There were at least 25 doctors, nurses, and 1 scared daddy in the room for delivery. I remember that she wasn’t crying and I remember them literally throwing her to the neonatal team and I remember screaming at them asking if she was OK. This is not what you read about in the books. This is not what you envision when you think of your baby being born. I remember that we had promised Elleigh throughout the entire pregnancy that she could see her first and hold her before anyone else. A promise to a 4 year old that we couldn’t make happen. She was so excited about her baby sister. The day I found out I was pregnant we told Elleigh and it was a Wednesday and she walked in the back door of our fellowhship hall at church and yelled, “my mama’s having a baby!” That’s one way to tell it! I was later told that Aaron’s dad was holding her and running down the hall so that she could see her as they wisked Sallie away to the neonatal unit. Elleigh says she can still remember that.

*As you can see I have titled this post as part 1. I am not sure how many parts I will end up with but I will post as I get it written.

Camping (kinda)

Aaron and Elleigh love to camp and Sallie has been with them once and she loves it too. Aaron would really like for all of us to camp more often. However, we have had a baby for the past 2 years so now that Millie is 1 we have decided it is time to try it. So, a couple of weeks ago A said let's camp in the back yard next Friday night (I think he is trying us out!). Last night was the night and we had so much fun! We went out after A got home and we grilled and played and played some more! We only came in to use the restroom or get something we had forgotten. No TV, no phone, no Wii, no computer, no toys and we spent hours of much needed time with each other and no distractions. It really was a great end to a stressful week.

I was probably most concerned about Millie but she had the best time. She is a happy baby anyway (most of the time!) but she had so much fun and hung right in there with us (waaaaay past her bedtime). This is one of her funny faces. She is a cut-up! Daddy had lots of "help" putting the tent up!

I think this is a funny picture-notice that Sallie's hand is in Millie's plate and Millie's hand is in Lizzie's plate. I normally do not let them sit this close together at meal time!The tent-A inside getting it ready for us to sleep. It is only a 3 person tent so we were quite the close family!Roasting marshmallows!Lizzie enjoying her marshmallow-notice the dirt on her nose. We just let them get as dirty as they wanted as you can tell!SMORES!!! YUMMY!Told you we let them get messy! "Want some?"I just posted a picture of me with no make-up! It must be the lack of sleep!
Sweet girls!Millie having her own party (about 10:30 by now!)


Playing with Daddy!

Lizzie did not sleep so well. She was like the Princess and the Pea! You would have thought we had laid her on a bed of rocks! So, she tossed and turned and tossed and turned and at 1:30 I got up and took her to her bed. Millie woke up when we started out of the tent so I took her in as well. Lizzie actually did not sleep well even after we got inside-I think she ate too many smores!!! Fun times!

Potty Tales

I intended to include this in the last post and forgot and this is something I definitely want to remember. Now that Lizzie is going to the potty, she thinks Millie should be as well. When we change Millie's diaper Lizzie gets right in her face and says, "No, no potty!" over and over! Bossy girl!!!

Highlights and lowlights

No, I am not talking about my hair! Although, I probably should be. The gray is terrible! That could be a whole new post! Maybe some of the images from below could explain all the gray though! After my pity party post on Monday I thought I should re-cap the remainder of our week.

Tuesday:
We were back in full swing with school. It was wild! Elleigh is doing really well so far. Her grades have been really good and that helps me a lot. Last year, it was very rocky at the beginning of the year and it is very hard not to take their grades personally when you are teaching them so I am really glad she is doing well (for now!). She has been excited and has worked and studied hard. Sallie did OK this week. She really catches on fast. She wants to do what she wants to do though and then when she is tired of it she wants to play. So, we are easing into it and trying to work out these issues. Lizzie really likes to be right there with us. She and Sallie fight a lot because they want each others stuff. Millie still takes a morning nap so that helps but she often wants me to hold her when she is awake.

Is she bored or concentrating???
I know I will be in trouble for this picture one day! Lizzie is doing really well potty training. A couple of weeks ago she got really excited about it and she is doing great. She does have to have this potty seat with her wherever she is though. I am now down to 1 in diapers (except for at night)! Speaking of the potty, Lizzie was sitting there and Sallie comes in and throws up all over her and all over the bathroom. Always makes for a fun day!

Lizzie asked for Nigh (Nanna) a lot!

Wednesday:

I had a touch of the bug that Sallie had the day before. I felt really yuck but by late afternoon I was fine.

For a month or more Millie has been taking a few steps at a time and then she would decide she could get there faster by crawling. Now, she is walking everywhere! Not sure if that is a highlight or lowlight!!!

All of our fall activities started up at church on Wed. night. Elleigh is back in LITs for her last year. Hard to believe next year she will be a youth! Some of our old youth are married or engaged and it seems like just yesterday they were in the 7th grade. I am not going to think about that right now! I am beginning a Bible Study with the ladies in our Sunday School class.

Lizzie asked for Nigh a lot!

Thursday:

Everything seemed to go so much better. I think partly because I knew that A would be home with us for the first time of the week.

Lizzie told me "I love you" for the first time!!!

That afternoon I was in the back of the house and I hear banging and lots of laughter and this is what I find:

I am probably encouraging destructive behavior by videoing this but the sure were having a good time!

A came home at 5!!!

I made peach cobbler for dessert (comfort food)!

Lizzie asked for Nigh a lot!

Friday:

Finally Friday!!!

I have a breakfast schedule and Fridays are pancake days. I started out with one pancake mix and there was not enough so I had to add a different one and I really do not know what happened but I made a huge mess of the pancakes. The girls were not happy! I had already cooked sausage to go with them so I just cooked some eggs. I discovered for the second time this week that Sallie will no longer eat MY egg sandwiches. She loves egg sandwiches. Nanna, how were you making her egg sandwiches??? Lots of mayo I know but I have that part down!

My blog got a new look! Thanks Kelly for helping me out again!!! I LOVE IT! I feel like I have a new outfit or something new for my house!

The sun was actually shining for the first time in days!

We watched The Weather Channel a lot.

Lizzie asked for Nigh a lot!

Definitely a highlight-we have to clean Sallie's ears out with vinegar and alcohol a couple of times a week and for the first time ever she did not cry!!! Thank you Lord!!! I actually took a picture of it but somehow in all the pics and videos for this post it was deleted and it will take way too much work to get it back and in the right place so just know that she was precious and not crying!!!

It's got me thinking...

With Hurricane Ike about to make landfall and the influx of evacuees into North Texas and the constant news coverage it's got me thinking. When we lived in Alabama we went through two hurricanes that I remember but because of our location inland we had wind damage and loss of electricity but it was not an evacuation situation. As I watch these people evacuate their homes I feel for them so much. What would you take with you??? With the hurricanes we had back home I took all my pictures off the walls and wrapped them good in case we were to have water to get into the house somehow. My babies pictures mean a lot to me and if you have ever been in my house you know I have a shrine! So, that is for sure some things I would take with me. But other than that I really can't think of a lot of things I would take. I guess as long as I had my family and the few sentimental things we have then I would be OK. The rest can all be replaced but it would be a strange feeling to leave it all behind not knowing what would and would not be there when you got back. I think the thing that has touched me the most is seeing the babies from NICUs moved into hospitals here. Breaks my heart! I can not stop thinking about their families. Having had that experience, I can say it is not a good one. Your life is suddenly turned upside down and your baby is hanging on for life and you are waiting everyday for answers and tests and more answers and then to have them moved to another city hours away. Do they have money to get here? Do they have anywhere to stay? I just can't get them off my mind. I bet these families are some of the least concerned about what they are leaving behind though. Dear God, touch these lives. Provide for them. Protect them. We know YOU are in control!

Whiny but Honest

Me: "Lizzie, please play and stop being whiny!"

Lizzie: "I whiny!"

Elleigh: (repeating what I said to see if we got the same response) "Lizzie, go play and stop being whiny"

Lizzie: "I AM whiny!"

In the midst of the craziness, there is always something to laugh about!