Hey, It's 2022!

 How do I even begin a post that's 6 years overdue?! Ha!  

Someone mentioned stumbling across our blog and I knew I HAD to give a life update.  So get ready...it's going to be a long one!

Samuel is 12 years old now.  12!  He's a tender-hearted, over-apologizer, structure-loving, perfectionist.  His developing sense of humor is THE BEST.  He also has some sweet dance moves that he busts out when he is happy.

At 12, he loves war facts, cool weaponry, LEGO, drumming, warships, and pirates.  He continues to be an avid reader and spends the majority of his free time with his face in a book.  As much as I hate to admit it, he also really enjoys video games and screen time as well.  Ha!

He's growing up so quickly.  He's about 4'9'' and weighs 73lbs.  He has HUGE feet so I'm hoping that once he hits his teenage growth spurt, he'll pass us all.  His weight gain slowed this year due to a health emergency last summer (more on that here in a minute.)

You may remember that we waited to start him in kindergarten a year late - which turned out to be one the best parenting decisions we've ever made!  He fits in so well with his peers in just about every way...physically, socially, academically.  He just finished up his first year of middle school and loved it. We were so proud when he brought home all As at the end of the year - even in math (his least favorite subject.)

A lot of people who connect with us through the web ask me if he has an IEP or 504 plan at school.  He actually doesn't have any accommodations.  He's never needed them.  He doesn't even do occupational or physical therapy any longer.  Crazy how all of those "extra" things have fallen away over time.  He does still stretch his legs each night on a wedge - just to keep the muscle tightness at bay while he grows.  The kid runs faster than I do though.

During the spring of 2021, Samuel seemed to be getting stomach viruses relatively frequently.  Every few weeks he was sick for the night.  I really didn't think anything of it.  We even traveled to Africa last summer and spent a little over a month exploring South Africa with Michael's family.  Only a week and a half after we got back from our trip, Samuel again came down with a stomach bug.  But this time, it just kept going...and going...and going.  After three days, I took him to his doctor, who in turn, immediately sent us to Arkansas Children's Hospital.  

It didn't take them long to discover that Samuel had a small bowel obstruction.  The doctors placed an NG and hoped that it would clear on it's own.

After two days at Children's, Samuel continued to decline.  They gave him contrast through his NG for imaging, and told him to try to not throw up because the contrast might help clear the blockage.  He was nauseous and in tremendous pain.  His belly was bloated and stretched so big.  I have to tell you that I was reliving his darkest NICU days.  You don't live through a child having NEC with a perforated bowel without it coming back to haunt you in a situation like this.  

That second day I paced the room all evening and into the night...knowing he was getting worse.  Many of you know that night nurses hate to wake up doctors, but by 1am, I had the nurse call a doctor.  We all agreed that he needed surgery ASAP.  The surgical staff only arrived at 5am and I could tell that the doctor was as uncomfortable with the wait as I was.  I asked questions and kept it together until they finally wheeled him back. Several of the surgical staff even asked if I was a nurse.  Ha!  Yes, got my degree from University of NICU Parent!

We learned after the surgery that they got in just in time.  About five inches of his intestine were looking really purple - but they pinked right up when the doctor cleared the obstruction.  Thank you Jesus!

The obstruction was caused from a great deal of scar tissue from his NICU days: likely a result of NEC and the abdominal drain.  His bowel was adhered to other abdominal organs that it shouldn't have been attached to.  The doctors removed the scar tissue and repaired a tiny tear in his bowel.  He also had a stricture (or narrowing of the intestines) that the doctor opted NOT to mess with since it seemed like things were moving through it reasonably well.  

At the end of the day, he had a four inch incision.  We were initially told that if they had to take him into surgery that it would be a laparoscopic surgery.  That didn't happen for a variety of reasons.  (Spoiler alert - we follow the "go big or go home" philosophy with medical issues - except maybe not the "go home" part.)

I kid, because obviously we did go home.  Six days later.  We had spent a total of nine days in the hospital.  Certainly a far cry from the one hundred and twenty five days he spent in the NICU; but it was nine days longer than I would have liked!

It's been almost exactly a year since all of that happened and he is doing well.  Like I mentioned before, his weight gain has been a little slower, but still seems to be staying on his growth chart curve well enough!

And now, after that long update on Samuel, I need to do a similar update on Annalee!

Annalee Rose is nine years old.  She is spunky, sweet, smart, and social.  She loves her friends, anything soft/fuzzy, playing her guitar, being the center of attention, and participating in any kind of celebration. 

She is one of the smallest kids in her class, but you'd never know because her personality is so big.  She is always smiling and finding the good in every situation.  She's not afraid of new things or challenges, and because of that, she's good at almost everything she tries.  She'll be moving on to 4th grade this next school year but she's working on a 5th grade reading and math level.  This past year was her first year to participate in the Gifted and Talented program at school and she loved it.

Health wise, Annalee is doing very well.  She did seem to inherit Michael's asthma, allergies, and eczema issues - and has yet to outgrow any of those.  Maybe one day!

Michael is still doing architecture, and I'm about to start my eighth year of teaching.  I went back to teaching five years ago when Annalee started kindergarten.  While it was really hard to give up the flexibility of being a stay-at-home mom, I do love the routine of having a full time job again and the joy that comes from seeing my students grow!

Michael and I are celebrating 14 years of marriage in just a week!  He's pretty great.  I think I'll keep him.  ;)

We're currently designing and building a home on a 10 acre plot.  It's so ironic that when we finally have enough saved to build, the economy would go off the deep end.  Getting supplies delivered and getting the work done is definitely a lesson in patience.  We would love to be in the new house by Christmas but that might be a bit ambitious!

Thanks for popping in to see what we've been up to!  Here's a photo dump from our trip to Africa last summer!

Annalee's Tonsillectomy

Annalee had her tonsils taken out last Thursday.  I can't tell you how proud I am of how she did on surgery day.  She was so brave and so tough during our three hour post-surgery hospital stay.  

We are currently on day six post surgery and the poor thing just HURTS.  She's been such a good girl but we have meltdowns often (especially around meal time and during the night.)

As bad as I feel for her, I  know we made the right decision.  Her sleep apnea is all but gone already and it's almost impossible to hear her breathe at night.  What a change!  I can't wait to see all the changes in her once she has fully recovered.

Here's a quick slideshow of the photos I took the day of surgery.  It gives you a pretty good idea of how the day went.  <3 span="">

Hi There! Long Time No Blog.

Time is flying guys.  Flying.  I have no idea how it's been a year and a half since I last posted!

These two kiddos are doing great.  So so so good.  I just can't believe it.  We're at such a sweet time and I'm soaking it all up.

About a year ago now, we moved to a nearby city.  It has been interesting....I don't know how two cities so close to each other can have such a different feel to them.  We're adjusting to the culture shock slowly but surely.  We do LOVE our new house.  So much space.  It's another fixer-upper, but we've already made some great progress.  I often think of the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" when she is talking about renovating and how you should always start with one room and make it yours.  We did that this time with our master bedroom.  It's a finished sanctuary in a very unfinished house.  I love it.

Samuel started his last year of preschool this year.  It was a tough decision to wait another year for kindergarten.  I just wasn't sure.  He is so smart and so ready to be reading (he can already read CVC words and sound out words while writing) but he was socially and emotionally a bit behind.  In the end, we went with our gut and held him back.  BEST DECISION EVER!!!!!!!!!  He has thrived this year and my heart is just soaring.  We've seen incredible growth from him.  He is more mature, he handles frustration better, he's not the smallest kid in his class (although he is close....ha!), and he has friends.

Samuel is amazing on his bicycle.  He loves it.  He transitioned from a balance bike to a regular bike (no training wheels) early this summer.  His ease of riding is true to his nature since he has always been fascinated with anything that has wheels.

This kid is eating me out of house and home these days.  He's always hungry.  But despite the eating frenzy, he seems to hover right at the 5th percentile in height and weight.  Oh well.

Medically speaking, there isn't a lot to talk about.  (Knock on wood.)  This winter we've been far healthier than any since we came out of isolation.  (Knock on wood again.)  We gave up his controller inhaler at the end of last winter and we haven't looked back.  He does have to use his 'rescue' inhaler every now and again, but for the most part, we're finished with that too.

The one thing we haven't dropped is therapy.  He has occupational and physical therapy weekly.  He still has a bit of an awkward running pattern (nothing too noticeable) and he's still a bit tight in his legs.  I feel certain that we're making progress though...especially since we introduced some stretching braces into our routine.  He wears them for about half an hour during the day and several hours at night.

Annalee turned three this month.  THREE.  I'm not sure how that's possible.  This photo tells you pretty much everything you need to know about her.  Ha!  While we've certainly hit the 'threenager' stage, she is truly a joyful child.  She makes us laugh with her type-B goofiness that is all her own.

She is doing a Mother's Day Out program once a week and really enjoys it.  (Can't say enough good things about the amazing teachers she has lucked into having two years in a row!)

Ironically, our 32 weeker has been going through a few more health related trials than our 24 weeker has!  Annalee has some pretty severe eczema.  Although that's certainly not a huge deal; it has been tough for her to get good sleep.  She often has night terrors (not nightmares....she doesn't remember screaming "MOMMY!" all night and she doesn't remember what she was dreaming about.)  We plan to see an allergist next month for some advice about how to get her eczema under control and how to keep her from itching at night.

She has always had a tough time handling colds.  It doesn't matter how mild the cold is, she sounds like she has croup.  A doctor once told us that she has narrow airways and that hopefully she will outgrow the issue.  Unfortunately it has continued to get worse....the snoring started.....then tonsillitis happened.  And so we made that trip to see the ENT doctor to be told what we already knew.  She needs her tonsils and adenoids out.  I'm not thrilled about it, but hopefully it will be one less thing keeping her from a decent sleep.

And as for the grown-ups in this family?  We're doing great.  This year we will have been married eight years.  Man, we're old.  Michael is an architect at a local firm and he loves what he does.

I suppose I have my hand in a few different things.  Most importantly, I'm still a stay at home mom.  At least for another year or two.  I'm also a substitute teacher at Annalee's MDO program.  And just this last year, I opened up my own photography business.  I've been so blessed that it has really taken off....I'm busier than I ever dreamed I would be.  Photography brings out the best in me.  I'm always looking for beautiful things....and when I find them, it's impossible to not see God's hand in them.

Thanks for following friends!  I'll try to be better about updating.  But if I'm not....be sure to leave me a comment here in a few months reminding me to get with it!  Ha!