Papa's 75th birthday!

Today has been hard to find blessings hidden about with Abe having such a hard time. We almost cancelled Mike's daddy's birthday dinner. I was bound and determined this set back with Abe was not going to get the best of us. Through the stress of the day we still had Papa over to celebrate his 75th birthday. We are blessed and I am so glad we did celebrate with him.

Marlee Anne was so proud!!!

Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds

My newest addiction is chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Aunt Kim sent Marlee Anne some while we were in Iowa. I didn't read about the very well and just thought they were little chocolates shaped like sunflower seeds. Well Marlee Anne said mommie these things have something in there. When I tasted them I was in love. Today Aunt Kim took Michala and Marlee Anne walking up to the square. Scoops is always on the list for a stop. This was my treat they brought back to me. OH WHEE!!! It's actually too pretty to open.

Ponseti Fundraiser Calendar 2009

On an exciting note we found out yesterday his picture is in the 2009 Ponseti Fundraiser Calendar. He is on his birthday month of February and on September with a picture of his tenodomy being preformed. Profits from the calendar benefit the Ponseti Fund to help children with clubfeet. If you would like to see the calendar or order one here is the website http://www.lulu.com/content/4273238.

Abe

Thank ya'll so much for your prayers for Abe. Right now the medicine has knocked him out. Very bad. He is not responding and is very floppy. We are just praying to get past this point. He is not eating and drinking well so a decision will have to be made soon. Please pray that we can get him to respond enough to eat and drink enough to get him past this initial phase and keep him out of the hospital. I still feel like this is the right medicine for us to try. I just was not prepared for him to react this way. When he starts to wake up he has a seizure and is back out of it. It's really scary. They say it may take a few days for him to work past this.

My baby boy

I don't get to dress Abe up in dressy little outfits much. One is because his daddy doesn't like it. He was in the NICU for 5 weeks and Iowa for 7 so these outfits weren't worn much. I got it out today and thought I should take some pictures. You can from his eyes that the seizures and the medications have done a number on him. I just thought I would share these pictures.

Our weekend

Friday night I got to celebrate my friend's 40th birthday at her surprise party. I was nervous about leaving everyone that long but thanks to the support of some really good friends I made it. It was so good to get out and fellowship with friends.

Saturday we were up and out early to meet our friends to go to the mountains. It was such a beautiful day. Even though Abe had so many seizures throughout the day it was nice being out and enjoying God's beauty. We don't listen to the radio while we are riding. Usually we are all talking and pointing out the different things we see. I love to hear Marlee Anne's excited expressions as her daddy points out something special. It might be a bird, a horse, a tree, wild flowers or the first time we go over a hill and you can see the mountains spread out in front of us. Michala LOVES riding. She loves being out and going places. She laughs and laughs as we ride along. That is until she is ready for something to eat. And buddy did you she eat. LOL!!! Mary Elizabeth is a home body like her grandmama. She would have been happy to stay at home all day. I have to admit that the thought did cross my mind to stay at home with she and Abe. I was so exhausted from long days and nights with Abe's seizures. I was thinking a day curled up in the bed with Mary Elizabeth and Abe all day sounded really good. I am glad that I went though. Mary Elizabeth seemed glad she went too.

We stopped at Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Mike had eaten at 6:00 that morning so he just wanted sweet tea. He really wanted to go to Mayfield Dairy and have ice cream but not everyone was game for that. We went straight to Dahlonega from there. We were excited to go the Hoschton and see all the scarecrows. http://www.hoschtongeorgia.com/hoschton%20scarecrows.htm They are trying to break the world's record. It was really neat to see.

When we went by Road Atlanta it was packed cause they were having the Le Mans. We didn't know that but the traffic wasn't that bad. It was neat to see the cars racing.

As we drove into Dahlonega Mike was telling Marlee Anne about the dome being real gold. We always think of Spence and Danisa when we go there. I always think of their town of Cullman when we drive through Winder. So Danisa ya'll were on our minds a lot on Saturday. Dahlonega is such a nice town. We parked and got everyone out and walked around. We went to the visitors center to find a place to mine for gem stones because the place we usually go to was closed. The people around the town are just so very nice. Lots of them stopped and spoke to Mary Elizabeth & Michala. You don't see that very often. Most times people walk as far away as they can or they think they might catch something. So it was nice to be welcomed by their town. I picked up a neat little surprise at the visitor center to send to a friend of mine. Typing this so I will remember that I got it and remember to send it. We stopped by the fudge shop before heading back to the van. For those of you keeping up with the food on our trip here goes - chocolate covered oreo cookie, chocolate covered pretzels, divinity for Mike (not as good as Mrs. Maddox's though), and a chocolate covered orange peel (YUCK!!!). Oh yes and a sample of apple fudge. A little on the weird side but not terrible.

So we go 2.5 miles to the ???? I don't have the brochure in front of me to get the name of the place. You can pay $7.50 for a wagon ride, petting zoo, pan for gold & mine for gems. The girls just wanted to mine for gems so they got big buckets and had a blast. There was no ramp to get the girls wheelchairs down there so they let us drive around to the back. It's things like that that help to make life grand. They were super nice. The girls got lots of beautiful stones. Well gems as Marlee Anne keeps reminding me. She had a bag full. I say had because she immediately started thinking who she was giving them to. Maybe she will end up with a few for herself.

As we were heading to Amicalola Falls everyone was ready for lunch. Chick-fil-a again. Marlee Anne & I decided we would skip lunch. We just couldn't stomach Chick-fil-a twice in one day or at least not back to back like that. Michala on the other hand was ready to eat AGAIN. She ate a whole chicken salad sandwhich before we got to the falls. God had gone ahead of us and picked the perfect parking place. The guys took the girls hiking up the falls while Tracy and I stayed with the other two girls and Abe. It got hot in the van so we got out and sat beside the fishing area. Again people were so very nice. Several of them walking dogs stopped to let the girls see the dogs. A sweet little girl very curious about the girls and their wheelchairs spent lots of time talking with us. Her mother was very nice to let me share with her about the girls. After over 1,000 steps they were back. I will never be allowed to forget how many steps they took. Marlee Anne has remind me and everyone several times. She had a blast. So did Mike. He is planning a return trip there soon so if anyone wants to tag along with he and Marlee Anne please holler.

Next it was our annual - well this whole trip is kinda annual for us. Next it was Burt's Pumpkin Patch. I think of Miss House everytime I go here. One year they had been and got the cutest t-shirts. Mom saw them and had to have one. That's how we started going there. We had fun and got our annual picture taken there. I always think back to the wonderful watercolor picture Rich did for us of our picture taken there. We got some wonderful boiled peanuts there before we left.

Hillcrest Apple Orchard was next. We started going there way back when with Camp Sunshine. We love it there. Reminds me of Mac, Rachel, Kylie and Noah. We met them the first time there. They were so very nice to help us with the girls wheelchairs on and off the wagon. A friendship that has blossomed through the years. I get so excited about the wonderful treats they have there. Lee & Tracy took the girls to do all the fun stuff while Mike and I sat with the other two girls and Abe out front. Marlee Anne got to be a pig jokey and call the pig. She just grins when you talk about it. She did tell me today she had a little stage fright since she had to get in front of people and talk. Well this is when we did some eating. While they were doing all that Mike and I both had some wonderful corn on the cob. Michala had ice cream and she ate over half of the most delicious apple fritter. I had a cup of cherry apple cider. I always bring Tamela some back but we didn't head straight home so it had to stay there. Sorry about that!!! We brought home a few apple treats too.

We stopped near Lake Lanier to eat at Chili's. It was really good. Michala drank 4 - 8 oz bottles of tea. She loves to drink from a bottle. That's another story with pictures that I forgot to tell. Will remember that for later. Well we had a great waitress so I asked her for some coasters. She brought me out a hand full of them. Those of you that are into altering know how that made my night.

After that we headed home and got everyone settled in.

Today we had a fish fry at my niece's house. Marlee Anne casually walked up and said look mommie. She had a lizard in her hand that she had caught. That girl!!! Marlee Anne was staying there to spend the night. She was so excited. I started crying right after we pulled out of the driveway. Got home and got busy with the girls and Abe's meds and was ok. I am sure she is having a blast.

I hope that everyone's weekend was filled with blessings and memories that make you smile.

Specific prayers!

Several of you have asked about specific prayer request so here goes. Tomorrow morning we will be started Abe on Vigabatrin. The post office wouldn't leave it on Saturday because we weren't home so we have to go pick it up tomorrow. Please pray that this medicine will work. As Abe's infantile spasms started he stopped doing things he was doing. He is slowly started to roll again, smile, laugh and babble. We want those things back. He has also lost a good bit of muscle strength. He didn't have a ton of it to begin with now it's worse. Please pray that once his infantile spasms are better controlled all that will come back. Head control is one specific prayer request of ours. We would love for Abe to someday be able to sit up and walk. So for now we will accept and prayer for smaller things. Seizure control, muscle strength, head control, smiles, and laughs. Thanks so much for praying with us!!!

Abe's surgery pictures

Our little monkey!

Marlee Anne and I heard a loud noise in her bedroom. When we looked Michala had knocked everything off Marlee Anne's desk and was sitting in her little blue chair. We laughed and I went back to feeding Abe. Then we hear another noise and Marlee Anne looks. She says mom don't panic but Michala is on my desk. Sure enough Michala had climbed on top of Marlee Anne's desk.

I am telling you there is NEVER a dull moment around this house.

Abe's home!

Thank ya'll so very much for your prayers. Abe's surgery went great. The last email I sent out wasn't proofed by Mike so I had some errors. Sorry! I typed it quickly just to get the news out. Dr. Broecker was pleased with how things went. The testicle was where he thought it was. He was able to bring it down easily. He said that it looked good.

After I sent the last email things got worse. We are still not sure why Abe had a tough time with this sedation. It could be the stress of the seizures the past two weeks. Just not sure. They were finally able to get him off the breathing tube. He stayed on oxygen until yesterday morning because each time we took him off his sats would drop.

Once the caudal block (similar to an epidural) wore off his seizures got really bad. Very hard, long and no break in between. We were trying to figure out why and thought maybe it was the pain. They gave him moriphin which helped with his pain but the seizures continued. I suggested ativan but I am just the mom. They had to try to get in touch with someone to approve that because the doctor on the floor wasn't sure if that was ok. Finally after getting in touch neuro they said ok. Then it was writing the order, getting the med from pharmacy and getting it administered. By this time it was midnight. Abe & I both were exhausted. Thankfully the ativan worked and he was able to get some temporary relief from the seizures.

Mo (my new angel) came by to get the paper work started for the vigabatrin. Abe's monitor went wild and he started having a seizure. So Mo got to see what I have been telling her about. It lasted way too long in Mo's opinion which I have been saying for the past two weeks. It lasted 30 minutes and he was out. We started on the paper work and within 10 minutes he was awake having another bad seizure. This one lasted 30 minutes too. Mo got them to give him more ativan which helped.

Good news is as soon as we got home we got a phone call from the pharmacy in Canada and they were shipping his vigabatrin. For those that don't know it's not FDA approved so we have to go through a bunch of mess to be able to buy it from some where out of the country. The pharmacy in Canada is where some of Michala's Aicardi sisters get theirs. Hopefully we will have it soon and it will work. Michala was in a study program for it 10 years ago and it worked wonderful for her.

Other than being exhausted we are all glad to be home and together again. We will go back in a couple of weeks to have his incisions checked. Thanks so much for your prayers!