three boys and a girl

It's a Girl!

2011-03-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Isabella Maria (named for her great-great Grandmother) was born on January 26. She weighed 8lb. 9oz. and is adored by her brothers (her mom and dad are a little smitten as well).

Easter pictures

2010-04-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

Praise God! We serve a risen Savior!!

Here are some pictures from today. We are so blessed!

The cutest boys ever!

2010-03-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Issac update

2010-03-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

Many of you have been asking about Isaac's health. It would be nice if I could say that he's completely healed and we don't have to bother with it anymore. The truth is, his health problems are going to be following him for the rest of his life, to some degree.

When Isaac was born he was diagnosed with galactosemia. He does not have sufficient liver enzymes to break down galactose. Galactose is a component of lactose and is therefore found in milk products, but it is also found in other foods such as carrots and apples. Children with this disease are never allowed to ingest galactose. If they do they will suffer brain damage and many other ailments until the toxins that have built up eventuallly cause liver damage and ultimately death. Before this disease was identified, children with this would have been diagnosed "failure to thrive" and would have died with no more of a diagnosis than that.

Thankfully, Isaac has a variant of the disease called Duarte Galactosemia. In his case he has 20% of the enzyme needed to break down galactose. The treatment for this is to have a diet free of galactose for the first year of life in order to allow the liver to develop. Then, at a year he was allowed to begin eating a diet containing galactose. We had his blood tested in order to find the level of toxins produced from the galactose not being broken down. His level was .95 with the acceptable level being up to one. This is higher than they wanted to see, but they do allow any number less than one. Becuase it's on the higher end he will have his blood tested again in May to make sure that he's still doing fine. Physically, we haven't noticed any affects. He eats well and doesn't show any reactions to any food so far.

When Isaac was 3 weeks old he was diagnosed with kidney reflux (the reflux of urine back up into the kidneys). When urine is infected it can cause kidney damage. The treatment for this is a prophylactic antibiotic until he had either outgrown it or has had surgery to repair it. It will take at least three years to for him to outgrow his stage 3-4 reflux. He just had an ultrasound of his kidneys to check for damage of which there was very slight damage (which was to be expected). He'll have another ultrasound when he turns two and then at three he'll have the test to see if the reflux is still there. At that point we will consider surgery to correct it if it is still bad enough. Because this is hereditary, Aiden and Josiah also had a kidney ultrasound to assess damage. Their kidneys looked perfectly healthy, indicating that they do not have kidney reflux, Praise the Lord!

So, despite all the things going on inside his little body, Isaac is a happy and normal little 16-month-old. He just started walking and talks constantly! We are so thankful for this little blessing in our lives!

Cleaning up the yard!

2009-12-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

Isaac's birthday

2009-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

My little guy turned one on November 5th!

He was happy to get packages from Aunt TT (my sister Terrasa) and Rado Bam (my mom).

He wasn't exactly thrilled with the cake. I can't say that I blame him (it was vegan).

He was super happy to get into his new carseat.

Happy Birthday my little sweetheart!!

Boo in the Zoo

2009-10-17T20:47:00.001-07:00

Pajama Party

2009-09-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

I love to sew for two reasons. One is that I can make things much cheaper than I can buy them. I think it's a pretty well-known fact that I'm ~~a cheapskate~~ thrifty. And the second is that I can make something exactly the way I want it. There's a lot of things that drive me crazy about store-bought clothes. I just like it done well.

So, when Sew Mama Sew decided to do a pajama sew-along this month I was ready. Not only did I want to make pajama pants for all my boys, but I had already bought the fabric. I was at Goodwill the other day and found the cutest striped fitted sheet...yes, a sheet. It was in great shape (actually it looked like it had never been used). So, I used the fabric for my boys pants and the elastic for the waistband. I estimate that I made these four pairs of pajama pants for about $3.50 (that would be $2.50 for the sheet and $.99 for the pattern - on sale at the fabric store). I also bought an adorable vintage sheet to make pants for me, but I didn't get those done. Something about having 3 boys and being sick for the last two weeks factored into that.

So, here's the sheet.

Here's the pattern.

And here's the end product.

Beach Boys

2009-09-28T05:27:00.001-07:00

Aiden was off of school on Thursday and Friday so we headed to the beach for a few days. I think Aiden would live at the ocean if he could. All he wanted to do was either be at the ocean or in the hot tub.
Josiah, however, did not care for the fact that the waves would not stop coming in. He kept looking for the button to make them stop. Every time a wave would lap at his feet, he would yell at it and tell it that it was making him crazy.
Isaac was such a good baby and he even took naps on the beach a few times.
We had a great trip!

The end of summer and back to school

2009-09-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Who has time for blogging when there so many fun things to go and do?? July was busy with Bible School and Aiden birthday. We went to Dollywood at the beginning of August and then came home to Josiah's birthday and a surprise visit from Bamaw!

I've come to realize that the end of July/beginning of August will be my busiest time of the year, with birthdays and the beginning of school. Aiden began school on August 17th. I'm substituting again this year and have already worked once at the Academy with four more days scheduled to work in September and October. I really enjoy subbing, especially at the Academy.

Isaac is really growing. He has his 9m appointment coming up and I'm looking forward to seeing his growth progress. He's starting to get really heavy and hard to carry! His eyes are still blue...yay! He is army crawling, but has yet to get up on all fours. That's what his brothers did, so I'm not too surprised. Isaac is such a happy baby and likes to giggle and clap. Of course, he loves his brothers and watches them in awe when they wrestle. I'm sure he can't wait to join in.

Here are a few pictures of the last few months. Now that we're back to a regular schedule, I hope to get even more sewing done. I look forward to that!

July 4th boys

2009-07-05T20:05:00.001-07:00

I love this picture. Josiah is making sure that his mouth is smiling big. Isaac is trying to figure out what's going on. And Aiden is making sure you can see the star on his shirt. I made these shirts for them to wear on the 4th and they were so proud of them.

Freedom, Give me Liberty, God Bless America

Look at my big boy sitting up!

2009-06-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Isaac is growing and doing new things every day. We are so blessed to have him in our home. He brings such joy to us. His big brothers love him so much and are so kind to him and help with him as much as they can. Aiden feeds Isaac his bottle and Josiah will go get diapers when it's time to change him. They love giving him toys and making him laugh. Saac has started giving slobbery, open-mouthed kisses and Aiden thinks this is just hilarious.
After working on it a few times, Isaac sat up today on his own. He's growing so fast!

Baseball is over/ 9-year anniversary/ Josiah says the cutest things

2009-06-27T19:15:00.001-07:00

Aiden did a great job in baseball this year. He really enjoyed it and told me that he would like to play again next year. The poor guy gets so hot though. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to play baseball in 90 degree weather either!

Here are the cupcakes I made for his baseball party. I shoved several cupcakes together and frosted them all as one. The kids thought it was cool, so that's all that matters.

Matt and I celebrated 9 years of wedded bliss. He took me for a surprise dinner at High Cotton and these flowers were at the table waiting for me. I kinda like him. :-)

And last, but not least, Josiah has been saying the cutest things lately. He was eating dinner when all of the sudden he began to cry. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "my tongue bit me". We tried not to laugh as he was very upset.

Oh, how fun it is to sew for girls!

2009-06-20T13:07:00.001-07:00

This is the same pattern as the outfit I made for Isaac, but a dress of course. I made it for Sophi's birthday. How cute is she?

Fun with free fabric!

2009-06-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the gorgeous fabric I won from the lovely Christy over at Clemz Clozet. Check out her Etsy shop where she sells her creations.

And here is the patchwork sewing machine cover that I made with it. I have plenty fabric left so we'll see what else I can come up with...maybe a purse or a bag.

Fun at the pool - and - Isaac is 31 weeks old!

2009-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

Death by jalapenos -or- Never scratch your nose after cutting fresh jalapenos

2009-06-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Beautiful aren't they? Such a rich pretty green color. Don't let them deceive you, they're tricky, nasty little things. Matt loves hot food so of course when we were at the jockey lot he bought a whole bag full of jalapenos for me to put in his food. When given the choice between hot or really hot I heard him tell the vendor, "really hot". I gave him a look, he said, "what?" I moved on. They only cost $1 for the whole bag, no big loss.

The first thing I made for him was jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. He says they're wonderful. I wouldn't know, I refuse to taste them. So now we have half a bag of jalapenos in our fridge. I'm trying to come up with ways to use them. I'm not very creative when it comes to those things because I despise them. Lately I've been putting them into scrambled for his breakfast, and so our story begins...

This morning I cut up jalapenos to put in Matt's eggs for breakfast. I'm generally very careful to wash my hands after cutting them, but I guess I was distracted this morning...I don't know. I went on to do some other things, one of which was make the baby's bottle because he would be getting up soon. As I was shaking it, holding my finger over the opening so that milk didn't squirt everywhere, I thought to myself, "did I wash my hands after cutting the jalapenos"? I couldn't remember so I went and washed them. Then I got to thinking, what if some of the oils got onto the baby's bottle. That could be so bad. Well, there's only one way to find out...I touched the tip of the bottle to my tongue. Immediately my tongue began to burn and immediately after that I began praising God for causing me to think of the bottle. That would have been awful had Saac got that in his mouth. So, I switched the top of the bottle and went on with my morning.

A few minutes later my nose started burning. At first I thought it was interesting, but I wasn't particularly worried, until it started burning worse. Then it finally hit me, I scratched my nose after cutting the jalapenos. I don't mean the outside of my nose. I mean the membrane inside. Seconds later I was in excruciating pain. I liken it to delivering a baby or having an abscessed tooth, both of which I've experienced and both of which were the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. I ran to the shower so that water could wash over it while Matt searched the internet to see how to help me. He found that dairy binds to the oils and will stop the burning. I actually knew this, but I wasn't in my right mind to actually do it. I jumped out of the shower and ran to the kitchen and slathered yogurt on my upper lip (which was now burning too) and up my nose. The burning stopped, but I can only imagine how I must have looked.

So, they say that you learn something new every day. Today I learned that I will never touch a jalapeno again. Any takers on the ones left in my fridge?

Sewing machine Q&A

2009-06-09T20:27:00.001-07:00

This is a sewing machine Q&A to link to Sewmamasew in order to answer others questions about different machines.

What brand and model do you have?
Bernina 1260

How long have you had it?
I got it as a high school graduation gift. Must I divulge how long ago that was? Okay, okay, 14 years.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
Well, since it was given to me as a gift I actually had to do some research. It looks like it cost about $2500 new (in 1995). If you were to buy a used one today you would pay about $500.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
I sew things for the home such as curtains and quilts. I also sew handbags and clothing and lots of baby stuff. I've never really done any heavy duty sewing.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
Recently I've only gotten to sewing about once every 2 months. For the first few years of it's life I sewed on it about once a week.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I love love love my machine. It does everything I need/want it to and is not tempermental at all.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?
In addition to its regular stitches, there are about 25 decorative stitches that I use quite often. It also has an automatic buttonhole setting that I absolutely couldn't do without! There is an overlock foot and setting that I use often for finishing raw edges. I also have a button that will make the needle stop in the down position.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
Honestly, no. If I had to choose something it might be that I would want the embroidery letters and numbers to look nicer. I would really only ever use them to label things, never to decorate with.
This doesn't necessarily drive me nuts, but because it's computerized I sometimes worry about what would happen if the computer crashed. Would I have to buy a whole new machine? How much would it cost to fix?

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
I received my machine as a gift for HS graduation (as I already mentioned).
I've only once sewn over my finger and that wasn't too bad.
My boys often like to press the buttons because there are blinking lights. I always have to make sure that my settings are correct if I leave and come back.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Absolutely. It's so worth paying the extra money to get a good machine that's going to last. I've never had any major trouble with her even though I don't get tune ups as often as I should.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
You should definitely look for a dependable name. It's nice to have several feet to switch out for all the different jobs. Like I mentioned before, I couldn't live without the automatic buttonhole setting. Especially since I sew a lot of clothes, it's priceless.

Do you have a dream machine?
As far as a regular sewing machine, no. Mine does everything I need it to so I couldn't ask for anything more.
I would, however, like to have an embroidery machine some day.

Button ring tutorial...and eggs

2009-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have my Grammy's old box of buttons. How cool is that? You can see how frugal she was. Some of the buttons still have thread on them. I'm sure she cut buttons off a shirt before throwing the shirt into the rag bin. I've intended to do something with them, but couldn't decide what. I'll probably end up making a bracelet too. For now, here's a cute little way to wear vintage buttons and remember Grammy at the same time.

Buy some ring findings. I found mine on ebay and paid about $1 per ring. Use a heavy duty thread such as cross stitch or quilting thread. Sew in and out of the holes several times to secure your thread. I like to do it this way to avoid using glue. Sew your buttons on just like you would if you were sewing them onto a shirt. I like to layer different colors, but any more than three layers starts looking funny.

Finish by sewing the through the thread underneath the ring several times to secure it. I like making what I call flat knots to avoid making real knots which can be very bulky.

**Disclaimer** These are not original with me. I saw them somewhere (can't remember where) and recreated them the way I wanted to. I never meant to suggest that I came up with the idea.

Cute, huh? I'm so glad I finally got some made.

We've been buying farm fresh eggs and I just love the way they taste! I would love to have my own chickens some day. I always think it's funny how much they vary in size. I makes you really wonder how in the world the eggs in the store can be all exactly they same size...hmmm

new things

2009-06-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I need to start sewing again. I've always said that I don't have enough time. Well, I'm going to make time. I had so much fun entering all the contests over a Sew Mama Sew (I even won something), that it gave me a new determination to start sewing.

First up is a new outfit for Isaac. I embroidered it with my mom's machine that she is letting my borrow. It's hard to find good patterns for boys clothes. This one turned out so nice that I'll probably end up using it several times.

Next up is a skirt I made last weekend just in time to wear to church on Sunday. Patterns were on sale at the fabric store for $.99 and I already had the fabric. Pretty cheep skirt!

We went downtown last week to play in the children's fountain. The boys always have a good time.

And lastly, Isaac tried a Gerber puff for the first time. He was not at all impressed. I think we'll wait a few weeks and try again. (You'll notice my sewing mess in the background.)

And now for a few plugs. I do product testing and marketing for a company called Buzzagent. Recently they sent me a new bug repellent made by OFF that you clip onto your clothes. You don't have to spray it on your skin (yay for not having to put yucky stuff on your skin!!) It's a little fan that blows the bug repellent into the air. You're supposed to be protected for a 10 ft. radius around your body. We've tried it a few times and have found that it works great! I'm really excited to find something like this because I just hate spraying bug spray on the children. I have tons of coupons, so if you want to give it a try just let me know.

Also, I've been shopping a whole new way lately, thanks to a website called southernsavers.com.
I usually aim to save about 50% of my grocery bill and I've met that goal all but once. (That one time was only because I needed a few products that weren't on sale and I didn't have a coupon for.) She has a giveaway going on right now where you can win two booklets of coupons from Mambo Sprouts. Head on over the and check it out!

c-sections in the US

2009-06-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

There are just a few things that I'm passionate about. The overuse of c-sections in the US is one of them. Here is an article that sums it up pretty well. c-sections

Summer begins

2009-05-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Summer has begun fast and furiously. With soccer and tball games, end of year school fun, strawberry picking and May birthdays, there is something to do every day. Here are a few more pictures to show our fun.

A fast a furious spring

2009-05-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

This spring has been so busy and has just flown by so fast, I'm barely finding time to check my mail much less post to a blog or FB. I've started substitute teaching at BJ Academy some. Josiah and Isaac go to the CDC while I work. Josiah is loving going to "school" and Isaac is such a good "anything goes" baby that he does just fine too.
Aiden is about to finish up K5. I can't believe that he'll be in first grade next year...wow! He's playing soccer and t-ball this spring too. Josiah is growing and wishing he could also play t-ball and soccer. Isaac is growing and changing every day. It never ceases to amaze me how fast my babies' first year of life goes.
I've attached a link to some spring pictures here. I intend to get some videos and more pictures up in the next few days.

Snow day

2009-03-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

We got some snow in Greenville last night. You can see pictures of the boys playing in it here. Aiden was out of school today so that was super exciting for him.

Here's a new video of Isaac talking. I just love it when they start talking like this...too cute.

new pics

2009-02-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

FINALLY

2009-01-15T05:52:00.000-08:00

...some answers! We finally got a call from the genetic doctor on Tuesday. She confirmed what we already thought was going on and that is that Isaac has Duarte Galactosemia. This is the form of galactosemia that would be considered mild. Whereas in Classic Galactosemia the child has none of the enzyme needed to break down galactose, in Duarte Galactocemia the child possesses some of the enzyme needed to break down galactose. In Isaac's case, he has about 1/4 the normal level. The plan is to keep Isaac off of any milk products until he's a year old. At that point we start introducing milk products and have his blood tested to make sure that he's breaking down the galactose. They tell us that they have never seen a child with Duarte Galactosemia not be able to normally eat milk products. So, we're very excited about that! When I was thinking about the possibility of him never being able to have milk products, that seemed so daunting!
Right now he's on soy formula. I would have been able to continue nursing him, but because I had to stop while we were waiting on answers, I lost my milk. I don't like the idea of him staying on soy because of the unnatural hormones and the damage it does to the thyroid. So, I'm trying to research alternatives to soy formula. Does anyone have any suggestions? I even looked into buying breast milk from a milk bank, but it's extremely expensive. We'll be meeting with the doctors in the first part of February to discuss things like this.

In other news, Aiden has gone back to school and really enjoys being back in the swing of things. I think that Josiah misses him, although he enjoys playing with Aiden's toys without getting into trouble with Aiden. Matt has taken several weeks off so it's been nice to have him around. He'll start back to work next week. We enjoyed spending Tuesday in Atlanta going to the children's museum, the acquarium and IKEA. It was kind of our last hurrah before Aiden went back to school.

Waiting and waiting

2009-01-09T10:22:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been almost two weeks since Isaac's blood was redrawn and it got sent to the right lab. We just talked to the genetic doctor this morning and she said that she hasn't received results yet. I thought for sure we would find out this week, but we have to go through another weekend yet again. I'll post more information as soon as I have it.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T20:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas - for at least another 15 minutes. This was a whirlwind day! We spent the morning at home devouring the gifts under the tree. Lots of trash, tags to cut off, batteries to put in, fights to referee. Then, we went for our annual Christmas lunch with the Meachums and Byers (family friends) over at the BJ dining common. It's very nice not to have to cook and clean up! After that we went to spend the rest of the day at the Hudson's (Matt's parents) house. It was very nice to relax and just spend time with family. Of course, it was kinda fun to play with the new Wii as well. :-0

And now for an update on Isaac. Yesterday was quite a rollercoaster of a day. Some blood work of Isaac's came back. However, it went to the wrong lab so the results aren't what the doctors needed. It gave us some information, but because it didn't go to the right lab then we didn't get as extensive of information as needed to completely diagnose him. It does look like Saac has some form of galactosemia. How serious it is, is the part that we don't know. They are guessing, at this point, that he either has a mild form or is simply a carrier. If he has the mild form (it's called duarte galactosemia) then he's not allowed anything that contains galactose during his first year of life. (The exception to this is that he would be allowed to breast feed). At a year, we'll be allowed to introduce milk, then we'll have more blood tests done to see how he reacts. At that point we'll know if he'll be able to eat/drink milk products for the rest of his life. Of course, the best case scenario is that he's simply a carrier. In this case he won't be limited on what he eats and drinks.
We have to go back to the lab on Monday and have his blood drawn again (poor guy). It will be sent to the correct lab (a genetics lab down in Greenwood) and we should have some sort of results by Wednesday. The doctors and genetic councelors in Greenwood have been wonderful. They're very compasionate and try hard to help us understand what's going on. I'm very thankful for that. I'm definitely learning a lesson in patience and trust. I was devastated on Wednesday when I heard the news that I did. But, I know that God will use this for his glory - I can't wait to see how!

I resolve to walk by faith the path that I may not understand, and rejoice in the promise of His nearness as He directs my way.

Isaac's test results

2008-12-17T13:18:00.001-08:00

We just got back from the radiology. Isaac does have kidney reflux. This means that he'll have to be on antibiotic once-a-day for a year, at which point he'll hopefully have out grown the disorder. The antibiotic will prevent infection because if infection squirts back up into the kidneys, then it can cause kidney damage.

We also learned last night that he had abnormal levels of galactose in his blood. Galactose is a sugar found in milk. This could mean that he does not have the ability to break it down. We've had to switch to soy formula and I've had to stop breast-feeding. He's having more blood tests done to confirm this. Galactocemia shouldn't be confused with lactose intolerance. Intolerance simply means that when a person drinks milk they'll get sick and have diahrea. Galactocemia can lead to death and many other symptoms such as cataracts, speech disorders and learning disabilities if left untreated. We're praying that he doesn't have this because I would really like to be able to nurse him while he's on antibiotic.

Right now I'm praising God for modern technology and ways to treat problems such as these!

Here's more information on galactosemia if you're interested.
http://www.answers.com/topic/galactosemia-causes-and-symptoms

Update on Saac

2008-12-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Isaac had an appointment today with the pediatrician. He's now infection free and we've made an appointment for next Wednesday to have the testing done on his kidneys. They will do an ultrasound on the kidneys to look for any abnormalities. Then, they will inject dye into his bladder to see if the dye travels back up into his kidneys. If it does then he has something called kidney reflux and will have to take an antibiotic once a day until he's a year old. That's when babies usually outgrow this problem.
Of course we're praying that all looks well. Thanks to everyone who has prayed for our little guy. And thank you for your support and kind words. It's always encouraging to know that friends care and are praying for us.

Saac's trip to othe hospital

2008-11-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Well, two nights in the hospital isn't exactly what we pictured when making plans for Thanksgiving!
On Tuesday I was feeding Saac when I noticed that he felt a little warm. I took his temp and it was 99.1. I didn't really think too much of it, just made a note to be aware if he continued to feel warm. The next day he felt warm again so I took his temp again and this time it was 100.2. We called the pediatrician and they said to take a rectal temp (sorry, maybe TMI) and it was 100.4. Well, that's the cut off for when they like to see you in the office, so I packed Isaac up right away and headed over to the office. When we got there his temperature was 103. So, after taking the temp several times and looking him over, they decided to admit him to the hospital to see what was going on. They said that in a baby this small/young, you can't be too careful with a temperature like this. We were admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving eve. They took a spinal fluid sample, blood draw and urine specimen. Then they started antibiotics because infections in babies can go too quickly to have to wait for lab results. He continued to run a fever all night long, then it finally broke on Thursday morning. We got back some preliminary results which indicated that there was a bacterial UTI (urinary tract infection). The doctors think say that it's very unusual for such a young baby to have an infection like this. So, either it's just an unusual/isolated UTI, or it's an indication of more serious problems with his kidneys. We stayed in the hospital until about noon today (11/28) and were released with a prescription for an oral antibiotic. He'll be on this for 10 days and then we'll have him checked again to make sure that the infection is gone. As soon as we know that the infection is gone, then he'll have some tests run on his bladder and kidneys. They'll do this in order to rule out any abnormalities with the kidneys and something called kidney reflux where the urine travels from the bladder back up into the kidneys.
Please do pray that this is simply an isolated UTI and not something more seriously wrong with his kidneys. Also pray for him that he's not in too much pain. It seems that he's already feeling better. He wasn't actually acting too sick, but it's so hard to tell with babies. Thanks for all those who have prayed up to this point. Matt and I are doing really well and are so so thankful to be back home with our new little guy. He had his 3 week birthday in the hospital...we'll have stories to tell about this!

Isaac Ramie is here!

2008-11-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

Our little guy is finally here! Isaac Ramie arrived on November 5th at 12:49 in the afternoon. He weighed 9lb. 4oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. (That is 1oz. smaller than Josiah and 1/4 inch shorter than Josiah.) We will call Saac for short (pronounced like Zack). His middle name is derived from my middle name. We switched the letters of Marie around to make a boy name - Ramie.
On 11/5 I was 42 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I was 3 cm dilated. I had been having prodromal labor for weeks that had intensified greatly in the last few days. There were several times when I thought I was in labor, but the contractions just never progressed. We know now that I had quite a bit of water and baby wasn't able to get his head engaged. So, on 11/5 I was admitted to the hospital where they gave me a very, very small amount of pitocin to get my contractions going regularly. ( I was told that a normal induction the pitocin is at 6. They started me at 1/2.) My contractions did get going regularly and an hour later the doctor came in to break my water. Very quickly my contractions started getting harder and more regular.
I had planned on having a natural labor, but this was prior to being induced and having my water broken. That introduced a whole new element to me and was very nervous about having my labor started artificially. I did know that I wanted to wait long enough so that the epidural would not slow things down. When things started getting more intense we made a plan with the doctor to wait until I was at least 5-6 cm and at -1 to 0 station to get the epidural. Labor was progressing so quickly that I felt that I could do that. So, about an hour and a half after my water was broken I got the epidural. I was then 7cm and the baby was about -1. I labored for about another hour until I was 10cm and the baby was 0 station. At that point I didn't feel the need to push so we let the baby work his way down a little more. About 30 minutes later I finally felt the need to push.
When I started pushing I had this terrible pain up in my ribs. I guess Isaac had his foot up there helping out with the pushing. :-) I pushed until the baby the baby started to crown, then I lay back for a rest. When my next contraction came he began to present without my even pushing. In fact everyone was telling me to stop pushing because the dr. was still getting on his gown. I wasn't doing anything though, he was coming out whether or not we wanted him to! Pushing took about 15 minutes total and Isaac made his appearance. The dr. later said that he didn't even consider this an induction because I barely had any pitocin at all.
One of my favorite parts of the whole thing was when he was placed up on my chest and he began to cry. (My first baby was c-section so I didn't get to experience this. My second baby was placed on my chest, but quickly taken away because he wasn't breathing.) So, this was such a special experience. Matt then cut the cord. Speaking of Matt, he was so amazing! I couldn't ask for a better partner, friend and support than he was. He's such an encouragement to me and never fails to believe in me.
So, here we are, one week later. Things are going well. I feel great! There's no comparison to how good you can feel after a normal birth as compared to a c-section! Praise God for a healthy baby and good delivery!

I know this is a little fuzzy, but I thought it was so adorable. That's Aiden's hand when I first met his new brother.

He's enjoying a little rest and warm up.

This is right before we went to the hospital. Boy am I glad to have the little guy on the outside now!

Hilton Head vacation

2008-10-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

We spent a long weekend in Hilton Head last week. It was a very nice and relaxing vacation. I did, however, spend the weekend a little nervous about what it would be like to travel home if I went into labor. Praise God that didn't happen. Now that we're home, I would be very happy to go into labor any day!
Click here to see the pictures: Hilton Head

36 weeks and waddling

2008-09-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Update on all three boys

2008-09-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well I'm now 35 weeks and 2 days along in the pregnancy. I had an appointment today and everything looks good. I'm actually measuring 38 weeks which they're not too worried about. Judging from the size of Josiah (9lb. 5oz.), he'll probably just be another big baby. I'm really tired and having a hard time keeping up with things. I'm so thankful that Josiah is a good afternoon sleeper and Aiden is such a trustworthy boy. This allows me to take an afternoon nap every day.

Aiden's doing well and loving school. He has something new to tell me everyday. Today he told me all about being healthy and washing your hands. Of course this is something that I've taught him ever since he could understand, but somehow it's brand new information when it comes from his teacher. He also told me the other day that he wants to change his name to Jacob. He offered no other explanation except that he just likes the name.

Josiah is doing well and getting so big. He always amazes me with the things that he says and does. By the time he turned two, he could already count to 10 and say his alphabet. He loves music and pretends to play a trumpet every time he hears a song. He is enthralled with balls of all kinds and constantly has one in his hands. He also refuses to eat grapes or anything round because he thinks it's a bouncy ball. I always find him throwing his grapes on the kitchen floor trying to get them to bounce.

We're looking forward to Saturday when we'll go to Hendersonville and pick apples. We'll stay for a picnic lunch and let the kids play for a while. It's always a fun thing to do in the fall. The weather is finally cooling down a bit, for which I'm very thankful. I have to keep the thermostat on 64 in order to feel comfortable. Everyone else has to wear long sleeves and wrap in blankets. Ah, five weeks seems so far away!

out of the mouths of babes

2008-09-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

I love the cute little things the boys say. I need to be better about writing them down. Aiden always tells people, "I'm Spiderman. I know I don't look like Spiderman, but I am". Josiah says, "boo boo a guppy". We haven't figured out where that comes from yet, but he says it mostly when he's unhappy about something.

Family pictures

2008-09-03T10:09:00.001-07:00

Shortly after I found out that I was pregnant, we scheduled a session for family pictures. We hadn't yet had them taken since Josiah joined the family. I'm grateful that my boys are such good little posers!

Catching up!!

2008-08-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I haven't updated in over 8 months. I just can't seem to keep up with it all. So, here's a few things that have happened to us over the past several months.
Matt graduated from nursing school!! He grew his hair out the whole time he was in school and cut it the day after he graduated. He's very relieved to be out of school and it's nice to have a semi normal life back.
Aiden attended K4 during the spring semester and he just loved it. After school was over, he took swimming lessons and now he thinks that he's an expert.
In June we went on a much needed road trip west. We first stopped in Kansas City for a few days. While there we spent time with Grandpa Don and Grandma Linda, visited Great Grandma Norton and Great Grandma Mackey. Then, we went on to Colorado. We visited friends in Denver and then went on to Glenwood Springs to visit my family. We spend several days there and had a great time. Matt and I celebrated our 8th anniversary while there. We then turned around and stopped back through Kansas City for the night. On our way back to Greenville we stopped by the Georgia Aquarium (our new favorite place).
Once back in Greenville we enjoyed several more highlights to the summer including Vacation Bible School at church. Aiden was super excited because this year he was actually old enough to go to class. We did several other fun summer things as well.
Aiden started K5 almost two weeks ago. He loves his new teacher and has greatly enjoyed his new class.

I truly hope to update the blog much more often than I have been. Of course, I have 8 weeks left in the pregnancy and several other things to get done as well, so we'll see.
Enjoy the pictures!

Josiah's first haircut

2007-11-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Columbia Zoo

2007-11-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

Wow!

2007-10-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

I just looked at the date on my last post and I can't believe that it's been over a month! I really need to be more consistent about this...much like everything in my life.
I recently became very thankful for blogger. You see, last week our hard drive crashed and much to our dismay, we lost all of our family pictures from this whole calendar year. I'm thankful for blogger because I've downloaded so many pictures from this year so at least I have those. This is the part of the story where I say, "they're just pictures and at least I still have the healthy kids that are the subjects of those pictures". I will say that I've already had my cry and I'm fine now. The good news is that there are places where you can send your hard drive and see if "they" can retreive information. I imgaine these uber intelligent guys in a "clean room" taking apart my hard drive and working miracles. The bad news is that it will cost anywhere from $300-$1000. The mommy side of me thinks that it's completely worth it. I'm trying to fight the logical side of me. We'll see. It's not something we can do right now anyway.
So, all this to say, I will try to be more consistent. We went down to the Columbia Zoo yesterday and it was super fun. I'll try to get some pictures up from that.
For right now, I need to get a shower and some things done while Sesame Street is on... I love Sesame Street!

Who does Aiden look like?

2007-09-05T14:07:00.001-07:00

Who does Josiah look like?

2007-09-05T14:02:00.001-07:00

Josiah and the ultimate dilemma...sleep or eat

2007-08-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

Josiah's 1st birthday!

2007-08-21T07:31:00.001-07:00

Aiden's 4th birthday!

2007-08-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

Mackey news

2007-07-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

4th of July...yes I realize I'm a little late.

2007-07-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

2007-07-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Colorado Grandma comes for a visit

2007-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I guess you forget how busy summer is until it's here again. My mom came for a visit in June. While she was here we attended a friends wedding, had Josiah dedicated, and shopped so much that I'm not sure I'll ever shop again...well that's not entirely true. Here are some pictures of Mom with the boys. I just downloaded over a months worth of pictures so there will be much more to come.

2007-06-27T09:23:00.002-07:00

Sorry the pictures aren't clear. That's how they looked when I saved them from Sears website. They really were good pictures!

2007-06-23T16:01:00.001-07:00

Random pics at home

2007-06-19T06:37:00.001-07:00

Fun at Chuck E. Cheese

2007-06-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Just hangin' out

Getting ready to kiss Chuck E.

In a cage (where he belongs)

Absolutely no idea what's going on

Playing in the kitchen sink

2007-06-05T19:48:00.001-07:00

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

I got tagged

2007-05-31T06:08:00.000-07:00

When you get tagged you post 8 random facts about yourself and then tag 8 or so of your friends to do the same. I got tagged by both Marsha and Sarah so here goes:

1. I started going to BJ in 3rd grade. My parents kept their house in Colorado, so we would live here in G'ville during the school year and go home to CO in the summer.

2. I started snow skiing when I was 4. While I don't have much opportunity to do it now, it's one of my favorite pastimes.

3. I have toured in Australia and Italy. I love to travel and hope to do lots more!

4. One of my proudest accomplishments is the VBAC of my second baby, Josiah.

5. We lived in Nevada for 3 years after we were married. Aiden was born there.

6. I was a dramatic productions major in college. Matt and I first met when we both acted in the same play.

7. Being a mommy is my passion. It's the hardest and most wonderful job I've ever had.

8. I am claustrophobic.

I don't know very many people with blogs so I'm just tagging Kelly and Stephanie.

Fun at the park

2007-05-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

I think he got to the top and then began to reconsider going down the "giant" slide.

Chillin' at the park. What you don't see in this picture is him trying to eat the mulch.

Photo Shoot

2007-05-23T07:00:00.001-07:00

I love being a mommy!!

2007-05-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

He didn't want to wear his shoes, but then he complained about the mulch hurting his feet. It's two weeks later and we're still picking stickers out of his feet. I think he learned his lesson.

Many of you have asked, and yes, he's always this happy! I have been blessed with happy babies.

Aiden dressed himself

2007-05-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

Josiah pulled up to standing for the first time

2007-05-11T06:25:00.000-07:00

This is Aiden's form of relaxation

2007-05-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

My baby is getting so big!

2007-05-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Josiah discovers that his mouth can make fun noises.

2007-05-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Aiden and his "very tall tower"

2007-05-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

Josiah likes to relax

2007-04-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

Aiden on the phone with "Rado Bam" (Colorado Grandma)

2007-04-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

First Spring Day at the Park

2007-04-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

A day at the zoo

2007-04-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

First time decorating Easter eggs

2007-04-11T05:15:00.000-07:00

Before and After

2007-04-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

2007-04-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

We like to go to the playground in the mall when it's too cold to play outside. Aiden usually grabs a book and sits on the caterpillar. Josiah's favorite is the toy he's playing with in the picture. I simply enjoy sitting for a few minutes!

Pizza night

2007-03-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

We had a fun night as a family eating pizza. We don't get to spend much time with Daddy, so this was special. It was one of the first nice days here in Greenville, so we began our meal outside. Unfortunately, it took so long for our meal to get there that we had to move inside because it started getting too cold. You can't see Josiah's t-shirt, but it says, "chicks dig me". (Courtesy of Grandpa Don and Grandma Linda). Aiden was so hungry by the time the meal got there that he ate almost all the hummus dip and a whole piece of pizza.

Feeding the geese

2007-03-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

We like to go to an apartment complex that's close to our house and feed the geese and ducks that live on the pond. This was Josiah's second time going, but the first time that he really realized what was going on. He was very intrigued by the geese running around. Aiden always enjoys doing this. He tends to drop the bread close to himself though, which makes the geese come very close. Then, he freaks out because the geese are getting so close to him. We had lots of fun!

2007-03-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Josiah's new love is the swing on the back porch. He can stay in there for an hour and be happy.

Aiden's new obsession is reading the comics on Sunday. I use the term "reading" very loosely, although he does recognize "A for Aiden".

Playing on the swing set

2007-03-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

2007-03-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Josiah's first opinion of the grass.

I can't believe he's already 7 months old!

You can never be too safe in a sand box.

Making cookies with Mom

Aiden's doctor visit

2007-03-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

Aiden's appointment went very well. Thanks to all who prayed. He loves going to this doctor because they have video games, cartoons, an aquarium, and all kinds of toys. When we went into the room with the nurse he was a little unsure of what might happen, but he quickly warmed up. In fact he complimented the nurse on her shirt. (It did after all have frogs on it.) The doctor came and listened to his heart and said that it sounds great. Then, we followed the doctor to the EKG room, during which Aiden complimented the doctor on his beard. When we got to the room, Aiden got a little nervous and we had to convince him that everything was ok. The doctor looked at his heart and it looks great. We have to go back in 6 months and then visits will be regular every 5 years. The one interesting thing the doctor said is that we have no idea what's going to happen long term because these "plugs" weren't around 50 years ago. So, I guess time will tell.
FYI, Aiden would now like to be referred to as "Chuck E. Cheese".

Long time no post

2007-03-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've had a busy few days since my last post. We got the boys' pictures taken and they turned out great! As soon as I order I can get them online, so they'll be here soon. I also have some cute new pictures that we've taken, but I need to get them downloaded. I've had two great Pampered Chef parties (Yay Sarah!) for which I'm very thankful. It's always an encouragement when things go so well. Wrapping up parties takes a lot of busy work. All of that amidst regular goings on keeps me rather busy.
Since I last posted Josiah has pushed all the way up on his arms, but can't quite figure out how to get his rear off the floor...I wonder why? He's also discovered his tongue and all the fun things he can do with it. That makes for some great pictures.
Aiden has his follow up heart appointment today. I would appreciate your prayers that everything will go well. He needs to stay perfectly still during the EKG so that they can get a good look at things. It's still hard for me to believe that my child has a "plug" in his heart. I'm so grateful that his problem was able to be fixed! He often talks about the doctors that fixed his heart. He can be quite dramatic about it...it's funny. When he prays at night sometimes he thanks God for fixing his heart. He's very tender.
I'll post pictures as soon as I can!

Answer

2007-03-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

So, many of you guessed and some of you were right. Aiden is on the top right and Josiah is on the bottom left. Don't they look a lot alike? They also act a lot alike. One thing Josiah does that Aiden always did was stuff his bib in his mouth and chew on it. I think he's been teething since he was 4 months old. And if he's anything like Aiden in that too, he won't get a tooth until he's 9 months. We'll see.
Today's a very cold and rainy day here. It had just started warming up when this hit. That's alright with me though. I'm a fan of cold weather.

Who is who?

2007-02-25T19:17:00.000-08:00

Can you tell which is Aiden and which is Josiah?

Happy Birthday Terrasa!! (my sister turns 35 today)

2007-02-23T09:14:00.001-08:00

My boys

2007-02-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Aiden fell face first
into his sand box.
He told me that his
teeth were crunchy.

The boys and I took a walk yesterday because it was such a beautiful day. Josiah was mostly interested in chewing on the belt buckle.

2007-02-21T10:49:00.000-08:00

After I did yesterday's slide show of Aiden, I decided to ask him what he wants to be when he grows up. He said he wants to be a race car driver. Let's hope this is a passing phase. He's a pretty smart little guy too. Matt and I often spell words out while we're talking (if you're a parent, you know what I mean). The other day Matt spelled out i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m and Aiden knew we were talking about ice cream. I'm not sure how he knew since he doesn't read or write yet.
Josiah went to the doctor on Friday. At 6 months he now weighs 20 pounds and is 27 1/2 inches long. That's 2 pounds more than Aiden was at that age. He can now sit up on his own and he likes to eat cereal, fruits and vegetables. He's not too crazy about being on his tummy so it doesn't look like he'll be crawling any time soon. He is in awe of his big brother and as long as Aiden's around, the world is a perfect place.

What will I be when I grow up?

2007-02-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

2007-02-20T14:14:00.001-08:00

Trip to CO

2007-02-19T11:54:00.001-08:00

2007-02-19T08:10:00.001-08:00

Today is a fairly uneventful day filled with the normal stuff: cleaning taking care of boys, making baby food (I like to make it rather than buy it), laundry.
We got the most hilarious ecard from Don and Linda for Valentines. You've got to see it.
http://www.egreetings.com/view.pd?i=402358574&m=9828&rr=y&source=eg999

2007-02-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

My uncle, Danny, is an accomplished artist at the loom. Visit their website to learn more and buy their gorgeous products. http://www.mtnvalley.org/pages/mvtg.htm

2007-02-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to catch up on pictures taken on our trip to Colorado. This is Aiden's first time on a horse. He was a natural.

2007-02-19T07:10:00.001-08:00

I live in a house full of boys. Pray for me.