Chitter-Chatter

Man, oh man! We have a talker on our hands. Our little boy talked throughout our entire meal, some more as hubby and I did our devos together, and while we were cleaning up. Apparently he thinks his opinion matters too. It definitely does, just wish we could tell what he was saying!

He usually gets distracted by he camera, but we definitely got some good stuff to share.

Here is a little clip for you all!

Adios Cable

Ahhhh! It was so bizarre turning on the TV this morning, only to have nothing on the screen. NO, we didn't get service cut off for not paying our bill on time. It was a choice we made as a couple. We decided that our relationship with God, each other, and baby G are what is most valuable. Plus so much of our hard earned money went to the dish in the yard. In May alone we have his dedication, family coming to town, surgery for G, a new house, and a town home to pack up. Busy.

These precious days with G are just to amazing to miss. And for what? Because we have a DVR filled with shows we "need" to watch, just to make room for other recorded shows? How ridiculous is that? We love DVR, but watching our shows became an item on our checklist. Sad right?

It is funny how much I got done in just a few short hours. Normally we feed Mr. Man, then J. and I watch TV to kick-start the day. Hmmmm...would there be something better to kick-start our day? Perhaps a few minutes with the Lord, each other, and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. That was the ticket this morning!

We are so thankful for each moment we get on this earth, and our hope is that we can maximize the time we are blessed with. Life has been a blur at times, and even more so now that we are parents. Here's hoping that cutting out TV will help make the blur less frequent.

Turn your eyes up on Jesus,
and look full in HIS wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of HIS glory and grace.

Enjoy a blessed Sunday. I know we will!

Look Ma! We're walking!

Okay, so baby G isn't walking by himself, but thanks to this warm weather, his mamma is! Let me tell you how nice it was! It was just us and one other soul out at 7:00am on a Saturday. Primo walking time, Folks!

 

My baby bear, ready to walk!
I'll be honest, one of the reasons I wanted to get outside was so he could FINALLY wear his warm bear fleece. I bought it well before he was born, and it is size NB. Poor fella had to squeeze in it for his mommy's sake. Oh the things he does for me...

Fast asleep. Not surprised, baby boy LOVES motion!

This is the only kind of picture I will allowed taken of myself in the morning.

Hello Sunshine & Shadows

I can't even tell you how much I missed walking. Since we found out I was pregnant, I was not able to go for walks because of complications. Thanks to our lovely MN winters, I haven't made it on a walk until today. 70s on the horizon and lots of walks in our future!

Praise the Lord!!!

Burp Rag Love

Mr. G has a serious passion for his burp rags now.

He sucks on them, cuddles them, and plays peek-a-boo.

Such a sweetie!

 

So intent

Can't help but love this look!

Sweet boy

4 Months

Just had to share some pictures of baby G's 4 month pictures.

Hard to believe he is 4 months and one week old!!!

Shall we Dance?

Life is what we make of it. Choices must be made daily.

We are all put in different situations. It is how we choose to dance this dance. The dance of life.

I am learning that complaining about things that are not in my control is useless. A good example is this blasted snow that continues to fall in April. Nothing I say will change it, so I decided to dance with my son in front of the window, watching the flakes fall.

Are your kids healthy? Be grateful. Hug them. Thank God for them. I am so happy that my boy is healthy. Yes he has his own battles, but overall he is happy and healthy.

If your kids are sick, bring them before the Lord. I keep thinking of the many children in the NICU, PICU, and other places in the hospital. Lord, be with those sweet babes. Be with their mommies and daddies. They are possibly in the darkest days of their lives, Lord give them hope.

When your spouse, family member, or friend is continuing (over and over) to do something that annoys you, take a step back and appreciate it. That's not a typo...really appreciate it. Heaven knows that if I didn't have my hubby, I would miss his little quirks.

Thank God for the cries of your baby in the middle of the night. There is a NICU filled with babies on ventilators who can't cry. There are women who are crying out to have a baby, so that they can answer their cries. There is a daddy crying somewhere, wishing to hold his baby just one more time.

Praise God if you have a healthy marriage. I can't imagine my life without the man I call my own. Through these past days, weeks, months, and years my love has grown for him. He is my gift from God. My life-long buddy.

Thank God for messy rooms, stained clothes that need washing, and the never ending dirty dishes. They are signs of a home that is lived in. A home that has love overflowing, showing that you would rather spend time loving up on your family than putting everything in it's perfect place. I'm not endorsing a messy home, but sometimes it is okay to live in the moment. Put your list of projects on hold and dance in the moment.

Kiss your husband everyday, snuggle with your kids each night, hug your family whenever possible, call and chat with your friends, and lend a listening ear to the co-worker struggling through life.

Each day is yours and mine to live.

Remember thatomorrow is not a guarantee.

Will you choose to dance in this life?

It's on the calendar

The "it" being baby G's surgery. We will be going back to the University of Minnesota Children's Amplatz for his surgery on May 9. We will arrive at 12:00pm to prepare for his surgery at 2:00pm. It will be a 4 hour surgery,  and hopefully conclude around 6:00pm.

When I think about the surgery to come, I am flooded with SO many emotions.
Thankful that the surgeries will soon be over. Faith that God is sovereign, knowing He has done great things for us in the past, and we are trusting that this surgery will be no different. Fear for my baby, the kind of fear I know I shouldn't give into, yet a fear that threatens to drown me. Helplessness, realizing that my baby will again be put under and have a tube down his throat, but the only way to the other side of this journey is through the surgery.

Out of all of these emotions, the strongest is HOPE. Hope that we will get to the other side of this surgery journey, stronger because of it. Hope that we have knowing that the team of God + Dr. Guillaume = Success.

Pray with us for health for baby G, going into the surgery. This last time he had a cold so on top of everything else he had a hard time breathing because of congestion. Pray for the surgeon, for the surgery, and for a complete recovery. Pray that when all is said and done that our little boy is returned to us safely. Pray for our fears to be calmed. Pray that God will be glorified.

Mark your calendars for May 9th and join us in praying!

You are all such a blessing to our family, and we love you dearly.

Celebration Weekend

God has blessed me with many wonderful birthdays over the past twenty-some years. This year definitely topped the charts. Saturday we went for a trip to the Mall of America. Jason treated me to a shopping spree. Thank you!!!! I am so focused on buying G clothes, that I hadn't went shopping for myself in a long time. Unless you count maternity clothes...which I don't. Buying big gal clothes wasn't exactly a hoot. It was G's first time to the MOA and he did AWESOME! He was born to shop! Seriously, the kid slept half the time, the other half he was looking around at all of the people and lights. Smiled the entire day!


Ready for to hit the Mall of America

Shopping takes it outta this guy!

My Haul!

Today (my actual birthday) was perfect. Woke up with G at 5:30 to feed him, which didn't even bother me because I am just so thankful that I have a baby to wake up with. I remember last year telling Jason that my wish list was a baby or a puppy. Well, I got the baby!

We spent the morning cuddling

Getting some sympathy from dad.

How cute are they? Matchy-matchy!

We went to our niece, Bethany's dedication.

Miss Bethany. Who can resist those cheeks?!

Great-Grandma Mar

Papa & Grandma Sue

Singing French to G. He should be bilingual soon!

 Took Sunday afternoon naps,

 

Spent the evening with my parents, Cambria & Tony.

They brought over icecream cake! YUM!!! 

 

I am truly blessed.

Hospital Stay #3

This was G's third time staying at the hospital. Jason & I pretty much have the routine down now. Here are just a few pictures of the stay, and then some at home after.

Feeling better after a long night!

He's a little chubbier here from some IV water weight.

The Spring snow storm. Dropped about 12 inches.

Our very nice, large room.

The not so large bed we slept on together.
Imagine 2 adults sleeping on a bed fit for a toddler. That's a vision huh?

Auntie & Uncle Time

Auntie's kissy-noises are the best! Tony is not quite so sure...

Totally in love with Auntie

G is trying to figure out how to do the kissy face...

Love!

Meeting with Neurosurgeon

Our little man is doing well! We are just waiting for the discharge papers to come in. Last night was a little rougher than we thought it would be due to G's stuffy nose and sore throat from the respirator. After getting suctioned this morning, he is ALL SMILES!!! I forgot my camera cord, so I'll post pictures later.

We met with the wonderful Dr. Guillaume who will be doing his surgery. Jason and I are 100% confident in his abilities to take care of G. Both the surgery to remove the bump and tethered spine are "simple". Not for us, but for brilliant surgeons like him it will be a breeze! They do them everyday apparently. The main risk will be infection. He will not have any issues later on down the road once he recovers from the surgery.

The surgeries will take approximately half a day. He will be in the hospital for about 2 days. I had read horror stories about kids who had to lay on their tummies, completely still for a whole day after the surgery. Dr. Guillaume assured us that he could be held, fed, and roll around if he wanted to. Praise the LORD!!! Dr. Guillaume has made so many advances in the medical field that allow the recovery for these kinds of issues to be much faster.

So thank you for your prayers!!! He is going to be just fine!

The farther along this journey we get with G., the more I am learning that worry doesn't pay off! God always has His mighty hand on him and we are seeing visible evidence day after day after day.

So were there any amazing miracle-type happenings? Probably none that the typical person would see. We look for the untypical things...and perhaps the miracle is that we have Dr. Guillaume here to operate on G. After all, the man has been in Oregon, Australia, Wisconsin, and other areas. He just happens to be at U of M Amplatz hospital for just a time as this.

God is Great! ALL the time!

P.S. His weight is 12 lbs 1 oz some of that is the food he just ate, but he is getting big!!! Yay for chubby thighs!

MRI is a thing of the past!

As I type this, I am sitting in a very large, hi-tech, gorgeous room in the University of Minnesota Children's Amplatz hospital. The view is unfortunately very snowy right now, which makes us thankful that our night will be spent safely tucked away in the hospital.

Baby G has again has shown that he is a fighter!

He did so well with not being able to eat before the MRI, which was a God thing no doubt! I don't think I have ever seen him so calm, especially when he should have been screaming in hunger! So thank you all for your prayers! God heard you!

The MRI went great. He was pretty out of it when he came to. It actually reminded me of my experience being put under for having my wisdom teeth extracted! If you want a laugh, just ask Jason about it...they apparently had to sit on me at one point. Unfortunately, that is not a lie. This isn't about me though, so moving right along! :)

 

The poor little guy had to have a respirator put down his little throat during the MRI so that he would be extremely steady for the best quality pictures. He is quite raspy and is crying more from his irritated throat. He has always had a more "barky" cough, along with some strange grunting noises which seemed to be worsened thanks to the respirator. We are so used to the noises that they are just a part of who G. is. The nurses were all a little freaked out by the sounds, but we were told it is just because of his esophagus repair. However, we are going to get it checked out to make sure that there is nothing more to be concerned about.

 

We already got a quick preview of the MRI scans, and it looks like nothing has changed which is great! I'll admit that I was hoping for an answer more along the lines of "There is not tether...we were wrong". Sadly, not the case.

 

There is slightly more fluid in the spinal column, but not much more than usual. Because of the slightly elevated fluid, they are wanting to have the surgery done within this month. After talking with the assistant to the surgeon, it sounds like it is a fairly straight-forward procedure. We will meet with the Neurosurgeon, Dr. Guillaume, tomorrow morning to get a plan set in place.

 

Praying for a quick recovery for baby G, and that the surgery in the future goes well! Thank heavens for good hospitals with great staff!

 

Mom & dad are doing well. Thankful that their little boy is alright, and ready to get back home.

 

Rest well tonight friends!

Update

So far God has answered our first prayer, and that is he was so patient with not being able to eat for an hour after he normally does. As he laid in my arms so peacefully, I could help but know that God is at work!

In less than 15 minutes he will be back in the recovery room, 3 hours was the total time of the MRI. They said so far he has been doing great!

I will update you all later today or tomorrow morning after we meet with Dr. Guilluame.

Thank you all again for your prayers! God is good!

MRI Day

Well friends, we are leaving our house in about 20 minutes to head down to the University of Minnesota for G's MRI.
We truly can't thank you all enough for your prayers and support. I am honestly just looking forward to what God is going to do. I don't know that I can explain the kind of Faith I am experiencing this morning, but I do know it is from God!
Continue to pray for
1. Baby boy's patience as he can't eat from 6:30-10:40 (when they start the MRI)
2. For the anesthesiologist, that they will give him just the right amount of sedative
3. For peace to reign in our hearts and
4. For Dr. Daniel Guillaume, the neurosurgeon who will read the MRI.

 
5. For a miracle-type of MRI.
And lastly, but most important, that God will be glorified and that lives can be touched, even in a small way by baby G.

I'll leave you with a few morning pictures of our little guy. As always...he is happy.

Baby Date

Baby G got to meet a future best friend, and potential girlfriend. I know, I know...not all baby girls are going to want to date Gavin, but he sure was trying his hardest to win Lavonna over.

Holding Hands

Starting to make his move.

The classic "Stretch" move...every good man knows the
"stretch to put your arm around a girl" move!

Lavonna wasn't so sure, so he decided to back off.
They have plenty of time, no need to rush it. Right son?

Our two Miracles.

Love you baby Lavonna!

It was a blast chatting with Lavonna's mommy, all while chaperoning these two munchkins. Both of our babies have amazing birth/life stories already. So grateful that God blessed us with them.

Positively Cheeky

Not much to say about this, besides LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS! I just melt when he sucks his bottom lip in!



How blessed am I to have this little baby be my son?! Pretty blessed, folks! Pretty blessed.

Happy Saturday!

Snow Day

Much of the midwest was hammered with a heavy spring snow this past week. Lucky us! I attempted to get the little bambino over to daycare on Thursday, but nearly went in the ditch twice, and got stuck going up a hill. NO joke, it took me 2 minutes to get up a small hill, and there wasn't even anyone in front of me. I decided it wasn't worth the risk of getting in an accident so I turned back towards home. It took me 45 mins to go 4 miles! Oh...on the way, there was thunder and lightening. SnowBlizare. Get it? So Bizzare...oh nevermind! Forgive me I haven't had my coffee yet.

As frustrating as it is to have snow in mid-April, I am focusing on the good things, the main one would have to be staying home with this guy.

Snuggles with the little peapod

I finally made Blueberry muffins for breakfast. They have been staring at me from the cupboard for about 2 weeks now.
P.S. to make a batch go a little farther, add walnuts and craisins to the Krusteaz fat-free Wild Blueberry muffin mix. Scrumptious!

I got to watch my sweet baby as he slept.

Checked up on my favorite blogs.

Watched baby boy play under his toys.

Started to set up an Etsy shop for my lovely mama's jewelry! She is seriously talented. And not just with jewelry, folks! She can revive dying plants, sew pretty much anything you could need, and makes a coffee cake that even my dieting husband can't resist. More on her jewelry in the posts to follow!

I did mommy things, like cleaning, and snuggling with my sweet boy. By the way, I could do this everyday. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job. However, this little man of mine is way more fun! No offense H&S, I don't think you can blame me, can you? Too bad there are bills to pay!

I must say snowdays with G are way better than the snowdays I enjoyed as a kiddo! Love that little guy!