Prayer request

I'm not too sure if anyone really reads this thing, but if you do...could you please pray for sweet Abby? She's not feeling very well. You can read about her at http://www.riggsbunch.blogspot.com/. A specific list of prayer intentions are listed on the site, but I know that any prayers would be appreciated by Abby and her family. I hope that Michelle doesn't mind my posting of this request...but I know how much the prayers of my "e-friends" have meant when we have spent stressful days in the hospital with our little girl. In fact, I believe those prayers have brought miracles. And Abby needs one of those miracles right now.

Thanks!

UPDATE 8/22/08 - Abby is home as of last night and feeling much, much better. Please continue to pray as the family awaits test results and plans for her future treatment needs.

Tired...but thankful

Find out about about
Magazine Monday Nominations.

Since she became mobile about a year ago, Cece has not stopped. She goes, and goes, and goes - like our own little Energizer bunny. With only a few exceptions, the only time she sits still for more than a minute or two at a time is when she's asleep. This activity escalates exponentially when we are in unfamiliar surroundings. When we go to Target, Daddy's job is to chase Cece around the store while Alec and I shop. When we go to family gatherings or friends' homes, we plan on the fact that one of us will be chasing her up and down the stairs and trying to keep her from overturning numerous houseplants or breaking fine china.

So no matter where we go, we know that it won't take long before we hear the usual statement from those who do not know our Cece...

"Wow, she's REALLY busy!" (Yep, she sure is...but she's happy!)

"She sure has a lot of energy! Must tire you out!" (You don't know the half of it.)

"Is she always that energetic?" (YES!!!)

I can't blame anyone for noticing that she's a sweet little hummingbird, fluttering about from one thing to the next and keeping us on the chase. We say it ourselves all the time! But what they may not know is that all of that running, climbing up stairs, and mischievous laughter was not always a given.

There were many, many nights when she first arrived in our arms that we did not know if we could care for this tiny little blessing who demanded, needed and DESERVED so much.

There have been many times in the hospital or ER when we have been in fear.

There was a time that we thought she might never walk.

But God has answered so many prayers. He gave us wonderful doctors. He provided us with knowledge through our experiences with Alec that we didn't even know we'd need in the future. He led us to AWESOME physical and developmental therapists. He gave us the energy, resources and faith to be able to help Cece grow and thrive...even when we thought it was impossible.

Her start in life was not easy. She was born prematurely and spent the first few weeks of her life in the NICU. When she was placed with us at 9 weeks of age, she weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and came along with her own laundry list of doctors, appointments, medications and procedures. One way to scare the heck out of a parent is to tell them that they'll have to learn infant CPR before they take the child home. We were just a little overwhelmed (ha!).

Amongst several other issues, Cece's feet were turned in severely. In fact, her heel chords were so tight that it was impossible to manually push them into a neutral position (i.e., 90 degrees from the leg - the usual, natural position of a foot). We ended up starting her into twice-weekly physical therapy soon thereafter. We would drive home from work, pick the kids up from daycare, and drive 25 minutes to the therapy appointment. After a half hour of torturing (I mean, helping) our infant daughter, we would load back in the van and head home for the bedtime routine. Twice a week, every week. I think our van became one big McDonald's french fry pit during those months...yech.

After several weeks it became apparent that those darned heel chords were not going to let up. So we added one more doctor to the list - a pediatric orthopedist. We traveled to Peoria to meet with him for the first time, and only minutes after he looked at Cece we were watching her be fitted with plaster casts. The goal was to put her feet into a neutral position for an extended period of time (10 days) and then, hopefully, get her into some braces to keep the stretching going. We were adamant that surgery was a last resort. The risks were just too high, and the benefit too low, especially for a child with sickle cell disease.

Casting was NOT fun...starting with 1 1/2 hours of inconsolable baby screaming on the way home. But there was nothing we could do for her, except provide an unending supply of Tylenol. (For all of you who have had a child go through hip Spica casts...my hat is off to you!!!) None the less, she adapted quickly and after three or four days she could sleep again, sit again, and generally manage. The poopy diaper changing was another story...yuck. Amazingly I believe that we managed to keep those casts clean. Luckily she's never been a "blowout" kid.

Then there was the bracing. Pretty minor, really. The biggest challenge was getting her to sit still long enough to put them on every morning!!!

Now my beautiful girl not only walks, she runs. She jumps. She wears regular shoes (as long as they light up or have sparkles...or the cherished ladybug rainboots). She climbs up on stuff and gives me heart palpitations.

And I cherish every minute of it.

Run on, baby girl. Be as busy as you want.

We'll just keep chasing after you...and thanking God for everything that you are.

Babies, baths, and juice

So it's been about 2 months since I intended to start this endeavor. I guess for the most part, the nights have been a little late, the house is a constant mess-in-progress, and I just haven't been inspired to write much. But over the last couple of days my son has blessed me with some adorable, 4-year-old wisdom that seems worth sharing!

Last weekend we went to a baby shower for one of our nieces. I had told Alec a few days beforehand that we would be going to the baby shower on Saturday. On Friday, he asked me when we would see the baby take a bath. The discussion of "showering with gifts" vs. "putting a baby in the tub" ensued for the next few days, including the fact that the baby was still in Cousin's tummy. Sunday evening, as we were getting ready for bed, he asked me about it again. I told him that we gave gifts to the baby, and that was what "shower" meant. I also asked him if he remembered seeing the baby in our niece's tummy, which he did.

Now, we've had lots of discussions about babies in mommies' tummies, and have explained many times that he did not grow in my tummy. But hey, he's 4, so he asks again. I'm good with that. Actually, he really doesn't ask - he will say "And I grew in Mommy's tummy!" My response is always, no, you didn't grow in Mommy's tummy, because Mommy can't grow babies in her tummy. But you grew in your Birth Mommy's tummy, and then you came to us to be our baby boy and that made us so very happy! Sometimes the explanation is more in-depth, sometimes less - I let him lead the way depending on how much he feels he needs to know at that point. But this conversation quickly took a direction I didn't expect.

"Did it go in there?" (pointing to his mouth)
I looked at him quizzically, not sure where this was going...
"Did the baby go in her mouth - like this - and then in her tummy?"
Oh my...
"Well, honey, it's not exactly like that..."
"Mommy?"
"Yes, honey?"

Oh no...what now? Is it time for birds and bees? I haven't thought about that yet...panic! panic! pan...

"Can I have some juice?"

Phew. Guess I'd better work on an answer for THAT one for the next time around.