Two Monday's ago we welcomed sweet Avery Grace into our little family....The whole experience was definitely an interesting one. I was supposed to go into the hospital at 6AM but they ended up making me wait till after 10:00AM to actually come...I know that is only 4 hours, but when you are massively pregnant, and you have waited 9+ months to have a baby, you get a little upset when they say you can't have your baby at this moment...After a few tears turned into happiness when they called and said I could come, we headed into the hospital
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| Love this man right here |
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| First Night! |
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| A screenshot of the too expensive hospital pictures ha |
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| Already a Daddy's girl |
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| Such a sweet face |
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| Love our Angel |
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| She's Here |
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| Miss Liz |
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| Sweet Besties |
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| WE love Mrs. Kelli |
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| Time with the Romm's! |
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| Mommy of 3 GIRLS!!!! |
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| the traditions dress (I wore it home from the hospital and now all my girls have too! |
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| Ready to Go Home |
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| First Selfie! |
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| Our Sweet Girl |
We made it home and started quickly adjusting to life with 3....Thank the Lord for my Mama and Jerry...seriously....they stepped in to help with the older girls so I could focus on adjusting to life with Avery and by Friday we were ready for our clinic day! Friday Clinic was interesting with a newborn, but I have learned to love nursing under a cover (HAHAHAHA! and no, I am not very comfy not using a cover yet!) On Friday, we also needed blood YEA! so that was fun times.....but our LP went well and we survived....and were able to come home to yummy food...Action set up a meal train for our first 2 weeks home and it has been SUCH a blessing for sure!
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| Clinic Cuddles |
Over the weekend we got to spend time together as a family and on Sunday we even got to go swimming and attend Action as a family!!! On Sunday we noticed the spot on Alayna's leg where her bandaid had been after her chemo shot, didn't look great....she has had bandaid reactions before and has broken out a little bit, but we didn't think much about it because it's just common for her....she has eccezma and had impetigo 3 times right before we were diagnosed, so we just decided to keep an eye on it....
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| Enjoying our new Usborn books!!! |
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| DADDY love |
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| Pardon the scary face but look, even Avery thinks I'm funny |
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| Loving this sweet girl |
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| Swim Time...and the start of our Boo Boo |
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| Baby Wearing at Action! |
By Monday morning, Laney Bug's innocent Boo Boo was not so innocent anymore...She was limping on her leg and wouldn't even bend over to pick up her paci....which we all know is a big deal! We also knew her counts had dropped because she was incredibly fussy...so back to the clinic it was! I can pretty much drive there with my eyes closed now a days, but hey, it's all part of it! We saw our awesome doctor, Dr. Sutphin and he gave us a dose of IV antibiotics and started us on an oral one too! Our platelets had dropped significantly as well, but the blood bank didn't have any platelets! People have asked us if they could donate platelets, but it's kind of hard to answer that question....It takes at least 72 hours to get them ready and then they are only good four about 4 days, so it's hard to plan when to have people donate, but with Alayna having 0- neg blood, it definitely throws a challenge into the mix....
By Tuesday, we were able to go BACK to clinic for platelets.....Buggy was also loosing hair left and right, but I was trying to hang out one more day because on Wednesday we were supposed to have newborn pictures, and I had adorable matching outfits for the girls to wear! (I am such a girl mom!) Well on Tuesday we waited a long time for platelets and we also got another dose of IV antibiotics because our Boo Boo wasn't any better....They deaccesesd Alayna's port and we were about ready to leave, when all of a sudden I noticed she felt really warm.....NOOO!!!!!! I thought to myself, there's no way she can have a fever....but sure enough, she sure did!!!! Which meant not only would they have to reaccess her port, but they also would be admitting us!!!! It was about at this point when I lost it....Alayna's hair was ALL over the place...we were supposed to have pictures...post pregnancy hormones were flying free, and now we were getting admitted, while I had a one week old with me......the tears came, but with those tears came the support of about 5 nurses and 1 incredible childlife specialist....The clinic nurses have truly become like family and let me vent and cry and even cried with me....One of our favorite nurses, Kat, and I decided it was time to get rid of the hair...so instead of getting newborn pictures, we would instead be shaving our sweet little girls head.....and the reality sank in.....
Psalms 91:14
The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15
When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16
I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
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| You can really tell here, it was just time |
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| The amazing Lauren, our child life specialist, gave us a new headband, knowing the hair was going that night! Thanks to Headbands of Hope for such a cute Headband |
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| Moments before the Big Shave |
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| of course Sis had to help |
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| First Night with no hair |
Last week was definitely a hard week...My parents decided to stay because we were in the hospital and they just knew it would be too hard to leave with all that was going on, and for this, I was so incredibly thankful! Basically in the mornings my Mama has been waking up early (and she isn't a morning person!) so I don't have to, and heads to the hospital, where Ron is. Ron leaves and goes to work and Papa takes Addyson to school while I get ready and feed the baby....then I head to the hospital and stay all day, with Avery in tow, and spend time with Alayna....then when Ron is done with work, he heads to the hospital, and we switch...Thankfully my Mama also picks Addy up from school so she can nap, and also brings her back in the afternoons so Alayna and Addyson get to see each other...Ron and I spend about 15 mins together, and then I head home so I can sleep in my own bed and also take care of Avery throughout the night, not in a hospital....Let me tell ya, it's not my ideal life right now....My Big Brother and his family came this weekend to spend extra time with Addyson and that was also another huge blessing....
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| Packages from Sweet Friends |
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| Trying a bottle Of Mommy Milk...not a fan Of the bottle part lol |
We got to go to Easter services, but I definitely didn't get to put my girls in their matching outfits, which was definitely hard.....But the more I thought about it. the more it just made sense.....You see, the Lord suffered and died on a cross for our sins and for our HEALING, so at the end of the day, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, that I didn't get our perfect family Easter photo....and it's ok....this is all just a season....
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| At least my outfit matched ha |
Psalms 74:17
You own the day, you own the night;
you put stars and sun in place.
You laid out the four corners of earth,
shaped the seasons of summer and winter.
It makes me think of one of my favorite Hillsong songs,
Your promises are unshaken
My faith is sure of nothing more
Than Christ alone my portion
There’ll be a season
For joy and weeping
In everything our God is faithful
His arms are open
I will come running
Now and always our God is faithful
2. Pray the biopsy will give us results....so far the cultures have been negative because she has been on high doses of antibiotics, so pray the biopsy will actually give us results as to what this is!!! If we know exactly what caused the wound, we can know how to treat it....Also pray that even if we don't get results, the antibiotics will start working and that will also help us get closer to discharge
3. OUR HOUSE!!!!! Y'all, we knocked down the price and we have had less showings and less movement....we are considering an appraisal just so we can know the exact amount our house is worth, and make sure it's priced well, but that is another $400 and well, we all know that is a challenge....we are also still paying two house payments and Alabama bills...I'm over it and I am just really ready for it to sell...it's priced $20,000 below comps, so I am not exactly sure what the deal is...but it's time for something to happen, something to change...so please pray the Lord guides us and leads us on what to do next to get it sold!!!!
4. Pray that Avery will adjust to this crazy life...She is doing really great, and I really can't complain...but the last few nights she has denied her fussy time of day is going to be between 11:30PM and 1:00AM and that is just wearing on this Mama
5. Pray for continued strength as a family as we live in many different places, and not in the same place :( We are ready to be all in the same place....and prayers as always, that as the medical bills are slowly starting to come in, the Lord will continue to provide like he has so far!!!!!
We love you all and are truly overwhelmed by all the support....THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!
Also, we relaunched the T-shirt fundraiser...so make sure if you didn't get a shirt last time, that you get one now....Our sweet preschool even decided to use their BikeAThon to support us and we were blown away by that!!! Thanks so much for all the love
And it's so true.....Our God is faithful...Last week we spent the entire week in the hospital, with no answers.....Honestly it was tiring....we watched her leg get worse and her pain progress....we needed answers...she couldn't even walk or straighten her leg, but finally answers have started to come....Monday we got a new set of doctors's since they change every week on Monday's...and we have finally started to see her improve....although her leg wound is not better yet, her mood and her ability to play and walk on it has greatly improved.....We still are not sure how the wound happened...and I am purposefully not posting a picture of it because it would really gross a lot of people out....but we think it was from leaving the bandaid on her leg and her low blood counts....She still refuses to put pressure on her leg but today we started seeing a physical therapist.....On Tuesday, after waiting all day on Monday for it to happen and my Mama Bear having to come out some, we got a biopsy and those results still haven't come back.....but we are trusting and believing that she will walk again, rather RUN again, with no residual effect.....even the scar that she will have will only just be part of her story of healing....
John 20
27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”
28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”
29 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”
It's been crazy how the Lord has continued to open up door of ministry for us...Ron, well, you know how He is...he loves to talk...and he has spent so much time talking to the nurses about the Lord...and also convincing them that they need to come to Action :) But even in surgery the Lord opened up a door for me to talk to a family with a new diagnosis.....We have also felt the love and support of so many as we are in the hospital...we have gotten fun packages and all the little things truly keep us going....Hospital life is hard....it's definitely messing with my chances to ever win another FitBit Challenge again right now....and I do go stir crazy....but then I realize that every person that walks into our room is another person that needs hope and needs to be encouraged...so that is what I try to do! We have realized that we have been faced with so many challenge, but honestly, it could be worse...our daughter is free from leukemia...and now we just have to walk these challenges of continued treatment out, and allow God to use our lives as a testimony for everyone we meet....Although the days are long, and the sleep is short (We are on team #NoSleep like my friend Tiffany calls it!) we are blessed that the Lord is constantly sustaining us and using us in ways we would have never imagined.....
Philippians 4:6-7The Message (MSG)
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
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| The Morning Trek every morning |
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| #HospitalLife |
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| cuddles |
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| Love our Kelsey Time |
PRAYER LIST:
1. Pray for complete healing of Alayna's leg, and that it would heal quickly....like I said, hospital life's hard but we know that the Lord has us here for a reason...but I am ready to go home....I am ready to figure out life as a family of 5 without spending time in the hospital...I want to just all be in the same place at the same time....I also know my parents cannot stay forever (although I wish they would!) so we would love to be discharged because her leg is healing and she is responding to treatment |
| Starting to feel better |
2. Pray the biopsy will give us results....so far the cultures have been negative because she has been on high doses of antibiotics, so pray the biopsy will actually give us results as to what this is!!! If we know exactly what caused the wound, we can know how to treat it....Also pray that even if we don't get results, the antibiotics will start working and that will also help us get closer to discharge
3. OUR HOUSE!!!!! Y'all, we knocked down the price and we have had less showings and less movement....we are considering an appraisal just so we can know the exact amount our house is worth, and make sure it's priced well, but that is another $400 and well, we all know that is a challenge....we are also still paying two house payments and Alabama bills...I'm over it and I am just really ready for it to sell...it's priced $20,000 below comps, so I am not exactly sure what the deal is...but it's time for something to happen, something to change...so please pray the Lord guides us and leads us on what to do next to get it sold!!!!
4. Pray that Avery will adjust to this crazy life...She is doing really great, and I really can't complain...but the last few nights she has denied her fussy time of day is going to be between 11:30PM and 1:00AM and that is just wearing on this Mama
5. Pray for continued strength as a family as we live in many different places, and not in the same place :( We are ready to be all in the same place....and prayers as always, that as the medical bills are slowly starting to come in, the Lord will continue to provide like he has so far!!!!!
We love you all and are truly overwhelmed by all the support....THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!
Also, we relaunched the T-shirt fundraiser...so make sure if you didn't get a shirt last time, that you get one now....Our sweet preschool even decided to use their BikeAThon to support us and we were blown away by that!!! Thanks so much for all the love
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| Community Alliance Bike A Thon for Alayna |
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