That little Jude's a fighter!

Almost five weeks ago, my cousin Josh and his wife Kate welcomed this little guy into their lives much earlier than expected...

Jude Joshua Murray was born on October 20, 2009 at 27 weeks gestation. He weighed in at 2 pounds, 3 ounces and was 13 and 3/4 inches long.

He was going along pretty well but has developed a serious condition called NEC. We all know it's best if I don't attempt any sort of medical explanation, but from my limited understanding this disease attacks his intestines and can cause serious damage or loss of vital parts of his digestive tract.

He underwent surgery this week to correct the NEC and it went pretty well, so he's back on the long road to recovery. Our entire extended family has been keeping up with his progress thanks to Facebook, the hospital website, Sprint picture mail... it's really pretty amazing how technology makes it feel like he's not so far away.

11-14-09: Kate got to dress her tiny little guy for the first time. He looks so warm and snuggly and she looks like such a natural.

Davis was in the NICU for one short week during which Jeff and I watched young couples just like Josh and Kate caring for tiny preemies in isolettes. We watched them coming and going, bringing milk to feed the baby, taking turns touching the baby with one fingertip, asking questions, watching their baby sleeping, wanting to hold them, to nurse them, and to take them home.

Josh and Kate seem to be holding up well, but I ask everyone reading this to say a little prayer for them today. Pray for their energy... that they stay healthy... for peace of mind with all the BIG decisions they have to make regarding Jude's care... and for my Aunt Shelly, Uncle Michael and Great Aunt Sue as they cope with being away from their son and first grandbaby/great-grandbaby.

Thanks everyone, and I will post updates as Jude continues to grow!

The many faces of Davis J

"Yes, I've always been this loud."

The eyes and shirt say it all. Click to enlarge - that last one cracks me up.

Someday he will discover that this diving board also plays music.

I know the blog has been pretty Davis-specific lately, but the accident has really caused me to re-open my eyes to the amazing joy that is this blonde little boy. I just can't stop kissing him and holding him and smelling him. It feels like just this week I noticed how hazel his eyes are.

Thank you God for refreshing my attitude towards parenting him. He makes me laugh more and sigh less. Thanks for replacing much of my frustration with grace and humor.

I'm just sorry it took an accident to get my attention.

Hospital pics.

I took these cute pics (on my cell phone) of Davis trying to escape the E.R. before his CT Scan.

Trust me, little guy. No one wanted out of there more than Mommy...

Big D gave us a post-accident scare.

For a few days after the accident, Davis was extremely fussy, had little appetite and was sleeping a lot. With a 16-month old, it is so hard to tell what is wrong. He is cutting teeth, his muscles could be sore, he is on antibiotics for his ear infections, he has a diaper rash, his Mommy is stuck on a couch with painkillers and heating pads, and the country seems to be going socialist. Any one of these things is enough to make him cry.

But Sunday he developed a new symptom that started worrying us - he was sensitive to light. We thought we'd keep an eye on it, but when he took a FIVE-HOUR nap Monday morning, I decided take him back in for a CT Scan.

Four hours of wrestling him later, the results came back and his brain looks totally normal. The scan did, however, show that his nasal cavities were swollen and infected and his right ear infection was back. Praise God! The little guy had a bad sinus headache! This explained the sleeping, fussiness and sensitivity to light. With great relief, to say the least, we took him home. Well, took him to fill yet another antibiotic, then took him home.

As you know, I love to find humor in otherwise stressful situations. Well, when I got home and started reading the discharge paperwork I had to laugh at the nurse's choice of words. It pretty much said, "Spastic psycho Mom brought her son in for a CAT SCAN because of a cold."

Yeah, I'm laughing now. Let's just pray that GEICO pays for it.

A bit of a wreck.

For those who don't know, we were heading to meet Emily and Evan for lunch Thursday morning when Davis and I were in a car accident on 1604/Bandera Road. The other driver ran her red light and hit us at the end of our left turn. Our car spun around and when we came to rest, Davis' carseat was laying competely over on its side and he was screaming his head off. Thankfully, as soon as we lifted him out of the car, he immediately stopped crying and seemed okay. He had a minor seatbelt bruise on his neck/left collarbone and some faint markings on his right temple. Jack Everett was at school and Nana went to pick him up while we headed to the hospital.

The other driver, a woman in her fifties, was truly apologetic. She started really crying as she helped me get Davis out of the car. We hugged and I assured her the baby would be okay. I really felt bad for her, but was relieved when she admitted, "I was trying to beat the light." Two witnesses were willing to give recorded statements about her light being red.

We were both checked out at Methodist Hospital and were sent home within a few hours. We feel very lucky and know God protected us from real harm. I am extremely sore because (as we have established) I am no longer a spring chicken. My neck and back are painful and stiff and I have been alternating heating pads and muscle relaxers to manage the discomfort. Davis was uncharacteristically fussy Thursday and Friday but his appetite and cheery disposition seemed to return this morning. He has been taking unusually long naps, but Ask-a-nurse said that is to be expected.

When I got home from the hospital Thursday night, a note was waiting for me, "For Mom and Davis, I hope you feel betor from the hospital. From Jack"



My '99 Honda CR-V. If this had happened just a second sooner, she would have smashed directly into Davis' door. Instead, the rear quarterpanel took the brunt of the impact and his door was bent in only on the corner. The rear axle is bent and the right tire is angled in quite a bit. We are awaiting a judgment on liability and a determination of whether the car is totalled (which we fully anticipate due to its age and condition.)

Mom took me today to replace Davis' carseat, which will be covered in the insurance settlement. I got emotional at Enterprise Rent-a-car, again in the Babies 'R Us carseat aisle, and again when Mom got into her car to leave. I am still shaken up but am overcome with thankfulness when I stop to think about how much worse it could have been.

Tonight at dinner Jack said, "We better not spend any of our money. If the car people say they can't fix your car, you can have ALL my money from my money book. If not, I will STILL save my money from my money book. Just in case."

It was a sweet natural invitation to remind him that as we wait, we trust that God will continue to provide ALL of our needs.

"When did THAT happen?"

I often (QUITE OFTEN these days) find myself wondering when things changed for me. When did it happen that I became less cool and more old? When did I start using terms like "square" and "shenanigans?" When did MTV Real World go from entertaining me to making me sad that these children are not getting wise counsel from their parents? When did I start feeling like Lisle and Hahn on KISS FM were offensive? When did I start paying attention to the Speed Limit? When did I start checking the Weather Channel? When did I start caring about Healthcare Reform? When did I start feeling like the neighbors need to turn down that music!? When did I start wondering where those teenagers' parents are? It's gradual.

When did I start feeling like 9:00 was too late to START something? When did I start using coupons? When did I start thinking that movie is too inappropriate or that random girl's dress is too short? When did I start caring about the cost of parking? I had a job interview the other day and when she walked in... it was a girl from my high school. Class of '98. SHE's interviewing ME?! She's just a kid! Oh wait. I use words like IRA and Flexible Spending Account. It's also starting to become harder for me to get up from sitting on the ground.

Anyway, these specific moments hit me every once in a while to remind me, "Holy cow, I am a grown-up. I am really not that cool any more!"

Well, I had another one yesterday:

When I spoke about Food Allergies as the guest speaker at the PTA Meeting.

SERIOUSLY?

Davers just can't catch a break.

Poor Davis has gone from having H1N1... not being able to shake the cough... to pneumonia... total congestion... and now has a double ear infection... sleepless nights. It doesn't help that he cut two new cute-but-crookedy bottom teeth in the middle of it all.

He is on yet another antibiotic, but is acting much happier today. He pretty much whined incessantly all day yesterday and wanted to be held, put down, held, put down, held for hours.

Please pray that he gets better before the "regular" flu comes to town. We missed last Christmas with RSV and want him (and us) to be able to truly enjoy the season this year!

"Look, Mommy! It's a picture of..."

Let's play a game!

Add a Comment to tell me what Jack was drawing in this picture. (Click to enlarge if needed.)

No peeking at others' comments before making yours!

Give me a revelation...

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Luke 11:9

It's amazing how many voices I hear when I am trying to make a potentially life-changing decision. I spend time praying about it, but seemingly so much more time going back and forth, weighing options, crying, making pro/con lists, soliciting opinions from friends, and eventually (of course) calling my Mom. It's hard to decipher between God's voice guiding me, Satan's voice discouraging me, and my own voice trying to control the situation. I want to be still and listen but sometimes wonder which voice I am actually hearing. The voice I have the hardest time quieting is the one that simply requires me to shut my mouth.

Today, thanks to the absence of children, the wise counsel of an honest friend, and (of course) a talk with Mom, I have finally been able to spend time in prayer and truly listen to Him. I do recognize God's voice when I block out everything else. The time I have been spending with Him in recent months has made His voice that much more recognizable to me. I have finally, today, asked Him to speak to me and have given myself the opportunity to listen.

God,

Tell me what to do! Make my next move FOR me. This economy scares me. Remind me that we are not living in the world's economy. We are living in Your economy where you promise blessing for obedience. You keep your promises. I am sorry when I don't keep mine. The noise confuses me. I get ahead of myself and way ahead of You.

Thank you for continuing to pick up our little family when we take the wrong road. You dust us off and place us back on the path, time and time again. I want to follow the path I feel you are telling me to take, but I can't see around the corner. That's the part that gets me into trouble. I really want to know what's waiting around that corner before I take another step.

Today I am saying "I trust you." I trust that you have something better for us and I am taking the next step. I still don't know what awaits us, but I am grateful in advance for your abundant provision. What I do know is that with this first step, I am drawing closer to you. I thank you for the peace that has already come over me this afternoon. It's a peace that passes all understanding.

Again, just like you promised.

Veteran's Day Flag Ceremony

It is important to us that our boys be patriotic. We are committed to teaching them to honor and remember those who serve in our United States Armed Forces to afford us the freedom we enjoy.

My boys have four grandfathers who are U.S. Veterans and I want them to really understand what that means. I want them to know that being an American is a blessing, an honor, and a responsibility.

That said, I was excited when Jack came home from school Monday asking to invite his Uncle Van to the Veteran's Day flag ceremony to be held Wednesday morning. I was even more excited when Uncle Van accepted his invitation. It was a short EARLY morning ceremony that I will not soon forget. I hope it meant as much to Van as it did to Jack Everett and to me.

Here are some pictures and videos from the event:



Uncle Van and Jack waiting outside his classroom for the morning bell to ring.



The children all gathered outside around the flag pole. Not sure if you can tell, but Van is the one in blue in the middle of the crowd. The Boy Scouts raised the flag to begin the ceremony.




The students recite "The Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag", followed immediately by the Pledge to the Texas Flag. ("Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.") ... in stereo...



After the choir sang the National Anthem, a fifth-grade student read his letter to a soldier in Afghanistan. Between his letter and a little girl's poem about Heroes, there were a lot of sniffles and Kleenexes in the crowd. The kids were silent and reverent.




Here is the end of the line of about 20-25 military men and women (retired and active-duty) introducing themselves to the children. All branches of the military were represented.

The principal, Mrs. Gorsche (in the white pants) told the story of how her late father, a World War II Veteran, used to come with her to her Veteran's Day Flag ceremonies at her Elementary School when she was a little girl. As if I wasn't emotional enough already...



The choir then sang Peter, Paul, and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer" to end the ceremony. Uncle Van then joined the other honorees in the school library and Jack presented him with a card he made for him.

Ceremonies like this are important. They are worth the trouble, the early morning, the chaos, and the energy. It is the very least we can do to train our children to honor those who have sacrificed so much for us.

Thank you, Van, for taking time out to help us teach Jack Everett this important lesson.

"Well I got a hammer, and I got a bell, and I got a song to sing, all over this land. It's the hammer of Justice, it's the bell of Freedom, it's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters, all over this land."

We honor you, our parents and grandparents:

Jarrell B. Griffin, U.S. Air Force

Billy Earl Lynch, Sr., U.S. Air Force

Albert T. Melton, U.S. Air Force

Eddie Ray Phillips, Sr., U.S. Air Force

Halloween photo overload!

When going through my Halloween pictures, I cannot BELIEVE how many we took. Holy moly. But it takes that many to get one of the little guy facing the camera! So, in lieu of a Halloween album, here is a long string of pictures to capture the Fall fun.

First stop... The pumpkin patch with Mom and Jeffry!

G.I. Jack (5 years) and Davis-o-lantern (15 months). I still can't believe these boys are ours.

Between choosing the perfect pumpkin and keeping Davis safe, in sight, and in hat, it definitely took all three of us to manage the situation. "Who me?," he says...

What a difference a year makes.

Second stop: Wal-Mart!

Actually, I accidentally forgot to pack a change of clothes in the diaper bag so he had to wear his costume into the store. I did not, however, forget to pack my digital camera. Imagine that.



Third stop: Playdate with our new friend Caitlyn (6 months)... at Evan's house!



Davis was thrilled to take his picture while the blue-eyed little Love Bug sat there like a lady. Evan had his costume on for 2.2 seconds so we had to wait to snap pics a few days later.

Fourth stop: Carving the Jack-o-lantern with Daddy!

Jack, big shocker, did not want to get his hands dirty, so he took a spectator role as I scooped and Daddy carved this flaming Jack-o-lantern face. Yes, Julie, we "cheated" and used a stencil from the aforementioned WalMart trip.

Fifth stop: Alli Jean and TJ's house for a photos on Halloween morning!



Although this is is what most of the pictures looked like, we actually managed to get a precious shot with Spiderman (TJ, 3) and Daphne from Scooby Doo (Alli Jean, 4).



Gotta love Alli's orange wig and TJ's blonde curls sticking out from under his Spidey mask. Alli calls Davis "Davers" and it's so sweet.

Sixth Stop: Annual trip to Daddy's work on Halloween afternoon.



For some reason, Jack got nervous when we pulled into the parking lot and suddenly didn't want to wear his costume inside. I totally know the feeling. I felt the same way before I rang the doorbell at Darin and Marilyn's Halloween party dressed as a school teacher in a sparkly Christmas vest with wooden apple button covers on my khaki skirt.

Seventh and FINAL stop: Trick-or-treating!!

We met up with Dino-Evan (2) at 6:00pm to Trick-or-Treat. I explained to Jack that he would receive candy to which he is allergic, but that we would separate it all out later. I told him to just be polite and reminded him that this is about the fun... not about the candy. At the very first house I heard him say, "Actually, I can't eat that kinda candy." With a tiny bit of further explanation ("Don't worry, Mommy will eat anything with peanuts.") we were back on the road.

Davis got out of the stroller every once in a while to enjoy the action.

One of the most creative homeowners set up a driveway bowling alley where kiddos got one piece of candy for every pin they knocked down. It was definitely a crowd favorite.

By about 8:45 pm, we were in for the night.

It was a lot of fun, but as I do every year on November 1st, I felt a huge relief that it's over.

Now we can focus on Thanksgiving and boy do we have a lot to be thankful... er, um ... a lot for which to be thankful.

(I just couldn't end a sentence with a preposition, let alone an entire blog post.)