Sunday, November 28, 2010






Where to begin......and not sure where to end this post.
Last Tuesday Norah went in for her cleft surgery repair. The surgery itself went just as planned and they were able to close the entire cleft in one surgery for which we were so thankful! She was suppose to spend 23 hours in the hospital then be discharged. However, she had some troubles - both drinking and vomiting. SO, at the 23 hour mark, we were told it would be another night - getting us out on Thanksgiving. In that moment, I was fine with that - being too nervous to take Norah home when she was not feeling well. But, after a few hours of her proving to us she was starting to feel better, I had them page the surgeon to see if we could be discharged that night. It was a longshot, but worth taking I thought. He came by about 8pm and gave us the green light to head home - on some heavy medications. I was thrilled. Me dear friend Heather was there visiting and took us home (in the cold, pouring rain - thank you Heather!!!!)
That might was fairly uneventful for Norah - we set our alarm (OK, I set ME alarm) to give her the medications on schedule and she typically fell right back to sleep. Then comes the screaming and crying from the monitor....Naomi had fallen trying to get out out of bed. Joel knew something was hurt but we could not quite figure out what she had injured. So, like any good parent, we waited.....24 hours!! The next morning, her little collar bone was swolen and we knew we should take her to the ER - off we went. The tech took 2 images and the second was more than obvious that there was a clear fracture. Poor Naomi.....I felt horrible and then explained to the very nice ER doctor about Norah and he was understanding and encouraging that we did nothing wrong by waiting.
Friday evening, Norah started taking a lil turn for the worse - very very fussy and agitated and did.not.sleep.....we were not sure what to think so I called the surgeon the next morning and he assured us that day 3 is by far the worst and she should be slowly improving over the next few days - and as you can tell from the above pictures, she is slowly but surely starting to come around. Thankful is an understatement.

While the house is quiet and the girls are napping, I am off to catch up on laundry and maybe steal a quick nap if I can....
Have a great week
Merry Christmas Season!!!!

Monday, November 15, 2010




8 days.....
We are 8 days away from Norah's palate surgery. Understandably, on some ways I am ready to get it over with and in others I dread the day like the plague. Norah has come SO far since being placed in our arms, and our prayer and hope is that this only bonds us further and helps her development (physically, emotionally, etc) and does not hinder it. We trust this is is God's perfect timing and are putting one foot in front of the other - taking a leap of faith and moving forward. Our sweet friend, Lainie, will not be having her palate surgery the same day as we had originally thought. Our surgeon (we have the same one) has chosen a different course of treatment for her so her surgeries are a little delayed for now.
We have been trying to think of something special that we can get Norah - something to give her while in the hospital. I think we may have found the perfect thing - a stuffed animal that makes sounds. Our awesome speech therapist brought one today and I thought for sure Norah would not take to it, but she LOVED it and played with is almost the whole session. Sounds have been a huge issue since she got her tubes - meaning that she is still learning on how to localize a sound and also realize she is still safe when she hears them (firetrucks, vacuums, blenders, etc). But low and behold, she loved the monkey, so this momma's on a search this week for the perfect one!!
Nate is doing great in school - he loves his teacher and is seeming to really take off academically this year. I am so thankful after a rough kindergarten year.
Naomi has grown up on me - seemingly overnight!!! The girl has given up her paci (well, almost, it is snipped way down), diapers (potty trained!!) and naps....all within 4 weeks!
So, for now - we are moving forward, right into the beautiful holiday season.

Thursday, November 04, 2010


The girls super excited to see their "G Pa".....

Our ladybugs

Our ninja

We had a great weekend chocked full of trick or treating - I think we totalled 7 hours in 3 different locations....over 3 days. This momma was exhausted!! The kids had a blast and once (the girls) they understood the whole ask-for-candy-get-candy-eat-candy - they LOVED it!!
I was a little sad leading up to Halloween as I remember my mom really loved this day. She loved sitting on her front porch and seeing all the kids come and get their pretzels (yep, a healthy alternative). I also have fun memories of my own halloweens and incredible costumes....and I was worried as to how I would deal with the day. But God provides, all the strength I ever need. It was a great evening. The kids, including my brother and his family and my sis-in-law and her family - had a lot of fun. We walked the same path I walked my whole childhood...oh the memories :)
This weekend, I.get.away.by.myself. That's right - by myself!!! Joel is graciously sending me off with some of my girlfriends for a few days to a lakehouse....I.can't.wait. I might even start packing tonight....then again, I am only packing for myself so there's not way it will take long right??
Norah's surgery is fast-approaching....we are 18 days and counting.