Enjoying Life As It Comes, One Day at a Time

TONS OF PICTURES

2010-04-27T23:20:00.023-05:00

of the boys from the past month.

The many faces of Bryce!

Gone Fishing!

Couldn't decide which picture I liked best.

Blaine and his dandilion. I couldn't decide which picture I liked best.

Look at that hair blowing in the wind!

Yes, that is Bryce getting out of the dryer. Notice the green sippy cup. He was in there playing while I was doing the dishes. No I didn't open the dryer door he did that on his own which isn't easy because Blaine can barely open it at times.

Weekend?

2010-04-27T16:36:00.003-05:00

It's Tuesday and I wasn't even aware that there was a weekend. Last week and weekend was so jam packed I can't believe it's almost May. My anniversary, mothers day and Blaine's birthday are all with in the next three weeks. Not to mention the other birthday and graduations and parties that we have to attend. Ugh, I'm so exhausted thinking about it. I have NO idea where April went because of all the things that have been going on. That would explain the lack of blogging. Anyways here is a picture of Blaine this past weekend. He was the miniature groom for a friends wedding.
Can you guess what song he is dancing to? Anyone?

YES it is THRILLER! If anyway knows Blaine they know he loves to dance *cough* and show off. So needless to say he was the life of the dance floor. Bryce was also a dancing machine out there. But he wore out a lot faster then big brother.

GOODBYE

2010-04-12T18:13:00.003-05:00

infant car seat,

HELLO big boy seat!

My baby boy is getting big WAY too fast.

Oh how I've been waiting

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for this background/rug. I love the look of old, country, rustic, and antique things. Blaine is at his dads so I'll have to wait to really take some fun pictures. Bryce just doesn't cooperate very well. But I don't expect much out of a 13 month old. However I couldn't wait until Blaine got home so these are the only two pictures that he wasn't running off.

On a different note, yesterday I was explaining to Blaine why we were wearing blue for autism day. At the end of our conversation I said that everyone is special because God made each one of us different for a special reason. Not missing a beat Blaine chimes in and says "yeah that's why our names start with capital letters." I smiled and and agreed with him. (I also laughed but I tried to hide that from Blaine, because he can get his feelings hurt easily and he doesn't understand that I was laughing because I was shocked by his response) I would have never thought of something like that but the truth and innocence of his answer amazes me and still makes me smile. You never know what that kid is going to do or say. Somedays I'm at my wits end with him and not sure what to do with him. Other days he is just so sweet and I just want to love on him all day long. I love you so much Blaine, you always have been and always will be my sunshine.

2010-04-03T15:30:00.002-05:00

This is the ONLY time I can get him to sit still and take a picture for me. If you have seen any of the pictures where Bryce is actually still, it takes me a lot of work to get one picture. He is just SOOOO BUSY!

Looking at these pictures I wonder why people ask me if he is a boy or a girl. On that note it was funny that I posted about that yesterday and I had at least 4 people ask me if he was a boy or a girl. He was wearing a shirt with a tie on it that I made, jean shorts and dark blue Nike tennis shoes. It doesn't matter what I dress him in I guess its just the big blue eyes, long eyelashes, and blonde hair.

I know I don't have girls but

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look how cute this is! I have seen these for a couple of years and this past winter I decided to make some. They can either be a dress for a little girl or when they get bigger be a shirt. I have made a few others with a different tie option in the back which are so adorable but I can't get over this one. I'm not sure if it's the poke a dots or the lady bug ribbon but I just love it! It is so much cuter in person, pictures just doesn't do it justice. Or maybe I just need a model to try it on for you guys? Anyone with a little girl want to let them model it?!?! I could let Bryce do it considering at least once a week I get either questioned if he is a boy or girl or complimented him on having a cute little girl. Poor guy, I hope he doesn't grow up with a complex.

2010-04-01T23:03:00.003-05:00

Last week was Blaines spring break from school so we were able spend time with great friends all week! The boys and myself really enjoyed ourselves. The housework was neglected but we made lots of fun memories so who cares if there are toys everywhere and laundry to be done. I don't mind so much until I begin to feel overwhelmed then it is just no fun. I have tons of pictures from all the fun stuff we did. MAYBE, I can get some up here but I am overwhelmed right now so we will just see. Bryce has had two ear infections since he has had tubes and it just doesn't seem to be going away. His ears started draining AGAIN on Tuesday so this is the third time since tubes. I feel this is the same infection that is just getting stronger and not being totally cured by the all the antibiotics because it seems to go away for a few days to a week then comes back. He has a recheck on the 6th and if they are still draining they are going to culture the fluid and see what it exactly it is. Hopefully it will clear up by then though. When he gets these infections he is very irritable and a really bad mommy's boy. But look at the sweet smile!

2010-03-23T21:44:00.002-05:00

So I'm still not sure about the best way to get a lot of pictures on here at once. However, here are a couple of pictures of the boys today. Bryce is so tired if you can't tell and Blaine's face is the "mom can I just go play now!"

2010-03-15T13:48:00.003-05:00

WOW. Is all I can say. It's been a looonnnggg time since I've blogged. Lots of things have changed in these months. I guess being busy with two boys, lots of sickness, and to be honest sometimes my depression gets the best of me so I don't really know what to say. And well I look at my facebook and see whats going on there so the blog has taken a backseat. So for starters I no longer have a baby, he is a full fledged toddler and Blaine is almost done with kindergarten. Blaine is reading and doing a great job at it. His been busy playing soccer, basketball, Nintendo and wrestling with Bryce. And Bryce, well to put it simply he is just plain BUSY! He is into EVERYTHING, and that's putting it mildly. Bryce has been sick all winter with ear infections and everything else he can catch. Finally in January we decided to put tubes in his ears since his last ear infection lasted for at least 2.5 months, 3 different antibiotics and then finally he had to have 3 shots of rocephin(antibiotic shot) 3 days in a row. Even with the tubes he has had a double ear infection but at least this time we knew about it and it wasn't as bad as the last ones have been. So just the sickness has kept me busy. I have TONS of pictures that I would love to post but I'm not sure what to do since there is just so many. I wish I just had a website that I could post all the pictures I take. Maybe one day I'll start a my photography business that I've always wanted to do but right now I'm content of taking pictures for fun. I've always said if I was blessed to have a big house that one of the things that would be a must would be a dark room in the basement and a room for a studio. Oh I can dream, but for now I'm content at just having fun with photography. I've been busy sewing and making things for my boys and other people. I have made lots of tutus, I know I don't have any girls but they are so fun and easy to make and I've had several people want them so I've been doing that and making dresses, diaper covers, shirts and all kinds of fun stuff. I'll try to post some pictures later. I took Blaine to a concert on Friday and he had a great time. We went and saw Skillet and Toby Mac. We had row one seats on the side which were great seats. I even bought the tickets the day of the show so I was surprised that we got that good of seats. We celebrated Bryces 1st birthday a few weeks ago. I can't believe it's already been a year. I feel like this year has went by so fast. Well I'm going to try to figure out an easy way to post some pictures and hopefully by the end of the week I will have them up. That is if Bryce gets to feeling better.
Here are a couple of pictures from the other day when it was so nice outside.

Here were the updates on Sweet Little Alynna

2009-07-31T15:06:00.003-05:00

Thursday, July 16, 2009 5:29 AM, CDT

Good morning everyone. I just came from Alynna's room where she is ....... resting comfortably?... Her nurses report she had a good night! Her body temp is a little low, but I thought it was cold in that room! She's under a warmer, of course, but she's so long her feet aren't getting any of that heat. Brrrr. They have her pretty well sedated now. From what I can gather, they wanted to see ' her fight' and they saw that yesterday when she was pulling at things and moving her arms and legs. Everything was good, but they want her to rest, so more meds and to sleepytown she went. From what we've seen, everything looks encouraging. This was a major, major setback for her, tho and it is going to be a long road back... well, unless of course a miracle occurs and she's instantly better! That would work for me!

Jacelyn and Matt went to the R. McD House to sleep last night -- hope they got some rest. Other gparents went to the Ramada. Mike and I camped out here at the hospital -- we just like to be near her and concrete really isn't THAT hard, for goodness sake. lol. Too bad we aren't still on the 4th floor, Heart Center - they have awesome accomodations for overnight family. We hope to get a nap at the R McD at some point today when other family members can watch over the l'il one.

Thank you all for your gifts, emails, phone calls and messages of encouragement. But most of all thank you for the prayers. YOUR prayers will be what pulls Miss Alynna through this. Yesterday was an ugly day, but we made it through it and are hopeful for a much better day today. I will let you know if any changes occur throughout the day.

We love you all!

Mike and Darla, Jacelyn and Matt, Miss Alynna "Lynnie-Boo"

God is in control!
~Monday, July 20, 2009 11:19 AM, CDT

PRAISE REPORT...Several are asking how to pronounce Alynna - its "Uh lin Uh"... an "uh" on each end. lol. K. Now for the good news. They are finished with the surgery and the doc feels it went well. Her heart is pumping again on its own. They are leaving the sternum open for now in case they have to go back in and tweak things. Right now they are doing an echo to see if things are rolling the way they need to be (my term, sorry - I'm no med student - prob should have said flowing, huh). Soon she will be moved to recovery and that may take a couple of hours - then we get to see her. She'll be on the vent for probably a week, then another week of recovery and stabilization before she gets to come home. If anyone's counting, that makes a full month at the hospital.

-Darla
~Tuesday, July 21, 2009 4:55 AM, CDT

Good morning everyone. The doctor was just in to see us. He said she had a good night and all her numbers are good. He put in the order to begin the process of weaning her off the ECMO machine, life support. It will be a slow process - 10 cc per hour - to see how she handles it. Said it should take all weekend and then take her totally off on Monday.

He said she is a critically ill patient, but for someone in her condition she is doing really well. (Prayers, doc - GOD is doing this) He agreed with me that she is strong and said that babies are resilient.

I would like you all to begin speaking as if she were already healed. If someone asks you about her, please say she is being healed at this moment. Speak it out loud if you have no one else to speak to. We have to have faith.

We're doing great. We keep getting encouraging words and acts of deeds constantly...... CONSTANTLY -- not when "we're low" b/c we haven't gotten low - you have not allowed us to go there - you area constantly lifting us up so we are doing fine. We love little Alynna and KNOW God has great plans for her. It's so exciting to be a part of this and see what He has in store.

She is so beautiful and everyone comments about how absolutely adorable she is - so it just isn't grams that think this.

Love to you all.

Mike and Darla, Jacelyn and Matthew, Alynna Faith
~Tuesday, July 21, 2009 8:33 AM, CDT

Good morning everyone. Alynna held her own over the night. Sweet Baby. Mike stayed in there with her until 1 a.m. and then came in here and slept in a straight chair until 5 when he went back in. He has been the one to stay right by her side, praying without ceasing. At first (last week) the nurses thought he was falling asleep and feared he would topple into her bed and "equipment", but they have now learned he is just in prayer and eventually he will say amen and open his eyes. lol.

Matt, Jace and I, along with 5 other snorers slept in the lounge last night. Jace was next to me and kept rubbing my arm softly if my snoring got out of control. There is a man across the room who is snoring so loudly now I think the rest of us are contemplating dumping him out of his recliner. OVERTHROW THE SNORER. haha. JUSt KidDing.

The nurse told Jace at 5 when she checked on her that she had slept really well from 10 - 4 and that would be a good schedule for her once she got home. Jace was hoping for maybe 10-8...LOL. Jacelyn did have a meltdown yesterday -- all the stress finally got to her. I told her it was ok to cry - that it didn't mean she lacked faith or that she didn't believe God would heal her little Alynna, but that it meant she was human. And physically and emotionally worn out. So she did let it all out, I gave her a back rub, Matt bought her chicken Mcnuggets ( by the way a 24 hour McDonalds just steps away is a dangerous thing), she got an encouraging report from the doctor via Mike, then she was much better.

So today's plan is probably much like yesterday's. They said it would just take time for them to get all the levels consistently where they need them. The problem yesterday was (and maybe still is) her bp was so low they couldn't give her the amount of sedation she needed. Alynna threw some fits when they suctioned her and also the nurse said she throws a fit when Matt and Jace come down the hall. Fits are not good when you've had your second open heart surgery in 11 days with a code thrown in as well. Chest is still open except for the skin- he did stitch that back. She's still on a vent. I don't know how long we'll be here. She is 3 weeks old today.

Pray we have a good nurse. You would not believe - or maybe you would - what a difference it makes in our life and in Alynna's when we have a 'good nurse'. One of the best ones we've had was on duty last night, but it was her last night here b/c she's going to a pediatric clinic. Lucky them. Her name is Angie. God Bless Angie! Mike said she didn't sit down the whole time he was in there --- always up checking the machines and adding this or that --- and scolding the lab for not getting Lynn's calcium up to her in a timely manner.... Oh, life in the hospital.

It was not a good day on this floor. Two babies died yesterday and 4 others that I know of didn't have a good day. Everyone, it seemed was out in the hallway crying, or on their cell phones crying. But before night time, most had encouraging news as their l'il loved ones had made some progress. When one is discouraged we gather together here in our l'il Lounge Motel and sit in a circle holding hands and praying for one another's children. We are blessed to be surrounded by Believers even here. And we are soooo blessed to have you in our lives, praying on our behalf and also doing the practical things that need done at our house. Thank you all for the visits, cards, money, food, and emails of encouragement. It truly builds us up when we open our mail and there is a scripture or some other word of hope from you. You'll never know how many times you have comforted us when we were down.

A friend of ours wrote a song for Alynna. She sent it last night by a mpg file. It is beautiful and we all just sat listening to it over and over, crying.. Beautiful words, April -- thank you so much! I'll share it if she gives me permission. Otherwise, I've just forwarded it to family because she said it was for the family.

Time to get our routine started. Please continue to pray. We have a mighty God and His timing isn't our timing, but He has a great plan for Alynna. We know that.

Love,
Mike and Darla
Jacelyn and Matthew
Alynna Faith
~Wednesday, July 22, 2009 8:37 AM, CDT

Good morning. ... whatever day it is. A new family has moved into our Lounge Motel. Let me just say I have a new appreciation for my hubby who has a near silent snore... just a l'il pffffftttt. This poor lady in here was rocking the walls all night. Another younger gal sleeps sitting straight up. We had one empty recliner last night and I was going to offer it to her as it was beside mine. But when I went to her she was sound asleep and I don't think she would have fit in the recliner anyway. Speaking of which, I note my hubby has left me the breakfast of champions -- a Ding Dong and a Coke. ?????? What is up with that? He usually brings me a cup of coffee so I can enjoy it while I do the morning update for ya'll. I think he pulled a l'il switcheroo today. He's probably not thinking clearly - Doc Roser had to put him on meds last night for a nasty toothache. Thanks, Doc, for calling that in. However, I just googled the closest CVS -- turns out it wasn't in the best part of town. You know you are in trouble when a sign at the checkout reads: "Free HIV testing in the parking lot Tues, Wed., Thurs". I am NOT making this up!

I know you are here to learn about Alynna.... remember I don't have my coffee yet..... I'm trying to wake up, tho. Hang on, I'm going to walk to Lynnie's room and see if Mike is drinking my coffee. This is just too weird. He ALWAYS brings me my coffee. Been married 34 years -- always coffee, never a ding dong and coke. Be right back.

K. I'm back. Had my coffee and I'm fully awake now and can tell you the GREAT NEWS. Lynnie had a wonderful night! Praise the Lord! She looks soooo much better today. She peed 10-16 cc's each hour last night (she was struggling to do 3 before). Pee is good. I made up pee songs last evening and sang them to her; I asked for special pee prayers. I told the nurses it was the pee prayers. The nurse also said she was awake and very alert last night and didn't even throw one of her Lynnie Fits when they changed her bed. Her nurse was Colie (short for Nicole) and she was wonderful. She has her bed all arranged very cute with all her stuffed animals strategically placed to help hold tubes and such. Cute. I took tons of pix and will upload some to share.

Mike and I have to leave today -- Mike to the dentist and then to work tomorrow. I suppose I should do something about that Avon that has been sitting on my table since a week ago Monday. And laundry. Mike didn't have a chance to do the laundry I sent back with him on the 13th = Yuuuuuck.

Ok. so here's your report! Its a good one! Very good news. She looks beautiful, not all puffy like yesterday. She had a good night. There's be no more talk about an infection. I think she'll be ok while gma and gpa leave for a day and a half. Thanks for the prayers! YAY

Love,
Mike, Darla, & Alynna
~Saturday, July 25, 2009 10:12 PM, CDT

Date: Saturday, July 25, 2009, 10:12 PM

Hi - I know I'm late posting this but I left my computer in the truck for the evening. It was so nice out Mike and I took a walk and sat outside for quite a while. We got to babysit this afternoon while Matt and Jace went to the zoo. They thought it would be a nice outting and in some aspects it was, but when Jace got back she said there were a lot of people there with strollers full of babies and that made her sad. First the good news: Alynna's left lung was much better today. We are thankful for that. She's taking breast milk through her ng tube, so that is an addition for today. She's still on the vent and she still has two drain tubes. Her bp is staying in the 40's - would like 50's, but this is better than the 20's and 30's! Now for the prayer request: She has a leaky mitral valve. She's had it for a while - they were hoping it would correct on its own. The surgeon didn't want to fix it during the last surgery because he didn't want to rock the boat. However, if it doesn't correct itself in two weeks, Alynna will have to have another surgery to fix it. I can tell each surgery wears her out just a little more, so we are praying for it to be corrected on its own. Jacelyn said today she thinks God is answering the prayers of the little ones -- Lexi and Kylie, Alia and Eli, Jacob and Jacob, Bella and Sophie, Macy and Branten - and all the other little ones who are praying and believing for God's healing for little Alynna. Kari - Jacelyn was able to put the little bunny slippers on Alynna tonight! You would not believe how happy that made Jacelyn. Lynnie has worn only a diaper for 24 out of her 25 days of life. I had to admit, it made me cry when I was cleaning their Ronald McDonald room last week and I came across the diaper bag full of baby clothes -- all unworn. So the bunny slippers are a hit and the nurse was nice enough to let her put them on her. She looks adorable in a diaper, bunny slippers, and about 10 tubes and wires. We've had ups and downs today. Alynna was sleeping soundly when I left her and her granddaddy has just now gone down to sit with her until probably midnight. Please keep us all in your prayers. Love, Mke and Darla, etc.

~Monday, July 27, 2009 7:41 PM, CDT

Alynna has had a pretty good day today, although she seems to have her days and nights confused. When I called to check on her this morning to see how she had been overnight the nurse said she had had a great night, peed 'remarkably' and had two big poops. WTG Alynna! :) We get excited about that kind of thing around here! She did spit up once through the night (all mucus, no feed).. and thought that now that she's more awake she realizes the tube is in and it irritates and gags her... Nothing a little Fentanyl won't take care of though - and off to nighty-night land she goes.

When I came in this morning her BP was up in the 70's!! Much better than those 30's and 40's we were dealing with several days ago! She was awake a lot of the morning, just looking around - taking it all in. One of her IV lines has been leaking so the Dr. came in and changed that and took out the line that reads her left atrial pressure. She looks great today, good color and not as swollen. They discontinued all of her antibiotics... so that means none of the cultures they took during surgery grew anything. Yay - no infections for Lynnie-Boo! They are slowly weaning her off the vent.. She is down to 45% oxygen now.. I believe room air is around 20%.. so thats the goal. She is able to breath on her own, over the vent, and does when she's mad! We all know she's a feisty one!

Kari and Duane came to visit today, and were amazed at how long she is (she definitely takes after Daddy in that aspect..and the temper, but that's a WHOLE other story) It was nice to visit w/ family.. and the homemade lasagna didn't hurt either! ;) We took pictures of Alynna's hands w/ a Sharpie as a reference point, D thinks they're freakishly long.. I think she's just gonna be a volleyball setter!

Well, I better close for now - time to pump aaand..this mama's tard!!

We thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Every time I pray I ask God to heal her quickly so we can get her home and do a different activity with her.. My most recent prayer was for quick healing so we can take her camping :)

Again, thank you for all the prayers - this girl is LIVING proof that prayers are answered!

Love,
Matt, Jacelyn, and Alynna FAITH

~Tuesday, July 28, 2009 2:34 PM, CDT

Miss Alynna seems to be having another good day. When I called to check on her over the night she had been up all night partying with Nurse Colie. Her central line that was replaced yesterday was still leaking, so Colie had to run all her meds through the right atrial line.. Made it more difficult on her b/c of drug compatibility - but that was all the more eventful the night was. Alynna didn't get all the heart medicine that was prescribed (b/c of compatibility issues), but handled it well - her BP never dipped.

They weaned her vent down to 40% today, and will continue to wean by 5% as long as she tolerates it. Her blood gasses have been great today. They removed her foley catheter, so thats one less line - 7 to go! :) jk, I haven't counted.. I know she's got 2 chest tubes, her RA line, a line in her wrist, and the central line in her groin... and on the vent - whats that add up to?

She got moved to a new room today b/c her huge ECMO room was needed for another patient. We've already got her new room all decorated, and made as 'homey' as possible. Mom and I are watching The River Wild in Alynna's room since Duane made the comment yesterday that Alynna's hair looked like Kevin Bacon's. (Thanks for that D... We requested a couple of bows, but they haven't made it yet).

When the doctor came in to tell me that they were gonna change her central line, I asked how she was doing overall. He said she was looking really good. Her color looks even better than yesterday, and her face is back to normal size. I asked about the mitral valve situation and he acted like it wasn't a big deal. He said that he didn't hear much regurgitation when he listened to her. The focus of their attention at the moment is getting all the extra fluid off - said she's got about 150-200 cc's that needs to come off.. and its mostly around her abdomen. They'll do another echo once the fluid is off, and before she comes off the vent to check the mitral valve, and see whether its going to be an issue.

I believe that's all I have to report at this time. We are so thankful that Alynna is having a lot more "good days," and know that answered prayers are the reason for that!

Thank you all!

Love,
Matt, Jacelyn and Alynna

~Wednesday, July 29, 2009 2:13 PM, CDT

Not much to report today - all seems to be going well... They are SLOWLY weaning Alynna off the two heart medicines, as long as she tolerates it. Her BP has been in the 60's most of the day. This morning when I came in the doctors were rounding and the critical care doctor said he thought she looked even better than she did yesterday and asked what I thought - I told him w/ 7 doctors around her I hadn't really gotten to look at her yet! :) She does look better though, the only obvious swelling is in her belly. Last time I checked she had had 10 cc's more out than in. 150 to go! We're back to saying potty prayers to get this fluid off!

Echo looked pretty much the same... Still has some mitral regurgitation, and has a tiny leak where they repaired the VSD during her first operation. Said it was nothing earth-shattering and would probably just treat with medication. Overall heart function was pretty good though.

Other than that, not much to report. She's been sleeping quite a bit today, but was up for a while this morning. Mom and I just finished watching "While You Were Sleeping".. it seemed appropriate!

Please continue to pray for this sweet little life who has already impacted so many. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives, and can't wait to get her home and watch her grow.

Love,
Matt, Jacelyn & Alynna
~Thursday, July 30, 2009 2:10 PM, CDT

I can't believe Alynna is 1 month old today!! The doctors expect us to be here until at least mid to late August.. Siiiigh.. All my time off from the hospital will be spent at a hospital! Can't wait to bring this little girl home though!

Alynna has been doing really well today. I got a note from Nurse Colie (the night nurse).. "Jacelyn, We totally partied all night long! Alynna was awake from about midnight to 4 am. She was happy and wide-eyed"... I'm going to have to bring Nurse Colie home w/ us since she apparently likes to party a little more than I do! :) I got to give Alynna a bath last night and then we put her on the pretty new blanket Nurse Colie bought her, which she looks adorable on. We tried to tame her hair, and Colie looked for a bow - both were failures though.
As for changes with Alynna - today they've decreased her Fentanyl drip (for pain), the Dopamine and Milrinone (for BP), and increased her breast milk. Even with decreasing her BP meds she has been running mid to upper 60's...They're happy as long as she stays above 60.. which she has. The doctor came in a took out one of her chest tubes and her RA. Yay!! So she's down to one chest tube, pacer wires, the line in her groin, the line in her wrist, and the vent. A couple of steps closer to holding her!! Its been waaaaay too long.

I believe thats all the news I have for now!

Love ya'll bunches!

2009-07-31T14:34:00.003-05:00

My plan was to get on here this weekend and do all the updates of whats been going on and an update all the awesome progress sweet little Alynna has made. But as I sit here with a saddened heart and tears pouring down my face I am asking for prayers for this family and friends. Little Alynna coded last night, this time God has called her home. I will post later all the progress that Alynna made the past two weeks so people can read and see Gods work but right now I am just heartbroken and can't really even see the computer screen. So please keep this family in your prayers.

Prayers Needed

2009-07-15T23:52:00.003-05:00

I am asking for prayers for a sweet little girl named Alynna. Alynna Faith is the daughter of one of my friend Jacelyn that I grew up with. I'm going to make this as short at possible,they found out with the first ultrasound they had that there was a heart problem with little Alynna. Alynna was born on June 30th, 7lbs 14oz. and 21 1/2 inches after 30 hours of labor! Just a little over a week old the doctors preformed the surgery to fix her heart. At first they weren't sure if they were going to do one part of the surgery and in a few months come back and do the rest but when they got in there they were able to fix all of it. Things have been going great. They first were told that she wouldn't be coming home for at least two weeks and on Monday, just four days after surgery, that she would possible be moved out ICU on Tuesday and possible go home Friday or Saturday. Today Alynna coded at 6am and the doctors have no idea why. She was put on life support and went back to surgery. Now its just a waiting game. The surgeon told them that Alynna has a 10-20% chance of pulling through. I KNOW God has a testimony for this little girl and her family and I don't believe the percents that doctors give us. So I'm asking you to pray for this little girl and her family. Please send this and repost for others to pray for Alynna and her family.

If anyone wants to know Alynnas whole story, here it is. (Jacelyn or Jace is Alynnas mom, Matt is Alynnas dad; Darla and Mike are the grandparents since all of them write posts on Alynna)
~**February 12, 2009
Most of you have heard our upsetting news by now, but for those who haven't - here's the scoop. Thursday we went in for a routine 20 week ultrasound. 45 minutes into the scan I had a horrible feeling something was wrong b/c they kept focusing on the heart, and getting new techs to come back and see. My doctor finally came back after an hour of scanning and told us that there were some heart abnormalities and that she wanted us to see a doctor upstairs, and the pediatric cardiologist. I was sent up to Dr. Fitzpatrick for another ultrasound. 2 1/2 hrs later he was able to see me and he scanned for what seemed to be an eternity. At 6:15 (my initial appt. started at 1), both doctors came in to talk to us. They said they believe the baby has a hole between the upper two chambers of the heart, another hole between the lower two chambers, and the vessels that feed into the lower two are flip-flopped. They suggested an amnio w/in the next two weeks to see if this was caused by a chromosomal abnormality, but Matt and I decided against that b/c even if that were the case, we're not gonna love this baby any less.
**Other than the heart abnormalities, everything looks good - baby weighs 12 oz. We told the techs we didn't wanna know the sex of the baby. When she got around to measuring the legs the tech said, "It's a good thing you don't wanna know, b/c it has its little hand down there covering the "privates"... Matt now thinks its a girl, b/c a boy would be proudly displaying his goods :)

We go back to Dr. Fitzpatrick in 3 weeks for another ultrasound, to Dr. Cave in 4 weeks for a regular appointment, and Dr. Morera (the pediatric cardiologist) in 6 weeks.

After many tears and prayers we are leaning on God to get us through this. I'm praying for a miracle, and know God has the power to provide!

At church the sermons have been on the Power of Prayer. This morning's message was applying the power - "The Power to Heal"... I looked at the title and leaned over to Matt and said, "Just so ya know, I probably won't make it through the message w/o crying" :)

Just a few points that were extra meaningful in our situation:
-Our connection to God does not provide us an immunity to troubles.
-God has the power to heal even when our hope is diminished!!!!!!!
-We have the opportunity of impacting others through the power of God's healing.
-I have to be ready to praise the One who can heal.

and most importantly:
I HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD!!!!!!

So I thank you all for all your prayers, and ask that you continue to do so. God will heal my sweet little baby, I have faith in that :)

Love,
Jacelyn, Matt & Baby P

~TUESDAY MARCH 10TH.......The doctor now believes both of the great vessels are feeding into the right side of the heart only - instead of being flip-flopped as he originally thought. He said the prognosis was generally pretty good for this condition. We didn't really learn anything new other than that. (Mom said God has only gotten around to getting one of the vessels in the right place, but is working on the other ;) We go to Dr. Morera on the 30th, and he will make the final diagnosis. He will determine where we need to deliver, whether he is comfortable w/ the baby to be able to be delivered here - or if it needs to be in Indy.

Everything else with the babe looked good - weighs 1 lb 9 oz... (I've been feeding it well!) All the other internal organs looked normal. The baby was being a stinker when the tech was trying to get us a profile shot - arms over the head and playing with its feet (apparently its a gymnast!!) She did manage to get us a pretty good 4-D face shot. Matt says it looks like me, I've already apologized to it! :)

Before the appointment I prayed (and prayed, and prayed, and prayed) that we didn't learn anything WORSE than we'd already been given, and that I could handle it. Mission accomplished! I continue to pray for a miracle, b/c ultimately I trust God more than any doctor to take care of my baby. (Sorry docs!)

Please continue to pray for Baby P - I think it likes all the attention ;)

-Love Matt, Jacelyn, and Baby P

~*** UPDATE - MARCH 30, 2009 ****

We went to Dr. Morera today for an echocardiogram of Baby P's heart. The appointment started off well, he kept saying everything looked good, and even made the comment that he didn't know what the other doctors had seen. Then he got quiet and said he wasn't going to say anything until he knew for sure... Soooo, an hour and 1/2 later he explained exactly what he had seen (which was pretty well what Dr. Fitpatrick had said a couple of weeks ago.)

Baby P has a Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV). A DORV is a very rare congenital heart defect in which both the pulmonary artery and the aorta -- known as the great vessels -- arise from the right ventricle. Normally, only the pulmonary artery that carries blood to the lungs for oxygen arises from the right ventricle. The aorta, which carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the body, normally arises from the left ventricle.

Typically, some form of surgery is used to correct the defects from DORV. Although the surgical procedures vary, they all share the same basic goal: connecting the left ventricle to the aorta while keeping the pulmonary artery connected with the right ventricle.

Dr. Morera would prefer if we deliver in Indy at Riley's, just so surgeons would be immediately available in the event that they are needed. He said normally surgery can be put off for at least a few weeks.

We continue to pray, and hope that you all will to. My hope is that God gets so tired of everyone praying for Baby P that he will finally be like, "FINE.. I'll take care of it!!" :) Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!!

-Love Matt, Jacelyn, & Baby P

~** May 18, 2009 - Appointment at Riley's/IU

Thank you all for continuing to pray for Baby P! Today we headed to Indy for our appointments with the OB for an ultrasound and the pediatric cardiologist for another echo. We got a tour of the facilities where we would deliver, and where the baby would be "whisked away" to for stabilization and further procedures. The neonatologist told me I would probably not even get a peak at the baby before it was rushed off for evaluation and stabilization - but would be brought to me for a "brief visit" before being taken to Riley NICU for an x-ray and echo to determine the exact plan of action.

We then went for an echo of Baby P's heart. The cardiologist believes the vessels are normally aligned, just shifted to the right ventricle (as previously thought). There is still a large hole in between the ventricles, but that is a good thing and will allow baby's blood to mix w/ enough oxygen to breathe outside the womb. W/ some heart defects the doctors have to put baby on a medication which keeps the baby's blood/oxygen flow as it is in the womb, but Baby P will NOT be dependent on this med and should be stable w/o. :) :) :) They said the only thing that might need to be done immediately is to band the pulmonary artery to constrict it enough to keep the baby from breathing too fast and burning too many calories, and in turn not gaining enough weight. The banding will enable them to put off the open heart surgery (to repair the hole and move the vessel to the left ventricle) until the baby is around 1 year old. (Another blessing).

Other good news - the chambers are all good sized, the vessels look good, and all the blood is circulating to the limbs properly.

Baby P weighs 5 lbs :) - and they have scheduled me for induction on Monday, June 29.

We sure can't wait to meet this little one.. and continue to pray for God's healing hands on Baby P!

Love Matt, Jacelyn and Baby P!

God Bless!
~SHE'S HERE!!
Alynna Faith is here! 7lbs 14oz and 21 1/2 inches long!!
im sure Jace and Matt will want to tell you more so i will let them tell ya everything!!
thanks for all the prayers and please keep them coming!

~Hello everyone-- the cardiologists just came in to tell us how the heart cath went. She tolerated the procedure well with only a small glitch that they really couldn't figure out why it happened, but they fixed it right away with a little bit of adrenaline and 100% oxygen. They enlarged the hole in her heart in order for the blood to mix better -- they'll close it later, but this was an easy way to accomplish a short-term fix for her problem. Also -- good news -- no coarctation, so that won't have to be fixed (that would have meant an additional surgery for l'il Lynnie). What they did find was a form of DORV, but one that is treated similar to transposition of the great vessels. So those will have to be switched. The information they gleaned from the cath added to the information they got from the echos will be discussed by a team of surgeons and then a plan will be made to fix it all with open heart surgery. Doc said she was big enough in size so they may do it as soon as next week.

We are so proud of little Alynna. She pulled through the "glitch" immediately, and she was also able to be off the breathing tube right after the procedure. Many times they are returned to the nursery still on the vent, but Alynna started breathing on her own as soon as they were finished. Go, Lynnie-Boo!

Mike and I were able to go into the nursery and pray over her right before they took her down. The cardiologist had just read all the possible complications as a result of the cath. We quickly asked God to put a big X across anything that ~could~ happen
bad. I must say we were all calm and collected the whole time she was down there.

Ok recap: they'll switch the arteries and close the hole in one surgery. (we think) May be as soon as next week. Would probably do it now but hey, its a Holiday - right?

We think Alynna will be able to eat today for the first time! They'll start with a feeding tube but Jace should be able to feed her soon.

Thanks again for all the prayers, thoughts and concerns, offers of help and spreading the word for more prayers! As Jacelyn would say -- keep it up, we think Alynna likes the attention.

Love,
dj

~Hi all - thank you all for continuing to pray for Alynna. She's been doing amazingly well! She's scheduled for surgery Thursday morning. They still haven't decided whether they will make the full repair, or just do the PA banding to buy them a few months until she is bigger. They've prepared us for what she will look like post-op.. although I'm sure it will still be tough for us to see her hooked to so much stuff! We're just asking for prayers for a successful surgery and that Alynna come through like a rock star like she has been!

They'll take her back at 7:30 to prep, and surgery will begin a couple of hours later - lasting 4-6 hours if they do total repair.

Thanks again! We'll update as soon as we can!

Love,
Matt, Jacelyn and Baby----Alynna!!!

~PRAISE REPORT...Several are asking how to pronounce Alynna - its "Uh lin Uh"... an "uh" on each end. lol. K. Now for the good news. They are finished with the surgery and the doc feels it went well. Her heart is pumping again on its own. They are leaving the sternum open for now in case they have to go back in and tweak things. Right now they are doing an echo to see if things are rolling the way they need to be (my term, sorry - I'm no med student - prob should have said flowing, huh). Soon she will be moved to recovery and that may take a couple of hours - then we get to see her. She'll be on the vent for probably a week, then another week of recovery and stabilization before she gets to come home. If anyone's counting, that makes a full month at the hospital.

So folks - if you are in conflict with anyone you love -- make amends now. Don't sweat the small stuff. Put pettiness where it belongs and live every day to the fullest.
We are so blessed! Thanks for the prayers!

~July 13 (Jacelyn)
Alynna is doing great - Docs plan to move her out of ICU as soon as tomorrow, and are talking of discharge Friday or Saturday (possibly).... Oh, and I got to hold her tonight for the first time since surgery! :)

Today (Wednesday) Posts
~Our little Alynna has had a major set-back and we need everyone to pray like never before. She 'coded' around 6:00 am this morning, and they are taking her to surgery as I write--to put her on life support. They aren't sure, but there could be brain damage. Darla said that if they didn't see any brain activity in the next two days, they will have another difficult decision to make. Please, please pray! Pray for Alynna and pray for the family. Mike and Matt had to come back Sunday to work this week, and they are on their way back to Indy now. Pray for them a safe trip also. Thank you so much!! We will keep you informed........With God NOTHING is impossible!!!!!!!

~Alynna is still in the operating room but she is on life support now, holding her own. Surgeon just met with us and said her heart looks good - the main concern now is if there has been brain damage. Said she will probably get worse before she gets better and may have some seizures. She will require at least 3 more surgeries if/when she gets off life support. They do not know what caused this - they don't think it was a cardiac event.

Mike and Matt made it here just before the surgeon came in to talk to us.

Jacelyn continues to just cry her eyes out -- as we all are, really. Thank you for your prayers. We still believe in miracles and we hope and pray we are granted one in this situation.

~Alynna is in her room. Doc has said it is just a waiting game now. I say it is just a praying time. God can heal this precious one. All grandparents are here now. We know we have the support of everyone back home and they are spreading the word we need a miracle for little Alynna.

They still have no idea why or how this happened. At least she was right here at the hospital when it did and we just have to believe that no brain damage has occured. That is our prayer along with the rest of her body to heal.

We are doing pretty well considering the news we've been dealt. Scott or Gretchen had a big tray of Jimmy John's subs.etc sent to us No one wanted to eat but I urged everyone to keep their head up and their faith high - told them it wasn't helping Alynna for our faces to look like we had no hope. So everyone ate and I think felt a little better.

Keep Praying for us and the staff here atRiley to know what to do.

Love,
Lynnie-Boo's lovedones

~PRAISE REPORT!!! Alynna opened her little eyes, moved her little limbs, and her head! They had to sedate her because she was trying to pull out tubes. Miracles! Thank you for your prayers, friends. Keep praying for more miracles. The surgery this morning was to insert full life support...the upcoming surgeries will be to remove them..
this morning lil Alynna coded and her heart stopped beating on its own..they put her on life support but the paragraph above shows that she is one lil trooper and that she is a true miracle of Gods work and proof that there is power in prayer and i know i say it all the time but she sure is making a believer out of me!!!!...thanks for the prayers i m sure Jace Matt and especially Alynna Faith is grateful!!

~ AS OF 7 PM WED. Friends -- I am humbled by the response and promises to pray for our precious grandchild. I know many of you are staying on your knees all day long. We feel the prayers and have had some positive news: Alynna has been opening her eyes and moved her limbs and head "in a good way" they said. She was trying to pull out wires, so they had to sedate her. Her nurse says she has very little bleeding for someone with an open chest, so that is also good news. The 'numbers' that are supposed to be going up are going up and the one which are supposed to be going down are doing that as well. I have been in to see her three times. She's such a beauty. Her color is good -- can't say that for this morning, for sure -- wow, that was a very scary sight for these grandma eyes. There are so many Christians here at the hospital -- most of Jacelyn and Alynna's nurses acknowledged their faith (even before baby had this setback) and a little bit ago a doctor was standing at Alynna's door and prayed with Jacelyn. The Chaplain has been by a few times and Matt and Jace's pastor from Newburgh was here with us this afternoon.

The surgeon has told us she had a 10-20% chance of pulling through this --- some of the nurses and physicians in the room while Alynna was coding did not even agree that she should be put on life support, but that we should just let her go. I'm thinking all those people do NOT believe in God --- yet. Alynna has already touched so many lives during her 15 days of life -- I imagine God has greater plans for her yet.

We cannot know how long this process will take. And they don't know what caused her to code. They had just taken a chest xray a bit before it happened and the xray looked fine. The doctor doesn't think this was a cardiac event and he says while she was in surgery he was able to determine there has been no damage to her heart. Right now she is on the life support because her heart would not pump on its own, and even if it could now, it needs to rest, along with her lungs. The machine she is on is called an ECMO. I'll have to google it b/c I couldn't remember what all it stands for.

I hope this answers some of the questions that are surfacing for so many of our friends and prayer warriors. I will update as I get news --- we are expecting it to be good news, because we serve a Good God.

All for his glory,
Mike and Darla
Matt and Jacelyn
Lynnie- Boo

The Boys Check-Ups

2009-06-15T13:27:00.003-05:00

On Monday, Blaine had his five year/kindergarten check-up and Bryce had is 4 month check-up. I have been anticipating this for a few months now wondering how it would go.
Bryce is 14lbs and is 27in long! Which in his weight he is in the 38th percentile and his length he is greater than the 97th percentile! He is doing great. He already rolls over...all the time, he is constantly smiling and giggling and I am so blessed to have a really happy baby. We are still dealing with reflex and the hydrocele hasn't gotten any better but those are minor issues. On his 6 month check-up we might have an ultrasound done to see if it really is hydrocele or if he has other issues so we will see. I got the go ahead to start cereal feedings and work our way up to first foods. So next week we will start cereal.He flirted with all the ladies there and I got a lot of compliments on how adorable and how good he was which makes any moms day to hear that!
Poor Blaine, he's five year old check up didn't go according to plan. Blaine has really bad reactions to bug bites. Even with bug spray on, the bugs find the one place you didn't spray and end up biting him there. On Sunday he came home from his dad's (where it was nice outside and he swam and played outside all weekend) and he ended up getting chigger bites all over especially in his underwear region. So when we went to the doctor for a check up he also had other issues as well. He has balanitis again from chigger bites, fluid behind his ears, and he is also has some wheezing in his chest that could be from allergies or he might be developing asthma.
On the check up side he is growing so much. He is 43lbs and is 46in which in the beginning of May when Blaine graduated preschool he has a little over 43in tall. So in little over a month he has grown 3in! Blaine was not thrilled with the 4 shots that he had to get. He actually cried worse than Bryce did. Blaine didn't mind shots until he was 2 years old and he had to have a rocephin(antibiotic) shot and if anyone has ever had one of those even adults tear up with that shot. The antibiotic is very thick and it takes at least 10 seconds to inject plus it hurts going in and I can speak from experience. So ever since then, ever time he goes to see the doctor he tells her "no shots and no needles!" We also didn't realize until we were getting ready to leave that he had to have a TB skin test and an urinalysis. So that meant another needle and Blaine really did not like that one bit but he did good. On to the urinalysis, Blaine had already went to the bathroom so we only got a small sample and when we did it showed that he had a large amount of blood and protein in his urine. So we had to get another sample so they could send it off for microscopic examination. On Tuesday I got the phone call with the results which we were all surprised at the results. He had small amount of blood this time, large amount of protein and to keep it simple for everyone he had a large to moderate amount of crystals in his urine. The type of crystals they found are those indicative of kidney stones. So they are sending him to a urologist on Tuesday to see if they can find out what is going on. Please pray for him that God will heal him. I will keep everyone posted on what the urologist has to say.

This is what happens...

2009-05-27T14:51:00.004-05:00

when your mom decides to eat a chocolate chip cookie while she holds you when your sleeping!!!

Bryce

2009-05-11T16:17:00.002-05:00

I forgot to post that Bryce officially rolled over today while he was getting his pictures done today. He is getting so big so fast! I can't believe he is already 11 weeks old!

Family Pics, Blaines 5yr and Bryces 3mo pictures

2009-05-11T14:43:00.004-05:00

We had family pictures done today and I must say it went great. I thought it was going to be a nightmare. Last night I kept praying, please let the pictures go awesome and the boys would be calm and behaved and that we would get good pictures. Well it did! It went awesome, the boys smiled all the time, Blaine sat still and listened (for once). I was completely stress free! I'm just going to post a few pictures on here but go to thehappeningsattheminkshouse.shutterfly.com and see the rest of them.

2009-05-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

Since I have a hard time deciding which pictures to post (which I'm sure none of you couldn't tell that due to the amount that I post plus I'm the most indecisive person ever) I created an account at shutterfly to post a lot of my pictures. It should be a lot easier for me since I spend a lot of time on the computer uploading pictures to family members, and it takes a lot of time to do that. Also the can order the pictures they want and I don't have to guess which ones they would like. So if anyone would like to check it out it is thehappeningsattheminkshouse.shutterfly.com I will keep posting pictures on here but I will be putting a lot more on there.

2009-05-08T21:46:00.011-05:00

All this week Blaine has been refering to Dustin as Dust. I'm not sure what brought on this nickname but all week it has been, Hey Dust this and Dust whatcha doin? So I'm think that Dustin now has another nickname besides Dusty, which is what most of his family refers to him as. He is also on the kick of calling Bryce, Brycey. I'm kind of curious of what he is going to come up with next.

Here are a few pictures of the past few weeks.

My Boys; One with beautiful blue eyes and the other with gorgeous chocolate brown eyes!

Zoo Trip

2009-05-08T21:43:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday Lois and I took the kids to the zoo. They had a blast!

Our One Year Anniversary

2009-05-08T20:22:00.006-05:00

Sunday is our one year anniversary, so yesterday Dustin and I took the boys and we went to Louisville to eat at Joe's Crab Shack for our anniversary. I had only been there once years ago and Dustin hadn't ever been so we decided to celebrate our anniversary yesterday instead of Sunday, which is our actually anniversary, because Sunday is Mother's Day and it would be really busy and hard to get anywhere to eat. We all really loved it. I found out that Blaine really loves seafood. He had the popcorn shrimp and corn on the cob. For an appetizer we order calamari and great balls of fire, which is jalapenos, shrimp, and crab in a ball. It was delicious. I had a pasta dinner with shrimp and it was awesome. Dustin had one of their new stem pots. This was one of the first times that I didn't have to keep getting on to Blaine to eat his food. He cleaned his whole plate and also ate calamari, some of my food and kept eating Dustin's crab legs then he ate ice cream.

After we ate we drove around for a while and showed Blaine to Louisville Slugger Stadium and next to that there was a skate park and we stopped there for a few minutes to let Blaine watch. We went to the Bass Pro Shop and walked around for a while. When we walked in the expression on Blaines face was priceless. He was so excited. It made my day to see that expression, he was just in awe of all the stuff they had. On our way home we stopped at Culver's and had ice cream.

Blaine and Bryce were great all day. It was a great day and a great one year anniversary.

The waiter put the bib on. HEHEHE... Blaine kept telling him he had a baby bib on.LOL

T-Ball season has finally started.

2009-05-08T18:45:00.007-05:00

Blaine is having a blast playing t-ball. He sometimes can be a bit over enthusiastic, such as going after every ball in his area, but he is doing a lot better at it. He is such a natural player. I hope he will always remember to have fun and that it's a game.
The second game of the season Blaine got his first black eye or should I saw purple eye. He was on first and was running to second when the first baseman ran in front of him and the hit heads. Blaine finished running the bases but then he wanted to sit out from playing the field. But he finished out the game after that. The next morning after he woke up he had a rash on his cheeks and his face was bright red. So he looked like he had on blush and eyeshadow. But I know this is just the first of the bumps and bruises that goes with playing sports, I should know convenient care had a stack of my x-rays that was at least 3 inches thick!

Bryce's Baby Dedication

2009-04-30T19:12:00.004-05:00

Bryces baby dedication was at church on Sunday, April 26th. I know I'm a little late posting but I've been in a little bit weird mood lately and have been neglecting a lot of things. But he was such as ham! All of the family couldn't get all there on that day but Dustin and Blaine were there and Mamaw and Papaw were able to come.
After his dedication we all went out to eat at El Magues. Then that afternoon we all went to a friend of mines daughters first birthday in Illinois. I had a really good time visiting with everyone.It turned out to be such a wonderful day! Thanks Tina for taking pictures of Bryces dedication!

Pics

2009-04-22T02:28:00.004-05:00

Daddy and Bryce talking to each other

Uncle Jake, Bryce and Blaine

Big Brother and Little Brother

2 Month Check-Up

2009-04-22T01:47:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that Bryce is already two months old. He had is two month check-up yesterday and everything went great. He is 11 lbs 6oz and 22 3/4" long. He is right on target with everything. He had to get his shots which Blaine just had to watch. Bryce did good and only wimpered with the second shot. He has been sleeping really well through the night, usually not getting up until sometime between 5:30 and 7am which is really nice. He is starting to talk all the time and he is constantly kick his legs and waving his arms. I have so much fun just watching him. He is such a happy baby.

Just some random pictures of the past week

2009-04-03T23:51:00.009-05:00

The boys and I went to visit my grandpa last Thursday...Can you believe that he will be 94 next month!!!

One of my favorite pictures because I have one of Blaine that looks similar but I think Blaine was around 3 months old.

Bryce

Blaine

Zoo Pictures

2009-03-25T23:23:00.000-05:00

Day One of Spring Break

2009-03-25T21:58:00.004-05:00

Monday was Blaines first day of spring break so I decided to take him and Bryce to the zoo since it was suppose to be the only nice day this week. Blaine had a blast...

And well Bryce he slept through the whole thing which is no big surprise.

1 Month check-up

2009-03-25T21:45:00.003-05:00

I wrote a post yesterday on Bryces 1 month check-up but something weird happened when I posted it and it didn't post or save so I'm haveing to re-write it so I hope I don't forget anything. Bryce had his 1 month check-up on Monday and it went really well. He is now 9lbs 14oz and when he was born he was 8lbs 5.5oz and when he left the hospital he was 7lbs 12oz so he is gaining lots of weight. Bryce has had some issues with is formula (which you couldn't tell with the weight gain) but we've had to deal with the consitpation and with throwing up. Which I have been dealing with the vomit considering it wasn't every feeding and plus I'm use to cleaning up bodily secreations so it's just like any other day for me. However, his doctor made the comment when she was examining him that he did have reflex with everything I described to her and plus I had just got done feeding him in the waiting room and while she was examining him he was spitting up and when I say spitting up I mean spit with milk in it that just pours out of his mouth which is something he does do after every feeding and he can start doing that about 30 minutes after he eats and it goes on for a while. She said that is another sign of the reflex. I knew all this but I don't want to be one of those parnoid moms that gets upset over everything so I was just trying to deal with it. His doctor wants me to change formulas and hope that works for him so we will see how that works. She also commented on how long he was and when we measured him he is now 22 1/2" long. He has already grown an inch! That explains why he doesn't fit into any of his clothes. Other than the stomach issues he is doing great, so we go back next month for another check-up and to get 5 shots!

Bryce's 1st day out

2009-03-21T23:34:00.002-05:00

A day at Gattitown

2009-03-21T23:04:00.001-05:00

It's been one month

2009-03-21T21:32:00.003-05:00

since Bryce was born and it feels like it was just the other day. Time has gone by so fast, I wish it would slow down. He has gotten so big and is so alert. I just sit and look at him and I am amazed. I can't believe when I found out I was pregnant I was aggravated at the thought. I prayed and prayed and said God I know you know whats best and your plans are always right but I thought we had a plan. I thought you and I decided you would give us a little one after the first of the year. And I knew right there was my mistake the you and I in the last sentence. It's all about Him and His plans. I thought God would help me finish my nursing degree (which he did just not the way I thought he was going to do it) and I felt that he was telling me February, February is when we should try for for a baby. Well I got that all wrong. February was when we would have a baby. Isn't weird how we mix up the messages God sends us. Instead of just listening to what he is saying we try to put our own thoughts and interpretations in the message and we get it all wrong because deep down we analyze what we want not what God has planned for us. Sorry for the rambling on but God just amazes me!

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe....

2009-03-21T21:12:00.003-05:00

is a nursery rhyme that I learned as a child. As everyone knows the next line is "she had so many children she didn't know what to do." I never thought Blaine would want that many siblings but boy was I wrong. Dustin on the other hand if any of you have ever asked him how many kids he wanted he would tell you a whole house full. When Bryce was about a week and half old Blaine asked me when we were going to have another baby brother. He took me completely off guard by his question. I asked him that I thought he wanted a sister, he said yeah but I want another brother then a sister and another brother and sister. By this time I was in shock and I said the only thing that I knew to say and I told him when God gives us another baby. Blaine was satisfied with that answer I was still in shock for several days. Well this past Wednesday at church when I went to get Blaine from his class his teacher told me that Blaine had a prayer request and asked if I wanted to know what it was. All I could think was oh no what could it be. My mind raced through different thoughts and I was hoping it was like Sundays prayer request, which was he wanted to pray for his brother but I had a feeling that it wasn't. His teacher just smiled real big and said Blaine prayed for another baby brother soon. Once again I was in shock. I can't believe that Blaine wants that many siblings. We weren't real sure how Blaine would adjust to a sibling considering he has been the only one for almost five years and even though he was real excited and said he was going to do everything for Bryce when he got here but I just figured it was the newness(if that's even a word) of having a sibling. But to my surprise Blaine has adapted very well so far but its just the first month I'm sure I'll have more posts on adjustments later. So that's what I feel like a little old lady who lived in a shoe.
Brotherly Love!

BUSY Friday and Bryces First Doctors Appt.

2009-03-01T17:22:00.006-06:00

Friday was a pretty busy day for us. It was mine and Bryces first day out of the house since he had been born. Dustin just got off night shift so he got home at 6 in the morning and I told him that he needed to sleep and that I could take Blaine to school and Bryce to the dr. So I took Blaine to preschool and while Blaine was at preschool Bryce had his first dr. appointment which was more of a weight check and to see how he was doing. He weighed 8lbs 4oz so he is pretty much back to his birth weight. Which when we left the hospital he dropped down to 7lbs 12oz which doesn't seem like a lot but considering he really didn't eat for almost 2 days and being a baby it was quite a bit for him to lose. We talked about different formulas and maybe switching him to something else since he is starting to have some gastroinstesinal issues. The only concern right now is that she noticed in the hospital that he might have hydrocele which she looked at it again and said that he did have it and that she would check it again at his next visit and hope that it resolves itself she said alot of times its due to a hernia. But other than that he seems to be a very healthy and beautiful baby boy!
I picked Blaine up from preschool and we came home and got some lunch and played for a little while. My mom came and got us around 3:30 so we could go to my brothers last basketball game. I really didn't want to get Bryce out of the house just yet but it was my little brothers last basketball game and of course it was senior night so I didn't want to miss it. So by the end of the day I was totally wore down and exhausted. I was wore out when I went to pick Blaine up from preschool earlier in the day so by night I was beyond exhausted and I still had to take care of a newborn all night so on Saturday I slept until 10:30 which sounds like a long time but not when its only a few hours here in there but it was well worth it!

WOW...It's Been A While

2009-02-26T21:21:00.012-06:00

I have lots of people ask me if I'm not going to blog anymore and well the answer is yes I am going to blog, I have just been so overwhelmed that everytime I sit down to do it I have so much to catch up on it I get overwhelmed about what to write that I just don't. So I'm going to try to play catch up and I'll try to make it short but we will see how that works.
So the last post Blaine learned to ride his bike. After that things got really crazy around here with me starting to work night shifts and going to school.That was pretty much the whole month of November and the first of December. My mom turned 50 on November 5th so my sister, brother and I threw her a birhtday party and we got her a hotel room and concert tickets (on the floor)to the New Years Eve concert of Lynard Sknyard and .38 Special in Nashville. She was couldn't believe it. She was so excited to go then at the last minute the concert got cancelled but she still can't believe we did that for her.

On December 15th I FINALLY graduated college with my nursing degree. I have been going to college for over 5 years for a 2 year degree. Along the way I have gotten several certificates and a CMA degree. But long at last I have finally accomplished a long awaited goal. I have always known there was a reason that it has taken me so long to get this degree and it is all about Gods timing. Not mine, even though I didn't like it or understand it I always knew and believed there was a reason God has done things a the way he has and I am forever grateful for the things I have exprienced and the people I have met along the way. God has taught me many things along the way and for that I am truely blessed. This is the only picture we have for the night because my camera batteries went dead everytime my mom took a picture but since it was my camera she didn't know thats why it shut off everytime she took a picture but we finally got one at Texas Roadhouse after my pinning ceremony.

I decided that since I was only 2 months from delivering the new baby, and I knew I needed to spend the time studing for my nursing boards I decided to wait to accept a job until after the baby was born. So for the rest of December and most of January I spent studying for my boards, getting ready for baby and all other kinds of things that happen to pop up along the way.
I had decided to take my board on either January 27 or 29. Well everytime I went to the website to register I had something come up whether it was something around here and I would turn the computer off but alot of the time I just kept hearing this voice in my head "no don't schedule it yet." So when I realized I really needed to get it scheduled before the baby was born those 2 days were full and the next avalible day was February 5th. I was a little upset because it was so close to my due date and I didn't want to risk the chance. So after a few minutes of being upset I realized that everything happens for a reason and there was a reason that I wasn't suppose to take the test on that day so I was happy with that thought. So everyday I prayed that God wouldn't allow me to have the baby until after I took my boards. Well if anyone remembers that the week of January 26 was the week we got that horrible ice storm. So even if I would have been able to take my boards that week I would not have been able to get there to do it. That would have meant that I would have to reschedule the test and it would have been several weeks before I could get back in to take the exam which meant that I would have already delievered the baby. God is so awesome in the way he does things. Even though its not what we want He ALWAYS knows whats best, we just have to have faith and trust in Him. So I took my boards on the 5th of February and I had also been praying that God would give me questions that I knew and that I wouldn't recieve the long version of the test (265 questions)Well they tell you if you are getting hard questions you don't know that means that you are doing a good job, if the questions are getting easier that means that your not doing so well. I was getting so nervous during the test because I knew most of the questions so I knew I must be doing horrible. Then my computer shuts off at the minium amount of questions (75). I was in shock, I was sure I failed considering I knew the last question. I walked out of the room and I thought I was going to get sick. When I got to the car I remember that I had been praying for God to give me questions I knew and I also realized that everything happens for a reason so if I did't pass there was a reason that God hadn't allowed me to pass and that He has a plan so that made me feel a little better. I found out the next day that I was a Registered Nurse! God is so awesome!
On February 8, my sister-in-law, sister and mom had a baby shower for me. We got all kinds of stuff we need and lots of cute outfits! Here is a picture of me at 38 weeks on the day of the baby shower.

After that I had just been waiting on our new little one to join us. Final on Saturday, February 21 our little man decided he was ready to come join us. On Friday, I dropped Blaine off at his dad's then I went to walmart to get some basic groceries we need since I knew if I would be induced on wednesday if he hadn't decided to come before then. Well I while I was in walmart I start having some stomach cramps, nothing to bad but I just felt tired. When I got home I was having more contractions but nothing that was timable just pretty much constant cramping. Well I decided to go to bed and rest because I had a feeling that I would go into labor in the morning. (I already figured it would be a day that I was home alone; Blaine at his dads, Dustin at work) I slept off and on throughout the night and the next morning I was still cramping but they contractions start to become regular late that morning at lunch time. I decided to call my mom and give her a heads up and to tell her that I wouldn't be going to my brothers game that night that even if I didn't have the baby that day I wasn't going to the game feeling the way I was. So my said she was going to get ready to come down and get me and I told her no because I was going to wait for the mail to get there and then I was going to go to Babies R Us because I had a $5 off coupon for every Dreft or Tide I bought. And for any of you that know laundry detergent is expensive especially baby detergent so $5 off is a deal. I was also going to take the trash to the dump. My mom said alright but I'm still getting a shower and coming down to get you. So at one o'clock I decided to call the dr. and let her know that I was in active labor and that I was going to go the hospital to be examined. Well that conversation was a little akward considering I was talking to my own Dr. and it seemed like she had no idea who I was. Then she said she thought I could wait at home a little longer if I wanted. My mom showed up at that time and then I had a really strong contraction and I figured that God was giving me a cue that it was time to go to the hospital so thats what we did. So we got to the hospital at 2 and when I got there I told Dustin not to leave work until I knew for sure that they were going to keep me and not send me home. The nurse told me I was 6 almost 7cm dilated and my bag was bulging. She said that we aren't going to examine me again until the got an IV start because she was afraid that as soon as my water broke that I would have the baby. So they got me into a room got an IV started. Dustin showed up at 3 and they were trying to get me an epideral but the blood the sent down to the lab had clotted and they couldn't use it so I had to wait until the drew my blood again before they could start the epidural. Final around 3:25 I got the epidural which the anestheologist had a c-section to be at at 3:30. As soon as he cleaned up his stuff the dr came in and broke my water which basically only a little bit came out then everything went south for a while. They put oxygen on me, the babies heart rate dropped, mine dropped and my blood pressure dropped; everything went south. So for me, my last semester of nursing was OB and Pedicatrics I knew what was going on and I got a little scared after several minutes when everything they tried didn't seem to get the babies heart rate up. So final the dr said when I broke my water that I was at 8 to 9cm dialated and that by now I should be at 10 so she told me to push which I did for 3 contractions then he decided he wanted to come out right now. I forgot to say that the dr wasn't even in scrubs yet, they didnt even have the cart of insturments that they use to deliver a baby in the room so I had to wait until they brought the cart in to finish delivering the baby. So at 4:06pm Bryce Walker Minks was born. Dustin made it there with an hour to spare (the whole time I was pregnant that was his worst fear that he would be stuck at work and he wouldn't get to be there when he was born) He was 8lbs 5.5 oz and 21 1/2in. long. He cried so loud that you could hear him at the elevators, which is a pretty big accomplishment if you knew where we where.

He had some trouble feeding the first two days and on Monday morning it just seemed like he figured it out and he just chowed down. I was so thankful he final figured it out. I was getting worried and so was his dr. She was excited when she came to see him that he finally started to eat. Blaine is pretty excited about Bryce. He wants to help do everything which is nice but sometimes overbearing when I'm trying to change a diaper and he wants to do it. But I am very thankful that he wants to help and that he likes holding him and feeding him. It's really sweet to watch Blaine talk to Bryce. I pray that they will be close and have a great reletionship.

His hospital pictures can be viewed at either stmarys.org or mckevanportraits.com; search for Bryce and the password is Bryce.

So 4 almost 5 hours later here is a brief run down of the last several months. Now hopefully I can stay on top of blogging.

Learning to ride a bike and the other misc. things going on...

2008-10-21T14:07:00.004-05:00

I have been so busy with school I haven't had time to blog about well anything. Last wed. before church, Blaine and I had 30 minutes to spare so Blaine decided he wanted to ride his bike. (which this summer I took the training wheels off because he wanted to learn to ride with out them. He got scared and intimidated and didn't want to try riding his bike anymore. Which he pretty much could do it, he just refused to do it!) I told him that I wasn't going to put his training wheels back on his bike, and if he wanted to ride his bike we were going to have to learn to ride with out training wheels. Which his reply "Okay Mommy, I'll try but I'm not so sure about this." Well it took us a total of 1 minute to ride down the hill in a straight line with out training wheels. Then 3 minutes of convincing him he could ride in circles and 1 try of actually doing it. So my little boy can now ride his bike!!!

Yesterday Dustin and I took him to city lake to ride his bike. Less than a week after learning to ride his bike, I can't keep up with him! He looks like he has been riding a bike for months and it has only been 5 days.

This past week end Blaine went to his first Halloween Party. He was so excited and he really loved all the games they played. He has told everyone about the party (every little detail!) He is just growing up so fast.

AND I AM....

2008-09-26T09:21:00.002-05:00

A BOY!!! More testosterone in the house. I am OUT NUMBERED! I am one female to 3 males humm.

And I am.....

2008-09-25T13:05:00.002-05:00

STUBBORN, that is what I am. I am already taking after my daddy.

Well, I have to go back in a month and have another ultrasound because this baby is stubborn! What we could see looked good but we have to go back and get a good look at the heart, facial profile and the attachment of the umbilical cord (that was the main things we didn't get a good look at but the brain and other things look good.) Thank you Lord! All we want is a healthy baby and things look pretty good so far. The baby is also measuring bigger than its due date so if it is the same on the next ultrasound they might move my due date up. So the part you all have been waiting for, is it a boy or a girl. Well that's a good question considering it to the ultrasound tech 30-40 minutes to find out because you guessed it STUBBORN! The legs stayed crossed and my hand down there most of the time but we do know what it is but right now I'm going to leave some of you in suspense on what sex the baby is so take a guess and I will update either tonight or tomorrow. So leave your guesses to see it your right!

INTERESTING...

2008-09-18T19:04:00.000-05:00

You Are a Monroe Piercing

You are glamourous, sophisticated, and very classy.
You're the type to think carefully before getting any sort piercing or tattoo.

You are naturally charming. People find you to be very alluring.
Your manners are impeccable, and you always have something witty to say.

While you look like you're high maintenance, you have simple tastes.
You're a homebody who often rather curl up with a book than go out.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatpiercingareyouquiz/">What Piercing Are You?

2008-09-06T18:58:00.004-05:00

For those of you who are wondering, I wasn't able to get an ultrasound today so it will be about another few weeks before we know what we are having.

Last night I went to watch my brother play football which it wasn't a real exciting game considering the team we played have only had a team for 2 years and they are a Kentucky Christian school so they didn't have many players. However I really enjoyed watching a game that had so much sportsmanship.( usually the teams are bad mouthing each other and playing very aggressive which this wasn't the case) I really enjoyed seeing two teams come together to play a sport the way it should be. At the end of the game both of the teams joined together at the end to pray which was awesome to see. (one of the boys from the other team was taken by amubulance to the hospital for his neck; I hope everything turned out okay for him) After the game I found out that my brother is ranked #1 in the state for points and ranked #6 in the NATION! How awesome is that. I can't express how much I am proud of him for working so hard I just hope he will come to his senses and go to college and get an education.

My sister turned 29 on Wed. so we had a get together at moms on monday to celebrate which is always nice to go home and have moms cooking and be with my family. Happy Birthday Crystal, I love you!

PLEASE READ!

2008-09-01T22:45:00.001-05:00

I just sent out an email in hopes that who ever reads this could help me out. Here is the email:
Hi Everyone,
I am writing this in hopes that you can help out. My brother, Jacob Duncan, was nominated in the Evansville Courier and Press player of the week. He is up against 4 other boys who come from schools a lot bigger than his, so for him to even be nominated is an awesome achievement. He is very humble about this recognition and he doesn't think or believe he will win but I want to prove him wrong, because he does deserve this recognition. It amazes my family and I after every game he plays if someone come to tell him he did a good job or just come over and talk to him he always tells them thank you, thanks for coming and he appreciates them for coming. How many 17 years olds say that, that they appreciate someone for simply coming to a game or coming over to talk to them. I am very proud of my brother. So if you would please go to this web site, thescore.courierpress.com and go to vote for the player of the week and vote for my brother. His name is Jacob Duncan and he goes to Tecumseh. (there is another boy with the same last name that goes to Southridge) He is the first one on the list. You can vote a few times a day but the voting ends on Wednesday at noon. Right now the other Duncan boy is ahead by almost 100 votes. I really appreciate anyone who goes to vote and thanks in advance. Also if you could pass this on and tell others that you know if they would vote for him I would really appreciate it. (my internet is acting up and my address book isn't working so I am unable to send this email to all the people I know so if you could pass it along that would be great)

Once again the website is thescore.courierpress.com and his name is Jacob Duncan from Tecumseh. Voting ends Wednesday at noon.

Thank you so much!

God Bless,
Ashley Minks (Duncan)

2008-08-21T17:45:00.003-05:00

Well summer has come and gone and now its time for school again, and I should be excited that it is my last semester for my RN but I know that I want to continue on with my education which means school isn't ending for me anytime soon. This is the first week back to school and I am swamped with work to do. Several projects and papers, test next week and oh one tomorrow (that's just the stuff I can think of that I have to do) oh yeah and the several chapters to read each day that we go over. Did I mention that I am already behind on my school work. So much to do and I am overwhelmed. On another note, I'm glad I have been busy this week because Blaine is at his dad's and with the extra school distraction it has made it easier to deal with him not being home. I am soooo ready for him to come home!

Well as most people know that I am pregnant and I am at 13 weeks. I went to the Dr. on Tues. heard the heartbeat which was 150. The Dr. made a comment of this being a very active child because we could hear the movements from the doppler when she was trying to get the heart beat. And I would have to agree because I am only 13 weeks however I have felt quite a bit of fluttering and movement from this little one. Blaine is very excited. The other day he put his head just below my chest and said "I can hear the baby's heart mom" I had to laugh and told him that was my heart and that he couldn't hear or feel the baby yet but he did it again and said well I can hear her moving. (Blaine wants a sister so he interchanges the baby for she a lot but occasionally he will call it a he so I hope he will be excited about a brother or a sister, well just have to wait and see.)

The begining of summer fun!

2008-06-18T14:44:00.001-05:00

Wedding Pictures

2008-06-18T14:18:00.002-05:00

Waiting for things to come together...

2008-06-18T13:30:00.004-05:00

I'm still trying to get everything situated at the house since the wedding. It's been a slow process going through things and getting rid of things. I threw my back out about a month ago rearranging the bedroom one night while Dustin was at work (I knew I was going to hurt my back but I was determined to do it by myself... not the smartest idea but its easier to do by myself) Anyways my back is still out and I'm not sure what to do about it.

I have officially quit my old job that I would have been at for four years. It was a good move to make for us and with gas it was not worth driving Blaine to daycare and then to evansville and back on $4.oo a gallon for gas. when I made a little above minimum wage. But I do have a summer internship at St. Marys. I have been there for 3 weeks now and I love it. I was told once I was done with the internship and I found a unit I liked I just need to apply for the job and the would find me one! So that is exciting for me! Monday I went looking for graduate schools when I finish my RN. Its kind of exciting and depressing all at the same time. I'm excited to do what I feel that I was put here to do but sad because I have been in school forever and it seems that I'm never going to get done. I'm also debating on taking Blaine out of daycare for the summer because it is a waste of gas to drive to elberfeld when we live in boonville plus only working 2 days a week. I'm not sure what to do. Blaine doesn't seem to want to go anymore and cries every time I tell him we are going. I don't want to take him out because I will need a daycare in the fall and I want to make sure I have one before I take him out. I'm just going to keep praying and see what happens.

The other day God has placed me in a situation that I am struggling with. I know He knows what is best and that everything will be okay however I am still having a hard time excepting His will. I know He has been and will always be there for me. My heart knows everything will be just fine but what I feel is the right thing isn't agreeing with what God has planned. I know what I think is right isn't up to me because I don't see His full plan. Please keep me in your prays while I am struggling through this situation.

Day 4 of the Honeymoon

2008-05-16T00:59:00.004-05:00

Well day 4 has come and gone and it was another awesome day. Words cannot discribe it. We went to Telum and Xal-Ha. Xal-Ha was our first stop and it was great. We wish we could have spent more time there but we were on a time scheudle with the tour bus even though they were late and we arrived late, and the guy talked forever we has less time than we were suppose to have about both locations so we were a little upset about that but hey what can you do. Xal-Ha is a ecological park where you can swim in underwater caves, swim with the dophines, scuba dive, walk across the river on a rope,jump off cliffs and all kinds of other things (which Dustin and I both jumped off the 15ft cliff so when I get pictures from the underwater camera I'll have to post them) Telum is one of the Mayan ruins and it was really interesting. The view was absoulutley breathtaking and our tour guide was a hoot! ( I do have pics posted on my myspace if anyone wants to see those.) When we got back we ate at the Itialian resturant which wasn't that great but it wasn't horrible either but once again Dustin and I are not three course meal people either so we should have just stuck the the buffets. Well we leave tomorrow at 1130 and are flight isn't until 3 so we won't get home until about 11 at night so tomorrow is going to be a long day. I am planning on getting up to watch the sunrise and walk on the beach before we have to go.

Oh I forgot to post last night that Kid Rock is staying here at our hotel, he was a little obnoxious when I seen him and Dustin saw him a little later and he said the same thing. Oh well. And tonight we met a Professional football player who was super nice! So who knows who we will meet tomorrow before we leave.

Day 3 of the Honeymoon

2008-05-14T23:09:00.003-05:00

Well today is day three and we have had all beautiful days here which I am so thankful for. I haven't gotten to talk to my little bug much since we have been here so I am missing him terribly. We didn't do much today besides lounge around which was nice. We stayed by the ocean and the pool all day long and when I say all day I mean from after breakfast until eight at night ( I am really going to miss that) We ate at the mexican restaurant which I must say is the best place we have ate at thus far... go figure. We ate at the seafood resturant last night and neither one of us liked it. We figured out we are not three course meal people and that we don't like our fish coming staight from the ocean to our plate! (I wish I was joking when I said that but unfortunatly I'm not, I don't like my dinner still having eyes and staring at me!) Needless to say we ordered room service at midnight which was a lot better than dinner. Tomorrow we are going to one of the Myan ruins called Telum. Dustin and I are really looking forward to going. It is about an hour bus ride from our hotel but it will be worth it. We where going to go to Chichen Itza which is the 7th wonder of the world but it is a three hour bus ride from here and you are only there for two hours so you spend six hours on a bus and two hours there, huh go figure, so we chose one that is closer. Well I'm off to sit in the whirlpool on the balcony before bed. Ahhh isn't vacation great!!!!

LOTS OF RANDOMNESS

2008-05-14T01:08:00.004-05:00

Well where do I begin? The past month has been exrtreamliy busy and stressful, from school and with planning the wedding I haven't had anytime to blog on here so here's an update of whats been going on.

I passed my nursing classes so I now move on to my final semester YEA! I didn't do so well on the final but only 8 people got a B or a C and over 20 of us failed however no one failed the class which is great news.

Blaine started t-ball last week. His team is the Indians. He listened really well to his coach and I am excited about that. Blaine is looking forward to his first game which is this sat. the 17th. I am excited to watch him play!

Blaine graduated early pre-k last week. Here is Blaine with his buddy Mason. (aren't they handsome!)

On Sat. May 10th Dustin and I got married and I have to say that the wedding went well. One of my favorite parts was the bridal party playing musical chairs. It was soooo much fun. Our photographer has the pics on his website which is artisticimageryphotography.com. Click on events then weddings and in the drop down box click ashley and dusting then you need to type in dances for he password. (WARNING there are over 1200 pics so if you have dial up it will take a while to view them) I will be posting pics later from our camera once we get home.

Our honeymoon is going fantastic. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Our resort is huge. I hope one day we are able to come back. Our first day here we sat on the beach and swam in the pool. It is just amazing here. Dustin got sunburned the first day here which I don't understand since we put on the same sunscreen at the same time. I guess because I am a darker complected than he is. However I missed a spot in my hairline and it is a little sunburned but I can live with that. Today we went shopping in Playa del Carmen and it was a neat experience. We walked on the beach both nights we have been here and I have to say I don't know what is much better than walking on the sand with the wind blowing and water rushing over your feet. We have missed Blaine since we have been here. I have only gotten to talk to him once since every time I call he is asleep. (that mamaw has been wearing him out, but he has had fun from what I understand) Oh and did I mention that our room has to jucuzzis in it. Yes not one but two. One is in the bathroom and the other is on the balcony, how awesome is that! Tomorrow we plan on spending the day outside on the beach and in the pool which I am looking forward to. The weather has been absoulutely gorgeous since we arrived here.

Well I guess thats enough of the randomness for now. I'll post more pics when I get home.

Life just keeps going

2008-04-01T22:19:00.002-05:00

Stress, stress and more stress. That's what the past few weeks have been. Trying to get everything in order for this wedding and my school and Blaine, most days I'm not sure which direction I am going. My body is telling me to slow down and take a break and my schedule is telling me to go, go, go you have more to do. So physically and emotionally I am drained. I have had a migraine headaches for about a month now (this is four days in a row now with a migraine, UGH!) My teacher sent me home on Monday which was nice to take a nap in the middle of the day but I still woke up with my head pounding. I feel like I'm starting to lose what little mind I had left... lol. I'm extremely worried about my grade right now and I have a test on Monday that covers 15 chapters and I haven't been able to study because of my head and everything else I have to do. So right now I have tons of homework to do and all I want to do is cry. Well that's my rant for now sorry to bore everyone but that's whats going on. Keep me in your prayers, especially with my schooling (I need it). On a positive note Blaine has been listening a lot better and behaving which makes me extremely happy(I hope I didn't just jinx myself by saying that)!

2008-03-27T19:17:00.002-05:00

I am a
Petunia

What Flower
Are You?

You are a tried and trusted friend who will be there for your friends when they need you. But you have a tendency to be nervous about doing things that go against the norm.

The things he says...

2008-03-22T14:11:00.004-05:00

It amazes me what little kids think and say. Yesterday was a "Mommy and Blaine adventure day" which consists of getting errands done and also doing things with Blaine so it's a win win situation for the both of us. So I take Blaine yesterday to get his tux tried on for the wedding and while we are in the dressing room I told him "See Blaine you get to wear a tux like Dustin and Uncle Jake"... "Uncle Jake is getting married too!" "no buddy, Dustins is going to wear a tux and so is Uncle Jake and you get to wear a tux too. And Chloe is going to wear a pretty dress.." "I'm going to marry Chloe!" "No, No buddy, you get to carry a pillow with mommy and Dustins rings on it and Chloe gets to put pretty flowers on the ground." "Oh, ok."

Well I'm glad we got that cleared up before the wedding because I have a feeling I would have had a devastated three year old when he realized he wasn't marring Chloe that day.

Notice the high waters!

This weekend

2008-03-17T20:36:00.003-05:00

This weekend was a busy one. Friday Blaine went to his friend, Mason's birthday party. It was a rock star themed and Blaine and all the kid had a blast! So now Blaine is insisting that his birthday party be a rock star party like Mason's. So I don't know what I'm going to do.

After the party I went and meet my sister, and a few of her friends at Gemaca because Jill was in town for the weekend. I love going to Gemaca they have great food.

On Saturday I went to Olive Garden with my friend Trinity. I had a great time. It was so nice to get out of the house and enjoy sometime with a dear friend. (thanks Trin, it meant a lot!) Hopefully some of us girls can start getting together once in a while and do something or even nothing at all. I really enjoy getting together with the girls!

SNOW!!!

2008-03-08T14:25:00.008-06:00

I think everyone around here is ready for spring. I don't mind winter staying just a bit longer as long as there is a little snow on the ground. I have been waiting all year for snow but all we seem to get is ice. So for me the snow has cheered me up a bit since I have had a rather emotional and challenging week. I am a little dissappointed that the two things I had to do today got cancelled. So no ultrasounds at the clinic and I won't be cheering my little brother on at their regional game today. (the team we were set to play didn't want to drive in the snow however we got a lot more snow than they did) So monday we will be off to cheer the braves on and hope to win a regional championship. But an upside for the day is this is the first year that I have gotten to play with Blaine in the snow. So first thing this moring my brother thought it was funny to come and jump on me to wake me up (which I was already awake) So my brother comes in my rooma and bounces on me and says "get up, get up lets go play in the snow!" My brother is so funny when it snows because its like he is a little kid and he gets all excited about the snow. So my brother, Blaine and I all got ready and went out to played in the snow. I had a blast, I haven't gotten to play in the snow for several years and I must admit I'm almost as bad as my brother when it comes to the snow! So here are a few pics of the fun we had this morning.

Everyone of us kids has wore that FS hat!
Blaine and his 4th Snow angel.

Blaine Burying Uncle Jake Blaine and Uncle Jake

Random Posting

2008-03-04T21:54:00.006-06:00

So it's been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything so this will be a random posting.

The weeks have been so hectic with school, Blaine and trying to get everything together for this wedding. GESH, I am exhausted! So I'm in the process of putting together the wedding invitation, and I will be ecstatic when there done. So far they look good and I am excited to get them done and out of my sight. LOL It will be one more thing done and five hundred to go.

This past weekend I spent most of my time at Wood Memorial High School watching my brother play their sectional basketball game. The did advance to the final game and ended up winning their sectional by over 30 points. GO BRAVES! That is now 10 sectional titles in a row!!!! How awesome is that. So that mean this weekend we will be off to regionals. I am hoping they play good and win!

Sunday, I spent most of the day studying for a big test which by the way did not pay off at all, I ended up bombing the test on Monday. Which part of the problem was trying to study with a migraine headache and congestion. Not to mention I made the mistake of putting my purse under my desk during the test and with the last ten questions my phone rang twice. I looked up at the clocked when this happened and realized that it was A) either Blaines preschool teacher calling to tell me my brother hadn't picked him up yet or B) it was my brother telling me he was in a wreck with Blaine (and why we always think the worst of things I don't know but I did). So to make a long story short a missed most of the last ten questions on the test because I was worried about Blaine and my brother (which wouldn't really have matter if the phone had or hadn't rang I still would have missed most of those questions). And the phone calls were Blaines teacher and everything was okay.

So today I took Blaine to preschool which is one of the things I love doing. When I pick him up from preschool I always ask him "how preschool was?" and the most important question, "did you get in trouble at preschool today?" which it doesn't really matter if I ask or not a lot of the time he avoids the question. I usually know if he has been bad if he response is "let's talk about it later" or "I don't want to talk about it right now." However the conversation went something like this:

"what did you do at preschool today?"

I made an octopus.

WOW that's really neat. Did you listen to Mrs. Phillips today?

Yes, I did.

Now Blaine, did you get into trouble at preschool today?

I was just a little, little, little bit good.(blaine squinting his eyes, and showing me with his fingers what a little bit is)

Well does that mean you were a lot of bit bad. (which I try not to ask him if he was good or bad becuase I don't want him to think that he is bad so I don't want to place a stigma on him but sometimes I forget how I word my questions and I feel horrible after I ask them becuase I don't want Blaine or any child to think they are bad)

NO I was a little bad.

Now Blaine if I called Mrs. Phillips and asked her if you were good or bad what would Mrs. Phillips tell me.

She would say that I was good but a little bit bad.

Well what did you do that was bad.

I ran and hit my head on Rileys and I had ice on my eye.

Ohh, Well you know that your not suppose to run inside.

I know mommy, I'm sorry,I won't run again.

I know that I shouldn't be so hard on Blaine all the time but I have taken care of kids and I have always said that my child is going to be disciplined and listen and that I don't want my kid to be labeled as the bad kid and really I don't believe any child is a bad kid; Blaine is sweet and his a typical three year old but sometimes I forget that he is just three years old and expect to much from him at times. So I've been working on realizing that even though Blaine acts older than his age that he really is just three and accepting that he isn't going to listen all the time and his going to test my patience over and over and over. So there is my mommy rant for the day LOL.

Blaine went to his dad's tonight. When he got home he wanted to play a game so he decided he wanted to play Memory. Which by the way my mom thinks I let Blaine find most of the matches which isn't really true. Blaine is really good at remembering where things are and the majority of the time if I know where a match is I will get it and not let him win intentionally. And like most times we play we both end up with about the same number of matches. SO after an in depth memory game I put Blaine to bed and we got to read one of the library books we got last week then we read our Bible and just like every night he begged me to do my homework in there which I said no because he would then stay up late finding something to talk to me about just so he can stay awake for a few more minutes.

Well I guess that's enough of the randomness for tonight and now its time to do the homework that I have been putting off for a few days now.

UGH ICE!

2008-02-22T10:57:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I was sent home from clinical at 9 due to the "winter storm" (when I think of winter storm I think LOTS of snow not ICE!) We all tried convincing our teacher just to let us stay and finish the day so we didn't have to come and make up the day but the college said we had to go home since they are liable for us. I wasn't really the happiest person, not that I didn't enjoy the day with Blaine and Dustin but I put in a lot of preparation for clinical and needless to say I don't like having to get up at 4 in the morning for nothing! So yesterday I came back to Dustins to get Blaine and well if you know what Dustins driveway looks like you'll understand that getting out of his driveway is a miracle to leave safely on a normal day throw ice into that equation and well it is impossible, so needless to say I am still stuck here today. Dustin however did manage to slide out of the drive way at 4:30 this morning to go to work. Blaine is getting restless being stuck inside. So for me that means my patience is running thin so I'm going to say a few prayers and think of a few things that Blaine and I can do around here (that doesn't include TV, which is all he wanted to do yesterday) I don't mind cold weather so much as long as there is snow on the ground. Sooo either come on snow or just let spring come!

pictures

2008-02-21T16:58:00.001-06:00

The past week

2008-02-16T22:05:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been meaning to start this blog for a long time and just have never done so I decided than what better time than now right? I guess I'll start of with this past week.

On Monday we got to leave work early because of the winter storm we got. When I picked Blaine up he complained of his arms and legs hurting. My first thought was great, he is getting the flu like everyone else had the week prior. I get him home, check his temperature... 102 okay give him Motrin (the best drug ever for kids). I check his temperature again 3 hours later in the midst of a Monopoly game and it was 104.2. I give him more Motrin I checked his vitals, being the student nurse that I am, and those weren't so good either. So I said a few more prayers because the only way I was going to get out of my house was to call an ambulance because the storm was so bad. I stayed up most of the night praying that his fever would go down so his heart rate would go down with it. On Tuesday his fever went down a little but it would go down then go back up after the Motrin wore off. So on Wednesday Blaine started vomiting then I realized, hey he only went to the bathroom twice yesterday. Then the realization hit me that he was dehydrated. So I tried making him drink and he refused because he knew everytime he would drink something it would come right back up so I called the doctor and we went to see her and she decided to admit him to the hospital (which I already knew they would do) So off to St. Mary's we went and the whole way there all Blaine could talk about how he did not want a shot. Now trying to explain to a 3 year old that they weren't getting a shot but they would have to have a needle was a little difficult but he seemed to rather have a needle than a shot. So when we got to his room he made sure he told every nurse that came in the room that he didn't want a shot but he was going to have a needle. Now it was time for that needle. Two nurses took Blaine to the treatment room to start his IV and draw some blood. I like that they do that so the kids don't associate their hospital room or the parent with getting an IV. Blaine came back with a tear stained face saying " look mommy I have a wolverine hand." I was so proud of him for getting the IV, I could hear him cry and the only reason he cried was because he was scared and he didn't really cry that loud either. When we got off the elevator one of the nurses heard him say that him and his mamwa were going to play Candyland so she brought the game down to our room for him. I thought that was so nice. Dustin and my mom came to visit baring gifts of course. Mamaw bought him his two movies that he wanted ( The Aristocats and Snow Buddies) and 2 cars. We all played Candyland for a while then Blaine decided he was tired so he took a nap. My sister came by with Deerhead pizza ,which was awesome. So the next day (Valentines Day!) a woman who plays the harp for people who are in the hospital came in and played for Blaine. She even let him play the harp with her. As they were doing that another nurse came by and asked to take a picture because they were doing a project on distraction techinques with children. So here are a couple of pictures she took.

So later that day we got to go home. While Blaine is doing better he has seemed to pick up a cold.