a long overdue update and the pumpkin patch!

Friends! I've missed you! Are you even still out there??? I honestly and truly do miss blogging. I can't make any promises that it will get better (I kind of have three jobs right now), but please know that I do love you all and miss you, and we still covet your prayers.

Jonah is doing well. He had a virus a couple of weeks ago that ended with a two week stent of horrible coughing. He eventually had to go on prednisone to kick it. It's pretty typical for him to do that, but it doesn't make it any easier for him to deal with when it happens. I've noticed his skin, primarily on his face, severely deteriorates when this happens. I imagine it's because of restless/little sleep. After he recovered from that, he got strep bacteria infections on his hands (and consequently infected his nurse, grandaddy, and two cousins with strep throat... oops), and is now on a 10 day dose of antibiotics for that. They look better now, but last year we struggled with infection coming right back after the 10 days, so we'll see.

Overall, he's healthy, happy, and incredibly brave and strong, like always.

Gideon is a hot mess, and we love him to death. He has endless energy, endless curiosity, gets into everything, eats on the run, never flushes the toilet, and keeps us in stitches. He is so funny, you guys. And he's adorable. He is a huge blessing to our lives, and I just can't believe he's already FOUR. He's older than Jonah was when he came to us. It blows my mind where the time has gone.

Here are some photos from the pumpkin patch this weekend:

the last few days

We had a great (but really really hot!) time at the fair this past weekend. Shaina came home from college and spent the weekend with us.

The fair was Saturday. We had a great Sunday too. But on Monday morning, Jonah woke up and couldn't open his eyes. His left eye apparently had a corneal abrasion and we spent the entire day in the dark - blinds drawn, lights off. He was so pitiful. He handled it okay in the morning, but a few hours later, he was OVER it. He was bored and MAD. It was so sad to see him that way.

This is a video I took with my phone yesterday morning. We were laying in bed, telling each other stories, in the dark. It's pretty much adorable.



We spent the day listening to music and audio books online. He was over that after about hour two.

This morning he woke up the same way, and couldn't (or wouldn't) open them. The left one was the injured one but he wouldn't open either one. He fell asleep for about 30 more minutes on the couch. I had gone upstairs to change G's diaper and get him dressed, and all of sudden, Jonah, from the bottom of the stairs, yells, "MOM! My eyes are open and I'm going to school!" So, with a bloodshot red, tearing, injured eye, I took him to school. Because who was I to squelch his determined spirit. He left his sunglasses on the whole morning, even in the room, but the teacher said he did well. (Oh yeah, Jonah is in preschool now, four mornings a week, and he LOVES it.)

He's still hurting some, but is able to have his eyes open now. He's MUCH happier and has proven to me, once again, that he's definitely the toughest guy I know.

I took this one this afternoon after he got home from school. I sure did miss those baby blues.

Baby G is doing well. He's 13 months old, and a true light in our lives. He is the sweetest, smiliest, most adorable little sweetie pie ever. We still don't have a timeline, but things are good! And God is faithful. And we are happy.

new day same sickness

Still feeling like a Crap Wad over here. I chose last night to tell Matt our plan in case anything ever happens to one of us during the night. I told him to call our neighbor Barbara to come sit with Jonah until my mom could get here. Why did I choose last night to tell him? 


Because I had taken -
- at least 15 ibuprofen in less than 24 hours
- hydrocodone
- two doses of my antibiotic
- Singulair 


and I think some other stuff. I was just waiting to stop breathing or go into some kind of spontaneous liver failure or something. Not really, but I was nervous.


Today I added Mucinex and Tylenol to the mix. Just trying to survive over here. My throat hurts so badly that I've barely eaten today. And if you know me at all, you know that for me to give up any amount of food means that things are bad. If you have the overwhelming urge to specifically pray for the right side of my throat, feel free to indulge. I know it's not strep. I got a strep test done at CVS yesterday. The quick test was negative and they called me tonight to let me know the longer one came back in negative too. So I'm thankful for that but ready for the current antibiotics to do their (freakin') job already. :)


Enough about me.


Jonah had a decent day. Still coughing. Threw up twice. But took an awesome nap (which means I did too!) and has been happy and mostly easy on me all day. My dad is here for a couple of days, so Jonah's really enjoyed having him around. I couldn't have asked for him to be any better today, considering how crappy I've felt. He's a gem. 


Matt is amazing. He's pretty much taken over most Jonah duties after work the last two days, and given me as much of a break as possible. And tonight, after he put Jonah down for the night, he went all the way across town and got me a Sonic chocolate milkshake. He's a super gem. And my sweet mother in law drove home last night in the dark (she's my Monday/Tuesday help every other week) so she could help Matt and I could rest. She usually leaves at 3 or 4 in the afternoon but stayed until 7, and then drove three hours home.


Moral of the story: I'm a pansy when I'm sick.


Glad Jonah doesn't take after me in the toughness (or lack thereof) department. 

bad news, good news

I took this video of Jonah's breathing last night.





Yeah, I know. I don't feel good about it. I sent it to Jonah's doctor and she said she wanted to see us again this morning. It seems to be all upper airway, which may mean that all this viral crud and coughing has either irritated and inflamed or blistered his trachea. We started him on steroids today, but if they don't work, he'll have to go see his ENT again and we'll have to have him scoped like we did two years ago. We're on day 11 of the coughing, mega congestion, throwing up most every meal, and not being able to breathe well at night. We're all over it.


So now we are just praying that the steroids work and we don't have to worry about it anymore (or at least not until his next cold... sigh).


On a happy note, Lauren from Knitting at Lunch donated some of her hand-knit fingerless gloves to auction off for Anton. I posted them over on the Hope for Anton blog and bidding is open NOW until Sunday night at 9pm. It'll be good practice for Jonah's EB Auction. :) They're super cute!

anton update

Last I heard, there are a few families showing interest in Anton. That is great news! I have no idea whether or not they have "EB experience" or qualify or not, but interest is good! I love that little boy so much. I dreamed I met him last night. It was one of those incredibly real dreams, and he was just as wonderful as I imagined. There is some hopeful news, and I'm just praying that Anton will be in the best possible place, and that things move forward and that Anton stays relatively healthy in the time it takes. Another bit of good news I found out is that the orphanage won't take him because of his condition. I suppose that's good news anyway. But the hospital is still trying to get rid of him, so I don't really know what that means. There was rumor of him being moved to a burn center, but nothing definitive.


Here's the most important thing though. Whenever a family does get to the approved, committed point, it may cost around $40,000 to adopt him. That is a ton of money, and Anton should not have to suffer because of the expense. I have 910 followers on this blog. There are 75 followers on Hope for Anton. If all of you who read this could hop over there and donate $5... just imagine how far we could get. PLUS, there is an awesome Thirty-One Fundraiser and a delicious Tastefully Simple Fundraiser going on over there, with a new opportunity coming on Thursday. You can get Christmas shopping done (way) early AND help Anton come home. Will you please consider it? I'm not one to beg for money and I'm certainly not trying to play the guilt card, but God has put Anton heavy on my heart and I feel like there is a reason he's using this blog and that blog to raise awareness and funds for Anton. I don't want him to run out of time. I don't want money to be what holds him there. Please, no matter what you do, pray for him and at least let people know what fundraisers are going on, even if you don't have the funds yourself. Help spread the word.


Thank you so much, as always.


Oh yeah, I took Jonah to the doctor today. She says his lungs sound clear and his ears look okay. She thinks it's just cold/virus/sinuses but has started him on antibiotics just in case. The last two nights he has woken up, puking and choking, and last night, even after he went back to sleep, he coughed all night long. But so far tonight, he is sleeping. I pray that he can sleep peacefully tonight. Thank you so much for caring.

grrr

It is likely that Anton cannot be adopted by someone without "direct EB experience." Let me get this right, Judge, you will most likely deny this family because they don't have direct EB experience, but you're fine with Anton being kicked out of a medical facility with one-on-one care and put into an orphanage where the staff to child ratio is 1:20? Yeah, you have his best interest at heart. Sure you do.

Y'all I am so so angry that there is a family out there wanting to bring Sweet Anton home, and so many obstacles stand in their way. I know that God is in control, but I want control of this so badly I can barely stand it. Will you please pray? Pray for Anton's family, whoever they are, that all the details will come together and it will all work out. Or that if he's supposed to be somewhere else, God will reveal that family and quickly. I'm so terrified he's running out of time. One caregiver to 20 children is not enough. Especially when (at least) one has such demanding needs. If something happens to that sweet boy because he gets stranded in an orphanage when there is a family desperate to have him... so help me, I'll go crazy. This is NOT right.

(I should not let myself get overly tired. Forgive me. Tomorrow is a new day.)