Happy Memorial Day!

James Caden

My sweet middle child will turn 3 years-old this week! He was born smiling…seriously, he would smile all the time after he was born and we saw his cute little dimple right away! We say the Lord gave him that smile to encourage us that first week of his birth. He was born at 1:58 pm on a warm Sunday afternoon. He was born healthy and had a head full of light brown hair.

Although things seemed normal, everything changed after dinner that night when the nurse came to check his vital signs. His body temperature was low, even after lying under the heat lamp. His breathing was also labored and they rushed him to NICU. This was our second child, but we had never dealt with anything like this before. We were terrified and things looked daunting as the NICU doctor came to our room to explain that they would have to run numerous tests on Caden to see what was causing the low temp and breathing problems. He mentioned that it could possibly be meningitis, along with a lot of other scary sounding medical conditions. Our joyful day quickly turned to despair. All kinds of horrible thoughts raced through our heads as the nurse brought a wheelchair to roll me down the long corridor to see our baby in NICU.

Over the course of the next week, Kevin and I went through the worst week of our lives, as our sweet newborn was poked and prodded…they couldn’t keep the IV needle in his little arm, so it was instead put in his little head. Fortunately his breathing became normal within a few hours when he coughed out some of the afterbirth. His temperature also started coming back up and we thought we’d take our baby home within a few days.

By Wednesday, however, the NICU doctor told us some more bad news. Caden’s blood platelets had dropped substantially and they were concerned it may be something viral—one of the possibilities mentioned was a virus of the brain and there was also concern for internal bleeding. A brain ultrasound was performed to make sure he didn’t have a brain bleed and they also did a retinal test to see if he possibly had some sort of virus. All these tests were traumatic for us because we didn’t have any answers and each test meant the possibility that he may have something horribly wrong with him.

By the 5th day in NICU, Caden’s platelet count dropped to 20,000 (normal platelet counts are normally above 200,000). They were talking of doing a platelet transfusion if they did not increase the next morning. I remember being so nervous the next morning when I called the nurse at 5:30 am for the lab results of his blood draw. I was in tears and so thrilled to hear his counts were finally climbing! His platelets continued to climb and we were finally able to take our sweet baby home 9 days after his birth on Memorial Day! This is why we say the Lord made Caden a baby that smiled early…He knew we needed that early encouragement that he would be okay.

We were released from NICU without any clue as to what caused Caden’s low platelets and body temp—the doctors were puzzled. We wouldn’t know the true cause of his issues until my third child was born with the same problems and it all stemmed from some health issues that I have. Three years later, our little bundle of joy is now a jumping, running, wild and crazy ball of energy! He is “all boy” and loves to rough house with his Daddy and big brother. He is a joy to be around and has a precious laugh. He is also very skilled at throwing himself on the floor in a tantrum. Here’s our little man.

A few hours after birth

1st birthday

2nd birthday

All the kids (and the dog) enjoying Caden's 3rd birthday present - a playhouse!

Our little monkey

After a very busy week and weekend, we enjoyed a lazy day at home today in the backyard. My mom came up and we enjoyed going to the Extrodinary Women's Conference Friday and Saturday. It was a great time of worship and we got to see some great speakers too! My favorites were Chonda Pierce, Lisa Whelchel, and Mandisa (from American Idol). It was neat! My mom kept the kids for us to have a date night last night. We went to my favorite Mexican Restaurant and then went to see Prince Caspian. We are huge Narnia fans at our house and the movie did not disappoint! It was great!

Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day, I got to stay in bed until 7am! I think Kevin held the kids off as long as he could. They rambunctiously bounced into the bed with me at 7:03am and presented me with various cartoon character themed cards, a clothing gift certificate, and my choice of breakfast (I chose a trip to Krispy Kreme!). I'm also excited about getting a friend from church to do a painting for our den--it's a combined Mother's Day/Birthday gift from Kevin. The best thing about our day, however, was going out to the Botanical Gardens for a picnic dinner!

Anyone with small children knows how a simple picnic instantly becomes complicated when you add three small children to the mix. However, I was adamant that I wanted this to be part of my Mother's Day 2008! It was a typically hectic car trip--the usual whining, fighting, and spewing of someone's sin. But, we had the sun roof open and the windows down and that seemed to block out the noise from the backseat. :) It was also nice to have the wind blowing through our hair and the sunshine on our faces to hopefully help with changing some bad attitudes.

Once we got there, it was a long walk to find a clear spot to have our picnic...we were pushing a stroller, carrying our picnic stuff, and keeping up with two wild and excited boys. We finally found a nice spot next to a stacked stone wall and surrounded by gorgeous flowers. As soon as we spread our blanket on the ground and got the food laid out, Kaylor excitedly declared it was the "best dinner ever!" We ate a feast of fried chicken, mac & cheese, pasta, fruit, and cookies. It was also fun that we were able to watch several wedding photo shoots as we munched on our dinner. Afterwards, the boys had fun running wild along the trails and seeing all the plants and wildlife and we got a good workout trying to keep up with them!

Towards the end of our jaunt, I convinced Kevin to get Maddie Grace out of her stroller so I could get the kids to pose by the roses for a photo. As we were corralling the kids, Caden fell and hit his head on one of the landscape stones. Thankfully, he was fine, but that did not stop his screams from echoing throughout the gardens! We discretely led him behind a large shrub so he could vomit (he does this most of the time when he gets really upset). So, I did not get a cute picture of them by the roses.

The trip was worth it in spite of the chaos, bumped head, vomit, and overall disobedience. We did have fun and it was a great time together as a family. I think the thing the Lord has impressed upon me the most in the past week is my need to pray for my family. Only He can give us as parents the wisdom and heart changes that we need. And only He can give our children the softened hearts and change that they need to be able to know Him and live for Him. I have been incredibly humbled over the past few days by my inadequacy as a Mom. I can't change my child's hard heart. I can't discipline or say the "right" words to make them understand or "get it." Don't get me wrong, I know I must faithfully discipline my children, but my efforts do not necessarily change their hearts--it is the Lord that ultimately has to reach them. It is utterly maddening, but also freeing. So, I am diligently praying for me and my husband as we shepherd these dear little ones. May He give us the wisdom, courage, and grace to survive and perserve! And I pray for my sweet friends and their little ones too--may they all know His presence in us and in our homes.

Tree Swing

We got a tree swing for our oak tree in the backyard. Kaylor is a little scared of it, but he still wants to swing all the time. Mommy and Daddy have taken a spin on it too, but thankfully we have no photos of that! :)

Ride Em Cowboy!

We went to a fun cowboy and cowgirl birthday party this morning and the boys had a lot of fun riding a horse! They all enjoyed seeing all the barn animals too.

Pigtails

Maddie Grace still has the mullet hairstyle, as do most little girls her age; however, I was very excited that I could finagle her wispy hair into pigtails this afternoon!

Baa

Kaylor went to another class at the zoo today & me and the little ones enjoyed walking around with some friends to see the animals. I loved the little sheep they painted--so cute!