Digging Out

Sorry to breeze in and breeze out with so little information about my Mom and exactly what is going on. Thank you for your sweet comments, emails, texts and phone calls. And thank you for praying for my family.

A little background - Mom was diagnosed with a fairly uncommon disease in 2002 called Scleroderma. Only about 300,000 people in the US have been diagnosed with scleroderma. There is no known cause, there is no cure and the treatment is minimal.

In August Mom started having some complications from an infected place on her finger (scleroderma related) so she was seeing a physician that was helping her get better. While being treated for the finger, she started having some other issues/symptoms including loss of appetite, weight loss, low blood counts, low blood pressure, etc. This eventually led to a trip to the UAB ER where she was eventually (after a painfully long wait) admitted and underwent many tests. She was discharged within a few days without a true picture of what was wrong, but with plans for additional outpatient tests with a gastroenterologist. Before she ever made it for the additional tests she began to have intense stomach pains. Again we headed back to UAB where they discovered she had an ulcer that had perforated the lining of her stomach. She was taken for emergency surgery very early on a Saturday morning to repair the tear. During the operation they discovered that she had far greater problems than they expected and due to what they found in her stomach (which we now know to be non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) they were unable to repair the tear and therefore were left with no choice but to completely remove her stomach.

It was a very hard surgery on Mom's body so she was left on the ventilator and taken to ICU following the surgery. She was on the ventilator from Saturday until Monday afternoon and on Tuesday she was released from ICU to a general recovery room. She stayed in the hospital for another week (or so) and was then released to a rehab facility where she's been for the last month (just about).

She's recovering well and getting stronger every day. She's still got her sense of humor and is as feisty as ever. She's still on a feeding tube to help her get the proper amount of nutrition so that her incision can heal. She's learning how to eat and drink without a stomach (she can eat regular food, she just has to eat smaller and more frequent meals/snacks).

I've learned a lot from her. She's a fighter - and I really didn't know that about her. She's stayed so positive, constantly saying that it could be worse (and I'm not so sure about that sometimes). She's so kind to each and every care giver that she comes in contact with - even the ones that could be doing a better job. She has patience and extends grace to everyone. She's strong and I know that is going to help her in the days ahead.

We go tomorrow for her first appointment with her new hematologist/oncologist. He'll help us navigate exactly what needs to be done to fight the Lymphoma. He's already talking chemo, but she'll have scans done tomorrow that will show her doctor exactly what was left after her stomach was removed. I'm praying for no cancer left, no spreading and therefore no need for further treatment.

I'm sorry for those of you reading that were left surprised and uninformed. Thank you for all of your kind words and most of all for praying for us. We believe in the power of prayer and that's what Mom needs the most.

For some light-hearted reading and the source of many great smiles from Mom these days, keep scrolling on down.....

Sweet and Sassy

This one is just the epiotme of sass these days. Look at that face!!

But she can be really sweet too!

I think we'll keep her!!

All About Maddie

My itty-bitty baby is getting so big. I mean, I still feel that way about Hannah Cate, so you can imagine my surprise over how big my Maddie is getting! She's such a sweet girl. She still just smiles all the time. She loves Hannah Cate and wants to be where ever she is. She's loud and is starting to "talk" (ba-ba-ba, da-da-da). She's crawling all over the place, room to room. Her favorite place is Hannah Cate's room with all the toys. She's pulling up and just starting to take some steps while holding on. I think she's going to be walking so much sooner than Hannah Cate did (14 months). The girl loves to eat. I don't think we'll have one bit of problem getting her to give up the bottle, she already loves a sippy cup and she would rather eat solids than drink a bottle. We still call her Maddie Moo-Moo and sometimes just Moo. She's not a very good sleeper (that might be the under statement of the year). Her sleeping habits might just seal the deal that she'll always be the baby (wink and a smile). She's always content if she can see your face, otherwise, she'll let you know that she would like to see your face - again, she's loud.

I just cannot imagine our family without her. She's a blessing and we are so glad that she's ours. She's stolen all three of our hearts.

These two sweet girls are going to be our babysitters one day. They come over to our house to play several times a week. They love, love, love Hannah Cate and Maddie and are so sweet to them. We cannot wait until they are just a little older and are ready to take on the girls by themselves!

One day they came over and Hannah Cate was spending the night with Matt's parents, so Maddie had them all to herself. They played and played (and I was able to get some chores done around the house). They called me into Maddie's room and this is what I found:

Maddie thought it was so funny and so did the girls!

My Mom is sick.

It's hard to watch your Mom be sick and to see her hurt.



The unknown is hard.


I'm at the hospital with her in Birmingham, which means I'm not at home with my family.

I miss them.



It's hard to be away from them.



I'm thankful that I am where I know I am supposed to be - but no matter where I turn, it's hard.


The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17


Please pray for us.

Life as the Baby

Hannah Cate loves, loves, loves Maddie. Maddie loves, loves, loves Hannah Cate. The two of them are most content when they are together. Of course Maddie can't really play with Hannah Cate just yet, but Hannah Cate really thinks that she is playing with Maddie. Sometimes at sweet Maddie's expense. We've learned pretty quickly that we can't turn our backs for very long!

But we have learned the hard way in some cases.......

Hannah Cate has developed an obsession with hats lately, but in most cases, she's obsessed with taking them off. She's been saying to Matt recently "hat off" every time he has a hat on. G-Daddy came to play with us on Monday and he received the same treatment. Maddie on the other hand was given the Hannah Cate stamp of approval to wear the "War Eagey" hat (whether it fit her or not).

Hannah Cate has also developed a great fondness for talking to people on the phone. We like to call Mimi and G-Daddy on the phone since we don't get to see them as often. Hannah Cate likes to make sure Maddie gets to talk to them too!

I'm not even sure how to explain this one, other than to say, this falls in the "don't turn your back" category. We were getting ready to go to the pool and Maddie was waiting patiently already loaded in her car seat while the rest of us were getting our stuff together. Hannah Cate grabbed one of the chargers off the dining room table and proceeded to put it over Maddie's face. The funniest part is that it didn't even phase sweet Moo-Moo - no arms flailing or legs kicking. I guess you get used to just about anything around here!

On Saturday I was home alone with the girls and I was trying to get a few things done around here. Hannah Cate was playing in her room and so I thought I would put Maddie in Hannah Cate's crib ("kib") where she would be safe and sound but could still be in the presence of Hannah Cate (again, they are both happier and more content when they are together). I came back to check on them, only to find every single one of Hannah Cate's toys (books, stuffed animals, baby dolls, puzzle pieces, you name it) in the crib with Maddie. Poor girl was practically buried underneath a mound of toys. Would you believe me that she wasn't even crying or fussing? She was actually smiling when I peered over the crib to find her under the mess. So much for safe and sound in the crib. I don't have a picture of this near catastrophe because my camera battery was dead I was just trying to rescue my baby!

As for the big sister responsible for it all. This is the face I get when I ask her if she thinks maybe she's playing a little rough with sister:

Hmmmmm.....what am I supposed to say to that?

We Call her Maddie Moo-Moo

She turned six months old on Sunday.

All I can think is "ooooooooohhhhhhh" where did the time go?

Half of a year.

In pre-baby days a half of a year was a long time. In post-baby days it goes by in the blink of an eye.

Sweet Sister Maddie Moo-Moo,

You are a true delight. You make our hearts swell with your free-flowing and gracious smiles. I feel better about myself when I'm around you because you are so quick to flash me your toothless (but not for much longer) grin. You have the kindest blue eyes. I can already tell that you are going to have a very gracious spirit. I'm taking in your sweet snuggles as much as I can because I know before long you will be off chasing your big sister and won't have as much time to cuddle. In an instant you stole my heart for the third time. I love you sweet girl and we are so blessed to call you ours.

My love,

Mama

PS- I promise we'll stop calling you Moo-Moo before you start Kindergarten, you have my word!

Beach Trip

A couple of weeks ago we went to the beach with a big group of friends. Five families totaling 10 adults and 9 children - we had them outnumbered this year, but next year they'll have us beat! I think the trip was overall a resounding success. It was a way different beach trip than I am used to, but we made it work. It was really great to just get outside of our normal day-to-day routine. Some of my favorite times were after the kids had gone to bed and we just sat out on the balcony and chatted.

Hannah Cate loved spending time with the boys and I think she has officially developed her first crush. She has been talking about Peyton ("Pake") ever since we left. She really does thrive in social settings and loves being around other kids. Every time we left to go to dinner, etc. she would ask "Home to condo?" It was really hard to explain to her on the last day when we were leaving for good that we were going home-home and that "home to condo" was just a vacation. I think she wouldn't have minded staying forever!

Maddie was a little trooper. Sleeping on the go when needed and overall going with the flow. She's really coming into her own and developing her own sweet personality. I'm so thankful for her happy disposition.

Nothing like a little dinner and napping. I think we made a mistake at dinner this night. We went to a place in Alys Beach called George's. Great food, great atmosphere, but we really paid ($$$) for it!

So glad our girls got his gorgeous blue eyes!

Ethan

Thomas (aka T-bug)

Robert

Peyton, Ethan and Jackson

Hannah Cate attempting to play with Finn - he wasn't so interested!


Hannah Cate has developed a great love for the ocean (osh-ee) this year. She loves to play in the waves and screams over and over "waves get me"!

Sweet Maddie. I love this girl!

Loving on my sweet girls!

I did celebrate a birthday that ends with a "0" while we were at the beach. The girls planned a little cake party after dinner that night and it was a good day. Matt surprised me with an upcoming vacation that we'll get to go on just the two of us - can't wait!

Kids playing amongst the local paparrazi!

This was our second attempt at the beach with Maddie. Attempt one officially failed. We were there for less than 10 minutes and hung it up. Day two we went armed with a plan and it was a much better beach outing! Maddie stayed perched in her bouncy on the beach chair and all was good!

Self portrait!

No oil made for great beach and ocean time.

Shands-man. Probably one of the most self-entertaining, wild-man kiddos I've ever been around!

There's nothing like a good nap on the beach! I wish that could have been me!

We had a great time and can't wait until next year!