Ten Months Old

Happy birthday, baby boy! Luke would be 10 months old today. I can't believe that it was ten months ago today that we learned our baby boy had a severe CHD. So much has changed since our angel was born: watching him fight through a major surgery and its recovery, being home with him, losing him, learning that we had another miracle on the way, moving and leaving our family and friends, making new friends, finding out we were having another boy and then finding out he also has an issue...through all of this, we have tried to keep one thing constant: prayer. I have always felt that Tommy and I were prayerful people, but we have never relied on God as much as we have these past 10 months. And I have to say that it has been wonderful. It has been so good for me to be able to ask God to take away my worry and anxiety. Do I still get nervous abut ultrasounds? Yes. Do I still worry constantly about James and his omphalocele? Yes. Do I believe that God will always take care of our family? YES! The past ten months have taught me to trust in God more than ever and I thank Him for that gift.

Below is a picture I meant to send out weeks ago. My parents went to visit Luke at the cemetery in December and brought him a special present: his own Christmas tree. We are so thankful that others can visit Luke as it is very difficult for us to deal with the fact that we cannot visit him. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for this kind gesture for our baby. I know he thinks his Christmas tree is the coolest ever!


On the James front, we had another ultrasound today (we are now going every two weeks). Everything is stable and there were no changes. His heart looked beautiful and everything else checked out. His omphalocele is stable and his growth is good. He weighs about 4 pounds 2 ounces, although we will never be able to get a perfect weight as part of his insides are on the outside (to put it bluntly). The doctor said that we just need to focus on a room color, which made us feel good (he has told us this before). He only spent about five minutes with us, which we also look at as a good sign. James passed his biophysical profile (BPP) within the first ten minutes, which also made us happy. As you can see, we have no pictures as James decided to keep both hands in front of his little face. One hand kept opening and closing as if he was waving at us. He is a little stinker! I see my regular OB tomorrow and will see the perinatalogist in two weeks. As always, we appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.

We hope that you all have a wonderful week. Thank you for checking up on us. God bless you all!

Christmas in Review...

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone! I know, it's a little late, but I have never been known to be on time--just ask Tommy. We had a very busy Christmas here at home. Nana (Tommy's mom) came to visit and we had a great time. To say that this was the most difficult Christmas we have faced would be an understatement. Of course we missed our angel Luke so much. This time last year, we were filled with hope, expecting another baby girl (note: if you recall, Luke was a "girl" for TWO ultrasounds), and looking forward to 2008. Little did we know that we not only had a boy on our hands, but a boy who was quite sick (but also very strong). As we have said throughout this journey, Luke brought so much love and strength to our family. We would not be the same without him. This Christmas, we are once again filled with hope, expecting another one of God's miracles, and looking forward to the year ahead. Tommy and I were eager to welcome 2009 and all of the blessings it will bring. We had our good friends, Jacque and Rich, and their three kiddos visit for the New Year. Rich and Jacque introduced us, so we are very thankful to have them as friends. We had fun doing "old people" things like playing board games and reminiscing about high school and college. I even pulled out our old yearbooks! Here are some pictures of the past few weeks:

Emily and Matthew before Mass on Christmas Eve

Me and Tommy before Mass

Tommy and Nana before Mass

I know it's a dark video, but I thought the kids looked cute throwing out reindeer food for Rudolph and his friends. We mixed oatmeal and sugar crystals so that the reindeer could see the food from the sky. This is a tradition that the kids love!

We took Nana to see the ducks at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis. It was a fun time!

These are a few new pics of Sweet Baby James at 30 weeks, 2 days. James is still growing well and is at the 46% for size. We are feeling so thankful and so blessed that he is doing so well with his growth. Although the omphalocele is staying stable (thank you, God!), the perinatalogist thought that he saw a little liver in there, so we are praying that this is not the case. ***As a side note, the tech said it was still only small bowel*** We are feeling more confident that the omphalocele is all that we will be dealing with and I am constantly thankful to God for giving me moments of peace that all will be ok with our little boy. I feel so selfish for always asking for prayers, but I know that they work and that God is hearing them, so please keep them coming! We are still praying for a miracle and that the omphalocele will go away--we do believe in miracles!!!! We are also still praying for no chromosomal issues, no growth in the omphalocele, continued growth for James, and that only the small bowel remains. Thank you, in advance, for your prayers! PS...I love the pic of James sucking his thumb--he was also sticking his tongue out at the kids when they were in the ultrasound room!

BIG NEWS! Emily had a huge day today...after growing it out for 1 1/2 years, Emily cut her hair today. She is donating it to Locks of Love and is so happy that she will be able to help another child who is sick. We are so proud of our little girl and we think she looks just fabulous with her stacked cut! Above is Emily's before picture.

During...my eyes got a little teary!

Our beautiful big girl after. She can't wait to show off her new 'do at school on Monday!

Once again, thank you for your constant thoughts and prayers. We are so blessed to have people like you all who check up on us and who pray for our family. God bless you all and we hope that you have a happy and blessed New Year!