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Author Archives: Jamie

Surgery is scheduled

20 May
I can’t believe it has been a month since I posted last. So much has happened but the biggest news for Rebecca is that she is scheduled for surgery on June 22nd,
When they ran tests while we were at the hospital, they did not find any kind of reflux in here kidney or major blockage. They felt that the amount of fluid an time it took for her kidney to drain was due to either a kink in or a narrow tube from the kidney to the bladder. If it was a kink, it would fix itself with time. If it was a narrow tube, surgery would fix the problem.
At her last ultrasound/specialist follow up, the fluid in her kidneys continues to be there, and it has actually gotten worse. Because of this, they feel it is a narrow tube and have scheduled surgery to remove the narrow portion and reattach the normal size tube. She will go into the hospital for surgery on June 22nd at 8:30 am. Recovery time in the hospital is estimated 2-3 days and our return on the 25th.
I will update my posts when I can.
Another thing is trying to get her walking since before the hospital, she was not crawling properly…she is now pulling her self up to stand assisted. However, her feet are still curling under and her left leg is still really weak. They are addressing it with exercises and looking at other options to come.
She is finally gaining weight though and her last weigh in was 19 lbs, 5.5 oz. This is great progress. God is so good!
Thank you for your continued prayers.
Jamie
 
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Posted by in 2011 Rebecca's Wild Adventure, Kids, Prayer Requests, Recovery

 

Easter/Caleb’s Birthday 2011

26 Apr

This year Caleb’s birthday fell on Easter so we had a double celebration. In fact, we celebrated Easter, Caleb’s birthday, and Rebecca’s birthday (since we were unable to have a party for her birthday).

The theme for the birthday party was Toy Story. Caleb has been asking for over 4 months for a Buzz Light Year cake and a good friend of our made him a wonderful rocket cake.

We spent the morning at church and then the family was over and we had a delicious meal, cake/ice cream, presents, and an Easter egg hunt.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus, and our children’s birthday.

Jamie


 
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Posted by in Holiday, Kids

 

Rebecca is standing

18 Apr

I wanted to let everyone know that Rebecca pulled herself up to stand several times on Saturday evening and just did it again. This is great progress for her. YAY!

 
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Posted by in 2011 Rebecca's Wild Adventure, Illness / Injury, Kids, Prayer Requests, Recovery

 

Birthday Fun, ARGH….

10 Apr

We had the privilege of attending a friends party for her two boys yesterday. The theme…PIRATES. It was a lot of fun and all the kids were dressed up as pirates or princesses.

Let me take a moment to tell you how wonderful my friend is. First she invited us to come, then she made sure there was gluten/egg/dairy/peanut free foods for Kimberly. She went out of her way making special cupcakes, buying special hotdogs, and getting a goody bag put together with things she could play with and eat. It was very touching and I am so thankful for her to take that much time into Kimberly. In case you don’t know yet, I love you Jennifer! You are an amazing woman and I am honored to be your friend.

Well, we visited well past the party ending. It sure was nice to catch up. Here are a few of the pictures I took while we were there. Also, her brother-in-law is a photographer and captured some awesome shots. Here is the link to his website: http://davidleroymiller.zenfolio.com/p777149773

Here are the pics I took:

Have a wonderful evening!

Jamie

 

 
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Posted by in Friends, Kids, Photos

 

2 Months Later

09 Apr

Well, today it is April 9th. It has been two months now since we almost lost Rebecca…hard to believe. Even though she turned 1 on Feb 24th, it is almost like she has a new birthday, 2 months ago today.

She is progressing really well, although she is teething really bad right now. Unfortunately with her gums hurting, she is having a hard time eating again. I am praying she gets through this without losing any weight. 🙂

She is having a lot of fun these days though. Crawling around and playing more. We are still working on getting her to pull herself up and stand. Her right foot is doing better but her left foot is being a bit stubborn, curving under. We have a meeting with the Children’s Development Center at the end of the month to discus a plan of action and schedule for in home therapy.

As always, thank you for all your prayers. God is so great!

Here are some recent photos. 🙂

Jamie

 
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Posted by in 2011 Rebecca's Wild Adventure, Illness / Injury, Kids, Photos, Prayer Requests

 

Spring Clean Challenge: Continuing into April

07 Apr

It has been a long weekend. I know, I know…it is Wednesday… but Dustin took the past few days off and so hence, long weekend. 🙂

We were able to tackle quite a few of the projects on the list, YAY, and although we are still plugging through, it is nice to have these ones done. We also took a van load to Goodwill and the recycler.

We worked in the master bathroom/kids bath – changing out the cabinet above the toilet. We also bought some pull-out bins to convert one of the cabinets in each of the bathrooms so our hampers will be tucked away. Once they are installed, I will re-take the after pictures.

Our master closet was one of the most exciting areas to clean. After 6 1/2 years being in our home, we finally bought a closet organizer/shelving system and the results are amazing…probably my favorite area so far.

We also bought a hutch on craigslist over the weekend for our dining room to help clear up some space issues…another long overdue purchase, mainly due to cost. It is very pretty. Not the one we were looking for (and found at the local unfinished furniture store) but is also maybe one tenth of the price. Our goal with the hutch was to have a place to put our 5-gallon buckets of flour/rice/potato milk/sugar so the pantry could have a floor again. With those buckets gone and although I haven’t had the chance to organize the pantry, it looks almost as though I did 🙂

Dustin cleaned up our foyer and some of the living room while I cleaned some more countertops in the kitchen. I also worked in the family room but it has a bit more to do.

We still have a ways to go…the joys of a larger house and WAY TOO MUCH STUFF 😉 … BTW, both garbage cans are full this week…always a good sign when cleaning, right…

Have a good night.

Jamie


 

 
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Posted by in 31 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge, Projects

 

Appointments Upon Appointments

01 Apr

That seems to be life these days, one appointment after another. That and phone calls to schedule more appointments or pay for the appointments we already went to. 🙂 These are the fun days.

Wow, it has been awhile since my last post and for that, I apologize. We have met with our dietitian twice now and she is really nice. We have modified Rebecca’s diet from a 50/50 mix of formula/pediasure to only pediasure. We should only have to continue her midnight feedings for another month or two. Yay. She is continuing to gain weight (this week she weighed in at 17 lbs. 14.5 oz.) and we will now go a month between weigh-ins.

We had our assessment with the Benton-Franklin 0-3 year program and she was approved based upon her scores and need of therapy. She will be able to have Speech and OT at home. Everyone we have met there has been so nice and it is great to know that this care exists.

This week is spring break so we only have 2 appointments for Rebecca. What we don’t have for her, we make up for with us and the other kids. Caleb has his follow up on the tubes in his ears. Couple chiropractor appointments, and the list goes on.

We did meet with the children’s pastor again to discuss Kimberly. We have had some difficulties with her behavior for some time and he has been extremely helpful for our family. She has been recently been diagnosed ADHD and ODD (oppositional defiance) as well as being allergic to dairy, wheat, eggs, and peanuts. It has been a complete overhaul for our family but one we are working through with God’s help.

As you can imagine, we are dragging. So for us, we were prescribed Self Care. We need to do at least one thing a day that makes us smile, go on a date (whether dinner and a movie or just out for a walk) once a week, and one weekend a month just getaway. 🙂 It sounds like some will be easier than others but we are going to work towards doing so. We need to be refreshed so we can take care of them.

Thank you for reading my babbling (which Rebecca is starting to do and the therapists are happy about). I will try to post more frequently so that it is not a long novel next time.

God bless and thank you for your continued prayers! Happy April 1st.

Jamie

 
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Posted by in 2011 Rebecca's Wild Adventure, Illness / Injury, Kids, Prayer Requests

 

Prayers and Praises – My Grandparents

01 Apr

My grandparents were in a car accident the other day in Colville. My grandpa didn’t see a car and pulled onto the highway in front of it. They were T-boned and their car was totaled but the people in the other car were okay and my grandparents are recovering very well, praise the Lord.

My grandma has a broken rib and finger, cracked pelvis, bruised kidney, and she is sore from the air bag. She has been up to walk a couple times, and on Monday will go to a nursing home (where my aunt and cousin work) for a couple weeks before returning home.

My grandpa had a broken hip and was taken to Spokane for surgery. When he got there, he had some bleeding on his brain and an air pocket on his lung. He was taken to ICU where his heart rate was extremely high for a couple hours. However, his heart rate came back down, he was able to have his surgery to repair his hip, and has since been taken out of ICU. I am not sure when he be released to go home yet.

Their recovery has been amazing. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for them. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they move forward.

God is so great!

Jamie

 
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Posted by in Illness / Injury, Prayer Requests, Uncategorized

 

Spring Clean Challenge

31 Mar

Well, today is the last day of the month and the last day of the challenge…What did I accomplish? Many therapy appointments for Rebecca, phone calls for bills and medical expenses, and a little cleaning in between.

The Master Bath was cleaned and except for a few cups and glasses, has remained clean 🙂 (yay). The kitchen has been worked on a bit with the countertops and they have been a challenge to keep on but I think I am plugging through and most the time keeping up. In my living room, the coffee table has been cleared (and remained cleaned) as well as the bookshelf and the toys have a new toy box to call their home. I was also able to get the older kids’ room cleaned, although this room has also been a challenge to remain clean…it is the home of 2 rambunctious kids that are almost 3 and 5.

I am almost done with the family room, I have begun tackling the piles of paperwork in my bedroom and dining room, worked in the garage a bit, and started on my computer desk and one of my bookshelves. I have not finished with these areas nor have I began working on other areas, but, I plan to continue until I get it done. 🙂 When I finish with each of these rooms, I will share my before and after shots.

I am thankful to Katie for proposing this challenge for us to participate with. To see more about this challenge, check out her blog http://intentionallykatie.blogspot.com/2011/02/31-days-to-clean-march-spring-cleaning.html.

God Bless!

Jamie

 
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Posted by in 31 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge, Projects

 

Spring Clean Challenge: Kitchen Part I

20 Mar

Well, I have been trying to keep up with maintaining the projects that I have already cleaned so I am not completely caught up on the list.

However, one of the days last week I took a couple of hours and tackled a couple of the counters in the kitchen. I still have a couple counters to go, as well as the pantry, and a few other things, but one step at a time.

Here are some before and after pictures:

 
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Posted by in 31 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge, Projects

 
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