Gotta Laugh

I am starting to think "busy" will be our normal for a while. Life seems so busy right now. Is it because we now have three kids? Is it because we are just getting back on our feet from dealing with mrsa/hospitalization/death in the family week? Is it because it is sick kid season and everyone I know has sick kids too? Or is it all of the above?
Well, whatever the case is, my perspective has changed on what is a big deal now and when the little things happen...you gotta laugh.
This weekend Travis headed to San Antonio to be with his family. Selfishly, I was sad to have him go, but it was more important that he be with Leslie and his parents this weekend than home with me. We got some time with him on Friday before he got on the road. I love these pics of Eli talking and smiling at me.It was SO cold on Friday. We had stayed in all week because Jacob was sick with a tummy bug. It went away and he was back at school on Thursday and Friday. Since Travis was out of town my mom had us over for dinner. The kids were so excited to be at Grandma's house. Just before dinner was ready Jacob came running in to me, crying and needing to find a bathroom asap. Yep! Just when I thought he was all better that tummy bug made a south-bound reappearance. Thankfully there was no accident, but we still had a long drive home. Jacob was a trooper though and wore a diaper in the car for Mommy even thought he really didn't want to. And he didn't end up needing it after all. I felt so bad exposing mom and the boys. But you gotta laugh in those moments.Daniel ended up coming home with me in case I needed any help. It was good to get a little bit of extra time with him.Saturday, my mom brought Mimi over to meet Eli for the first time. My mom was just about to leave to take Mimi and the boys home when Paige showed signs that she was going to be sick too. We quickly got her up off the couch and just barely made it off the carpet when she threw up (for the first time) all over the bathroom. Thank God it was all tile floor. I turned to my mom with a panicked look on my face and asked that she please not leave just yet. She helped me clean Paige, myself, and the bathroom up. Travis arrived home about 20 minutes later- what a homecoming. This is how Paige spent the rest of her night: over a tarp in a chair with ice chips. Thankfully she only threw up the one time, like Jacob did, but she seemed to feel worse than he did. She had a mild fever and body aches. We had to call my mother in law (a nurse) to ask what to do because this was all new territory for us. Again, you gotta laugh. I felt so bad that Mimi was exposed and mom and the boys exposed again!We hope sweet E Baby doesn't catch this bug. He was talking to us though and we were so glad to get it on camera. I love those baby noises. All that talking wore him out!Sissy got to sleep in our room so we could get to her fast if we needed too. It is great to have an extra crib mattress for these moments.Then, the biggest laugh of all: Sunday morning I put Paige in the car for a much needed drive through mocha run. As I was backing up I got too close to the highlander. I didn't hit it though. I put the car in drive and was going to pull forward to re-adjust. Some how...don't know how...the front bumper got caught on my back bumper and when I pulled forward the front bumper of the highlander got pulled off! I sat there for a moment looking at the bumper on ground in front of the highlander in my rear view mirror with my mouth hanging open in disbelief at what just happened. Then, I shrugged my shoulders and said "oh well", and continued on to get my mocha. What is even more funny is that I called Travis while I was on the road to tell him about what happened and he paused for a moment and then said the same thing,"oh well". We were going to take the Highlander for it's inspection today but guess that's not going to happen now. You gotta laugh! Some might feel differently, but for us-all in all, it was a good weekend. Those who know me best would say that all of these things would have stressed me out before. Now...I look at it all so differently. It's vomit, (yes, all over my bathroom) not IV antibiotics. I can do laundry, clean, and disinfect. It's diarrhea, not 6 days away from my children. I can stay in and only offer bread and water. It's a car, not the loss of a great father/husband/son/brother. It's the engine that is important. It's life. You gotta laugh at the little stuff.

Smiles for Sissy

She is all over him all the time that of course he is going to smile for her.
Sissy showing some sassy attitude back. Where do they pick up some of these things???

First Tummy Bug

Can you believe my kids have never gotten a throw-up bug! Jacob made it to 3 and a half, 42 months and Paige still hasn't had it. He never had fever or acted sick. It was a fast one, lots of laundry, but much easier than a respiratory bug that drags on forever. He got lots of videos so he has happy.

One Month! What????

Sweet E baby is one month today. It is hard to believe we are at the month mark. With everything that has gone on I feel like I just came home with him. Plus being away from him for 6 days also adds to that feeling. But he is a month and he is doing great!Look at his healthy body. He is thriving and getting bigger. We are on formula now because of all the mrsa infections- 3 doctors told me to stop lactating. My friends joke with me that God was loudly telling me it was time to stop. While I am sad that he is not getting the best milk possible, I am loving the convenience of full time freedom from pumping. He is a very happy baby! The whole time I was away from him, my mom kept telling me that him being such an easy baby was making the whole process better. God knew we were going to need an easy baby. Plus, I have heard that those third babies "have" to be good babies. They just are.

He just started sleeping in his own bed (still in our room of course) this week. Up until then he was sleeping with us. We loved it and I could easily keep doing it, but I know long term it's better for him to sleep on his own. He is SO snugly though. He cuddles in perfectly.He is smiling now when he sees us and I love it. While I was away from him I was so afraid that he was going to forget me. Maybe he did...who knows. But he is loving me now and I am thankful to be with him. Daddy is pretty fond of him too. And we all know how the kids feel about him.He is showing good head support for his age and loves being upright against our chest. He will fall right to sleep as you hold him on your shoulder.Big yawn.Heart Breaker.A wink and a smile....

Sweet sweet baby! We love our little Eli.

A Very Bad Week

Travis shared last night about losing his brother Jeff on Monday January 11th. We have been needing to post what else happened during that week that added to the craziness of life for our family.

Backing up: That same day, Monday morning the pediatricians office called with the results of Eli's cultures. Those odd pustules turned out to be MRSA (staph infection) and they informed us that my mastitis was most likely the same thing. (Turns out it is not that uncommon for newborns to pick up staph infections from the hospital.) I was scared. Then that afternoon we heard about Jeff being taken to the hospital and tests were going to be done to find out what what was wrong, but first round of blood tests showed leukemia. Our hearts sank. It was a terrible day as we balanced the news of what to do with Eli and myself in going forward with a serious infection that involved changing antibiotics, waiting for more culture results to come back, taking bleach baths for the whole family; to waiting and worrying about what was going to come of Jeff's test results. Tragically, Travis got that phone call that night about Jeff. Worst day we have had as a family by far.

Tuesday, Travis goes to San Antonio to be with his family. Eli appeared to be doing well, and we were waiting for my antibiotics to start helping me. Wednesday, after 24 hours on the new antibiotic I felt worse and noticed my infection was now affecting the other side and I called my doctor. Sure enough they felt I needed to be admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics for 48 hours. Poor Travis was trying to comfort and support his family and now got a phone call learning his wife was being hospitalized. He flew home that night. While in the hospital I couldn't touch anyone without them being fully protected in gloves, mask, and a gown. Travis came in to see me and leaned down to kiss me hello and was stopped by a nurse. Better safe than sorry rules. My mom graciously helped us with the kids so Travis wasn't overwhelmed with 2 kids and a newborn, and so he could attend his brothers funeral on Friday.

I was told by Friday I would feel so much better and good to go. God had other plans for us though, and Friday morning as Travis was on the road back to San Antonio for Jeff's funeral I had to call him and let him know that the infection was worse, I needed to see an infectious disease specialist, and I was not going to be able to go home any time soon.

Our friends and family were amazing. Travis was going to drive home after the funeral but friends stepped in and provided him with a flight to save time. The ID doctor changed the drugs and the infection responded positively. I was there until Monday night, and sent home with two weeks on oral antibiotics. A total of six days and five nights way from my family. I missed Jeff's funeral and Travis's time with them was cut short too. We both hated that. I wanted to be able to support Travis by being with our kids so he could grieve with his family, but I couldn't.

The kids did well while we were gone. I missed Eli the most. It was such an unnatural feeling to be away from your new born for 6 days. The Saturday I was in the hospital my doctor asked how old my baby was and I said 2 weeks only to be corrected that he had just turned 3 weeks that morning, and then I broke out crying. I missed him so much. But, he was in wonderful hands with my mom. And when my mom needed a break, wonderful caring friends stepped in to love on our babies. My mom would send me pictures each day with her phone. Travis got some pictures so Eli's second week wouldn't be missed. Here are some pictures while I was away.
Grandma giving Eli his bath: (Sorry about the pink baby towel, E Baby.)
Starting to smile: Travis was sweet to bring me this video while I was in the hospital. Yes, I bawled.

Eli and I seem to be getting better. My infection seems to be going away and Eli has some spots that look like baby acne, but we are "watching it closely" and putting topical ointment just to be safe. He gets a bleach bath here and there, but appears to be fine.

It was a horrible week for our family. I know Travis had it the hardest. Thankfully, we both can see some ways God used it for good and I always remind myself that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. While it was difficult, we knew God is good and He had not abandoned us. We are so blessed with the generosity of others and words could never describe how grateful we are for the support around us. We could not have made it through this time without everyones prayers and support.

Jeff

Post by Travis - As most of you who read this blog know, my big brother, Jeff, passed away unexpectedly on January 11th, 2010. I will never forget the phone call from my dad that night and like many others I wish I could have more time with him.

Jeff was born on September 7th, 1971 in Ellensburg, WA and is survived immediately by his wife, Leslie and his daughters: Emma (10), Allie (7) and Meredith (2). Jeff loved Leslie (his college sweetheart) and his girls immensely and served as a role model to me on loving and sacrificing for your family. When the girls were babies, you literally could not pry them away from him - his love for those girls was instant...and unbreakable.

Leslie and Andrea used to make fun of Jeff and I for putting on our nerdy bluetooth wireless headsets and playing Playstation together to all hours of the night - I remember one time it was 4AM in Arizona and I finally had to go to bed only realizing that it was 6AM for Jeff in Texas. We would sit there playing a Shoot 'Em Up game while talking about life, our families, business, sports (carefully avoiding the Texas Tech/UT rivalry) and so many other things.

One thing that I have learned from this experience is the importance of staying in touch with those you love. Jeff was tenacious at calling his friends and family and one of my biggest regrets is that I did not call him more often.

There are many people who surrounded our family with love and support and I want to express my heartfelt and sincere thanks. Although it is impossible to name everyone, I wanted to specifically thank Emily and Jarret Carr, Chris Glanton, Jolynn Wyborny, Sheena, Randy and Lynn Mason, everyone from Alamo Heights United Methodist Church who provided the backdrop for a beautiful service and Bobo Brown, Jay Campion, Howard Smith and Zach Martin for getting up in front of everyone at the funeral and sharing their stories and their love of Jeff.

Jeff, I love you and miss you and am thankful you are in God's presence in Heaven. I will do everything I can to take care of Les and the girls.

THIS PAST WEEKEND: Jeff was planning on coming up to meet his new nephew, Eli, this past weekend but unfortunately did not get to meet him. However, we were honored to have Les and the girls along with my parents up here this weekend. Below are some of the pics.

Mere Mere getting to hold Eli w/ some help from Les The crazy kids jumping from the stairs.

Allie - We share the same birthday of June 1st. Jeff would always tease me about this saying that he had a child that stole my birthday. I am so glad I can share this with you Allie!This was a sweet pic of Emma and Paige relaxing while watching a movie. Paige did not move from this spot until I picked her up for her nap.A little Beatles Rock Band time. My hippie mom knew all of the words so she would sing along with Allie.Here we are on Sunday morning. Mere Mere and I got to hang out together and read some books. We were reading Winnie The Pooh. I don't think she cared too much about the book. Sweet Emma w/ Eli.