Happy Birthday Brynne!

I meant to do this yesterday on her actual birthday, but it got to be a crazy day!

Wow! 1 whole year! Sometimes I think she should be way older than 1 and other times I can't believe it's already been a year. It's definitely been an interesting year, but we made it!

We still don't have an answer of what is causing whatever it is that is going on but we feel we have the right team of doctors that are not giving up! We've even added a new one this week and sent him a hair sample to see if something can be figured out through that avenue.

Brynne weighed 19 -9.5 on Monday! She's crawling everywhere and has been pulling up on furniture for a while now but in the last few days she has really been acting like she will walk soon. Her favorite person in the world is Koda and I am just thrilled that they love each other so much. Maybe it will continue throughout the teen years??!!

Brynne's birthday party is tomorrow and I know it sounds stupid but I'm really struggling with the fact that she can't eat cake. Seriously Maggie, how DUM is that? But she's here and she's still smiling so I'm going to focus on that. I've been looking for a sugar free cake to at least let her blow the candle out and if she happens to try to dig in it hopefully won't make her sick. I haven't quite convinced myself of that so we'll see what happens!

Craig, Brynne & I went shopping for her birthday yesterday and I came to a not so surprising conclusion...she has her daddy wrapped around her little finger! I'm going to have to watch those two in the future because if she just looked at something he tried to put it in the basket! Good thing I was there to control the spending! Not that she's not already spoiled by her daddy...

Well, Happy Birthday Brynne Brynne! We love you!

Look at the difference...

I didn't realize how thin Brynne used to be. I mean I was frustrated with her not being able to gain weight and wearing size 0-3 month clothes until she was over 8 months old but I really never realized how thin she looked until I took the picture below and compared it with the picture on our blog header....WOW! How awesome is that? She weighed 18-12 yesterday!!! Thank you Lord!

I stand in awe...

Saturday was the benefit for Brynne and I cannot tell you how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends, family and communities in our support system. Over 300 people were there, some of whom we didn't even know. They just heard or read about Brynne and they showed up. What a testament to God's unending faithfulness. I had a conversation with Luanne Terry about how shocked we were about the turn out and she said something I will never forget. She said, "Sometimes I wonder if God gets irritated with us when we are shocked at what He does. I mean, we ask Him for something, He does it, and then we're shocked? Doesn't He tell us that He's going to do it and yet we're still shocked?" There was definitely some silence after that one...what a humbling experience.

I was humbled in many more ways on Saturday...from people traveling from other cities and even other states to be there, to complete strangers taking the time to bless us, to a group of wonderful ladies taking their entire day to make sure every last baked good was sold! That's all in addition to the many people that cooked, cleaned, served and most importantly have prayed for Brynne (& the rest of us!)

This morning on the way to work I was listening to the radio and the hymn "I Stand Amazed" came on. I think it expresses exactly what has been on my heart for the last two days.

I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior's love for me!

Words cannot express our gratitude to all of you that have been such a blessing to us. We pray that God will continually bless you for being such a wonderful living example of His love and mercy.

Holy Cow...It's been three months!

I was just reading a few other blogs when I looked over and saw that my last update was 3 months ago. Wow! I mean what else have I been doing that I have avoided my blogging responsibilities :) Anyway, lots of things have been going on and it's on my weekend plan to get a full report done and posted by Monday. It's a plan...not a promise!

Brynne - 7 months

I finally had a few seconds to snap some shots yesterday...here are Brynne's 7 month pics...

From Brynne 7 months

From Brynne 7 months

From Brynne 7 months

She's way too smart!

Abby just sent me this picture on my phone...I would've never thought to hold a bottle with my feet!


And Daddy was pretty proud of these pics...

And here's my new favorite pic...

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday...yes, I love it more than Christmas, Thanksgiving, and especially more than Valentine's Day. My favorite things about it are that you don't have to worry about finding gifts, cooking a big meal or dressing up and you still get to hang out with your favorite people! I was raised in a very patriotic family and I love my country.
I'm thankful for those who have and do put their lives in danger to protect mine, I'm very proud of my grandfathers, dads, friends and former students who have/do serve and am very thankful for the freedoms we have today.
Six years ago, I got another reason to love this day...Craig proposed on July 4, 2003 under the fireworks. It was perfect. It's been an awesome six years...I love you, Craig!
This year we went to our friends Michael & Missy's house and I got to get some great pics of Koda & Brynne and some fireworks. I wanted to get a pic of all four us but I never could track Koda down...he had a blast.
Here's some of the pics...God Bless You & God Bless America!

Craziness

I was just reminded that it's been almost a month since we got out of the hospital! Wow, time flies. We've had lots going on and lots more to come. I've got a ton of pictures to post once I actually sit down and do it but Mom emailed me this picture of Brynne and I thought I'd post it so you can all see how good she looks. She's doing great. GI appointment went well last week and she weighed 12 lbs 3 oz. (she gained 1 lb & 1 oz in two weeks!). ENT appointment this Thursday.


Thank you Lord for your continual faithfulness and showing it through friends, family and happy babies!

Can you say DIVA?

Here's a pic from last weekend...she looks like such a little diva with her lips like that! :)

Quick update...initial liver biopsy results were good...nothing unexpected. We went to an ENT as soon as we left the hospital on that Thursday (& I do mean "as soon") and he immediately suggested ear tubes and then put them in the next day at 7:00 am. So far, they've worked GREAT! She's back to her pre-hopsital weight of 11lbs. 2 oz. But she REALLY needs to gain a couple of pounds to at least be on the growth chart!

Thank you again for all you're prayers, calls, meals, cards, emails, etc. WE LOVE YOU!

Keep Prayin'!

P.S. Are you happy now Mrs. Lewis????

Still waiting...

We're still waiting for the results of the liver biopsy...AND someone to tell us we can go home. The GI doctor went to look at the pathology report this morning and we still haven't heard the results. I guess no news is good news but we just want to know. She did really well and there is no bleeding from the biopsy site. So as we're waiting here's some pics from the hospital...they're not great because they're from my phone.

And we're back...

We're back in the hospital after a crazy weekend. Friday afternoon Brynne started running a high fever and threw up, we immediately called Dr. Landry. She told us if she threw up again to go to the ER. She did, so we did. THEN, they sent us home...ear infection & some amoxicillin.

She seemed to be ok until late Saturday afternoon when she started throwing up again. Since the ER doc didn't seem too concerned we decided we'd give the medicine time to work and watch her until Sunday morning. She had some good hours and then some not so good hours and back and forth. So finally Sunday morning we went back to the ER.


They tried to send us home again...uh, I don't think so. We could tell she had lost weight (11 ounces from Friday night to Sunday morning) The nurse said we could stay until we felt comfortable leaving...again, I don't think so! I finally called our dr and left a message saying they were trying to send us home and before she could call back, Brynne threw up again. That was all that was needed for her to be admitted.


So here we are Day 3 is coming to a close and what do we know? Nothing more really, except that the IV fluids have really helped rehydrate her, she's not losing weight, and we're consulting an ENT & Geneticist. Her liver levels are elevated again so she will have a liver biopsy tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 8 am.


So far, we've consulted a cardiologist, gastrointernologist, immunologist, allergist, and several other "ologists" from Lubbock and all over and have had loads of all sorts of tests sent all over the country. All which have come back negative. We've had lots of suggestions and comments of where to go, who to contact etc and we appreciate all of it. We truly trust our doctors and all they are trying. As one put it today, "All of her symptoms just don't fit into one nice little package that says 'Hey, this is what is wrong.'" We're very thankful for their open-mindedness and their teamwork. They all work so well together and none of them have the attitude of "I am a doctor, do not question me."

Thank you all for your prayers, calls, meals, gifts, visits, etc. You all have continually been a blessing in our lives!


Please continue to pray for Brynne, her doctors, nurses, lab techs, etc; Koda - for understanding, patience, and good behavior; my Mom - she's in Uruguay and is having a hard time being so far away with all this going on.

Again...Thank you!

Quick Update

I've been meaning to put an update on here for a while but as I'm sitting at work waiting for the a few more files to export I thought I'd let you know the few details we know about Brynne.

1. She's doing sooooo much better. No vomiting in 10 days, that's a record!
2. One of the tests showed she hasn't built up an immunity to tetanus, but she's gets another dose at 6 months and we'll watch it from then on to see how it goes.
3. Two of her immune levels are lower than normal but not low enough to cause concern, we'll just have to watch those too.

It's crazy busy at work, but always is this time of year. Koda's doing great and is growing like crazy. I can't believe he'll be 4 in a couple of months!!!!

Please pray for the following:
1. My PawPaw, he had a pace maker put it and its not working quite right
2. My mom, she's headed out on her yearly trip to Uraguay for a mission trip
3. My friends Trisha & Kevin, Kevin's dad passed away yesterday unexpectedly

Love y'all!!!

Brynne Update

So we're in the hospital again. We came in Saturday night to the ER because she was vomiting, etc and seemed to be doing the same as she did before we came in March. We had a cookout at our house on Saturday and left both sides of the family to clean up the mess...sorry guys!

So the main question is...What's going on? Well, we don't know. We do know that she does not have cystic fibrosis. THANK YOU LORD! Our pediatrician and gi specialist are working well together and have brought in an immunologist. He had decided to run A LOT of tests, mostly blood tests. So she's been stuck a few times but if we can find out what's causing all this it'll be worth it. On Friday, she will have an upper & lower gi and they will biopsy the intestines to see if MAYBE there's something in there that's causing all the fun stuff. Most of the other test results should be back today.

She's in a great mood and smiles alot! They took her off IV fluids to see if she can maintain her weight and hydration levels on her own. Please pray that she does.

Please pray for our doctors, nurses, technicians, etc...they're trying to figure it out and have been really really good to us.

Also, please add Claire Gill to your prayer list...she's 7 weeks old and has been our next door neighbor for the last couple of days. It's a small world because I used to work with her mother!

Thank you all for all your prayers, calls, meals, cards, emails...EVERYTHING! We are truly blessed and love you all.

Easter Weekend

Yeah, I'm a little late but here's some pics from Easter weekend. We had two egg hunts & Emily's birthday party. Lots of fun!

Thank you Lord, March is over!

So, let's just say March was not the greatest month of our lives...except for ONE thing! ABBY's PREGNANT! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Thank you Lord! I am so excited...and I just know there's more than one baby in there. She has a sonogram in the morning and I can't wait!

Kristol is due any day now and I can't wait for Kalyn to get here...I hope she has red hair just like Grady!

Brynne Update: This week has been an amazing turn around. For pretty much the entire month of March we could only get her to eat about 3 ounces per feeding. This week she's jumped to 4 to 6 ounces per feeding. We are going to do bi-weekly weight checks starting tomorrow.
When we left the hospital on the 12th, she weighed 8-4, then on the 25th she weighed 8-9. Just a little gain but she was gaining. Two days later she had lost 3 ounces and was back down to 8-6. So we went back into the hospital, when we left the hospital the second time she weighed 8-13...tonight our scales said 9-6. I know the scale is a little off but I know she's gained some. I can't believe how much she's eating! She turns 4 months old on Friday...pictures will come soon.

Koda's doing great...he did great while we were in the hospital but you can tell he missed us. Everytime we leave the house he says "Are we all going together or where am I going?" He's such a trooper.

Tonight Koda & Craig sat out on the porch and played checkers "until the stars came out". They had a blast!

HOME!

I don't think I've ever appreciated my own bed like I did last night. After 12 days of sleeping in a hospital bed, we're HOME! Well, actually I'm at work and C, K & B are at Abby's house but anyway, we're not in the hospital. Praise the Lord! We still have no idea what actually caused all the fun we had the last few weeks but thankfully it's over. What ever it was, it was bad. Brynne turned 3 months old on Tuesday and weighed 7lbs. 15 ounces. When we left the hospital yesterday she weighed 8 lbs. 3 ounces, so we're on our way up! Thank you all again for everything you did for us...especially the prayers. We truly believe that God placed His healing hand on Brynne and without your prayers we would still be in the hospital.

I have too many emotions right now to fully explain in words but all I can say is Thank you! and I hope you know how much we love & appreciate you all.

Keep Brynne in your prayers, she needs to gain some weight...I asked if I could be a fat donor...the doctors didn't think it was as funny as I did. :)

We close on our house today at 11:00!!!! Thank you Lord!

In the Hospital :(

As most of you know, Brynne has been in the hospital since Sunday, March 1. We still don't know what has caused her to be so sick but it looks like she'll be here a little while longer. We had to put in a feeding tube with special formula, but as bad as it sounds, it has actually been really good for her. She has been able to keep nutrients in her little body long enough to absorb them. She's definitely progressing but it is & will be a slow process. God has provided wonderful nurses & doctors and family & friends to visit and take care of us during this really "unfun" time. Thank you all for your prayers, visits, calls, texts, emails & gifts. We are truly amazed at how God has blessed our lives and are trusting Him to bring Brynne back to complete health.

SOLD!!!!!!!!!

Yea! We sold our house in New Deal! Thank you all for praying for us during the last five months. God is truly awesome and found a great couple to buy it. We have a tenative closing date of March 14...We're excited but sad to leave our first house & our awesome neighbors! And thanks Janice for working so hard for us...We love you!
P.S. If anyone needs a realtor...call Janice Jones at The Real Estate Company!

Brynne 2 months

I finally had a few minutes this morning to take some real pictures of Brynne...she did great! And yes...she's usually this happy. :)

Truly Blessed!

This week has been an awesome week...other than the icy roads! Which actually were a blessing because I got to work from home on Tuesday. It's amazing how much more work I get done at home than at the office. Also, our Sunday School class has cooked us dinner EVERY night this week. Every night has been extremely good and enough for lunch the next day. I could get used to that...anyone know a FREE chef? PLUS, today the Lord provided some much needed "extra" funds for all those "extra" medical bills. We are so grateful to all of you who have been such a blessing in our lives.

Craig & I have been reading the Love Dare book. It has been so good for us, in just the first week we've both seen such a change in our relationship. If you haven't read it or even heard of it...click here. It's great!

Brynne Update: We went to the doctor last week because she's been spitting up/throwing up once or twice a day for a couple of weeks. I thought at first it was because she was getting too much milk, so we switched to bottles so we could control the amount she was getting. Then, I gave her a couple of days to really get used to the bottle but nothing really changed. I was afraid she had reflux, which after a barium test & x-ray, was confirmed. She's doing much better now but requires sitting up for at least 20 minutes after eating which is NOT so fun at night. At 6 weeks, she weighed 7lbs. 13 oz. & 20 1/2 inches long. I really do have a ton of pictures but haven't found the chance to edit them!

Koda Update: I can't believe how much he's grown - height & maturity. He's 41 inches & 42 lbs. He loves to "read", tell us what time it is and say his Bible verses. He especially loves to help with Brynne, making sure we feed her is his favorite "Big Brother duty". He told me the other day..."Mom, I'm just doin' my job!" We'll hopefully get a lot done on his room this weekend and finally get him in there. Hunting season is over so Craig will be home for awhile!

Please pray that our house in New Deal sells soon...I know God has a perfect plan, just keep wondering what it is? :)

Pictures of Brynne

I know I know I know! I really have been taking pics but the time has just been flying by. Brynne is 5 weeks old today and I cannot believe it. I'm back to work part time so its making me actually get dressed & leave the house! I definitely have enjoyed my time off work but I know I have to go back. It's really nice to be able to take Brynne with me so I don't feel like I'm completely abandoning her this early!! Anyway, here's some pics from the last couple of weeks...more to come...someday! (are you happy now Trajina?) :)

Oh yeah...we went to the doctor last week & she weighed 7 lbs. 5. oz & was 20 1/2 inches.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all. Here's what I woke up to this morning and the only thing that could've made it better is Craig being here. He's at the deer lease trying one last time to shoot SOMETHING!!!
No new resolutions for me this year...they haven't worked out well in the past, so I'm just gonna make this year my no resolution year. Let's just live it and see what happens!
We've had an awesome holiday season and still have a few more family gatherings to attend, then its back to school & back to work. I've got tons of pics to post...I'll do it soon! Look for more home makeover pics to come.
Have a safe and happy new year. I pray God's richest blessings on you all in 2009!