Journaling 12/8/24
1 year ago
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
A long overdue post about my Bailey McBoing-Boing
For spring break Bailey went to Tampa with her buddy Mary Kate. The Douglas family graciously took Bailey on a fantastic trip to Busch Gardens and a water park. They had a blast! Bailey and MK rode every roller coaster for which they met the height requirements. Things at home weren't the same without Bailey here (it was VERY quiet!), but we were so glad that she had fun!
Bailey has had a great year at school. She is in the PACE laptop class and has really learned so much! It cracks me up because she makes power point presentations at home for fun. Oh yes, complete with sound effects and visuals for each slide. Unfortunately her favorite sound effects are of the bathroom humor variety. Go figure. I need to take a picture of her lugging her laptop back and forth to school. She's so petite that her bag is almost as big as she is!
The first Sunday in May Bailey will be participating in her first triathlon. She has been training with a group of kids from school to prepare for the 3 mile bike ride, a 100 meter swim and a 1/2 mile run. I am so proud that she is brave enough to want to try this!
Bailey also plays soccer and basketball. She runs like the wind and always tries her best. It wears me out watching her run so much! This year in soccer she has scored several goals and has really learned to be a team player. I love watching her play. Greg helps coach her team and is so proud of her!
Bay continues to love reading. She's read all of the Harry Potter books and all of the Twilight books through Eclipse. On average she probably reads 4-5 books a week. I go to the thrift shop weekly and buy a stack of chapter books for her so I can keep her in new books. She loves reading historical fiction and can't resist a good mystery. I had prayed when I was pregnant with Bailey that she would love books and God has graciously answered that prayer! She has read all of the Sunshine State books and will get a medal at school this year for doing so! Go Bailey!
Bailey really enjoys music. She requests her favorite music station every time we get in the car. For some reason she doesn't "allow" me to dance or sing (or hum, or lip sync for that matter) to any of the music. Sometimes I just can't help myself and Bailey has to set me straight! :) Bailey enjoys contributing to Greg's ipod tune list. She has pretty good taste in music. It's fun seeing her jam to the classic songs that I love. Rest assured that she is quite versed on all things Bono/U2!
Bailey is learning to play the recorder in her music class at school. I tried to impress her with my mad recorder skillz by playing Hot Cross Buns but she wasn't impressed. It's been fun watching her learn to play the recorder! She's already surpassed my skills although she still squeaks sometimes! We all get a big laugh when that happens!
One of Bailey's favorite weekly events is her Sunday morning trip to Starbucks with Greg. They leave for church before the rest of the family so Greg can set up for the class that he helps teach. On the way, the two of them always stop for coffee and a muffin. It is a precious time for the two of them. Bailey loves a good frappucino and some quality time with her Daddy. Even without Starbucks Bailey loves going to church. She loves God and loves learning about him. That is one of the things that I love the most about Bailey. This summer she will be going to church camp for the first time. I cannot wait to hear all about her experiences at good 'ole Camp Tahkodah!
I guess that's enough for now. I just felt moved this morning to talk about my little Bobo. She is an amazing child and I don't tell her that enough. She has a sweet sensitive heart, a hilarious sense of humor, and is a good big sister to her brothers.
She is a good friend to others...
...and she loves Nina, Poppa and Grandma Beep more than life itself.
I love you Baylor!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Our Heart Healer Turns ONE!
We have been waiting for 4 years, 4 months and 7 days to be able to celebrate a first birthday.
One year ago today God blessed us with Paxton. In doing so, a part of our hearts were healed that I had worried would never feel whole again.
Happy first birthday little buddy! You have given our family a level of happiness that we had almost forgotten could exist!
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For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Catch up post...Paxton's surgery
I am super behind in blogging. I am going to go ahead and post some pictures from Paxton's surgery. I am so very thankful to have all of that behind us. Here's the short version of our experience:
The surgery lasted almost 7 hours. Several wonderful people from church came and sat with us in the waiting room. Mom and Dad were also here for the surgery. It really helped us get through the waiting time. As a parent it was pretty brutal. I have never been apart from Paxton for seven hours. Not even close to seven hours. It helped so much to have people sitting and visiting with us. It really helped the time pass. Thank you so much Mom, Dad, Doug, Betty, Jeanne and Shannon for being there with us. You will never know how much it meant.
Dr. Aldana said that the spinal cord moved up about 1/4 of an inch when he was able to release it from the lipoma. This was evidence that it was already putting quite a bit of strain on the spinal cord. We are so thankful that we found this so early because it probably would have caused Paxton some serious problems. They had to remove two bones in his back for the surgery. The doctor was able to place one of them back in. I wonder what he did with the other one? :)
Paxton did so well that when he came out of surgery he did not have to go to the PICU as had been planned. After time in recovery he was able to go to a regular room. It was very difficult to see Paxton when they brought him back to me. You'll see from one of the pictures below how swollen his face was (they had warned me that this would happen so I knew it was normal).
I stayed with Paxton in the hospital and Greg was there as much as possible in between being with the kids. Mom and Dad were so helpful keeping everything going smoothly at home.
After only 4 days in the hospital we were able to come home. The biggest challenge after surgery was that we had to keep Paxton off his back for 3 weeks. Not easy to do with a 4 month old! He also could not be in a car seat for 3 weeks. That was also not easy to do, but we made it work.
God has been gracious to us and 3 months later Paxton is as healthy as can be. I look forward to getting my blog updated with pictures of my AMAZING family and the fun we have been having the past several months.
Enjoy the pictures...many more to come in future posts!
Before surgery
Cute baby hospital gown. I should have taken his diaper off so you could get the full effect!
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Look how swollen my little baby was when he came out of surgery. Yes, I cried...wouldn't you???
Recovering with Daddy
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Feeling so much better!!!
Incision 2 days post op
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A pair of shoes...
A pair of shoes.
I am wearing a pair of shoes. They are ugly shoes. Uncomfortable shoes. I hate my shoes. Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair. Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step. Yet, I continue to wear them. I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy. I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs. They never talk about my shoes. To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable. To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them. But, once you put them on, you can never take them off. I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes. There are many pairs in this world. Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them. Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much. Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt. No woman deserves to wear these shoes. Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman. These shoes have given me the strength to face anything. They have made me who I am. I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.I am so thankful that I am learning to walk in my "shoes" without them hurting so much. I am praying for those whose feet are hurting during this holiday season. XOXO
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