Flying Colors

Well Brooks came out of surgery wonderfully. We arrived at the hospital right at 6:15 a.m. Lianna and Canaan spent the night across the street with their friends. Justin and Heather... Thank you so much for making this way easier on D and I. We are so blessed to have you two for neighbors.
After checking in at the nurses station, Brooks was weighed and measured, then we were shown to a patient room. Here we changed him into his hospital gown (he really didn't want to, but with a little coaxing we got it on). Not long after that a nurse checked his blood pressure and temperature, brought us a little bag of 'goodies' for him to play with, and then we waited. I guess at about 7:00 a nurse came in, gave Brooks a sedative and showed us to the OR holding area.
This is where my stress level and anxiety spiked. I actually had to excuse myself to the ladies room. Brooks was a champ though. We waited there for about an hour. The sedative made him kinda loopy. His eyes were very droopy and he was off balance. A sweet nurse came in and gave him the mouth piece for the anesthesia. It smelled like bubblegum and she explained to Brooks that they'd use it to blow up a balloon. Somehow he got that mixed up and kept talking about blowing bubbles with it. :)
I'm so thankful God brought many familiar faces by that morning. A friend and neighbor from church is a nurse anethesist and happened by while we were in holding. Our next door neighbor's son is a nurse as well, and he actually was the one to carry Brooks off to the OR. The president of the hospital came by as well. His daughter recently graduated high school and was in my bible study for 6 years. We also saw some sweet friends that apparently came by the hospital just to check on us. She was so thoughtful to offer to bring us dinner that night(and it was delicious!)
We waited in the OR waiting for about 30 minutes before the doctor came to give us a report. Everything went smoothly and Brooks was a champ. He said his adenoids were actually growing into his nasal cavity because they were so large. We waited maybe 20 minutes more before a nurse called and said Brooks was calling for me. Imagine me now, bolt out of my chair, leaving purse and bag behind and walk, Speedy Gonzales like, down the hall. I was so glad the nurse chose a quick pace as well (cause I didn't know where I was going).
When I walked in Brooks was crying and coughing and gaging and trying to crawl out of the hospital bed. I scooped him up in my arms, grabbed his blankey from the edge of his bed and sat in the chair a nurse brought for me. I spent the next ten minutes rocking and singing lullabies. Praise God he was consolable. He would cry and pull at his IV at times, but then he'd settle down into my chest and suck his thumb. When he 10 minutes were up, I carried him out of the Recovery Room where I met Darrell (carrying purse and bag... way to go D!) and we went back to the original Patient Room. There, I laid in bed with Brooks, we gave him a sippy cup of water/juice and he downed 1/2 of it in no time. The nurse then said she'd be right back to take out the IV. We hung out there for an hour, watching TV and calling friends and family while Brooks dozed off an on. Then we took our baby home.
He's been eating well and is staying hydrated. After these first two days, the pain should improve and I wont need to wake up at 1:30 a.m. to give him pain meds any more. Please pray he will continue to eat and drink and that I will be creative in finding yummy soft foods he can eat, and that I will be able to find quiet, easy fun things to do to keep him busy during the day. They don't want him running and jumping or over exerting himself for 2 weeks! Yikes! Don't they know what 2 year old kids are like?

You think we should... what?

My middle child, for as long as I can remember, has always gotten sick so much more easily than his sister and brother and always had really high temps when he was sick. I remember one year, he wasn't even a year old yet, and he started running 105 while we were in Houston visiting family. We took him to an emergency clinic and they couldn't find anything wrong. Ears and throat looked perfectly normal. In the last couple of months Brooks has been to the doctor at least once a month for 'something'. Most recently it was for another fever above 103.5 and some random low grade (101/102) temps off an on for 2-3 weeks. Does that make sense? I mean, he'd run a temp one day, and then be fine, and have a fever again 4 days later. This went on for about 2-3 weeks. His pediatrician noted his large tonsils, and swollen glands and mentioned that she'd made note of similar things happening earlier in the year. But still ears were fine, and no strep in his throat. Another unexplained high temp. Ugh

Well finally, we decided it was time to see an ENT. Don't you love it when nurses and doctors use adjectives? As parents we only ever see our own kids, so we don't have anything really to compare things against. So when we first walked into the nurses office/exam area and she noted that Brooks's tonsils were 'practically kissing back there' I thought... ooooh... that isn't good. We didn't have to wait long for the doctor to come in and give Brooks a once over. While discussing symptoms and asking questions the doctor described Brooks's adenoids using the word 'monstrous'. By this time, it was not a surprise to me that he thought we should have them taken out.

Brooks is 2.5 years old, but he is scheduled for his first surgery on Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:30 a.m. I'm sure if you're a mother, I don't have to tell you how incredibly nervous I am. This perfectly qualified anesthesiologist is going to put Brooks under, they will give him an IV, and then our new ENT is going to go down my son's throat and cut out pieces of his body. Then when he wakes up, I've been told to be prepared for some freaking out, screaming, and a child that cant be consoled. My guess is screaming and crying after throat surgery isn't a good thing, so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for all of this ahead of time.

What scares me the most, is putting myself into his shoes. How do you explain to a 2.5 year old that this doctor is going to take you away into a strange room and give you some silly air to breathe, then cut things out while you're asleep, and I'll be right by his side when you wake up. He's never been to this hospital... he's only seen this doctor and his nurse once, and I'm just not sure what I can do to make anything go more smoothly.

In the end, I know he'll be better for it. If I wasn't certain of that, we wouldn't have scheduled the surgery. He'll be healthier, eat better, probably fill out more, and have more energy after all this is over. Mommy just has to make it through Wednesday morning.

Last Firsts

We've been experiencing a lot of these with Canaan. Because he is our last child, I've been trying to make a point to really enjoy all of his accomplishments. When he first smiled, I realized that was the last "first smile" we'd ever have. The same when he first sat up, or rolled over (but not in that order). Well Wednesday was a very special day. We experienced our last set of first steps. Canaan finally found the confidence he needed to take his first steps. Any other time we'd tried to encourage this landmark ability, he'd just sit his little bottom down.

Darrell had the grand idea to stand Canaan up about 2-3 feet away, but facing the couch. When he let go of Canaan, instead of sitting, our little boy took 2-3 steps and reached the couch! It was a monumental moment with lots of cheering. We did it several times so Lianna and Brooks could experience it with us. We're all excited, but no one as much as Lianna. She knew we were waiting for Canaan to start walking before we take our family camping trip. It has therefore been scheduled for mid-October, and she cant wait. :D

Will add pictures or video as soon as I can capture this new skill on tape/CF card/or whatever.

Salt and Pepper

Is your marriage FireProof? D and I has an awesome privilege with a handful of Grace Bible Church ministry leaders to view a special pre-screening of the movie FireProof. It stars Kirk Cameron... remember him?... and was created by this mega church in Georgia and thousands of volunteers. Did you see Facing the Giants? Same church.

FireProof is going to be an awesome outreach tool, and an awesome way to open the door to conversations with friends and neighbors about Christ and his design for marriage. I'm so stoked about this... it's a great movie, the acting, well... there's been better, but it's great given ALL the cast were volunteers. All time favorite quote from the movie goes something like this... Being fireproof doesn't mean you'll never experience a fire, but that you'll be prepared for it when it comes.

This movie really does a great job on touching on real problems people experience, real sins people have to work through and real variety of advice you get from friends, both good and bad. It's a fight, but it is SO worth fighting! And this movie is SO worth seeing! It opens in theatres on September 26th.

What does this movie have to do with salt and pepper? You'll have to watch it to see. :D

Duplicate

I posted these on my business blog because, technically it was a 'shoot'. However, the client never paid, and the little girl photographed is mine. (wait, can I be my own client?) :) I took Lianna out Saturday morning because I wanted to remember her at 4 years old. I think I'm going to try to do this with all my kids. For every birthday we'll go somewhere fun and funky and try something new or just be together and take pictures. Just me and her/him. Well I dressed Lianna in a fun sassy outfit, and we went to the SFA parking garage! Ha! Like I said... something different. :D

My apologies to those who frequent my photog blog as well... these will be a repeat for you.

Now back to watching the olympics! I'm SO addicted.

New Additions

I'm so thrilled to announce that today, my brother and sister-in-law are in the hospital. :D Seems like an odd thing to say, but they're due to have their first child, a girl, within a few hours. This will be my very first neice (I have no nephews either) so I'm excited to be an aunt, and excited that Lianna, Brooks, and Canaan will have a cousin! They do however live in California, so we wont be seeing them much this year, but, there has been much talk of a move to Texas within the next year. Congratulations AJ and Stephanie, and welcome Audrey Marcella!

Open Mouth Insert Foot

For once, I'm not the one with the foot hanging out, but have been the recipient of a mouth+foot moment. Tonight D and I dressed up a little and went to church for the SOS Banquet. We enjoyed a crazy weekend where 8+ young men camped out on our living room floor for two nights. Lianna L-O-V-E-D it! I think she felt like the miraculously adopted 8+ big brothers. :D

Anyway, they closed the weekend with a banquet. D put on a nice button up collared shirt and I donned my most favorite baby doll dress. I call it that because it's very fitted around the chest, with lots of roushing (ok, have no idea how to spell that word but that's not the point) but it gives me a lovely full chested look. ;) The skirt poofs a little and hits me just below the knee, to hide a bit of a post baby pooch I'm still carrying.

An acquaintance approaches me (I really don't even know her name) at a table where I'm trying to keep my children occupied while we wait for dinner to be served and congratulates me. Um... thanks? She asks, is there something I should be congratulating you for? I say, um... no. Don't think so. Her response? Well... congratulations on looking so cute in that pretty dress. OMG! That conversation didn't just happen did it? I'm so mortified!

Wait... it gets worse.

Thirty minutes later, I'm waiting in line to get food for the children and a better acquaintance. One whose name I DO know, greets me in line and asks how I've been feeling. Confused, I say I've been great. Then she reaches out... oh yeah... you know where this is going... and pats my stomach and says she didn't know I was expecting. AAAAaaaaahhhh! I'm Not!

The rest of the evening is a depressing blur of replaying events over and over in my head, and snapping at my children for most anything. Ugh! I don't think I can ever wear my favorite dress again.

For a visual: I SO do NOT look pregnant!