Update

Papa came home from the hospital on Thursday, while I was there, along with my brother and mom and dad. It was nice to see everyone....we are rarely, (maybe once a year) all together at the same time and it felt good. Papa was in high spirits but tired and worn out. Gram has been sick, too, thankfully, my mom has been with them to help out. She'll be there all this week, too, to get things squared away before leaving.

My friend, Jeannie, and her son Grady, came home on Saturday. Jeannie is still under the weather, but Grady is doing well. RSV can be very dangerous but God kept our little Grady safe.

Thinking about heading to Grand Blanc again to visit Gram and Papa and my mom with the kids. Papa calls Isaac his "tiger" and that is about the cutest thing ever.

So, if I can get things taken care of here, this morning, we'll head out late this afternoon.

One of my good friends just had baby #4, Audra. Wow. I totally think we're done at 2. Much love, Janet. Miss ya!

Allright, better get on the laudry. That stuff really piles up, doesn't it?! Hannah's watching Caillou and Isaac needs to eat....gotta love being a SAHM!!!!!

Sorry....

....I had to turn on the word authenticator for leaving comments...I started getting weird stuff. Please!!! Keep leaving comments!!!!

Here are the pics I mentioned a few days ago...oops!!

Please be in Prayer

When it rains, it pours. Please pray for the following struggles:

Papa continues to remain hospitalized. Jason is working from home tomorrow to stay with the kiddos while I go to Grand Blanc to bring my Papa some love and cheer. I'll be stopping in Lansing to pick up my brother so it'll be cool to see him, too.

My dear friend, Jeannie, who I met at the RMDH in Cleveland, has returned to Cleveland Clinic as her son has RSV. RSV is a VERY serious illness for our preemies to get.

We've learned some interesting things about Isaac's adoption process as of late that could cause serious problems. We are petitioning God for the TRUTH to be revealed. I know this sounds very cryptic, but our adoption is not finalized, yet, and we have not yet had the opportunity to share our concerns with the State of Ohio's licensing division. I mentioned a lot of concerns on our Life Support blog about the TERRIBLE agency we've had to work with during this process, and it continues to get WORSE.

Love and peace to each of you.

Most importantly, today, I'd like to request prayer for my Papa (and Gram). On Saturday night, Gram took him to the hospital because he was having chest pains. He continues to be hospitalized until they have more answers. My mom came down yesterday, to be with my Gram while everything is worked out. You know how much I love my Gram and Papa; your prayers would be appreciated.

My wisdom teeth. The worst part during the surgery was the cracking I heard as my teeth were ripped away from my jaw. All in all, I haven't felt too horrible. Nothing I'd like to experience again, but not nightmarish. Hopefully, I don't develop dry sockets. I've been following the after care instructions pretty well; even the not eating almost everything. I hope I lose some weight this week.

Isaac is doing well. He's sleeping about 12 hours a night--7:30-7:30. Our kid's bedtimes are a big deal to us so we work hard to get the bedtime thing down right away. He still wakes up every once in a while, but after crying it out, he's back to sleep. He's eating enough to keep gaining weight, laughing, cooing, smiling and just being our buddy, buddy.

Hannah continues to be a great big sister. She helps with almost everything I ask. She's such a sweetie. She's totally into the Disney princesses since our trip to Disney World so I bought her all the Disney princess stories I could find at the dollar store for her Easter basket. Since I'm still not supposed to be talking much, Jason did a lot of reading yesterday! Hannah also has an imaginary friend named Jay. He goes everywhere with us and gets disciplined right along with Hannah (per her request). It's very cute. Jay goes grocery shopping and has snack. Jay is like a member of our family--except I don't have to wipe his butt. It's great.

I've been praying about Three Voices and Until Journey's End and feel as though I have some answers. I do not feel comfortable moving forward with two full-fledged nonprofits. We've made the decision to keep Three Voices as an organization with a website to advocate for triad members. We will help anyone who contacts us but will not proceed any furthur with developing a nonprofit. Until Journey's End is already taking off and doing well. We feel UJE has a lot of potential to support others in a very positive way. We are moving ahead to gain nonprofit status for UJE. I am currently looking for board members. If you are interested in learning more about applying to be a board member, pleaes contact me via email. Please also see who we've been supporting on the UJE website.

Please continue to leave comments when you can; I love to hear from you!!

BTW, check back later as I have to get on the other computer to download pics--I'll do it later today. Later!

Wisdom

I'm getting ready to head out and get my wisdom teeth pulled. All four of them. Gonna be lots of fun. Papa's here with Hannah and Isaac is going with a friend of mine. Jason's gonna go to a local WIFI spot while they're ripping my teeth out.

Wish me luck!

Biggby's Blog

Well, I just have to draw attention to it and put the link under my favorite blogs....the CEO and co-founder of Biggby Coffee (formerly Beaner's Coffee) has a blog. Yes, I follow it. I've been a Biggby lover since my MSU days and when we moved to Grand Rapids and there was only ONE Biggby....ouch. Now, we have one on practically every corner. Great for them, bad for my waistline. Carmel Marvels are the BEST EVER. Try one and you'll never go anywhere else. I love BIGGBY Coffee.

Another Milestone

Isaac continues to thrive and today reached a new milestone--he began talking to inanimate objects. Sounds silly, I know, but all of a sudden he's a babbling fool (if you know us, not unlike Hannah and myself). I gave him a pen earlier today and he chatted away.

He also had his 4 month checkup this week and weighed in at 12 pounds and was 22 1/2 inches long. His doctor told us that if he continues to grow at this rate, he'll be caught up by age 2 (which is about "right"). Isaac does have very obvious muscle issues so I asked about Cerebral Palsy. She said she wouldn't say yes or no, yet. She sees signs of possible diagnosis but is not ready to make that decision. Isaac's PT continues to work with him weekly and shows me how to work with him to loosen up his muscles and teach him how to relax.

It was warm enough yesterday afternoon for the three of us to go for a walk. It was wonderful! I put socks on Isaac's hands to keep them warm and away we went! It was glorious. We all loved it. Hannah keeps asking when it's going to be "grass time."

One of my good friends is taking me out for dinner for my birthday tonight and I'm really looking forward to that. We always have fun together.

Isaac just woke up so I better go! I could really use some families for Until Journey's End...I'm hitting dead ends.....help!

For the record, I miss Gram's comments, too...sounds like she's having computer trouble again....we better get that fixed, huh?! Love you, Gram!!!!

and...we're back!

Florida was FANTASTIC. Jim, thank you for a wonderful vacation. We had a great time. And we have 289 photos to prove it.

Hannah loved the Magic Kingdom. Her favorite ride was the tea cups. I was spinning us around REALLY fast and she loved it. I think Jason was turning green but he made it through allright.

We sat by the pool, visited a local zoo and just relaxed. Isaac did great in his front carrier everywhere we went, but as soon as he was out of the carrier and in the condo, he was crying. That kid just loves to be held and talked to. Constantly.

The temperature was 70-80 everyday with a little rain here and there near the end of the week. The condo was awesome. Hannah loved to leave the screen door open to the patio and go outside and look for alligators (don't worry, we weren't near a water source). She did see quite a few lizards--they liked to hide under the air conditioner.

Jim was glad to relax in the evenings at the condo after the kiddos went to bed so Jason and I could spend some time together. We went out a couple nights and just drove and talked. It was great to be together. One night we went out for dinner (to celebrate my 30th birthday) and when we returned to the condo, Jason got sick. We think it was food poisoning. He had a rough night.

Back home, we decided to do some room re-arranging. We've spent most of the weekend organizing, cleaning and throwing away. We went to church last night and are ready to start a new week. I feel refreshed and rested. Bring it on!