Hospital Visit

We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 this morning. Brody was excited to get up early and go see the doctor (although for some reason he kept telling me we were going to see the eye doctor?!) In true Brody style, he would go mute as soon as a nurse would enter our curtained off room and then talk 90 to nothin' as soon as they left. I think a few of them stood outside the curtain and listened to him talk.

When we arrived Brody got to put on a handsome, hospital gown along with some socks that were about 10 times too big. The socks had non-skid grips on both sides of the sock.

The doctor had to perform an emergency procedure during Brody's scheduled surgery time, so the nurses brought us some bubbles to help pass the time. Brody loved trying to pop every bubble that Mike blew.

Gotta love backless hospital gowns. They provide great air conditioning for watching tv.

As time passed, Brody began to complain more and more about being hungry and thirsty. We were only able to distract him so much with bubbles and books, then we just had to hold and comfort him while he worried about his aching belly.

The colonoscopy went by pretty fast. Before we knew it we were called to the consultation room to meet with the doctor. He told us that Brody did great and that everything looked good in Brody's colon (don't worry, I'll spare you the pictures he sent us home with. yuck!) He thinks that time will heal Brody's intestinal issues. As his muscles strengthen, the prolapse will resolve itself. For the next 6 months he'll have to take a stool softener every day, but hopefully after that he won't have any more issues!!

Brody was excited to see us when we arrived in the recovery room. He was even more excited when the nurse brought in a rainbow popsicle! He finished one and asked her for another one. Then he asked her for something to drink and drained the Gatorade in seconds!

We left the hospital with instructions to take it easy today and to start slow with liquids/foods. I'm following those instructions since I DON'T want the unpleasant side effect of vomit from re-introducing foods too quickly!!

Brody didn't let Mike forget the promise of a new toy for good behavior at the hospital. They stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home. Mike said he walked up and down the toy aisle and told Brody he could pick out anything he wanted (sounds kinda risky to me!!) Mike was super excited when Brody picked Lincoln Logs (even over dart guns)! Mike has been itching to play with these (he had some as a boy) but I didn't think that Brody was old enough yet. Guess I was wrong. They started putting them together while I made Brody some lunch. I'm not sure who was having more fun...Brody or Mike!

I'm so thankful that we made it thru today (and the past 3 days). I'm even more thankful to find out that time will heal Brody and that he shouldn't need any surgery! He was so good today and we were both so proud of our little boy.

Prep Day

We made it thru the day! There were a few hours where I questioned if we would make it to bedtime today.

Why was today so hard? Well, tomorrow Brody is having a colonoscopy. That means that he was on a clear liquid diet today. That's not fun for anyone...but it's especially hard for a two year old who doesn't understand why! All he knows is that he's hungry and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sounds good. I told him that he can have a PB&J tomorrow after he takes his nap at the hospital. He responded with, "Can we go to the hospital now?" Brody is typically a very happy child. Today he spent from 7:30 am to 1:15 pm crying. It started when I told him he couldn't have a poptart or milk for breakfast. He and Barrett (who's also normally very happy) took turns crying all morning. I think Brody wore himself out and by 1:15 he fell asleep on the couch. When he woke up from his nap he was a much happier little boy. He even drank the laxative without crying today (kids drink it for 3 days prior to surgery rather than just the day before like adults do).

Thankfully we have an early morning appointment tomorrow (I don't know if I could take a whole day where he couldn't eat OR drink). I'm so thankful that we made it thru today and am praying for a peaceful day tomorrow. Brody picked out a stuffed deer (that Erin gave him) and cameo jeep to take to the hospital with him. Please pray that he'll have peace tomorrow and that the procedure will go smoothly.

Namaw and the Boys (as told by Daddy Steve)

Joan and I were happy to babysit for Mike and Staci this Thursday and Friday night. Joan even dressed like Barrett for the occasion! Don't they look cute together?

Brody convinced Namaw to throw the football a few times and Barrett must have thought they were playing keep-away- from Barrett - see the look on Barrett's face.

It was cold when Staci brought the boys to our house and they were dressed with warm hats on. Barrett looked cool!

Brody was ready to hunt deer at our house. He brought his gun.

Amazing Birthday Date

Tonight Mike took me out for a date! Daddy Steve and Namaw watched the boys for us (THANK Y'ALL!) so that we could go out and celebrate my 29th birthday (which is tomorrow). We dressed up and headed to Sundance Square (downtown Fort Worth). Since Mike works down there, we were able to park in his work parking garage for free! Then we walked a few blocks over to Del Frisco's.

Del Frisco's is a VERY NICE steak restaurant! You know you're entering a nice restaurant when there's a sign out front that says, "Proper Attire Required"! Mike made reservations ahead of time so we were immediately seated upstairs at a table for two. I have never been waited on like we were waited on at this restaurant. I didn't feel like the staff was hovering, but they anticipated all our needs before we even realized them ourselves! I was taken by complete surprise when our main waiter cleared our salad dishes and then proceeded to pull a tool out of his pocket with which he scraped all the bread crumbs off the table leaving a perfectly clean table cloth! I asked him if he'd come to our house and clean my table after the boys finish eating. He said he'd come if I'd put him on payroll and if I had a table cloth on our table. He said there's something therapeutic about the scraping of his tool against the table cloth! lol. Mike and I ordered the steak for two and it was DELICIOUS!!! Expensive (but that was ok since this was my birthday present)...but so worth it! I've never had a steak that juicy before! Not only was the food and service great, it was wonderful to spend some time eating with just my hubby. There weren't any interruptions from the boys...just adult conversation with my love! So much fun!

After dinner we walked around Sundance Square. We could tell a cold front was moving into Fort Worth because the wind was whipping around the buildings and the temperatures were dropping. We decided to stop at Starbucks and sat out on the patio drinking coffee, talking, and watching the different people walk by.

I love Mike so much and am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life by his side. I especially enjoyed our time together tonight. Thanks for a wonderful birthday date, honey!

Walkin' to Work

We decided to brave the cold and walk to work the other morning. I loaded up our double stroller with 2 boys, 2 blankets, a huge diaper bag (with all the day's necessities), Brody's camera, and a rifle (Brody's rifle that he needed to take so he could hunt for deer at Daddy Steve and Namaw's house). See if you can find Barrett in the picture below...

I didn't have time to look for Brody's stocking cap this morning, so I just let him wear mine. It kept him nice and warm. He even warmed up his face a few times by pulling the cap all the way down on his head (it covered his whole face)!

***In a side note to the post below***

FYI: I DO feed Barrett! lol. He still nurses five times a day (Brody was down to 4 times a day by 5 months!) He also has rice cereal, oatmeal, and lots of different baby foods. You can only force a baby to eat so much! Babies just grow at different rates. I've seen lots of times where the small baby becomes the BIGGER, younger brother! Watch out Brody...it may not last!!

'lil guy

This past Friday I took Barrett to the doctor for his 6 month appointment (only a few weeks late). He's still at 50% for his height (27"), but he's now less than 3% for weight (down from a whoppin' 5%)! Our 'lil guy weighed in at 13 lbs 15 oz! I was a little surprised since Mike and I both thought he was starting to chub up (he has a double chin now and has finally developed some rolls on his arms and legs). I think the main reason for his low weight is his activity level. Brody started crawling at 8 months and had a dip on his growth chart for weight at his 9 month appt. The dr said that most babies have a dip around 9 months (since the normal time to start crawling is between 7-9 months). Barrett has been army crawling all over our house since he was about 5 months old. I think he just hit the growth chart dip a little early. If our little guy is less than 3% for weight...it kinds scares me to think about what 100% looks like!!!

Sliding

Last night PR Black played a double header. Unfortunately, they lost both games...but at least they were lots of fun to watch! Mike had several great plays. As you can see in the picture below, he had to slide head first to keep from getting an out.

He also flipped over the fence a few times and saved a hit from becoming a home run! (I'm sure there are lots of mistakes in my softball commentary vocab...just know that I have a lot of fun watching them play even if I don't know how to explain what happened in the game! What can I say. I may have worked for a rec commission for almost 8 years, but I always delegated and had other people supervise/officiate the games! lol)

Brody alternated between watching the game and playing his own game of softball with Daddy Steve.

He was excited when the games were over because this meant he could hang out with Daddy!

Alaskan Friend

Today I got to go to lunch with my friend, Jenny. We were in the youth group together and even went to ACU together. After she got married she moved to Alaska with her husband. This was the first time we've gone out for lunch in about 10 years! It was so fun to catch up with each other. I'm so glad that she's blogging now so that I can keep up with what's going on in her life. I look forward to getting together again the next time she comes into town!

Winter Ball

Mike's softball team decided to play winter ball this year. The first games were last Monday night. Brody was excited to go watch Daddy, Caleb, and Josh play. He took an empty paper towel roll as his "yelling stick". This way they could hear him say, "Go Daddy! Hit it! Yes!!"

When it was Daddy's turn to bat, Brody stood at the fence and watched.

Then he turned around and said, "Is that a GIRL playing baseball? Girls don't play baseball!"

I told him that Daddy's playing softball and that girls can play softball (although I thought this was a men's league...so I'm not sure why the other team had 1 girl playing with them). He just said, "Ok" and then turned back around to watch Caleb hit the ball.

They won their first game. They have a double header tonight (6:30 and 7:30). You better believe that Brody will be there cheering them on!

Night at the Park

A few weeks ago we had a day of amazing weather. It was the end of December and the temperatures were in the 70's! We put on our shorts and t-shirts and headed to the park. We decided to ride our bikes to add some excitement to the adventure. Mike put Brody in the backpack, I put Barrett in the front carrier and we were off. Brody was so excited to get to the park and climb all over the playground equipment. Mike and Barrett spent some time bonding while I went down the slide with Brody.

I tried to get a picture of the boys on a cute little bench under the slide...but this is how they all looked!!! lol

I had to settle for one of just me and Barrett.

When it was almost dark, we headed for home. Then it was bath time. Brody loves that Barrett is old enough to take a bath with him! They have a lot of fun splashing together.

We had a lot of fun that evening. Even though Mike really misses the cold winters of Kansas, I'm kinda enjoying having 70 degree weather in the winter mix!

Pictures from Kansas

I only took a few pictures while we were in KS and 98% of them were of the babies! They were a source of joy to everyone that week.

Barrett & Jayden "sleeping" on the waiting room floor our first night there. (Proof that even at 2:00 am Barrett fought sleeping on the floor...wanting to go sleep in the pack-n-play at the hotel.)

The only time I had both boys sleeping. Barrett's in the sling and I'm holding Jayden above Barrett (trying not to rest him on Barrett)!



Barrett playing on the floor of our private waiting room.

Uncle Mike holds a sleepy Jayden.

Barrett's excited to be at Grammy's house where he has more room to crawl around!

Uncle LH lets Barrett try on his cowboy hat.

Jayden taking a nap on our hotel bed. It was nice to not have to worry about him rolling/crawling off the bed!

Breaking and Entering

I just had to post these pictures. Mark, Angela, Mike, and I went over to Jim's house on Tuesday night to check things out. We ran into a little problem. The keys on his key chain didn't open his house! (We later discovered that his house keys were inside sitting on a table.) After checking all the windows (and looking for a hidden key in the dark without a flashlight), we called the landlord. He didn't have an extra key and suggested calling the local cop for assistance in breaking in. Can you believe that it took over an hour for the cop to show up (we were in a town with a population of 1,500 max!) When he arrived he just laughed and said, "I don't have special "breaking into a house" tools!" His flashlight did come in handy as we tried to break in thru the window that held the air conditioning unit.

Here's what you couldn't see in the first picture. Mike was holding Angela's legs as she tried to shimmy in thru the window beside the ac unit! Thank goodness for little sister-in-laws!!

Family

Do you have family that you haven't seen in years? We hadn't seen Jim's side of the family (besides Grandma K) in YEARS...and many of them I'd never met (which is really sad since we've almost been married for 10 years now!)

Cody, Maggie, Mark, Charlie, Dick (Jim's brother), Bill, Francis, Barb, Roger, Angela, Jayden, Mark, Grandma K, Mike, Bloatz, Staci, Janie, Grammy, & Barrett

I thought that Grandpa B and Uncle LH looked so handsome in the boots and cowboy hats!

Bloatz and Janie (Grandma K's sisters) got to see Barrett for the first time when they came to visit Jim in the hospital.

8 months ago

Dad asked Mom and me to come upstairs. He was standing in the bathroom by the sink. When we walked into the room he said, "Dad died this morning." I remember standing there with tears streaming down my face as I watched Mom hug Dad (knowing that she understood his loss). Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that 8 months later (to the day) I'd be standing in a hospital room hugging Mike as we cried over the bed where Jim's body laid. We're too young to lose a parent!

Last Sunday, Angela called to tell us that we needed to get to Wichita. We were driving around after church (looking at houses) when she called. We rushed to Daddy Steve and Namaw's house where we dropped off Brody (he isn't old enough to visit Jim in the ICU and we didn't think that he'd enjoy a hospital waiting room for days on end). Then it was home to pack the car. We were on the road within an hour. The trip to Kansas has never gone by so fast for me. I think our minds were very busy as I don't think we've ever made that trip in so much silence. In my mind I was trying to come up with all kinds of different outcomes to the situation my father-in-law was in. I didn't want to think about what would happen if he died...even though I knew that was a strong possibility. I thought about the fun times that we had when they lived out on the farm...fishing in the pond, hunting in the shelter belt, learning how to swing a golf club, watching Mike and Jim fly their RC helicoptors together, etc. Mike and I lived with Jim & Nancy for 2 months almost 8 years ago (while waiting for our apartment to become available), so we spent a lot of time with them at their farm house. As we drove towards KS, I couldn't help but think about how much Jim loves his grandkids and (even though the relationship wasn't the best) how much we love him.

We arrived in Wichita on Sunday evening in time for the 9:00 pm visiting hour. When we got the hospital, the nurse asked for at least 1 of us to stay with him thru the night (that's how critical she thought he was). Angela and Mike stayed with Jim in his room while I watched Jayden and Barrett in the waiting room. Finally around 4 am Mike and I headed back to the hotel to get a little sleep (Barrett wasn't sleeping in the waiting room and he needed to sleep).

Monday was a fairly good day. Jim's breathing seemed a little less labored than it had on Sunday night and we were able to have a few conversations with him. He told us many times that he loved us and was able to open his eyes and look at us a few times. It was very difficult to see him in his condition, but we were so glad that we made it in time to talk with him. Monday night Nancy and Grandma K stayed at the hospital and Angela, Mike, the boys, and I went back to the hotel to sleep.

Around 5 am on Tuesday morning Jim's blood pressure decreased dramatically. It was down to 65 over 35. Mike and Angela sat with him for a while that morning and then Grandma K sat with him for a while. Just as I was about to go back to his room with Mike, the nurse bust into the door of our private waiting room and said, "Come quick. He's dying!" Angela and I asked if we could bring the babies with us (otherwise we couldn't all go) and she said that was fine...but we should hurry. Mike, Angela, Nancy, Grandma K, Barrett, Jayden, and I rushed down the halls of the ICU towards his room. We arrived just as he flat lined. In a way, it was a relief. He wasn't laboring for every breath anymore. He wasn't moaning in pain anymore. We no longer had to worry about when the moment of death would come. It was here. Along with the relief came mourning. It was so final. Never again would we hear his voice say our name or hear him say, "Love you guys!"

As tears streamed down my face, I wrapped my arms around my grieving husband and tried to comfort him. Jim was only 56 years old. Way too young to die. Not only will he miss so much of our lives...we will miss having him in ours.

Goodbye Grandpa Jim

Today is the funeral for Mike's dad. It's going to be a tough, long, emotional day. When trying to pick some music for the service, we decided to see if we could get Daddy Steve to record Brody singing Jesus Loves Me. I doubt there will be a dry eye in the chapel when we play this song.

Grandpa Jim

Jim passed away at 11:19 am yesterday (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)

___

I'll post funeral details when we decide on them.

Pray

It's been a rough few days. Mike's dad is in ICU in Wichita and the outlook is very grim. The doctors are telling us we just have a few days left with him. Please keep our family in your prayers. I'll post more when time allows.