Post Hospital Life

These words were of great encouragement to me last week...2 Cor. 1...

"But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope, that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

Give thanks!  She's back!

Ok, so M and I sat down and made our top 10 ten "favorite" things about hospital stays list...

- middle of the night visits...every hour or two.
- middle of the night visits, 30 minutes following the above mentioned visits, due to poor planning by staff.
- bland, 2000 calorie, "healthy" hospital food (soy meat, no caffeine, no seasonings)
- sleeping on a fold out recliner that extends out to four feet
- tv remote that only scrolls through the channels in one direction (only up, no down, back or power buttons).
- being near 10 other sick kids, one of whom is always screaming because of aforementioned visits
- staring into your daughters' eyes and holding her still while someone else causes her pain
- trying to rationalize to yourself that the torture inflicted on your baby is "for her best"
- talking to a resident who seems to have less knowledge in pediatrics than you do and knowing they are going to make the decisions for your child.
- convincing the aforementioned resident that the "real" doctor (attending physician) needs to come talk to you

We spent the day outside since it is downright hot here and they played while I organized the shed.

The joy of our first few days home has been retraining our daughters...

It took Emily all of two days to figure out that if she threw fits, the drs would leave her alone (they couldn't listen to her lungs if she was screaming). And in a two year old mind, that means that all of life can be controlled by fits. When we got home, the behavior tolerated when she was very ill was utterly intolerable inside these walls. It's been a battle but the brat is slowly leaving.

K reverted to her favorite old standby habit of trying to get what she wants by whining and throwing fits when that didn't work. She is taking a little longer to get back but then again she has had more practice and is much better at it.

The good news is that since I am not willing to take Em anywhere with lots of kids yet, (Bible study or mom's groups), we have been at home and I have had the time to work on these lovely behaviors. :)

Ahhhhh, when life goes haywire, it takes two or three times as long to put it back together. Such is life. I am just grateful we are in our house and back to the grind! Like the verse says above, it is all due to your prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! God Bless.

HOME!!!!

When Emmy woke up this morning with a smile to show for me, I knew it was time to fight to get her home. They were no longer supporting her in any way and I was told that if she would just drink, they could let her go.

Pushing buttons she is not supposed to? Yes, Em is back! I kept telling her that if she wanted to see Kylie she just needed to drink her juice. She seemed to understand that the juice was the only thing between her and the car and her sister. She drank like a champ and we were discharged at noon today.

We didn't have any clothes remaining at the hospital so I put my hat on her head and her shoes on her feet and set her down to walk out the door. She couldn't even stand on her own and when she tried to walk, she fell down. So I had her stand against the wall until they brought a wagon.

Sitting in the wagon, we finally headed out the door. Emmy was so excited that when we got outside it was like Christmas (she used to scream at all the lights every night). She was pointing at trees and grass and cars and screaming out what they were. It was very cute!

When we got home, we decided we needed a wrist band cutting ceremony...

Look at my band fall to the floor! Praise the Lord!!!!!!

I told the dr she would eat when we got her home. I knew I was right but even I didn't expect this...she ate everything we offered her, including straight sour cream. She is super skinny now...not much left to those legs and bum...she can eat straight lard if she wants it! :)

She saw the "tah coooookie" (star cookie) and when we gave it to her, she also dipped that in sour cream. Yummy.

So, she is home and back to her old self, although taking more naps. Her pulmonologist said it could take up to a month for the cough to go away and not to panic about that but just to watch her breathing and if she is straining again, that is when we bring her in. Definitely more on this later, but for now I just wanted to get the word out that she is home and thank you all for your prayers!!! God bless you all!

Princess Birthday Party!!

Well, Sunday was time for a princess party! How does this happen? With lots of help! On Saturday, Auntie K watched K while Nana cleaned our whole house (and managed to make lots of good food for us). Auntie Mo made the cake and the wands and scepters (party favors). On Sunday K went to church with her cousins while we decorated and got ready. After Poppy preached at his church, he headed to the hospital and relieved Dad so he could come home and when her friends and family showed up, K had the princess party she has been talking about for weeks! :)

Don't ask why...there are lots of reasons!! But mainly, we still need to celebrate life! Plus, I never want K to have any reason to resent Emmy.

The kids who were wiling to take pics...all in crowns!

This is the crown cake that Auntie Mo made. Pretty cool, huh?!

Looking at the cake.

Making crowns.

Auntie Mo with the only one left who lets you hold him!

Daddy and his little girl.

Check out this outfit!! It was cold outside...

Cousins going somewhere...

He wore these stickers on his face the whole party and it cracked me up!

Since the pinata was a bust at em's party, I decided a jewel hunt (eggs) was in order.

Looking for eggs in the bounce house.

Reading

A got a hold of some ribbon.

Sharing???

Sassy A, cute as always!

Inside, removing candy from eggs to return the eggs to A.

A feeding K. Why? Who knows.

Yummy cake!

The cake was a big hit.

Yeah! At least three of us together.

The three musketeers...

G looked beautiful as usual, so I got a shot of her crimped hair.

These two kept playing under the table.

I put K's new glasses on.

I was trying to take a pic of one of the other kids and K came rushing in with her chair, set it right in front of him and smiled at me.

The moms.

The cameras...I know it's hard to imagine why my daughter might like a camera, but she got two. :) They were a big hit.

Opening presents has become a communal event.

Poor Sammy...

Uncle J and B...

Did I mention poor Sammy?

Might be one of my fav pics...say "cheese!"...look at that stance!

We had an awesome birthday!! Thanks to everyone who pitched in to make it happen! Our little princess had a great time and got up this morning and asked, "Mommy, my friends can come back and we have my birthday party again?"

God Bless!

Oh, Em is doing well. Staying off oxygen but we need her to drink and eat.