My Avengers

Happy Halloween!

 Ella is Black Widow

 Josiah is Iron Man

Micah is Captain America

 "Avengers Assemble!"

I love that the boys told me

 "You have to say 'Avengers Assemble' if you want us to get our costumes on"

Seeing as she has no hair…a bright red feather will do…right?

She hated her costume at first….

Thankfully she got over it.

Phew…

I do love a theme Halloween after all, and they couldn't be the Avengers without Black Widow.

2009

Batman and Robin

 2010

Buzz and Woody

2011

Peter Pan 

Under The Knife

What a week. I can't even begin to tell you how tired I am. 

I left for Virginia with my parents early Thursday morning of last week. Arrived back in Colorado early Sunday morning, and took Micah to surgery early Tuesday morning.

He was scheduled to have his adenoids and tonsils removed.

He's such an amazing boy (I know he's mine…but it is the truth).

When we told him we were going to the Dr, he was excited, not nervous or anxious.

After all he's been through he wasn't scared.

This is him before the surgery.

Have you ever had to watch your children go under anesthesia?
It's torture for a parent. To watch them slowly become less lucid and then to see their eyes roll back into their head and know they are out.
I had to watch Josiah do this when he was 2 and had to have a hernia surgery, and again yesterday with Micah.
I can't help but cry. I tried to hold it together, it's just terrifying to see that.

We waited only 20 minutes and they were done. It was truly amazing.
He did great. They removed his very large tonsils and he medium sized adenoids with the hopes of improving his respiratory problems.
We waited a couple of more minutes and then were allowed to go back and see him.
He was eating a popsicle slushy, was very groggy, and asked to do it himself.
The entire time we were there he didn't cry, complain, or whine.
This picture is about 20 minutes after surgery and we tried to get him to sleep. Doesn't Buzz look so comfy to cuddle with?

Then here he was before we left, less than 5 hours after arriving for surgery.

Yep, that's a cheesy grin.

We couldn't believe he wasn't in more pain!

On the way home he threw up in the car due to the anesthesia (and I had a minor panic attack).
But once we were home, you would have never thought he had JUST had surgery.
He was eating anything he could get his hands onto, and even attempted to eat buttered noodles for dinner (but he gave up and opted for yogurt).

I can't believe him.
I am hoping the recovery is this easy. I wasn't expecting it at all. I thought he'd want to cuddle on the couch for 3 days and I'd have to force juice down his throat.
But no, this morning he asked for a cinnamon roll (I soaked it in milk first) and a pop tart (that was a bit more questionable in my eyes).
He's chasing Ella around and hasn't sat still yet.
God is amazing.
The spirit he has given Micah is full of power and strength. He will be a mighty warrior one day.

Micah's verse is proving to be true every day.

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."

Back Again

 It started again on Wednesday.
Ella got a cough and I just knew we were in for it.

We have a history of struggling with colds.

Every time Micah gets a runny nose I have to give him his inhaler. At this point he had not been technically diagnosed as asthmatic; we fixed that this weekend.
On Thursday he got the runny nose and by that afternoon I had to give him his nebulizer.
This was the first time I had to give him this. 3 times I tried with no improvement.

I was praying and praying and praying that we wouldn't have to stay another night. But as soon as we got there he was put onto oxygen. Not a good sign. Then we were admitted for the night. 

This ended up being our most difficult stay yet. 

He was exhausted and manifesting it by fighting every treatment. 

I'll tell you one thing about Micah; he is strong. Really strong. It took 3 of us to pin him down to take his treatments. If you've ever had to hold your child down you know what kind of torture that is for a mother. I'm supposed to protect and comfort him, and instead I'm holding his arms and head still. 

It was miserable.

He was then officially diagnosed as having asthma and given more steroids and a daily inhaler.

We were released 24 hours into our stay and I have never been happier to be home.

Then…

Just 18 hours later I was on my way back to Children's Hospital with Josiah. 

He seemed to be struggling to breath. I didn't know if I was being paranoid, but something didn't seem right. 

His oxygen was ok when we got in (93), but he was retracting (he was pulling from his abdomen when he took breaths) and his respiratory rate was right around 44 (normal is around 22).

So they began treating it like an asthma attack.
Seriously, Lord? I was just here. With a different child. Why? 
I was fried. My nerves were gone. I had nothing left to give.
When the Dr came in and said we would probably be admitted to for the night I cried. How awful is that? I cried in front of Josiah, who was being so strong. I just couldn't bear the thought that this was happening all over again.

It started to look better. Like we wouldn't have to stay the night.
Then it got worse. Much worse.
He spiked a temperature. And began to look really miserable.
He didn't complain once. Not once. He's amazing.
But he was having an allergic reaction to the medicine that made him turn red. BRIGHT RED.

They took him off of the continuous medicine and he improved drastically.
He was diagnosed as having an asthma attack due to an atypical pneumonia.
They gave him an antibiotic and tylanol and he was feeling like himself again.
They ended up letting us leave right around 1:30 AM.

But it's so strange to have two kids on the same medication for two separate visits to the hospital.
It has truly been one of the hardest weekends of our lives.
I am happy to be home; but I'm still struggling to recover.

Sometimes it's really hard to see the Lord's plan in certain situations. I know he is in control. But I won't lie…I'm a bit perturbed and tired.
But God is good. All the time.

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

They Have Each Other

I'm so glad that God knows what is better for our lives than I what I do.

Nov 2010

We didn't plan on getting pregnant with Josiah, and we certainly didn't plan on getting pregnant with Micah only 7 months after Jo was born.


But I'm so glad that we did.

God knew that they needed each other.

He knew their bond would be instant.

God knew that these boys needed each other. He knew that they would be best friends. That they would keep each other company; they would always stick up for the other.

He knew that that they would save my sanity by keeping each other busy.
He knew they would get into stay out of trouble together.

He knew that they would always have each other.

Awake or sleeping.

Thank you Lord for my boys.

So if your wondering wether or not to give your child a sibling; do it.
Giving Josiah a brother has been the best thing I have ever given him.

Difficult Decisions

We have made the decision to keep Josiah home one last  year.

He will be turning 5 in September, so that would make him the youngest in his class if we were to put him in today.

Today marks the first day of our "home" school year.

But I won't lie….
I'm a bit worried.

I'm worried that his speech will not progress the way it did when he was getting speech therapy at preschool. I'm nervous that he will not be with his peers academically.

I'm not a natural born teacher. That's my husband.
I'm not patient enough.
I don't even know where to begin with teaching.

But it's important to me to savor moments with my kids.
Josiah doesn't need to go to Kindergarten for one more year. And Micah still has 2 years until he needs to go.

These are the biggest reasons we're keeping him home:

1. The kid would still take a nap nearly every day if we made him.

2. Emotionally he is not ready to deal with K.

3. He would (most likely) be both the youngest and the smallest boy in his class.

4. Keeping him home one more year will make him (most likely) one of the oldest and biggest boys in his class.

5. Preschool is a small fortune, and not paying that money will allow both of the boys to do gymnastics in the fall, and get a speech therapist for both of the kids.

6. I like him. I want to smother him all to myself.

7. Micah loves him, and would be sad without him.

8. He will get plenty of socialization through the Bible Studies, MOPS, and playdates we participate in.

So now that we have made that decision I am determined to make sure that when he does go to Kindergarten he's not behind.

I have a schedule.
I have the workbooks for the boys.
I have chore charts.
And I have the will to get it done!

But most importantly I have two boys who love to learn and who love their family time.

I've got this….right?

What could possibly go wrong…..

Children's Hospital….Again

Look at this face.

He's so stinking cute!

But he doesn't have good lungs!
Back in March he was Children's for an asthma attack {you can read about that here}.

And 2 days ago I found myself driving 90 mph on the interstate, rushing him to the hospital again. (Don't judge…I was freaking out!)

He started coughing around 9am on Monday morning. I was out running errands all morning with Josiah, while Micah stayed home and lounged with Daddy. When I got home around 2:30 we decided it was time to give him his inhaler, and put him down for a nap.
I went into his room and noticed he was really struggling to breath. Ribs retracting and really quick, shallow breaths.

In a panic I yelled for James to come grab Micah and get him in the car, I was rushing around looking for my shoes (of course!). Threw his clean blanket and the kindle in my bag and rushed (literally rushed) to Urgent Care.

On the way down he was SO lethargic. I asked him if he could talk to me, he could barely even respond "no" to me. Then he threw up, all over his clean blanket.

I was freaking out! I carried him into the ER, covered in throw up, looking like he was about to pass out. And they rushed him to the back before I could even finish signing my name.
They got him on a nebulizer immediately and I was so relieved when Micah didn't even fight the face mask.
His oxygen level was at 86% when we first arrived (which is much higher than the last time). After two  treatments he was able to stay off of oxygen keeping his level up to around 94% on his own.

We were bummed to hear we needed to stay the entire night again for observation. We didn't sleep much (him much more than I did).

He was amazing the entire stay! Took his treatments without a fight, he said thank you to all the people treating him and didn't complain once!

We need to move forward from here with a better plan from the doctors on how to prevent this.
It's leaning more and more toward getting his adenoids and tonsils removed. BOO!

But I can't tell you how grateful I am to live in a place where I can rush my child to the hospital whenever they are sick!

Still totally blessed beyond measure!

This Is My Life

Picture this:

I'm cleaning up the dishes after dinner.
James is not home because he is helping a friend move.
Ella is sick, but finally sleeping.
The boys are outside playing "peacefully".

Then….screaming.

Josiah runs inside the house; "Micah is bleeding!"

I throw the rag in the sink and run outside to see what happened.

Micah is crying loudly (and completely naked, of course….sigh).
Screaming over a little drizzle of blood from a cut on his knee.

I bring him inside and set him on a chair.
More screaming.
I dab the blood away and pull out the first aid kit.

Micah breaks into hysteria.

"I don't love band aaaaiiiiidddd!"  

"I don't love it!"

Who's kid is that?

Apparently this kid has developed a deep hatred of bandaids.

Seriously?

I couldn't stop laughing.

He was so dramatic I had to capture the moment.

This is my life.

Letter To Micah

Dear Micah,

I'm kinda lost where to even begin with you. There is so much about you that I absolutely adore. Then there are things about you that drive me a little nutty.

You are 3 years and 2 months right now, and the most determined boy I have ever met. You have a fire within you that I know will serve you great as you get older. You will not care what others think about you, and you are going to be a natural leader (even if you don't want to be). People will want to follow you. You are strong, courageous, and determined.

You will never let somebody convince you to do anything you don't want to do. For instance I have now told you to put your pants on 8 times (in fact you are in time out right now). I have never met another kid with as much persistence as you have. You will never give up when you set your mind on something. You are messy. So messy. I can't even begin to explain the mess that follows you. I am truly hoping you grow out of this. But it's so funny to watch you eat spaghetti!

While you have so many strong, and rugged qualities about you, you are my cuddle bug. You do not like to sit on the couch by yourself. Anytime I sit down at the computer, you jump on my lap. You love to touch my face, my hair, my arms. You love to give millions of kisses and hugs. You love to dance with me (while I hold you). You want nothing more than to show your love. You don't get your feelings hurt very often, but when when you do you express it strongly (and loudly).

You love your family, especially your big brother. You don't like to drop him off to school, you get sad every single day we do. You love to play superheros with him. You love to tell each other "knock knock" jokes, and hear daddy tell you "goofy daddy" stories. But the thing that makes you very unique in our family is your love to sing. I find you singing songs all day long. That blesses me, makes me sing, and makes our home joyful.

Thank you for being part of our family. I know that one day you are going to be a force to be reckoned with. The world better watch for you. You are going to be a mighty man of God.

Smooches!
Mommy

breath

I feel like I was just here. 

Talking about medical issues with Ella. Talking about struggling with guilt that comes with ER visits.

This weekend did not help.

Micah woke up with a cough on Sunday morning. No big deal, right?

By 10pm he was struggling to breath. He is a loud snorer, so I didn't notice if he was wheezing or not. But something didn't seem right. His stomach was retracting under his ribs and his throat was caving in.

By 10:30 he was being rushed through Urgent Care to the x-ray room.

No pneumonia. Thank God, right?

"Not necessarily" says the Dr. This could be a indication of something more serious.

His "stats" were so low {82% oxygen level when he was crying}, and I had no clue!

Ugh. 

What did I do wrong this time? Did I wait too long to bring him in? Have I never noticed Micah having an asthma attack before?

It appeared to the Dr that Micah was having a viral induced asthma attack.

 He was put on a asthma treatment plan.

They gave him meds to help slow his breathing and allow his lungs to expand.

We were then admitted into the hospital so they could monitor him and see if his breathing would improve. 

Micah was miserable. I was miserable. James and the kids were miserable.

I'm so grateful that my mother could come and help with the kids at home. We would have been in real trouble without her help.

After over 30 hours we were allowed to return home. We were both so ready. After getting a few hours of sleep in the entire stay, we both needed some rest.

The meds did their job.

The steroid and the breathing treatments he was on make him act like a NUT JOB (literally bouncing off the walls), but they did their job. His lungs were getting stronger.

 Thanks Mom for letting me borrow your iPad! Temple Run may have saved my sanity!

Yes, Micah was jumping off the bed. Steroids!

This picture was taken hours before we went to the hospital. He fell at the park.

This boy…he's going to give me a heart attack!

~Now I feel the need to pray against any pending heart attacks~

But I continue to thank my Creator for giving us healthy bodies. Sometimes they may be weak, but we are strong, and we are able to heal!

 Praise God for that!