doing good

Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Emory saw her pulmonologist again today for the last RSV vaccination of the season. She weighs 10lbs and is doing very well. She got a great report; lungs sound very good, and the noise she makes breathing is caused by a little problem with her trachea which should resolve by her sixth month. We continue to be advised to keep her out of public places and away from children for about 4 more months. PJ's constant care and guarding of Emory has led to her good health and we are ever thankful to the Lord for His mercy towards us.

Emory has been in Mexico for over a month which is the main reason for her parents lack of updates on this page. We continue to explore ideas to have better internet service in Burgos.

Trinity and Micah are doing well and are wonderful big sisters. They are not able to interact as much as they'd like with Emory, but that day will come. We are good and getting back into the work in Burgos. It is taking new shapes and forms with three girls and we are enjoying the process of reworking schedules and plans.

Thank you for your prayers and support. You are a blessing to us.

bien grande

Emory had an appointment today with the pulmonologist. Matt took her while I stayed behind with Trinity and Micah. We figured that would work best since one of us would have to stay in the waiting room anyway with the big girls. This way, Trinity could get her homeschool done, and Micah could have a little more freedom.

Emory was five weeks old yesterday. She weighed in today at the doctor at a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces. Wow! She has grown so much. She really has great color and is filling out a lot. The doctor said she was really healthy looking and her lungs sounded great. She received her RSV vaccination for this month, and we are good to go! Though we were cautioned to continue washing our hands before we touch her and keep her away from children, we were given the go ahead to travel to Mexico. We plan on leaving this afternoon!

We will be going for an initial trip to take several donated items and get our feet wet again. We are looking forward to being able to spread out a little and be back in our own beds! We will be back and forth to the Valley a few times in the coming weeks for appointments and to transport donations.

due date

My due date is finally here! February 18, 2008. Instead of just beginning the laborious process of giving birth, we are celebrating Emory’s first month of life.

On Valentine’s Day, Matt brought us to a little place at South Padre Island to celebrate our family. The weather was mostly beautiful. On Friday Emory turned one month old, and Matt’s parents joined us that evening. While Emory spent most of the time indoors, the big girls enjoyed a visit to a sea life research center and the turtle rescue center, as well as Italian Ice Cream and a few visits to the beach.

Trinity and Micah had great fun digging in the sand and running away from the high tide. The highlight was a giant beached jellyfish discovered by Matt’s mom but enjoyed by all. We embarrassed Matt as we tried desperately for 20 minutes to save the creature by kicking him out to sea. In the end, Matt departed so he couldn’t be associated with us, and the jellyfish ended up stuck until the sea life rescue people came. Though we never saw them and don’t really think they came, we would like to believe that he is now enjoying a comfy salt water tank with Nemo and Dori.

This week we will see the pulmonologist for a follow-up visit to receive Emory’s RSV vaccination. After this we plan a short trip back to Mexico to take a few things and slowly get back into our normal life. We are so blessed by Emory’s growth and the health of the big girls. Everyone has made it this far into flu season without illness. For this we are thrilled. God has taken such good care of us.

early valentine

This week has been great. We have had incredible weather with many trips to the playgrounds in the area. Of course one of us takes turns staying at the apartment with Emory. We have been attempting to develop some sort of schedule that works for us which usually involves removing Micah aka “Destructo Girl” from the apartment while Trinity does home school. The quarters are tight, so it is difficult for Trinity to concentrate when Micah is throwing Trinity’s abacus or attacking her beloved canine. Other than that we are slowly getting into the swing of having three children.

Emory continues to grow and has begun filling out a lot in her face. Her little bottom is no longer skin and bones. She is still wearing the Newborn diapers, but they actually fit her now. She is so precious. Just like her big sisters. Each stage is so different and wonderful, and we are so blessed to have the cautious, perfectionist, mature 6 year old and the free-spirited, headstrong, humorous almost 2 year old to go along with the angelic, mostly sleepy one month old on Friday. How amazing God is to give us this life.

There are no appointments in the next few days, so we look forward to not seeing any doctors until next Wednesday when Emory will receive an RSV vaccination. Then another appointment with my OB/Gyn on the 27th . This will be my six week postpartum checkup! Hard to believe…the time passes too quickly.

Thank you for all your continued prayers for our family. It is obvious that people are sending special requests to heaven for our comfort and safety. We feel very loved.

wait on the Lord and He will fight for you

Tuesday, February 5, 2007 we celebrated Emory’s 3rd week of life on the Earth and 38th week of being created. We visited the Pediatric Lung Specialist this day. At 5 pm we entered the office of Dr. Roberto Ayers (yes, a lung specialist, not spelled, but sounding like Dr. Airs.) We were met with the hacking cough of another child and promptly asked if we could wait in the car until our turn to be seen. The receptionist very cordially heeded our request, which began a wonderful relationship with this office. Upon entering, we learned Emory had exceeded her birth weight by several ounces. After two very nice nurses asked questions and checked her over, we met Dr. Ayers. We are so blessed to have such incredible medical professionals to bounce our concerns off of. Dr. Ayers reviewed Emory’s chest x-ray from last week and determined she has tracheal malasia (I am sure this is spelled wrong) in addition to the bronchiopulmonary disorder (another bad spelling.) Though both of these conditions sound serious, we were actually pleased to find out that she will grow out of them, and they are quite benign. Her trachea is enlarged which often causes her to look like she is having labored breathing (hence the chest retractions but no lack of oxygen.) The other disorder just means that her little lungs were forced to breathe regular air when they were not ready. He said her lungs looked very hazy which was caused by all the lung issues she had when born and in the NICU. This, too, will correct itself over time.

We were given instructions to wash our hands constantly and keep her out of public places or places where many people will be. The main key is to keep her well until she is at least 6 months old. He informed us that any illness that a normal person gets could turn very serious for Emory and would warrant a hospital stay. We were instructed about breathing treatments with a nebulizer. Also mentioned was the fact that she should be quarantined until she is over 10 pounds and not taken in public (supermarkets, restaurants, children’s birthday parties, church, or anywhere where there are several people or children) until she is 6 months old. Wow! We are the people who stopped off at Sam’s on the way home from the hospital with Micah. For us, this means a life change, which we are glad to do in order to keep her well and avoid another hospital stay.

Emory will see Dr. Ayers again on February 20th to receive an RSV vaccination and again at the end of March for the same. Then, of course, as needed if any issues should arise. In the meantime, we will take our lives day by day and make decisions on what comes next as things come up.

Trinity is doing well in her first grade home school and reading everything she can. No longer can we spell things we don’t want her to hear. Micah is busy, as Matt’s parents say, taking care of her own little world and harassing the dog. Emory is sleeping, eating, and spitting up…all the things little babies do. And Matt and I are taking turns sleeping (me more than him) and loving each other and our precious girls. This is life for now…

We did have special visitors yesterday and this morning. My brother returned from a 15 month tour in Iraq (I don’t think he really toured anything) less than a month ago. Yesterday, he and his wife Ali graced us with their presence and some great Starbuck’s cupcakes. We ate my burned lasagna and had a wonderful time visiting and playing and thanking God for returning him to us safely. I realized how blessed we are to have the medical care for Emory and the others that we do. Talking to Stoney really opened my eyes about all the little children who have no advocates and no help. Pray for the little children in Iraq—the innocent sufferers of all that is evil.

doing well

the weekend went great. emory did well. we are still keeping a close eye on her breathing, but she is getting stronger each day. we are enjoying watching the faces she makes and hearing the sounds we had forgotten come with a new born. emory has a pulmonologist appointment tuesday.

a good report

Today's appointment went well and Emory is breathing easier. It has been our prayer, remembering Jesus' words, "my yoke is easy and my burden is light". She showed improvement beginning last night.

For now, the doctor says her difficulties are most likely due to being a premature baby. Emory was called pre-term at the hospital due to her size and weeks of age. However, her lungs and nervous system are acting like a premie as we understand it. So she just needs time and to stay well.

We are again comforted by the care we are receiving. These weeks have shown us the difference a concerned, patient, and caring person can make, and what the opposite of that can do to you also. We have a plan from the doctor if Emory needs extra attention this weekend. We reviewed the symptoms we are looking to avoid in her breathing, but if she begins having them again, the plan is to admit her and avoid the ER. We are fully believing this is precaution and that we will rest and enjoy Saturday and Sunday.

Trinity and Micah are doing well for two little girls being carted from appointment to appointment and passing days in the car with videos and dad. They are familiar with the McDonald's, Chic-fil-A, and Burger King playgrounds, as well as two area parks. The hard thing for T is the distance she has to keep from the baby. In her words, "I could hold her all day and all night." - but she can't for now. There isn't a "difficult" thing for Micah...she continues to do as she pleases.

We are thankful for a foundation of faith and for family/friends. Thank you all and blessings to you.