Friday, September 26, 2008

Meet Me at the Airport

Last Wednesday we had a special treat. My sister in law Carolyn was on her way to her brother's wedding in Canada and had a lay over in DFW. We met up with her and cousin Piersen for about an hour before their next flight. Care hadn't seen Kate since she was six weeks old and although she keeps up through the blog the life size version is so much better. Piersen is about 13 months older than Kate. Here are some pics from that special day.

Getting a hug from Auntie Care. Oh, if she only lived closer what fun we would have.

Cousins!

Sweet picture. She loves to just stare at people and just take them all in.

Including her brother, Kate will be surrounded by 8 boys from both sides of the family. What a lucky girl.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Family Pictures

I love this one. Confident Girl!


Clapping is her big thing right now. Yet when you clap along with her she'll stop and look at you as if to say, "What are you doing? That's my thing!"


My favorite. Daddy making both of his girls laugh.


I love this picture. Even though it is not the best "picture face", I know exactly what she was doing, talking up a storm!


Mommy, Kate and Carson


Our little Family

An Answer

As the question of Why? still runs through my head (see previous post) I came across this poem in a blog I hardly read.

The Heart:

'Tomorrow morning,' the surgeon began, 'I'll open up your heart...'


'You'll find Jesus there,' the boy interrupted.


The surgeon looked up, annoyed, 'I'll cut your heart open,' he continued, to see how much damage has been done...'


'but when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there,' said the boy.


The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. 'When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan what to do next.'


'But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart.'


The surgeon had had enough. 'I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well.'


'You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there.'


The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, '...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis: here he paused, 'death within one year.' He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. 'Why?' he asked aloud. 'Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and you've cursed him to an early death. Why?' The Lord answered and said, 'The boy, my lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow.' The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. 'You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?' The Lord answered, 'The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb.' The surgeon wept... The surgeon sat beside the boy' s bed; the boy's parents sat across from him.


The boy awoke and whispered, 'Did you cut open my heart?'


'Yes,' said the surgeon.
'What did you find?' asked the boy.


'I found Jesus there,' said the surgeon.


Author Unknown

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Why God?

Yesterday I received a text message. The third of it's kind in the space of 3 months. Yet another friend of mine is experiencing the loss of her baby too soon. A sonogram that revealed no beating heart. All the hope in the world walking into that exam room only to walk out with grief.Why God? All three of these friends had wonderful homes and boundless love to offer these babies. Why God? I have to say that all three of my friends have faced this with the same attitude. God is still in control. He is still the same. My question of "Why God?" perhaps shows my spiritual immaturity but maybe it shows my humanity also. The death of babies and children just doesn't make sense. Who among us does not know someone who has gone through this heart wrenching loss? It is unexplainable. To us, there is no purpose for cutting a young life short. All the promise and innocence gone. Why? I know that is a question that will never be answered.Our preacher painted a beautiful illustration when we discussed heaven. He painted a picture of these babies in heaven perfectly formed. No birth defects, no chromosomal abnormalities. Just perfect beautiful babies. I believe we will get to meet them someday. I really believe that the only thing we can do is not take anything for granted. I never take for granted any sonogram, any chance to see and hear a beating heart. I never take for granted when my Dr. says, "Everything looks great." I never take for granted the times when I go to check on Kate in the middle of the night and put my hand on her back and feel my hand moving up and down.I never take for granted the times when Jared pulls me in close for a hug or tells me he loves me. These are not ordinary things friends. These are not run of the mill everyday occurences. These are special and rare.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Carson Jared

This is the name we have chosen for our wonderful boy. We chose it because we think it sounds strong and confident. Also for another source, check out the name of Jared's favorite football team's quarterback. His middle name is pretty self explanatory. Kate's middle name is my first name and now Carson will have his Dad's first name as his middle name. I thought that it would be neat for you to see a window into Carson's world right now. If you have never seen a sonogram it might be difficult to make sense of these pictures but to me it is fascinating nonetheless.Enjoy!

About 1:30 in you'll see his sweet feet crossed at the ankles. We took notice of this because this is how Kate slept when she was a newborn. About 2 minutes in we found out we were having a Boy! The Dr. even does a close up of the identifying feature. :)


You can really see him move in this clip. You can see his spine and ribs. you can even see his hands are out in front of him.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Our Little Chuggy Huggy



My mom says that when my brothers and I were little and we had a cold my Dad would call from work during the day and ask, "How is my little Chuggy Huggy?" He called us chuggy from the sound the congestion made when we would breathe.

Well friends, we have had a little chuggy huggy on our hands this week. On Tuesday our little girl who has slept through the night every night since she was 8 weeks old woke up in the middle of the night crying. I went into her room and immediately heard it. She was definitely chuggy. Her first real cold!! She had trouble sleeping that night. A lot of trouble! :( The only way she could get comfortable was if I would hold her upright on my shoulder. It came on so fast! She was fine before she went to bed. Doctor said it was just a cold, thank goodness. What I didn't realize was how little you can do for babies that have a cold. The saline drops and bulb syringe are ok but nothing offers complete relief except for time. There are so many times this week where I wish she could blow her nose. She would feel so much better! Even as I write this she is smiling at me but still chugging away a little bit. Although I think she has turned the corner. Chuggy Huggy sounds cute, but it is definitely NOT fun!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Lucky 7!!!!

Happy 7 months to the sweetest girl in the world! Her newest thing is saying, "Da da da da da...." Ok we know that the experts say she won't associate Jared with Da Da for another 5 months but we still love it and it still makes Jared's day. What guy wouldn't love to come home from work and hear his little girl calling his name. Enjoy the many other pictures and updates below including Kate's first Rangers game and first Sunday football day. By the way sorry, she is not giving out very many smiles right now. She is really protecting those gums right now. Maybe month 8 will show a picture with some teeth! The first is a slide show of Kate from birth to 7 months. A picture for each month. Very short but worth seeing how much she has changed.







Are You Ready for Some Football???

Jared has been waiting almost 1 year to put this Bengals jersey on this sweet unknowing girl. She was very happy in it I have to say. Poor Kate, her parents love underdog teams. Jared roots for his Bengals and I root for the Cubs. Both teams seem to find new and creative ways to disappoint their fans every year. We certainly aren't band wagon jumpers. Enjoy these pictures of Kate on her First of many Sunday Football days.



Kate's First Rangers Game

On Saturday we took Kate to her first Rangers' game. She did really well except for a few times where the crowd got really loud all of the sudden. It would scare her and she would cry. But a few hugs and kisses from Mommy and Daddy and she was A-ok.She wore her little Rangers cheerleader outfit that her Pops picked out for the first girl in the family. She looked so cute in it but it had to come off due to the heat. Here are a few pictures from the game.





Sunday, September 7, 2008

Catching Up

The title "catching up" could mean many things. I know what it means to me. Catching up on some much needed sleep. The schedule that I am keeping during the week is taking its toll on my body and so all I want to do is crash on the week end.I know what people mean when they talk about extreme exhaustion. I have really battled this with this pregnancy and have not received a reprieve during the supposedly wonderful second trimester. Jared takes on more responsibilities for Kate so that I can accomplish this. Then as Monday rolls around it starts all over again. An endless cycle. But I try to remember that this is just one season of our lives.We are trying to set some plans in motion for the future of our family. I believe God is directing these plans and causing things to happen in his timing. So, although I can't be specific right now I ask that you please pray for our future family plans.

And now catching up on some news. I wanted to elaborate more on the day we found out that we were adding a boy to our family. It was a very special day not only because of the circumstances but also because of the people that were able to be there. My Mom, my brother Burke, Jared's Mom and of course Kate were in the room with us when we found out. Jared and I both saw the tell tale boy part at the same time. And we both said something like, "oh! or uh oh!" And the Dr. said, "Did you just see what I saw?" and we said. "We think so!" And he said, "Yeah I'm 99% sure that this is a brother." I remember throwing my arms up in the air and I remember the look of surprise on Jared's face as I kissed him. He was 99% sure we were having a girl so he was truly shocked! Everything else looked great and our boy is measuring exactly on schedule with a due date set for February 3rd (my brother Brig's birthday). Although our Dr. said due to Kate's early arrival we would probably not be having a February baby. It will be more like late January. Perfect, so I can maybe get a little bit of healing in before Kate's first birthday. We are thrilled about our boy and already have many preparations going for his room. We are doing a golf theme and are constantly thinking of new ideas to add.

Miss Kate is growing right before our eyes. Such a big girl! She can sit up all by herself and play with her toys. Reaching for them and holding them up in the air above her head. My Mom gave her her first Dolly which she loves to grab by the pig tails and bang around from side to side. She's very tough on her Dolly. She loves for us to build a tower with blocks and she loves it even more when she can knock it down. Sometimes she knocks it down with her Dolly! Again, poor Dolly! She is eating more solid food and really likes apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, and chicken. Not a real big fan of green beans. Love the faces we get. Kind of like blech!Yucky! Very descriptive. Her hair is getting lighter and her eyes are staying very blue. If we put her in a neutral outfit or a blue outfit we still get "What a beautiful little boy!" I've come to expect this. Babies look very gender neutral and although we know and believe that she looks like a girl we can't blame people if they don't have any clues either way. Although I can't overlook the lady in the bank who commented on her being a boy the other day. She was a wearing a pink flowered onesie! Are we that progressive in society where we have started dressing our boys in pink flowered onesies? I never step out on that limb unless the baby is wearing a big bow in her hair and even then I make sure I have gathered all of my clues.

Ok, that's all for now. Be on the look out for a special post for Kate. She will be 7 months tomorrow.And baby boy and I will be 19 weeks tomorrow. The time is blazing by!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Kate Has Something to Tell You

Before she went to bed Kate had this to say....





By the way, this is what Big Sister really wanted to do with the sign

God has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6