Yes, I realize I haven’t blogged in quite a while. It’s been a little crazy lately. I promise to have an update and pics up real soon. I said I promise!!
Sad Day
Today has been a sad day at our house. We lost a loyal member of our family. We had to have our sweet dog, Bo, euthanized. We have had Bo since he was only 5 weeks old, and his 9th birthday would have been this Saturday, April 19. Everything happened so quickly that we really didn’t have time to think about it which is probably for the best.
About a year and a half ago, we had a couple of tumors removed from Bo’s leg, and the vet told us then that it was cancer and to watch him because he could develop more. About a month or so ago, Luke took Bo and Coco to have their annual checkup and shots, and Bo had a couple more tumors on his leg. The vet didn’t want to remove them because of where they were on his leg (not enough skin to close after surgery, too close to Achilles tendon). So we just watched them. They grew large very quickly, then one of them opened in the last few days. Also, Bo had been laying in his kennel more than usual lately and was not as active. We asked a retired vet friend to come over this morning to look at the tumors since we are leaving to go out of town for two weeks tomorrow morning. We didn’t want to leave Bo in someone else’s care in that condition. After thoroughly examining Bo and discussing the options and possible problems, our friend recommended euthanasia. We were concerned with Bo’s quality of life so after Luke and I talked, I called the vet to make the appointment and called a couple of people to come watch the kids so I could go, too. Through tears, we stayed by Bo’s side until his heart stopped beating.
Bo was one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known, and we will miss him a lot.
We love you, Bo!
Foat Wuth….here we come!
Luke and I and the three kiddos will be leaving Mississippi on Thursday morning headed for Texas in our overloaded minivan. Please pray for safety in travel, and that the kids will do well during the trip. Also, Luke will be flying out of DFW on Saturday the 19th for a mission trip to Mexico. He will be gone 8 days…..8 long days. We have never been apart for that long, and I am not looking forward to it. But I know it is for a good reason. Please pray for the mission team from our church and association as they minister physically and spiritually in Mexico.
I’ll try to update while I’m in Fort Worth. Until then….gotta get packin’!
For the Love of Blueberries
So, tonight at dinner Ashleigh wasn’t eating very well. Utilizing my excellent parenting skills, I proceeded to bribe my daughter. I told her that if she would eat her chicken and green beans ‘all gone,’ then she could have blueberries. At which point she began shoveling in pieces of chicken faster than she could chew resulting in chipmunk cheeks full of chicken. With a little coaxing, she also finished the green beans. Soooo…..
Look, Mommy! I ate them all!
Licking the bowl clean
This child LOVES blueberries!!
Good Girl
It has come to our attention that we must say ‘good girl’ quite often to Ashleigh because she has started saying it whenever she accomplishes a task. For instance….
Pick up a piece of food with a fork….Good girl!
Put a shape block in the correct shaped hole….Good girl!
Go tee tee in the potty….Good girl!
Anyway, you get the idea. We are learning to be VERY careful about what we say around her now. Like her cousin, ‘Carrot’, she will try to repeat just about anything you ask her to. We’ll try to get video of it soon. Like most things at this age, it probably won’t last long.
Hannah Grace
I would like to ask everyone to pray for a friend of mine, Heather Weed, and her family. They are in the process of adopting a beautiful little girl from China they have already named Hannah Grace. They are hoping to go in June or September to bring her home with them. Please pray for Hannah’s health, for travel mercies for Alan and Heather, and mostly, for God to be honored through it all.
The Power of Prayer
Many of you know about what happened with our daughter Kyleigh when she was born. Actually it is the reason she and Riley were born on that day. During my weekly fetal stress test on that Thursday morning, Kyleigh’s heart rate was extremely high (about 230-250 bpm) so the doctor wanted to deliver them that afternoon. After delivery the doctors were unable to convert her heart to a normal rate and rhythm so she was transferred to a hospital down the street with a NICU. After several doses of medicine, they were able to keep her heart rate normal. The condition is known as supra ventricular tachycardia (SVT). The doctors at that hospital were in contact with a pediatric cardiologist at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) on several occasions faxing EKGs and other test results. She stayed in the NICU for a week before coming home on daily medication. At that point, we were referred to the doctor at UAB for follow up and made the first trip on November 6 when she was only six weeks old. After reviewing Kyleigh’s previous EKGs and the one from that day, the doctor diagnosed her with Wolf Parkinson White syndrome or WPW, for short. That is a long name which basically means that her heart has an extra electrical path that caused it to race.
Today (Tuesday), I am actually typing this in the back of our van on the way home from our second trip to UAB. Kyleigh had another EKG and the doctor described it as NORMAL! Praise the Lord! He answers prayers! The doctor said that it looks like she is probably outgrowing the WPW. Although she will remain on a very low dose of her medication until she is one year old, if the next EKG is still normal, and she has not had any episodes of SVT, then we can discontinue the medication at that point. We are so grateful to everyone for their prayers over these last six months. Please continue to pray that Kyleigh will not have any episodes of SVT, and that she will outgrow this condition. We know that God is the Great Physician, and we give him all praise, honor and glory for this miracle!
Getting weighed
EKG time
Pictures, pictures, pictures
Here are the rest of the most recent pictures we have taken. Several are already in other posts so I didn’t add them to the slide show. Hope you enjoy!
Hoppy Easter
This year I decided to start a tradition of making a bunny cake for Easter. My mom said that she used to make them years ago. I figure as the kids get older they can help more and more with the mixing, baking, icing, decorating, etc. Ashleigh helped put the coconut and a few of the jelly beans on this year. Of course, only a few of the jelly beans actually ended up on the cake. Most ended up in her mouth. Until she found a cinnamon one anyway. She didn’t really like that one.
Ashleigh also experienced her first Easter egg hunt this year. On Saturday, our church had a community-wide egg hunt for the first time in many years. We had a great turn out, and the kids had fun. Before the kids went out to hunt for the eggs, we shared the real reason we celebrate Easter with them. Luke used the Resurrection Eggs with the older children, and the younger ones watched a Miss Pattycake video about Easter. We pray that one day our kids will understand what Easter is all about and know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
We were surprised at how well Ashleigh did finding the eggs since she had never done it before Saturday. I think she might be a little OCD like me so she wanted to “clean up” by picking up the eggs off the ground and putting them in her basket. That’s my girl! On the other hand, she loves dumping out all the toys from the toy bins in the middle of the living room floor. Oh well.
She also enjoyed what was inside the eggs she found. A little too much I’m afraid. Yum, candy!
Riley and Kyleigh attended the egg hunt as well, but they slept through most of it and didn’t get to join in the festivities this year. Next year, Babies.
Then, on Sunday, after a beautiful celebration of the resurrection of our Redeemer, we came home to eat lunch and have our own little Easter egg hunt in the front yard. Ashleigh saw the first egg as soon as we walked out the front door and was very excited. When she would see another egg, she would exclaim “MORE!” We only hid about 14 eggs or so, and she found them all with little help. She has become quite the little egg hunter. Next year we’ll see how a little friendly competition from her brother and sister affects her hunting abilities. They were watching her every move.
We hope everyone had a very blessed Easter. Alleluia! He is risen!
Twins at Six Months
It is hard to believe that Riley and Kyleigh are six months old already. I know I, and all parents for that matter, say that all the time, but time just seems to fly by so quickly. They are half way to one year old. It just doesn’t seem possible.
Here are their latest growth stats from their six month checkup:
Riley
22 lbs 4 oz
28.5 in
Kyleigh
17 lbs 12 oz
27.5 in
Riley was in the 95th percentile or above for everything, and Kyleigh was in the 90th percentile or above for everything. Needless to say, they are both thriving. They have been eating cereal, fruits and veggies for a couple of months and are starting on meats now. For the most part they have enjoyed the baby food except for maybe peas. I have learned to hide the peas by mixing them with another veggie they enjoy, like carrots. Very sneaky. Dr. Scotty says they are doing great and not to change a thing. We have been blessed with three beautiful, healthy children. Thank you, God.
