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Saturday, January 31, 2009

I like it loud!

Kelvin took the kids to visit his mom last night while I spent some time with my friends (what a man!) He asked me who I thought talked all the way to and from his mom's house. I knew Luke had slept the entire trip, so I assumed Carleigh was the culprit! To my surprise, he informed me that our little Chatty-Cathy was indeed Emma! Kelvin said she was in her normal car fussy mode, so he thought he would turn up the radio to see if she liked the music. He said the music was almost to the uncomfortably loud point, but Emma stopped fussing and started babbling away! When Carleigh wanted to tell him something, he turned down the music, and Emma started fussing again, so he turned it back up, and she was fine! So, they jammed to the loud music and listened to Emma "talk" the whole way there and back. Who knew we have a little rocker girl on our hands!?! :)

Have a rockin' good weekend! Hope the weather in your neck of the woods is as beautiful as it is here.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Please pray for my friend

Will you lift up my friend Joanna? She received a phone call yesterday evening that her husband had been killed in a plane crash locally. They have two precious children under the age of 6. Both of her parents have already made their home in Heaven. Joanna's health has not been good lately either. I know God will provide for her even when we don't understand why. Thank you for praying.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

No pic Thursday

Sorry, it was another fussy afternoon, so I'll try to post a picture tomorrow!

My handyman husband/daddy-of-the-year built the kids a fort today. They are pumped! Hopefully it will be pretty out tomorrow, and I can get a picture of them in it so you can see for yourself how clever my man is!

Looking forward to some good results with the medicine for Em. Her little cheeks have been flushed lately, and I'm not sure if it's due to the heater or the medicine. They seemed to have cleared up the other day when the weather was warmer. Who knows!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Growing

The new Dunnam is growing by leaps and bounds. She is measuring ahead at least 1 1/2 weeks now. She is pushing and poking all over the place. It feels like she's doing flip flops some of the time. Looking forward to seeing her, but not too early!

Emma had a rough afternoon. She was extremely fussy. I'm not sure the meds have kicked in yet. Hopefully soon. She got a haircut the other day and looks like such a big girl now. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Kelvin's joined in the nesting mode early spring cleaning with me. He took off this week to try and get some things squared away around here. It's looking good! I think he's tackling the yard tomorrow. The kids are going to love their backyard this summer. Can't wait to see all the progress at the end of the week!

Monday, January 26, 2009

GI and check- up

Emma saw the GI today. He prescribed a few different medications to hopefully help with all the different digestive issues she's having. I'm mostly glad to hear about the one for her reflux. I imagine she is very uncomfortable, so I hope the Prevacid works. I'll keep you posted.

I had a check-up today as well. My midwife informed me that I get to do another 3 hour glucose test in 4 weeks to make sure I haven't developed gestational diabetes. Ooh, fun! In the meantime, I need to take good care of myself (she said to think "queen"), cut the sugar and watch the carbs, and eat good proteins. We don't want a huge baby or one that's going to crash after birth from lack of glucose!

Thanks for all your prayers of support. We love you all!

One of my favorite encouraging songs...

Friday, January 23, 2009

Hoping for help from the GI- updated

***************Update******************
I got a call from one of my midwives this afternoon letting me know one of the levels on my 3 hour glucose test was elevated. She said this indicates my body is not processing sugar correctly. So, no more sugar for me, including fruit and juices! She also said to lay low on the carbs, and make sure I balance any carbs I do eat with protein. Looks like I'll be getting real friendly with veggies! She said we would do another test in a few more weeks to keep tabs on my levels. Fun, Fun!
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Emma had a bad day yesterday and last night with digestion. She is spitting/throwing up several hours after she eats. :( Poor baby, this is not fun. She has an appointment with the GI on Monday, so maybe he'll be able to help her.

By the way, I haven't gotten any results from my 3 hour glucose test yet. I hate waiting! Baby Cora is an active little thing. I feel her all over the place. And she is so high. A lot times I have to stand up just so I can breath!

We're looking forward to a full weekend. Hope yours is great!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Good Evaluation

Today we had a good meeting and evaluation for Emma with the team from the school district. They saw what she could do with her vision teacher who was there, and asked some questions. They all ensured me we would come up with the best possible plan to serve Emma's needs. My sweet friend Donna even asked me to share with the group about Emma's Hugs, our non-profit organization we have formed in honor of Emma. I told them about the days when Emma gave great hugs, and even ran up to Kelvin and said "Da Da" with arms outstretched to give him a hug when he got home from work. Those days are gone, but we wanted to somehow memorialize that sweet time in Emma's life. Emma's Hugs is actually Kelvin's vision. We will raise money to go to MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children's Hospital to pay for food and parking randomly...a hug. So, I was pleased with our evaluation meeting. No pressure or stress, just more people who are there to do what they can for our little angel!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I survived

OK, I survived the no food for 12 hours, really sugary drink, 4 blood draws, and didn't throw up, pass out, or die! The 3 hour glucose test wasn't as bad as I thought. I was just really hungry and mostly dying for a glass of water before it was all over. I'm hoping to know some results by tomorrow afternoon, so I'll keep you posted.

Our good friends gave us a really cool automatic ice cream maker with the neatest bowls and tons of yummy toppings for Christmas, so think happy thoughts for good results so I can enjoy the treat!

Tomorrow is Emma's evaluation with the school district. I filled out a ton of paperwork today while I waited at the doctor's office for three hours. I hope it's a speedy evaluation since she is not the most patient little girl lately.

I bought a new bath time thingy to bathe Emma in since she doesn't much care for baths anymore. She liked it for a couple of minutes and was done after that. It did make bathing her easier on me though.

It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful people can be. We have had so many blessings poured on us since Emma's diagnosis. During the holidays some sweet ladies from church came over one evening and kept the kiddos so we could go Christmas shopping. We still have people bringing dinner over several times a month, and we have received some really nice gifts from people who just wanted to do something. It's hard to be on the receiving end of things, but I'm learning that God wants people to bless others, and I need to be receptive of the gift. It's much easier to give though. All these lessons! How I wish I could have learned them through different circumstances.

Emma's disease continues to progress. She isn't doing much of anything lately. She's content just lying around, eating and sleeping. I found myself getting irritated today as I filled out the school district paperwork. The questions do not apply to her at all, so all of my answers were "NO" and "n/a." She will not see any improvement without a miracle, so no, I don't have any goals for her in the different areas in question. All I want is for her to be comfortable and happy as much as that is possible. My goal nowadays is not for her to walk or talk or learn how to hold a crayon or potty train or feed herself; it's to do things for her to keep her stimulated, give her therapies that will keep her arms and legs from being so rigid and weak, and do whatever it takes to keep her comfortable and cry free. If that means holding her all day and giving her massages, and pushing her in a swing, then so be it. If it means letting her sleep most of the day, then that's what I want. I wish and pray with all that is in me that things could be different for my sweet little girl, but they don't seem to be changing. Maybe I need to understand that my miracle may not be a physical healing for Emma, rather all the wonderful things and the unbelievable love that is coming from people because of Emma. She is touching lives in a way we never could...another miracle. "Where there is great love there are always miracles." ~~Willa Cather

I guess I need to just look around.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Not Me! Monday

It's been a while since I've done a Not Me! Monday. I thought I would give it a shot again. So here goes all the things I did not (but really did) do...

I did not laugh hysterically when my children were showing their pure, unadulterated talent, and sucking their nostrils in when my oldest daughter declares, "I didn't know I had nostrils. I just thought I had a hole in my nose so I could stick my fingers in to get my boogers!" It was not me doubled over laughing, almost falling on the floor. That's even kind of gross when you think about it!

When I was at the pharmacy the other day and some strange child I've never seen before stepped right up beside me, like one of my own children would, and started staring at me and listening to my conversation with the pharmacist, I did not completely stop talking and stare down the kid until he left. When the pharmacist asked if that was my kid, I did not say very loudly, "NO!" so that his parent could hear me if she happened to be standing a few feet away. That was some other curly headed lady named Christy, not me.

For lunch the other day, it was totally not me who had a few crackers, a couple of small pieces of cheese, a quarter of an orange, an entire crispy chocolate candy bar with peanut butter smeared over it, and a leftover rib from the BBQ restaurant! It makes me tired even thinking that could have been my lunch, so it couldn't have been me!

It wasn't me who received a call from my midwives saying I have to take the three hour glucose test this week because my one hour screening came back abnormal! Surely they called the wrong number and had me mistaken for someone else!

When my precious Emma and I did not sleep until 8:30 this morning, I did not awake and walk into the den to hear my almost 5 year old son tell me he had just made a peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwich all by himself! Thank goodness if it was me, there wasn't a huge mess all over the kitchen...just some minor crumbs. No, that wasn't me. My kids are totally patient and always wait for me to do something major like make a peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwich!

It's not me who has an ever expanding baby bump with the indigestion to go along with it who should by stock in TUMS because of the amount I consume in a day! Nope, I'm not 29 weeks pregnant, getting just a little bit anxious about a new baby coming, trying to figure out how I am going to carry Emma and a newborn at the same time! Nope, not me!

I don't have one of the sweetest little girls in the whole wide world who writes the sweetest little notes to me and the rest of our family. My six year old did not write me a precious note on her Hannah Montana stationary, complete with Strawberry Shortcake stickers, telling me I am the best Mommy! Nor did she write one to her baby sister, Emma saying, "Dear Emma I love (drew a heart) you vary much so so much that I can not stand it." Nah, that didn't happen.

My almost five year old son did not ask me another question this week, only to follow up with "how do you know" after I've given him the answer. He is too much of a cutie pie with the most precious dimples ever to say something like that to his mother! And we did not have a 5 minute show-down on how to pronounce the letter B as opposed to the letter P and the letter F as opposed to S! And he certainly would never have even thought of looking at me all mad-like and stomping his foot and telling me to "just be quiet!" Not my son! And if he would have done something like that, I would probably have jumped out of my recliner with mach speed and spanked his little hiney! So that wasn't me, because I handled myself much too calmly for the comment that my son didn't say!
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Well, I guess that about sums up for now what I did not do. It's all my pregnant brain can remember anyway!

OK, it's your turn. I hope you'll join in the fun. Follow the link for instructions or click on the icon in my sidebar for Not Me! Monday, and if you don't have a blog, at least comment so we can see what you didn't do! Have fun! Click here to go to the rules on McMama's site.
Have a great Monday!!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Pray for Harper

Please pray for the following sweet families whose newborn babies are struggling for life right now. We serve an awesome God!


Harper is Kelly's baby.

Kelly's friend Jenna is in the same need of prayer for her baby boy, Brayden.


Blessings!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Good Doc visit

Emma went to see Dr. Zeller, her neurologist yesterday. The last time he saw her was in June, so quite a lot has changed. He is such a good doctor. He makes the parents kids feel so at ease with his funny Donald Duck imitations and calm demeanor. He adjusted her meds a little bit and wrote out some prescriptions for other stuff and referred her to a pediatric GI for her reflux and poor digestion. Unfortunately, there's just not a lot he can do, except try to make her comfortable.

We gave him a brochure about Emma's Hugs. He was glad to see the information and shared with us his dream come true about Camp for All he founded for children with medical issues. It just so happens that is one of the camps we have spoken with MD Anderson about sponsoring, so we were all excited to hear of the connection. We also gave him a flier about the benefit for Emma on March 21, which he was happy to hear about as well.

We're still trying to figure out things to make Emma happy. She continues to be fussy a lot of the time. We're going to pull out the baby swing a friend loaned us today and see if she likes it. I hope she's not too big for it.

Stay warm, and have a great day!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Sweet Memories

My sweet friend, Tamara gave me the idea of posting some precious pics from the past. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do...








Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Goings on around here

Today was a really fussy day for Emma. She didn't want to do anything but cry for her speech therapist. Her OT and EIS were at the house this afternoon and made her move and groove in ways she was not all too fond of, thank you very much. I told Gerry I thought I heard Emma call her the devil. ;)

I got a call today from my midwives letting me know my glucose test came back abnormal, so I have to do the whopping 3 hour test next week! Oi...tops on my list of favorite things to do does not include getting poked with a needle three times in one day! I'm breathing, I'm breathing. I hope that test comes back normal!

Emma has an appointment with her neurologist on Thursday. He hasn't seen her since June. Quite a lot has changed since then. My baby girl has gone from running around to mostly lying around now, from eating tons of solid food to mostly holding down pureed or baby food, laughing to crying. I wonder if he will be surprised. I have spoken with sweet nurse Nancy from BDSRA and have written down several questions to ask at the appointment. Hoping all goes well. I have no doubts it will.

Funny thing...watching my 6 1/2 and almost 5 year old box with the Wii. We received one as a family gift for Christmas, and the kids are loving it! Luke is pretty much a pro-bowler, and Carleigh is a mad woman in the boxing ring. I can't wait to get the Wii Fit and see what funny stuff will come with the hula hoop contest!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Quote of the Day

So tonight we're sitting around watching Luke show his latest talent of sucking his nostrils together. I comment about her "nostrils," being too small for the trick to work and Carleigh says, "I didn't know I had a nostril. I just thought I had a hole in my nose so I could stick my finger in and get out the boogers!" At which point Kelvin and I about fell on the floor laughing.

What talents do your children possess? Please, do tell.

Have a great weekend!

Udpated benefit information

Check out the post on Emma's Benefit for updated information! Click on the highlighted words, or click on the flyer in the sidebar. Have a great weekend!

We would love to hear from you every once in a while. Leave a comment. Even if you don't have a blog, you can leave a comment anonymously, just sign your name so we know who you are. Happy blogging!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Another Day in the Life

Emma had a good day with her therapists. Since we only have a couple of more months with her current therapists, it seems we're all kind of thinking back to where Emma was when they started with her, and now we're all amazed at how quickly she has regressed. Life is full of changes. Emma and I will meet with the new teachers and therapists in a couple of weeks to decide what kind of services and where she will best be served in the school district. Kelvin and I are watching her body change daily. She is sleeping more, uncomfortable more of the time, losing more muscle tone, losing more vision, and not able to chew her food now. She is totally dependent on us. She is a complete angel and we are blessed to have her in our lives. Her brother and sister are so sweet to her (most of the time.) Carleigh wrote her the sweetest note the other day. I guess she was getting a head start on birthday wishes...


The note says, "Dear Emma. I love you very much. Even when you put your hands in your mouth. I love you. Happy Birthday to you." The little people are Emma and Carleigh. We try to keep Emma's hands out of her mouth because they tend to get raw in between her fingers. We give her her pacifier instead, but she prefers to put her hands in her mouth anyway. I'm sure her constant hands to her mouth is just an involuntary motion.

Stay tuned for more information on Emma's Hugs. Things are starting to fall into place.

Have a great day!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Back in the Swing of Things

School started back today. I have to admit, I was really enjoying not getting up until 8. I could get used to that! The big yellow limo pulled in front of the house just seconds ago and picked up Carleigh. One down, one to go! Luke goes back to school today too. Today is a therapy day for Emma. We get to see some of her favorite people. I wish the therapy was for more than just trying to maintain and keeping her stimulated. I wish more than ever that she would start improving. Wouldn't it be incredible to start hearing her speak, and clap, and laugh, and see her cutie pie personality again, and watch her run around chasing and calling after her big brother and sister? It's pretty heart breaking for Kelvin and myself right now. Her disease progression has been so fast, especially in the past couple of months it seems. She has lost so much so quickly. I know God has a plan, I just wish it included a miracle healing here and now. It's hard as I sit and hold her trying to sooth her fussiness, all the while feeling the new life in me kicking, pushing and moving around. Emma woke up around 3 this morning for some reason. Kelvin was such a trooper to get up with her after we tried getting her back to sleep for an hour or so. She's sleeping soundly now.

We've been getting things cleaned out around this place. I have some serious nesting going on. We had some wonderful ladies in the house before Christmas who rearranged some furniture and décor for us. They transformed the formal living room into the new play/toy room. They were so great! We appreciated them tremendously! Things are starting to take shape quite nicely. We also had some serious yard work done in the backyard. As beautiful as all the landscaping was, it took up a huge chunk, really most, of the yard. The kids just didn't have much room to run around and play. So, we had two humongous trees taken out, as well as two very large sections of landscaping. The kids and I watched in amazement as our backyard grew before our eyes. I'm kind of hoping the carpenter fairy will stop by and transform the dog kennel into a cool playhouse. The kids would absolutely love it! I've also gotten a pretty good start on cleaning out my closet...just about finished actually. A couple of our sweet babysitters came by the house the other day and helped the kids get their closets and rooms organized! Yippee! We love you Jamie and Meagan! My darling mother-in-law and niece and nephew came over the other day and helped me take down all the Christmas decorations. What a wonderful treat!! Now I just need to tackle the bookcase and pantry, and figure out where in the world I'm going to put Cora's clothes. I have a couple of ideas. We'll see if they work. I have a little while to think about it still; around 89 days to be exact! I don't have any clothes to worry about yet since I gave all those pretty pink little baby clothes away! Good thing I have some good friends with some cutie pie little girlies who can maybe pass down some of their clothes to Cora.

Well, off to tackle the rest of the day! Have a good one!
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