Lily update...22 months

This video is only a glimpse into how wild and crazy Lily and Thomas get when they start playing together. This activity of chasing each other around the house happens after every meal while I am trying to clean up. They both love it and laugh and scream the whole time. However it usually ends with someone (usually Lily) getting hurt. Imagine that!

I wanted to update you on Lily. It has been a while since I've talked about her and her progress. I wish I could say that the vomiting has stopped or at least gotten better, but unfortunately it hasn't. I will say that her random episodes of vomiting are fewer now which is good. At least now we are learning the warning signs and can sometimes make it to the toilet or trash can or just avoid getting it all over ourselves. She mostly now vomits when she gets hurt, scared, really upset and when we leave her, like at nursery. This is the third Sunday in a row that she has vomited at church! UGH!! But it is also totally affecting her sleep. We can't just put her to bed and let her cry because she will throw up. So nap time and bed time now are very stressful.

She is still on Prevacid and after trying another medicine and after several months with her current GI doctor, we decided it was time to move on. She now has an appointment with a pediatric GI doctor at Duke. I know this is probably where she should have been all along since it is very comparable to where she was in Houston and they are used to dealing with preemies like Lily. So I am anxious for the appointment which isn't until August 30th. So for now we just hope and pray for a few vomit free days!

She has quite the personality these days. She is very independent and stubborn! She climbs anything and everything. I will be doing the dishes in the kitchen and turn around and she is on top of the kitchen table, or climbing the shelves in the pantry, or climbing in anything she thinks she might can fit in. She loves playing outside and loves watching her big brother Thomas and wants to do everything that he is doing. She can climb the rock wall on the swing set and climbs the monkey bar ladder all the way to the top! She absolutely has no fear with anything. Even water. She loves being in the water and will just jump right off the side or stairs ready or not! She is really funny. She will try to say or do just about anything you ask her to. She loves making you laugh and will continue to force her funny little laugh if she sees you are laughing! She absolutely loves playing in the dirt and mulch! The dirtier she is the happier she is! Greg asked me yesterday if I thought she would every play with dolls! Who knows. She is truly her own little person!

Slide show of our trip to Lake Martin

Our last stop was to Greg's parent's beautiful home on Lake Martin. We were excited that we got to pick daddy up at the airport on the way there. We love going to the lake and always have such a great time there. It brings back so many special memories especially since we were married there! This was Lily's first time to really get in the lake. She loves the water but really wanted to get in without her life jacket! Both kids loved the boat and Thomas really loved driving the boat. We enjoyed spending time with Greg's sister Leah and her two precious boys, Owen and Ethan. It was so much fun watching all the kids playing together. We also got to see a lot of other extended family which was great. Thomas, Lily, and Greg went to the farm in Goodwater, AL and the kids got to ride a little horse named Buddy! Thomas loved it but I think Lily was more interested in the dog! We all had a great time and were sad to end our trip to Alabama. Looking forward to seeing all of our family again soon!

Slide show of our trip to Hartselle, AL

So, our next stop in our three week vacation was to Hartselle, AL to visit my mom, step dad, and sister Shelby. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing my great-grandmother who Lily is named after and seeing my Granddaddy and step grandmother, and my aunt and cousin. The kids had a lot of fun swimming, eating yummy food, and playing with the cats and dogs. Thomas was super spoiled with a lot of one on one attention from my sister and mom! I also got to get out and do a little shopping in the cute downtown shops. Thanks Gran and Papa Carl for a great visit!

Slide show of our beach pictures. Press play to get it to start. I couldn't figure out how to do a normal slide show so I had to do it as a movie! Whatever works, right?

So, it has been quite a while since I last updated the blog so I have lots to catch up on. For now, I am going to start with the most recent. About a month ago the kids and I took a 3 week trip to visit family in Alabama while Greg traveled with work for a couple of weeks. We started our vacation at the beach with my dad, Leigh, my sisters Leslie and Allison, and my sister Lauren and her 4 kids. Needless to say our condo was quite crazy with that many kids! We had a great time and Thomas and Lily loved catching up with their cousins. Lily LOVED the beach and ocean! I was super excited that she seemed to have taken after me with her love for the beach! Her first day in the sand she did a belly flop right into it and starting moving her arms around like she was making a snow angel. Thomas loved the ocean and liked to build sand castles but he is a lot like his daddy and really didn't care for the sand to be anywhere but on the beach! :-) We missed daddy but loved hanging out with Nana and Pop and my sisters and nieces and nephews.

My next blog will have pictures from our next stop in Alabama!

Easter Pictures 2010

Family picture...

Is there any candy in there bubby?

My three favorite people...

sweet Lily...she wouldn't be still for a picture

My little stud...too cute!

Excited about chocolate, just like his mommy!

Easter Lily...

Needing to share...

Ok, bare with me...I have had so many thoughts flowing through my head lately and just feel compelled to share. I really have been moved to tears so frequently lately and so randomly. Or at least what I call random. I know nothing is really random but ordained by God. For example I will just be driving and be listening to a song that I have heard a thousand times before and suddenly I am hearing it in a new way and am in tears. One of the songs that this happened with is the the song, "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me. And I know this has probably been overplayed, over used, etc.. but listening to it last week, I heard it completely different. For the first time I really pictured myself in front of God asking the questions in the lyrics.

"Surrounded by your Glory, what will my heart feel.

Will I dance for you Jesus, or in honor of you be still

Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all, I can only Imagine."

I immediately just started crying picturing myself with my Creator and thinking how could I ever thank Him enough for the blessings in my life. Lily was the only one in the car with me so of course I just thought back to her past 18 months and how I could ever go before God and put into words what he did for me by healing her and growing her so perfectly when all odds were against her. I believe completely that all children are a gift. All are custom made by God and unique in their own way. But there is something about being with Lily, watching her walk and run, looking into her amazing blue eyes when she is making a funny face, seeing her interact with her big brother, and just realizing that if it weren't for our gracious God, she would not be here. Period.

And while thinking about this I am feeling the weight of my own sin so much. Wondering why am I not just on my knees praising Him constantly. Why am I not racing every morning to get into my Bible to find out more about this amazing God who has been so gracious to me. I don't really know the answer other than I am human and crave humanly desires. I don't even know why all of this is coming out now. I just feel God is working in me and trying to teach me or tell me something. I can only hope and pray that I will have ears to listen and that I will be obedient to follow. Which is partly why I am sharing this. I should be doing other things while my house is actually quiet for a moment but just felt compelled to share.

Many people have said I should write a book about my experience with Lily. While I am flattered by that, I am by no means a writer. I simply write what i feel. However I often think I just wish my brain were a type writer. I wish I could just push the print button and all the thoughts in my head would just print out. It is always when I am in the car or in the middle of something that I feel God speaking to me or reminding me of moments that I should put into words but I usually don't have the time or make the time to do it. We started this blog to inform you about Lily's progress, but it quickly became my way to release all that I was feeling emotionally, spiritually, and physically and was my stress relief.

So maybe I'm writing this to myself to say enough with the words and good thoughts. Put them into action. Get into the Word more, pray more, be more bold in my everyday life and routine. And simply stop putting limits on what God can do with and through me. Who knows? But I do know that NOTHING is impossible with God. Whatever you are experiencing when you read this, I pray that you know the peace, joy, and unconditional love that only comes from knowing Jesus. And that with Him you can get through anything that comes your way.

Have a great day!

Thomas' 4th Birthday Party

Checking out the stats...

Check out this shot...

Having fun...

His cake...yes, that is pink icing...not really sure what happened there??? I mean, surely they knew the name Thomas was a boy??? I didn't see it until we opened the box at the bowling alley!!

Thomas and his cute friends had a blast at his bowling party. It was only the second time Thomas had bowled. It was too cute watching all these little guys bowl! It was so low key and I had nothing to clean, etc!

Lily is excited about the drums...while visiting our friends in Texas last week she tried Cole's drumset out!

Too tempting not to touch...

Enjoying Thomas' birthday doughnut breakfast...

Sorry it has taken me so long to update you all on Lily. Thank you all so much for all of your prayers, emails, and words of encouragement, etc... We really appreciate it so much. I know each of you has your own daily needs, struggles, and prayer requests, so I'm really touched when you take the time to pray for Lily and check in on us.

So, knock on wood, she is doing much much better! Not really sure what exactly happened. Her angel of a doctor from Texas mentioned for me to try some things, like splitting her night time bottle, trying pediasure and mixing instant breakfast into her milk instead of formula, and since doing those things she really has been better. I don't know if it was coincidence, or if Lily just likes it better, or if she is just physically better. Who knows, but I'll take it! Her tests were both normal but we go back to the GI doctor this Thursday for follow-up. Thanks so much for praying so specifically for this. Definitely working so keep it up!

She is constantly sporting the bruised head and/or face look these days. This week alone she had her first black eye and several bruises on her forehead and cheeks. We think big brother had something to do with the black eye. He reportedly stacked his big euro pillows up so she could climb on his bed. I think they were "jumping" and she fell off. I know it sounds like I left them forever. But I promise, I was only 7 feet away and it all happened in less than 5 minutes! She is very independent and determined and such a little dare devil. She climbs anything she thinks she can fit in or on and lately likes to push over the dining room chairs which make a very scary loud thud! There is definitely not a dull moment while she is awake!

She is very quickly becoming a little toddler instead of my little baby girl. Kind of sad but I did get to have a "little" baby for much longer than normal. Oh, and she has gained weight! When we went to the doctor on March 2nd, she weighed 17lbs 4oz! So pumped about that!

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. I pray you all are doing well and have a wonderful day!

Happy 4th Birthday Thomas!

Thomas at 5 days old!

Thomas...First birthday1


Thomas...Two years old!

Thomas...Third birthday

Happy 4th birthday!!!

opening his walkie talkies...

Birthday morning with Krispie Cream!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Thomas! I can't even believe that he is already 4 years old!! Right before my eyes he has become a little boy. He is no longer a little toddler...kind of sad! I had a little emotional moment with him on Friday when it hit me how old he was getting. He told me he would pray to God to not let him get any bigger! So sweet and innocent!

He is finally getting tall and actually taller than a few of his friends now. He still has quite an imagination and is always coming up with something wild to do or say. His latest creative outlet is with scotch tape! He tapes his little chairs together to make a train, and tapes anything and everything to different toys. Really quite entertaining to see what he has taped together! I'll have to post some pictures of it. He loves riding his scoot bike and his riding tractor outside. He is starting to play with Lily more and it is so precious for me to watch!

He still cracks me up with some of his funny phrases and words. Here are a couple of his latest that I can remember. Asking me to do him a favorite, meaning a favor. Saying he wants to read a motion, meaning a devotion. He often says "no I amit" meaning no I'm not. Asking for "erections" to his friends house, meaning directions! And he is always praying for Lily not to throw up...really sweet but kind of sad he thinks he has to pray that all the time!:-) Oh, and thanks to his dad, he is calling me Hollywood all the time!

We celebrated his birthday yesterday with doughnuts for breakfast and a mini cake for lunch. He is having his birthday party at the local bowling alley with his friends from school this Friday. That should be really interesting! I will definitely post pictures from that!

Bath time

Bath tub Lily...
I don't have much to update as far as Lily's tests went. She did pretty well considering she went almost 15 hours without eating or drinking. Hoping to get some results from the doctor tomorrow, maybe??? Will keep you posted. Thanks so much for your prayers and for thinking of us today.



Please continue to pray for our friend's little boy whose surgery is now on Wednesday as well as our former pastor's surgery is also on Wednesday. Thanks.