Jesus' Birthday was Fantabulous

Any of you with kids in school know what a rat race December can be.  Well, this year because of all the stuff going on with Luke, we bypassed buying the tickets to that crazy show.  Thank you Jesus.

I didn't remember to send the kids sweet note to their teachers via email, as requested by the PTO.
I didn't remember to bring the juice boxes I signed up for to their party.
I didn't host our family's annual open house.
I didn't get the tree decorated until 10 days before Christmas.
I didn't get the Advent calendar out and "count down the days."
I didn't do a lot.
And I liked it.

I did, however, have the blessed opportunity to focus on the reason for the celebration.  The reason for the anticipation.  Like Elizabeth, who's baby leapt with joy upon hearing Mary's voice, I too, leapt with joy at our "no frills" approach to the Advent season this year.

Christmas Eve was just us this year and it was really awesome.  We made it to Mass in time to score good seats up front.  I had time to nurse Luke in the chapel before Mass and he promptly slept through the entire celebration.  I have to admit, there were some tears shed as I held him, a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, as I remembered another mom.  The kids' behavior was A+ worthy and we even snapped a great photo of the fam, compliments of my bro, at the end of Mass.

We had our annual shrimp and pasta Christmas Eve dinner - yumola.  And, the kids had a grand time opening their presents from the Godparents and Scott and I.  Small, delightful, fun and memorable.

We concluded the evening with Santa preparations.  The usual...mixing of the reindeer food with a dash of magic sprinkles, setting out the cookies and eggnog and tracking the sleigh's flight pattern on the NORAD Santa tracker via the Internet.

Scott and I enjoyed the quiet after the kids finally crashed.  And we were thankful.  For so many things this year I don't even know where to start.  Life especially.  Our faith mostly.  Each other most certainly.

Christmas Day was more of the same holiday cheer.  We were joined by my parents, brother Daniel, SIL Amanda, niece Ava, cousins Mickey, John, Grace and Marie and Aunt Ava Jo and Uncle Joe Mack.  Talk about a house of crazy.  It was awesome!!

"God bless us...every one!"

Top Ten: More List

Last year, I gave you my "less" list.  This year, you get "more."  Here goes...

1.  More loving.

2.  More date nights.

3.  More exercising.

4.  More eating healthy.

5.  More volunteering at the kids' school (Note:  this does not take effect until Fall '10!)

6.  More praying.

7.  More confessing.

8.  More keeping in touch with friends.

9.  More celebrating.

10.  More 'thank youing.'

Here's to more in 2010!

Ava, Sweet Ava

So, December 6 was a pretty awesome day.  Scott and I became an Aunt and Uncle, round 2, and it rocked.  We scrambled up to the hospital shortly after her birth, in fact, Aunt Amanda was still in the delivery room nursing Ava for the first time when we arrived! 

The kids were ecstatic, we witnessed the first bath and caused all sorts of chaos before coming home.  I'm pretty sure our clan was birth control for the entire maternity ward at Seton hospital that evening.  Later in the week, Scott, Luke and I ventured up to the hospital to love on Ava a bit more.

Loved.  It.

Ooh, la, la. So in love with the outfit she's wearing. When Scott and I were in France this spring, we bought newborn girl and boy outfits for our bambino. It worked out perfecto that we had a boy and my brother had a girl!

Nana Farnum bought the cutest Christmas outfits and we just had to schedule a photo shoot.  Luke cooperated, but Miss Ava was just annoyed she wasn't eating.  Can't blame her.  It is her number one job.

Tomorrow, I've got a fantabulous top ten.  Then, I'll fill you in on the Christmas parties and Jesus' birthday celebration round these parts.  What a fantastically fun week.  I think it just might've beenp our...Best. Christmas. Ever.

December Mania

After cleaning out some photo files the last couple of days, I realized how much I didn't blog about this month!  Gee, why not? :-)

Let's take it from the top.

In early December, Scott and the girls ventured to "Santa in the Park" in our neighborhood.  It was complete with fire sirens - not sure what those have to do with Santa's arrival, but whatever.  They got some candy, hot chocolate, a tour of the firetruck and a visit with Santa. Sweet.

Later, Nana, Papa and the boys enjoyed a "Breakfast with Santa" for a school event.  By the looks of the photos, they had a blast.  Me and Luke?  Yeah, guess we were on the naughty list.  No visits with Santa for us.

Tomorrow, I've got some oh-so-cute photos of brand new niece Ava along with some reindeer butts.  I know you're dying to know what that's all about.  So, check back in tomorrow morning.  I'm back in the saddle - finally!

Just as a sidenote, is the Santa with the boys authentic or what??

From our house to yours...

Merry Christmas!

Roommates and Toilet Paper

One may ask, 'Just what is it that those two things have in common that's so blogworthy?'  Well, I've interrupted your weekly top ten to dish on just that.

This morning I had to go in for some fairly minor day surgery to remove some cysts.  Yeah, I know.  Fun times.  As luck would have it, one my sorority sisters and college roommates from my junior year, emailed and told me she would be in town and wanted to help out in any way.  Volunteer #1 :-)  Other college roomie and sorority sister made a post on facebook, a few comments later and we had volunteer #2.  I'm pretty sure all I said was something about margaritas and we all flocked to Austin as quickly as we could.

I digress.

So, they came into town yesterday afternoon and we gabbed while directing children to various activities and Lisa baby hogged Luke.  Oops, baby loved Luke.  So sweet.  It's awesome seeing my friends love on my babies.  Makes me smile.  Anyhoodle, Erin's hubby, Steve, is in the Air Force {insert sarcastic tone here} and he loves it.  So much so, that he managed to get a week away from his assignment and get his hiney to Texas to surprise Erin and the kids.  So, while Steve and Scott ran daddy day care yesterday evening, the girls went out for Chuy's and margaritas.  And lots of laughs and a few tears.  Good for us all and way overdue.  This morning, the girls kidnapped me again.  This time my margarita was in a stick via the anesthesiologist and they played doctor while Scott and Steve held down the fort with our combined 7 kids. 

On to the reason for this post...

Our junior year in college, we finally busted out of our mandatory 'living in the sorority house' gig and opted for a much more fun year of living off campus in our own really cool apartment.  It was a two-bed, two-bath super cute abode.  I had my own room and bathroom and Erin and Lisa shared a bed/bath.  As fate would have it, my bathroom was also used by all our guests.  Which, of course, meant that mathematically I was paying more for toilet paper than them.  Now, we all know there is also the camel who can carry the load, but when the straw comes in and breaks his back...it gets ugly.

Just think of the toilet paper as that straw.

For reasons NONE of us can remember, I completely lost it one day and informed my roommates that they needed to start buying their own toilet paper if they and their guests were going to continue using my bathroom.  Back then it was a drama-filled, tear-met roommate meeting...now it's just a whole lot of tears and laughter.

It's always good when we get together.  We're older but we really haven't changed much at all.  Few more gray hairs, a lot more kids.  You know, same, same.

Girlies, lovely to see you.  Next time, we'll keep the margaritas in a glass, not via the stick.

Oh, and I'll bring the toilet paper.

Luke (& Company) Update 12.21.09

Here lately, Luke's been doing a lot of blog hogging.  Guess the smallest is entitled, right?  Well, I thought I'd give you an update on him and the rest of the crew around these parts.  There's never a shortage for blog material, I'll tell ya.

Ok, so Master Luke.  Growing by leaps and ounces.  He officially hit the 8-pound mark this morning and me and Dr. Enders (his pediatrician) did a little happy dance.  Honest.  Developmentally, still on track and he showed off and rolled for the first time, belly to back.  The guy knows how to make a mom proud.  Last Friday, we visited with his nephrologist (aka kidney doc) about his small kidneys and his one pelvic kidney.  Right now, the blood levels we drew at the hospital post-surgery look pretty good.  There were a couple of levels that weren't quite where Dr. Simon wanted them to be, but he thinks surgery had something to do with them.  So...we will hang tight until March, repeat the blood levels and do a renal ultrasound and see how things are progressing.  So far, so good.  Me like.

And before I forget...here's a quick peek of him post surgery, Day 1, Day 3 and Day 4.  Wow.  What a difference.

Clare.  Talking up a storm.  Fringe benefit?  She can tattle on her older brothers and sister and tell me what they did.  She's all truth, she hasn't yet developed the lying filter.

ALG.  Sassy.  Nuff said.

John Paul.  No ER visits...although we had a close call this weekend when older brother threw a duplo at his head.  Yeah, another one of those.  Some neosporin and a bandaid fixed it right up.  I won't dish on how we fixed up the older brother.

Will.  Mostly good, sometimes not.  I'm blaming it on the influx of sugar from the holidays.

Scott and I.  Some days we have it all together, some days we feel a little PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).  And that's no lie.  It's still tough, but this time of Advent has really given us an opportunity to reflect on our blessings.

If you get a minute, rustle up a prayer for me on Wednesday afternoon.  I have to head to the hospital for a day surgery.  Not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.  Best part is that my two college roomies/sorority sisters are heading into town tomorrow afternoon and bringing a little sanity with them.  Word on the street is a margarita and a dinner out are on the agenda.

I should have surgery more often.

I'll do my very best to get your Top Ten posted before I go under the knife.  If not, well...I guess I have a good excuse :-)

You better watch out, you better not cry...

I hope I'm not the only one who's kids are bouncing off the walls.  'Tis the season, right?  As a friend says, I'll give 'em a mulligan here and there because of our fall, but really.  Boot camp has begun.  I'm almost 100% back (or at least trying to be).  Something's gotta change around these parts.

We have an "Elf on the Shelf" here at our house, Sparkly, who reports back to Santa each night regarding the kids' behavior.  I love that elf.  Recently, though, not even he could tame the ever livin, ever lovin, compound, complex, bickering, yelling, non-sharing, whining, hitting, procrastinating, lying, tattle-telling, getting every toy out of the toy closet then refusing to clean it up 5 kids we've come to love.

Yesterday morning, Sparkly appeared, along with this note:


Dear Will, John Paul, Anna-Laura, Clare and Luke:

Sparkly tells me that you have been good boys and girls for the most part.  He also tells me that you are hitting each other, lying, screaming and causing trouble.  I hope your good behavior is better.  Don't be naughty this year or I am afraid I won't be able to stop by your house and bring your toys.  Remember the reason for Christmas is not the toys but Jesus.  Make sure you pray everyday.

Be good,

Santa Claus

Seems as if 'ol Santa isn't above bribery and Catholic guilt.  Huh.  How 'bout them apples?

Home SWEET Home, Part II

When we arrived home the first time from the hospital, I didn't think the homecoming could get any sweeter.  Shame on me.

Our morning yesterday was marked with steady progress throughout the night.  About every three hours, Luke was waking and eating 15cc (1/2oz.) of milk.  While it took me some time to coax him back to sleep, he did wonderfully.  And, he even made me a few stellar diapers.  Who knew I would be so excited about those?  At 7am rounds with the NP, Luke was wide-eyed and waiting for Angela.  What a flirt.  She had a stern talk, delivered with a touch of sweetness, with Master Luke and informed him of his charges for the day:

1)  No spitting up in large volumes
2)  More wet and dirty diapers
3)  No distended belly

If he could follow the rules, then we could go home that afternoon.  Then she looked at me and said, "Are you ready to nurse?"

"Is the Pope Catholic?," was my reply.

Home, really, really?  I was in shock.  How did this super sick kiddo who was screaming his head off in pain on Friday night become this content, smiling, cooing happy baby that was ready to nurse and go home?  Dr. Meyer came by around 10:30 and confirmed what Angela said.  He wanted to Luke to have 3-4 more good nursing sessions before he felt comfortable sending us home.  Done and done.

I happily nursed, Scott and I had a chance to eat another romantic tray lunch and a friend and NICU mentor, Kelli, stopped by to cheer us on and share in our joy.  If there's anyone that appreciates discharge joy, it's her.  Kelli, thank you.  Scott and I took the opportunity to swing by the NICU and see some old faces before lunch.  Oh, if you could see the smiles on their faces as they inquired about Luke's progress.  They saw us at our worst and they know, more than most, just how far Luke has come.  In a weird sort of way, I felt accomplished.  And I don't mean that in a narcissistic way.  I mean, when I saw the faces of his nurses, I was able to appreciate the journey.

Before I knew it, the fourth feeding was complete, the room was packed and Luke and I awaited the discharge papers from the nurse.  Just like that, the day changed.

Scott pulled up to Dell with the screaming and smiling brothers and sisters, we click-clacked Luke in his car seat and off we sped home (ok, not really sped, it was rush hour after all).  As we sat around the dinner table last night and enjoyed some BBQ, compliments of Papa, it felt so normal.  Kids fighting over who got the last rib, screaming over the wrong color cup for dinner, whining about taking a bath...and Luke, oblivious to it all, rocking away in his swing.

Ah, chaos.  I love it.

It seems like such a perfect time of year for Luke to have surgery.  It is the most blessed time of the year, Advent.  As we wait with anticipation of Christ's birth.  We've waited so many times.  So many hours.  So many tears.  So many smiles.  So many stories.  Each marked with anticipation.

When I was pregnant with John Paul, my last month was during the Christmas season.  And I remember thinking, "How in heaven's name did Mary so happily say yes, experience ridicule, ride a donkey to Bethlehem and give birth in a stable with no epidural?"  This September God gave me the answer.  Just after my c-section people kept asking how I was feeling.  I remember some moments of pain, but mostly I remember my heart being focused on Luke.  Somehow the pain faded and my thoughts were fixated on a higher goal:  taking care of Luke.  I suspect that's a bit how Mary felt.  All the trials, all the ridicule, all the pain somehow faded away as she gave birth to the Messiah.  That's just awesome.  I'm gonna have to look her up when I get to heaven and get the full story...

In this most joyous season of the year, I've focused less on the "stuff" and more on the "love."  Thank you God for that lesson.  I just wish you didn't have to get my attention with such drama :-)

Pictures are forthcoming this week.  Pinky swear.

DCMC: Post-Op, Day 4, December 15, 2009 (Last Day!!)

Yes, you read that correctly. 

LUKE.  IS.  HOME.

We are elated, excited, thankful, grateful, anxious, surprised, happy, joyful and a boatload of other feelings.  So much in which to reflect, but the body is tired tonight.  For our FB friends, you know we got the good news and came home around 5pm today.  I will get a "rest of the story" post up sometime tomorrow with all the juicy details.

What a Tuesday.

God is good.  All the time.

DCMC: Post-Op, Day 3, December 14, 2009

Finally, some sleep, for me and the Master. It prepared us for the ball of kah-ra-zee around here this morning. 

I awoke to see Angela, our surgeon's Nurse Practioner, smiling and talking to Luke at his bedside.  It was really sweet.  He was bright-eyed and looking right back.  Finally, a glimpse of the Luke we know.  She was encouraged by his diapers (he had a few more overnight), but the NG tube output was not slowing down or turning colors (green to yellow to clear) and his belly was still pretty distended.  Dagnabbit.

After a quick x-ray, Dr. Meyer came in and he wants to hold off on feeds for another day.  The x-ray did show that the NG tube was too far down, so we pulled it back (yeah, that was a fun screaming session) and hoped that it might help.

About a half hour later, my dad showed up with the girls.  They decorated Luke's white board with the dry erase markers and wrote a cryptic message in Swahili.  Then, the toy cart came by with any free toy of their choosing.  They deemed the Dell Children's Medical Center the greatest place on earth.  While they were here, our favorite neonatologist stopped by, Dr. Michael!!  Ok, one of the favorites, we have many.  The NICU had gotten our birth announcement and saw the note that he was having surgery on Friday.  It was a little like old home week.  Dr. M was excited to see how big he'd gotten and promised to be back this week.  He left us with his traditional, "Good job.  Carry on!" and a thumbs up.  Boy, I've missed that.  Just before he trotted out, we told him about having to page the NICU nurses the night before for a new IV.  As an aside, he said, "Well, give us a call and I'm sure we can scare some up for you, if you need another IV."  Hahaha.  Yeah, joke was on us later.  Told ya it was nuts here this morning.

Right after he left, the "Vascular Team" showed up to draw some blood from Luke.  We needed to make sure his blood levels were within the normal range.  More screaming.

After THEY left, Luke got pretty irritable, so we started doing some searching.  Guess what needed replacing?  Yeppers.  The IV.

Enter the PICU Transport Team.  A tad more screaming.  After one unsuccessful stick, they gave up and we called in the experts...God love those NICU nurses.  What would Luke do without them?  And, it wasn't just any nurse that knocked on his door, it was his primary, Kristy.  YEA!!  Clearly, we were cramping Luke's social calendar this morning so he had to come up with excuses to see everyone in the hospital, all before lunch.

While they were searching for a good vein, Fr. Dean, Luke's Godfather stopped by for a peek.  I think the needles freaked him out, so I gave him a quick tour of the wing.  Ten minutes later, Kristy and Co. had finished the IV and it looked stellar, as suspected.  Another beautiful IV.  Another happy dance from Scott and I.

Luke crashed and Scott and I had a "date" with our lunchroom trays in the room.  Ah, can you feel the romance?  Hey, it was as close as we get these days.  I pumped, then took a quick nap while Scott held Luke.  Evidently, my lunch was spiked with Ambien because I was O-U-T and missed the best news of the day.  Dr. Meyer and the NP stopped by, looked at Luke's belly, ordered the NG tube out and gave us the blessing to start feeds.  WHAT?  Scott's reply was classic, "You mean, today?"  And here we thought the day was going to be uneventful.  Tisk, tisk.

We happily pulled the tube (I so would've done it if I'd had an RN after my name) and gave Luke his first feeding - a whole 1/2 an ounce.  Normally, he eats about 4oz., but a half is better than nada.  He sucked it down, didn't spit up a bit, gave me a big burp and promptly filled his pants.  That was the happiest diaper change I've done.  Ever.  Scott happily bounded out of the room and headed home to take care of the crew and relieve Papa.  A friend and nurse, Janet, stopped by and we had some well-earned laughs.  Oh, and Janet's given me a new career option, nursing.  I told her I'd get on that after I finish my book :-)

Papa showed up at my door with a Sonic vanilla Dr. Pepper in hand and made my day.  He was here for the next feed, and Luke had an encore performance.  It was lovely.  Dad was even able to stay for a bit and rock Luke to sleep.  Aww.

So, moral of today?  The day ain't over til it's over.

As I sit here and write my reflection, I'm feeling a little/lot overwhelmed.  If Luke hadn't had a stay in the NICU and been transported to Dell, look at the friendships we would've missed out on making with our doctors and nurses.  If Luke hadn't had his challenges, we wouldn't have reconnected with so many friends from so many walks of life.  If Luke hadn't joined our family with such drama, this blog would only have it's faithful 8 readers.  If.  That's a loaded world...  Funny how God's plan is so masterfully crafted. 

While there are many moments where I want to wish Luke's challenges away, I have to pause and think, "This life is as it should be."  Luke is fearfully and wonderfully made to perfection, at least in His Maker's eyes, even though to human eyes he has challenges.  Who am I to mess with His perfection?

God, even in the moments when I think we can't do "one more {fill in the blank here}", you show me that we can.  More and more often I'm finding myself thanking God for this new journey in parenthood.  And that's definitely not a statement I could've made 11 weeks ago.

I didn't think it was possible...
to trust you this much,
love a life this much,
honor and be in awe of my husband this much,
to rely on my friends this much,
to learn this much,
to want to glorify you regardless of the outcome this much.

Now our eyes have been fully opened.  And as painful and bright as the sunshine may be, I am grateful.  Here's to more progress tonight!

DCMC: Post-Op, Day 2, December 13, 2009

Forecast is partly sunny with a 50% chance of rain.  At least that's how it feels.

Luke had a decent night, but neither one of us got great sleep.  During morning rounds, the on-call surgeon, Dr. Josephs (who we met in the NICU and really liked), wrote an order to pull out his NG tube (the tube in his nose that pulls the contents out of his belly).  And sure enough, about an hour later, he made his first diaper.  We heard a cheer from the nurse's station.  While we "watched and waited" for more, Scott came up with the kids and my parents after Mass and they had a blast seeing Baby Wuke.

Luke and I hung out while they went to lunch.  It was quite nice.  We worked on getting some air out of his belly, but after an hour of that, both of us zonked out.  When Scott arrived back at the hospital after lunch, one look at his belly and we knew the tube had to go back in.  It appears the original NG tube wasn't working, thus not sucking air and bile out of his belly which made him muy uncomfortable.  Shoot, I didn't need a nurse to tell me that...  The tube went back in and it seemed to help.

While Scott held and loved on him, I took a nap.  I have to say, being here in 3 North is a complete 180 from the NICU.  While he was in the NICU, I never once felt insecure about who was watching him or that he would be cared for by very capable hands.  Skipping out of the hospital for a quick lunch left me refreshed and I knew he would be a-okay.  That is so not the case here on "the floor."  It's not that the nurses aren't capable, they are.  It's just like going from first-class to coach.  More passengers, less leg room, the occassional screaming toddler kicking your seat and the obnoxious guy who tries to fit his too-big bag in the overhead bin while yelling at the flight attendant.  I'm pretty much here 24/7 until Luke is discharged.  Sometimes, I have to admit, I get nervous going to the bathroom without someone else here to watch him.  Little hypersensitive, I guess.

Dinner came and went, but we noticed that Luke was getting more irritable.  And it was his "I'm hurting" cry which I know well.  The nurse was preoccupied with flushing his NG tube and I beelined for his IV.  Bingo.  Guess what little critter managed to pull it halfway out?  Ring any bells?  While she left the room to get the supplies Scott and I started to freak out.

Let me backtrack a bit.  Luke is hooked up to an apnea monitor.  Sometimes when babies are on narcotics, they stop breathing.  So, the monitor makes this HORRIFIC noise when it detects no respirations.  On Saturday morning, at 4am that thing went off like a freight train.  I flew off the couch and ran out to the nurse's station, calling her name.  Calling.  Calling.  Um, yeah, I had to wake her up.  By the time we got back to the room, the monitor was silenced and Luke was looking around the room wondering what all the fuss was about.  Sheez.

Note to self:  When a nurse says she's "not really familiar with that kind of monitor" you should consider going to nursing school yourself.

Ok, so now you can see why Scott and I were a little on the edge about the IV.  About 10 minutes later, the door opened and two NICU nurses stood before us.  I'm pretty sure if we looked hard enough, I could see a ray of light and some angels trumpeting behind them.  The cavalry had arrived.  When they stepped out to get some supplies, I'm not afraid to tell you that Scott and I did a little happy dance.  Sad.  We're dancing about Luke getting an IV :-)  Two sticks and 8 minutes later, he was set with his new IV bling.  Thank you NICU nurses!!

I had the nurses page Dr. Sanchez (the other on-call surgeon) because we were becoming increasingly worried about his distended belly.  Layman's terms?  His belly was round and it looked like you could bounce a quarter off the top.  When she entered the room, the first thing she did was pat my arm and ask how I was doing.  I'm tired of saying "pretty good" so I told her the truth, "not very well."  You know, I thought we left the roller coaster of the NICU behind.  But we didn't.  We always knew this surgery was a big one, but I'm pretty sure I underestimated just how hard it would be on all of us - Scott, me, the kids, all those helping us and Luke.  There are moments when you know God sends you the right person at the right time and this was that moment.  Dr. Sanchez was incredibly compassionate, emphathetic and reasurring.  I'm quite positive I would've gone to bed in tears if not for her.

After all that crazy, things settled down. Scott went home, my parents stopped by with a hug and Luke and I snuggled, then went to bed.  Here's hoping tomorrow is marked with progress.

DCMC: Post Op, Day 1, December 12, 2009

Buzz, buzz.  I woke up at 6am to the buzz of my cell phone text from a friend (Janet, the Starbuck's rocked) and headed off to pump.  Our day today was a FAR cry from last night.  Throughout the day, we moved from having morphine doses every two hours, to every 6-8 hours.  We almost coaxed a smile out of Luke today, but no dice.  Maybe tomorrow.

One of our favorite NPs (nurse practioners), Tammy, stopped by to ooh and ahh over Luke.  He is the cutest baby on the floor, we hear.  She couldn't believe how big he'd gotten since she saw him last in the NICU.  Mom and Dad Farnum stopped in to share the love, as did Granny Whitaker.  And, Fr. Richard checked in and gave Luke a blessing.

My apologies for having such a short post, but Mom is tired and Luke has finally settled down to sleep.  All in all, our day was mostly uneventful.  Luke is still not eating (he can't until he makes us a diaper), but the pain is finally under control and he's sleeping soundly.  Scott is back at home on kid duty and I get to share a room with the other man in my life tonight :-)

Keep the prayers coming and I'll post sometime tomorrow night about Luke's progress.

We are thankful!!

St. Luke, pray for us!

DCMC: Surgery Day! December 11, 2009

We woke up this morning part excited, part anxious about Luke's surgery.  His last time to nurse was at 7:30am, we gave him some pedialyte at 9 and then headed to the hospital at 11.  Amazingly, he fussed just a tiny bit before the nurse whisked him off to surgery at 1:15pm, so we felt very blessed.

Scott and I were so thankful that a friend from St. Theresa, our former parish, signed on as Luke's anesthesiologist.  Jeff, many, many, many thanks.  Knowing that you were with Luke throughout surgery brought us tremendous peace.  And, a friend of my mom's, Jan, was Luke's nurse.  As we told them both, this surgery was all in the family.  It did make us smile wide when Jan and Jeff had a round of "rock, paper, scissors" to decide who got to carry Luke to the OR.  Maybe next surgery, Jeff...

When Luke left the pre-op room, Scott and I just looked at one another, teared up and embraced.  Our precious, cute, sweet little Luke was going back into the operating room.  It took some serious faith and your prayers to do that once more.  We held hands and prayed, for a successfuly surgery, for our doctors and for our strength.  Then my milk came in and we skipped right back to reality :-)  As I was pumping, one of the hospital staff let us know that a "church member" was in the waiting room.  Straight in from the Big Apple, Fr. Dave Farnum (no relation, but we're positive if we dig back far enough there is!) and his Big Texas smile greeted us.  His presence was a most welcome surprise.  Fr. Dave, how do we say thanks enough?

The wait actually went faster than we envisioned.  Our beeper went off and we were escorted to a post-op consultation room to meet with Dr. Meyer.  As we were waiting, we glanced across the hall and saw the most beautiful piece of art, depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe (Feast Day is tomorrow, December 12).  We both looked at each and smiled.

In bounded 6'7" Dr. Meyer, all smiles, with a spring in his step.  He was very pleased with how the surgery went.  Quick recap on the anatomy lesson.  Luke had 16cm of his small intestine removed because the NEC had destroyed it.  The end of that healthy intestine was brought to the surface of Luke's skin (his ostomy), thus bypassing the colon.  His colon still had a NEC presence, but we were hopeful that the combination of rest and antibiotics would allow the colon to heal.  It did, for the most part.  But, during this surgery, Dr. Meyer had to remove a fair amount of Luke's colon because it didn't heal after all.  Bottom line?  Luke has plenty of small intestine and colon that will allow him to operate like a normal little guy, with no lingering side effects.

Can I hear an AMEN?

Oh, and since the hospital was running a "do one surgery, get one for free" just in time for the holidays, we also had Luke circumcised.  Or, as Dr. Meyer put it, "His pencil's been sharpened."  Guy humor.  I did not see the laughs in that, but the boys all chuckled.

Only one of us was able to see Luke in recovery.  Guess who that was?  Scott was so gracious, he just squeezed my arm and said, "Go take care of Luke."  I love that man.

Luke was screaming his head off, completely disoriented from the anesthesia and in pretty significant pain.  The worst part?  I couldn't nurse to comfort him.  Without a doubt, that was the worst part of the next 12 hours.  After an hour of pumping him full of Tylenol, fentanyl and then, morphine, he still hadn't calmed down much.  They allowed Scott to come back while I pumped and he did a little better.  Ah, if we only knew how rough the next 12 hours would be...

We got Luke settled in his room and the screaming continued.  Scott and I decided to take it by the "10-minute rule"...we just tried to make it 10 minutes at a time.  An hour was way too much.  Basically, the kid was having some serious pain - an incision completely across his belly, plus the circ and the area where his stoma used to be.  Ouch, ouch and ouch.  He would breathe shallow and be comfortable and then take that one big breath and scream out in pain.  Repeat every minute (for real) for the next 12 hours.  Scott and I took two-hour shifts holding him and prayed a freakin 18-wheeler truckload of Hail Mary's.  Sprinkle in some breastpumping sessions and that was our night in a nutshell.  If you were up praying anytime from 4pm to 4am, God bless you.  At one point, I looked at Scott and said, "How much more can he take?"  I dang near hog-tied the nurse practioner and made her administer more morphine.  The challenge was that too much could make Luke stop breathing.  Yeah, we didn't need that.  So...we just hung in there.  Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours and the clock eventually read 5am.  Luke finally hit his rhythm and Scott and I crashed.  I'm pretty sure there were some harsh words exchanged around 3am.  Note to self:  don't try to have a meaningful conversation at that hour under these circumstances.

We are grateful for so many things...blogspot doesn't have enough server space for me to share them all.  Just know this.  Your prayers, your emails, your facebook posts, texts and kind words allowed Scott and I to be the best parents we could to Luke.  They allowed Luke to have such a successful surgery.  They allowed those doctors to skillfully repair Luke's bowel.  They guided our nurses as they cared for Luke throughout the night.

Check back in tomorrow and I'll give you the skinny on our first day, post-op.  Marathon prep, day 1, complete.

Luke, how we love thee

Luke's journey continues tomorrow and it's a biggie.  A while back, a friend of ours sent her son into surgery for a cleft palate.  She remarked one day how the comment from an acquaintance really bothered her.  Following his surgery, the woman said to her, "Oh, he looks so much better!"  Angela's reply was, "I thought he was just as beautiful before the surgery."

I suppose that's a little how I feel about tomorrow's surgery.  Excitement in that this surgery marks progress.  Progress toward a normal digestive system that will allow Luke to operate, on the inside, just like everyone else.  But there's also sadness that the Luke I know changes a bit tomorrow.  For all but 9 days of his sweet little life, he's had this ostomy and tomorrow it goes away.  Forever.  It's funny how something that bugs the ever living dog out of us one day, makes us sad all in the same breath.  I actually teared up a little yesterday when I changed his ostomy bag.  Weird.  I totally need counseling :-)

This past week I'd be lying if I told you that I haven't obsessed and worried - way too much - about tomorrow's surgery.  I'd be lying if I told you that my greatest fear is giving him to the surgeon and not getting him back.  I'd be lying.  But on Tuesday night, Scott and I had a long chat.  You know the kind where you actually have a real conversation?  Yeah, we haven't had too many of those lately.  It's been survival mode around these parts.  In that hour, we shared some raw emotions and it was good for both of us.

Scott is man of faith.  He sees the world as it is.  Some things we can control, others we can't.  And he's smart enough to know, and be okay with, the difference.  Me?  Notsomuch.  I go between total trust and total freak out.  But, when the moment counts, I have peace.  In my mind, I think I have to go through every possible scenario in my head and then I'm ok when the event actually takes place.  Clearly I have some control issues.  I've been arm wrestling with God for quite sometime, but he always seems to win.  I'm a slow learner, eh?

God has given me some "moments" this week to feel peace.  I've been paying attention, He just knew I needed more than one lesson...

- At Mass on Sunday, the communion song was from my brother's wedding.  With tears in the eyes, I just stared at the crucifix and felt tremendous peace as I heard "How Beautiful."  Wow.

- A friend from our former parish agreed to sign on to be Luke's anesthesiologist tomorrow.  A familiar face sometimes takes the fear away.  We are incredibly blessed to have so many smart friends in the medical profession :-)

- In a blog post from a friend, I read these wise words, "If you pray, why worry?  If you worry, why pray?"  Yeah, that one was square between the eyes.

- Two hospital visits to see brand new babies this week allowed me to see what normal looks like.  It's good stuff.

- The girls' Christmas pageant this morning reminded me that Mary was quick to trust in God when the angel Gabriel appeared to her.  I too, should be that quick to trust God with our most precious gift.

- As Fr. James performed the Annointing of the Sick Sacrament upon Luke this morning, time stood still for just a moment.  Luke's wide eyes as we prayed, the confident voice of the priest, the smell of Christmas in the air...it was all the presence of the Holy Spirit.  And it was awesome.

- This evening, I heard a knock at the door and when we opened it, four of the sweetest Dominican Sister singing voices echoed in our hallway.  Holy cow, Lord.

So, yes, I am at peace.  I'm still a worried mom, but I am at peace.

For these things I know.

Luke is in the hands of a very skilled surgeon, Dr. Meyer.
He has an amazingly talented anesthesiologist, Dr. Klein.
He is gaining weight so wonderfully, over an ounce a day, and weighs (as of Monday), 7lbs. 7oz.
He is happy, smiling, cooing and developmentally on track.
He is a fighter.
He has half of North America plus some, praying for him tomorrow.
His family loves him - so much.

Thanks for dusting off your knees and praying for our family once more.  Luke's surgery begins at 1pm and will likely last 2-3 hours.  We anticipate his hospital stay at around a week, perhaps longer.  The grandparentals are on duty this weekend, Scott will be on tap next week and I will take up residence at Dell until Luke comes back home.

God bless YOU for lifting us, and our intentions, up to the Lord.

St. Luke, pray for us.
St. Catherine, pray for us.

Top Ten: Favorite Advent Traditions

***In the spirit of 'going green' I thought I'd recycle the post I did last year, about this time.  Hey, it's been a ball 'o crazy around here.  Cut me some slack :-)  We're gearing up for the big surgery on Friday.  Here goes your recycling...***

Technically, the Christmas season doesn't kick off until Christmas Eve...Advent is such a glorious time of year, isn't it? Everybody is excited, they're waiting for family, for good food, for a few presents and for the birth of Christ. I love the anticipation. It reminds me of being pregnant that last month...without the frequent bathroom trips.

In honor of the most wonderful time of the year, I thought I'd share a few traditions - some new, some old - we celebrate here at Casa Whitaker. Feel free to share yours!

TOP TEN: ADVENT TRADITIONS

1. The Advent Wreath. Every week a new candle is lit and every night we light the appropriate candle and pray as a family. The kids argue over who gets to light it and blow it out, but still.

2. The tree hunt. A few years ago, we started going to a real live tree farm to pick out our tree. Ok, hands up (mine is included) if you've ever bought a tree at Lowe's. One year, we just wanted the experience of buying a tree. We found a jewel up in Salado. They are the nicest folks. There is hay riding, hot chocolate drinking and tree swinging - all of which make the trip worthwhile for the little people.

3. The Baby Jesus collection. When Will turned 3, we started collecting all the Baby Jesus' from our nativity scenes and then on Christmas Eve, he's "born" and the kids get to put them all out. This is one of our favorites and it reminds the kids of why we celebrate.

4. One word, Griswold. Ok, we're not that bad, but the house is a beaut. Scott works really hard (actually the finishing touch is still in the garage being painted) every year to put together a masterpiece. Thanks honey, and you did it with lots of "help" this year too!!

5. Christmas lights. A few days before Christmas, we load up the kids and some hot chocolate and hit the town looking at lights. We used to do that as I kid and I absolutely loved it. I could look at lights all night long.

6. Confession. Will is preparing for his first reconciliation this weekend. I'll have a longer post on that later, but suffice it to say, there is no better way to prepare for the coming of Christ than to reflect on our own inadequacies and be humbled by a Savior who came in spite of them all.

7. The Advent Calendar. We actually have two - one involves bribing with candy the other encourages the kids to do good deeds. Hey, whatever works.

8. The Feast of St. Nick. There was/ok IS a real live Santa Claus. We celebrate the big guy in a really cool way on December 5 (yes, it's coming up!!) His feast day is December 6, so on the evening before, the kids put out their shoes and some carrots for St. Nicholas and his trusty horse. The next morning they awake to find Christmas pajamas and a candy cane. It's a wonderful way to tie together our love of the Santa Claus tradition with our faith.

9. Christmas cards. For as long as I can remember, I've loved getting letters in the mail. It's a total joy to hear how our friends are doing and to see pictures of them and their families. We usually get ours in the mail the day before Turkey Day and get to enjoy reading about all of YOU the rest of Advent. Then, throughout the year, we pull a card out each evening, re-read it and pray for that family. Our kids get to know all the fabulous people God has put in our life and we get to pray for them. Love it.

10. Family movie night. This is our newbie to the list. Last Christmas, Scott and I got on this American Film Institute Top 100 Movie List. Our first find? It's a Wonderful Life. Seriously, people, we had not seen this movie. How is that possible?? After seeing such an OUTSTANDING classic, we felt we should watch it with the kids one night during Advent. So, the DVD is cued, we're just searching for the right night.

Hey, have a great Advent. Make it count this year.

Luke Update 12.7.09

Oh, the curveballs keep coming.

We had Luke's neurosurgery visit this morning with Dr. George (who is a total rockstar, by the way).  He took nearly half an hour to go over the MRI scans with us and we were very, very grateful.  Here goes at trying to explain brain and spine anatomy/surgery as eloquently as Dr. George...

What we originally thought were bilateral arachnoid cysts on Luke's brain, is actually a pocket of blood within his brain.  To quote Dr. George, "I'm not concerned, but it would be unwise not to watch this pocket of fluid."  So, we will repeat a head MRI in about 6 weeks and see what the fluid does.  Right now, it's not interfering with Luke's development and for that we are beyond grateful.  Whew.

Luke also has a bit of a "variation" as Dr. George referred to it on some of the skin on his head.  It's like there's a little bump under his skin which is causing the protruding bump on the outside, along with his funkadelic hair swirl.  The "bump" on the outside will go down, but it could take a while.  The swirl is a keeper for life.  Just another quirk to love about Luke, I suppose.

The somewhat scary news - for me anyway - is that Luke does have to have spinal surgery.

Give me a second...

Ok, {deep breath}, Luke's dimple just above his hiney is an indication that his spinal cord needs surgery.  A quick anatomy lesson.  All babies have a cord that is tethered from the base of the spine to the top of the tailbone.  As they grow, that cord elongates and stretches.  In Luke's case, his cord is already tight.  So, if we don't alleviate the tautness, he will experience some significant decreased mobility in his legs.  Sometime this spring (March/April-ish), Dr. George will go in and cut the tethered cord to alleviate the tightness.  It shouldn't cause any damage and will allow him to function normally.

But it's still spine surgery.  And as Dr. George reminded us today...every surgery he does is risky.  Some may be more straightforward than others (like Luke's), but it's still surgery to a major organ.  Quite honestly, I'm vacillating between being totally ok with it to being totally wigged out.

First things first.  Luke has a HUGE surgery this Friday at 1pm to reconnect his small intestine with his colon.  And that has its own set of complex things going on. We talked to Luke's general surgeon last week and it looks like Luke's colon is damaged or developed some significant scar tissue during the healing.  So, as Dr. Meyer says, "There's an added layer of complexity to the surgery.  But, I do this all the time and he should be fine."  I'd kinda prefer that he say, "He WILL be fine."  Details.  Details.

So...what's a mom to do?  I'm worried and anxious and peaceful and strong.  I know that Luke's surgery on Friday is a step in the right direction.  It's progress.  And I am not shy when I ask...

PLEASE OFFER UP SOME PRAYERS ON LUKE'S BEHALF.  I'll give you more details come Thursday, oke dokee?

I'm thinking that a vist to see niece Ava and Luke's Godmom's son, Henry, will be a welcome reprieve tomorrow.  A glimpse of normal, thank the good Lord.

Over and out til tomorrow!

It's a...GIRL!!!

Yep.  My little brother, Daniel, and his wife, Amanda, had a baby girl tonight.  (Well, Amanda did all the hard work, Daniel was a great cheerleader.)

Ava Marie (seriously, is that not one of the prettiest names you've ever heard?)
5:38pm
6lbs. 2oz.
17.5in.

Scott went to 9:30 Mass with the kids this morning, while I stayed home with Luke.  He didn't see D&A there and none of us had heard from them.  So, on my way to 11:30 Mass, I called Daniel and said (with a touch of sarcasm), "So, are you at the hospital?"  HAHA.  Joke's on me.  They had a long night, but Ava arrived safe and healthy this afternoon.  I have to say, it's weird being on the other side of childbirth.  I was anxious all day waiting for the texts from Daniel.  Then, we journeyed up to the hospital tonight and it was just breathtaking.  Parenthood suits them well.

After being in the NICU for so long, I've come to appreciate that whole "miraculousness" of childbirth.  No doubt in my mind that every birth has a healthy dose of that grace.  Praise GOD their's was blissfully normal...as it should be.

Oh, Daniel and Amanda...life will change.  And, I know you've heard that like a bazillion times.  But it's so darn true.  A new chapter.  A new life.  If I could bundle all the bits of advice people have given us, package it and send it your way, I would.  But, that's called life experience and best lived, rather than heard.  Just know you have our love, our prayers and our kids' germs.  They can't wait to really love on Ava.  I'll make sure they're sanitized first :-)

And, because I'm kindof a sap these days...Daniel, I'm quite proud to be your big sister.  You and Amanda just looked so happy when I walked in that room tonight.  Amanda, so confidently nursing that baby.  You, making sure they had everything they needed.  It reminded me of how precious and new life is, the first time around.  I love that you gave me the best hug ever.  I found myself looking forward to Ava and Luke being good buddies.  Her, making sure he doesn't fall for a really icky girl.  Him, protecting her from all the icky boys.  Dadhood is the best and no doubt you will come to cherish Amanda's role in her vocation of motherhood.  Watching her care for Ava will most definitely bring tears to your eyes and your prayer life to its knees.  Amanda, seeing Daniel dote on a daughter will allow you to appreciate, on a whole other level, the relationship between a father and daughter.  (insert squeal of excitement here)  I am SO excited for the chapter.  It looks like you are, too.

I will post some fantabulous pictures later in the week.  Promise.  Here's a peek from Amanda.

Little Fire and a Big Baptism

If you're new to the blog, I hope this post doesn't scare you.  If you're a regular, grab a Coke, pop some popcorn and enjoy the show.

Saturday morning, November 28, had been on the calendar for a long, long time.  We have a habit of setting the baptismal date well in advance - partly because I'm a planner and that's the way I roll and partly because I love baptisms.  There is such a newness, an innocence and a touch of pure beauty to each one.  And yes, I cry everytime.

The night before, we finally got motivated to put up some Christmas things around the house.  But, by 11, we were both pumpkins and completely exhausted.  The house still looked tornado-ish, but we figured we would just "pick up" in the morning.  Bad idea.  Haven't I learned anything with all these kids?  The day never goes as planned.  Ever.

Luke had a rocky night, woke up early and we found ourselves rushing around to get ready.  In the midst of all that, Luke's ostomy bag started leaking.  We had this bright idea to warm a towel so the warmth would make the sticky wafer stick to his skin a little better.  In theory, that sounds like a totally practical idea.  In practice however, well...  Let's just say when you put a DRY towel in a microwave, you've got a fire on your hands.  So, as I'm yelling at Scott for the towel, I smell this horrific burning and hear Scott opening every door in the house.  Classic Whitaker folly.

I just looked in the mirror at Luke and laughed.  I mean, what else are you gonna do?  This is one of the most important days of Luke's life and we're burning towels and trying to finish decorating for Christmas.  Ultimately, the decorations got shoved in a closet, I put my sister-in-law on vacumming duty, Granny and Uncle Cory on kiddo duty and changed yet another leaky bag just as we were walking out the door.

Amazingly, we made it to the baptism on time.

I should point this out...if you've been reading the blog for a while, you'll remember that Luke has already been baptized.  It was an emergency situation on September 27, done by his Godfather, Fr. Dean.  I hesitated to show you these photos...but I think I'm ready - to share them and to see them again.  Okay, deep breath.

While the photos immediately bring forth tears to my eyes and I am immediately taken back to the NICU - I realize they might freak you out.  Just know this.  There was tremendous peace in that corner of the eighth floor.  Our tiny 3.5 pound baby lay before us, on a ventilator, fighting for his life, yet we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.  It wasn't the happy, glowing, family-filled event we experienced on Saturday, yet it was just as beautiful, just as powerful.  And, yes, I cried :-)

Saturday was spectacular.  The smell of chrism, the awe of the kids present, the pride of the Godparents and the thankfulness in the air.  There certainly wasn't a more perfect weekend to finish the baptismal rite than on Thanksgiving.  Enjoy the pics!

Top Ten: Gift Ideas

In the 'spirit of the season', we've been doing lots of thinking as to how to make this Advent and Christmas a bit more simple and a lot more meaningful.  The simple is coming from circumstance.  I don't have the time, or the energy, to do all the things we've done in the past.  Our outdoor decorations are about half what they usually are, along with the things I put out in the house.  Our tree is up, but still not decorated.  We passed on doing our annual open house.  And I still haven't put a wrapped gift under the tree.

But you know what?  I'm loving it.  It's like an out of body experience but it's made us focus on what's most important - the birth of our Savior.

On the meaningful front, we're working to make the gifts we do give full of meaning and purpose.  Some are store bought and perhaps a gift card or two, but we've also searched high and low for gifts of the homemade kind.  We're blessed to have some really talented and gifted friends.  If you're still searching for a gift idea...chomp on these a bit.

TOP TEN:  BEST. GIFTS. EVER.

1.  Sterling silver jewelry.  A sweet friend, former neighbor and the mom of our Godson, Jackson, has been making jewelry for several years now and it's just gorgeous.  Dawn is uuber talented.  She does this really awesome bracelet with your children's names (or your last name, or initials, or whatever).  I've already put in my order for this year :-)  She doesn't have a website, but I have her number.  If you're interested, shoot me an email and I'll send it to you.

2.  Paintings.  A friend from high school, Bethany, has more talent in her pinky than I do in my body.  Not fair, I know.  She's an artist, a photographer and a super crafty gal.  If you live in the Panhandle, you can totally score on the photograph front.  If not, you can benefit from her store on Etsy or commission her to do an original painting.  We did for Anna-Laura's room (below) and it's simply divine.  Candace Olson would be jealous.

3 / 4.  Photographs.  Two spectacular Chi Omega sorority sisters, Shannon and Lauren, do some real magic with those Nikons.  We had a photo shoot with Shannon earlier this year and will be giving some of those photos to family members this season.  Lauren is equally talented, just in a different zip code :-)  I'm a believer that photos capture moments in time you always want to remember.  You can never have too many.  And, it's totally worth the money you spend.

5.  Mummymade.  My sweet friend, Agnes, has this really charming Australian accent (it's totally authentic) and knits a mean scarf, blanket, animal, hat, younameit.  She has a store on Etsy that you definitely want to check out.  I love, love, love her stuff.  I've given the animals as baby gifts, the scarves as birthday presents and you can bet some will be under our tree as gifts.  She is extraordinarily gifted and you'll be thankful to have a bit of that talent in your house.

6.  Wills and such.  Ok, perhaps not something you want to wrap and put under a tree, but if you're in the market for a new will or estate plan, "Lawyer Shannon" (not to be confused with "Photographer Shannon") may be the gift you give yourself.  After watching my grandmother's health decline, we've seen just how important a will and durable power of attorney can be.  Don't put it off.  If you don't have one, get one.  Again, no website, but shoot me an email and I'll send you her contact info.

7.  The Fabric Kitchen (curtains, pillows, home decor, et al).  When we moved into our house the bare windows started to drive me crazy.  My mom and I worked hard at the last house sewing drapes and crafting cornice boards.  That was four kids ago, I'm too tired!  So, I called my friend, Cathy and she stitched some of the most beautiful drapes I have ever seen.  So well done I could hardly stand it.  She's a perfectionist like me!  Again, holler if you need to get in touch with her.

8.  Graphic Design.  Yeah, yeah, I do this.  But I have a pretty talented cohort in crime.  Bob is a former graphic guy at Dell.  He does some pretty awesome work, so if you have a business, or know someone who does, give him a shout.  You won't regret it.

9.  Cookie Bouqets!  Who doesn't love these?  If it were up to me, I'd eat the whole thing before giving it away, but who wants a bunch of sticks?  Janice, a co-worker of my mom's, whips up a mean batch of sugar cookies in just about any shape you can imagine, ices them and arranges them super cute.  She's done birthday party favors, Christmas gifts and thank you bouqets for my clients.  Best part?  She's WAY more affordable than those franchised cookie places and her work is even better, I think.

10.  Music by Sarah Bauer.  Once upon a time, Scott and I were young and served as volunteer youth ministers for our parish.  We met a sweet high school gal, with an even sweeter voice.  Fast forward a decade and that sweet girl is all grown up, a bona fide Christian recording artist who's married and expecting baby #1 this spring!  She has three CDs ("Radiance" is definitely my favorite!) chocked full of amazing songs.  I bet Sarah would even personalize and sign the CD if you asked her :-)

I realized after I generated the list, that many of these folks are "word of mouth" kind of businesses.  I hate to give out their phone numbers or emails here - the random blog stalker from Nigeria could be reading this :-)  I'm all about supporting the small business owners.  Holler if you need contact info...I've got all these folks on my speed dial!

To the ER we go...again

Let's start with the ER visit, shall we?

Last night Scott and I were bone tired.  And I mean b-o-n-e.  Luke had a big few days with Thanksgiving and the baptism, lot of noise, lot of stimulation and we totally paid for it.  We've pretty much been running on fumes and adrenaline for the past 5 days or so.

So, when Scott arrived home last night the house looked like a war zone because Luke had cried most of the day.  Laundry was still in the washer and dryer - going on two days, the kitchen still had stuff out from breakfast and there were dirty diapers everywhere.  Martha Stewart would've been so disappointed in me.  Eh.  It happens.  Now that I've set the scene, you can appreciate the story that much more.

Scott went upstairs to bathe the girls, while I tended to Luke.  The older boys were already causing a rucus, so I put Will where I could see him and sent JP to bathe and get ready for bed.  Once he was done, I sent Will to the showers.  I had just taken a load of laundry upstairs when I heard Luke cry out.  In my infinite wisdom, I thought, 'Oh, I'll just give him a quick diaper change.  The boys should be fine.' 

HA.  HA.

When I went to change Luke's diaper, I realized his bag was leaking all over the place.  Dang.  So, Operation Solo Bag Change got underway.  About halfway through, I heard a blood curdling scream and a 'What in heaven's name just happened?' from Scott.  I was thinking blood, but hoping I was wrong.  I turn around to see JP screaming with blood down his entire face. 

Talk about comedy.  I've got Luke on the vanity, naked with a new ostomy bag, screaming.  ALG and Clare asking 'what happened?' like 50 times, Will not owning up to what happened and JP screaming with blood all down his face.

I handed Luke to Scott, gathered up JP, called a friend who's an ER doc and asked what the wait time was at Seton NW and off to the ER we went.  Again.  Fortunately, the wait time was short and we were seen in a jif.  The doc was great and John Paul talked my ear off.  That's when I knew he'd be OK.  Because it was a head lac (that's my doctor-ese speak, proud?) that was in the hair, he got staples.  Yowza.  Fortunately, the nursed numbed it up and then the doctor put in the sole staple.  One staple and a Sonic Blast later and all was right with the world.

The rest of the story is that the boys were "scaring" each other and Will pushed John Paul...right into the window sill.  Thank goodness it wasn't right into the window!

While we were at the ER, Scott instructed the kids to pray for John Paul and asked Will to think about how he could've made better choices...a little Catholic guilt.

Moral of the story?  Don't assume your boys will be ok while you change the baby's diaper.

Let the good times roll

Man, folks I can't make this stuff up...in the last 72 hours we've had a fire, a baptism, an ER visit and some really, really good BBQ.  Details at 10 :-)

For real, I'll get a humdinger of a few posts up this week.  Happy reading!

It's a Wonderful Life

Really, it is.  I think back to what a crazy, insane, emotional, wonderful, difficult year it's been and I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner.

A few weeks ago (yes weeks) we went to the mall before all the icky, germy, nasty droves of kids (because mine are sanitized, clean and wonderful) sat on Santa's lap.  I must say, highly recommended.  No line.  Kids had plenty of time to chat with the big fella and there were no tears.  Actually, scratch that.  Clare did start to tear up, but with the sweet urging of the other siblings, she participated in "the picture."  Reason #96 big families are a blessing :-)  I did chuckle when the lady gave us the photo...um, little less tree, little more Luke, maybe?  Oh well.  They're all smiling.  Wrap it up.  I suppose it's less about the photo and more about the experience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(the kids turkey day craft - thank you Parents magazine for making me feel all Martha Stewart)

So much to be thankful for this year.  And as our priest so eloquently reminded us at Mass this morning, every day is Thanksgiving.  I'm reminded of Romans 5:3-5

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I didn't forget your top ten yesterday, yesterday just got away from me.  Rather than be chatty today, I'll just share my top ten photos from today's feast with family.  I have to say, before I show off the photos, that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays...it's all about family.  No gifts.  No hustle and bustle.  Just family time.  Funny stories.  Naps.  And watching the Ags try to beat the sips...sometimes they run out of time and sometimes they don't :-)

ALG giving Luke good mornin' kisses

Luke, showing off his new trick, smiling

Daniel and his buddy 'steam'

One very, very happy Mom

One very, very silly Mom

The Aunt and Uncle get last minute training before Baby Farnum arrives - 2 weeks and counting!!

The cranberries.  For the love of cranberries.  Does every family make this such a big deal?  The boys in our family are obsessed.  They must be jellied, not whole, cold, not hot and sliced just so.

The kids' table!  Wish I still fit at one.

Awww.

And, with that, we call 'er a wrap.  Advent begins this weekend.  Yippee!!  The cards have been mailed (yes, I managed to get them done) and we go get the family tree tomorrow.  The most wonderful time of the year is upon us...let it begin.